Financial Vanguard

DECEMBER 22, 2014

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reight forwarders and terminal operators are set for another showdown over disagreement on terminal charges.

This follows the failure of the management of APM Terminal to honour the agreement reached with the agents to end the strike action which grounded port operations at APM terminal few weeks ago, as well as the judgment of the High Court on Wednesday, which directed terminal operators to comply with the directive of the Nigeria Shippers Council to reduce terminal charges.

Last month, freight forwarding groups went on strike for ten days to protest high and unapproved charges imposed by AP Terminal. The freight forwarding groups include the Association of Nigeria Licensed Customs Agents, ANLCA, National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders, NAGAFF and National Council of Managing Directors of Licensed Customs Agents, NCMDLC. The groups demanded among other things that, “Booking for container examination/scanning to start at 8am and to end at 2pm. All containers booked must be dropped/scanned at once. Examination should start at 9am and continue till 6pm.

“After the entrance of a truck into the main gate of the port with “Terminal Delivery Order, TDO”, failure by APM Terminal to load, the TDO will remain valid without further rating or payment till whenever the container will be loaded.

“APM Terminal and shipping companies have turned our trucks and roads to the empty container bay, exposing our drivers and motorists who must be on their trucks for 24 hours basis to untold hardship and security risks, while agents continue to lose their shipping companies as long as the containers are on the truck. We call for an urgent agreement on how to drop empty containers at a holding bay outside the terminal.

“Free period before storage charges to be extended to 10 days from the day of discharge of containers from the ship.

“Terminal storage and shipping company demurrage charges must be waived throughout the period of this service withdrawal. Public holidays not to be charged and TDO should be written on Saturdays and Sundays.”

FORUM - From left:, Mr. Radwan Akar, Chairman, Provita Vitaforce Foods, Amb. Moses Essien, Chief Executive Officer, Institute for Government Research Leadership Technology, and Mr. Kassem Tay,the Company Marketing Manager, during the African product forum held in Abuja.

Terminal charges: Agents, terminal operators set for another showdown

By GODFREY BIVBERE & ANGES OBIABO The strike action was however suspended following agreement between the agents and the management of APM Terminal.

Vanguard however gathered that the company has reneged on three of the agreements and the agents are threatening to resume the strike

action.

Vanguard gathered that several meetings have been held over the impending strike between the management of APM Terminal and representatives of some of the freight forwarding group but no agreement has so far been reached.

Confirming this development to Vanguard, Chairman of Apapa Chapter of the Association of Nigeria Licensed Customs Agents, ANLCA,

Olumide Fakanlu, said that a representative of APM Terminal signed the agreement promising to abide and comply with the above but stressed that they have reneged on all but one.

According to him, “They are not abiding with point one to three of the agreement, the level of discussion is Continues on page 22 C M Y K

22 — Vanguard, MONDAY, DECEMBER 22, 2014

Cover Story

Vocation and technical education – a key to improving Nigeria’s development. Part 2

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CONFERENCE - from left Managing Director/CEO Rodot Nigeria Limited, Remi Adeseun presenting Life-Time achievement award to Managing Director/CEO Merit Healthcare Limited, Dr Lolu Ojo which he received on behalf of Prince Julius Adelusi Adeluyi; and Founder/CEO Healthplus, Bukkie George at the 7th HealthPlus annual conference, Thanksgiving dinner and award HELD in Lagos.

Terminal char ges: AAgents, gents, terminal charges: oper at or or another showdown operat ator orss set ffor Continues from page 21 that we want to assist them to abide because it looks like it is a very difficult task for them. We gave them seven days but they came to appeal.

We held a meeting where we said ok, if you think it is difficult for you to do your work, then for the interest of Nigeria as a whole we will assist you.

“If one company can be given 50 percent of the whole import and export traffic in and out of Nigeria, you can then understand what is happening now. AP Molar has been given 47 percent of all the import into Nigeria, so we just have to consider that.

It is a matter of moving from government monopoly to private monopoly, the portion they took is too much for them. We realized that, that is why we said that we will collaborate with them to make them comply but it won’t be by force but they are drafting our operatives to work with them.

“That is what they have been saying for the past six years, no capacity (no space). That they cannot handle more than 200 containers per day and that would not be enough for Nigerians. There are a lot of space at the terminal that they are wasting, so it is just a matter of interest probably, may be they have a hidden agenda, that is as per revenue (What they want to get from the present situation).

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Vanguard also gathered that the decision to resume the strike action may have suffered a setback, as one of the groups, National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders, NAGAFF, have decided not to participate in the strike.

Commenting on this, the ANLCA Apapa boss said, “If they pull out we won’t blame them because we are not unaware that some operators in the industry may have compromised their stand and it is not our business anyway.

Whatever compromise that they may have put themselves into is their cross but as for ANLCA, we do have a standard and ANLCA is known is an international organization with high moral standard."

On his part, Mr. Boniface Aniebonam, Founder of the National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders (NAGAFF), said that his association decided to pull out of the ongoing industrial action in order to save the Nigerian economy from further hardship.

“The economy is losing at least N5 billion daily. Customs is losing N1.4 billion daily.

Government’s external reserve is dropping daily, yet government needs money to fight insurgency,” the NAGAFF Founder stated.

He said NAGAFF pulling out of the strike is without prejudice to ongoing

negotiations by all parties in the matter.

When contacted, Media Consultant of APM Terminal, Bolaji Akinola, who is also Media Consultant of STOAN, said that all the issues have been settled as at Thursday, th December 18 after a meeting with the freight forwarders.

According to him, “The matter has been resolved.

Why are you trying to whip it up? Is it only APMT that operates in this industry? We have a cordial relationship, we had a meeting after the initial problem and we agreed amongst ourselves (both APNT and the agents), we have agreed amicably on the issues and we have moved past that stage.”

Meanwhile, attempt by the terminal operators to resist the efforts of the Nigeria Shippers Council (NSC) to reduce terminal charges including the controversial storage charge, have suffered a legal setback.

The Council had directed shipping companies to reduce their shipping line agency charges from N26, 500 to N23, 850 per TEU and from N48, 000 to N40, and 000 per FEU and directed shipping agencies to refund container deposits to importers and agents within 10 working days after the return of the empty containers.

But not satisfied with the directive of the NSC, terminal Continues on page 23

s the Roman Historian, Plutarch (AD 46-120?) had noted “The mind is not a vessel to be filled but a fire to be kindled.” Given their corrupt and greedy lifestyles Nigeria’s leaders do not seem to care about integrity or moral values.

They are good at predicting the future without creating it. As Peter Drucker has observed “If you want to predict the future, create it.”

In Nigeria, the growing problem of unemployment in the country has contributed largely to the worsening problem of poverty among the populace. Unemployment according to Olaitan (1996) leads to frustration and disillusionment which may result in crime or drug abuse in a futile attempt to escape from and forget the pains and humiliation of poverty and lack. The problem of unemployment, he further stated, has worsened as millions of school leavers and graduates of tertiary institutions have not secured gainful employment over the years.

Unemployment has posed a serious problem not only to the welfare of individuals but also to that of their families. Many able bodied and highly qualified persons who could not secure gainful employment have remained economically dependent on their parents. This is because they lack the necessary occupational skills to be self employed and to effectively function in today ’s world of work.

These occupational skills can be provided by technical and vocational education.

According to Abdulahi (1994) technical education is that aspect of education that involves the acquisition of techniques and application of the knowledge of the science for the improvement of man’s surrounding.

Technical and vocational education prepares one for the world of work with which the individual

become reliant and can make contributions to the development of the society.

As employers look for new talents every year from new graduates, it is important to not only have a solid education but graduates that have features that stand out from the rest of the graduating students. With the economy being more globalized than ever, it is important to have a background and a skill set that allows graduates to become immersed in the global economy right from graduation (Cote, 2007). It is important for these students or graduates to have skills in innovation in technology education and entrepreneurship to be ready to fit into the global market place on which today’s economy depends on. Entrepreneurial Skills Needed by Technical and Vocational Education.

Leadership is not a major cause of Nigeria’s underdeveloped status. Nigeria can become an economic power-house (and realize its visions) only if proper attention is given to education and technological development and promotes and rewards creativity, and channel its material and human resources to productive use. The leaders must recognize the relevance of technical and vocational education in national development and adopt and adapt what works in developed nations. The resources being wasted in the on-going false rebranding campaign should have been used to re-brand the nation’s education sector. No amount of rhetoric (or fanciful slogan) would solve Nigeria’s sociopolitical and economic problems. The leaders could salvage Nigeria’s image by re-branding their mentality and doing the right thing: tackle corruption, reform the electoral system and fix the dilapidated institutions.

Thus, without a fundamental shift in values, beliefs and thinking, and without technological capability, Nigeria will continue to dream of becoming a ‘Great Nation’.

Vanguard, MONDAY, DECEMBER 22, 2014 — 23

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he Consumer Protection agency is now embroiled in a controversy that is leading no where. It has drawn the Council and Coca Cola into a legal battle. The issue in the matter leaves a very sour taste in the mouth. The Director-General, Consumer Protection Council (CPC), Mrs Dupe Atoki has told Nigerians that in the exercise of the mandate of the Council, following complaints of defective products of Coca Cola bottled by the Nigeria Bottling Company, the CPC investigated one of such complaints in respect of two half-filled cans of sprite and substantiated the allegation of product defect and violation of CPC Act, based on which several recommendations were made “and orders thereto issued to Coca Cola.”

The orders are that: the two companies subject their manufacturing process to the Council over a period of 12 months, formulate a shelf life policy to facilitate removal of their expired products from the market, review their traceability policy to make it easier for the companies to track their products and payment of cost of investigation and compensation to the aggrieved party.

No individual or corporate can fault the right of the CPC to carry out such inspection.

It would be wrong by all standard for anyone to attempt to make a defense for Coca-Cola and NBC because there can be no justification for defective products. But, it is equally wrong to deny that manufacturing error is a fact of life in every industry and every country, including the most technologically advanced ones. What is important in such situation is to ensure that such industry is not deliberately endangering consumers and society by condoning frequency of such errors.

What is curious in the CPC vs Coca-Cola and NBC case is the whopping fine of N100million for an offence that was described as ‘two half-filled cans of Sprite’ and also the regulator’s apparent

Of CPC, Coca Cola and the invincible hand of presidency preference to fight the court case in the media.

Perhaps CPC has set a new record on orchestrating legal battles in the media. It is hard to recall a court case so orchestrated by an interested party in Nigeria’s media space. Probably this is CPC’s demonstration of faith in the court of public opinion rather than the conventional courts as the case sounds rather curious and judiciary watchers expect the court to throw it out as the companies in question had filed, and the law allows for a judicial review of the decisions of the CPC on the consumer complaints in question.

As of today, CPC has not released the two cans to the company to cross check if the product was actually adulterated or just half filled.

CPC is claiming a huge N60 million cost of investigation.

It has not explained to Nigerians where the investigation took place. It has not also

explained the experts that conducted an investigation that would cost N60 million on two half filled cans. Was the investigation internal, which agency in or out of Nigeria conducted the investigation? There seems to be no record of the involvement of its sister agency NAFDAC that has laboratory to test products. Is CPC a revenue generating agency of government that would pass its surplus to the federation account? If not, why is it asking the two companies to pay N40 million to its coffer?

The real substance of this case is “two shortfilled cans of Sprite”, i.e. two cans that were not filled to the normal capacity which is an extremely rare but not impossible occurrence in the manufacturing process. Is it the half filled can that constituted health hazard to the consumer?

Certainly this case is not about product quality or safety as there was no contamination or foreign matter in the said two cans of Sprite. It is about

It would be wrong by all standard for anyone to attempt to make a defense for Coca-Cola and NBC because there can be no justification for defective products

the cans not being full to capacity; it is a very rare occurrence and therefore cannot be a deliberate attempt by two companies to shortchange or exploit the consumer. From available record the CPC has not claimed or show any evidence that it conducted a laboratory test or to prove that the content of those two short-filled cans presented any form of health risk to a consumer.

From previous experience, the expectation is that as a matter of due diligence, CPC would have sought to collaborate with sister agencies that are fully equipped to deal with issues of product quality and safety such as NAFDAC and SON in carrying out the said investigation, especially as it relates to the level of risk that the two cans pose to a consumer. But there was no such collaboration.

Due to CPC’s refusal to release the two short-filled cans, the companies seem not to be be able to carry out a laboratory test to determine the exact cause of the short-fill. On a general note, short-filling in beverage cans may result from a number of factors including manufacturing error or unidentified leakage due to inappropriate storage or handling in trade.

The question many

Nigerians are asking is, is it true that the original complainant (consumer) in the case of the two short-filled cans of Sprite is the immediate past Chief of Staff to the President? Is it also true that the incident took place in August 2013 while he was still in office? Is it also true that he forwarded the cans to the Honourable Minister of Industries, Trade & Investments who, in turn, forwarded them to the CPC with a directive to investigate the matter? Is it because of the personality involved that the CPC is doing what it is doing?

As it stands, Nigerians are feeling that there seems to be a correlation between the profile of this complainant and the “passion” with which CPC is handling the matter amounting to the usual abuse of power and position in Nigeria. From the look of things, this matter had dragged to an irreversible point at the time the complainant left office in February 2014.

CPC’s apparent focus on the two short-filled cans of Sprite is not a new norm but an isolated case obviously influenced by the profile of the complainant. The council has neither found nor taken up any other consumer case with equal passion since August 2013 when the case begun, despite the plethora of consumer complaints it receives involving other companies and products across sectors. What is happening CPC? It is a good thing that the matter has gone to court, let the court make its pronouncement on it.

Business & Economy Terminal char ges: AAgents, gents, terminal charges: operators set for another showdown

Continues from page 22 operators under the aegis of Seaport Terminal Operators Association of Nigeria, STOAN and Association of Shipping Lines Agency (ALSA) dragged the Council before the Federal High Court, challenging its powers to reduce their charges.

But the Federal High Court sitting in Lagos Wednesday, 17th of December, 2014 ruled that the Seaport Terminal Operators Association of Nigeria, STOAN, and Association of Shipping Lines Agency (ALSA) should return to status quo over shipping and terminal storage charges.

The trial judge, Justice Ibrahim Buba, upheld the appointment of the Nigerian Shippers’ Council (NSC) as port economic regulator and therefore dismissed a case filed by members of the ALSA against the NSC over a directive to the agencies to reduce their shipping line agency charges (SLAC) and refund container deposits within 10 days.

It also ruled that STAON should revert to what they were charging before the increase in 2009.

AWARD - from left; Prince Gbolahan Lawal, Lagos State Commissioner for Agriculture and Cooperatives; Mr Adelaja Adeleye, President Ultimate Circle of Nigeria and Mr Niyi Oyeyipo, member ultimate circle at the ultimate night held at Eagle Club on Saturday during which Mr Oyeyipo received the club's Landmark Achievement Award.

24 — Vanguard, MONDAY, DECEMBER 22, 2014

Business & Economy

Wavecrest College, IHG sign MoU on training

By CHRIS ONUOHA

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n a bid to enhance and provide technical competence and skilled personnel that will meet the demands of the hospitality industry, a Memorandum of Understanding between the Intercontinental Hotels Group, (IHG) owners of Intercontinental Hotel and Wavecrest College of Hospitality was signed last Tuesday at the Hotel’s Milano Hall, Victoria Island, Lagos to actualize this education and skill acquisition partnership initiative.

Rosana Forsuelo, The provost of WestCrest College, who was very glad on the outcome of the ceremony said, “On behalf of the Women’s Board Educational Society, the Management Team, the Staff, students and alumni of the College, I would like to thank the Intercontinental Lagos, for initiating with us the MOU on Education and Industry partnership.

Speaking further, she noted that, “This Collaboration is in line with what the college stands for which entails training women to be competent professionals.

CSI receives business plan competition award

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igeria’s fast growing In Store advertising solutions provider Consumer Scores International Limited has received the Top Ten business plan competition award for sub Saharan African entrepreneurs. The award was given by the Islamic Development Bank Group following a rigorous selection and mentoring process involving over six hundred applications received from 22 countries in sub Saharan Africa.

The business plan competition was instituted by the Islamic Development Bank Group, Saudi Arabia for sub Saharan African entrepreneurs at the idea and growing business stages. The objective of the competition was to identify high growth entrepreneurs in sub Saharan Africa so as to provide the support and enablers for sustained growth and development.

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PROMO - From left: Brand Manager, StarTimes, Somoye Tunde; Deputy Director, Regulatory and Monitoring, National Lottery Regulatory Commission, Baba Adamu and Public Relation Manager, StarTimes, Israel Bolaji during the StarTimes Season's Jolly Promo draw in Abuja.

AFC raises $300m for trade facilitation

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frica Finance Corporation has announced the close of a $300 million dual tranche, two-year and three-year club facility.

The facility, according to a statement by the AFC, was arranged by six initial mandated lead arrangers (IMLA) and Bookrunners: Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, Limited; Citibank N.A; Deutsche Bank AG; FirstRand Bank Limited; Standard Bank of South Africa Limited; Standard Chartered Bank.

The AFC disclosed that each of the IMLAs and Bookrunners committed funding of US$50 million to the facility, adding that it intends to utilise proceeds of the facility for general corporate purposes including the facilitation of trade.

Subsequent to the initial funding, the AFC stated that the secondary market syndication of the facility was arranged.

“The secondary market syndication witnessed a strong demand for the credit, with new commitments of US$336.5 million obtained from 16 lenders across various geographies such as Asia, Europe and the Middle East, including:Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Limited, Commercial Bank of Kuwait K.P.S.C. “Others are: the Korea

Development Bank, KDB Bank Europe Limited, Burgan Bank S.A.K, Tunis International Bank, First Gulf Bank PJSC, Bank of China Limited, State Bank Of India, Banque des Mascareignes Ltée, Commercial Bank of Qatar Q.S.C, The ExportImport Bank of the Republic of China, Korea Exchange Bank, Al Ahli Bank of Kuwait K.S.C.P, First Commercial Bank Limited, Mega International Commercial Bank Co, United

Taiwan Bank S.A,” the AFC noted.

The AFC further explained that the facility was more than two times over-subscribed during the primary and secondary market process, with AFC receiving total commitment of US$636.5 million from a total of 22 lenders.

Banji Fehintola, Senior Vice President & Treasurer, Africa Finance Corporation commented, “AFC’s long term vision is to help address

Africa’s infrastructure deficit and ensure sustainable economic growth for the continent.

We are encouraged by the confidence that our lenders have placed in us.

“We believe that the well documented need for bridging the infrastructure investment divide across Africa will provide the opportunity to apply AFCs differentiated model of providing long-term infrastructure financing and value added infrastructure asset project development expertise, to generate real value for our investors and stakeholders”.

AFC, a multilateral finance institution, was established in 2007 with a capital base of US$1 billion, to be the catalyst for private sector infrastructure investment across Africa.

AFC’s investment approach combines specialist industry expertise with a focus on financial and technical advisory, project structuring, project development and risk capital to address Africa’s infrastructure development needs and drive sustainable economic growth.

AFC invests in high quality infrastructure assets that provide essential services in the core infrastructure sectors of power, natural resources, heavy industry, transport, and telecommunications. AFC has become the benchmark institution for private sector investment in Africa.

Zero duty on palm oil products threatens local industry —NACCIMA

By FRANKLIN ALLI

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he Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and A g r i c u l t u r e (NACCIMA), weekend, called on the Federal Government to reconsider the ECOWAS CET document and revise the tariff on other palm oil products in line with others whose tariff are clearly stated.

NACCIMA made the call during the presentation of its communiqué on ‘Agricultural Value Chain’ to the Minister of Agriculture and Rural D e v e l o p m e n t , Akinwunmi Adesina, for his consideration and

implementation.

The delegation was received by the Minister of State, Hajia Asabe Ahmed and Director Agro Processing and Marketing Department, Engr.

O.B. Jatto.

Alhaji Mohammed Badaru Abubakar, National President of NACCIMA, who led the delegation, said: “Honourable Minister it is pertinent to draw your attention to the urgent need for this is essential in other not to jeopardize the Transformation agenda of the Federal Government on the Palm revitalization in the Agricultural sector.

“The implication of not indicating the duty payable for this product implies zero duty, consequently if this omission is allowed to stand, it would lead to flooding of the market with these

products through our neighboring countries of Ivory Coast, Ghana, Kotonou and Togo where we are all aware they are mostly dumped, thereby killing the market for locally produced palm oil products.”

“Finally, We wish to reemphasised our Association’s readiness to continue to partner with the Federal Government towards the revitalisation/rejuvenation of our Agricultural Sector, with all of us working as partners in progress, we will be able to achieve food sufficiency for consumption, raw materials for industrial growth and boost our exports potentials in a manner that will make the country achieve the target of being among the first 20 agriculturally developed nations by the year 2020.”

Vanguard, MONDAY, DECEMBER 22, 2014 — 25

Business & Economy

‘Over $100 million flow into China from Nigerians’

Cherie noodles reward winners in promo By PRINCEWILL EKWUJURU

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CEREMONY - Mr Muda Yusuf, Director General, Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry LCCI, (4th left) with graduands of LCCI Business Education Services and Training Programme Scheme 2 during the graduation ceremony held at LCCI building Alausa, Ikeja, Lagos.

By VERA SAMUEL ANYAGAFU

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igerian businessmen in China have expressed the need to have both visiting and resident Nigerians in China process travelling documents to China without much hassles, stressing that Nigerian businessmen alone, flow about $100 million into the city of Guangzhou, China, on a daily basis.

Also concerned about the new development, Nigerian China-based Shanghai Engineering Construction Company (SECC) boss, Mr. Fetus Mbisiogu, told Vanguard that Nigerian businessmen contribute enormously to the development of both China and Nigeria economies, saying that, Nigerians have added value to Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) operations in every facet of China and have created employment even for the locals.

He said that Nigerians maintain the most active and industrious African community in Guangzhou, adding that, while Nigerian businessmen in China own legitimate and reputable companies in China, many Chinese nationals are still registering businesses in Nigeria.

“As a matter of integrity, the Federal government of Nigeria should consider a closer look at the situation and ensure that the new visa application rule by the

Chinese mission in Nigeria is made simpler. The new visa application order by the Guangdong Province (Guangzhou) requiring that Nigeria passport holders, should not be given resident visa, irrespective of their business inclination does not represent the campaigned ongoing healthy bi-trade relationship.

In my observation, this not a balanced diplomacy and does not portray a win-win cooperation envisaged by both parties, “Therefore, on behalf of all Nigerian businessmen who

own legitimate businesses that are bringing development to China and Nigeria, we want this imbalanced situation addressed with utmost concern to the plight of many Nigerians”, Mbisiogu added.

He further stated that diplomacy is a give and take affair, adding that “Nigerians constitute the bulk of AfricaChina business transactions and statistics show that out of 70 per cent of business conducted in Guangzhou, China, 50 per cent are undertaken by Nigerian visiting businessmen, “Nigerians add value to

the SME operations in every facet of the city and have created employment even for the locals. On a daily basis, about $100 Million flow into China from Nigerian businessmen.

And despite the immense contribution Nigerians made to the business development of SinoNigeria Cooperation in the province of Guangdong, one wonders why prospective Nigerian visa applicants to China would not be allowed to have resident visa.

UPS overcomes challenges, rewards customers

By CHIOMA OBINNA

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n line with its annual commitment to customers, United Parcel Service Lagos, one of the global leading courier and logistics firm has overcome some of the challenges facing the industry, just as it thrilled its outstanding customers with different categories of awards and gift items all over the country, where they are present.

The event which witnessed a free raffle draw also rewarded customers with top quality phones, wall clocks, movie tickets at Silverbird Cinema for husband and wife, buffet

ticket to Sheraton hotels for husband and wife, golden pens, flash drives and umbrellas among others.

However, the highpoint of the event were recognition awards of varying degree to UPS esteemed customers.

Some of the wards are Silver Award to Alcatel and Airtel Spares in recognition of their compliance with and utilisation of UPS’sWorldShip, a time-saving IT platform that uploads customers’ information, provides shipping alert, tracking and exporting of shipment data, error free.

This was followed by the gold level category awards to First Bank Nigeria, Diamond bank, Unilever, World-Wide Commercial Ventures (WWCV) and Union Bank with almost 100 percent

Worldship technology compliance.

Speaking at the 2014 customers’ appreciation and award giving day, the Business Development Manager for UPS Nigeria, Emeka Nwangwu who applauded the commitment of the recipient companies for their tech savvy, said the occasion not only provides an avenue for the company to interface with her customers in a non-business and relaxed environment but also to intimate them with newer services, new technologies innovations and their benefits to the customers, especially the UPS WorldShip support.

n keeping with its promise of rewarding and empowering its consumers this season, one of the leading noodles brands in Nigeria, Cherie Noodles on Friday December 12 rewarded several new lucky winners of its recently launched consumer promotion tagged ‘Naira Hunt-Free Money‘ Promo.

The prize presentation which took place at the popular Ikotun market, saw numerous Cherie noodle consumers go home with various cash prizes ranging from N5,000 to N50,000. So far, over 50,000 winners have emerged across the Country since the commencement of the promo in November, with their winnings ranging from N50 to N50,000 being presented to them at various Cherie Noodle retail outlets around the country. The Lagos event was overseen by the Consumer Protection Council, represented by the Head, Lagos Office, Mr. Tam Tamunokonbia.

Speaking at the event, Marketing Manager, Olam Sanyo Foods Limited, makers of the Cherie brand of noodles, Mrs. Bola Adeniji said that the promo was just one of the ways the company is saying ‘thank you’ to its consumers during this Yuletide, and restated the brand’s commitment to continue to delight and enrich the lives of its consumers.

“We have carefully timed the Naira Hunt Promo to coincide with the Yuletide period when people need money to spend on gifts for their families and loved ones, and since the promo was launched, winners have continued to emerge daily across the country and have been redeeming their cash prizes of N50, N100, N500, N1,000, N2,000, N5,000, N10,000 and N50,000,” she said.

Explaining the mechanics of the promo, Adeniji said that what a consumer needs to do is to buy a pack or carton of Cherie Noodles, look inside for the seasoning sachet with the winning amount written on it, and what you see, is what you get! “With the seasoning sachet, the consumer should go to their nearest Cherie retailer and collect their cash instantly. It is that easy and simple!” she further explained.

26 — Vanguard, MONDAY, DECEMBER 22, 2014

Banking & Finance

By BABAJIDE KOMOLAFE

Centenar 00 Centenaryy N 1100 note goes into circulation

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entral Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has commenced circulation of the commemorative centenary N100 notes.

In a statement issued last week, the CBN said, “The commemorative N100 banknote unveiled recently by the President, Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, goes into circulation on Friday, December 19, 2014.

Accordingly, all branches of the Bank have been directed to commence issuance of the currency in their respective locations.

The commemorative note will circulate alongside the existing N 100 note.

The note, which is embedded with features to assist the visually impaired recognize genuine notes, also has other security features easily identifiable through look, feel and tilt of the currency note.

It will be recalled that the CBN Governor, at the unveiling of the new banknote, explained that the new note was designed with enhanced security to offer robust resistance against counterfeiting.

IMF aine fail ttoo IMF,, Ukr Ukraine agree on next bail out

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he International Monetary Fund said Friday it had productive discussions with officials in Ukraine this week, but failed to reach an agreement that would pave the way for Kiev to receive its next bailout tranche next month.

“We found that the Ukrainian authorities are preparing to move decisively on a broad and comprehensive agenda to stabilize and reform the economy, while coping with the difficult challenges that emerged in the last year,” IMF mission chief Nikolay Gueorguiev said in a statement.

“In this context, we advanced substantially our mutual understandings of policy priorities going forward,” he said, adding the IMF mission would return to Kiev in January for further talks.

Ukraine so far has received two tranches under the IMF program, worth a total of $4.6 billion, under a bailout program agreed in April to shore up the country’s foreign currency reserves and support its economy.

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lectronic payment experts have identified smart regulation and increased innovation as critical factors to achieving the objectives of the nation’s Payment System Vision 2020 Speaking at the 2014 annual retreat of the Committee of eBanking Industry Heads (CeBIH), held in Abuja, epayment experts including officials of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Nigeria Interbank Settlement System (NIBSS) emphasised the need for review of the policy regulatory environment of the country’s payment system, so as to improve on the progress recorded in the adoption of electronic payment in the country.

Making a case for smart regulation of the payment system in Nigeria, John Chaplin, a global retail payment expert, noted that though banks desire less regulation, regulation is critical to sustainable competition which is necessary for the growth of the payment industry. He said banks however have a right to better and smarter regulation.

“Frequent rule changes are a sign of bad regulation and deter investment, industry must actively work with regulators to achieve a good outcome. Clear, consistent, even handed and risk-based regulation is the goal”, he said.

Speaking further, he said that, “Leaving the market to market forces will lead to higher cost, which would drive out everybody. Hence the aim of regulation should be to drive down cost”.

In a presentation titled, “Towards smart payments regulation: Global best practice in balancing growth, profit, innovation and fairness in retail payments”, Chaplin called the attention of participants at the retreat to the outcome of a 2012/13 project which reviewed the role of domestic approaches to card payments in global world: Input from 17 schemes. He said among other things, the study reveals a consensus among epayment operators on the need for regulation that encourages level playing field and promote sustainable competition.

On his part, Akeem Lawal, Divisional Chief Executive, Interswich, called for a review of some aspects of regulation of epayment in Nigeria. He said for example, the regulation of pricing is not encouraging to investment, adding, the CBN should allow flexibility in pricing of services in the industry. He said that though the CBN can regulate interchange, it should allow banks to determine incentives offered the objectives of the Payment to merchants and customers.

Vision 2020, and hence called In his opening remarks, on participants at the retreat CeBIH Chairman, Mr. Tunde for ideas that can further Kuponiyi, called for strengthen the nation’s regulation that would payment system. enhance prosperity and Represented by Mr. Dipo innovation in the industry. He Fatokun, Director, Banking said, “It is worthy to note that and Payment System for the industry to prosper Department, CBN, Barau and for innovation to thrive, disclosed that in line with a sound complementary global best practices, the regulatory framework is very CBN has decided to adopt a much required. Such a more collaborative approach framework should provide a to its regulation of the level playing field for all payment system in the players to enable the country as well as promote customer to exercise his self regulation among choices as regards choosing epayment schemes. a particular service provider.

He said, “ Our clear Other important components objective is “to facilitate for such a regulatory economic activities by framework would also providing safe and efficient encompass customer mechanisms for making and protection issues, fraud receiving payments with prevention issues, security minimum risks to the central related issues and fair bank, payments service pricing.” providers and end users, In his keynote address, extending the availability and Deputy Governor, Operations usage to all sectors and Directorate, CBN, Alhaji geographies, banked and Suleiman Barau said the apex unbanked, and conforming to bank is ready to adopt internationally accepted regulation that would regulatory, technical and facilitate the achievement of operational standards.

•Barau

•Kuponiyi

•Chaplin

•Fekry

PSV 2020: Epayment Experts push for smart regulation and innovation “We are not oblivious of international best practices and global standards and we strive continuously to ensure that the Nigerian payments system is at the forefront of payments system development.

Having benchmarked against the Principles for Financial Market Infrastructure issued by the Committee on Payment and Settlement System (CPSS) of the Bank for International Settlement, we seek to bridge observable gaps through specific recommendations.

“Let me also highlight that the Central Bank of Nigeria has indicated a shift in its

Leaving the market to market forces will lead to higher cost, which would drive out everybody.

payments system regulatory stance. The Bank through the Payments System Vision 2020 signified a more collaborative approach to overseeing the national payments system through the following recommendation within the strategy: The strengthening of scheme governance structure to reflect the significantly greater responsibility of scheme management, covering all aspects of risk, business management and operational resilience; The setting up of Scheme Management Board which has the responsibility to complete an annual selfassessment against the CPSS/ IOSCO PFMI. “The significance of this is that self-regulatory principle is being embraced by the Central Bank of Nigeria. This is intended to foster discipline among participants and enhance compliance level to regulations.

It is however, in no way an abdication of the overseer role of the Central Bank of Nigeria for the national payments system.”

Continues on page 38

Vanguard, MONDAY, DECEMBER 22, 2014 — 27

Banking & Finance

CBN introduces additional measure to curb forex speculation *Limits utilisation of interbank dollars to 48hrs *Warns banks against shutting interbank market

By BABAJIDE KOMOLAFE

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he Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on Friday moved to further curb speculative activities in the foreign exchange market as it introduced a 48 hours limit on utilisation of dollars purchased at the interbank market.

Meanwhile the nation’s external reserve continued its downward trend last week, as it fell to $35.27 billion, implying $1.53 billion decline since the beginning of this month.

The limit was announced by Mr. Olakanmi Gbadamosi, Director, Trade and Exchange Department, CBN via a circular titled, “Utilization of funds purchased from the autonomous/interbank foreign exchange market by authorized dealers”. He said, “Further to our circular ref Ref:TED/FEM/FPC/GEN/01/ 026 of 17th December 2014, which requires banks to maintain zero percent of their shareholders funds as foreign exchange trading position as at the close of each business day, we write to inform all authorized dealers and the general public that with effect from the date of this circular, funds purchased from banks by their respected customers at the autonomous/interbank foreign exchange market must be utilized within 48 hours from the date of purchase, failing which such funds must be returned to the CBN for repurchase at the bank’s buying rate.

For the avoidance of doubt, all authorized dealers are to note that the requirement to maintain zero percent of bank’s shareholders funds as foreign exchange trading position as at close of each business day remains in force.

Any observed case of infraction of this circular, in any way whatsoever, will attract appropriate sanctions both to the bank and the customers, which may include suspension from the foreign exchange market. This circular supersedes our earlier with ref: TED/FEM/FPC/ GEN/01/028 of 18th December 2014. Please ensure strict compliance.”

On Thursday, the CBN had reduced banks’ dollar holdings or Net Open Position from one percent to zero percent of shareholders funds

umpired by losses.

Titled, “Foreign Exchange Trading Position of Banks at the closure of each business day”, the circular was signed

by Mr. Mr. Olakanmi I. Gbadamosi, Director, Trade and Exchange Department.

The circular stated, “The Central Bank of Nigeria has observed the recent development in the foreign exchange market and its consequences on the stability of the exchange rates. In order to preserve the stability of the market, the foreign exchange position of individual authorised dealer, which currently stands at one percent of its shareholders funds (SHF) unimpaired by losses, has been temporarily reviewed downward to zero percent with immediate effect.

“Consequently, Authorised Dealers are therefore required to maintain zero percent of their shareholders fund as foreign exchange trading position at the close of each business day. Any infraction of the requirement of this circular, in any way whatsoever, will attract appropriate sanction, which may include suspension from the foreign exchange market.”

A retired top official of CBN who spoke to Vanguard on condition of anonymity said the implication of the circular is that banks cannot hold dollar asset or create dollar liability, except for dollars in the domiciliary accounts of their customers.

A market analyst who spoke on condition of anonymity said that the CBN introduced the restriction because it believes the banks are using their net open position dollars to speculate in the foreign

exchange market. He said this means that banks cannot purchase dollars in the interbank market for trading the following day. They must ensure that any dollar they buy is sold at the end of the day. He said the implication is that for any bank to purchase dollars at the interbank, it must ensure there is a demand from customers for that dollar, adding this has effectively shut down the interbank foreign exchange market.

Measures can trigger further naira depreciation

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n Middle Africa Briefing Note titled, “Nigeria: Will Tighter FX Market Regulations Work?”, analysts at Ecobank Nigeria said that the new restriction will increase volatility of the exchange rate and lead to further depreciation of the naira to N195 per dollar at the end of the year.

They stated, “By this regulation, the CBN aims to remove the banks’ ability to hold FX position, and subsequently limiting their speculative motive. The revised regulation also tighten how dollars can be used, as well as restrict access to foreign exchange to only legitimate and official document-backed FX transactions, thereby clamping down on FX flows.

“Tightening the conditions that allow access to dollars while making no changes to how foreign exchange is supplied will further heighten naira volatility, with further depreciation most likely; as such we expected naira to trade between N190 and

N195 per dollar month-end December 2014.”

In the immediate, the OTC FX market liquidity is eroded, thereby creating a non-competitive market devoid of price transparency and discovery.

Tightening the conditions that allow access to USD while making no changes to how FX is supplied will further heighten NGN volatility, with further depreciation most likely; as such we expected NGN to trade between USD1: NGN190-195 month-end December 2014. ? By this regulation, the oil company bids will be on effective demand basis, as the banks are not allowed to keep position.

The likely implication of this is that most of the oil companies will explore the option of selling directly to CBN. While the CBN’s reason for the circular is to maintain the stability of the NGN, it is not clear how the CBN intends to achieve this objective, given following recent, sharp fall in Brent oil prices, and uncertainty over the normalization of US monetary policy following the end of QE III in October.

Meanwhile, over regulation of the FX market, which is underpinned by a free-float exchange rate policy, could be counterproductive by deterring portfolio inflows seeking to buy high yielding government securities.

Overall, the circular will create more volatility that will require another set of CBN’s circulars to address USD supply and demand bottlenecks.

As such, the CBN might need to continue to intervene in the interbank FX market.

Don’t close interbank, CBN warns banks

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eanwhile, the CBN has warned banks against shutting down the interbank market. Vanguard investigation revealed that following the reduction in banks NOP to zere percent on Thursday, banks’ foreign exchange dealers held a meeting to brainstorm the impact of the reduction on the foreign exchange market. It was gathered that, when the apex bank got wind of the meeting and the possibility of the meeting ending with a resolution to suspend interbank market trading, a top official of the CBN called some of the banks and threatened to withdraw the foreign exchange dealership if they make such decision.

World Bank: Six countries lost $35bn due to Syrian war and ISIS

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World Bank study has revealed that six countries sustained economic losses amounting to $35 billion due to the Syrian war and the rise of the Islamic State (ISIS).

The countries include Turkey, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq and Egypt. In a study by the World Bank, a copy of which was obtained by the Anadolu Agency, the Bank reported that the overall economic size of these countries could have grown by $35 billion if the war had not erupted. The report also explained that the total cost of the war is equivalent to Syria’s GDP in 2007.

The World Bank said the losses were not evenly distributed as some countries were affected more by the wars than the others as they felt the brunt of the direct economic costs. Syria and Iraq’s per capita losses amounted to 23 per cent and 28 per cent respectively.

The embargo on trade with Syria is a major factor behind the direct costs, and this was followed by a decline in the labour force, particularly in skilled labour, due to casualties, refugees leaving the country, destruction of infrastructure, and a spike in the cost of trade activity in conflict areas.

Yen weakens on BOJ Stimulus as Ruble advances

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he yen fell to a oneweek low against the dollar after the Bank of Japan maintained unprecedented monetary stimulus as the U.S. Federal Reserve moved toward raising borrowing costs for the first time since 2006.

Japan’s currency slid versus all of its 16 major peers as a rally in Asian stocks sapped demand for safety. A gauge of the dollar headed for a weekly gain on the outlook for higher U.S. interest rates.

Russia’s ruble rose as a shortterm cash crunch spurred demand. Norway ’s krone gained for a fourth day against its Swedish counterpart as Brent crude rose. A measure of foreignexchange volatility pared a fourth week of gains.

28 — Vanguard, MONDAY, DECEMBER 22, 2014

Corporate Finance

NBCC commends Dangote on Forbes African Person Award

By NAOMI UZOR

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he Nigerian-British Chamber of Commerce, NBCC, has commended the President of Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, on his award as the Forbes Africa Person of the Year 2014 by Forbes Magazine.

In a statement by the President of NBCC, Prince Adeyemi Adefulu, he said, the Chamber agrees with the encomiums showered on Alhaji Dangote at the Forbes Award ceremony, as he is the Lion of Africa in terms of business investment.

“By the Award, Forbes was only affirming what the NBCC already knew about Alhaji Dangote. In selecting Alhaji Dangote as a Patron of the NBCC in 2013, the Chamber had closely monitored with satisfaction, his steady meteoric rise in business and social service leadership by prodigious hard work, strategic business planning and focused entrepreneurial ingenuity” he stated.

Transcorp Hilton Abuja entices customers with promo

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ranscorp Hilton Abuja has announced a promotion for the Christmas and New Year holidays tagged ‘Festive Cheer Hilton Style’.

The promotion offers Guests a chance to enjoy the festive season at Transcorp Hilton Abuja at specially discounted rates on room per night including buffet breakfast and taxes.

The promotional rates according to the hotel’s General Manager ,Etienne Gailliez, are for 2 adults and 2 children sharing a room and are valid from this weekend till first week of next year.

‘This festive season offers us a unique opportunity to delight our Guests with special rates, leisure and culinary offerings.

Banks' collaboration on mobile money critical to financial inclusion

By PETER EGWUATU

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perators in both c a p i t a l market and money market segment of the financial sector have emphasized that mobile banking services and collaboration among the telecommunication operators will help achieve the financial inclusion objective of the Federal Government and thus help in improving the overall growth of the economy.

Latest figures from the Central Bank of Nigeria show that more than 68 million adult Nigerians, mostly in the rural areas and the informal sector, are unbanked.

Operators in the financial market believe that this is expected to reduce by 20 per cent in the next five years following the introduction of the cashless policy by the apex bank. A key thinking behind the policy is that the difficultto-reach locations in the country will be better served by mobile banking services. For this to work, collaborations with mobile telecommunications providers become essential because they have the infrastructure and the extensive network to reach every part of the country; MTN, for instance, has a presence in more than 10,000 communities in Nigeria. Its fibre optic transmission backbone spans in excess of 10,000 km. Its partnership on the Diamond Y’ello Account ensures the GSM provider’s over 58 million subscribers can automatically sign on for the Diamond Y’ello Account. Other mobile financial services partnerships include UBA and Airtel on the one hand, and Globacom and Stanbic IBTC, Ecobank, Zenith, and First Bank on the other.

These collaborations make sense if the magical 20 per cent reduction in the unbanked population must be achieved; for many, the only link they would have with a bank in the foreseeable future is through the mobile money account. Unlike in some other parts of the world mobile telephony is widespread in Africa and a significant number of the continent’s population rely on mobile telephony for

CONVENTION - From left: Mr. Shi Weiliang, Vice President Huawei West Africa, Prof. Chinedu Nebo, Minister of Power and his entourage at the 11th Annual West African Power Industry Convetion in Lagos recently. their communications needs. It is this phenomenon that the banking industry hopes to leverage on to take banking to the unbanked.

“The Nigerian banking industry is over a hundred years old, but can boast of only about 40 million bank accounts. In the 14 years of mobile telephony in Nigeria, the telcos have grown a robust subscriber base of 120 million customers and still counting,” said erstwhile CEO of

Diamond Bank, Alex Otti, while giving the rationale for partnering MTN for the Diamond Y’ello Account.

Meanwhile, there is no better endorsement of the mobile banking services drive in Nigeria than the recent acquisition of a $147 million (about N27 billion) minority stake in Diamond Bank by Carlyle Group. Carlyle is a US-based global alternative asset manager with $203 billion of assets under management across 129 funds and 141 fund of funds vehicles. The acquisition is said to be based on the projection that Diamond

Bank’s new mobile banking service “ will help rapidly boost the lender’s customers and profits.”

The Group’s projection is not without basis though.

Since the introduction four months ago of Diamond Y’ello Account, a mobile money product Diamond Bank launched in partnership with mobile telecommunications giant, MTN Nigeria, the bank has grown its mobile banking customer base by more than 600,000. The bank projects that it would have five million mobile banking customers, many times the current size, a year from now.

BoI facility boosts Swipha, May & Baker operations products around the Millennium

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By FRANKLIN ALLI

wiss Pharma Nigeria Ltd and May and Baker Nigeria Plc say the credit facilities they secured from the Bank of Industry (BoI) have boosted their operational performances in terms of expansion of their production facilities and upgrading of quality control systems to the international standards.

The two drug firms recently obtained the current Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) compliance certification from the World Health Organisation, WHO, to produce and export their products to other countries.

Colin Cummings , the chairman/chief executive of Swipha, noted that as a result of the bank’s intervention fund , the company has been developing new

Development Goals 4, 5 and 6 of the government to combat malaria, maternal health challenges, diarrhea and bacterial infections.

“Bank of Industry has been crucial to us moving ahead and without their support we wouldn’t have managed to get to where we are so quickly and also we need their assistance in getting to the next stage which is the pre-qualification of specific products,” he said.

Similarly, Nnamdi Okafor, the managing director/chief executive of May and Baker disclosed that by June 2015 the company would have had its Anti-retroviral drug certified, having upgraded their facility to WHO standards with an expanded capacity, that has enabled the creation of additional 500 jobs and about 1000 indirect jobs with BoI’s support.

Vanguard, MONDAY, DECEMBER 22, 2014 — 29

C M Y K

30 — Vanguard, MONDAY, DECEMBER 22, 2014

E- Commerce

Huawei lists challenges facing enterprise IT infrastructure

By PETER EGWUATU

H

uawei has stated that the requirements from new-generation customers present the enterprise business with transformation challenges and drive reforms in enterprise Information Technology, IT infrastructures in order to meet the requisites of the big data era.

Speaking at the Huawei Western Europe Communication Information Officers , CIO Forum which brought together over 300 customers, partners and industry professionals from across Western Europe to share experiences and engage in discussion about the changing nature of IT and how to make a better connected, technologicallyenabled future a reality, Kevin Tao, President, Huawei Western Europe said: Customer needs are the lifeline of any enterprises.

Customers now require much more than traditional PCs in achieving mobility and convenience. This tech-savvy generation follows micro blogs, maintains interpersonal relationships on social networking websites, favors online shopping, and wants to enjoy a free, entertaining, sharable, and ultimate IT-enabled lifestyle.”

He stated that Big data is derived from a variety of sources, including: Increasingly complex enterprise customer information data, classification data, and online trading records.

According to him “Data and logs generated by complex terminal devices such as postPC devices, video surveillance terminals, and Internet of Things (IOT) sensors. Various types of social data arising from blogs, microblogs, photos, videos, and customer feedback information; Traditional IT servers, tapes, and scale-up devices cannot implement management and analysis of ZB-level data.2. The global economic situation is growing tight. So, how do enterprises make most use of their IT budgets? “ In his words “According to a survey, enterprises spend 73 per cent of their budgets on basic services, leaving a mere 27 per cent to support business operations.

CONFERENCE - From left: Managing Consultant, VSL Consulting Ltd, Mr Ubandigbo Okonkwo; Executive Director, Small and Medium Enterprises,Bank of Industry, Mr Waheed Olagunju; Assistant Director/Head, Development Finance, Central Bank of Nigeria, Mr Adebisi A Adedeji and Deputy President, NASME, (SOUTH) Prince Orimadegun at the 15th MSME International Confrence and Exhibition in Lagos on Wednesday

MoboFree to leverage ad solution for 2015 elections Stories by JONAH NWOKPOKU

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oboFree.com, a social marketplace has introduced advertising solutions for the upcoming 2015 general elections.

Speaking on the unveiling of the ad platform, MoboFree’s

Co-Founder, Mr. Cristobal Alonso, said, “Internal survey run on MoboFree last month disclosed that 92 percent of survey participants are going to vote in upcoming 2015 election. Such survey results and the fact that the MoboFree platform has up to 60 million page impressions and 8 million private messages monthly,

confirms that MoboFree is a significant channel for reaching potential voters.”

“In Nigeria, we have over 2 million registered users.

But in contrast to other digital channels with high volume of traffic, we can also ensure effectiveness of advertising by very sharp targeting and extremely engaging unique advertising solutions,” he added.

He said that at Mobofree.com, advertisers can target campaigns by Age, Gender, Marital status, Location, Operating system and several other criteria.

This, he noted, provides unlimited opportunities for candidates in the upcoming election.

“Want to reach 30-35 year old male entrepreneurs living in Abuja? With MoboFree it can be done with ease and on comparatively low budgets, as there is no need to allocate funds for reaching citizens who are not potential voters,” he said.

Explaining further, he said that, “While traditional banners and text ads can be used on the MoboFree platform for any election related campaign, many more original and much more engaging options exist with integrated “call for action” features – like polling, private messages or even internal games when users are activated to express their opinion, make suggestions for candidates and share ideas on varied socially important topics like health, security and education.”

He added that such tools as polling systems that are integrated into the MoboFree platform can be used by politicians and political observers as means of monitoring the political landscape and activities in Nigeria.

Lamudi improves website interface to simplify house-hunting

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nline property marketplace, Lamudi.com has relaunched with a complete revamp of its website to offer a more intuitive design that streamlines the online house-hunting process for users globally.

The new website introduces a responsive design, with the site adapting to match the user’s particular device and screen size.

The platform’s appearance has been improved to display properties for sale and rent in an easier-to-read format with larger photos.

Dedicated sections for real estate agencies and new space for advertisements have also been introduced.

Lamudi is a global real estate portal focusing exclusively on the emerging markets. The website is currently available in 28

countries in these regions.

The new design has been rolled out for all countries in Asia, the Middle East and Africa, with Latin America to be re-launched in early 2015.

To ensure the website remains highly relevant for each of its local markets, Lamudi has introduced different variations of the website, including a customised search field for each country.

Speaking on the new website, Lamudi’s Global CoFounder, Kian Moini, said: “This redesign puts the user

at the center of our product.

The responsive design is very important because we know an increasing number of our users access Lamudi on a mobile device in addition to a desktop Personal Computer. The new design is tailored to our customers’ needs, making it easier than ever before to find the perfect property online and to contact real estate agents via phone, SMS or email.

At the same time, we will be introducing a variety of new features to cater for

our partners, particularly agents and brokers. This is why we have introduced dedicated sections to showcase real estate agencies and created more space for listings, photos and advertisements.”

Also speaking, Managing Director Lamudi Nigeria, Obi Ejimofo, said: “My favourite feature is the new home page design, it is simpler with a much more intuitive search paradigm all designed to increase the ease with which users can find a new home."

Sceneflix launches cinema app on Android, iOS

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frica’s premier cinema app, SceneFlix has launched on the Android and iOS Platforms.

Sceneflix, in a bid to bring the cinema closer to movie lovers, through their mobile phones, has introduced a mobile application, which will enable its users gain access to cinema

locations, latest blockbuster, premier and short movies; by simply downloading the free application on Google Play and iOS App Store.

Co-Founder and Creative director of Sceneflix, Adenola Olateru-Olagbegi, said: “The idea is borne out of the desire to deliver topof-the-range entertainment to movie lovers at

exceptional and unrivalled speed.”

According to him, “the Sceneflix App is free and user friendly showcasing landmarked cinemas and movie theaters based on updated listings on the go.

The app enables its users to utilize their power of choice with movie-theater locations and real-time up to date movie show times within the geographic region.”

Vanguard, MONDAY, DECEMBER 22, 2014 — 31

Homes & Housing Finance

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he Federal Government has launched about 10,000 units of various types of houses under the Nationwide Workers’ Housing Scheme in Apo Tapyi District, Abuja.

President Goodluck Jonathan said at occasion that the target of his administration is to deliver about 100,000 housing units under the Nationwide Workers’ Housing Scheme in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and the 36 states of the federation.

The development which is in continuation efforts to reduce the housing deficit in the country, will bring a big relief to federal government workers across the country.

FG inaugurates nationwide workers’ housing scheme

By YINKA KOLAWOLE Jonathan noted that the initiative is part of the transformation agenda of his administration to provide adequate and affordable houses to Nigerians particularly, the workers.

“The federal government will continue to partner with the private developers to provide affordable houses to bring down the cost houses in the

country”, he said.

The president commended the efforts and seriousness to the scheme by the developer, Good Homes Development Company Limited.

He also commended the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress (TUC) for partnering the federal government in the quest to

provide shelter for workers, and urged all Nigerian workers to key into the scheme to enable the government make this houses available at the scheduled time.

Earlier, FCT Minister, Senator Bala Mohammed remarked that the right to shelter is an economic, social and cultural right.

Firm set to deliver solar-powered model homes

By EBERE ORAKPO

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SC Solar UK Ltd., a solar panel/inverter manufacturing company, is set to deliverr 10,000 units of model solarpowered 1 & 2- bedroom affordable houses spread over several states and regions in Nigeria, Ghana, Benin, Niger, Togo and Chad.

Managing Director/CEO of the company, Dr. Patrick Owelle, disclosed this at the official power-up ceremony held at the model site at Warewa, Ogun State.

“We want to provide decent and affordable housing such that even a security guard earning N100,000 a year can own a house just like in the US. So if they can pay as little as N100,000 deposit, they will have title document to the house.

“The most important thing for me is that this is a cross section of people that have been forgotten in this country and I think we are empowering them. We are developing estates where people can own instead of rent houses so I think all in all, that is the way forward.

Another important aspect is that we guarantee electricity there 24 hours a day and seven days a week. That is something we cannot boast of anywhere else and they do not have to pay for the electricity, it is part of the package,” he said.

Owelle further stated that “the double whammy” of inadequate electricity supply and affordable housing precipitated the need for the initiative. “They will live in a two-bedroom home, howbeit a small home but it is their home for the

•Solar-powered model house

entirety of their life. As their finances get better, they can then upgrade to a bigger house and sell or rent out the smaller one.”

He said the typical housing project will be located within 15 – 45 meters drive of major cities, noting that they are in discussions with several state and federal government in Nigeria, Ghana, Togo, Niger, Benin and Chad to build affordable single family housing units powered exclusively by solar power located in the suburbs of major cities in all

the six countries.

He said each unit will be built on a plot of 300sqm and 750 units are planned for the estate with three open parks and green space. “The first of the estates is scheduled to be constructed on the 100acre/600plot PSC Solar UK Ltd Gardens Estate at Warewa, along Lagos/ Ibadan Expressway less than 10 minutes drive to Alausa, Ikeja Lagos or 25 minutes drive to the Murtala Mohammed International Airport.

This will be the first housing

estate in Nigeria where diesel or petrol generator with their attendant fumes and noise pollution are banned. Each home will sell for between N2 million and N4.5 million depending on space and options.

Prospective owners only require 10 per cent down payment and can pay on monthly basis over a period five, 10 or 15years at single digit interest rate making home ownership cheaper than rest in the big cities,” he stated.

Mutual Benefits commissions housing estate

By ROSEMARY ONUOHA

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oised to reduce the housing needs of Nigerians and to provide affordable homes to all Nigerians, Mutual Benefits Assurance Plc has commissioned and handed keys to owners of its housing estate in Iponri, Lagos.

The estate known as Mutual Alpha Court is made up of four bedroom apartments on two floors with an additional two bedroom apartment on the ground floor as service quarter or income generator if leased to a tenant.

Overall the estate has 18 blocks of 54 units and two blocks of two units and is accessible to main arterial axis roads to the Island and the state capital.

Speaking at the c o m m i s s i o n i n g , Commissioner for Insurance, Mr. Fola Daniel, applauded the effort of the company in not only taking insurance to the grass root but also making affordable housing possible in Nigeria.

Represented by Deputy Director, Mr. Faruna Monday Adaji, Daniel said insurance companies have a big role to play in making sure that insurance play an enduring role in the lives of customers.

Group Managing Director, Mr. Akin Ogunbiyi, said that a flexible payment plan has been put in place by the company with a mortgage firm on 60 percent of sales prices.

He added that the company is poised to use insurance to bring enduring value to the relationship with its customers, adding that the company’s needs based selling model makes it compelling for the company to provide beneficially unique risk management solution.

According to him the risk company’s involvement into housing development was to compliment governments’ initiatives at providing affordable homes to fellow Nigerians.

Also speaking, Senior Special Assistant to Lagos State Governor on Housing, Mr. Micheal Akindele, representing the Commissioner of Housing, commended Mutual Benefits Assurance for the giant strides.

Vanguard, MONDAY, DECEMBER 22, 2014 — 33

Vanguard, MONDAY, DECEMBER 22, 2014 — 33

34 —Vanguard, MONDAY, DECEMBER 22, 2014

Why Coca Cola must be held to account (1)

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hat is good for General Motors, is good for America.

That was a cardinal principle of American life at a time when General Motors, GM, was not only the largest corporation in the United States, but the world as well.

Governments literally prostrated before GM which was also the largest employer of labor for several years. No President of the United States dared to openly attack GM and any presidential aspirant who made even the mildest negative remark about GM was certain to lose. GM was Americas second god. The company could do no wrong.

Or so it seemed.

The challenge and humbling of GM came from a source totally unexpected.

As a wise one had said, when fortune plots the downfall of any entity person, government or company it chooses a method and an instrument totally unexpected. That was what happened to giant GM when a man called Ralph Nader, wrote a book titled UNSAFE AT ANY SPEED. Until the book was launched, GM had always prided itself on producing the best cars

possible in America and, perhaps, the world as well.

Naders book took aim at the core of GMs pride by claiming that GMs cars were anything but safe. This was economic sacrilege of the highest order and GM was

At the moment, Coca Cola, in Nigeria, is locked in combat with consumers claiming they were sold defective Coca Cola brands and who approached the C.P.C with evidence to support their claims. not going to take this insult lying low. They went after the author. History would record that in what was another

instance of David versus Goliath, David beat Goliath to a pulp. GM was forced to reappraise its production methods and to improve the safety of its cars after humbly admitting that Nader was right after all. But, it required the patriotism and good sense of fellow Americans to save Nader from the almighty GM. What has that got to do with Nigeria and Coca Cola, one of the worlds greatest brands?

The worlds largest selling soft drink brand also enjoys global support and clout based on its presumed quality attributes.

It is quite possible that the company had, inadvertently, allowed complacency to creep into its operations; just like that which jolted GM in the 1970s.

Coca Cola has fallen foul of the Nigerian Consumer Protection Council C.P.C. Anybody who thinks that this is just a domestic dispute is ignorant of the impact of globalization of brands and competition. Coca Cola cannot risk its reputation for quality in any market, anywhere in the world especially the largest in Africa.

Global sector leaders, like Coca Cola faced with intense competition from Pepsi Cola, among others, cannot afford to lose in a challenge to their quality and safety image.

Stone-walling is their first line of defense. That means they deny every allegation irrespective of its validity.

Facts are released to point to the rigorous process and quality control policy designed to ensure perfect quality. The problem with that approach is that it deliberately ignores the fact that no system designed by man can be errorfree.

When that fails, they go after the complainant and/or the regulatory agency which has the temerity to question a global giant. When that occurs, they will stop at nothing to intimidate all those who challenge the company and its brand. That is understandable because trillions of naira are at stake worldwide and one successful claim against the brand could have serious consequences.

At the moment, Coca Cola, in Nigeria, is locked in combat with consumers claiming they were sold defective Coca Cola brands and who approached the C.P.C with evidence to support their claims. The C.P.C must have considered the facts sufficiently credible to warrant an investigation; as a result of which it ruled that Coca Cola had a case to

answer. Predictably, Coca Cola had reacted in the classic manner it rejects all the evidence. That is the mildest of the reactions. Apparently, having failed to stop the claimants and C.P.C, the company is now adopting Plan B intimidation. That is precisely where Nigerians, as a whole, must insist that the entire truth should be revealed. Two important reasons argue for civil society to get involved in this controversy.

First, Coca Cola young people constitute the consumers of soft drinks. It is bad enough that, despite all the evidence arguing for lower consumption, kids continue to drink rivers of Coke. Second, parents and adults, who will suffer collateral damage, if anything happens to the kids, have an interest in what the kids ingest. Businesses have a legitimate right to promote their brands; but, the marketing must be done with strict compliance with the law and the safety of consumers in mind at all times.

Adults have enough problems coping with the over-consumption of sugary carbonated soft drinks; they should not have to worry about anything else.

NEXT WEEK. The facts of the story.

Economy

Nigeria’s growth to slow to 5% in 2015

By JONAH NWOKPOKU

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igeria's growth rate will slow to about 5 percent next year as a drop in oil’s price and a depreciating currency put pressure on the economy according to the International Monetary Fund IMF said the drop in crude prices will exert pressure on Nigeria’s fiscal revenue and spending, with a depreciation of the local currency expected to boost inflation, adding that the economy will expand 6.9 percent this year.

Recall that in response to the declining oil prices and its impact on the nation’s currency and external reserves, the Central Bank of Nigeria, devalued the naira last month even as the Federal Government proposed spending cuts for next year.

The IMF said that Nigeria’s fiscal and external “buffers” C M Y K

are low and need to be rebuilt, since the oil savings, the Excess Crude Account, has depleted to $3 billion from $21 billion in 2008.

According to IMF’s Nigeria representative, Gene Leon,”Nigeria remains vulnerable to oil price volatility and global financial developments.” He added that, “There are domestic risks including uncertainty ahead of February elections and security.”

He further noted that, “Capital outflows have continued and, with lower oil receipts, have led to sustained pressure on the naira. Despite the outlook, Nigeria could surmount its challenges, especially if a national spirit of burden sharing and rebuilding together is actively embraced.”

Recall also that last month, the Coordinating Minister of the

Economy and the Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi OkonjoIweala also warned that Nigerians should brace up for the impact of the declining price of crude oil in the global market.

Speaking at the Institute for International Finance’s 2014 Africa Financial Summit in Lagos, hosted by Access Bank Plc, Okonjo-Iweala, disclosed that event unfolding over the last couple of weeks have cast a shadow over the global economy, especially Nigeria and other African countries.

She reiterated the fact that commodity prices are declining globally in the last couple of days, with the Bonny Light, Nigeria’s reference crude, trading at about $83 per barrel.

The price has nosedived further to about $59 per barrel as at yesterday.

This, she said, is assuming a

disturbing dimension, especially as crude oil export accounts for about 83 per cent of Nigeria’s total export, as well as the fact that the country has to grapple with falling quantity.

She said, “Without a doubt, this slowdown in global economic activity, coupled with the end in the quantitative easing in the United States of America, will affect sub-Saharan Africa’s economy, in addition to other regions specific challenges we face at the moment.

“As we all know, many countries on the continent depend on commodity exports as the main source of revenue.

“Nigeria and other countries in the African continent must step back and learn the lessons of the ongoing economic transformation in the country. The Federal Government has put in place

strong stabilization policy, but the most important thing is that we must be able to sustain it.”

She stated that Nigeria, as well as other countries must be prepared to adjust and manage the economic headwinds looming in the horizon.

To adjust, according to her, Nigeria must adopt belttightening measures, plug leakages, focus on increasing revenue generation, identify and support sectors that have the potential to create jobs.

Continuing, she ruled out plans to borrow funds, saying that Nigeria cannot afford to go a borrowing to plug its deficit, but will, instead, adopt belt-tightening measures.

She said, “As external pressures mount in the face of falling commodity prices, the pressure to ‘go aborrowing’ to maintain fiscal expansion will also increase.

But we cannot afford to do this.

We need to make necessary adjustments with tighter fiscal and monetary policy.

Vanguard, MONDAY, DECEMBER 22, 2014 — 35

Micro-Finance

Commodity Index Dec. 05 - Dec. 11, 2014

AWARD - MD/CEO Accion Microfinance Bank, Ms. Bunmi Lawson (2nd right), flanked by staff displaying award as the financial service provider that has deepened financial inclusion for the year.

Lafarge commits 15bn to train young builders Stories by PROVIDENCE OBUH

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afarge WAPCO cement has committed N15 billion so as to train youths in the building sector of Nigeria, just as it introduced Artisan C a p a b i l i t y Enhancements Programme (ACE).

In a statement made available to FV, the

Cement Technology Institute of Nigeria, CTIN, comprising of Lafarge WAPCO, Dangote Cement and other cement stakeholders, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with ITF on the training of artisans and craftsmen in the construction industry, where CTIN and ITF entered into an

ITF, SMEDAN, others train 37,000 youths in 2yrs The Industrial Training Fund, (ITF) in collaboration with Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) and Bank of Industry (BoI) have trained about 37,000 youths in two years.

The training was carried out under the National Industrial Skills Development Programme, (NISDP) introduced by the Federal Government in 2012.

Director General, ITF, Dr. Juliet ChukkasOnaeko, disclosed this at an interactive forum with the theme: ‘Moving forward and succeeding together’ in Lagos.

“No nation develops by merely exporting raw materials without having a booming industrial sector,” she said.

Onaeko reiterated its four point agenda: to escalate the number of Nigerians trained to two million annually; fully automate ITF business processes; ensuring 100 per cent each of collection of training contributions and implementation of Students Industrial Work Experience Scheme (SIWES).

She pointed out that the four point agenda is intended to ensure effective service delivery that will add value to the bottom line of esteemed clients’ operations and guarantee full actualization of its mandate.

“As part of our commitment to building the capacity of middle level manpower in Nigeria, the ITF in conjunction with Nigeria Employers Consultative Association (NECA) has set up a Technical Skills Development Project (TSDP),” she said.

agreement to jointly see to the training of more than 70 million Nigerians along building construction business value chain.

Managing Director, WAPCO Operations, Mrs. Adepeju Adebajo, said that Lafarge Africa embarked on vocational training on block making for the youths to enhance the capacity of professionals and artisan groups with a view to improving construction practice in Nigeria.

“Block making as a vocation in Nigeria is largely unregulated, existing standards are largely unenforced and the entry barrier into the trade is almost non existence and this places block makers at liberty to produce blocks in line with experience, which sometimes is at variance with standards,” Adebajo said.

DG, ITF, Dr. Juliet Chukkas Onaeko, said that the collaboration between CTIN and ITF on such training was a signal of something great and revolutionary geared towards r e d u c i n g unemployment in the country.

She disclosed that the maiden edition of the programme would start in nine states within the country with about 3,000 trainees.

To this end, she appealed to all state governments to key into the programme by making their citizens participate in the training.

36 — Vanguard, MONDAY, DECEMBER 22, 2014

Tax Matters

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tandard Integrated Government Tax Administration System (SIGTAS) which was created in Created in Canada

by CRC Sogema is in place in over 20 countries around the world with implementation currently underway in several other countries. It was ccustomized to reflect Nigeria tax legislation and it replaces the current Web portal system used for all taxpayers and all tax types in Nigeria.

All taxpayers will be registered in SIGTAS. In SIGTAS, a taxpayer can be an individual, a small business, or a legal entity, such as a partnership or a large incorporated company. Also, small businesses (unincorporated) are registered under their owners. These businesses are called “Individual Enterprises.”

For incorporated businesses, details of directors/partners are recorded. These are recognized in SIGTAS as “Non-Individual Enterprises”.

Transfer of Taxpayers to SIGTAS With the launching of SIGTAS, data from Web portal will be converted into SIGTAS, and a new Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN) will be automatically assigned to each taxpayer .Tax balances will also be transferred into SIGTAS. And a single and unique TIN will be issued to cover all taxpayer’s affairs.

Registration and account setup for New Taxpayers on SIGTAS •The taxpayer submits a completed registration form to JTB/FIRS. •The form is verified and its data captured into SIGTAS •The TIN request process ensures that conditions are met for the issuance of the new TIN. •A single and unique TIN is issued to cover all taxpayer’s affairs.

•All required tax accounts are connected to a taxpayer’s single and unique TIN. Tax accounts include: Value added Tax (VAT), Company Income Tax (CIT), Withholding Tax (WHT), Petroleum Profit Tax (PPT) etc.

In SIGTAS, all the different tax types are configured with the appropriate rules which apply to them, such as schedule, tax period, formulae for assessment calculations, penalties, etc.

Tax Return Submission •Taxpayer submits tax return according to schedule for particular tax type.

•Tax return is registered into SIGTAS with unique document number.

Taxpayers Registration, Assessment and Collection with Standard Integrated Government Tax Administration System (SIGTAS)

CSR - Left: Ikhine Sunday Paul, Assistant Headmaster. Bonny Camp Nursery and Primary School, Victoria Island, receiving sets of computer and drum sets from Tony Opanachi, Deputy Managing Director, Ecobank Nigeria, donated by Ecobank as part of its CSR support to the school in Lagos.

•For certain tax types, supporting documents such as Financial Statements can also be registered on the taxpayer’s file.

Tax Return Data Captured •If the tax return form (remittance) has been fully filled out, data from each line is captured into SIGTAS. •As data is captured, SIGTAS displays the correct values for calculated fields, in addition to whatever the taxpayer has submitted (using two columns).

Line 3: 2,000 2,000 LINE 4:

500

1,000

For example, Line 3 is a declared value and Line 4 is a calculated value (50% of Line 3). Although the taxpayer has recorded this on his return as N500, SIGTAS applies the configured formula for the assessment calculation for this tax type, and corrects the figure to N1000 for the purpose of the assessment.

Assessment Issued •After verification of the data capture, the assessment is calculated and printed.

•Assessments are then sent to taxpayers •If there is any discrepancy, assessments are based on

SIGTAS’ calculations, not the taxpayer ’s.

•The assessment shows the taxpayer ’s name, TIN, tax type, tax period, summary information from the lines of the remittance, the amount of tax payable and the due date.

It also bears a unique document number.

Payment •The taxpayer presents the assessment document to the Bank cashier, along with a cheque or cash payment.

•The unique document number identifies the taxpayer, tax type, tax period,

amount due and due date when it is captured into SIGTAS. Overdue Payments •If the payment is not received by the due date, the account is included in a report for collection action, and a reminder notice is generated automatically and sent to the taxpayer.

•Again, the reminder bears a unique document number, so that it too can be used for payment purposes.

•After double-checking to ensure this information matches what is on the document, the cashier accepts the payment and posts it to the account, issuing the taxpayer with a receipt generated from SIGTAS. Payments can only be made when associated with a SIGTAS-generated document – if the assessment notice itself is not available, another payment document can be printed from SIGTAS for this purpose.

Audit •The progress and result of an audit are recorded in SIGTAS.

For certain tax types, supporting documents such as Financial Statements can also be registered on the taxpayer’s file

If a discrepancy is identified, a reassessment can be generated from SIGTAS based on the new figures.

•The reassessment notice bears a unique document number, so that it can be used as a payment document by taxpayers.

Collection •Tax debts remaining unpaid after a final notice has been issued can be handled by SIGTAS, through which cases are managed and tracked For cases eventually referred to Tax Investigation, the SIGTAS Tax Account and the Collection history can together contribute to the background material required for litigation.

Objection •A taxpayer who disagrees with an assessment (either the original assessment, or a reassessment generated as the result of an audit), may lodge an objection.

•The objection is registered and then processed in SIGTAS.

All requests and infor mation about ITAS implementation should be forwarded to : Itas.changemanagement@firs.gov.ng

Vanguard, MONDAY, DECEMBER 22, 2014 — 37

Insurance

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hairman of Standard A l l i a n c e Insurance Plc, Mr. Aliyu Yahaya Sa’ad has said that the company continued to make operating profit from its core business; as such they are determined to turn the cycle and return the company to profitability in 2014 and beyond.

Sa’ad who stated this at the company ’s annual general meeting in Lagos said that the company shall continually and strategically build on its reputation as a one-stop general insurance service provider to take advantage of the windows of opportunities to remain competitive and generate a profitable after tax position going forward.

He said that in the light of the very challenging environment of 2013, the company recorded a gross premium of N3.7 billion in comparison to N5.38 billion in 2012, a drop of 30%.

“Much of this drop related to the expected impact of the ‘No premium, no cover’ policy as well as the slow growth of the economy.

The underwriting profit was N3.3 billion as against N4.99 billion in 2012, a decrease of 37%.

The company recorded a loss of N240 million as against N1.05 billion in 2012. The improvement in performance in comparison to the loss made in 2012 was a result of cost optimisation and prudent management of ‘No premium, no cover policy in the year under review,” he said.

Sa’ad said, “Year 2013 marked a major shift in the history of Nigerian insurance industry with the full implementation and enforcement of ‘No premium, no cover ’ rule as provided for in the insurance Act, 2003.

This was initially intended to take effect in October 2012 but was later shifted to January 1, 2013. This means that only cash production was recorded in the books of the company, thereby reducing the burden of receivables faced by many insurance companies. Also, 2013 saw the full implementation and adoption of the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) by the insurance and other major players in the financial sector of the economy, though not without the expected teething problems as envisaged.

NAICOM organised and also facilitated various workshops to aid in ensuring smooth transition.

“Available investment opportunities for insurance industry operators include the local content initiative of the federal government in oil and gas sector, investment in physical infrastructure and the convergence of the pension

FG reappoints Onekhena deputy commissioner P From Left: Miss Insurance 2013/2014, Miss Funmilola Ogunshola and her mother Mrs. Ogunshola at miss insurance pet project for secondary school students in Lagos

SA core business continues to yield profit —Sa’ad industry and the health management organisations (HMO). Government’s target of 70% local content provides significant opportunities for insurance companies whose capacity had hitherto been a hindrance to meeting earlier targets.

The obvious infrastructure need of the country also provides insurance companies with alternative investment avenue and business opportunities.

On future outlook, Sa’ad said that the outlook for the financial sector in 2014 is much brighter. “With the commitment of the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) to micro-insurance and insurance industry stability Nigeria is likely to evolve as a preferred destination of choice for investment in the insurance sub-sector in 2014. In addition, NAICOM’s commitment to

pursuit of financial inclusion vis-à-vis ‘No premium, no cover’ is expected to broaden and boost the revenue base of the sub-sector. The positive ratings of Nigerian insurers by international rating agencies are evidence of their soundness and will continue to enhance the inflow of capital into the sector,” he stated.

Capital Express assures shareholders of improved performance

B

oard and Management of Capital Express Assurance Limited has assured shareholders that they will position the company to take advantage of any business opportunity available in the economy to ensure an improved performance in the years ahead.

Chairman of the company, Mr. Babatunde Adenuga stated this at the company’s annual general meeting in Lagos last week.

Adenuga said that the company achieved a gross written premium of N3.42 billion for the year ended 31 st December 2013 against N2.8 billion recorded in 2012, to represent a growth of 22 per cent in generated

premium.

He said that net premium income on the other hand, dipped y 11 per cent from N2.79 billion in 2012 to N2.49 billion in 2013.

According to him, underwriting profit recorded a 114 per cent growth from N344 million in 2012 to N735 million in 2013. “Despite the harsh operating space, loss for the year was significantly brought down from N517 million in 2012 to N109 million in 2013.

Speaking on the insurance industry, Adenuga said that it ha been characterized by certain weaknesses over the years which when addressed will position the sector to realise most of its potentials as well as attract sufficient businesses both locally and internationally.

“The industry has begun to

witness a lot of emerging opportunities on the back of current government legislation which has supported the prospects of growth in the industry. This legislation has triggered strategic mergers and acquisitions, interests from foreign investors as well as increases in competition and standard amongst players in the industry.

“On the face of it, the high level of competition in the insurance industry in Nigeria is expected to improve the low patronage of insurance products, improve the level of knowledge of the public in insurance as well as improve the level of confidence and poor perception of the public of insurance among others.

resident Goodluck Jonathan has approved the reappointment of Mr. George Onekhena as Deputy Commissioner for Insurance (Finance and Administration) of the National Insurance C o m m i s s i o n (NAICOM) for a second and final term of five (5) years.

O n e k h e n a ’ s reappointment was conveyed in a letter referenced SGF. 47/S.9/ 11/636 dated December 11, 2014 and signed by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation Anyim Pius Anyim.

The SGF stated that the President’s action is “In line with the provision of Section 11(5) of the National Insurance Commission Act 1997” and it is with effect from November 29, 2014.

Onekhena was first appointed Deputy Commissioner for Insurance in November 2009 by the President for a five year term. He successfully completed his first five year term in November, 2014.

During the period, Onekhena displayed good knowledge of the insurance industry leading to the immense transformation being witnessed in the industry at the moment.

He was the head of a team that successfully supervised the transition to the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) by insurers in 2012. The team is currently moderating the seamless transition by insurance brokers to IFRS. A Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN), Onekhena’s contributions to the Commission and industry are invaluable.

C M Y K

38 — Vanguard, MONDAY, DECEMBER 22, 2014

Aviation

Rockefeller Foundation, IFC launches facility to fund infrastructure

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he Rockefeller Foundation and IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, are launching a project development facility aimed at unlocking private sector investment for infrastructure that helps build resilience across emerging markets.

Global institutional investors are keen to invest in infrastructure, but there aren’t enough well-structured projects. The major challenge lies in the early stages of project development. Often, governments lack the capacity to structure, negotiate, and manage complex infrastructure transactions.

This is a critical bottleneck that delays and often stalls the development of projects. As a result, not enough projects are coming to market.

AfDB approves $22 million loan to develop Lake Tanganyika

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oard of Directors of the African Development Bank (AfDB) Group approved a S$22.49-million loan to Zambia for the development of Lake Tanganyika.

This project has been formulated as part of the longterm vision for Zambia (“Vision 2030”) by which it intends to become “a prosperous middle-income country by 2030”. Its aim, thus, is help implement the amended Sixth National Development Plan, which covers 2013-2016 and aims to facilitate and accelerate “economic growth and development in the service of the people”. Accordingly, it aims to stimulate job creation and rural development, in this way boosting inclusive growth.

The project will be implemented over a five-year period in two districts, Mpulungu and Nsama, which surround the drainage basin of the lake and which have 157,830 inhabitants. The incidence of poverty is much higher in these districts than in other districts of Zambia.

More specifically, the project will promote sustainable and equitable management and use of the lake’s natural resources, and it will help improve the livelihoods of local communities (in the drainage basin of the lake).

C M Y K

PSV 2020: Epayment Experts push for smart regulation and innovation Continued from page 26 On the need for innovation, Hany Fekry, Chief Commercial Officer of Emerging Markets Payments, and Omar El Moatez, Senior Strategic Accounts Director, African Regional Financial Solutions Division, NCR, noted that banks and epayment providers in Nigeria are pursuing the same set of customers, and there is need for innovation to offer their services to more people especially the millions of unbanked Nigerians.

In a presentation titled, “How Technology is transforming customer experience”, Fekry noted that credit card and mobile payment is very low in Nigeria. He also noted that despite the fact that Nigeria is one of the highest internet penetrations in the world; the level of e-commerce is very low. He called on the e-payment industry, to find a way to use the high internet penetration in the country to drive ecommerce. Drawing the attention of the gathering to the growing prominence of mobile e-commerce, Fekry, said that to overcome the challenges of mobile payment in Nigeria, banks could form a consortium that would establish a common mobile payment platform that each bank could access and use to offer and drive mobile payment in the country. He noted that this strategy would enhance extension of mobile payment to the millions of unbanked people in the country.

Also speaking on the need for efforts to extend epayment to the unbanked in the country, Kuponiyi said, “The benefit of modern payment system is yet to fully percolate to all segments of the society. As a result, a substantial portion of the population is still outside the realm of the formal and modern payment system.

Thus the stage is set for all of us especially the banks and the Central Bank of Nigeria along with other stakeholders in the industry to collaborate with each other in a co-operative effort to expand the reach of banking sector and modern payment systems by making all efforts towards the realisation of the PSV 2020 20. In this endeavour,

RETREAT - From left- Dipo Fatokun, Director, Banking and Payments Dept, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN); Tunde Kuponiyi, Chairman, Committee of e-Banking Industry Heads (CeBIH); John Chaplin, Global Retail Payment expert; Dele Adeyinka, Vice Chairman, CeBIH at the 2014 annual CeBIH retreat held in Abuja educating customers on the security comfort afforded by the payment products and the measures required to be taken by the customers for minimising fraud and misuse should also be an integral part.”

Speaking on the need for innovation, Barau said that one of the aims of the Payment System Vision 2020 is to encourage innovation guided by the outlined strategy. “Innovators in the payments system are our partners in progress and we are committed to promoting creativity and dynamism in the national payments system.” he said.

John Chaplin however noted that global experience show that innovation usually comes from new entrants and not established operators.

He said that is why the regulatory framework must be designed to encourage

There is an urgent need to review the current model for POS terminal deployment as the structure is not sustainable

new entrants into the epayment industry, adding, this is the only way to guarantee constant introduction of innovative products and services, and growth of the epayment industry.

The recommendations and views expressed during the retreat was summarised in a communiqué issued by the Committee.

The communiqué stated, “The committee appreciates the Central Bank of Nigeria for driving the cash-less policy and active engagement of industry players in the payments industry.

However, in order to improve on the current gains brought about by the policy, the committee recommends as follows: Introduction of tax incentives for merchants who adopt electronic channels, benchmarking the South Korean model which recorded a huge success upon the implementation of such a scheme; “Payment of subsidies, grants and any social security benefits (e.g. aids to victims of violence, natural disasters, Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), etc. through electronic channels; “Allowing the market to determine the price of electronic payments to engender innovation and healthy competition which eventually benefits the final consumer and indeed the market. We believe that this resonates with the CBN objectives.

“There is a strong need to reevaluate the concept of shared services to promote “choice of service providers” and encourage competition.

Switches and service providers should be allowed to compete while services that could be shared such as Settlement and Clearing services are handled by NIBSS “There is an urgent need to review the current model for POS terminal deployment as the structure is not sustainable. The committee is worried by the issue of interoperability, nonuniformity of standards, number of parties in ecosystem with huge impact on the cost of operations and profitability, proliferation of terminals at merchant locations, weak operational framework, imperfect pricing and revenue sharing formula, amongst other factors including infrastructural challenges, which have led to high rate of inactive POS terminals in the market.

“Given the myriad of challenges that have bedevilled the POS operation, as highlighted above, the committee hereby commits to setting up a subcommittee comprising major stakeholders in the payment system. The main objective is to analyse and review the failure points of POS transactions over a period and present to a larger committee, including CBN with a view to fixing all the issues as applicable.”

Vanguard, MONDAY, DECEMBER 22, 2014 — 39

Business & Economy

We need to transform Nigeria’s troubled Cocoa sector — US govt

BY VERA SAMUEL ANYAGAFU

C

iting the insatiable worldwide appetite for chocolate, the US Consul General Jeffery Hawkins has urged the Nigerian government to position itself and take advantage of the opportunity that represents the increased efforts on mechanizing growing of cocoa in the country.

Hawkins said that he was struck by the fact that cocoa is still raised by hand, and not machine in Nigeria, for fact that it remains a very labor-intensive commodity to produce, stressing that despite the physical labor involved, farmers are realizing very limited incomes from their efforts.

According to the US CG, “The US government has been working very closely with the Nigerian government, as well as with the country’s private sector, to advance Nigeria’s Agricultural Transformation Agenda.

Bringing transformation to this country’s troubled cocoa sector is quite imperative.

Hawkins pointed out that the demand for cocoa is rising faster than cocoa production, and emerging economies such as China and India have developed a taste for chocolate, and many consumers can now afford the luxury.

He said that Cocoa consumption in developed economies is also up, with more and more consumers now demanding darker chocolate with upwards of 70 percent cocoa content recent press reports disclosed that doctors are finding there are even health benefits from eating dark chocolate. “ With this rise in demand, international buyers are predicting a potential cocoa shortage by 2020. This has already contributed to cocoa prices rising 25 percent in the past year.

But sadly, cocoa production here in Nigeria is diminishing.

Cocoa farmers and their trees are aging, and farmers are getting some of the lowest yields on the continent.

Farmers are tending small plots of land, often less than two hectares and are not making the investments needed to maintain quality or productivity.

With high interest rates, and the cost of inputs exceeding farmers’ ability to pay, the sector is not seen as a viable way to make a living. Sons and daughters of cocoa farmers are heading to the cities for other opportunities”, Hawkins added.

A close up view of the new

development in respect of quality cocoa productivity in Nigeria was clearly indicated at the cocoa summit, which provided an excellent opportunity to begin a discussion on how to again make cocoa a significant contributor to Nigeria’s economic development.

Making cocoa a viable prospect for youth employment is a real possibility and in the context of Nigeria, an absolute

need. The challenge is to come to agreement among all the actors government and private to put these pieces together in a way that enables Nigerian agribusinesses to thrive over the long term.

“This is precisely the reason that the U.S. Government is supporting this summit and encouraging the coordinated development of the Nigerian cocoa industry. I wish you the best of luck today in holding

fruitful discussions, and developing a coherent plan to usher in a new era in Nigeria’s cocoa sector”, Hawkins submitted. Present also at the summit were leader of the Cocoa Value Chain Program and Representative of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Dr. Peter Aikpokpodion, former Secretary to the government of Nigeria, Chief Olu Falae and other top responsible authorities.

JCI elects Raji as 2015 President

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CI Oluyole has elected Sakirat Olaitan Raji as 2015 Local organisation President.

She takes over from Sayo Ojo who served as President JCI Oluyole for this year 2014. Raji, was presented to all members, Past presidents, corporate partners and general public as 2015 Local organisation president at the convention and investiture programme of the JCI Oluwole held at the at Banquet Hall Jogor centre, Ibadan, Oyo state.

Speaking at the occasion, Raji promised to sustain the values of JCI and deepen its commitment to serving humanity. “The theme of the Local Organisation in the year 2015 is Goal Achievable, Mission Attainable. I cannot do it alone, but I believe our collective efforts will definitely help us build a better chapter and society. I promise to work with all members and serve with enthusiasm and collective responsibility against all odds in order to achieve a successful year”, she said.

Chairman of the occasion, JCI Senator Babajide OlatundeAgbeja while speaking, advised members to develop integrity above all as integrity is the basis PRESENTATION - From right, Chief Marketing Officer, Smile Communications Nigeria Limited, for any form of leadership.

(Smile)Mrs. Alero Ladipo, Managing Director, Smile, Mr. Michiel Buitelaar in handshake with the best Smile Communication Indirect Channel Partner for the year 2014, Managing Director, Yfree Solution, Mr. Victor Inyang while General Manager, Sales and Distribution, Smile, Mr. Ken Esenwah watch during the presentation of prizes to reward the best 2014 Smile Indirect Channel Partners held in Lagos.

Dollar rises as Yellen signals interest-rate rise

NBC’s technical training centre graduates 19 engineers

BY PRINCEWILL EKWUJURU

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igerian Bottling Company’s, NBC’ s Technical Training Center, TTC, which serves as a resource centre for developing competent technical personnel in the Nigerian beverage bottling industry recently graduated 19 Engineers after successfully completing a 15 month Graduate Engineer Training programme.

The Company’s Technical Training Center was established in 1996 to consistently provide a pool of resourceful and competent engineers and technicians who are in tune with the highly demanding technology and operating environment in the beverage industry.

Speaking at the graduation ceremony, the Managing Director of Nigerian Bottling Company (NBC) Ltd, Mr. Ben Langat said the centre is part of NBC’s commitment to stimulate human performance, improve

productivity and induce valuedadded production capacity that stimulates economic growth.

Mr Langat charged the graduands to demonstrate high technical and leadership competencies. “My underlying message to our new engineers is that only those who are able to consistently respond to tough times excel. Your role as Engineers is very crucial in preserving our quality heritage and ensuring that our manufacturing processes conform to world-class standards in the most efficient manner, which includes: identifying process improvement opportunities, recognizing production cost drivers and mitigating their impact on our operations”.

In his remarks, Pastor Tope Dada, Head, Technical Training, NBC, lauded the graduands for their commitment to the training programme and their demonstration of a high sense

of purpose throughout the duration of the programme.

According to him, NBC is proud of the new graduates and the company is confident they will go forth and excel in their various posts. He enjoined young Nigerians who aspire to build a career in the beverage bottling industry to take advantage of the NBC’s Technical Training Centre. He said over 4,500 participants have completed various technical programmes at the centre since inception and many of the products of the Centre have gone ahead to assume higher responsibilities in the organisation.

Mr Laolu Oguntuyi, Director, Technical and Vocational Services, Lagos State Technical and Vocational Education Board (LASTVEB), in his goodwill message, commended NBC for the initiative, which has been sustained for 18 years.

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gauge of the dollar rose for the eighth time in nine weeks after Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen signaled that the central bank is poised to increase interest rates next year starting as early as April.

The greenback headed for gains this year against all except one of its 31 major peers, a feat it hasn’t accomplished since 1997, as Yellen said the impact of Russian turmoil on the U.S. economy is small. Hungary’s forint and the Polish zloty sank on concern the economic crisis that has driven the ruble down 44 percent this year will spread. The Swiss franc weakened the most in two months versus the euro after the central bank introduced negative interest rates.

Yellen is “really trying to say there’s a lot of volatility out there, but it’s not having a dramatic impact on the outlook of U.S.,” Kevin Hebner, a foreign-exchange strategist at JPMorgan Chase & Co., said by phone yesterday in New York. The process of the market adjusting to the Fed’s rate-rise projections “is going to get the dollar appreciating, C M Y K

40 — Vanguard, MONDAY, DECEMBER 22, 2014

Business & Economy Small firms can go global through franchise – CEO Anabel Group

BY FRANKLIN ALLI

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NABEL Group says Franchise business model can propel Nigerian small businesses to become global conglomerates the like of Kentucky Fried Chicken, McDonald and Pizza Hut worth trillions of dollar in assets and turnovers.

Franchise is the practice of licensing for a prescribed period of time or the right to use a company ’s business name for a fixed period of time.

Mr. Nicholas Okoye, CEO Anabel Group/ Founder Empower Nigeria, stated this during the Island Tea Party for Women Entrepreneurs, organised by the company in Lagos.

In his presentation, ‘Nigeria: Entrepreneurial Nation’, Okoye related how KFC, Pizza Hut, among others started as a small business and become global

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companies through Franchise.

“We need to turn your small business into a mega business using the franchise strategy.

Every business that has a product or service a formula of engaging and keeping customers can be a franchise.

We need to develop your business into franchises so we can build national and international corporations,” he told the women entrepreneurs.

According to him, Pizza Hut was started by two brothers, Dan and Fran Carney in the 50s as a small business; they borrowed $500 from their mother and by 1968, the group had grown to 310 restaurants including restaurants in Canada; by 1969 the brothers set up the international franchise holders association to acquire 40 percent of the companies franchise which they added to the original 6 already owned by the company. Before the end of 1960, they prepared the

FORUM - From left: Amb. Moses Essien; Chief Executive Officer, Institute for Government Research Leadership Technology, Amb. Angela Colley, Immediate Past Gambia Envoy to Nigeria, and Prof. John Akanya, Deputy Chairman of the Institute, During the African product forum held in Abuja .

company for public listing to raise even more money for expansion.

Aggressive marketing and innovative advertisements were key to their rapid expansion. The advertising not only built a strong brand for Pizza Hut and its promoters but it also attracted the attention of global conglomerate PepsiCo. PepsiCo acquired Pizza Hut from the brothers in 1977 in a

deal that paid $320 million in stock.

Okoye also urged the local entrepreneurs to learn from Kentucky Fried Chicken, KFC, which was started

by Colonel Sanders .

“He began by selling fried chicken from his roadside restaurant in Corbin, Kentucky and grew to 140 restaurants. At the age of 65 he set up the Kentucky fried

chicken corporation and sold franchise to entrepreneurs.

By 1980, there were an estimated 6,000 KFC outlets in 48 different countries, with $2 billion of sales annually.

“Are you in business, do you have a business that will qualify to be a franchise; do you want to expand internationally- Africa and beyond?

Vanguard, MONDAY, DECEMBER 22, 2014 — 41

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42 — Vanguard, MONDAY, DECEMBER 22, 2014

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Unilag undergraduate wins Onga campus cooking contest

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22-year old law student of University of Lagos, Miss Temitope Oyedija; has emerged the overall winner in this year ’s Onga National Campus Cooking Competition thereby winning the star prize of 2014 KIA Rio full option.

With the Okro Soup and Garri she prepared at the Grand Finale of the competition held at the Indoor Sports Hall of the university, Oyedija dazzled other regional winners who represented 13 other universities in the country.

Kachi Onubogu, Executive Director, Commercial, Promasidor Nigeria Limited, sponsors of the competition; who made the announcement said cooking is a universal art done in every part of the world. Based on this, he said Promasidor ’s target is to make the competition premium amongst the youth in Nigeria.

Zowasel.com debuts, gives consumers price option

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treet Toolz, an edge digital marketing agency, based in Lagos, has launched a price comparison site - www.zowasel.com in Nigeria to ensure consumers get best prices possible without surfing the net endlessly.

Zowasel.com has been developed as a hub where everything – products, goods and services can be compared in terms of pricing. It is an intuitive aggregate comparison engine designed to help shoppers compare best prices across shopping, hotels, flights and school fees and rentage.

The Chief Marketing Officer of Street Toolz, Jerry Oche while explaining the reason why the aggregate comparison search engine was introduced, said the portal was designed with the ‘stressed Nigerian’ in mind.

“Our vision is to make comparison accessible and available to everyone in realtime via web, mobile and POS across developing economies.”

DINNER - From Right: Chairman Governing Board of Small and Medium Enter prises development Association of Nigeria, SMEDAN, Col Shehu Ibrahim, rtd, President, Nigeria Institute of Public Relations, NIPR, Dr. Rotimi Oladele, and major Adebayo Shitta, rtd, Fellow of NIPR at the presidential dinner and award night in Lagos recently.

Bitters: Spirited history of a drink attacked by adulteration

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herbal based drink, is not just any ordinary alcoholic drink. Bitters are made from carefully selected tropical plant extracts which forms part of a secret recipe, and it is popular for its aphrodisiac qualities.

One of the important things to understand about bitters manufacturers is that they are extremely protective about their recipe.

All the mystery and protectiveness over bitters comes from a long history of trying to fend off competitors, imitators, and counterfeiters in the bitters space.

According to history, bitters got its start in 1824 when a German, Dr. Johann Siegert, who lived in Venezuela, developed a medicinal remedy for stomach ailments within Simon Bolivar’s troops at the military hospital where he was the Surgeon-General.

He named these bitters simply “Aromatic Bitters” and administered them as medicine. These bitters remained a well-regarded tonic with the troops and among family and friends. It wasn’t until 1853 when Dr. Siegert’s son, Carlos C. Siegert, returned from his education in Europe and devoted himself to the bitters business that things really took off.

But the case of Ghana’a

STORIES BY PRINCEWILL EKWUJURU Alomo bitters from the Kasapreko company , managed by Kwabena Adjei, the founder of Kasapreko, was a different one, it owns its history from the fact that Africans were drinking herbs locally mixed with alcohol.

But his vision was to use scientific method to produce the product with clinical authentication.

Adjei introduced Alomo 10 years after the company was established as he was producing Kasapregin. But the breakthrough came when he introduced Alomo bitter which became a blazer in the bitters market.

Some people started smuggling Alomo Bitters into the Nigerian market before the product got the National Agency for Food Drugs and Control, NAFDAC registration. The product received immediate consumer acceptance as the consumers needed something different from lager beer. When the product officially entered Nigeria, distributors jumped on it and this created the visibility and the product boomed, again on the back of affordability.

Predictably, between 2011 and 2012, the product market share hovered around 80

percent of the bitters market.

But this share was soon weakened as adulteration of the product and genuine competition entered to tap into what experts described as N32.2 billion annual bitters market.

In a while, both registered and unregistered bitter products which faked Alomo traced it way to the market unfettered.

He was able to find a scientific way of infusing alcohol in the the herbs that formed the bitters. So he was able to partner with Scientific Plant Medicine in Mapong, which is World Health Organisation affiliate that did the extraction of the herbs.

That helped him to make sure that the herbs and the amount of herbs and the proportion of the herbs are according to what is good for human consumption.

The company had previously promised to start production of Alomo Bitters and other of its products in Nigeria as a result of its huge market which is its biggest export but said it is being frustrated by the faking of the brand which has reduced the brand equity of Alomo Bitters.

“We wanted to make a strong foot print in Nigeria and we have not canceled the ambition but once we are able to get rid of those destroying the market and harming the

lives of the people through faking of our product then we can decide to put the factory in place”, Kwabena Adjei, the company’s founder and CEO told Vanguard in Accra, Ghana recently.

Adjei however regretted that the faking of the product has affected the equity of the brand. “Thus if we don’t fight the fake, we are hurting the government because fakers don’t pay tax. We are harming the consumers because fakers don’t use good product. Some of these fake products have been tested in our laboratory and I tell you that the result is shocking and unhealthy to consumers”, he said.

Adjei who recognized Nigeria as a big market in Africa said the brand’s dominance of the market has been greatly touched not by genuine competition but by fake market. He however said that the company which is now exporting to European and Western countries and other African countries is presently collaborating with Nigeria’s regulatory agencies and distributors to tackle the fake market syndrome.

In order to still offer quality products to Nigerians who have accepted the product and checkmate faking which is affecting the brand , with potential of causing health consequence on consumers, Adjei and his team are introducing security seal on the Alomo brand.

In his response to adulteration, he stated: “two years ago we embarked on a journey to protect our brand and consumers. That journey took us to Germany where we partnered with a hologram company”. According to him, the security will involve four levels all in an attempt to ensure that the consumer gets the right quality product. “We know that fakers will try to confuse the consumers with fake holographic seal but ours is so sophisticated and consumers will be able to identify the original from the fake” he said.

In order to also reach the growing international market, Kasapreko has commissioned two production lines - the pet bottle production that rolls out 40,000 containers per hour and the glass bottle line that produces 30,000 bottles per hour.

Today, Kasapreko continues to receive enquiries from various countries such as Australia, US, UK for the supply of Alomo and other brands within its portfolio. In all it has 15 variants in Gin, whiskey, wine categories.

Adjei which have won several awards since 1999 to date.

Vanguard, MONDAY, DECEMBER 22, 2014 — 43

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My agenda for marketing Profession in Nigeria —NIMN Boss Mr. Ganiyu Koledoye, was recently elected president of the National Institute of Marketing of Nigeria, NIMN. In this interview with Princewill Ekwujuru, he spoke about agenda for the profession and the future dircetion of the industry . Excerpts.

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Re-election and agenda art of the agenda is the institute’s elections. What we’ve done with the last election is to change the process of choosing leaders. We have made it more transparent, it is one of the greatest achievements of the institute. Now we ensure that those who are voting are properly accredited. And no longer would the institute be using staff as instruments for election process manipulations.

Let me tell you this, I’m only going to stay for one tenure, and will not secure a second term. The reason is that I believe I’ve contributed my own quota and others should come and continue. But the general opinion of my colleagues was that I had to see through some of these things. We had just brought two bodies together, and the people are just about getting used to one another. We don’t want to start experiencing what we

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had in 2009 and 2010, when no sooner people started, that the institute broke up again.

People felt I should stay to be able to complete the reconciliation process. What you have seen as reconciliation is just one part of the story.

The academia are still outside the fray, and we intend to bring them in. The institute is supposed to be a bird with two wings. For several years, one wing of the institute had been so battered. That one we have managed to fix now. The other wing, for the past 10 to 11 years, has been excluded totally from the activities of the marketing institute, and that is the academia. And no professional institute can survive if we don’t have the faculty of people who are teaching, who are going to design the curriculum, who are going to be part of the factory for turning out student.

If the cohesion and interplay between the two arms does not exist, then you can’t have an institute. The practitioners may have their own experience, but they are not academically-inclined, because they are practitioners.

The people in the academia don’t have the practical day to day knowledge but they have the skill of understanding what is going on and translate it to teaching manuals and teaching process. And if this interplay exists, the quality of our membership would be enhanced. So one of the things I intend to do is to make sure that I bring the academia on board.

Our long term aim is that whatever area of specialisation students are moving towards in social sciences, they should also develop marketing skills and, therefore, we are now

expecting a lot of people in school of management to read professional marketing, and to do that you have to bring the academia on board. Both of us, the academia and the people in the industry, would decide the fate of this institute in terms of quality of education which we provide for our people and how we release people into the industry. The second one is making the institute relevant in terms of national discourse.

We should have an input.

The truth about a society like ours is that it is being run on purely economic model.

People talk about GDP, inflation and all that, but marketing model is different from all of that. It looks at the quality of life of the citizenry, sometimes you call them consumers or customers.

Therefore, we affect every life.

I think Nigeria has, for

If you look at a lot of people who are players in the marketing offices now, they are not necessarily members of our institute, and even those who are members don’t come for our programmes?

NB unveils largest bottle tree

whatever reason, missed the input of marketing. I will not blame the government for that. It is because essentially we have not put our house in order. Now that we believe we’ve done this, we have to be involved in advocacy.

Another area which I want to be relevant is in the industry itself. If you look at a lot of people who are players in the marketing offices now, they are not necessarily members of our institute, and even those who are members don’t come for our programmes? We are not that relevant in people’s careers.

We have to really put a check on that. People accuse the institute of not reaching out to its members, but my own experience, as someone who graduated as professional marketer before going for my academic qualification, is that members also have responsibility on how they project their institute.

We shall encourage people to be familiar with the NIMN Act. We will not encourage people to be practicing marketing if they are not members of the institute, members mean active player.

We have started the process of codification. We are going to engage extensively in the process of making sure that delinquent membership are not encouraged in the institute. We will start from January to advise people to regularise. After six months, we will take appropriate action to list those who are our members to inform organisations, while nonmembers should not be occupy seats meant for practitioners.

What does it take for an individual to be a chartered marketer?

There are phases, either you have professional qualification, or you work in the industry where you are assigned marketing duties.

Marketing is a complex profession, any competent and literate person can do marketing. We create values but people who create our ideas into values are usually those of other professions such as engineers, pharmacists, chemists, psychologists, sociologists. In fact, most of marketing activities is sociology, which is people. So people must understand how broad the base is. But to be a member of our institute, you have to confirm your status with the institute. We are not saying that people should not come from other profession to practice marketing.

Marketing needs everybody.

But now that you are there, you should regularise your status with the institute.

Capacity to enforce We are going to use moral suasions. I’m sure you’ve come across what is called name and shame. When I put out the list of those who are my members, if your name is not there, that means you are not a practicing marketer. I’m not going to put out your name as practicing marketing, when you have not regularised. That is the first strategy, because we have a law which says that only those who are recognised by the institute can practice the profession.

If it is not understood by everybody, it is our

igerian Breweries has unveiled the world’s largest “Star Bottle Tree”.The Star Bottle Tree, situated at Star Beer Village, Bar Beach Stretch Victoria Island Lagos, is made with 8,000 bottles and is the largest bottle tree in the world. Attention grabbing and stunningly made, it is a first of its kind in the country, symbolizing greatness and the enterprising Nigerian spirit personified by Star Lager, the country ’s leading beer brand.

Lagosians took part in the record-breaking feat by submitting empty Star bottles, which were put together to build the tree.

The Star Bottle Tree aims to break the current World Record of 1,000 beer bottles being held by the Chinese city of Shanghai.

“This is another achievement by Nigerian Breweries Plc, which has become a forerunner in creativity and innovation over the years. Star Lager is an exciting brand, which strives to reach its consumers on enthusing platforms such as the Star Beer Village and also with the Star Bottle Tree.

Etisalat CEO reiterates importance of education

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he Chief Executive Officer,CEO of Etisalat Nigeria, Mr. Mathew Willsher has reiterated the importance of education and innovation to human development and improvement of the quality of human lives. He made the call during the third edition of the Etisalat Merit Awards which held in Lagos on Wednesday.

In his opening remarks, Willsher stressed the importance of education and innovation and lamented the global illiteracy rate which currently stands at one billion.

He also congratulated all the 70 participants drawn from seven Nigerian universities and described them as the future of the country, adding that the country’s greatness in the area of innovation and scientific discoveries lay on their shoulders.

Speaking further, he canvassed private sector partnership for funding education in the country and argued that education is critical to development and should not be left exclusively to government to fund.

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44— Vanguard, MONDAY, DECEMBER 22, 2014 Email:lesleba@lesleba.com, lesleba@gmail.com Blog page:www.lesleba.com/blog2 Website: www.lesleba.com Tel:0805 220 1997

Is de -industrialisation imminent?

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he above title may seem out of place in the wake of the launch of “Nigeria’s Industrial Revolution Plan” (NIRP) by the Jonathan administration in February this year. The NIRP is clearly a recognition of the embarrassingly modest contribution of manufacturing (less than 7%) to our Gross Domestic Product; conversely, the contribution, for example, of the services subsector has grown from about 23% in 2011 to a robust 52% by 2013 without any significant job creation component!

According to President Jonathan “the NIRP and its sister project, the National Enterprise Development Programme (NEDEP) will address the constraints that have consistently inhibited the growth of manufacturing by building industrial infrastructures, prioritising power for industrial use, reducing borrowing cost and mobilising funds for the real sector to produce and reduce the drain on our reserves...”

Subsequently, at the inauguration of the Presidential Advisory Committee on NIRP in May 2014, Mr. President tasked “the manufacturing sector to work harder to add value to Nigeria’s produce rather than just exporting raw materials”, as “no country has ever become prosperous, only by extracting and exporting its raw materials.”

However, the question is whether Mr. President’s noble vision is supported by the actual reality on ground, or could this also be another ‘feel good’ propaganda in the manner of earlier failed projects, such as Operation

Feed the Nation, NEEDS, SEEDS, and visions 2010 and 2020 programmes respectively?

It may be too early to make a call on the possible success or failure of NIRP and NEDEP, but some observers may insist “that the morning shows the day”; consequently, such critics may refer to recent developments that could conscribe the NIRP and NEDEP programmes to the dust bin.

Early in December 2014, the CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, unexpectedly reneged on his earlier assurances to maintain Naira exchange rate at the 5 year rate of about N155=$1, consequently, the Naira now trades at between N165N173/$1 at the official retail Dutch Auction window with CBN; however, these ‘premium’ rates seem only applicable for government transactions; thus for example, the CBN would substitute a minimum of N165 for every $1 of distributable dollar denominated revenue, before sharing to the three tiers of government, a process that, incidentally, instigates the poisonous economic burden of excess liquidity!

There are already allegations by manufacturers that their forex bid for importation of raw materials/inputs were directed to the interbank window, where the dollar currently exchanges for close to N190/$1, i.e. about 30% more than what manufacturers paid for their dollar requirements barely a month ago!

Regrettably, the current demand pressure may likely push the interbank Naira

exchange rate above N200=$1, with disastrous consequences for the funds requirement of the real sector.

Thus, a manufacturer who usually required N100m for imported raw materials/ inputs, will now require upto N130m to buy the same inputs if the Naira exchange rate approaches N200=$1. Worse still, the same manufacturer who barely survived the burden of borrowing N100m with 20% interest rate, may unfortunately, now need to borrow N130m, with possibly higher cost of funds to remain on the same spot.

Meanwhile, the Nigerian manufacturer still carries the burden of providing his own power as well as provision of access roads, security and other extraneous expenditures to stay in business. It is a no-brainer that, ultimately, Made-inNigerian products will certainly be more expensive, than the imported, finished or intermediate equivalent.

Furthermore, the inflation ravaged income of Nigerians may not be enough to persuade a patriot to buy Made-in-Nigeria goods because of the relatively higher price. Instructively, all income earners including the N18,000 minimum wage earner lose 40% of the purchasing power of their incomes every 5 years at the current annual average inflation rate of 8%!

Some Nigerian may recall that several event centres, churches and mosques that dot our landscape were once vibrant factories whose ‘lives’ were truncated by the series of Naira devaluations under SAP; indeed the proliferation

of more carcasses of such factories is a clear indication that the Nigerian industrial landscape is probably still a long way from where it used to be between 1983-93. The SAP devaluations not only decimated our industrial base, but also led to a disruptive and retrogressive brain drain as Nigerian professionals exited our shores in droves in order to protect their lifestyle and dignity.

Consequently, the latest round of devaluations may be seen as an unwelcome de ja vu as it portends another cycle of social oppression and industrial embattlement which certainly run counter to President Jonathan’s vision of transforming Nigeria’s manufacturing sector with NIRP and NEDEP. In a related development, ECOWAS member states ratified a Common External Tariff (CET) Protocol in Abuja on the 15 th of December 2014. The CET was curiously, sponsored by the European Union under the umbrella of an ‘Economic Partnership Agreement’ (EPA). Clearly, under the provisions of CET, European and other import sources of both raw materials and finished consumer goods will have unhindered access to ECOWAS markets, with Nigeria (with close to 200m population and relatively superior consumer demand) as the prime destination!

Under the CET, ECOWAS countries can no longer seriously protect local industries, and indeed the highest tariff category of 35% is for a limited range of goods for which ECOWAS countries have proven capacity to produce. This rather lopsided

‘partnership’ has been described as an Enslavement Partnership Agreement by some observers, because, Made-in-Nigeria products will obviously have no chance against more competitive imports from those countries with the established requisite infrastructure, such as adequate and competitively priced power, very low cost of funds (between 3-7%) as against 20-25% rate of interest to Nigeria’s real sector.

In the light of the preceding, President Jonathan’s is clearly misguided in his expectation that with NIRP and NEDEP, Nigeria will replicate China’s industrial revolution and become a credible world class economy. Instructively, China did not carelessly throw open its borders for a pot of pottage of EU 6.5bn which was promised 15 ECOWAS member states by the European Union over the next five years. Indeed, China’s industrial incubation lasted for over 20 years, during which time they quietly developed their local industries and only systematically opened up its market as Chinese industry developed sufficient skill and muscle to compete with imports from anywhere.

As it is, with the ratification of the ECOWAS Common External Tariff and the economic destabilisation related to the present Naira devaluation, we may just have sold the future of Nigeria’s manufacturing sector to our economic oppressors, and we may ultimately just remain a country with a bourgeoning services subsector with minimal jobs opportunities and deepening poverty.

Save the Nigerians!

Naira,

Save

Business & Economy

Nigerian-German Business Association delegation to visit Germany next year

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delegation of small and medium-sized business concerns comprising members of the Nigerian-German Business Association (NGBA) will visit Germany in February next year to explore opportunities for partnerships with German businesses.

Mr. André Rönne, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of NGBA and Delegate, German Delegation of Industry and Commerce (AHK), who disclosed this while delivering his report to the 27th Annual General Meeting (AGM) of C M Y K

the association in Lagos at the weekend said the planned visit is a response to the fiveday visit of the German Engineering Federation (VDMA) to Nigeria in June.

VDMA represents all manufacturers of machinery, equipment and plant in Germany and has approximately 3,100 membercompanies. During the visit, the VDMA delegation organized a symposium on German Technology – Tailor Made for Foodstuff Processing and Packaging and

participated in a workshop on Doing Business in Nigeria.

Rönne said NGBA and AHK also organized a cultural trade show dedicated to the cultural variety of Nigeria in collaboration with the German Goethe Institute and Consulate General of the Federal Republic of Germany in October to highlight positive aspects of Nigeria. He announced that the second edition of the cultural show is already being planned and is expected to attract a bigger audience.

Omoh Gabriel Babajide Komolafe Clara Nwachukwu Peter Egwuatu Yinka Kolawole Favour Nnabugwu Godwin Oritse Godfrey Bivbere Michael Eboh Franklin Alli Ebele Orakpo Ifeyinwa Obi Rosemary Onuoha

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Group Business Editor Deputy Business Editor Energy Editor Asst. Business Editor Snr Bus. Correspondent Insurance Correspondent Maritime Correspondent Maritime Correspondent Energy Reporter Industry/Agric. Reporter Energy Reporter Maritime Reporter Insurance Reporter

CONTRIBUTORS Princewill Ekwujuru Nkiruka Nnorom Jonah Nwokpoku Naomi Uzor Providence Obuh LAYOUT

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Media/Marketing Capital Market E-Commerce Industry Micro Finance Graphics Department