THE NATION FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2012
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BUSINESS NEWS Flight Schedule
Ecobank cuts 700 jobs
MONDAY - FRIDAY LAGOS – ABUJA Departure Arrival 1. Aero 06.50 08.10 2. Associated 07.00 09.30 3. Air Nigeria 07.00 08.20 4. IRS 07.00 08.20 5. Dana 07.02 08.22 6. Arik 07.15 08.15 7. Chanchangi 07.15 8. Air Nigeria 08.15 09.35 9. Dana 08.10 09.20 10. Aero 08.45 10.05 11. Arik 09.15 10.15 12. Chanchangi 10.00 11.00 13. IRS 11.15 12.35 14. Dana 12.06 12.26 15. Aero 12.20 13.30 16. Air Nigeria 13.25 14.45 17. Chanchangi 13.30 14.30 18. Arik 13.45 14.45 19. IRS 14.00 15.20 20. Aero 14.10 15.30 21. Air Nigeria 14.50 16.10 22. Dana 15.30 16.50 23. Chanchangi 15.30 16.30 24. Arik 15.50 16.50 25. Aero 16.00 17.20 26. IRS 16.30 17.50 27. Arik 16.50 17.50 28. Dana 17.10 18.30 29. Chanchangi 17.30 18.30 30. Air Nigeria 17.35 18.55 31. Air Nigeria (T/TH) 18.30 19.50 32. Arik 18.45 19.45 33. Aero 19.20 20.40 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8.
LAGOS – BENIN Arik 07.30 Associated 08.30 Aero 10.50 Arik 11.45 Associated 13.00 Aero 14.25 Arik 15.30 Associated 16.00
1. 2. 3. 4.
Arik Aero Arik Aero
1. Arik 2. Aero 1. 2. 3. 4.
LAGOS – CALABAR 07.30 11.20 12.50 16.00 LAGOS – JOS 10.55 11.15
LAGOS – KADUNA Aero 08.00 Chanchangi 10.00 Arik 10.00 Arik 15.10
12.15 12.45 09.10 11.00 11.10 16.20
LAGOS – OWERRI Aero 07.30 Arik 07.30 Air Nigeria 13.40 Arik 14.00 Arik 16.30
08.40 08.40 14.55 15.10 17.40
1. 2. 3. 4.
Arik Aero Arik Aero
LAGOS – WARRI 08.15 11.50 11.55 14.55
09.1 12.50 12.55 15.55
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.
LAGOS – KANO Air Nigeria 07.10 IRS 08.00 Dana 08.10 Arik 12.20 IRS 14.00 IRS 18.15
08.50 09.45 09.40 14.00 15.45 19.55
LAGOS – OWERRI 07.20 14.00 16.30
08.30 15.10 17.40
LAGOS – UYO 10.35
11.35
LAGOS – MAIDUGURI 1. IRS 11.15 13.15 2. Arik 15.50 18.00 LAGOS – ILORIN 1. Overland 07.15 2. Arik (M/T/TH/F) 17.30
is what any right thinking institution would have done. He confirmed that both former Oceanic Bank and Ecobank staff were affected. Anyanwu said the bank paid off the affected staff very well and such funds will enable them start a new life. Ecobank had on Wednesday, hinted that there will be job cuts, but declined to say when it will take place. The bank said in a statement that it was giving opportunity to 600 of its non-core staff to become permanent employees. The bank said it has also recognised after careful review, the need to disengage staff and provided severance pay to those affected in
agreement with the respective employee unions. The Managing Director of the bank, Mr. Jibril Aku said: “Our focus in the new enlarged Ecobank is to ensure a smooth integration of the two banks as soon as possible whilst working to improve the quality of service to our customers and our operational efficiency”. According to him, the bank understands that people are its key asset, and therefore have emphasised the need to reward its best performers, and open up new opportunities for talented, committed people to join it as permanent employees. He added that the lender is taking steps to ensure that all disengaged staff are treated fairly and in line with industry practice.
08.50 12.40 14.10 17.20
1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
1. Dana
By Collins Nweze
08.30 09.10 11.50 12.45 13.40 15.20 16.30 16.40
LAGOS – PORT HARCOURT (CIVIL) 1. Aero 07.15 08.35 2. Arik 07.15 08.35 3. Arik 09.00 10.20 4. Dana 09.27 10.40 5. Aero 10.50 12.30 6. Arik 11.40 13.00 7. Air Nigeria 12.00 13.10 8. IRS 13.30 15.00 9. Arik 14.00 15.20 10. Dana 15.03 16.20 11. Air Nigeria 16.00 17.10 12. Arik 16.10 17.30 13. Aero 16.15 17.30 14. Arik 17.10 18.30
1. Arik 2. Arik 3. Arik
E
COBANK Nigeria Plc yester day sacked 700 of its workforce. Majority of the disengaged staff, The Nation learnt, are those that joined the bank after its took over the defunct Oceanic International Bank. Although this newspaper learnt that 1,000 workers were affected in the retrenchment exercise effected yesterday, a staff of Ecobank, who spoke anonymously, confirmed that over 700 were axed. Speaking with The Nation, Gogo Anyanwu, Chairman, Association of Senior Staff of Banks, Ecobank Unit, said the rationalisation was inevitable. He said downsizing is a common practice in mergers and acquisitions and what Ecobank Nigeria has done,
08.00 18.00
LAGOS – ABUJA SAT/SUN Arik 7.15; 10.20; 2.20; 5.20pm – 7.30; 9.15; 10.20; 2.20; 4.50; 6.45 Aero 07.30; 09.35; 13.10; 14.50; 20.20 – 07.30; 09.35; 13.10; 14.50; 20.20 Air Nigeria 08.15; 14.30; 17.15; 18.30 – 08.15; 13.30; 14.30; 17.15; 18.30
Lagos targets 500,000 jobs in fishery By Daniel Essiet
T
HE Lagos State Government is targeting 500,000 jobs in the fisheries sector in the next five years. This will be actualised through aquaculture, an area the government intends to increase fish production to one million metric tonnes within the same period. Governor Babatunde Fashola said this at the 25th anniversary of the annual South West zonal Research Extension Farmers Input Linkage System(REFILS) workshop in Ibadan on Tuesday. Fashola, who spoke through the Commissioner for Agriculture and Cooperatives, Prince Gbolahan Lawal, said the state has done a lot to make the agric transformation agenda a success. He said the state has built a threetonne per hour rice milling plant to boost local rice production and increase the lands available for cultivation from 30 to 250 hectares. He said the government is planning to increase it to 1000 hectares. On cassava ,Fashola said some areas have been delineated around Ikorodu, Epe and Ibeju/Lekki axis as Cassava Production and Processing Belt (CPPB).This, he said would promote employment and reduce poverty through the cultivation of cassava. According to him, a modern cassava processing plant to produce high quality cassava flour is in the process of being built in the CPPB. He called for massive food production to curtail rising prices, adding that failure to achieve this could lead to global food crises. The scourge of climate change, he said, has had effects on food production. To this end, Fashola said the state has put measures to arrest the drift occasioned by climate change including the establishment of climate desk to share information among stakeholders.
NAMA gets more responsibilities • Mrs. Funke Osibodu, GMD/CE, Union Bank of Nigerian Plc receiving her award plaque from former President Bill Clinton of the USA; she is flanked Mrs.Cherie Blair, wife of the former British Prime Minister and Mr. Victor Osibodu, husband of the honouree the Thisday newspaper awards in Lagos on Monday.
Why Chevron fire won’t be quenched, by NOSDRA T
HE National Oil Spill Detec tion and Response Agency (NOSDRA) yesterday gave reasons why the fire at the Chevron explosion at Funiwa oil field would not be stopped. The agency said until the source of the leaking raw gas is found and plugged; the fire wouldn’t be stopped for health and environmental reasons. The explosion had occurred January 16 during an exploratory gas well drilling by Chevron Nigeria Limited, the operator of the field owned by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) / Chevron Nigeria Limited Joint Venture. While 152 out of the 154 personnel on board the drilling rig at the time of the explosion were rescued, the remaining two persons, French and Indian nationals have been declared missing. Chevron also engaged international fire service, which was unable to put out the fire.
From Augustine Ehikioya, Abuja
Addressing journalists in Abuja yesterday, the Director General of NOSDRA, Peter Idabor, said that putting out the fire completely will make the raw gas emission to be more harmful to the nearby communities and the fishes in the water. He also disclosed that the present law in the sector is hampering the Agency from imposing harder sanctions against offending companies. He said: “We are fully in touch with Chevron, we are following the matter. It is better for the fire to be burning than for the raw gas to be smelling and affecting the communities there. Sometimes, it is a technical thing. It will cause more harm if the light is put out. It will affect more lives. It will kill more fishes in the water. “All these were happening as a
result of equipment failure. But what is more important is to have in place measures to mitigate the impact.” On the weak laws, he said: “We have enabling laws, which give teeth to regulatory agencies like us. But what we want now is to go to the National Assembly to help us pass the amendments before them so that we can come hard on these companies. “When the laws are amended and strengthened, we would be able to penalise the offenders. I assure you, it will never be too late to sanction these companies. The companies have not claimed that the accident was not caused by them.” He said that the nearest communities (Koluama and Fish town) to the incident is about 20 kilometres away, adding that the agency had already taken both water and sediment samples for laboratory analysis.
• To manage airfield lighting, others By Kelvin Osa- Okunbor
N
IGERIAN Airspace Man agement Agency (NAMA), has been given additional responsibilities to effectively manage the nation’s airspace. The Federal Government has directed the agency to oversee airfield lighting at all airports and also be in charge of bird harzard control. Similarly, the agency under the new dispensation will take over the calibration unit otherwise known as Navigational Aids Flight Inspection and Surveillance (NAFIS) from the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority [NCAA]. These directives, which were given to the affected agencies by the Aviation Minister, Princess Stella Adaeze Oduah, takes immediate. The new struture according to the minister, ’’is in line with the federal government’s transformation agenda for the industry’’. All the Chief Executives of the affected agencies have been directed to work out modalities for the take over and complete the details for same.
NSE moves to increase retail investors’ participation
T
HE Nigerian Stock Ex change, (NSE) yester day said it was ready to improve the low turnout of the retail investors from the N704.23 billion or 11 per cent of the total market value to a more promising level. The current market capitalisation of the NSE was N6.402 trillion as at close of business yesterday. Also, the NSE said that about 500
By Tonia Osundolire
companies have indicated interest to list on the NSE in the next one year. Retail or small investors are individual investors who buy and sell shares or other securities for their personal accounts, and not for another company or organisation. Speaking at an interactive session with the media, Head, corporate di-
vision, NSE, Mr. Bola Adeeko said 500 new companies comprising indigenous and foreign are expected to list in the market. He affirmed that the Nigerian capital market is not an elitist market and that the NSE is working with the government and other stakeholders in the market to renew the interest and confidence of investors, which in the long run will increase their patron-
age. He said the NSE has flagged off its investors’ education and enlightenment campaign, tagged ‘investors’ clinic’, which was designed to ensure that the average investor is well informed to make the right investment decision, ranging from proper asset diversification to their interaction with other stakeholders in the market.