45th Edition Moneycentral 15 Nov

NATIONAL

Tony Elumelu Foundation funds 5,000 African SMEs from 54 African countries with $5,000 each

Pg 3

MARKET MOVING NEWS, DATA & ANALYSIS

BOTTOM LINE

ANALYSIS

Alaghodaro 2021: Obaseki, stakeholders relish five years of impact, as gov launches 30-year devt plan

BOI diversified loan portfolio doesn’t stop impairments from spiking Pg 11

Monday 15th - 21st November 2021

Vol. 01, No. 045

Back Page

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Interest expense falls for Nigeria firms who refinanced to lock in low yields BALA AUGIE

to be less vulnerable to bankruptcy risk, with nearly all of them sporting an interest coverage ratio of 920 times operating income. That means those companies are earning more than 920 times the cost of their

Nigeria’s non-financial firms have enough to make interest payments on their debts that have reduced on the back of a low yield environment buoyed by the central bank’s dovish stance.

Many blue chip companies took advantage of the low yield environment over the past 2 years to raise funds to retire existing debt and strengthen working capital while pursuing aggressive expansion plans.

And the slowdown in finance cost has supported profit growth and the ability to fulfil obligations means companies are not susceptible to bankruptcy or seizing to exist in the foreseeable future.

The ratio of a firms’ interest expense to earnings before interest and tax-the so-called interest coverage ratio-has significantly improved across all non-bank financial firms, according to data gathered by MoneyCentral.

The median interest coverage ratio is the highest in the real consumer goods, cement and conglomerates, and healthcare sectors. Consumer goods look

All share 42,014.50

0.06%

NGX 30 1,746.84

0.02%

not pay interest.

“They are enjoying the low interest rates of last year, but you may not see much more borrowing this year because rates are rising,” said Gbolahan Ologunro, Continues on page 14

N200

COMPANIES & MARKETS

Providus Bank profit soars 1,022% on higher net interest income Pg. 7

Julius Berger exceeds 2020 profit by 379.93% in just 9-months Pg. 8 INSURANCE HUB

Insurers’ claims soar as inflationary pressure bites Pg. 10 NEWS

Fayemi congratulates Soludo on electoral victory Pix from left Mr Adewale Raji, GMD, Odua Investment Ltd ; Mr Dotun Suleiman, Special Guest Speaker; Dr Olusegun Aina, Chairman of the Board, Odua Investment Company Ltd and Otunba Bimbo Ashiru, Chairman, Board Planning Committee, Odua Investment Company, at the 45th Anniversary/Commemorative lecture of the company held in Lagos on Friday.

BONDS/FORWARD

NSE INDICES (WEEKLY)

interest payments.

Most consumer goods firms had gone to the market a few years ago to raise rights issues to reduce debt in their balance sheet, and some do not have borrowings in their books or need

moneycentralng

FGN

FX ($/N)

23 -JUL - 30

31- AUG -22

11.90

433.98

BDC Exchange Rates Buy Sell $ - NGN 555 565 £ - NGN € - NGN

765

640

780

655

Bitcoin (BTC)

COMMODITIES BRENT (ICE) 82.74 USD/bbl

0.98

GOLD Spot 1,818.36 USD/t.oz

34.98

I&E FX Window

$60,739

$ - NGN

414.30

N34.084 M

Turnover

$99.14 m

Pg. 13

MARKET EAR

Notore needs fresh capital injection as massive debt tsunami beckons Pg. 15

MARKETS

Odu’a Investment could be Sovereign Wealth Fund of South West region - stakeholders BALA AUGIE

Stakeholders say Odu’a Investment Company Limited (OICL), one of the largest conglomerate companies in Nigeria, could be turned into a stateowned investment fund that

would provide benefits for the economy and citizens of the six states of the South West region.

They made the remark at the just concluded 45th anniversary of Odu’a Investment Company Limited held at the Ikeja Hotels, Lagos.

In a Lecture titled “From Regional Player to Global Powerhouse” the Guest Speaker, Dotun Sulaiman, said that conglomerates have not been rewarded in the capital market like most standalone firms, and that state governors should gener-

ate enough money to be put in a fund for the next generation.

Sulaimon, who is Chairman of the Board Absa Nigeria/Chairman of the Board Cadbury Nigeria Plc, there is an urgent need to transform OICL to Private Investment Fund Capital that

will generate rate of returns or an Infrastructure Development Fund that will finance capital projects.

“We could transform Odu’a Group into Sovereign Wealth Continues on page 14

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Monday 15th - 21st November 2021

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Monday 15th - 21st November 2021

NATIONAL

Tony Elumelu Foundation funds 5,000 African SMEs Healthlane launches App for world-class healthcare technology from 54 African countries with $5,000 each …topreventive Enable Longer and Healthier Lives HEALTHCARE

... for its 2021 Entrepreneurship Programme ...68% of beneficiaries are women entrepreneurs SEUN PETERS The Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF), the leading philanthropy empowering African entrepreneurs from all 54 African countries, has selected 4,949 entrepreneurs from across Africa for its 2021 Entrepreneurship Programme.

The 2021 beneficiaries were selected from a pool of over 400,000 applications, based on their innovation, performance, and growth potential to create jobs and eradicate poverty on the continent. Consisting of both new start-ups and existing small businesses, the 2021

Tony Elumelu Entrepreneurs have undergone world-class business training, mentorship and coaching and will have a life-time access to the Tony Elumelu Foundation alumni network.

Founder of the Tony Elu-

melu Foundation, Mr. Tony O. Elumelu shared, “To you young African entrepreneurs – work hard, dream dreams, and be very disciplined. You must continue to think of impact. The entrepreneurship journey is not linear – there are ups and downs, but by

staying focused and resilient, ultimately success will come your way. The future of our continent is in your hands.

What you do as entrepreneurs will go a long way in lifting Africa out of poverty. I am happy that our female entrepreneurs are doing very well, with 68% representation this year.”

He added: “To our African leaders – these young, intelligent, energetic, hardworking, resilient Africans are ready to go. We need to keep creating the right enabling environment to enable our young ones to succeed. We must realise that their success is success for all of us on the continent. We must prioritise

TRADE

Osinbajo to Nigerian exporters: Take advantage of AfCFTA … says FG pushing reforms to grow exports AKIN AKINBOBOLA The Federal Government will continue to support Nigerian exporters through its various agencies bringing about necessary reforms to boost the growth of the country’s non-oil exports, according to Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, SAN. Prof. Osinbajo also urged exporters to take advantage of opportunities for growth in the African market through the African Continental Free Trade Area, AfCFTA. The Vice President stated this when he received at the Presidential Villa, a delegation

of major agro-exporters in the country.

The delegation came with the CEO/Executive Director of the Nigeria Export Promotion Council, Mr. Segun Awolowo who formally developed a Zero-Oil Plan designed to move Nigeria away from being an oil-dependent economy.

Highlighting the approval of the National Development Plan on Wednesday by the Federal Executive Council, the VP stated that “one of the major components of that Plan is that we are trying to move away as much as possible from our dependence on oil and gas proceeds as

our major sources of foreign exchange. You have seen a trend towards that in revenue figures.”

He further said, “we believe attention needs to be paid to exports generally. Of all the various plans of government that we have, one of the critical things for us now is that we all know that we are moving away very quickly from oil.”

Noting that Nigeria is a principal player in the AfCFTA agreements, the VP stated that Nigerian exporters and businesses can be major beneficiaries of the Agreements.

“For us economically, be-

LIFESTYLE

From showcasing talents, to the art of fashion design, identifying youths in the food business and lots more, Nigeria’s leading financial services providers, First Bank of Nigeria Limited has reiterated its commitment to Youth Empowerment and Entrepreneurship through the celebration of its ongoing 2021 Youth Week.

The Youth Week, themed “The Future is Now, Let’s Takeover” started on Monday, 8 November 2021. The event comprises a variety of activities, including: Youth themed Future Forward activities, First@arts Creative Artistry Empowerment Workshop, Grooming and Wellness Workshops, Digital Engagements, Virtual Mini Concert, and many more. Each activity is associated with various gift items, including gift vouchers and cash prizes.

During the celebration of the FirstBank Youth Week

Healthlane, a global preventive healthcare provider has held a formal opening of its Lagos facility in Lekki, Lagos.

Healthlane provides comprehensive wellness checks and personalised care plans that make it easy to understand, track and improve one’s health.

With the Healthlane app, users can book for comprehensive world-class checkups, view medical tests results and records, see health scores and get a comprehensive care plan around nutrition, exercise, sleep and supplements.

Speaking at the Press Conference in Lagos, the CEO of Healthlane, Mr. Alain Nteff said “Our mission is to simplify how individuals understand, track and improve their health; enabling longer and healthier lives and reducing the dependence on an overburdened primary healthcare system.”

He further clarified that healthcare has been mistaken to mean sick care.

The former is consulting a physician after feeling sick and experiencing symptoms while the latter (Healthcare) is about nutrition, exercise, supplements, lifestyle and check-ups.

Healthlane’s focus is preventing people from falling sick and enabling people to live longer and healthier lives.

He further said that it is a good time for the brand to launch into the health sector seeing how the Covid-19 pandemic accelerated the digitization of different sectors.

“Today, people are now comfortable accessing their medical records on their smartphones. They are more concerned about preventing themselves so they don’t fall prey to certain diseases. We all know that if you are diabetic or hypertensive, you are more affected if you contract Covid-19 compared to someone who is relatively healthy. There is a growing trend of services being deployed through technology and that is where we have positioned ourselves,” Nteff said.

As a Customer-centric brand, Healthlane’s experience is convenient and seamless. With professional doctors, results are fully explained to clients while a personalised care plan is immediately available on the Healthlane app.

This makes sure that by the time clients leave the facility, they have a good understanding of their state of health and what they need to do to improve it.

Healthlane has developed a world-class lab at their office in Lekki and is also able to conveniently set up in corporate workplaces.

Healthlane is in partnership with insurance companies and HMOs as the company is set to move the continent and the world into a new horizon for employers and employees. Speaking further on Healthlane’s drive towards easy accessibility of preventive healthcare, Mr Nteff states “Many of our target audience are registered on an HMO and those who do not, pay a friendly out-of-pocket fee to get all the tests done and get results in a maximum wait time of 45 minutes.

DIPLOMACY

U.S Secretary of State Blinken to visit Nigeria this week in first trip to Africa

First Bank celebrates youth week 2021 JESSICA MAURICE

ginning now, we cannot afford to have a situation where for any reason at all, an area of competitive advantage for us which is agro-export suffers in any way on account of something we can help.

Anything we can do, there shouldn’t be a cause for any kind of hindrance to agroexport,” he said.

On support for agro-exports, Prof. Osinbajo stated that government agencies will continue to explore measures to boost exports and improve the economy generally, even as he noted that “agro exporters here are the end-users of the services of government.”

SEUN PETERS

2021, youths will get rewarded for their talents by following this process - Do a recording showcasing your singing prowess in a video (1 minute or less), Upload your video on Instagram, be sure to follow firstbanknigeria on IG, then Tag 5 friends to follow the bank with the hashtags #YouthVoices #FirstBank #YouthWeek.

The top 5 videos with the highest likes will be posted on the FirstBank page and the top 3 videos with the highest likes would win the competition. In addition, Millennials and Gen Zs will upload videos detailing their FirstBank experience on Yammer. The videos with the most votes will win the 1st, 2nd and 3rd prizes respectively.

The Bank will also provide an avenue for the youth to be empowered in Artistry Workshop Sessions & Arts Classes. A call for interested candidates in the art of fashion design and illustrations will be done.

DOZIE IFEBI United States (U.S) Secretary of State Antony Blinken will visit Nigeria this week as part of his first trip to Africa as the United States’ top diplomat.

Blinken will visit Kenya, Nigeria, and Senegal between Nov. 15 and Nov. 20, the State Department said in a statement.

The department said that on the trip Blinken will “advance U.S.-Africa collaboration on shared global priorities,” such as ending the coronavirus pandemic, combating climate change, revitalizing democracy and advancing peace and security.

Blinken will begin the trip

US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken

with a meeting with Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta in Nairobi, during which he will address “regional security issues” such as the ongoing conflicts in Ethiopia and Sudan.

The Ethiopian government remains engaged in a yearlong battle with opposition forces; last week, the conflict caused

ENERGY

FG hikes price of electricity meters SEUN PETERS The Federal Government has raised the cost of both single-phase and three-phase

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electricity meters beginning from November 15, 2021.

It announced this in a circular dated November 11, @moneycentral4

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the U.S. order to order non emergency officials to leave the country. Jeffrey Feltman, the U.S. special envoy for the Horn of Africa, visited Ethiopia and Kenya from Nov. 4 to 8 in an effort to encourage all parties to engage in a dialogue about ceasing hostilities.

Meanwhile, Sudan’s military dissolved the nation’s transitional civilian-military government late last month in a move that alarmed the U.S. Despite promises from military leaders that they will cede power to civilian leaders, on Thursday Sudan’s Army chief, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, reappointed himself as head

of the interim government.

Blinken will then travel to Abuja, which is the capital of Nigeria, where he will discuss global health security, expanding energy access and economic growth and revitalizing democracy with Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari.

The secretary will also deliver a speech on U.S.-Africa policy in Abuja, and “engage with Nigerian entrepreneurs in the digital sector.”

Blinken will end his trip in Senegal’s capital city of Dakar, where he will meet President Macky Sall to “reaffirm the close partnership” between the nations, the agency said.

2021, issued by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission and addressed to managing directors, all electricity distribution companies and all meter asset providers.

The circular, with reference number NERC/REG/ MAP/GEN/751/2, was en-

titled ‘Review of the unit price of end-use meters under the Meter Asset Provider and National Mass Metering Regulations’.

In the document, the regulator raised the price of a single-phase meter from the current cost of N44,896.17 to a revised price of N58,661.69.

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Monday 15th - 21st November 2021

NATIONAL (NORTH)

Gombe SEC okays 2022 budget for presentation to state house of assembly ABDULWAHEED OLAYINKA ADUBI, Kaduna The Gombe State Executive Council meeting, presided over by Governor Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya (Dan Majen Gombe) has ratified and approved the draft of the 2022 budget proposal for onward presentation to the State House of Assembly.

Recall that Gombe state government had earlier held a town hall meeting with traditional rulers, community leaders, trade unions, faithbased and non-governmental organisations as part of Governor Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya’s determination to carry the people along and make them the centerpiece of his administration.

The Commissioner for Information and Culture, Mr Julius Ishaya Lepes told journalists shortly after the 20th State Executive Council Meeting held at the Council

Chamber of the Government House that all is now set for Governor Inuwa Yahaya to lay the budget before the state Assembly.

“Today, the council considered the proposed budget for the 2022 fiscal year, raised observations, made corrections and gave approval for onward presentation to the State House Assembly for its legislative action,” Mr Lapez

confirmed.

The 2022 budget proposal which, according to the information commissioner, represents genuine interest of the people, is expected to be presented by His Excellency Governor Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya to the Gombe State House of Assembly on Thursday, 11th November, 2021.

The Commissioner also

disclosed that council approved the sum of seven hundred and seventy-one million, eight hundred and forty-six thousand, twenty-seven Naira (N771, 846, 027) additional fund for the upgrade of Kwanan Rugaji-Kaceciya-JagabariKuka Bakwai-Almakashi Road in Funakaye LGA. Mr Lapes said that the approval followed the adoption of a memo forwarded by the Commissioner of Works and Transportation, Engineer Abubakar Bappah to the council on the need for additional works on the project, to make it more durable to stand the test of time.

Giving an insight on the reason for the upward review of the project, Mr Ishaya said: “Originally, it was supposed to be a culvert, but after further investigations it was discovered that the culvert will not serve the purpose, and so there is a need for a bridge.”

Governor Ortom reiterates support for mother - tongue education GEORGE KAJO, Makurdi The Benue State Governor, Samuel Ortom has reiterated his administration’s support for mother-tongue education.

The governor who spoke while declaring open the International Conference on Tiv Language at the Aminu Isah Kontagora Arts Theatre in Makurdi the state capital.

Represented by his Principal Special Assistant on Culture and Tourism, Mr. Tahav Agerzua, the governor called on all citizens to support the Nigerian Education Policy that the language of the immediate environment be taught to the child in schools.

He urged relevant authori-

Tambuwal carpets APC, says Sokoto borrows for development, not frivolities ABDULFATAI ABDULSALAM, Sokoto

ter, Kasarawa in the state capital.

Issues discussed during the morethanthreehoursgathering include:demandfortheincreasing of budget for health, training ofdoctors,family(spacing)planning, shelter for victims of sexual abuse, support for accreditation of health institutions, implementation of capital budgets and payments of salary.

Other issues were the granting of autonomy to the state board of internal revenue, optimization of Sokoto state Geographic Information System (SOGIS), upgrading of Lugu dam in Wurno local govern-

ment area, building, operation and transfer of a new onion market by an undisclosed firm to the state government, cattle breeding and consolidating of gains attained so far.

“Someone, somewhere, sitting in the corner of his room, by name Dr Abubakar Alkali.

I think he is an indigene of this state, and went to say that Sokoto is badly indebted. And, I don’t know where he got his figures. He muddled everything and made it sound as if Sokoto is the worst state that is debt bedeviled,” Gov. Tambuwal said.

Contrary to Alkali’s submission, a participant at the Monday stakeholders meeting had indicated that the domestic debt profile of Sokoto state as at June 2021 puts it at 21st most indebted state out of the 36 states of the federation.

For this reason, the participant suggested that the state government should avail itself

of the opportunities available in the global economic platforms through acquisition of bilateral loans so as to enable it complete many of the laudable legacy projects it has started.

“I know they (APC and its supporters like Dr Alkali) cannot be happy,” noted the Governor, who said: “I know him. He was a CPC member, now an APC member. He is trying to politicize the issue of borrowing for development.

“EvenAmericaisborrowing.

They are borrowing till today.

So, what are you talking about?

What is important is that do you really apply the money you borrowed to the development of your people or are you doing as some people are doing-they borrow money from China and neighboring Ghana will borrow less amount of money for a better project; and then, here in Nigeria we borrow higher money for lesser projects.

Lawmakers solicit new sitting chambers from executives Plateau state House of Assembly members have appealed to the state Executive to provide an alternative venue for its legislative session.

The Lawmakers made the request on Friday during its sitting at the state House of Assembly, at the chambers.

The sitting was presided over by new Speaker of the Plateau state House of Assembly Hon Sanda Yakubu.

The motion seeking relocation of the Plateau legislature was moved by the Hon Daniel Nanlong, who represents Mikang Constituency.

According to the House, the current state of the Assembly floor was not conducive for deliberations due vandalization of the chambers.

The Lawmakers told Journalists that some yet to be identified persons invaded

NUJ tasks security agents to unravel disappearance, death of Vanguard correspondent GEORGE KAJO, Makurdi

Agric training institute Ilorin set to increase capacity of local produce exporters Agricultural and Rural Management Training Institute (ARMTI), Ilorin has organized a free two-day workshop for major stakeholders and practitioners in the agricultural produce exportation sector. Speaking at the opening of the workshop, themed, “Global Shift in Agricultural Produce Export Procedure Post Pandemic and other International Challenges.”

the House and vandalized most facilities at the complex, and according to the lawmakers, some vital documents were also carted away by the hoodlums.

Rt. Hon Sanda Yakubu, while addressing journalists after the sitting pleaded with the Plateau state government to improvise an alternative place for its legislation to hold.

The legislators deliberated on the need to immediately deliberate on the 2022 budget and subsequently pass into Law the 2022 Appropriation Bill presented to the legislature by Plateau State Governor, Simon Lalong last month.

The Friday sitting also suspended deliberation on the communication of the governor, who requested the legislature to renew the tenure of members of the Plateau State Independent Electoral Commission (PLASIEC).

CRIME

AGRICULTURE

NATHANIEL GBAORON

ties in the state to commence the implementation of the policy with the teaching of Tiv, Idoma, Agatu and Igede assuring that they would receive the required support.

According to him, with the translation of the entire Bible in the listed languages he was sure that the required manpower was available for the commencement of the exercise.

He commended religious organizations, individuals and groups including the Tiv Language Studies and Development Association for their pioneering efforts in the development of indigenous languages and assured of his administration’s support.

POLITICS

ISAAC ABA’A, Jos

POLITICS

Gov. Aminu Waziri Tambuwal of Sokoto state has reacted to spurious allegations by the state chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and its protagonists that his administration recent approval to borrow N28.7 billion will further make the state one of the highly indebted states in the country.

According to him, nothing could be further from the truth as his administration only borrows for the implementation of capital projects due to paucity of funds accruing to it from federal allocations and little internally generated revenue (IGR).

Gov. Tambuwal stated this at a stakeholder’s town hall meeting on the implementation of the 2021 budget and public inputs into the making of the 2022 budget held at the International Conference Cen-

EDUCATION

The executive director of the institute, Dr. Olufemi Oladunni, said that the workshop was organized to develop the capacity of smallholders in the nation’s agricultural sector to participate in agricultural produce export.

The ARMTI boss, who said that smallholder farmers form the greatest bulk of agro producers in Nigeria, added that having them perpetually operate below optimum capacity is to perpetually limit the

potential of Nigeria as a whole.

Oladunni said that if the full benefits of the agriculture sector potential would be reaped, leading to effective diversification of the economy and increased foreign exchange earnings; then the complexities and hurdles involved in the processes and procedures of agriproduce exportation in the nation are needed to be resolved.

The workshop, which focused on identifying the moneycentral

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major procedural challenges and the constraints created by the seemingly endless processes facing the players in the exportation chain, also sought practical, workable and sustainable solutions to the challenges.

O ladunni said that while some of these challenges stem from the complexities involved in the processes and procedures of agricultural produce export arising from “policy jams”, he added that the @moneycentral4

The zoom meeting of Zone D of Nigeria Union of Journalists has ended with a call on security agencies to intensive efforts to unravel the mystery behind the disappearance and death of Vanguard Correspondent of House of Representatives, Comrade Tordue Salem of FCT Council.

The Zone also called on employers of FCT journalists reportedly laid off without benefit to pay them all their benefits and commended FCT Council for its collaborative efforts with NUJ National Secretariat which resulted in the payment of about 30% of their allowances.

The Zone called on members of NUJ in FCT to be peaceful and orderly during

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the Council election slated for December 4, 2021 commending the Council for holding the election at the appropriate time.

In a communiqué, issued after the meeting and signed by bt Secretary of Plateau Council, Peter Amine, the FCT Secretary, Ochiaka Ugwu and the Zonal Secretary, Abdul Aji, the Zone commended the various State Councils for the their achievements and urged them to keep the flag flying.

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Monday 15th - 21st November 2021

NATIONAL (NORTH)

Ranching: N328bn return on livestock should entice Northern Governors – Tambuwal ABDULFATAI ABDULSALAM, Sokoto With an annual return of about N328 billion from cattle trade in Lagos state alone, Northern Governors stand to benefit a lot from the adoption of ranching in their respective states.

This should be a move towards the realization of about two centuries old vision of one of the founding fathers of the Sokoto Caliphate, Sultan Muhammad Bello (1817-1837).

Apart from the financial allure,Gov.AminuWaziriTambuwalofSokotostatesaidranching would help towards eradication of the menace of banditry and sundry criminalities.

Gov. Tambuwal made the call at the 8th Sheikh Usman Danfodio Week which also coincided with the special edition of the commemoration of the 15th anniversary of the incumbent Sultan of Sokoto on the throne held at

the International conference Kasarawa, Sokoto state.

The event also featured the unveiling of the new edition of a book: “The Sokoto Caliphate” written by Prof.

Murray Last re-published by the Premium Times Books.

Later in the day items worth millions of naira were distributed to orphans and the needy through the state Zakkat and WaqfCommissionincommem-

oration of the Sultan’s anniversary by Governor Tambuwal.

Governor Tambuwal’s call to his counterparts was in response to a paper presented by a guest speaker at the occasion, Dr Aliyu Tilde, titled: ‘Bello’s Concept of Urbanization of the Nomad and Its Relevance Today.’

Dr Tilde, who is a serving Commissioner for Education in Bauchi state had sug-

gested that in line with the age long advocacy of Sultan Bello that nomads shouldn’t be allowed to wander in the wilderness, to tend their cattle, but concentrated in urban centers where they can still rear their livestock and live in a congregation that allows them to pursue their other worldliness.

He, therefore, suggested that government needs to intervene by providing “a breeding program that makes the possession of few number of exotic dairy or meat cattle a sufficient source of income for the owner,” in view of the current realities of banditry, kidnapping and other crimes partly or wholly associated with the Fulani nomads.

He explained that such a program could be sustained through the provision of free land, farming equipment, security, markets and social amenities to the ranchers.

POLITICS

Over 3,000 women dump PDP for APC in Kwara NATHANIEL GBAORON Over three thousand women in the fold of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in Kwara state have decamped to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

The decampees, who were mainly from Ibagun ward in the Ilorin East local government area of the state, cited Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq’s administration’s women inclusiveness in governance and especially the recent emergence of Alhaja Falilat Mohammed as state APC women leader as reason for their defection.

The decampees were received to APC by Governor

AbdulRazaq, who was represented by his special adviser on Politics, Alhaji Abdullateef Alakawa and the party chairman, Prince Sunday Fagbemi, represented by the APC state secretary, Alhaji Mustapha Ishowo.

Speaking on behalf of the decampees, Alhaja Balikis Abdulrauf and Fatima Tajudeen said that the governor’s superlative and inspiring pri-

ority attention to women motivated them into joining the APC. They noted the various women empowerment programmes which the governor had implemented in the last two years as well as appointment of women into strategic public offices, adding that Kwara boasts of the highest number of women as cabinet members in the country.

The women, who pledged their continued support for the administration of Governor AbdulRazaq, pleaded with him to heed the various calls on him to seek re-election in 2023 in the interest of the masses, who are positively feeling the impact of his administration.

Also speaking, the APC woman leader in the state, Alhaja Falilat Mohammed, thanked the decampees for their genuine appreciation of GovernorAbdulRazaq’savowed commitment to the wellness and well-being of the women folk in the state. She said that over10,000womenfromIbagun ward had benefited from the various government’s empowerment schemes.

In his brief remarks, the governor’s representative, Alh Alakawa assured the decampees of equal treatment with the existing members of APC, adding that the leader of the party in the state, Governor AbdulRazaq is a man of equity and justice.

YOUTH CORP

POLITICS

Jigawa Government Adamawa NYSC dispatches 1,300 Batch ‘C’ stream 1 Corp members sacks 25 council scribes OJOMA YUSUF, Yola

ABDULWAHEED OLAYINKA ADUBI, Kaduna The Jigawa Government has sacked 25 out of the 27 Local Government Council Secretaries in the state.

Alhaji Najib Umar, Public Relations Officer, Ministry of Local Government, disclosed this in a statement in Dutse.

“Jigawa State Government is hereby announcing the relief of the appointments of all the 27 Local Governments Secretaries, except those of Sule Tankarkar and Buji Local Government Areas (LGAs).

“The affected officers are directed to hand over all official documents and other

materials and items to their respective Directors of Administration and General Services (DAGS) with immediate effect,” the statement said.

The statement added that Gov. Muhammad Badaru thanked the sacked appointees for their enormous contributions towards the development of the LGAs they served.

It said that the governor also wished them success in their future endeavors.

Over 1,300 Corp members posted to Adamawa State have been dispatched to their places of primary assignment after a three week orientation course at the NYSC Permanent site in Damare, Gerei Local Government.

Governor Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri appealed to the Batch ‘C’ Stream 1 Corp members to accept their postings to any part of the state without prejudice.

Addressing the Corp members during the closing ceremony, the Governor, represented by Hon Aloysius Babadoke Chairman NYSC governing board asmoneycentral

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sured the youths of a safe, secure and conducive environment in the state.

Babadoke congratulated the corps members for their successful completion of the orientation course, urging them to contribute their quota to the state, advising them to consider Community Development Service (CDS) seriously. @moneycentral4

POLITICS

APC Parliamentarians concor with impeachment of former speaker Mr Abok ISAAC ABA’A, Jos Forum of Former Members Plateau State House of Assembly under the platform of the All Progressive Congress, APC, have blamed the Former Governor of Plateau State Jonah Jang, Bauchi State House of Assembly and that of Lagos legislature for allegedly inciting crises into the State Assembly.

Interim Chairman of the Association of Hon Banahel Andong and his Secretary Abu Nimmyel disclosed this while addressing a press conference on Thursday in Jos.

He explained that,”we want to appreciate members of the pen professions for the noble task of keeping the public informed of the happenings in our dear state, we unequivocally want to reiterate our openness and support for the new leadership in the house under Rt.Hon. Yakubu Yakson Sanda, as the speaker.”

Andong stressed that the forum views the election of Rt.Hon. Yakubu Sands as a product of divine ordination which manifestation is unveiled to men in a fashion designed by the most-high God.

INTERVIEW

Ayu’s content of character would endear others into the PDP - Melladu Dr Bem Melladu is the chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) who is currently the chairman of Local Government Service Commission in Benue state. In this encounter, the former Acting Secretary to the Benue State Government speaks on PDP convention, emergence of Ayu as the national chairman and other sundry matters. Excerpts...

GEORGE KAJO, Makurdi Sir, a national party, (PDP) has organized a rancor - free convention.

What can you say of this development?

Well, in most party conventions in our country in the past, the outcome left the party more disintegrated than before they converged.

Remember that at the same PDP in 2015 convention, there was a split group that left and became what is today called APC. A lot of people were expecting a reenactment of what happened previously when personalities like Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, Saraki, Baraji and a host of others decamped to APC but it didn’t happened this time around because our political leaders have probably experienced and decided to look inwards. In order not to polarize the party, they dwell more on competence for various positions without necessarily an election. It is therefore, very wonderful on the part of PDP leaders particularly the governors, and governor Samuel Ortom was in the forefront of this arrangement and I appreciate the sagacity and political thinking which is marvelous.

I therefore, appealed to other political parties to copy the way and manner the PDP had held a rancor - free exercise. If that is so, the political space in the country will no longer have a crisis. Don’t forget that when crises occur, sometimes it degenerates to a very serious conflict that can step down to the wards and I commend our leaders for their ingenuity of ensuring that officers emerged mostly

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through consensus arrangement.

Senator Ayu’s past antecedents may have counted for his emergence through consensus as national chairman of the PDP. What does this portend to the political development of this country?

Well, as soon as the name Iyorchia Ayu was mentioned, everybody was saying a new deal is on board because Nigerians know who the man is. A man of strong character, wisdom, somebody who is properly schooled and people believe that with him, things will change for the better. He does not show any degree of avalanche on his body. Recall that as the sitting senate president, the regime of the then military president of General Ibrahim Babangida dangled him with the leadership of this country but Ayu maintained his cool and told IBB, please go away with the presidency because that is not how it is done.

That if he wants to be president, he can run for it, and if he wins or loses will be okay for him. It is not the dangling type that will take Nigerians to crisis. So, when Ayu’s name was mentioned as a consensus candidate for the north central, the entire north west Continues on page 11

6

MoneyCentral www.moneycentral.com.ng

Monday 15th - 21st November 2021

EDITORIAL

Publisher/Partner PATRICK ATUANYA Editor BALA AUGIE, ACA Managing Director ADENIYI AOFOLAJUWONLO Executive Director OTAS OSAZEE Corporate Partnerships CHARLES ODUM CHINEZE ONWUTA Business Development ABDULAI OTONO Online Editor SEUN PETERS Circulation Manager ARAINO EDWARD OKE Advert Manager PRECIOUS EKOGIAWE Subscription Manager NGOZI OGBERE Bureau Chief North NATHANIEL GBAORON Analysts JESSICA MAURICE AKIN AKINBOBOLA OJOMA YUSUF ABDULWAHEED OLAYINKA ADUBI Abuja Bureau Chief IFEBI DOZIE Editorial Advisory Board Cheta Nwanze Prof. Yomi Fawehinmi Enquiries News Room: 09018867058 Advertising: 08169609331 07034994168 Subscriptions: 08037245450 www.moneycentral.com.ng 51 Road, House 35 Festac Town, 102102 Lagos, Nigeria 161c Raufu Taylor Close, off Idejo Street, Victoria Island, Lagos.

Ethiopia GDP Annual Growth rate

Ethiopia’s Widening Civil War is Cautionary Tale about Ethnic Hate Hustlers A once hopeful and confident country, the oldest in Africa with growth rates hitting over 10% per annum for most of the last decade (see chart) has been reduced to war, strife and bloodshed as a result of Ethnic hatred.

As foreign investors flee and the war toll mounts, it is necessary to state that this should never have been the lot of Ethiopia which had enemies on all sides outside its borders (including Eritrea, Sudan and perhaps Egypt) and who was expected to close ranks and continue to build up its economy.

The turn of events is a cautionary tale on the futility of pushing Ethnic hatred as a means of justifying a cause whether it be the separatists in Eastern Nigeria or strongmen in Ethiopia’s regions.

Thousands of people have been killed, more than two million internally displaced and nearly a million are facing famine.

The conflict in Ethiopia, which is spiraling out of control, began a year ago when Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed launched a military assault on the Tigray region.

The crisis has been building since June, when Tigrayan fighters took back control of much of the Tigray region and, emboldened, crossed into neighboring regions. After an uneasy stalemate, government forces last month tried to push them back.

But the Tigrayan fighters repulsed the offensive and, in a stunning reversal of fortune, captured strategically important towns on the way to the capital, Addis Ababa.

In response, the government declared a nationwide state of emergency and Mr. Abiy, with ethnically charged language,

Chart of the week

urged civilians to take up arms.

There has since been a sweeping crackdown against ethnic Tigrayans in the capital and other parts of the country, and 16 local United Nations employees were detained.

Ethiopia, which is the second-most-populous country in Africa after Nigeria, is tearing itself apart.

The country’s ethnic-based federal system, which has held for close to three decades, could be shattered.

There has been reports of genocide, ethnic cleansing and mass murder perpetrated by all sides but especially by the Ethiopian Army, Eritrean troops and allied militias.

As the Tigrayan forces recovered and fought back, they joined forces with other separatists like the Oromo Liberation Army, a rebel group in the Oromia region.

Last week, together with seven other opposition groups, they formed an alliance to replace Mr. Abiy’s government.

The state of emergency declared by the government on Nov. 2 allows suspects to be detained for as long as the state of emergency lasts; house-tohouse searches without a warrant; and requires citizens to carry identity cards, some of which - like those issued by some regions - can be an indication of ethnic origin.

The warring parties - the Ethiopian government and the rebellious Tigrayan forces - have so far rejected calls from the United States, the United Nations and the African Union for a ceasefire. Both sides have set conditions that the other rejects.

More than 400,000 people are facing famine in Tigray, the United Nations warns.

No U.N.-organised humani-

tarian supplies have entered Tigray for more than three weeks, the U.N. said on Thursday, adding some 364 trucks are waiting in a neighbouring region, pending authorization from authorities to proceed.

An estimated 100 trucks per day must enter Tigray to meet critical humanitarian needs, the U.N. says. Around 80% of essential medicine is no longer available in Tigray and most health facilities are not functioning, it says.

The TPLF dominated national politics for three decades until Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed took office in 2018 and curbed its power.

It is imperative for all sides to pull back from the brink and give peace a chance. It is also necessary for those pushing ethnic hatred in other parts of Africa to never be allowed or given a voice to stir up trouble.

ECONOMIC CALENDAR NATIONAL BUREAU of STATISTICS (NBS) Monday, 15 NOVEMBER 2021 · CPI and Inflation Report October 2021 Tuesday, 16 NOVEMBER 2021 · Selected food prices October 2021 · Transport Fare Watch (October 2021) · Liquefied Petroleum Gas (Cooking Gas) Price Watch October 2021

Wednesday, 17 NOVEMBER 2021 · National household kerosene price watch October 2021 · Premium motor spirit (PETROL) Price watch October 2021 · Automotive gas oil (DIESEL) Price watch October 2021 Friday, 19 NOVEMBER 2021 · Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) (October 2021 Disbursement)

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COMPANIES &MARKETS

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NSE INDICES (WEEKLY) All share 42,014.50

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FX ($/N)

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Providus Bank profit soars 1,022% on higher net interest income PATRICK AYUANYA

A tenfold increase in Net Interest Income for the 2020 financial year has led to a 1,022 percent surge in profit for regional lender Providus Bank.

Providus Bank reported net interest income of N11.929 billion in the December 2020 period compared to N1.121 billion in 2019, according to data from the 2020 financial statements seen by MoneyCentral.

This helped to boost total comprehensive income or profit after tax by 1,022 percent to N6.441 billion in the 2020 period compared to N574.8 billion a year earlier.

Total assets for the lender came in at N373.3 billion in 2020, compared to N111.57 billion in 2019.

Asset growth was led by Loans and advances, which increased 152 percent to N101.37 billion, compared to N40.169 billion in 2019 and financial assets which

surged to N121.88 billion, from N2.7 billion in 2019.

Deposits from customers also increased by 191 percent to N225.7 billion as the bank continued to

attract customers through its Luxury, Value and Convenience service offerings.

ProvidusBank operates in a highly-regulated en-

vironment and its primary industry regulator, CBN, by its regulations stipulates N10 Billion as the minimum capital base for regional commercial banks.

This year Providus Bank concluded a restructuring of the Bank, leading to Clairvaux Investment Limited acquiring of all the issued and fully paid up ordinary shares currently held by the minority shareholders of the Bank holding a total of 1,214,881,012 ordinary shares of 50 kobo each in the Bank.

The proposed Restructuring is expected to involve the transfer of the entire shareholding in ProvidusBank held by the Minority Shareholders to Clairvaux Investment Limited in consideration for a cash payment of N1.00 per share to the Minority Shareholders, following which the Bank will become fully owned

by Clairvaux and its designated nominee.

Providus Bank is a com-

BONDS

UBA Issues new $300m Eurobond that is 1.7x oversubscribed SEUN PETERS United Bank for Africa (UBA) has issued a $300 million Eurobond that was 1.7 times oversubscribed.

The transaction attracted an order book of $520 million, relative to the target size of $300 million. The senior notes, rated by both Fitch (B) and S&P (B-), mature in November 2026 and were issued at a coupon of 6.750%.

Net proceeds from the sale of the Notes will be applied towards the repayment of outstanding debt.

The issuance was arranged by a syndicate of joint lead managers and bookrunners comprising Citibank, Mashreqbank, Renaissance Capital and Standard Chartered Bank. United Capital Plc acted as a Financial Adviser and Joint Bookrunner The issue also attracted

interest from global investors across Europe, U.S., Middle East, Asia and Africa, with orders from quality real money accounts.

UBA’s ability to achieve this transaction despite the challenging market backdrop, reflects continuing global investor appetite for UBA’s credit and support for the Group’s Pan African banking strategy.

In conjunction with the new issue, UBA announced a tender offer on the existing

$500 million Senior Unsecured Notes due 2022. The issue size of $300 million represents the amount required to fund the tender offer based on the maximum expected hit rate, in line with market precedents.

The expiration date of the cash Tender Offer is November 16, 2021. Citibank, Mashreqbank, Renaissance Capital and Standard Chartered Bank are acting as Dealer Managers on the Tender Offer.

Speaking on the offering, the Group Managing Director & CEO of UBA Plc, Mr. Kennedy Uzoka stated: “This successful dollar-denominated offering further illustrates global investor confidence in the strong fundamentals of our Group. It is a testament to our customer first strategy, pan-African growth story, supported by prudent risk management and benchmark

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asset quality ratios.”

Also commenting on the Eurobond, the Group CFO, Mr. Ugo Nwaghodoh said: “UBA’s successful global offering is another milestone for the Group. The new issue further enhances our stable funding base and supports the growth of our balance sheet and our overall business”.

The new issue along with the liability management exercise, complements UBA’s stable funding base and supports the growth of the Bank’s balance sheet and the overall business.

This is UBA’s second Eurobond transaction and the Bank’s first issuance under the recently established $1.5 billion Global Medium Term Programme, which was set up to enable the Bank access funding from the international debt capital markets, as and when required, in line with its growth plans and funding strategy.

@moneycentral4

mercial bank based in Lagos, Nigeria. Founded in 2016, the bank provides debt financing facilities to small and medium-sized companies. The bank caters to industries such as agriculture, mining, hospitality, e-commerce, and art

& entertainment.

Its tailored financial services delivery includes: Business Advisory, Portfolio Management, Personalised Relationship Management, Fast-tracked Service delivery and Selfservice solutions.

DEALS

Nigeria’s Helium Health acquires Qatar’s Meddy in rare Africa-GCC deal JESSICA MAURICE Nigeria-based health tech startup Helium Health has acquired Meddy, a Qatar-headquartered and UAE-based doctor booking platform for an undisclosed amount.

The acquisition, termed “a great deal” by Helium Health CEO Adegoke Olubusi on a call, is unusual in the sense that it overlaps two regions that rarely do in tech: Africa and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC).

Meddy CEO Haris Aghadi and COO Abed Alkarim Khattab will join Helium’s leadership team as part of the deal.

They will “play integral roles in Helium’s execution of its GCC strategy and operations.”

Helium Health’s acquisition of Meddy is a major expansion play. The company, founded by Olubisi, Dimeji Sofowora and Tito Ovia in 2016, is well-known for its core electronic medical records (EMR) and hospital management solutions in Africa. But it has since evolved to offer other services under its platform, including HeliumPay, a billing and payments solution; a collateral-free loan product, HeliumCredit; patient-provider and revenue cycle management service HeliumDoc; and data analytics services.

With a presence in six African countries — Nigeria, Ghana, Senegal, Liberia, Kenya and Uganda — Helium Health has signed more than 500 healthcare facilities. Over 7,000 medical professionals from these facilities now provide care to more than 300,000 patients monthly.

Typically, an enterprise client needs various services

moneycentralng

on one platform — from electronic medical record and management information systems to revenue cycle management, consolidated analytics and telemedicine services.

However, most platforms in the GCC have use cases that are more vertical than horizontal. For instance, Vezeeta and Okadoc help users book appointments, access teleconsultation services and order medications; Bayzat offers an online platform for HR administration, payroll management and health insurance; and Clinicy runs a digital healthcare management system. So, for enterprise clients to get a holistic EMR experience, they will need to stack these different products on top of each other.

Though the SF-based Helium Health has a wide range of B2B offerings, it lacks in these other areas especially in telemedicine and appointment bookings, which are more consumer-facing products.

The company could have built out these services but acquiring Meddy presented a better option due its expansion play.

Apart from providing a doctor booking platform and telemedicine product to manage bookings and patient reviews, Meddy offers marketing solutions for hospitals to improve their online presence and attract new patients.

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Monday 15th - 21st November 2021

COMPANIES

Julius Berger exceeds 2020 profit by 379.93% in just 9-months BALA AUGIE Julius Berger Plc has exceeded its full year 2020 profit by 379.93 percent in just 9 months of 2021, as the company benefited from the reopening of the economy that significantly spurred construction activities.

The largest construction firm by market capitalisation in Africa’s most populous nation posted net income of N5.93 billion as at September 2021, which leapfrogged 2020 full year profit of N1.23 billion.

It had recorded a loss of N1.98 billion in the corresponding period of September 2020, when construction sites were shuttered due to lockdowns imposed by the government to curb the spread of the coronavirus pandemic.

Revenue was up 50.76 percent to N253.91 billion as at September 2021, and it

also exceeds the 2020 full-year figure of N241.77 billion.

Strong earnings growth means the company has the financial strength to pay dividends to shareholders and retain some to finance future expansion plans.

The construction giant is making profit from core operations as operating income surged by 265.75 percent to N15.16 billion as at September 2021 from N4.10 billion the previous year.

Operating profit margin

increased to 2.43 percent in the period under review from 5.97 percent the previous year.

Analysts say Federal Government proposed capital expenditure spending as stated in the budget will add impetus to construction activities, hence strengthening Julius Berger’s earnings.

The Nigerian government is planning to spend a total of N5.35 trillion on capital projects in the N16.39 trillion 2022 Budget Appropriation bill.

Julius Berger ramped up on capital expenditure spending to meet up with the pace in business activities as a rebound in crude oil price and successful roll out of vaccines underpinned gradual economic recovery.

It spent N18.18 billion on the acquisition of property plant and equipment (PPE) in the nine months to September 2020, which is 132.05 percent higher than 2020’s N8.05 billion.

ENERGY

Seplat Energy says interim Mareva Court order against Shebah has no effect on Operations JESSICA MAURICE

Seplat Energy said in a statement that interim Orders of Mareva Injunctions granted in the court action by Zenith Bank PLC against Shebah Exploration & Production Company Limited and Others had no impact on its operations.

A Mareva injunction is a court order freezing a debtor’s assets to prevent them being taken abroad.

Seplat Energy said it has been made aware of the ex parte Interim Orders of Mareva Injunctions which were granted by the Federal High Court sitting in Lagos, Nigeria in a court action instituted by Zenith

Bank PLC against Shebah Exploration & Production Company Limited and 8 others, with an additional 29 cited parties.

“The Interim Orders give an administrative mandate to Seplat Energy Plc and others not to deal with the assets of (or transfer funds to) Shebah Exploration & Production Company

Limited, Shebah Petroleum Development Company Limited and Dr. A.B.C. Orjiako,” Seplat Energy said.

“The order has no impact on the operations of Seplat Energy. We understand the injunction relates to loans made by Zenith Bank PLC to Shebah Exploration & Production Company Limited in 2014.”

TECHNOLOGY

WEALTH

Dangote’s net worth rises to $19.2 Flutterwave acquires digital creator platform Disha billion on Billionaires Index with the platform’s analytics SEUN PETERS

SEUN PETERS

Nigerian Billionaire and Africa’s richest man Aliko Dangote’s net worth increased from $17.8bn in August 2021 to $19.8 billion in November 2021.

Dangote is currently ranked 102nd on the Bloomberg Billionaires’ Index as of November 8, 2021, up from 118th in August, 2021.

Aliko Dang ote con trols Dangote Industries, a closely held conglomerate. The Lagos, Nigeriabased company owns subSaharan Africa’s biggest cement producer, Dangote Cement, which had revenue of N891.7 billion ($2.5 billion) in 2019. It also has interests in sugar, salt, oil, fertiliser and packaged food.

Other Africans on the world’s 500 wealthiest people list include Johann Rupert and family (South Africa), Natie Kirsh (South Africa), Nicky Oppenheimer

Dangote

(South Africa), and Nassef Sawiris (Egypt).

Globally, Elon Musk became the wealthiest person in the world at the end of September as his earnings grew rapidly and steadily. In October, his wealth skyrocketed to $289 billion following the purchase of car rental company Hertz.

Since then, his net worth has been estimated at $336 billion, causing some specialists to affirm that Elon Musk is ‘the richest person who has walked the planet’.

Flutterwave, Africa’s leading payments technology company, has acquired Disha, a platform that enables digital creators to curate, sell digital content, portfolios and receive payments from their audience worldwide.

Flutterwave’s acquisition aims to improve the process of digital content creation for Disha users, enabling them to earn value for their creativity using the platform’s new payouts and collections solution. Disha has acquired over 20,000 users organically over 12 months.

By enabling creators to receive payments from anyone, anywhere in the world, this acquisition is expected to further grow the estimated over $100bn global creator economy.

Creators on Disha who already monitor performance moneycentral

moneycentralng

feature, embed social media pages, add call-to-action buttons, and more are expected to find it easier to access global markets.

Young people all over the world are seeking better ways to earn more value from their creativity. In a report by NDTV, Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs), a new way of owning and selling digital arts, surged past $10bn in Q3 of 2021. This shows the large appetite of young people to create, own, sell or share various digital arts, creatives, and assets to a global audience— an industry Disha is well positioned to support in the near future.

Flutterwave’s acquisition of Disha will help grow its base by providing users with the ability to make, receive and withdraw money from their Disha accounts in over 150 currencies and 34 countries across the world. @moneycentral4

FINTECH

Ecobank Group announces top five finalists in its 2021 Fintech challenge SEUN PETERS Ecobank Group has announced the finalists of the 2021 Ecobank Fintech Challenge.

The challenge, in its fourth edition, is designed to help Fintechs with Africa focused products join forces with the leading Pan-African Group to provide Africans with groundbreaking financial services.

This year’s final saw five finalists selected from various African countries. The finalists, who emerged from a competitive pool of nearly 900 Fintechs that entered the 2021 Fintech Challenge will participate in a virtual Finale to be held next month.

The 2021 Finalists are: · Anadata Limited from Nigeria – developed Chota, an

automated Address Verification System that uses Big Data Analysis to accelerate the process while improving accuracy. · Motito from Ghana – promotes financial inclusion in Africa through their ‘buy now pay later’ platform which allows smallbusinessestoofferinterestfree credit at point of sale. · OKO FINANCE from Mali – offers new-generation index insurance to small holder farmers, that are mobilebased and include access to affordable loans, weather alerts and farming tips. · Fourthline Limited from Kenya – developed Pollen which is designed to be a USSD ecosystem for conducting cross-telecom payments and savings for the unbanked.

MARKETS

Airtel Africa to convert interim dividend at N414.55 per dollar exchange rate JESSICA MAURICE Airtel Africa, a leading provider of telecommunications and mobile money services, with a presence in 14 countries across Africa, has confirmed that the default currency and options on currency election for the interim dividend, (recommended by the Board to be 2 cents per ordinary share payable on 10 December 2021 to shareholders on the register at of close of business on 12 November 2021.

It has also confirmed the currency exchange rates that will be applicable in determination of the interim dividend payment to any shareholders that qualify for and have elected to receive the interim dividend payment in U.S. dollars, GB pounds or Nigerian naira.

The following currency ex-

change rate will be applicable in the determination of the interim dividend payment to any shareholders that qualify for and have elected to receive the interim dividend payment: Exchange Rate 1 U.S. dollar = N414.55 and 1 U.S. dollar = 0.7373 GB pounds.

The exchange rate for the Nigerian naira or GB pounds’ amounts payable was determined by reference to the exchange rates applicable to the U.S. dollar available on 8 November 2021.

Shareholders that hold their shares on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) may elect to receive their entire dividend payment in GB Pounds or U.S. dollars. Holders electing to receive a dividend should specify a choice of currency by completing the Currency Election Form and returning this to Computershare Investor Services plc.

MARKETS

A.B.C Orjiako’s N811m equity stake in Neimeth Pharmaceuticals frozen JESSICA MAURICE

Dr A.B.C Orjiako, a Director in Neimeth pharmaceuticals who owns 409.6 million shares in the company worth N811 million will not be able to sell the shares due to a court order freezing his assets.

Neimeth International Pharmaceuticals in a statement released on the NGX said it has come to its knowledge that exparte interim orders of Mareva Injunction have been granted by the Federal High Court sitting in Lagos, Nigeria in a court action instituted

by Zenith Bank Plc against Shebah Exploration & Production Company Limited

moneycentralng

and 8 others, with 29 cited parties.

The Interim Orders mandate Neimeth Pharmaceuticals Plc and others not to deal with the assets of (or transfer funds to) Shebah Exploration & Production Company Limited, Shebah Petroleum Development Company Limited and Dr A.B.C Orjiako in the Company.

Neimeth International, reported N3.04 billion in revenues in the third quarter (Q3), up 7.6 percent, compared to N2.839 billion in 2019.

Net Income for the period, came in at N336.4 million, compared to N212.47 million.

MoneyCentral www.moneycentral.com.ng

9

Monday 15th - 21st November 2021

COMPANIES

Jaiz Bank beats conventional lenders with continual increase in earnings

CSR

Nestlé is empowering rural women in South West Nigeria SEUN PETERS An additional 50 women are to benefit from the second phase of Nestlé Nigeria project – Empowering Rural Women in Nigeria.

This brings the number of women reached so far under the program which aims to reach 300 women across the country to 100. The beneficiaries comprising female retailers in Nestlé’s value chain, will receive grants valued at 300% of their monthly sales in the form of Nestlé products.

They will also participate in training and mentorship programs which will enable them to scale up their businesses, thereby increasing their household incomes.

Nestlé Nigeria’s Commercial Manager, Mr. Khaled Ramadan said, “We are happy to fulfil our promise of expanding Nestlé Empowering Rural Women in Nigeria to reach

BALA AUGIE

more women in other parts of Nigeria. We are pleased with the progress made by the first 50 beneficiaries who currently enjoy the training and mentorship provided by Nestlé and her implementation partners – Straplan Advisory Ltd. They are reporting faster turnover and increased revenue as well as stronger visibility of their outlets within their locations. We are therefore confident that the 50 selected retailers in South West Nigeria will also reap the full benefits of the support we are providing through training, mentorship and grants.”

When Jaiz Bank Plc commenced operations 9 years ago, the founding fathers of the Non-Islamic Bank had forecast that the lender would be a tremendous success, surmounting the macroeconomic headwinds, and delivering higher returns to shareholders.

Of course, the Bank is taking advantage of a benign religious demography to magnify earnings, while lifting a lot of people out of poverty.

In Nigeria, 53.30 percent of a population of 200 million people are Muslims, according to a 2018 estimate in The World Factbook by the CIA. Non-Interest Banking is a growing global phenomenon practised in nearly 80 countries across the world including the United Kingdom, Canada, the United States

of America, the United Arab Emirates, Malaysia, China, Singapore, South Africa, Kenya etc. Global Banks like

HSBC, Citibank, Barclays Bank, Standard Chartered etc. are also offering noninterest banking products

BANKING

LEADERS

Fidelity CEO advises employees on ethics, integrity

Abdul Samad Rabiu seeks Public, Private, Finance Institution Partnership to fast track Africa’s growth

AKIN AKINBOBOLA Fidelity Bank employees have been advised to uphold the bank’s tradition of high ethical standards, integrity and sound corporate governance while providing financial services to the banking public.

Giving the advice to staff as part of activities to flag off the 2021 Corporate Compliance & Ethics Week (CCEW), the bank’s Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Mrs. Nneka Onyeali-Ikpe, explained that the celebration was an excellent opportunity to reaffirm the bank’s commitment to operate in an ethical and responsible manner.

“As we continue to innovate, grow and build a customer-oriented business that leverages digital technologies, we owe our customers, partners, shareholders, the communities we serve, and more importantly, ourselves,

SEUN PETERS

the duty of upholding the highest standard of ethical conduct in everything we do,” she emphasised.

Since 2005, companies across the world have celebrated the annual Corporate Compliance & Ethics Week in a bid to shine a spotlight on the importance of compliance and ethics. The core principles of the week are awareness, recognition, and reinforcement; and this year’s celebration would run from Monday, November 7 to Friday, November 12, 2021.

INDUSTRIALS

GE to break up into 3 companies focusing on aviation, healthcare, energy

Abdul Samad Rabiu, Founder/Executive Chairman of BUA Group has called for a three-way partnership between the African private sector, government and finance institutions to fasttrack growth and development in Nigeria, and in Africa.

According to Rabiu, who is the President of the France Nigeria Business Council, this partnership will identify sustainable solutions to the issues of infrastructure, climate and industrialization.

Speaking at the Nigeria International Partnership Forum in Paris, France, Abdul Samad Rabiu noted that despite the challenges occasioned by the global pan-

demic, African governments must work with the private sector across board to develop sustainable policies that will aid investments and innovation while financial institutions must move with the times and come up with more innovative approaches to support growth in the continent.

According to Abdul Samad Rabiu, the Nigeria Partnership Forum is timely and a welcome development – especially for Nigeria and the rest of Africa, in the face of increasing global economic uncertainty and challenges brought about by the latest global pandemic.

“Numerous opportunities for global partnerships exist

President Buhari and Samad Rabiu

across Nigeria and Africa. Key amongst this is in the infrastructure space. By increasing our investments in infrastructure, creating access between borders, encouraging the free movement of goods and services under the AfCFTA, and opening up the continent, it is expected that supply chains will become more efficient, trade would be bolstered, new industries and industrial bases will emerge while intra-

African integration would be enhanced. All of these will ensure that Nigerians and Africans will be better off.”

“We also need to see more three-way partnerships between the African private sector, Governments and Development Finance institutions to fast-track growth.

I believe conversations in this important forum will touch on this topic while also challenging our approach towards the future of Nigeria and the African continent.

We can all agree that there are challenges but while they may appear numerous, we cannot give up or choose to remain docile in our bid to accelerate development and innovation.

TECHNOLOGY

Elon Musk sells over $5 billion of Tesla shares

JESSICA MAURICE U.S. industrial giant General Electric will split into three companies following years of seeing its stock underperform, the companyannouncedlastweek.

Thecompanywillbedivided into separate units focused on aviation,healthcareandenergy.

GE plans to spin off the healthcare unit by early 2023 and the energy unit by early 2024, the company said in a news release.

GE shares, which are already up 55% over the last 12 months, jumped 12% in premarket trading, on the news.

and services.

It is an alternative financial service offering that is open to all, irrespective of race or religion. It is based on the ethical principles of fairness, transparency and objectivity. Non-Interest Banking offers almost all the services of conventional banks.

It is pure stroke of genius on the part of the management and board of directors of Jaiz Bank to record consistent earnings growth despite the fact that it does not charge interest on loans unlike the conventional banks.

Ironically, while conventional banks are reeling from a low yield environment and central bank’s punitive rules that have undermined income and resulted in slow growth in profit, Jaiz Bank is turning each Naira invested in sales by shareholders into high profit.

JESSICA MAURICE

“By creating three industry-leading, global public companies, each can benefit from greater focus, tailored capital allocation, and strategic flexibility to drive long-term growth and value for customers, investors, and employees,” CEO Lawrence Culp said in a statement accompanying the announcement.

Just hours after Elon Musk, the world’s richest person filed to show a 934,000 ($1.1 billion) Tesla share sale (on Monday) to cover tax liabilities on the exercise of over 2 million options, a second set of filings showed an ever more massive sale of another 3.6 million shares for an average price of about $1,070 in the following two days (or around $3.9 billion).

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The interesting thing about the price action last week was that when the sale occurred (Monday and Wednesday), TSLA shares surged as the wave of Musk selling hit. @moneycentral4

moneycentralng

Combined, the transactions represent about $5 billion, or 3%, of Musk’s overall stake.

Elon still owns roughly 167 million Tesla shares.

This is only the third time Musk has sold Tesla stock since the company went public on the Nasdaq exchange in 2010—and it’s easily his biggest transaction.

In July 2010, Musk sold slightly more than 1.4 million shares for $24 million,

and in 2016, he sold another 2.7 million shares for about $593 million.

Elon’s huge sales of TSLA shares this week follow his brother Kimbal Musk – a Tesla board member – sale of 15% of his stake on November 5th.

That sale of 88,500 shares totaled $109 million.

This sale came days before Elon’s now infamous tweet about whether he should sell 10% of his own stake.

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MoneyCentral www.moneycentral.com.ng

Monday 15th - 21st November 2021

ANALYSIS INSURANCE HUB Reports prepared by MoneyCentral Analyst team led by Bala Augie

Insurers’ claims soar as inflationary pressure bites BALA AUGIE

Listed insurers in Africa’s largest economy are facing inflationary pressures due to Naira’s weak performance against the Euro and Dollar making parts and materials significantly more expensive to import.

This in turn had an impact both on motor and property claims.

The cumulative total claims expenses of these firms grew by 30.27 percent to N94.14 billion in September 2021 from N72.26 billion the previous year, according to data gathered by MoneyCentral.

Also, they are paying more in claims expenses to generate premium income as cumulative average claims ratio increased to 43.24 percent in September 2021 from 38.67 percent as at September 2020.

A precipitous drop in crude oil price at the international market for the most part of last year due to the lockdown imposed by the government to curb the spread of the coronavirus significantly undermined the external reserves.

In short, the central bank has been forced to incessantly devalue the currency since 2015 in the aftermath of the mid-2014 oil price crash brought on by the United States Shale oil producers induced supply glut.

The local unit exchanged hands with the foreign currency at N415.10 to a dollar on Friday, data from FMDQ securities exchange windows where forex is officially traded showed.

The currency crisis has been stoking severe scarcity of foreign currency, fueling inflationary pressures that expose insurers to mounting obligations while businesses struggle to

import raw materials and machinery needed to meet production.

“Higher inflation may introduce volatility into insurers’ claims costs, although the associated premium growth could offset this,” analysts at AM Best in a recent report in Nigeria’s Insurance Sector.

“A high inflationary environment could affect some insurers more adversely than others. Motor insurers, sensitive to the impact of foreign currency on the costs of imported motor vehicle parts,” said the analysts.

While the headline inflation eased to 16.63 percent in the month of September, it is still below the 6-9 percent central bank’s target range.

For most insurers, claims are a

significant part of the expense line, which is pretty much responsible for deteriorating underwriting results as sector players’ combined ratio is above the 100 percent threshold.

The implications of huge real negative underwriting results are that it leaves companies with very slim poor profit margins, and investors are not attractive to the stocks of a firm that pays abysmally poor dividends.

AIICO Insurance, the largest insurer by premium income in Nigeria, saw claims expenses increase by 32.44 percent to N30.16 billion as at September 2021.

The insurers’ claims ratio increased to 70.22 percent in the period under review from 58.76 percent the

previous year.

AIICO Insurance incurred N29 billion in claims to Life Insurance Contracts, which is 42.36 percent higher than 2020’s N20.37 billion.

AXA Mansard’s claims expenses were up 26.27 percent to N17.64 billon in September 2021 from N13.97 billion the previous year. Claims ratio rose to 65.04 percent in the period under review from 58.84 percent the previous year.

It paid out N11.65 billion in claims relating to the HMO units, and it is expected that the segment will continue to see mounting obligations.

Coronation Insurance’s claims expenses spiked by 70.76 percent to N4.24 billion in September 2021 from N2.48 billion the previous year.

Claims ratio rose to 64.01 percent in the period under review from 44.81 percent the previous year.

A further analysis of the obligations by Coronation Insurance shows claims to Motor segment surged (124.12 percent), while it incurred N1.38 billion in the Life Business.

NEM Insurance’s claims expenses were up 40.84 percent to N6.25

billion as at September 2021. Claims ratio moved to 40.84 percent in the period under review from 24.94 percent the previous year.

A segment analysis shows claims relating to Motor Business stood at N3.12 billion, which is 22.35 percent higher than 2020’s N2.55 billion.

Claims in the General Accident amounted to N896.50 million, which is 369.69 percent higher than 2020’s N190.87 million.

Lasaco Assurance Plc claims expenses were up 58.75 percent to N3.27 billion as at September 2021 from N2.06 billion as at September 2020. Claims ratio increased to 48.35 percent in the period under review from 42.77 percent the previous year.

Linkage Assurance’s claims expenses surged by 181.57 percent to N2.63 billion in the period under review from N936.67 million the previous year. Claims ratio rose to 65.80 percent in September 2021 from 30.90 percent the previous year.

Analysts say companies may mull passing on skyrocketing cost of coverage to customers in the form of higher premium in the January renewals.

Lasaco Assurance’s solvency ratio rises as profit falls on unfavorable underwriting BALA AUGIE Lasaco Assurance Plc solvency ratio rose in the third quarter, which means the insurer can meet financial obligations as rising claims expenses prevented top line (revenue) impressive performance from trickling down into bottom line growth.

The average solvency ratio of Lasaco Assurance stood at 219 percent as at September 2021 from 140 percent as at September 2020, according to data gathered from the financial statement.

Nigeria’s Solvency II rules dictate the amount of capital an insurer must hold to reduce the risk of insolvency. The lower the ratio, the greater the chances of a company defaulting on its obligations.

A level above 100 percent indicates an insurer has sufficient

capital, though regulators prefer to see higher solvency levels, most experts interviewed by MoneyCentral say.

To strengthen the capital positions of sector operators and make them more competitive in the global arena, the regulator had hiked the minimum capital requirements.

Some do not have enough liquidity to take up big ticket transac-

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tions that generate huge premiums needed to absorb rising claims and underwriting expenses, invest in fixed income securities to earn investment income.

Unlike their companies in Europe, Asia, and the United States who suffered huge losses due to the coronavirus pandemic that raised concerns about their solvency positions, Nigerian firms were not too susceptible to the malaise of the virus because many had a stable liquidity position.

Lasaco Assurance reported a 30.80 percent increase in gross premium income to N10.02 billion as at September 2021 as its diversified product base is meeting customer needs across the country.

Net premium income followed the same growth trajectory as it spiked by 40.37 percent to N6.78 bilmoneycentralng

@moneycentral4

lion as at September 2021 from N4.82 billion the previous year.

However, unfavorable underwriting conditions brought on by mounting obligations and spiraling total operating expenses undermined the bottom line (profit).

Net income dipped by 46.78 percent to N458.97 million in September 2021 from N862.54 million the previous year.

Lasaco’ combined ratio improved to 117.25 percent in the third quarter, from 123.90 percent the previous year, according to MoneyCentral calculations.

The combined ratio, also called “the combined ratio after policyholder dividends ratio,” is a measure of profitability used by an insurance company to gauge

moneycentralng

how well it is performing in its daily operations.

The combined ratio is typically expressed as a percentage. A ratio below 100 percent indicates that the company is making an underwriting profit, while a ratio above 100 percent means that it is paying out more money in claims that it is receiving from premiums.

Lasaco Assurance paid N3.27 billion in claims expenses in the third quarter, which is 58.76 percent higher than 2020’s N2.06 billion as at September 2020.

Claims ratio rose to 48.40 percent in the period under review from 42.80 percent in the previous year.

It spent N2 billion on management expenses, which is 9.23 percent higher than 2020’s N1.83 billion.

MoneyCentral www.moneycentral.com.ng

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Monday 15th - 21st November 2021

ANALYSIS

BOI diversified loan portfolio doesn’t stop impairments from spiking PATRICK ATUANYA

The Bank of Industry’s relatively diversified loan portfolio did not help to prevent a spike in loan impairment charges for the Full year 2020 period, highlighting the limits of Government/State interventions to prop up an economy.

Impairment charges for the period increased by 422 percent to N12.84 billion, compared to 2019 levels, which was the highest expense item after Interest expense at N34.11 billion and operating expenses at N27.8 billion.

BOI said it restructured some of its loans during the period in the form of interest rate reduction, moratorium extension and tenure elongation, necessitated due to the

anticipated impact of COVID-19 on the businesses of its customers.

“Interest rate was reduced by 2%, a moratorium of three (3) months was also extended and

in some cases there were additional moratorium extensions of nine (9) months. The interest rate reduction by 2% for one (1) year commenced April 1, 2020 and terminated

March 31, 2021. The effect of this restructuring resulted in a modification loss of N6.361 billion,” BOI said.

Data from BOIs latest financial statement shows

SKILLS & TRAINING

Alliance for Youth Nigeria set to train 5,000 youth in November SEUN PETERS

Over 5,700 youth have registered to participate in the skills training program organized by the Alliance for Youth Nigeria.

5,000 of them will be selected to take part in the training covering soft and digital skills to prepare them for the world of work.

While all participants will get to meet Industry Leaders from member companies, the best performers will benefit from internship and mentoring opportunities in the six companies who form part of the Alliance.

Launched in August 2021, the Alliance for Youth Nigeria is a business-driven movement of like-minded organizations passionate about working together to help young people around the country get the necessary skills to thrive in the world of work, today and tomorrow.

The Alliance believes that accelerating and increasing investments in youth as well as creating direct opportunities for employment and entrepreneurship will go a long way towards tackling the current social and economic challenges posed by high youth unemployment in the country.

Members of the Alliance for Youth Nigeria include Nestlé Nigeria, Jobberman Nigeria, Sterling One Foundation, Big Bottling Company, the United Nations Global Compact Network Nigeria and U-Connect HR Limited.

They have positioned themselves to invest in joint and individual projects to give young Nigerians meaningful work experience, internships, readiness-for-work training, and mentoring opportunities in line with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 8 - to promote sustained, inclusive, and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment, and decent work for all by 2030.

The skills training program is the first of various initiatives planned to attain the Alliance for Youth Nigeria’s target of reaching more than 250,000 young Nigerians with employability and entrepreneurial skills to enable them secure gainful employment or set up businesses of their own within the next 3 years.

Participants will be upskilled in Personal Effectiveness and Time Management, Effective Communication, Business Etiquette, Employability Skills, Emo-

tional Intelligence, Critical Thinking, Idea Generation, Problem Solving and Creativity among others.

With the kick-off of this first initiative, the Alliance for Youth Nigeria has taken the first step on the journey towards providing 250,000 young Nigerians with the right opportunities and skills to attain their highest potential as productive and contributing members of society.

Together, members of the Alliance pledge to continue to drive concrete actions to provide solutions for measurable change in the future of the Nigerian Youth.

To sign up for The Alliance for Youth - Nigeria as an organization OR for additional information or interview requests, send an email to Corporate.Communications@NG.nestle. com.

Nestlé Nigeria is one of the largest food and beverage companies in Africa.

For over 59 years, the company has been delighting consumers around Nigeria by consistently delivering high quality nutritious food. With a staff strength of over 2,200 direct employees, 3 manufacturing sites, 7 branch offices and a head office located in Lagos, the company produces

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and markets several iconic brands including NESTLÉ PURELIFE, GOLDEN MORN, MILO, MAGGI and NESCAFÉ.

The Big Bottling Company Limited, makers of Big Cola and other carbonated soft drink flavors is an indigenous glocal company set up to manufacture premium quality soft drinks that are excellent in taste and very big on value. BBC started operations in 2015 and has continued to grow in leaps and bounds annually. BBC’s partnership with Laliga attests to the brand’s deliberate commitments not only to scintillating the teeming consumers taste buds but also associating with the most loved game in the country at the international stage.

Founded in 2009, Jobberman is an online platform that provides training and placement for jobseekers, as well as the best selection of candidates for companies hiring. It is the single largest job placement website in subSaharan Africa and has the vision to become the leading source of talent in every market it operates in by simplifying job searching and talent acquisition; matching the right set of skills with employer’s needs. @moneycentral4

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that no one sector had loans greater than 30% of the loan book.

The top 5 sectors extended loans to include : Gas and Petrochemicals

(27% of total loan book), Financial institutions (27%), Food processing (14%), Engineering and Tech (8%), and Agro processing 7%.

Ayu’s content of character would endear...

Continued from page 5 and east also accepted and when the PDP family converged at the Eagle Square, Abuja, they only clapped for the north for bringing out Ayu who was endorsed. All I can say is that he should continue to be who he is and known for uniting this country and some people are calling me that they are willing to key into the system with some big wigs also saying, if it is Ayu, they will come back into the fold and PDP will be a bigger umbrella in a few months to come because of the content of Ayu’s character.

How has it been since your assumption as the chairman of the Local Government Service Commission (LGSC), in Benue State?

This Commission is assigned with the responsibility of employing, deploying, training and disciplining among other issues relating to the staff of local government councils in Benue state.

We need to know the staff strength in order to be in a position to manage them adequately. So far, the commission has captured all the unified local government staff in a booklet form. We designed a form and gave it to staff who filled in information about themselves and we marched it against what is in their files and at the end of the screening exercise, the commission came out with the exact number of genuine workforce in each of the 23 local government councils in the state.

The commission also trained staff on various skills through workshops and sponsored those who have legitimately gone on in - service training for further studies in approved institutions of learning. We also did an in - house trading to train the trainers.

We also attend conferences in universities, ASCON, NIPSS and institutions to be in a position to know what are the needs of the staff.

Besides, on assumption of duty, there was no single water point in the commission’s secretariat and we connected it to the main water trunk and sank a borehole for the benefit of staff and our business partners on visit.

Recall that the whole wing of the commission was gutted by fire and we were able to rework it from the foundation to the roofing. The office of the chairman which before now was unkempt is absolutely renovated to a taste for optimal comfort and performance.

Sir, what is the fate of the 2011 local government staff that were laid off about ten years ago?

Well, I can say with every sense of seriousness that when we came on board, close to over one thousand staff left office either by way of death or retirement with most of them senior ones.

When we computed the amount they left behind, it was in the figure of about N60m. We then told the governor that we can’t afford to promote some staff because at one point, the kind of money coming into the local government system was so meagre. So, with the excesses coming out as a result of the existence of some staff, the governor approved the promotion of some deserving staff which they are now enjoying. Some staff sacked in the 2011 exercise were genuinely employed and a recommendation has been made for their reinstatement which is awaiting the governor’s approval and in a short time from now, the affected staff will hopefully return back to office in the various local government councils.

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@moneycentral4

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Monday 15th - 21st November 2021

MoneyCentral www.moneycentral.com.ng

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Monday 15th - 21st November 2021

NEWS

Fayemi congratulates Soludo on electoral victory AKIN AKINBOBOLA

Ekiti State Governor, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, has congratulated the candidate of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) in the November 6 governorship election, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo, on his victory at the poll.

Dr. Fayemi, who is also the Chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) said democracy was the real winner at the Anambra election with the successful and peaceful conduct of the process.

In a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Yinka Oyebode, the Ekiti Governor said the will of the people of Anambra State which was expressed through the ballot box has prevailed.

Dr. Fayemi hailed all

Fayemi

Soludo

stakeholders including the electorate, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), security agencies, election observers, political parties and their agents for working together to deliver an election that was devoid

of violence.

He praised the people of Anambra State for their perseverance and tenacity in participating in the poll despite some technical hitches that are recorded and ensuring that their votes count.

While congratulating Prof. Soludo on his victory, Dr. Fayemi urged the Anambra Governorelect to extend his hand of fellowship to all the seventeen other flag bearers noting that with the conclusion of the poll, they

REAL ESTATE

Lagos says no plans to demolish High-rises at Ikoyi building collapse site SEUN PETERS

The Lagos State Government has said that contrary to speculations, no directive has been given for the demolition of the two high-rise buildings standing at the site of the 21-storey collapsed building in Ikoyi, Lagos.

The Panel of Inquiry instituted to establish issues surrounding the collapse of the building has continued to sit and an integrity test is yet to be conducted on the buildings, according to a statement by the Commissioner for Information in the State, Gbenga Omotoso.

“It is, therefore, wrong

to assert or speculate that the buildings will be demolished,” Omotoso said.

“The operation at the site of the collapsed building continues. Vehicular movement around the

site has been smooth, following the reopening of the road.”

Two more bodies were recovered from the site, bringing to 45 the number of bodies retrieved from

the site.

The identification of bodies of the victims of the incident has continued at IDH, Yaba, Lagos Mainland.

Thirty-two families have come forward to submit samples for DNA to identify bodies that they wish to claim. In cases where identification is clear and there are no arguments, the bodies will be released to the families.

A committee to supervise the identification and release of the bodies has also begun work. It comprises senior officials of the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Justice.

GOVERNANCE

Paris club refund: Governors tackle Malami over $418m consultants’ fees SEUN PETERS

The Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) has berated the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, over plans to deduct about $418 million from the Federation Account to pay private contractors and firms allegedly owed by the 36 states and local governments over the Paris Club refund.

The governors, who accused the AGF of bias in the manner he is handling the matter, wondered why he, as a public officer, was

eager to ensure that public funds are transferred to private individuals and entities even when the alleged debt was being disputed and currently subject of pending litigations.

They described his plan as unlawful and contrary

to public policy and morality.

This was contained in a statement signed by the Forum’s Head of Media and Public Affairs, Abdulrazaque Barkindo.

Background The NGF’s comment was in reaction to a state-

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ment by Malami’s media aide, Umar Gwandu, who had supported deductions of the states’ resources amounting to $418 million from the federation account.

The amount is allegedly owed the consultants and/ or contractors for services rendered during negotiations for the refund.

The Paris Club fund has since generated dispute between the three tiers of government.

Gwandu’s statement was also in reaction to interim restraining orders obtained by states. @moneycentral4

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should all work together for the development of the State.

He urged the winning party and its candidate to be magnanimous in vic-

tory and other parties and their candidates who were not successful to see their participation as enriching the whole process.

The G overnor als o hailed President Muhammadu Buhari for making available an enabling environment for the successful conduct of the poll and abiding by his promise to always allow the will of Nigerians prevail in the choice of who governs them.

Dr. Fayemi expressed confidence that Ekiti, which is the next State where governorship election will be conducted, will witness a peaceful, transparent and successful electoral process as experienced in Anambra.

CRIME

How lifeless body of Super TV Boss, Ataga was found — witness recounts JESSICA MAURICE

The first prosecution witness, Nkechi Mogbo in the ongoing trial of a 300-level Mass Communication student of the University of Lagos, Chidinma Ojukwu who was alleged to have killed Michael Usifo Ataga, the Super TV’s Chief Executive Officer, has told court how the deceased’s lifeless body was found.

Mogbo is the owner of the short service apartment where Ataga’s lifeless body was in Ikoyi area of Lagos State.

Ojukwu, alongside her sister, Chioma Egbuchu and one Adedapo Quadri, are standing trial for the alleged murder of the deceased before Justice Yetunde Adesanya of the Lagos High Court, Tafawa Balewa Square (TBS).

Testifying before the court yesterday, Mogbo told the court that she was the one who rented out the apartment where the deceased body was found.

According to her, the apartment is fully furnished like a normal house with cable TV subscription, a 24-hour power services and a well equipped kitchen.

She said couples, workers, students and people from out of town who come in for weddings were categories of people who do booked for the apartment, adding that the apartment could be booked online or through referrals from agents.

She told JusticeAde-

sanya that Ojukwu left the service apartment before the billed day she supposed to leave.

The witness was led in Evidence – in – Chief by the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) , Mrs Adeyinka Adeyemi, narrated how she got a call from a private number on June 13, 2021, requesting for a short let service apartment .

Mogbo said “on June 13, at about 4:00p.m., a lady (suspect) called me on phone with a private number and requested for the apartment.

“The lady requested to see the apartment to ensure that the facilities were upto the standard she needed. ” I asked the lady (suspect )to send a message to me through WhatsApp so I could forward the address to her, which I did.

“I called my security guard at the apartment and informed him that someone was coming to check the place “Afterwards, the lady through WhatsApp message confirmed to me that she would take the apartment for three days.

MoneyCentral www.moneycentral.com.ng

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Odu’a Investment could be Sovereign...

Continued from page 1

Fund (SWF), we all know

what that is. Norway SWF is enough to make each citizen a millionaire. We need to move from an operating entity to an aggregator of capital,” said Sulaimon.

A sovereign wealth fund is a state-owned investment fund composed of money generated by the government, often derived from a country’s surplus reserves. SWFs provide a benefit for a country’s economy and its citizens.

The funding for a SWF can come from a variety of sources.

Popular sources are surplus reserves from stateowned natural resource revenues, trade surpluses, bank reserves that may accumulate from budgeting excesses, foreign currency operations, money from privatizations, and governmental transfer payments.

Norway manages a $1.4 trillion wealth fund, money it makes from investment from surplus revenues from the government petroleum sector.

Sulaimon explained that Warren Buffet’s Berkshire Hathaway headquartered in Nebraska United States is successful and has been consistently so because it has a mix of controlled and noncontrolled businesses and is able to allocate and deploy capital to where it makes the most sense based on the busi-

ness’s durable competitive strengths, the capabilities and character of its management and price.

“In its portfolio, Berkshire owns large stakes in companies like Apple, Bank of America, Coca Cola, American Express, KraftHeinz, Verizon, Chevron, Moodys among several top corporate names and brands,” said Sulaimon.

“This raises yet another question: won’t It be nice if OICL owns 10% of Interswitch, 5% of GTb, 5% of Access Bank, 5% of Dangote cement, 10% of Nigerian Breweries/Heineken, 5% of Airtel 2 % of MTN, 20% of Flutterwave, 5% of Seplat rather than 100% of WEMABOD, Ikeja Airport Hotel, Premier Hotel, Cocoa House or Western House?” he adds.

Continued from page 1

equity research analysts at Cordros Securities Limited.

The combined finance cost of the companies reduced by 5.02 percent to N277.50 billion in September 2021 from N292.16 billion as at September 2020, according to data gathered by MoneyCentral.

Combined operating profit

or earnings before interest and tax stood at N1.30 trillion in September 2021, which is 52.18 percent higher than last year’s N858.63 billion.

Of course, there has been a rally in bond yields since the start of the year as investors dumped equity for safe haven assets that had been beaten in the last two years due to the decision of the

Experts say it is logical for stewards of the company to diversify into investment that will yield higher returns than putting money in moribund entities.

Odu’a Investment Company Limited was incorporated in July, 1976 to take over the business interest of the former Western State of Nigeria, now Oyo, Ogun, Ondo, Osun and Ekiti States of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

In his remarks, Chairman, Board of Directors of the company, Dr. Segun Aina, said Odu’a Investment Company Ltd is being transformed into a lean non-operating investment holding company to enhance transparency, focus on investment management and sustainability, traverse a path of maximum impact, and leverage on the models that have succeeded in similar institutions across the globe.

“The next four years will be foundation years for creating an impact-driven organisation. Our targets for Odu’a Investment over the next 4 years are audacious in terms of social impact, growth in revenue and returns on assets with various asset optimisation programmes planned.

Despite the obvious challenges in the macro economy, we are optimistic that with the support of everyone present here and other stakeholders, we will over deliver,” said Aina.

“By the way, we plan to upgrade and fine-tune our corporate social responsibility efforts, and we have established an Odu’a Investment Foundation which will be supported by Odu’a Investment and its partners to selectively intervene in healthcare, education, youth development, and allied matters,” summed Aina.

central bank to bar institutions from buying new issues of its Open Market Operations (OMO).

Nigeria 10-year bond yield was 11.92 percent on Friday November 12, according to over-the-counter interbank yield quotes for this government bond maturity.

Analysts are of the view that the reopening of the economy helped propel sales that is enough to absorb interest expense.

The Nigerian economy grew by 5.01 percent year on year (yoy) in the second quarter (Q2 2021), according to the latest data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

The cumulative total borrowings or debt of non-financial firms stood at N2.87 trillion in September 2021, which is 4.46 percent lower than 2020’s N3.12 trillion, according to data gathered by MoneyCentral.

AVIATION

NAF restates Commitment to Ekiti Cargo Airport Project …Inspects proposed Air Force Base site SEUN PETERS

The Nigeria Air Force (NAF) has reiterated its plans to collaborate with Ekiti State Government in the development of the State’s Cargo airport, as a team from the office of the Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshall Oladayo Amao, on Friday inspected the site meant for the construction of the Air Force Base within the airport.

The team led by the Chief of Policy and Plans, AVM Remigus Ekeh, during a visit to Governor Kayode Fayemi in his office in Ado Ekiti before the inspection tour, disclosed

that the visit was a follow up to the Governor’s initiative which he discussed with the former Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar at the Force Headquarters, Abuja last year.

AVM Ekeh said he was delighted seeing that the initiative has experienced tremendous pro gress within the last one year that it was conceived.

He restated the commitment of the Air Force in ensuring the country is peaceful and prosperous and commended Governor Fayemi for releasing a parcel of land at the airport

Monday 15th - 21st November 2021

NATIONAL

L-R: Deputy Governor of Ekiti State, Otunba Bisi Egbeyemi; Ekiti State Governor Dr. Kayode Fayemi; ; Chief of Policy and Plans /Representative of the Chief of Air Staff, AVM R.N. Ekeh; after an inspection of site for the Air Force Base at the new Airport being constructed in Ado- Ekiti… on Friday.

Interest expense falls for Nigeria firms...

for the establishment of a base to strengthen the force’s efforts at tackling the present security challenges in the country.

“We thank you for fulfilling your promise of giving us a portion of land at the international cargo airport for the air force to set up a base. We are very grateful and we will continue to ask for your cooperation especially at this time when the nation is facing great security challenges”, AVM Ukeh said.

Speaking, Governor Fayemi, who presented the aerial survey document of the allotted portion to moneycentral

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the team noted that the presence of the Air Force Base at the cargo airport would strengthen security architecture and efforts at restoring sanity and security in the country.

He explained that the former Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Abubakar had promised that the space would be used as part of the central command of operation in the country, considering the strategic location of Ekiti to States in the central area including Kogi, Kwara, Niger and the FCT and as well as its straddling with other states in the West. @moneycentral4

BANKING

Fidelity to give out N125 million in Savings Promo SEUN PETERS Top Nigerian lender, Fidelity Bank Plc, on Friday announced the introduction of a new savings campaign, as part of its efforts to drive financial inclusion in the country.

Tagged “Get Alert in Millions (GAIM) Season 5”, the savings promo is expected to run till July 2022 and will see customers cart away a total of N125 million in cash prizes.

Speaking at a press conference heralding the commencement of the promo, the Bank’s MD/CEO, Mrs. Nneka Onyeali-Ikpe pointed out that the campaign is the tenth in the series of savings promos organised by the Bank in last 15 years with the aim of incentivising its customers.

Mrs. Onyeali-Ikpe, who was represented by the bank’s Executive Director, Lagos & South-West, Dr. Ken Opara said the promo is one of the many initiativesofthebankspecifically aimed at rewarding customers for their loyalty and patronage.

“We remain resolute to our commitment to enriching the lives of Nigerians, propagating a healthy saving culture and supporting the Central Bank’s mandate of deepening financial inclusion”, emphasised Mrs. Onyeali-Ikpe.

While encouraging Nigerians to take advantage of the promotion, Mrs. Onyeali-Ikpe

stated that the bank’s cash reward offerings for GAIM Season 5 are worth over N125 million, all of which will be distributed to lucky customers of the bank through weekly, monthly, and grand draws.

According to Mrs. OnyealiIkpe, “We are elated at yet another opportunity to enrich and empower Nigerians with up to N125 million Naira cash prizes especially at a time like this. We are also thrilled at the savings culture this initiative will drive. Over the years, we have seen that many customers and hitherto noncustomers have increased their savings by simply keying into the GAIM promo and we believe that this season will not be an exception.”

Elaborating on how to participate in this promo, Osita Ede, Divisional Head, Product Development, Fidelity Bank, stated that the scheme is open to both existing and new customers of the bank with a minimum of N2,000 in any of their Fidelity Bank savings accounts.

He explained that the bank is introducing the “ticket approach” in this season of the promo where every N2,000 in a customer’s account would be considered one ticket and urged customers to fund their accounts adequately to increase their probability of winning any of the mouthwatering prizes.

MARITIME

Gulf of Guinea security: Jamoh calls for uniformity of laws AKIN AKINBOBOLA Director General of Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Dr. Bashir Jamoh, has appealed for the standardization of the legal frameworks of countries in the Gulf of Guinea to aid effective prosecution of maritime crimes.

Jamoh made the appeal in Lagos at the Third Technical Rotating Meeting of the project on “enhancing regional research, convening of stakeholders and capacity development in the Gulf of Guinea” implemented by the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre (KAIPTC) in Accra, and the Government of Denmark.

A communique calling for the transformation of Yaoundé Code of Conduct (YCC) into a binding convention for better coordination and optimal benefit to the member countries, was issued at the end of the meeting organised in partnership with NIMASA and the Inter-Regional Coordination Centre (ICC).

The Director General said efforts were being made to standardise regional maritime law enforcement, stressing that some countries are

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already enacting their own antipiracy laws.

Jamoh stated, “We encourage countries within the region, which do not have distinct antipiracy laws, to try to enact such laws. It is in the interest of every country in the Gulf of Guinea to consciously work to remove obstacles to the prosecution of piracy and sea robbery suspects.

“Shipping is an international business, and crimes associated with it are equally international in nature. Now, how do you try a suspect in a country where our SPOMO Act cannot be applied?

“No country can fight maritime insecurity alone. It is a collective responsibility.

There is hardly any nation that does not have commercial interest in the Gulf of Guinea.

“So we must work to ensure uniformity of legal frameworks in the region to facilitate effective prosecution of maritime crimes.”

The communique said, “The YCC, as it stands now, is a code of practice without any binding provisions. This affects the way it is implemented at the regional and national levels.

MoneyCentral www.moneycentral.com.ng

15

Monday 15th - 21st November 2021

MARKET EAR

Notore needs fresh capital injection as massive debt tsunami beckons BALA AUGIE As a massive tsunami of debt and mounting financial obligations beckon, the board of directors of Notore Chemical Industries Plc may have to tap the capital market for funds to help salvage a lossmaking entity.

The market is paying attention to leverage ever since China’s economy was shaken by a debt laden developer, Evergrande.

Notore Chemicals, which produces and sells fertilizers, has a total debt stock of N122.17 billion in its balance sheet that is 2.84 times equity, according to MoneyCentral data gathered from its fourth quarter ended September 2021.

That translates to a debt to

equity ratio of 284 percent as at September 2021, which indicates a levered firm, and it is inimical to Notore Chemicals whose earnings are on the decline.

A loss position was inevitable in the period as total cost (cost of sales + operating

expenses) of N27.83 billion exceeded revenues of N17.46 billion.

The company posted a net loss of N20.18 billion and negative retained earnings validates the deteriorating bottom line (profit).

The company attributes

rising input cost of raw materials to the devaluation of the Naira currency.

Of course, the fertilizer producer has been recording recurring losses amid rising interest payments.

For instance, finance cost stood at N16.68 billion as at

September 2021, albeit 28.67 percent lower than 2020’s N23.40 billion.

Analysts say the stewards of Notore Chemical have the herculean task of implementing strategies capable of turning around the company.

It is generally accepted that huge debt and inability to service the interest on it is a harbinger of bankruptcy and it is more severe in a country where the government doesn’t bail out firms even during a financial crisis.

The optimistic tidings is that the company can still tap the debt market for capital to retire part of existing debt and underpin the balance sheet.

Managing director of Notore Chemicals, Ohis Ohiwerei is sanguine that the continued diversification of

the market outreach and NPK fertilizers will help revert the company’s return to profit.

“We expect to see an increase in the demand for NPK fertilisers as we approach the dry season farming period.

We also expect to harvest, mill and package the Notore Premium Rice Brand from the phase two pilot scheme this quarter,” said Ohiwerei.

On the outlook for the year, Ohiwerei said the company expects revenue growth of between 25 per cent and 30 per cent in the last quarter of the financial year, reflecting stability and reliability in the plant.

“Beyond 2021, our outlook remains to attain the nameplate production capacity, while expanding the distribution of Urea and NPK fertilisers,” he added.

MARKETS

Cornerstone Insurance profit surges on strong premium growth BALA AUGIE

Composite insurer Cornerstone’s strong revenue growth is able to absorb rising claims, underwriting, and management expenses, resulting in a surge in profit as the company’s innovative products are making an inroad into the Nigerian market.

For the first six months through September 2021, Cornerstone’s net income spiked by 65.65 percent to N1.53 billion from N924.70 million as at September 2020.

The improvement at the bottom line (profit) was largely driven by a doubledigit growth in premium income that helped compensate for unfavorable underwriting conditions.

Gross premium income

(GPI) was up 22.90 percent to N14.65 billion in September 2021 from N11.92 billion as at September 2020.

Net premium income (NPI) followed the same growth trajectory as it surged by 72.75m percent

to N6.24 billion as at September 2021 from N3.62 billion the previous year.

Premiums in the Life segment increased by 25.54 percent to N9.83 billion while the revenue in Non-Life Business was up 11.62 percent to N4.04

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billion.

However, there has not been improvement in underwriting results as the combined ratio is above the regulatory threshold while the insurer pays more in claims to gener-

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ate premium income.

Also, investment income no longer adds impetus to profitability, as insurance companies are reeling from the low yield environment brought on by the central bank’s dovish stance.

The combined ratio improved to 117.18 percent in September 2021- albeit higher than the 100 percent threshold- from 170.80 percent the previous year.

That translates to a negative real underwriting result of 996.63 million.

The real underwriting results are different from the underwriting profit as it includes management expenses in its calculations.

Cornerstone insurance said there has been con-

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tinued growth in special risk lines, especially in the power, aviation and oil and gas sectors, and it added that it is a testament to the confidence customers and partners have in its technical underwriting expertise.

During the year, the company received an approval in principle from the National Insurance Commission to start a composite Takaful insurance.

The insurance paid out N2.37 billion in claims at September 2021, and its claims ratio fell to 38.12 percent in the period under review from 65.63 percent the previous year.

Management expenses were up 22.90 percent to N2.65 billion in the period under review from N2.15 billion the previous year.

16 www.moneycentral.com.ng

Monday 15th - 21st November 2021

THE BOTTOM LINE

Alaghodaro 2021: Obaseki, stakeholders relish five years of impact, as gov launches 30-year devt plan ... unveils 8 centres for Edo’s economic transformation JESSICA MAURICE

The Edo State Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki and private sector partners in the state, at the Alaghodaro Summit 2021, on Friday, relished the impact of the annual summit and its role in driving public policy reforms, investment inflows, institutional reforms and sustained economic growth in the state.

Dignitaries at the summit include First Lady of Edo State, Mrs. Betsy Obaseki; Edo Deputy Governor, Rt. Hon. Comr.

Philip Shaibu; lawmakers from Edo State, including Senators Matthew Urhoghide, Francis Alimikhena and Clifford Ordia, representing Edo South, Edo North and Edo Central respectively and Speaker of the Edo State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Marcus Onobun.

Others are members of the State Executive Council; Chief Executive Officer, Starz Marine and Engineering Limited, Greg Ogbeifun; Chairman, Edo State Chapter of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Dr. Tony Aziegbemi; Chairman, Christian Association of Nigeria, Edo State Chapter, Oriname Oyennude Kure and the Chief Imam of Benin Central Mosque, Alhaji Abdufatah Enabulele, among others.

While delivering his address, the governor launched the state’s 30-year development plan and unveiled eight centres for the state’s economic transformation.

In its fifth edition, this year’s summit is themed, “Edo of Our

Dreams: Building a Sustainable Future.”

Launching the 30-year development plan for the state, Obaseki said, “Planning is not a document, it has to be a process; we have to live it and that is what the Edo 30 years developmental plan is all about. It’s broken into five-year periods and we have six of these periods.”

The centres for the state’s economic transformation, according to the Governor, include Benin River Port, the proposed Airport in Edo North Senatorial District, Edo State Oil Palm Programme, Victor Uwaifo Creative Hub and the Edo Production Centre.

Others are the Edo Tech Park, Innovation Centres across the state and various oil palm projects in Edo. According to the governor, “The Benin River Port project, for us, is going to be a gamechanger. Our feasibility studies show so much potential and viability in that project. The Benin River Port could be the second most viable port in Nigeria; it is one infrastructure that we must build.”

In his words: “We are leveraging on the key advantage of oil palm. We are aware that the oil palm is that crop that will bring large scale investors in the way we envision it; we are going to continue leveraging on technology to drive the future of our dear state.”

“Edo has the capacity to generate over 10,000 megawatts of

R-L: Speaker, Edo State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Marcus Onobun; Wife of Edo State Deputy Governor, Maryann Shaibu; Edo State Deputy Governor, Rt. Hon. Comrade Philip Shaibu; Edo State First Lady, Mrs. Betsy Obaseki and Governor Godwin Obaseki, during the Alaghodaro Summit 2021, in Benin City on Friday.

electricity, and we will do so. Our goal is that within the shortest time possible, we should be able to build over 200km of streetlights in the Benin metropolis.”

“As an investment banker, I know that the money we need to make Edo State the economic hub of the country is not a problem,” Obaseki reassured.

The governor further noted, “We have sustained the reforms in the healthcare system, ensur-

L-R: Senior Digital Development Specialist at World Bank, Ida Mboob ; CEO/Chief Technical Strategist e-Scape Technologies Ltd, Chris Abhulimen; Managing Director, Head of Sub-Saharan Africa (Ex-RSA), Yvonne Ike Fasinro; Edo State Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki; Edo State Deputy Governor, Rt. Hon. Comrade Philip Shaibu; Co-founder, Farmforte Limited, Osazuwa Osayi; Special Adviser to Edo State Governor on Strategies, Policies, Projects and Performance Management, Sarah Ajose-Adeogun Esangbedo and the Project Lead, Edo Tech Park, George Imoedemhe, during the Alaghodaro Summit 2021, in Benin City on Friday.

ing our people have access to quality and affordable health services. We are transforming the Central hospital and building a new Stella Obasanjo Hospital in our efforts to drive the needed change in the healthcare system in Edo State.

“I have no doubt in my mind that with the foundation we have laid in our basic education system, the future of our children in various basic schools across the state are very bright.”

In his welcome address, Chairman, Alaghodaro Economic Summit LTD/GTE and Chairman, Sterling Bank, Dr. Asue Ighodalo, said the Summit, conceived by Governor Obaseki, has served as a formidable platform for forging ideas and strategies to support the economic, social and development plans of the state government.

According to him, “The Summit has created great opportunities for cross-pollination between the private sector, public sector, civil society, traditional rulers and other critical stakeholders in Edo State, and enabled diversified but constructive views on the path to achieving the Edo State of our dreams.

“Recommendations from previous Summits have been adopted by the Government and have become policy, now contributing substantially to the government’s development agenda and plans for the attain-

ment of sustained high growth rate, regardless of global and national headwinds.”

Ighodalo added: “Without a shred of doubt, building a solid economic future for our State and assuring the happiness, livelihood and wellbeing of all the people that live in Edo State is the cardinal objective of this government and the driving thought, every waking moment of Mr. Governor.

“I applaud the fundamental and necessary foundation laying, rebuilding and substantial institutional reforms which have been implemented in the last five years, especially in our civil service, judiciary, Inland Revenue Services, health and education sectors, Arts & Culture and our infrastructure space.”

Earlier in his keynote address, the Group Managing Director, Saroafrica International Limited, Mr. Rasheed Sarumi noted, “In Edo State, there is an abundance of enablers to accelerate the actualization of the Governor’s 30-year vision. With Obaseki’s approach to governance, Edo is on the path to actualizing the state of our dreams.

“The literacy level in Edo State is one of the highest in the country and the State needs to leverage on that. People and knowledge is the enabler needed to accelerate the dreams of Edo State in transforming the lives of the citizens and improving their livelihoods.”

Published by MoneyCentral Media Ltd, 51 Road, House 35, Festac Town, 102102, Lagos. 161c Raufu Taylor Close, off Idejo Street, Victoria Island, Lagos.

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