BusinessDay 06 Oct 2020

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acing dangerous delays during emergencies in hospitals may cease as Nigeria’s new rapid test kit helps hospitals detect the Covid-19 status of patients within 40 minutes.

Private laboratories licensed to conduct the test currently tout less than 24 hours as the best deliverable while government reference laboratories often take 96 hours and even more to release results.

from private labs.

Essentially, more lives can be saved with clinical emergencies administered in a shorter time.

According to Babatunde Salako, NIMR director-general, the development of the test kit was backed with N20 million by FATE Foundation, a non-profit organisation that enables businesses.

However, the production is yet to go commercial as the institute anticipates partnership with indigenous pharmaceutical companies to circulate it, Rosemary Audu, head of virology at

Axxela Nsp-spv Funding 1 (Natural Gas) PowerCorp plc plc

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3m 2m 25-nov-20 30-Dec-20 391.71 394.55

6m 12m 31-Mar-21 29-Sept-21 403.06

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60m 36m 27-Sept-23 24- Sept-25 497.46

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No respite yet for travellers as Institute waits on partners for mass production But the SARS COV-2 Isothermal Molecular Assay, a point of care test developed by Nigeria Institute of Medical Research (NIMR), will decentralise testing further from the few selected laboratories to secondary and elementary hospitals willing to adopt it.

Patients who suddenly slip into emergency will be able to avoid both the long queue of samples scheduled for molecular analysis at governmentrun labs as well as the N50,400 charge attached to obtaining test

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Delays for test results may cease as kit helps detect COVID-19 in 40mins Temitayo Ayetoto

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NIMR, informs BusinessDay. Responding to how the new test kit will impact those aiming to test before travelling abroad, she explains that the adoption may still be limited to in-country usage until the Presidential Task Force on Covid-19 lifts the restriction on travel purpose testing to private labs.

“It will take a while for other facilities to get it. In the meantime, testing will still be done in private facilities until it is widely Continues on page 30

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Eligible customer policy still in limbo three years after ... as heavy power users unable to buy from Gencos ISAAC ANYAOGU

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hree years after, heavy power consumers declared eligible customers within the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry (NESI), who could buy power directly from electricity generation compaContinues on page 30

Inside

World Teachers’ Day: Buhari raises service year from 35 to 40, retirement age 60 to 65 P. 2

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news Explainer: What Nigeria’s new visa policy means for intending visitors IFEOMA OKEKE

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heNigeriaImmigration Service (NIS) has commenced the implementation of the new visa fees as well as the Nigeria Visa Policy 2020 (NVP 2020).

Muhammad Babandede, comptroller general of the NIS, made the announcement in a statement by the Service spokesman, Sunday James.

Babandede in the statement explains to the general public and the international community that the new visa fees approved by the Federal Government through the minister of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola, is based on the principles of reciprocity.

A key feature of the new policy is the expansion of the classes of visa from six to 79 to accommodate migrants’ additional travel requirements.

Experts have said given the many types of visas available, it is important that intending visitors to Nigeria understand the nature of each visa category and apply for the right type to avoid problems on arrival.

They have also asked the government to establish appropriate mechanisms to prevent abuse of the new visa categories and ensure that only deserving individuals who meet the specified requirements are issued appropriate visas to enter the

country.

A document provided by Wole Obayomi, a partner and head of Tax, KPMG Nigeria, explains the implications of the new visa policies to intending visitors.

According to Obayomi, the NVP 2020 classifies travellers to Nigeria into two broad categories: Visa Free/Exemption and Visa Mandatory.

For the visa free/exemption category, travellers can access four classes of visa namely: F1A, F1B, F1C and F1D. F1Aisforcitizensofmember States of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) who do not need to obtain a Nigerian visa to enter the country based on ECOWAS free movement protocol.

F1B is for citizens of Cameroon and Chad whose governments have Visa Abolition Agreements with Nigeria. They can travel to Nigeria for a maximumof90days(notforemployment or business) without obtaining a visa based on bilateral agreement. However, they must obtainrelevantvisasforemployment or business purposes.

F1C is for holders of official travel documents from some internationalorganisationswith visa waiver based on certain entry conditions. These organisations are the United Nations, African Union Commission, ECOWAS Commission and African Development Bank.

World Teachers’ Day: Buhari raises service year from 35 to 40, retirement age 60 to 65

… approves special salary scale for teachers … re-introduces bursary award to education students in varsities, COEs MARK MAYAH, Lagos & Godsgift Onyedinefu, Abuja

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resident Muhammadu Buhari has approved a special salary scale and new retirement age for teachers. The president’s gesture,announcedMondaybythe minister of education, Adamu Adamu, was in commemoration of the World Teachers’ Day. The president increased the number of service years for the teachers from 35 to 40. Over the years, Nigerian teachers have continued to agitate among others, an increase in their retirement age, welfare and salaries.

Buhari, at the 2020 World Teachers’ Day celebration in Abuja, explained that the implementation of the new

teachers’ salary scheme was to encourage the teachers in delivering better services for basic and secondary school teachers.

The president also increased the retirement age of teachers from 60 to 65. According to President Buhari, these were parts of ongoing moves by the government to revitalise and reposition the teaching profession in the country, by introducing “fundamentalandfar-reachingchanges.”

The president said a review of teachers’ development policies had revealed huge gaps in quantity and quality of teachers at all levels of the nation’s education system.

The implementation of the new policies is to attract best brains into the teaching profession and encourage teachers in delivering better services that would produce

quality students who would, in turn, contribute to national development, he said.

“Government notes the emergency situation in our educational system with particular reference to the dearth of qualified and dedicated teachers to enhance the quality of teaching and learning at all levels of our educational system.

“To address these challenges and set our country on the path of industrialisation where our educational system will produce the needed skills and manpower, I have approved the following: “The reintroduction of bursary award to education students in Universities and College of Education with assurance of automatic employment upon graduation, payment of stipends to Bachelor

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group of over 100 investors owed by Abuja-based digital agro-investment firm, Thrive Agric, has asked the platform to pay nearly N50 million owed in overdue investments or face legal action.

In a group statement sent to BusinessDay, the investors say they were compelled to seek legal redress given that the management of Thrive Agric has consistently breached promises made to clear the backlog of payments that go back to March 2020.

“They kept on giving us updates that the farms were doing fine. They kept on promising that the poultry was growing. They did a photoshoot on farms. Meanwhile, in May 2020, Eje Uka, the CEO of Thrive Agric, told investors with due payments in March 2020, that they were unable to pay because of off-takers.

This means that there are people they have been owing since March,” according to a spokesperson for the investors, Tega Ajogun.

As an agro-investment start-up founded in 2016, Thrive Agric enables investors to support agricultural ventures by investing in farms

at specific seasons. Those who invest earn a return on their investments depending on the duration and the amount they invest.

Investments on Thrive Agric mature between three and nine months, and returns range from 6 percent to 25 percent. The company got accepted into USbasedearly-stageventurecapital firm Y Combinator, where it was able to access $150,000 in 2019.

Sofar,thecompanyhasreceived $170,000.

The impact of the Covid-19 pandemic has affected the fortunes of virtually every company in Nigeria and around the world. However, for Thrive Agric the problem preceded the pandemic era.

Sources close to the company told BusinessDay that it started experiencing some internal challenges from the beginning of the year. Some investors also said Thrive Agric had some outstanding payments to make in 2019, which they failed to do and

by March they had not paid up in full.

Several investors who knew there was trouble opted for a six-month to nine-month short term investment with Thrive Agric with the hope they would get their money back. www.businessday.ng

Continues on page 30 L-R: Femi Gbajabiamila, speaker, House of Representatives; Ahmed Lawan, Senate president; Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, and President Muhammadu Buhari, during a 2-day executive and legislative leadership retreat, at the State House, Abuja, yesterday.

Angry investors issue 5-day ultimatum to Thrive Agric as overdue payments hit N50m FRANK ELEANYA

of Education students as well as granting them automatic employment after graduation is now a government policy.

“The Tertiary Education Fund (TETFUND) will now fund teaching practice in Universities and Colleges of Education, special salary scale for teachers in basic and secondary schools including provisions for rural posting allowance, science teachers allowance and peculiar allowance.

“Special teacher pension scheme to enable the teaching profession retain its experienced talent as well as extend teachers retirement age to 65 years and teachers service years to 40, create a career path policy for teaching profession in Nigeria and, teach-

Nigeria’s dollar squeeze summed up in one chart Mercy Ayodele

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ollar transactions at Nigeria’s Investors and Exporters (I&E) window slumped 47 percent to $36 billion between January and September 2020, from $68.8 billion a year ago, according to market data, in a sign of Nigeria’s bruising dollar crunch.

Dollar inflows into Nigeria have ebbed this year on the back of lower oil prices and the Covid-19-induced global economic slowdown. The reduced dollar inflows have taken a toll on an economy that is heavily reliant on the greenback for key imports from food to manufacturing inputs.

Despite the activities of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to beat the dollar crunch in the past few months, the low turnover in the I&E window shows that it has yielded little gains.

Though FX turnover month-on-month did appreciate 47 percent to N2.26 billion in September compared

Source:FMDQ to N1.53 billion recorded in August 2020, which is a sign of improvement, it is still a far cry from the N8.1 billion traded in the same period last year, as trade volumes remain very low due to tightened liquidity.

The decline in oil prices and foreign investor apathy led to dollar shortages in the FX market and that has seen the naira depreciate significantly The CBN has devalued the

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naira twice this year alone. The official naira has weakened by 24 percent to N380 per US dollar from N306 per dollar at the beginning of the year.

The CBN was also ordered by the Federal Government to stopproviding foreignexchange for food and fertilizer import to conserve scarce dollars and boost local productions.

The dollar demand management strategy of the CBN @Businessdayng

does not seems to be attracting dollar inflows as investors are still staying clear of the foreign exchange market while others have their cash trapped in the country, as they have remained on the queue for dollars.

Turnover rate in the I&E windowhasbeenonasteadydecline sinceMarch2020,butthepicture looks bleaker when compared

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news

Experts speak on data protection regulation at UUBO 5th webinar series IFEOMA OKEKE

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R-L: Festus Keyamo, minister of state for labour and employment; George Oko-Oboh, regional executive, Abuja and North, Heritage Bank, and Ladan Mohammed, director-general, NDE, during the issuance of Federal Government’s letter of engagement to Heritage Bank and 5 other banks to open 774,000 SPW beneficiaries’ accounts, in Abuja.

Lagos to increase housing stock with 3004 units by December JOSHUA BASSEY

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agos government is working to add some 3004 units to available housing stock in the state before the end of 2020, with the completion and delivery of additional seven housing schemes, the governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu has disclosed.

Sanwo-Olu spoke in Lagos on Monday, at an event to mark this year’s World Habitat Day, with the theme “housing for all; a better urban future.”

According to the governor, represented at the event by his deputy, Obafemi Hamzat, his administration is committed towards making befitting accommodation available to Lagosians through pragmatic models that will incorporate private sector partnership, encourage local contents and cut costs while also creating

employment.

“The thrust of this year’s celebration is a major policy objective of the fourth pillar of our administration’s T.H.E.M.E.S agenda: Making Lagos a 21st century economy. The current and projected future population of our state presents huge opportunities for investors in the housing sector and a compelling need for urban renewal.”

Speaking further, he said: “Our pact with Lagosians as contained in our T.H.E.M.E.S agenda under the fourth pillar is to ensure a significant reduction in the housing deficit through the provision of affordable and decent housing and to deepen our commitment to a greater Lagos by advancing our strides towards an enduring urban future, founded on good spatial and sectoral planning.”

To accelerate the realisation of this objective, he stated that his administration had returned

the atate to the National Housing Fund and appointed the Lagos Building Investment Company (LBIC) Plc as the sole mortgage provider to facilitate a reduction in the housing deficit in Lagos State.

“We have also taken concrete steps to increase the housing stock in the state through combined efforts of the ministry of housing, the Lagos State Property Development Corporation (LSDPC) and Lagos Building Investment Company in delivering affordable housing units to the teeming population” he said.

The governor declared that the total housing stock in the state would, by the end of this year, have increased by 3004 units with the completion and delivery of additional seven housing schemes, comprising 2,268 units as the government had completed and commissioned within the last

16 months, a number of housing schemes including Lateef Kayode Housing Estate, Igando, Courtland Villas, Lekki and Lekki Apartments, Ikate Elegushi.

He added that the state was committed to the full implementation of the rent-to-own policy, aimed at achieving the objective of making housing affordable and accessible to low income Lagosians, under which 1303 Lagosians had become homeowners in Oba Adeboruwa, Lateef Jakande and Epe Housing Schemes.

“The government is equally aware of the debilitating impact of urban squalor on the socio-economic development of the State; and has thus strengthened the Lagos State Urban Renewal Authority (LASURA) as the relevant government agency to initiate and implement fresh ideas for eradicating slums in the Lagos mega city”

xperts from regulatory bodies, law firms, ICT and data protection firms have explained how data can be transferred from country to country with application of the right data regulations.

Speaking during the 5th session of its September series webinar organised by Udo Udoma & Belo-Osagie (UUBO) in collaboration with its Investigations, Compliance and Ethics (ICE) team, titled: ‘Cross-border application of data protection regulation, Olufemi Daniel, lead, Regulations Monitoring and Compliance, National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), said to transfer data on trans-border basis, there must be a stated legal basis for the transfer to be done.

Daniel explained that except for security and other peculiar issues, it was expected that the data subject should be informed of the data transfer, adding that the objective of the Nigerian Data Protection Regulation, (NDPR) was that Nigerian businesses be afforded the opportunity to interact globally.

He further explained that one of the propositions Nigeria is making is that Africa should be made a single market, so that if data is being transferred to other countries, it should be a seamless continental transfer rather than a cross border transfer.

“There are lot of data going

CRC Credit Bureau gives insights on how to access intervention funds STEPHEN ONYEKWELU

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RC Credit Bureau Limited has embarked on a campaign to increase awareness on the various Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) intervention funds available to Nigerian businesses before and during the Covid-19 era.

This was at a webinar, themed ‘CBN intervention funds: access, impact and prospects,’ under the ‘You and Credit’ webinar series organised as part of the credit bureau’s corporate social responsibility to educate individuals and businesses on credit and finance.

Zephaniah Chinedu Ogbonnaya, from the Anchor Borrowers Programme, Development Finance Department of the CBN, highlighted the objectives of the various funds which include, encouraging exportation, expanding output

of agriculture and the manufacturing services sector to conserve foreign reserves.

Ogbonnaya introduced some of the various funds, and how they are accessed by businesses in different sectors of the Nigerian economy. He also touched on the impact these funds have made on Nigerian businesses and the economy.

For details on each fund, he encouraged participants at the webinar to visit the CBN website. This would furnish applicants with relevant information before approaching commercial banks for access to government funding.

Simon Aranonu, executive director, Large Enterprises Bank of Industry, listed the intervention funds available through the Bank of Industry (BoI), such as the Power and Airline Intervention Fund (PAIF). He also mentioned the objectives www.businessday.ng

of each of these funds and the terms/conditions that are stipulated for each of them.

Additionally, practising responsible borrowing is a requirement that was also emphasised. Olusegun Alebiousu, chief risk officer, First Bank of Nigeria Limited, recommended that Nigerian consumers and Nigerian business owners shun the attitude of referring such interventions as their share of the proverbial national cake in Nigeria. This means meeting the requirements before accessing any form of finance either through the government or financial institutions. It also implies repaying according to stipulated agreements and contract.

However, people familiar with happenings in the business community have highlighted the various challenges business owners face in accessing

these funds which include, costs of the funds, their short tenure, and the difficulty of even accessing these funds at all especially for small businesses.

Tunde Popoola, managing director and CEO CRC Credit Bureau, reiterated the importance and role of credit bureaus in facilitating access to finance and their contributions in increasing the availability and accessibility of consumer and micro small and medium enterprises loans in Nigeria over the past 10 years.

“We are using every means possible to educate individuals and businesses on how to access finance and keep their credit history positive. Many Nigerians are not aware of the financial implications of keeping a positive credit history and its implications on accessing finance, even if they are government funds,” Popoola said.

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in and coming out of Nigeria as a result of our population and size. The philosophy behind the Nigerian Data Protection Regulation, (NDPR) is to ensure Nigerian businesses remain competitive in the global economy. We want to ensure we have a pragmatic law that meets the global acceptable minimal standard that we can start on. The NDPR recognises the right to transfer data outside of Nigeria except government data,” Daniel added.

After four successful and engaging events, Udo Udoma & Belo-Osagie’s Investigations, Compliance and Ethics (ICE) team held the fifth session of the “UUBO ICE September Series 2020”.

The UUBO ICE September Series is an interactive series of webinar sessions held every Wednesday in September 2020.

Each session featured curated panels of local and international stakeholders and experts, offering richly diverse cross-border perspectives, experience, and best practices on topical ICE issues.

Jumoke Lambo, partner in the law firm of Udo Udoma & Belo-Osagie (UUBO) and head immigration, business establishment and advisory teams, stated the need for organisations, which collect, process, store or transfer the data of persons from other jurisdiction to be aware of the obligations imposed by the data protection and privacy laws of different jurisdictions, as this cannot be overemphasised.

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A country in dire need of patriots

Love for country and citizens is imperative LIBERAL MINDED

MA JOHNSON

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t appears that in Nigeria there is an emphasis on logic by our leaders when it concerns governance over emotions that can stimulate actions. This might indicate that Nigeria’s leadership challenges rests heavily on poor emotional intelligence. Quite frankly, logic makes people think while emotions make them act.

Nigeria is a wonderful country by all standards. We have all the resources one can possibly think of, but the problem is how to manage the resources for greatness. The 60th independence anniversary should serve as a time for sober reflection. It is time to have a rethink and depart from the divisive and bitter politics that have taken centre stage in our polity. We must build a nation where equity, justice and fairness are embraced by pursuing the right politics.

We must be able to tell ourselves the truth that the bitterness of the past 60 years exhibited by some individuals against their fellowmen will continue to obstruct our progress.

The solution to our current challenges, be it economic or political will henceforth depend on how best those in authority plan our tomorrow today. We must produce more and consume less, and to do so, a lot of self-discipline is required. Our politicians must stop politicising issues that

are purely economic and educational.

For how long do we want to move from one crisis to the other? We will not be able to face the challenges of nation building if we cannot muster a large number of patriots. Who are true patriots? These are Nigerians who are prepared in all respects to vigorously support the country and are prepared to defend it against enemies or detractors including their countrymen who exhibit traits that are inimical to the wellbeing of other citizens.

Patriots show love to their countrymen and women irrespective of religion, tribe and political affiliation. Patriots don’t loot the treasury; they don’t lie. Patriots don’t kill their countrymen and women. We need patriots in the executive, legislative and judicial arms of government. The country needs a patriot in the private sector and religious institutions. We need patriots to help build strong institutions.

It is true that Nigerians need inspiring words because the state of the nation is below expectation. We need a large number of patriots in Nigeria.

No nation makes it where the number of patriots is few when compared to those who do not like her unity.

Nigeria is at crossroads in terms of development. And we should not only be inspired by words but by action.

We need to begin a sincere process of national healing. We must organise, discipline and educate our citizens.

We must eschew Nigerian factors and rationally apply the federal character policy. Indeed, meritocracy should be promoted in the public sector.

When those in the government give an impression that where you come from is more important than what you can do, what do we expect the less privileged to do?

Then what you get in return is a brain drain- most young professionals leaving the country quietly. So, when a nation’s bright minds leave

the country in droves, who will help the nation develop its economy? Chinese? No way. That is why experts say that Nigeria is making a huge mistake by not harnessing the potential of our youths in the country. Those in authority must “redrain” the brain drain.

I have gone through Mr President’s speech delivered during the 60th Independence Anniversary. Overall, the speech carries a lot of right things expected from any president on an Independence Day. It is true that there is hope for Nigeria. But when will this happen? For many years, Nigerian leaders have made inspiring and exciting speeches but I consider implementation more important than what they say. We have a litany of broken promises. I agree with scholars and public affairs analysts who want the government to reflect on contemporary issues but most importantly, to do the needful such that when Nigerians are called to take pride in Nigeria, they are encouraged to do so.

The key challenge for governance and government in the past 60 years is to act on what has been said. The next decade should be how to engage Nigerians in meaningful economic activities. Nigeria should be a country we can all take pride in. A working country we are proud of. A country that can meet our aspirations through good governance. A country that is economically vibrant.

Those in authority at the federal, state and local government levels must be creative. If those in government cannot bring back to life the economy of the country, then can anyone be blamed if he or she says that “democracy is in danger in Nigeria.” How does a nation run a democracy with many poor people?

One should carefully study countries in sub-Saharan Africa that have either failed or failing. Today, most of these failed or failing sub-Saharan African countries are in precarious situations

‘

I agree with scholars and public affairs analysts who want the government to reflect on contemporary issues but most importantly, to do the needful such that when Nigerians are called to take pride in Nigeria, they are encouraged to do so

because of poverty.

Any society that is peaceful and stable will do well. It is the citizens that make a society work effectively, not law. A nation may have the best laws on paper. But when most of the people are not patriots, they will not obey the laws. Perhaps, that is the reason why some scholars are of the view that Nigeria needs a constitution that looks at the country’s peculiar circumstances. A constitution that ensures that “we the people of Nigeria” hand over power to politicians who are accountable, transparent and responsible to the citizens.

We have to move on with building our country. Other countries will not wait for us. The choice before us is either to continue fermenting troubles or to map out new strategies for the survival of almost 200 million people.

No country develops by accident. Nations work towards achieving development. Nations have started looking at how they can achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) articulated by the United Nations by 2030.

How far has Nigeria gone with the 17 pillars of the SDGs? Most of our people do not have access to drinking water, healthcare, education, and affordable housing. If we continue on the path of disunity, mediocrity and nepotism, Nigeria will not develop.

And most of our people will continually wallow in abject poverty.

Nigeria cannot stand divided. A situation where every ethnic group sees itself as a nation cannot stand.

Inspiring confidence in citizens requires more patriots than we ever had.

Enough of emotion-laden speeches.

Love for country should be love for countrymen. It is time to act.

Thank you.

Johnson is an author and a retired naval engineer who has passion for African development and good governance

The time for society to act and prevent a misinformation apocalypse is now

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t is about time that online misinformation is taken more seriously. The political, social and economic effects of misinformation can be formidable.

Online social media has brought together billions of people around the world. The impact of diverse platforms such as Facebook, WeChat, Reddit, LinkedIn etc. has been transformational. The number of active users of the six most popular online social networks combined is estimated at about 10 billion. The World Wide Web (the Web) is a place where online content can be created, consumed and diffused without any real intermediary. This empowering aspect of the Web is generally a force for good: people are now generally better informed and participation in online discussion is more inclusive (barriers to participation are reduced).

But researchers have increasingly highlighted the darker side of online social media.

The general absence of intermediaries online (journalists are intermediaries in traditional print media) allows a free-for-all direct path from producers of questionable content to consumers. Malicious actors take advantage of this gap. Two disturbing trends have been highlighted: ‘information disorder’ and ‘echo chambers’. Misinformation (false or misleading information regardless of in-

tent), disinformation (false and misleading information with intention to deceive) and malinformation (information true or false with intent to cause harm) are common types of information disorders.

The World Economic Forum highlighted information disorder as a threat to society.

Echo chambers online consist of spaces where people are exposed only to content created by like-minded users of the platform.

Similar to echo chambers are filter bubbles, artificially created by algorithms using the user’s online history to further suggest or recommend other content. Echo chambers and filter bubbles reduce the quality of discourse online and can directly and indirectly lead to the creation and diffusion of biased and unsubstantiated content.

Researchers have studied the spread of conspiracy theories within echo chambers and filter bubbles. One study discovered that on the Twitter platform, untruth was retweeted quicker and by more people than truthful content (70 percent more retweets). One research revealed that false content reached 1500 people six times as fast as it took truthful content to reach the same number of people. Some analysts see online misinformation as a national security challenge and equipped with cybersecurity www.businessday.ng

tools, they track misinformation the way they would track malware, to prevent “the hacking of people’s beliefs.”

Facebook complained years ago that “bots” have invaded its platform, an estimated 60 million bots. Bots are fake accounts that focus on the spread of false content. Twitter is on spared: it was estimated that up to 15 percent of Twitter accounts are actually not human accounts but bots.

In an article “Fake News: understanding the scourge in Nigeria” Raji Raski explains the misinformation ecosystem in Nigeria: “‘fake news’ thrives in Nigeria in its different variants. These variants include misinformation, disinformation and mal-information… the nation’s culture of “closed” (as opposed to open) governance, which thrives on official secrecy and dearth of timely official information is a recipe for the scourge to spread…Nigeria’s [increasing] population on social media and other digital space is an escape route from muffled voices in the mainstream; an avenue to create, share and distribute contents of all sorts, many of which populate the misinformation ecosystem in Nigeria.”

A conspiracy theory can be considered as an attempt to simplify reality: a dangerous shortcut. Framers of a conspiracy theory

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UYIOSA OMOREGIE (and the believers) try to simplify the causes of complex social or political reality. Mental impatience. Research led by Virem Swami of the University of Westminster revealed that thinking dispositions influence people’s belief in conspiracy theories. Results from the examination by Swami of the link between measures of thinking disposition and belief in conspiracy theories revealed “a stronger belief in conspiracy theories was significantly associated with lower analytic thinking and open-mindedness and greater intuitive thinking.” Other researchers have shown that it may be possible through analytic training to “inoculate” people against the invasion of conspiracy theories hacking people’s beliefs.

The time has come for governments and civil society to prioritize online literacy and analytical thinking.

Omoregie is research analyst and a fellow of the Institute of Management Consultants. @UyiosaOM (Twitter) uyiosa.omoregie@avramturing.com

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Shifting global demographics: An African opportunity? (3)

RAFIQ RAJI

Africa’s unique demographics — a double-edged sword? (2) f the thesis of a future world in which Africans play a far more dominant role comes to pass, then non-African firms and societies must prepare to welcome that eventuality. The early signs are that a world order that discriminates against a more dominant African presence would be a recipe for disaster. The rapid globalisation of the “Black Lives Matter” protests in 2020 signals that the world (firms, individuals, societies, and governments) must take action to strengthen the foundations of an equitable world of opportunities that benefit everyone.

The ageing developed world may always need labour (It is unlikely robots would be able to do everything.).

There is little doubt that Africa can fill part of its requirement. However, an unskilled African population would be unable to tap new opportuni-

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ties as they emerge. For Africa to exploit its demographic advantage, its education, infrastructure, and democratisation policies must receive priority. There is evidence that such policies engender and prolong the demographic dividend. Renteria, Souto, Mejia-Guevara & Patxot (2016) find education policy crucial to extending the demographic dividend for developing countries, as they navigate through the early stages of their demographic transition.

The alternative, an African population that is largely unskilled and uneducated, would be injurious both to Africa and to the world.

Youth bulges are linked to violence and war. “There is a proven link between the youthfulness of a society and its proclivity to go to war (Morland, 2019).” But it need not be so.

“Population growth and economic boom become self-reinforcing under the right circumstances (Morland, 2019).” If economic opportunities are abundant, an educated and skilled African workforce is unlikely to be viewed as threatening. In fact, this would provide a solution to what Bricker & Ibbitson (2019) call the future “empty planet”.

Demographic transition theory posits “societies that experience modernisation progress from a premodern regime of high fertility and high mortality to a post-modern regime in which both are low (Kirk, 1996).” Using data for the 1970-2005 period from 77 countries, Wilson & Dyson (2017) find that the demo-

graphic transition facilitates democratisation. This process is underway in Africa, and the continent is likely to realise dividends from its transition.

However, Africa has a unique set of circumstances. Its demographic transition to date has been unsteady, with halts and reversals. Many African countries continue to have high fertility and child mortality rates.

Thus, “while sub-Saharan Africa will likely follow a similar process of development to that already seen in other countries this process may take 50 years, or it may take 200 years; the difference between these in terms of human welfare is enormous” (Canning, 2011).

But transition is still in its early stages. The “demographic dividend” is years away for many African countries, most of which remain predominantly rural and agrarian. “Africa’s rapid progression to lower fertility has been charted, and this might spread to the rest of sub-Saharan Africa far more quickly than expected, bursting the African demographic bubble (Morland, 2019).”

The continent’s projected urban and industrial metamorphosis is likely to take years, if not decades.

This is because only a few African countries have been able to leverage the opportunities their cities provide to reduce poverty. According to Lall (2020), “markets for land are generally dysfunctional, product markets are fragmented, and weak city planning and limited finance hobble urban development.” And not until poli-

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Lower fertility and mortality rates and a growing labour force will characterise this new urban and industrial Africa.

These factors will encourage savings, investment and greater welfare.

Of course, demography alone will not guarantee economic and geopolitical success

cies and markets are well-aligned to development can Africa hope to fully realise its demographic dividend.

Lower fertility and mortality rates and a growing labour force will characterise this new urban and industrial Africa. These factors will encourage savings, investment and greater welfare. Of course, demography alone will not guarantee economic and geopolitical success. For instance, “Japan’s ability to conquer and dominate large parts of China shows that demography alone was not sufficient – China, after all, always had more people – but a combination of Japanese demographic and industrial dynamism could defeat the Chinese demographic giant” (Morland, 2019).

Without appropriate policies, Africa’s demographic advantage might well become a population growth story featuring misery instead of prosperity.

Edited & published by the NTUSBF Centre for African Studies at Nanyang Business School, Singapore. References, figures, tables, etc. in original article viz. https://nbs. ntu.edu.sg/Research/ResearchCentres/CAS/Publications/Documents/NTU-SBF percent20CAS%20 ACI %20Vol. %202020-32.pdf “Dr Raji is chief economist at Macroafricaintel.

He was previously an Africa Economist at Standard Chartered Bank, London, UK. (Twitter: @ DrRafiqRaji)”

Edo elections – beyond the lizards, lions, and killy-loo birds A person wearing a suit and description automatically generated he events leading to the just concluded governorship election in Edo State which should ideally be shaped by debates about developmental issues and how to broaden social opportunities to the people of Edo State became for some actors, a devotion to trivial matters of lizards challenging lions, of buzzing mosquitoes and political recriminations. Even Patrick Obahiagbon of the land of Igodomigodo, would have been impressed with the rich content of linguistic grandiloquence on display.

And talking of mosquitoes, lizards and lions, we have always known that mosquitoes have the capacity to cause collateral damage but if there is any take-away, (and perhaps eat-in) from the elections for politicians, it is that some fables may not be fables after all, if the pitiable sight of almighty lions sprawling on the floor from the deadly jabs of mere lizards serves any useful lesson.

On a brighter note, there were several videos that surfaced during the build-up to the election – some hilarious, some full of histrionics, hubris and hot air. Yet, there is a particular video that will not fail to catch the attention of any music lover - that of some very popular boys in Benin, who clearly possess the gift of music but not the discipline to excel in it, piping sublime Edo music with so much dexterity and euphoria that anyone could, at first glance, have dubbed them as Osayomore boys until you realise it is an unholy gathering, the last dance for survival of some desperate non-state actors who have held market women, drivers and the people in the jugulars for so long. They are street urchins.

Some of them have become billionaires in the

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course of their unholy alliance with politicians and government.

Even Pastor Ize-Iyamu, in whose camp they pitched their tent, was a guest of the boys in one of their performances. Governor Obaseki should not stop at retiring these boys, he should help them to realise their more noble calling by creating a platform for them to better hone their musical skills and ultimately become worthy progeny to the famed musical maestros whose talents throb Edo musical landscape over the years such as Sir Victor Uwaifo, Ambassador Osayomore, Waziri Oshomah, Leo Fadaka, Young Bolivia Osigbemhe, Benji Igbadumhe, Adviser Nowamagbe, and among many others.

Let us now negotiate a detour away from the tales of lizards and lions to the more central issues of the election itself and what it means for the Edo People. To be fair to Pastor Ize-Iyamu, the election was never about him and he should therefore resist the temptation of putting on the toga of a loser neither should he feel the urge to seek judicial intervention even when such is recognised as his inalienable right to exercise.

The outcome of the election bears more credence to POI’s association than his character.

Some will argue that character defines association but not in all cases. It is beyond debate that Ize-Iyamu was more popular in 2016 than in 2020 and in fact had an edge in 2016 but for federal might (a euphemism for subversion of the people’s will) he probably would have won.

Rather, the election should be seen as a referendum against Killy-Looism, the practice by a mythical Killy-Loo bird bent on flying in a backward direction either because it didn’t care or was acutely unaware of where it was going but was awfully interested in where it had been. It was an unambiguous message to mortals who

assumed extraterrestrial character and feigned the appearance of direct conversation with God and therefore arrogated to themselves the sole entitlement to the dispensation of political fortunes at their pleasure - the rejection of a political sect whose idea of politics is essentially predatory, devoid of moral conscience. They are in all the political parties.

Such was the angst across the state that in a fair game (the election was free and fair they say, but relatively free and fair, is more apt), the performance of the opposition party could not have averaged more than 35 percent overall and less than 20 percent in Edo Central, for the obvious reasons of perceived government neglect and politics of exclusion suffered by Esanland during the last administration and the permutations of tripodal balancing come 2024. We are all victims of neglect. Yes, even in Edo North, the odds were heavily stacked against POI’s aspiration.

The people have made their choice and spoken in clear terms. The election of Godwin Obaseki may well portend an excellent prospect of social and economic progress in Edo State and ultimately extricate the public interest from the grip and spirited advocacy of a small coterie of feudal lords whose only mission is nothing but misguided enterprise, with controlling impulses possessed solely by the vices of privilege, profits, prestige and power, and completely stripped of any cause greater than self-gratification.

Once the message of September 19 is fully seized with clarity by Governor Obaseki, it will then become less tasking for him to realise that the statement was wrapped in sure-footed expectations. Expectations which make a rightful claim on the Governor’s self-love and

GLENN UBOHMHE humanity. Self-love in the context of immortality is rooted in the Indian religious philosophy which admonishes that what should I do with that which I do not become immortal. The people have placed a moral burden on Governor Obaseki. How he responds will be recorded by and for posterity.

No doubt, Obaseki posted some admirable success during his first term. Yet the success could have been better and more broad-based if the second half of his first term was not mired in fratricidal war. The governor now has four more years left to show that his quest to retain his tenancy of Osadebe House is borne out of altruistic desire to serve rather than a mere romance with sophistry, as claimed in some quarters. It did not take Professor Ambrose Folorunsho Alli (may God bless his soul) a decade to etch his name in the minds of Bendelites with his visionary leadership and inclusive distribution of infrastructure even with far limited resources. Edos voted en masse for Governor Obaseki, it is time to reciprocate by pursuing a more comprehensive development strategy which does not leave any part of the state behind. It is time to reverse the restraint of grinding poverty that pervades the state through social provisioning and job creation.

“E Pluribus Unum”, “Unum de multis”, Edo Òkpa ‘Nó.

Glenn Ubohmhe (FCA, FCTI) lives in Lagos www.businessday.ng

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Gains of using digital technology to drive greater productivity in Nigerian ports

FESTUS OKOTIE

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igeria is the largest economy in Africa with an estimated population of 200 million people, land area 923,768km square, coastline 853km, Income per capita $2,250, road network 195,000km. It has six (6) ports namely Apapa and Tin Can in Lagos, the Onne and PortHarcourt port, Warri port and the Calabar port and has a very productive young population of 60 percent aged between 15 and 65 years.

It is the world’s sixth largest oil producer (largest in Africa) with GDP of $446.543 billion in 2019 and has over 300 square kilometres of arable land and significant deposits of largely untapped minerals. Seaports play a fundamental role in the development of trade and economies of nations as around 80 percent of global trade are transported by commercial shipping, where maritime trade accounts for nearly 25 percent of global traffic volume.

The sector serves as the gateways and transit points through which imports and exports flow in Nigeria is a very critical element for the nation’s economic success because they provide access to markets, support supply chains that helps link-up consumers and producers. It is a very strategic sector to Nigerian economy and has over 80 million people daily that relies on it.

The Nigerian Ports Authority management declared the sum of N67.19 billion for three months that ended

March 31, 2019, representing 24.8 percent of the N270.56 billion earned in 12 months ending December 31, 2018. It declared N299.56 billion as revenue generated for 2017 fiscal year exceeding its 2016 figures of N162.20 billion by 84.65 percent. In 2013, it generated the sum of N154.50 billion, it increased to N159.30 billion and N180.50 billion in 2014 and 2015 respectively, its revenue however dropped to N162.20 billion in 2016 Global trade facilitates economic development and so many countries including Nigeria must take advantage of this linkage by reducing or eliminating obstacles that can affect the movement of goods and trade transactions through its ports. The sector urgently needs to leverage on the economic benefits of using digital technology to drive excellence across all its areas of operations and management to add more value and increase its market share.

There is overwhelming evidence that the majority of ports around the world have leveraged the adoption of modern digital technology to drive higher performance of their ports.

Some examples of ports globally that used the advantage of this technology to boost remarkable results are Port of Rotterdam, Antwerp Port, Port of Shanghai, Port of Singapore etc.

In 2019, the transportation sector in Nigeria increased its GDP from $642.927 to $720.241 million. The nation’s port played a significant role in this achievement. In 2017 a World Bank Indicator that promotes trading across borders measured after assessing different ports globally ranked Nigerian Ports at 183 out of 185 countries. It also classified Nigerian ports among the worst ports in the world due to lack of modern technology, infrastructural deficits, poor planning, Port managerial challenges.

Some examples of the corrupt practices in Nigerian ports are undervaluation of the exact cargo tonnage

and non-declaration of actual cargo by shippers, fake freight forwarders and shipping agents in the ports. These were all responsible for its challenges such as low patronage, congestion, low -turnaround time, environmental and sustainability challenges, safety issues, insecurity and corruption (Corruption perception Index 2019 of Nigeria 146th out of 198 countries with a score of 26/100) The high corruption rate in the ports are responsible for why Nigerian government’s projection to generate $5.8 billion from the maritime industry cannot be achieved which can be blocked through the adoption of modern digital technology systems.

Nigerian ports should fully adopt the use of digital technology applications such as internet of things (IOT) to accelerate exchange of data and information across all areas of the ports.

Also, the use of automated technology to increase efficiency, artificial intelligence (AI) to monitor and gather information to quickly adapt to changes capable of affecting the efficient operations of the ports should also be used and sensor technology which will help in the areas of safety and security at the ports.

In addition to improving security at the ports the use of cameras with integrated biometrics software, use of smart ID card, face scanner, facial recognition technology, cameras with integrated biometrics software should also be used to improve security which would help checkmate activities of touts, unwanted persons and vehicles within and outside the proximity of the port which would help drive greater efficiency and remove congestion and traffic gridlocks at the port It is very important that Nigerian ports must develop a competitive edge for it to achieve greater success. It must maintain and implement digital and smart-port technologies for it to be more productive, customer friendly, efficient, profitable and competitive.

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The high corruption rate in the ports are responsible for why Nigerian government’s projection to generate $5.8 billion from the maritime industry cannot be achieved which can be blocked through the adoption of modern digital technology systems.

Note: the rest of this article continues in the online edition of Business Day @https://businessday.ng

Okotie, a maritime transport specialist, writes via fokotie.bernardhall@gmail.com, Fokotie@ bernardhallgroup.com

At 60, we should not grope in the dark

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hen a person adds a new year, the celebration will often be met with felicitations, special wishes, prayers and in many cases, birthday presents. The excitement will be palpable as the celebrant unboxes their presents, and the grin that is plastered on their face from ear to ear would reflect the sheer joy at the love that those presents signify.

Nigeria turns 60 on October 1, and indeed there has been a lot of fanfare about this celebration, including President Muhammadu Buhari setting up a steering committee to transition the agenda 20:2020 to an Agenda 2050, with the core objective of lifting Nigerians out of poverty. Yet we cannot honestly speak about lifting the country out of poverty without a significant commitment to fixing power supply and ensuring access to affordable, modern, clean and reliable energy for all. Nigerians- and indeed Nigeria- has groped in the dark for the most part of its sixty years. For about three decades, what used to be known as the Nigerian Electric Power Authority (NEPA) traumatised Nigerians with poor and unreliable power supply, decrepit electricity infrastructure and poor customer service.

For the average Nigerian, power supply was a luxury to be distributed at the behest of the Federal Government through NEPA

when and how it pleased. In 2013, Nigeria completed the privatization of its power sector, a move which many expected would be the silver bullet for the nation’s electricity problems, yet seven years down the line, many of the power supply challenges that existed in 1972 when NEPA came on board, still exist. The USAID Power Africa Fact sheet reveals that 55 percent of Nigerians do not have access to power supply. For those who have access, the quality of access teeters somewhere between unreliable and epileptic. At 60, we should not grope in the dark. Not for a country that first generated electricity in 1896.

With power supply in the country oscillating between 3, 000 to 4, 00 MW despite the 40, 000 target of vision 20:2020, research by the Renewable Energy Association of Nigerian (REAN) in 2017 has revealed that Nigeria is the highest net importer of generators in Africa. In 2018 alone, 145 billion naira was spent on importing generators into the country, a National Bureau of Statistics report says. Apart from the noise effect of these generators, the pollution generated by them is inimical to health and the environment and contributes heavily to climate change.

This repeated failure to fix power supply has resulted in too many Nigerians having lost faith in public utility, believing that in no utopic imagination of Nigeria can we ever

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Successful ports globally have all leveraged on adoption of digital technology to increase their value and market share, examples are cloud-based services, mobile devices and apps, sensors, Internet of things technologies, augmented reality, autonomous transportation, block chain technology, automation, artificial intelligence AI and big data.

Internet of Things (IoT) represents a convergence between physical and digital worlds, ultimately using data as a source of value which can be applied in diverse settings from transport optimisation to warehousing and transport management systems, all these developments are accelerated by a centralized networks system that relies on distribution and analysis of information. Some examples of ports transformed by digital technology application are Rotterdam ports, Port of Antwerp, Port of Singapore and Port of Shanghai in China, the largest and busiest Port in the world.

The Port of Singapore is the second, both ports are the busiest in the World in terms of cargo tonnage and it is not surprising that Port of Shanghai handled 744 million tonnes of cargo in 2012 including 32.5 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) of containers, it comprise of 125 berths with a total quay length of about 20km and serves more than 2,000 container ships on a monthly basis, the port accounts for a quarter of China’s total foreign trade.

CALEB ADEBAYO achieve a fully powered country. Yet, I do not hold this view. Achieving a fully powered Nigeria is not a myth- it only requires the right policies, proper commercial conditions and dogged political will.

As it stands, there are a swathe of challenges facing the electricity sector. From gas pricing, grid unreliability and decrepit power supply infrastructure to illiquidity, unmetered customers, electricity theft and until recently, lack of cost-reflective tariffs.

Sadly though, some of these challenges are high-sounding for many rural dwellers who have never been connected to the grid and know nothing about tariffs, infrastructure or metering- Their reality is either darkness or when they can afford the constant hum of generators. It is almost impossible to lift people out of poverty where they do not have access to electricity.

Oddly, the solutions to these problems stare us in the face, and would be the best sexagenarian present the government of the day can give to the country. One of these solutions is intensive commercial, regulatory, policy and political support for renewable energy (RE). While it is crucial that the current grid infrastructure is upgraded- and indeed Nigerians wait with bated breath for the actualisation of the Siemens power deal in this regard- power supply is not the preserve of urban dwellers. At 60, we should

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leave no one behind, and leaving no one behind means ensuring that power supply for lighting, cooking, powering equipment and industry gets to the grassroot who are not grid-connected.

Renewable energy which is both easy to harvest and easily decentralized presents itself as a reliable, clean, efficient and a quick solution to powering unconnected communities and even connected ones as a reliable collaborator or backup source. While the work of the Rural Electrification Agency is noteworthy, the development of RE forms is snail-paced and needs to move quickly if we are going to catch up with the 400 million population predicted for Nigeria by 2050.

Further, the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) and its sister agencies should be given the full support of the Federal government, governments at all levels should mandate payment of legacy debts by its Ministries Departments and Agencies to the Distribution Companies and significant investment should be made in the transmission infrastructure.

Adebayo is an energy and environment lawyer at Templars and team lead at Earthplus, an environmental nonprofit.

He writes from Lagos.

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Tuesday 06 October 2020

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EDITORIAL PUBLISHER/EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Frank Aigbogun

Housing at 60: Nigeria remains a large market with few wares Nigeria must prioritise infrastructure development, well-articulated transport system for housing development

EDITOR Patrick Atuanya DEPUTY EDITORS John Osadolor, Abuja Tayo Fagbule NEWS EDITOR Osa Victor Obayagbona NEWS EDITOR (Online) Chuks Oluigbo MANAGING DIRECTOR Dr. Ogho Okiti EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, OPERATIONS Fabian Akagha EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, STRATEGY, INNOVATION & PARTNERSHIPS Oghenevwoke Ighure ADVERT MANAGER Ijeoma Ude MANAGER, CONFERENCES & EVENTS Obiora Onyeaso BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT MANAGER (South East, South South) Patrick Ijegbai COPY SALES MANAGER Florence Kadiri DIGITAL SALES MANAGER Linda Ochugbua GM, BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT (North)

Bashir Ibrahim Hassan

GM, BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT (South) Ignatius Chukwu HEAD, HUMAN RESOURCES Adeola Obisesan

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t 60, Nigeria has clearly come a long way. Some people argue that if the country were a civil servant, it would have retired this year, meaning that it has exhausted its useful and productive years.

Yet, in most sectors of its “largesize economy, there are more to jeer than cheer.

In the housing sector, it could be said that some level of progress has been made in terms of improved architectural designs that have given rise to iconic structures and welldeveloped estates. But this progress is grossly diminished by shouting deficits, making the country a big but largely empty market.

With a population estimated at 200 million, Nigeria is a large market that presents lots of possibilities and opportunities that investors, domestic or foreign or both, should see as a compelling destination.

Whether this is happening now at the right and expected level or volume remains, in our view, a matter of conjecture. Despite the federal government’s protestation to the contrary, statistics abound that validate reports that the country’s housing deficit is over 20 million and still counting.

With a growing population of 200 million and high urbanisation growth rate estimated at 4-5 percent per annum, housing stock in

Nigeria remains between 12 million and 15 million units while record shows that about 25 million households with six members each don’t have homes of their own.

A report by BusinessDay Research and Intelligence Unit (BRIU) on Nigerian Real Estate says out of 200 million Nigerians, only 8 million people qualify for the luxury property market, adding that while there is more than enough for the latter, hardly any thought is spared for the remaining 192 million citizens.

Sadly, at 60, Nigeria has the lowest home ownership level even among its peers. While the level is 84 percent in Indonesia, 75 percent in Kenya and 56 percent in South Africa, Nigeria, Africa’s most populous nation, and the continent’s largest economy, has only 25 percent.

Taking it further, as against 72 percent home ownership level in the US, 78 percent in the UK, 60 percent in China; 54 percent in South Korea and 92 percent in Singapore, the homeownership level in Nigeria, 60 years after independence, remains at 25 percent.

In Lagos, the country’s sprawling commercial nerve centre with a population estimated at 20 million, report has it that over 60 percent of this population lives in rented accommodation, while about 86 percent of the housing stock in the city is funded from household income.

It is pertinent to note, however, that the country made some giant

strides in housing development within the first two decades after independence. For instance, the first National Development Plan of 1962 – 1968 saw “young” Nigeria establishing a state-owned housing corporation which was for the provision of urban infrastructure and industrial estates in three key areas – Lagos in South West, PortHarcourt in South East and Kaduna in the North.

The second National Development Plan from 1970 to 1974 saw the establishment of National Council on Housing and the creation of Federal Housing Authority (FHA) in charge of housing Nigerians and the establishment of National Housing Programme (NHP) to construct about 59,000 housing projects.

Regrettably, all these efforts petered into almost nothingness for a combination of factors that include policy reversals, lack of a supporting mortgage system and poor infrastructure development.

Till date, 60 years after, mortgage which is a major vehicle for owning homes in other economies remains largely under-developed in Nigeria.

The Association of Housing Corporation of Nigeria (AHCN) says the underdevelopment of Nigeria’s mortgage sector in driving homeownership is worrisome as more than 90 percent of new homes utilise funds from personal savings. We can’t agree more.

It is painful to note that mortgage loans in Nigeria account for less than 1 percent of the loan portfolio of commercial banks, and only about 5 percent, or 685,000 of the housing units in the country are mortgage-backed.

When we compare what obtains in Nigeria with those of other African countries like Ghana and South Africa, we feel pained the more that, in South Africa, mortgage contributes about 40 percent of housing finance while in Ghana, our West African neighbour, the contribution is 3 percent.

As for infrastructure which accounts for about 30 percent of housing construction cost, we align with the World Bank in advising that government should stimulate investment in infrastructure by providing funding solution for lenders by linking them with the capital markets We are of the opinion that Nigeria needs clearly articulated targets, needbased resource allocation, reviewing of existing development guidelines, development of integrated infrastructure and encouragement of PPP as a viable development initiative.

Additionally, President Muhammadu Buhari must prioritise infrastructure development and this must include massive construction of roads network to be followed by a well-articulated transport system to open up the country, especially the hinterlands, for housing development.

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Tuesday 06 October 2020

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COMPANIES&MARKET Nigerian bank shareholders lose N345bn in 9 months on COVID-19, FX policy

DAVID IBIDAPO & FAVOUR OLAREWAJU

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hareholders of Nigerian banks lost N345.223 billion in market value in the first nine months of the year 2020.

During the period under review, shareholders in the 11 biggest commercial banks in the country had their worth eroded by approximately 12 percent cumulatively, induced by the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic which saw most banking stocks hit their lowest valuations in 2 years, as investors flock to safe haven assets to hedge against the negative implications of the pandemic.

While ten of the eleven banks were negatively affected by the COVID-pandemic just one bank – First City Monument Bank (FCMB) – stood out with a relatively impressive performance.

During the period under review, FCMB was up 18.38 percent, delivering a real return of 5.18 percent when adjusted for 13.2 percent inflation as at August 2020. The bank’s progress despite the pandemic is truly a breath of fresh air.

The year 2020 can be de-

scribed as a bad year for Nigerian banking stocks, especially, coming from a strong performance in the fourth quarter of 2019. Nigerian banking stocks saw a short-lived gain from the artificially low-interestrate environment triggered by the CBN’s repression policy until the COVID-19 pandemic struck. Most banking stocks especially Tier-one banks recorded gains above 15 percent from October when the policy took effect through December 2019. First Bank stock price rose 40 percent, Access Bank (50.65%), UBA (43.90%), Zenith Bank (16.58%) and GTB (7.02 percent) respectively.

Mid-Tier banks weren’t excluded also from the excess liquidity which flooded into the stock market. Being a safer bet for investment, banks such as FCMB, Fidelity, Unity Bank and Stanbic IBTC also benefited from buy pressure. Stock prices rose 26.06 percent, 39.41 percent, 26.98 percent and 11.84 percent respectively.

However, the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic and decline in global oil prices, however, saw banking stocks consistently trended downwards through April. For example, First Bank stock price declined 39.83 percent. This

means erosion by the same rate in investors’ shareholding value. GTB dipped 41.75 percent, UBA (-32.17%), Zenith (-40.86%) and Access Bank (-45%).

As crude oil prices began recovering in Mid-April, domestic investors began taking advantage of cheap banking stocks which provided some form of respite for banking stocks.

On the average, all other banks excluding FCMB shed

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reenwich Merchant Bank, a subsidiary of the investment bank has launched services in Nigeria.

The bank which will be focused on legacy investment banking, securities business and corporate bank and treasury market businesses promises to support businesses and investors.

Speaking during the formal launch of the bank in Lagos, Dele Babade, managing director Greenwich Merchant Bank said the key focus of the bank will be to build a local bank that meets international standards, customer service, professionalism and ethics, within and beyond Nigeria.

Babade explained that the bank is focused on generating profit, to give returns to the people who have staked thier capital on the venture, adding that they will ensure that ttmhey have a sustainable bank which will benefit all stakeholders including staff, depositors and the community at large.

“Our focus for the next 12 months will be as follows: For the legacy businesses, we will continue to drive and grow these businesses, increase revenues, seize the opportunity to make the businesses more efficient and grow better in terms of profit growth as well.

“We will leverage our existing and new relationship franchise to help these businesses. In addition to servicing clients in Nigeria, we want to be the first port of call for International investors seeking entr y into Nigeria either as Foreign Direct Investors (FDI) or multinational funders to Nigeria on businesses, portfolio equity investors, strategic investors looking to buy into Nigerian companies and diaspora investors looking to invest via our asset management businesses.

“We will embark on digitalisation of the business by investing in mobile app and create a strong media presence and increase the firm’s brand equity.

We hope to be the best at what we are and what we will be doing. We are going to make a platform www.businessday.ng

nith, Access, UBA and First banks bore 76 percent of the brunt losing a whooping N253.29bn loss signalling the COVID-19 induced sell-off on these banks.

The other 6 banks combined lost N91.93bn, 26 percent of overall losses.

Given that the big banks account for about 71 percent of combined market capitalisation, with smaller banks taking 29 percent, the propor-

L-R: Tafa Zibiri Aliu, vice chairman of Ikoyi Club 1938; Abayomi Orenuga, chairman of Ikoyi Club 1938; Abiodun Olaleru, secretary of Ikoyi Club 1938 , and Adetoye Sode, former chairman of Ikoyi Club 1938 , at the 82nd anniversary of the Ikoyi Club 1938 in Lagos.

Greenwich Merchant bank kickstarts Nigeria operations IFEOMA OKEKE

14.53 percent in market value during the 9-month period.

This indicates that N465.88 billion was wiped off the combined market capitalisations of these ten banks.

When FCMB is added to the mix, the average decline of stocks yield improves to -11.57 percent, thereby indicating that the presence of this singular bank reduces the overall market stock loss to N362.93bn.

Tier-1 banks like GTB, Ze-

for scaling and creating new businesses. We will embrace the opportunities that disruptions from COVID-19 presents”, the managing director assured.

Also speaking on the launch, Kayode Falowo, the Chairman of Greenwich Merchant Bank expressed his appreciation to all those who contributed to the growth and establishment of the institution through the years.

In a statement, he said “Greenwich Trust Limied is the first capital market operator to recieve a CBN license, allowing it to convert its operations to a bank.

This banking license allows Greenwich Trust Limited now Greenwich Merchant Bank to upscale its existing products and offer diverse services in corporate banking, investment baking, treasury, global markets, securities dealing and asset management to its existing and prospective clients.”

Dele Babade earlier stated that the next phase of growth for the bank is planting the seed of being a full service financial platform and financial power house in Nigeria.

tion of loss-sharing is almost equivalent to the market value distribution. ETI and Access bank had the greatest losses of over 30 percent, to the tune of N174.17bn combined while Stanbic Bank saw the least dip of just -1.2 percent, amounting to a mere N5.56bn.

However, Access bank saw the largest decline in its stock market value by N117.3bn, which was double of the value lost by GTB who had the second greatest stock market loss of N56.87bn and 143 times over that of Stanbic bank.

The outlook for Nigerian banking stocks remains bleak given the CBN’s reluctance to undergo the most advocated FX reform which has kept foreign investors on the side-line despite cheap valuations of banking stocks. Banking stocks are most considered a safer bet for foreign investors and marks their first destination before considering other stocks in the market.

Foreign investors must be sure when they come in they can exit at any time. The current CBN’s dollar management and naira obsession is a major disincentive for foreign investment and will weigh on the quick recovery of banking stocks.

Clean energy: Sahara Energy invests $450m in Cote d’ Ivoire to boost LPG supply DIPO OLADEHINDE

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ahara Energy Resource Limited, a member of energy conglomerate, Sahara Group, has since 2014 ploughed over $450 million into facilitating the supply of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) to Cote d’Ivoire as the nation continues its quest for cleaner cooking fuel options.

Although the 2014 population and housing census (RGPH 2014) in Cote d’Ivoire showed that 78% of households use wood a n d c h a rc o a l a s t h e i r cooking fuel while 22% use gas, the National LPG consumption has grown from 175KT in 2013 to 380KT in 2019, following increased availability of butane gas and deliberate policy intervention by the government.

According to 2020 YTD records, Sahara Energy has invested about $84 million to supply 200,578.22MT of LPG to the West African

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nation. Last week, the Sahara Gas LPG vessel berthed in Ivorian waters d i s c ha r g i n g 1 0 , 0 0 0 M T of LPG, further driving increased departure from other sources of cooking fuels that pose huge threats to healthcare and the environment.

The Sahara Gas vessel is owned by West Africa Gas Limited (WAGL), a j o i nt ve ntu re b e t w e e n Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and energy conglomerate, Sahara Group. The JV also has the Africa Gas LPG vessel in its fleet. Sahara Gas and Africa Gas have delivered 373,651.22MT and 268,206.22 MT of LPG to Cote d’Ivoire since the commissioning of the vessels in March 2017.

Olayemi Odutola, country manager, Sahara Energy Resources in Cote d’Ivoire, said, “Working in collaboration with various stakeholders, Sahara Energy is delighted to be driving access to clean en@Businessdayng

ergy in Cote d’Ivoire. This is equally the case across the continent where our LPG vessels play a critical role in ensuring households and communities have a viable cleaner option for cooking and ultimately living healthy lifestyles.”

Sa ha ra E n e r g y i s a l ready in a JV with Petroci Holding towards achieving the construction of a 12,000MT LPG storage facility to increase storage and supply of the product in Cote d’Ivoire. The $43 million project will be executed in two phases, with commissioning scheduled for November 2021 and October 2022, respectively.

Ultimately, the facility is expected to ramp up LPG availability and security by increasing stockholding from 15 days to 27 days and also boost supply of the product to Cote d’Ivoire’s neighbouring countries such as Mali, Burkina Faso, and Guinea.

Tuesday 06 October 2020

BUSINESS DAY

15

Media business Your customer service can make or break your business Ayodele Agbede

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n today’s hyper competitive business environment, businesses that survive and thrive are those that deliver value to their customers and provide good customer service experiences. Customers know the difference between good and great customer service and are willing to reward businesses that treat them well.

It is often believed that providing exceptional customer service is reserved for businesses with endless deep pockets. However, a great customer service experience is not about the bells and whistles, it is the appropriateness of the interaction.

A time starved customer that is happy interacting with a chatbot will consider having to deal with a concierge a poor customer service experience. The value of having the right customer service team in place with the right level of support cannot be ignored in today’s world where the cost of a bad customer experience is phenomenal thanks to the viral nature of social media.

Customer service experience took on a new direction and a new level of importance during the COVID-19 pandemic. The need for customer service was glaring.

Businesses that empathized with their customers as they addressed their needs effortlessly built a loyal base of raving fans.

There is tendency for shortsighted business leaders to prioritize operation requirements such as recouping losses, fund allocation, marketing, branding etc. over customer service as they navigate the aftershocks post pandemic. However, businesses that are on the ball are those that will capitalize on the customer service gains during the pandemic to strengthen their relationship with customers

by providing additional profitable products and services.

They understand the value of the direct connection between businesses and their customers and they are best positioned to maximize it.

The good news is that excellent customer service does not have to break the bank. Smart businesses leverage available technology and optimize their processes to deliver a personal touch to their customers. In turn, investing in great customer service that supports and empowers your customers, results in financial and productivity benefits through:

Devon King’s brand sensitises food consumers on dangers of unbranded oil

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e v o n Ki n g ’s, a PZ Wilmar Brand has launched a campaign tagged “Less is More” aimed at sensitising Nigerians on the inherent dangers in the consumption of unbranded cooking oil, as it offers healthier and affordable options.

Speaking on the “Less is More” campaign, Category & Brand Manager, PZ Wilmar, Toyin Popoola-Dania said, “We are living in a time when now more than ever we are more conscious of our health, the Covid19 Pandemic has clearly reiterated the need for healthy eating and importance of a strong immune system.

Therefore while we are taking all the necessary precautions to avoid contacting and spreading the virus, it is equally important that we pay close attention to what we consume.

“According to NAFDAC, unbranded vegetable oil is unsuitable for consumption and could have negative

health implications. The agency says heart diseases are one of such problems due to high cholesterol content and other fattening agents that have been added in them”, she said in a statement.

According to her, “The Executive Director, NHF, Dr Kingsley Akinroye also said vegetable oil found to be contaminated by interference with any additive may contain high cholesterol and work against the normal flow of the body, thereby blocking heart vessels and leading to sluggishness of blood movement.

“Study has shown us that many people are unaware of these dangers, while many simply consider these unbranded oils more affordable. It was for these and many more reasons we started the “Less is More” campaign to educate Nigerians on the risks of consuming unbranded oil and possibly eliminate unhealthy oil consumption by providing them with a tested, certified, www.businessday.ng

trusted and recommended alternative. Also, Nigerians need to be more aware of the fact that Quantity is not always Quality as this is one of the major reasons majority patronise unbranded oil – more volume and cheaper; unfortunately this is not correct as they unknowingly spend more in the long-run.

“Devon King’s cooking oil in addition to its jerry can and PET bottles comes in affordable pillow pack format & sizes giving great value to Consumers no matter their budget or family size. Whether you are a student with a modest budget or someone with family/ friends, Devon King’s cooking oil provides you better quality and hygienic cooking oil helping you get more value on every drop of oil because with less quantity, you can do a lot more as it doesn’t dry up like the unbranded oil. Even with as little as 50 Naira, you can get a pack of Devon King’s Cooking Oil and enjoy a more quality meal” she said.

Customer Loyalty: Naturally, happy customers become repeat customers.

Quality customer experience creates a relationship with customers that make them reluctant to move their businesses to the competition, effectively retaining customers. Essentially, customer retention is cheaper than customer acquisition and an increase in customer retention of merely 5% can equate to an increase in profit of 25%. For the simple reason that, repeat customers are most likely to spend more with organizations that make them feel valued, appreci-

ated, and satisfied.

Increased Profitability: Reports of great customer service travels quickly, which enables businesses to acquire new customers at a fraction of the cost, without investing in heavy marketing and promotions.

Businesses can generate additional capital, required to hire new employees, invest in the latest technology, and ultimately expand their operations, which guarantees profitability, and maximum returns on the existing customer service investment.

More Effective Workforce: An organization that emphasizes exceptional customer service at all times doesn’t just benefit customers, but also has a positive effect on its employees. Employees who deliver excellent customer experience receive their customers’ appreciation and are further motivated to offer good service, which in turn improves morale and productivity.

Competitive Advantage: As the saying goes “there’s nothing new under the sun”, which means that no one business is completely unique and one of a kind.

There are several organizations competing within the same market, the same target audience and offering the same services. The quickest way for businesses to establish a competitive advantage is by providing

excellent service that might not be received at other organizations. By emphasizing customer service as part of their marketing strategy and backing it up, businesses will differentiate themselves from competitors that do not deliver, thereby establishing their organization as unique and difficult to beat.

At the end of the day, business owners have significant control over their customers’ experiences. By investing in customer service training for staff, hiring the right people and adapting the right technological innovations to efficiently and effectively meet their customers needs, they will continue to stay ahead of the competition. The biggest mistake for businesses to make is to assume that one unsatisfied customer would not affect their bottom line.

The reason being that, bad news spreads fast and in these digital times, bad referrals can negatively impact any operational growth.

About CXViewpoint: CXViewpoint is a service review website that aggregates data on customer experiences to assist organizations better understand their service delivery gaps, and improve their ability to deliver excellent customer service on a consistent basis.

Agbede is the Founder CXViewpoint

EDC, Mastercard Foundation set to equip 40,000 Nigerian youth with entrepreneurial skills

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nterprise Development Centre (EDC) has announced a partnership with the Mastercard Foundation to launch the Transforming Nigerian Youths program.

Recognizing that employment is a pathway out of poverty, the program seeks to create a network of entrepreneurial and managerial change makers, particularly young people and women across the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) sector, in Nigeria. In a bid to help reduce the unemployment rate in the country, the free training program aims to boost employment creation and sustainable livelihoods.

EDC said in a statement that the program is open to all and it is primarily focused on the Lagos, Kano, and Kaduna states. Through this program, 40,000 young people will be supported with the resources and learning required to start, grow, and expand their businesses. The program will also provide support and resources to young people who want to

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become employable in the creative and agricultural sectors.

In the last decade, Nigeria’s unemployment rate has continued to increase. According to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), the unemployment rate as at the second quarter of 2020 was 27.1 percent, indicating that about 21.7 million Nigerians remain unemployed, of which 13.9 million are young people.

Enterprise Development Centre (EDC) of the PanAtlantic University, a leading enterprise development Centre, has in the last 17 years, provided support services to thousands of SMEs through capacity building, advisory services, and partnerships with organizations that have an interest in the development of the SME sector in Nigeria, the statement said.

“We are excited to be part of the Transforming Nigerian Youths program to empower young Nigerians, especially women. It will serve as a catalyst for entrepreneurial reorientation, job creation, and sustainable livelihood,” says @Businessdayng

Peter Bamkole,Director, Enterprise Development Centre, Pan-Atlantic University.

The intervention will scale EDC’s online learning capabilities to provide core business training to an even broader grouping of SMEs in the agricultural and creative sectors of the economy. It will also ensure that even the most marginalized, including young women in the north, can access this world class training.

“Young Africa Works in Nigeria is committed to enabling opportunity for at least eight million young Nigerians. Entrepreneurship will play a key role in achieving this goal. Fortunately, Nigeria also has no shortage of young entrepreneurs. This initiative, which is part of the Mastercard Foundation’s Young Africa Works strategy, will prepare and enable young people to pursue their aspirations and create productive livelihoods for themselves and others,” says ChidinmaLawanson, Country Head, Nigeria at the Mastercard Foundation.

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Tuesday 06 October 2020

BUSINESS DAY

BUSINESS TRAVEL

Elin Group gets AOC, set to commence flight charter operations Stories by IFEOMA OKEKE

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aving met all the requirements to commence charter operations, the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has issued an Air Operator’s Certificate (AOC) to Elin Group Limited.

The NCAA at a brief ceremony at its Annex Headquarter in Lagos, presented Elin Group’s Operational Specifications and Air Operator’s Certificate (AOC) to Enyi Omoke, its Chief Operating Officer/Accountable Manager.

Speaking at the event, Kayode Ajiboye, the representative of NCAA’s Director General, who is also the Director of Airworthiness Standards and Chairman of

L-R: Enyi Omoke, accountable manager/COO of Elin Group; Elisha Bahago, director of operations, Licensing and Training at NCAA; Elizabeth Jackrich, chief executive officer of Elin Group and Engineer Ajiboye Kayode, NCAA;s director of Airworthiness Standards/chairman, Flight Safety Group, during the presentation of Air Operator Certificate (AOC) to Elin Group by the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) in Lagos recently.

Flight Safety Group (FSG); congratulated Elin Group Limited for successfully completing the regulator’s oner-

ous audit and for displaying the highest level of professionalism, and discipline in the course of securing the

AIB restates commitment to air safety, to conduct regional training on flight safety laboratory

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he Accident Investigation Bureau (AIB), Nigeria says it plans to conduct a training for all accident investigators in the West African region to showcase its world class Flight Safety Laboratory located in Abuja.

Akin Olateru, the AIB Commissioner, who disclosed this during a Regional Enlightenment Symposium held at Nike Lake Resort, Enugu said the training would be held before the end of 2020.

Olateru, who was represented by Tunji Oketunbi, the General Manager, Public Affairs, AIB, described the symposium as “another viable platform for all stakeholders to meet and deliberate on how to further grow our air transport system and promote our safety culture to meet global best practices.

“Safety is the backbone

of aviation and without it aviation loses its meaning.

This is why every organ or unit in the industry works tirelessly to ensure the safety of air travellers. Until recently, the Nigerian aviation industry had no fatality for about five years.

“I would like to assure air travellers that the aviation industry is not daunted in its commitment to achieve zero accident in the industry. The AIB, on its part, will not relent in its vigorous pursuit of adding values that will up the ante of safety in Nigeria and Africa,” said Olateru.

“Our duty, as accident investigators of civil aviation, is one thing, but understanding one’s needs is very critical to the success of any institution.

“The Bureau, under the current administration is focused on engendering relationships, which would facilitate excellence and

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enduring world-class standards in the investigation and prevention of air accidents in Nigeria.

“Collaboration is about creating a working relationship. For anybody to want to collaborate with you, first of all, you need to be in a position to add value. What we have done at AIB is that we have raised the profile of the Bureau and built that trust within the industry that we are unbiased. We are professionals, focused and that we are clear on our mandate,” he explained.

He further explained that this has prompted some institutions wanting to partner with AIB, adding that France wrote to AIB asking for collaboration and the Bureau have signed a MoU with them. “Saudi Arabia also wrote to us and if not for the COVID-19 pandemic, we would have gone to Saudi Arabia to sign a MoU with them,” he disclosed.

AOC, while urging the airline to remain exemplary. According to Godwin Balang, the General Manager, AOC/

Surveillance, ‘’It wasn’t easy at all. This strict process sometimes takes many years to get but it took Elin Group less than 2 years to achieve.

This is the first good step and maintaining it is the second part. You must keep your eyes on the ball and keep the safety standards’’ Elizabeth Jackrich, the Chief Executive Officer of Elin Group Limited, while speaking at the event, thanked the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority for the objective, professional, and thorough manner in which it conducted the certification process. ‘’It has been a painstaking journey of hard work, prayers and sleepless nights and I want to thank my team for being professional all through the process. I also wish to assure you of our commitment to adhere

strictly to safety standards, and global best practices as recommended by the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA). My first love is humanity and I want to work hard to support humanity.’’ she added.

The airline with a young fleet of Challenger 604 and AW109E aircraft recently signed a firm purchase agreement for three Dash8-400 aircraft to further expand its operations and support Nigeria’s resource sector, particularly oil and gas operations.

Elin Group Limited is a growing privately owned conglomerate with diverse business interests in Real Estate development, Power Generation, Agricultural development, Gas Utilization, Mining Operations, Maritime and the Aviation sector.

Green recovery of air transport a priority for industry leaders – Experts

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espite the current crisis facing the global aviation industry, its commitment to pursuing sustainability remains strong, particularly as the sector starts to recover.

Speaking at the Global Sustainable Aviation Forum, industry leaders reiterated that long-term climate action should be a priority alongside economic recovery in the coming years.

Michael Gill, Executive Director of the cross-industry Air Transport Action Group, said: “Air transport is in the midst of the deepest shock in its history. We expect a reduction of up to 4.8 million jobs in the sector by the end of the year and a massive hit to our ability to connect the world. However, as we plan for the recovery of air connectivity, we also must prioritise our environmental progress.

“Our sector has a longterm climate change goal to cut CO2 emissions in half by 2050. With the right help from

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governments, the energy sector and technologists, we expect that global aviation will be able to hit net zero emissions a decade or so later.

Some parts of the world will be able to meet this point earlier and a number of individual companies have already set goals along these lines.

“To achieve this will require a transition in our energy source from fossil fuel to sustainable aviation fuel, the acceleration of research and development of electric, hybrid and potentially hydrogen aircraft. It will also require a commitment to collaboration going even beyond our current levels. We have the next decade to set the scene for sustainable global connectivity for the next 30-40 years.”

Speaking about the need to focus on sustainability as part of the industry’s long-term recovery from Covid-19, Luis Felipe de Oliveira, the Director General of Airports Council International, said: “The recovery of the aviation indus-

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try will be a key driver of the global economic recovery. To ensure that aviation can continue to provide the economic and social benefits, it is crucial that we pursue a green recovery and lay the foundation for a prosperous and sustainable industry for the long term.”

Alexandre de Juniac, Director General and CEO of the International Air Transport Association, said: “COVID-19 has devastated the aviation industry. But we are working hard to re-connect the world safely and sustainably.

“We’re committed to pushing ourselves, our partners, and governments to achieve our carbon targets in a green recovery. But this is not the time for more environmental taxes that punish people for reconnecting with family or who contribute to economic recovery with business travel.

For aviation, the keys to combating climate change remain investments in carbon offsetting, sustainable fuels, and radical green technologies.”

Tuesday 06 October 2020

BUSINESS DAY

17

INTERVIEW ‘How we will bridge 17 million housing deficit in Nigeria’ BABAJIDE ODUSOLU is a real estate and property development expert and chief executive officer (CEO) of Octo5 Holdings Limited, a real estate and property development company.

In this interview with ZEBULON AGOMUO, the immediate past managing director, Ogun State Property Investment Corporation (OPIC), spoke on the 17 million housing deficit in Nigeria, why government has no business in direct construction of affordable houses for Nigerians, what his firm is doing to bridge the shortfall, among other issues. Excerpts:

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he issue of mass housing has been very predominant in the last couple of years. A major challenge for Nigerians is the issue of first installment demanded by real estate companies and developers, ranging from 10 to 20 percent. What are you bringing differently to the table?

Let us start from this premise. And this will be strange coming from somebody who has also run a public enterprise. Government has no business in business. The way government is structured, they can never succeed in doing a commercial venture. Because the exigencies for them is about political will, interests and all of those factors. So, any commercial project that is being driven and executed by government will be doomed from day one. And that has been the story of mass housing in Nigeria since 1963.

To get it right, there must be a mix and a blend of the public and private sectors. If we do not have a blend of public commitment and private capital, mass housing projects will fail.

Having experienced what it takes to make things work in the public sector and having successfully developed and delivered in the private sector, we are marrying both competences to create this scheme. For example, our mass affordable scheme like the one we are doing in Epe, where we are trying to build houses of between five million and fifteen million naira, are designed to ensure that those houses qualify for National Housing Fund and refinancing. And they are also designed to ensure that those houses take advantage of the various initiatives that government is introducing. So, we are designing the project to take advantage of all of those public policies that will bring the cost of acquisition down. And we are now blending it with private commitment and public capital to create those projects.

What we are doing is that when you sign on to our project, ‘STOW’, we are not asking you to pay your 10 percent today. There are thresholds.

For instance, if you say you want to buy a house at five million naira, and all you have right now is one hundred thousand naira, you can go on to STOW and open an account.

And say “I am interested in this onebed apartment. I want to pay for it over the next 60 months and I want to be paying monthly.” You will put it in and every month, you will be religiously dropping your initial seed money. Once you do this, nobody else can take it.

But let me say this: social housing is a government function. No private developer can do social housing because it requires subsidies, concessions that only government can put in place. What we are doing is affordable housing, driven by private capital. So, we are getting land from government, we are buying land. Government is not funding infrastructure, we are providing it. If you were to go and say you want to do the same project as public sector, what they will do first is to go put it in Badagry or somewhere where there is no infrastructure. The man that is working in Victoria Island, does he want to travel six hours to his work

Babajide Odusolu

every day? No, he doesn’t. First, you have to put those houses in areas where there is economic pool. Once you are doing that, you are dealing with expensive land. So, it has to be blended. That is what we are doing as a private developer. We are creating blended communities where you have a mix of the high, medium and low so that it works together to ensure that it is viable.

Is the contributory part of this in anyway the same model with the Federal Government’s National Housing Fund?

This is a private sector-driven initiative. We have investors who are giving us capital. Because you know the money market has gone bad. So we have investors who are investing with us and saying “Okay! I’m going to give you this money to go and do this development. You are going to pay me back in this period of time”.

So we are using private capital. It is not publicly funded in any way.

However, government has created schemes like the National Housing Fund. There is also the Nigeria Mortgage Refinance Company (NMRC) and Family Home Fund.

These are all Government agencies that have huge capital meant to fund affordable housing. We have an understanding that we have our subscribers and their critical mass, they will fund them and give them longterm mortgages. It is like chicken and egg, which comes first? They want to see the subscribers. The subscribers must have been paying for a while to show that he is credible before they give you the funding. So that is where we come in. We are providing the bridge and saying “he is our customer and has been paying to us over this period”. They can see our records and know that this person has been contributing consistently for six months or one year, and that he will qualify for the facility.

Do you have special consideration for government workers and businessmen?

We are after anybody with predictable income. When you fill our form, one of the questions there is ‘how much do you earn on a monthly basis?’

Another question says “what is your average monthly household income?” Household income refers to the husband and the wife. Or for www.businessday.ng

a single person, your side hustle, not just your salary. Because that is one of the problems with conventional method right now. Conventional methods will say “what is your monthly salary? Bring your payslip”.

Most Nigerians do not depend on their monthly salary. The average Nigerian either has a shop on the side, or he has a farm or a side business he does because we all do multiple things to make money. So our model is designed to recognize that and allows you to say “Okay on a monthly basis, my salary is fifty thousand naira. I have barbing salon and I get thirty thousand naira monthly. I do an investment partnership and I get twenty thousand naira monthly. So my monthly income is a hundred thousand naira. Out of that, I can afford to invest fifty thousand naira”.

And they will agree and ask you to sign. Once he is able to consecutively pay that fifty thousand naira, he builds a credit history. That credit history is what we will take to our partner mortgage banks and say “we want you to give Mr. Jide a mortgage for five or six million naira. This is his track record which shows how over a period of six months or one year, he has been paying religiously.

They will then say if he has been paying like this for this period that means he will continue paying so they will give him the mortgage.

It relieves him. So he is not paying fifty thousand naira monthly, he is now paying thirty thousand naira.

But he continues to pay and he now owns a home.

NHF on the other hand requires you to be a contributor to the National Housing Fund. Not every Nigerian is a contributor. However, we are talking to a number of organizations that are in the public space or in the established private sector and are contributors to NHF. For such people, we are also putting in place a model whereby they can sign on to our plan. The only problem with NHF is that the maximum you can get is 15 million. It means most times, NHF is largely reserved for mass affordable homes, not for affordable luxury homes.

Lagos comes to mind as a state that is already overpopulated.

How possible is it getting land in a place like Ikeja?

Let me give you an example. We have land in Ikeja. We are partnering to do a hundred unit development

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and sixty unit development in Lekki Phase One. We are partnering to do a two hundred unit development in Oworo. And we are doing one hundred units around Chevron. There are lands available. The question is: at what price gap and in what method?

The truth of the matter is this: we need to dimension the housing environment and housing needs.

Let me shock you: seventy-five percent of urban city dwellers in Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt, Kano live in substandard homes. That is homes that are not well-serviced, where you put on generators, streets with portholes. Only twenty-five percent live in their own homes. This is so because a vast majority cannot afford the cost of buying land in their choice location. So, they keep renting. What we have done as developers is that we have gone to those areas and invested our capital to buy the land. And we now create building prototypes and models that will make it easier for people who are in paid employment and cannot afford full payment to pay for it over a period of time.

The problem with Nigerian housing sector is that while it is potentially the third largest driver of GDP growth in Nigeria, it remains laggard because there is no structure, government policies do not favour housing. Most state governments see developers as cash cow rather than as partners of development.

What categories of housing do you offer?

Our housing bouquet is three-fold.

We have the Mass Affordable, Affordable Luxury and Premium Homes. In the Mass Affordable category where you have five to fifteen million naira houses in Lagos, we are doing what we call a one-bed expandable bungalow. It is not a face-me-I-face-you.

It has living room, bedroom, kitchen, visitors toilet. But it is designed in such a way that when you buy it, you can afford to add one more room to it if you want. We also have two-bed and three-bed bungalow. These three prototypes are what we are delivering in Epe. We do not believe in selling land because people really want houses, they don’t want land.

In the same Mass Affordable scheme, we have one and two bed apartment. But we are branding those for Abuja because they have restrictions that you cannot do bungalows in certain areas. So we have to do apartment. But in Epe, we have enough land hence we are doing bungalows.

The next category is the Affordable Luxury. These are mostly apartments and terrace houses. And they go between twenty and forty million naira. We are doing these ones in Chevron axis, Oworosoki axis.

We also the Premium Houses which we are doing in Lekki Phase 1, Ikeja and our existing estate at Ocean Bay. What about the issue of standards, especially in this era of incessant building collapse across the country?

I will answer the question in threefold. First, states are ones to set standards. In Lagos, because of the incessant building collapse, it is now overregulated. You have the Lagos State Safety Commission that certify your projects, Lagos State Building @Businessdayng

Control that certify every stage of work and the Lagos State Urban and Regional Planning Board that approves before you can start anything.

And they are very serious. And the laws are there that if you deliver any house that has a problem and you did not go through any of the processes, you will go to jail.

Second is communal policing.

We happen to be members of the Real Estate Developers Association of Nigeria (REDAN). And one of the things that we are pushing with our colleagues in the industry is selfregulation. Meaning we must police ourselves in the industry.

And that brings me to the third point which is professionalism.

In our organisation, we have core professionals that manage all our projects. Any developer that is talking to you about a project and it is only him you keep seeing, he does not have a team, you should be worried.

The only way you can police people from cutting corners is to ensure that every side is effectively policed and manned. For example, in every project of ours, you have a project engineer, project architect, project quantity surveyor and their only reason for being there is to manage every stage of work. But the last layer of control that we have put in place in STOW is that if you sign on, you can monitor what is going on on the site.

What about Nigerians in the Diaspora? Those who live abroad and send money to relatives to build and come back to the shocking reality of no house or a poorly built house. Are you also catering to this category of people?

The world is already going digital anyway. And what we have done is to create a digital app that is available on Apple and Google Playstores and on our web portal. With this, you can monitor progress of work on that project. You are going to have live images so that if we say, for example, you buy a bungalow in Epe and you are working in Ikeja, you don’t have to go to Epe and check progress of work. When you go on to the app, you will log in with your details, zoom to the Epe project, zoom through and see the level of work done. When you start paying money, the house that is supposed to be ‘growing’ as your money is growing. If it is not growing, you can immediately stop payment. It is about transparency and that is what we have decided to provide through STOW. What we have done is to say to people that are in Diaspora, with our partnership with Interswitch, you can pay from anywhere in the world. You can actually acquire property from anywhere in the world without entering Nigeria.

I want every Nigerian to know that with STOW, you can unlock the potential of your resources. In an economy where the money market is not going well, where things are tough, this is not the time to leave your money sitting in the bank account somewhere. You can invest in real estate. Not just in any real estate but a verified, measurable real estate that you are guaranteed, will not lose a value in the future. I urge as many Nigerians that are interested to go on www.stow.ng, sign on and explore the unlimited opportunities to become a property owner in Nigeria.

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Tuesday 06 October 2020

BUSINESS DAY

INTERVIEW

‘Consistency in local content policy will make Nigeria’s oil and gas industry more competitive’ VALENTINE UGBEIDE is the managing director and chief executive officer of Gremoore Limited, an oil servicing company that has achieved a phenomenal growth on account of local content policy. In this interview with OLUSOLA BELLO, he speaks on the support his company received from IOCs, which has deepened development of local content. Excerpt:

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hat do you see as the key achievements of the Nigerian Content Development policy in the past 10 years?

There are many achievements of the Nigerian Content policy in the last decade, some of which can be summarized into following areas: In the last 10 years and especially under Simi Wabote the provision of funding and incentives to Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry operators have been a great milestone achievement of the board.

The $200 million Nigerian Content Intervention Fund (NCI Fund) established in August 2017 and the NCI Fund was also increased to $350 million. These have helped indigenous companies to overcome some of the funding challenges they usually encounter.

The creation of Project100 is another great thing that the board has done. In this case, the Board identified 100 oil and gas start-ups and deployed special institutional interventions for their incubation. The Board has also Introduced Automation of NCDMB’s Processes and Service Level Agreement (SLAs) between NCDMB and critical oil and gas operating companies.

It has also reengineered and deployed a new Monitoring and Compliance Template for Nigerian Content Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E). Consequently, we continue to see stronger enforcement of the requirements of Nigerian Content in tendering for all major projects with the IOCs and NOCs, and non-compliance remains a fatal flaw. This has significantly increased opportunities for Nigerian companies like Gremoore to emerge as major players.

What are your views on the competitiveness of the Nigeria’s Oil and Gas Industry?

International Oil Companies such as ExxonMobil, Total, Shell, Chevron, Agip have created a contracting strategy and enabling environment where indigenous contractors with capacity are able to compete on a level playing field and win on the basis of merit anywhere. This ensures lower contract costs and value delivery to the Client.

It is encouraging to see many Nigerian contractors who are listed on the NIPEX platform to tender for projects in Nigeria.

However, only a few can actually compete and deliver on these projects.

For instance, our company is an emerging leader amongst Nigerian contractors in delivering Engineering, Procurement, Construction and Installation

pany that can be invested in when the bill finally becomes a law. The NNPC is going to be a company on its own and it must be profitable and has to give dividends to the government.

There will be opportunities to revisit all the assets we have onshore, offshore, deep water and shallow water and a lot of investors would want to put money into those assets. The investors would input a lot of local content into the industry.

The law will also address the gas issue. We have too much gas in this country. It will also give guides on how gas should be utilised. I think this the best thing they have done in the country.

I hope it does not slow down at the National Assembly really.

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Valentine Ugbeide

(EPCI) projects. This is evident in our achievements till date, which is largely due to adherence to our core values – Safety, Integrity and Performance (SIP). So a good number of Nigeria companies have the capacities to do good jobs

How is COVID-19 pandemic a challenge to the industry?

As we all know, the current COVID-19 pandemic has created an unprecedented global crisis for every country and business sector.

However, I believe that Nigeria’s oil and gas industry will emerge from the COVID-19 era stronger.

To achieve this, we must do things differently.

For mutual survival during this difficult period, there must be partnership and collaboration with all stakeholders on cost reduction where practical without compromising safety and quality.

Therefore, Gremoore felt obligated to share the pains of its clients who are experiencing significant operating cost increases with low income due to oil price drop.

We have therefore discounted our contract rates knowing that our client such as ExxonMobil has always been supportive in building in-country capacity and creating employment. We also collaborate with our clients to deploy COVID-19 compliant solutions to where necessary.

You must also realise that the Pandamic has slowed down a lot of activities in the oil and gas industry across the globe. Nigeria is not an exemption. The industry www.businessday.ng

here is facing the problems others are facing. The price of crude has been ridiculously low. Investors are waiting to see how soon the industry can recover from the effect of the pandemic. It has disrupted a lot of plans and projects that are supposed to be executed have differed while some are being reviewed. The oil servicing industry is most hit because if the international oil companies are not awarding contracts the service industry would not make much progress.

The PIB has been sent to National Assembly, any hope on that?

One of the boldest steps President Muhammadu Buhari has taken so far is sending the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) to the National Assembly.

I want to personally thank the president for it and the minister of state for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva. I think he was quite bold for what he did.

The PIB has been going on for years now and it has seen about three administrations, yet we have not come to this kind of milestone.

The PIB is a gift to the nation.

I have not seen the details of the bill but the little I have seen so far shows it is for expansion of the industry, it is for opportunities for Nigerians and foreign investors to bring more funds into the country.

Now investors would no longer see an entity like Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) as government parastatal, but a com-

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Can you let us have an insight into your company’s activities and capabilities?

Gremoore Limited, is a 100 percent Nigerian company. It aims is to be the leading indigenous provider of Offshore Engineering, Procurement, Construction and Installation (EPCI) associated with offshore field development and maintenance. Also, it offers professional services in Shallow Water Conventional Pipelay, Brownfield Maintenance/HookUp, Operations and Maintenance, Fabrication of Onshore/Offshore Infrastructure and Deepwater/ Subsea, Umbilicals, Risers & Flowlines (SURF) and Project Management Services.

The company has over a 100 Nigerian Technical and Project Support Staff, together with over 350 Offshore Construction and Fabrication workers. Our execution philosophy is based on our core values of Safety, Integrity and Performance. We have a management team comprised of seasoned Nigerian and expatriate professionals with over 100 years of combined international experience who have worked with Halliburton, Saipem, Subsea 7, ExxonMobil, Shell, Chevron and Total.

As an organisation, what are your milestone achievements?

Within the last three years, the company has successfully completed multi-million dollar EPCI projects meeting the safety, quality, cost, and schedule targets of our key client - ExxonMobil.

We have also achieved the commendable milestone of 2 Million Safe Man-Hours in December 2019 without a Lost Time Incident.

In 2020, we entered into an exclusive partnership with DeepOcean, a leading subsea company to provide subsea services in Nigeria. It has a management system that is consistent with ISO 9001 require@Businessdayng

ments.

At the 2019 Mobil Producing Nigeria Contractor’s Safety Forum, Gremoore received the Best Overall Performance Award. This award is the highest honour that all Mobil Producing Nigeria (ExxonMobil) vendors (both international and local) generally aspire to achieve.

Could you shed more light about your first experience and support received from your client, ExxonMoble Our first break was in May 2017 when we were awarded the ExxonMobil Revamp Platform Program Contract and as soon as we signed off on the contract, we were required to mobilise offshore within a very short period to undertake an emergency repair on an Offshore Platform operated by ExxonMobil. With a good collaboration between the ExxonMobil and Gremoore Teams, we successfully completed this project ahead of schedule. As a result of our performance, we were awarded additional works over a period of two years which were all completed without a Lost Time Injury (LTI).

ExxonMobil leadership showed a strong commitment to Nigerian Content development by supporting several Nigerian companies including Gremoore. Its affiliates in Nigeria have consistently provided an even playing field and supported Nigerian contractors in overcoming their peculiar teething challenges such as cashflow.

How has your company managed the financial requirements to successfully deliver major Oil and Gas projects?

ExxonMobil management recognised the importance of cashflow management for successful project delivery. The payment processes implemented by ExxonMobil helped ensure that approved invoices were paid in a timely manner which enabled contractors such as Gremoore to meet their financial obligations to employees, subcontractors and suppliers. This enabled us properly fund our projects without resorting to expensive financial facilities from commercial banks.

Tell us about your impacted on your host communities?

Gremoore actively support the communities where it operates through various programs including; Fight Against Stroke (FAST) Challenge, we are a member of a Coalition of Companies that support the fight against HIV/ Aids, provides employment for host community workers and Neighbourhood environmental sanitation.

Tuesday 06 October 2020

BUSINESS DAY

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FEATURE How Sahara Group is spearheading LPG Market Capacity Growth in Africa

to 380KT in 2019, a significant increase that far exceeds the country’s demand for liquid products (excluding gasoline).

The proposed facility will increase the country’s LPG storage capacity by 60 per cent and significantly enhance importation, storage, supply and distribution of LPG and other related activities in Cote d’Ivoire and its neighbouring countries such as Mali, Burkina Faso, and Guinea.

The investment will also bridge the current product supply and storage gap in the market and ensure more product availability and security by increasing stockholding from 15 days to 27 days.

DIPO OLADEHINDE

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emand for affordable energy in Africa is set to rise in the coming decades, pushed by two factors: population growth and climate change.

The global population is growing rapidly, leading to higher demand for energy. According to the 2019 revision of the United Nations World Population Prospects, the world population is estimated to grow by 1.6billion in the next 20 years. Nearly half of that increase will occur in Africa, taking the continent’s population to over 2billion.

On its part, climate change will continue to exert its impact on the environment globally, pushing upwards the demand for affordable, reliable, sustainable, cleaner and modern energy.

In the search for solutions to this challenge, Sahara Group is positioning itself as a key driver of the continent’s capacity growth in the nascent LPG market.

In Africa, energy access remains a major issue for governments. Nearly 600 million people are still without access to electricity in sub-Saharan Africa, according to Sahara Group. Thus in the search for a suitable energy source to meet the continent’s requirements, cost will be a major issue.

“The least expensive way to achieve universal energy access in many areas appears to be renewable energy sources through solar energy, compressed natural gas (CNG), liquefied natural gas (LNG) and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG),” Sahara says.

With over three decades’ experience in the energy value chain, Sahara Group brings to the fore the much-needed experience, investment and human resources to champion this course in Africa.

As a leading growing LPG market capacity in Africa, Sahara Group has positioned to meet the growing demand for clean energy in Africa by investing several billions of dollars in ensuring people of Africa get affordable, reliable, sustainable, cleaner and modern energy.

To demonstrate this, Sahara Group, in 2017, unveiled and christened two new modern (with state-of-the-art technology) LPG vessels with a combined capacity of 76,000 cubic metres (cbm).

The vessels, MT Africa Gas and MT Sahara Gas, have since that historic day delivered over 437,170 metric tonnes of LPG, making households, communities and nations cleaner and safer; and boosting economic growth and development across markets.

LPG Consumption Rate in Africa

Consumption of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) in SSA has experienced tremendous growth over the past 10 years, averaging a compound annual growth rate of 9.6%. Consumption has more than doubled since 2010, reaching 4million metric tonnes (MMT) in 2019.

Besides, the increasing demand for immediate actions to tackle climate change and the need to protect the environment has underscored the importance of LPG not only in SSA but in the world.

In August 2018, sectoral experts from Member States of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) called for the development of national policies for the popularization of LPG which will increase the access to modern energy such as electricity and modern cooking fuels in the region. The main agenda is to deepen LPG penetration in the sub-region.

This is in addition to the Africa Gas Initiative (AGI) established by the Oil and Gas Division of the World Bank, to promote the utilization of natural gas in SubSaharan Africa.

The good news is that the industry is already playing a significant role in energy transition as LPG is seen as a cleaner, affordable energy source for the future.

Around the globe, LPG is replacing biomass in rural communities. Indeed, responsible corporate organizations are taking giant steps in promoting LPG consumption in Africa. In the next 10 years, LPG penetration in Africa is expected to have risen to 5Million MT. For instance, as at December 2017, Cote d’Ivoire’s energy mix was 80% gas-fuelled thermal power plants, 19% hydropower generation and just 1% derived www.businessday.ng

from renewable energy sources.

However, by end of 2020, the government of Cote d’Ivoire aims to change the narrative through private-sector investment. The government is targeting 57percent gas-fuelled energy production capacity, 23percent hydropower generation capacity, and 11percent renewable energy sources.

LPG is now used by almost 55percent of urban households in Cote d’Ivoire; however, nearly 95percent of rural households still rely on gathered fuelwood burnt in inefficient traditional stoves.

To change this narrative, the government of Cot d’Ivoire is aiming to bend the curve by targeting 1200KT of LPG for household cooking by 2030.

To achieve this, Société Nationale d’Opérations Pétrolières de la Cote d’Ivoire (the national oil company of Cote d’Ivoire, Petroci Holding) and Sahara Energy Logistics Holding Limited (a Sahara Group company) entered into a Joint Venture Agreement (JVA) recently to facilitate the construction of a 12,000 metric tonnes Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) storage facility to guarantee LPG supply security in the nation.

The cost of the project is estimated at $43 million and will be executed in two phases, with commissioning scheduled for November 2021 and October 2022 respectively.

Incorporated as SAPET Energy S.A., the joint venture company will handle the construction, operation, and maintenance of the ultra-modern LPG storage terminal.

Upon completion, the facility will become the largest of its kind in sub-Saharan Africa, and more importantly, support the government’s efforts to meet Cote d’Ivoire’s growing LPG demand.

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Director-General Petroci, Ibrahima Diaby, said: “This joint venture project is the first of its kind in Cote d’Ivoire and will serve as a model for other projects in the energy sector. It is a historic event that will pave the way for robust and seamless storage, distribution, and supply of LPG. “This translates to more clean energy, growth and productivity in Cote d’Ivoire. We are delighted and look forward to more collaboration with Sahara Energy.”

Also speaking, the Country Manager, Sahara Energy, Olayemi Odutola, said the project was in tandem with Sahara Group’s commitment to promoting clean energy in Africa through investments, new technology and collaboration with regional and global institutions.

He said the partnership with Petroci further reiterates Sahara Group’s support and commitment to enhancing economic growth in Cote d’ Ivoire and contributes to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 7 which aims at ensuring access to affordable and clean energy.

“We are excited about the project and the huge opportunity it will confer on Cote d’ Ivoire as the leading LPG hub in the subregion. Sahara Energy continues to support the energy value chain in the nation as a foremost partner.

“Sahara Group remains unwavering in its commitment to enhancing capacity, productivity, reliability, safety, profitability, competitiveness, and sustainability in Africa’s energy sector. We will continue to explore other investment and partnership opportunities to replicate similar projects across the continent,” Odutola said.

The national LPG consumption has grown from 175KT in 2013 @Businessdayng

Sahara Group’s Intervention in African LPG Market In 2019, Sahara Group and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) entered into a partnership to promote reliable access to affordable and sustainable energy in Africa.

They also agreed to mainstream the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in the private sector with a focus on SDG 7—affordable energy. UNDP’s Regional Director for Africa Ahunna Eziakonwa and the Sahara Group Executive Director Temitope Shonubi signed a Memorandum of Understanding on 15 April 2019 at the UNDP headquarters in New York in the presence of UNDP Administrator Achim Steiner and the Permanent Representative of the Federal Republic of Nigeria Tijani Muhammad-Bandé.

“About 650 million people in sub-Saharan Africa do not have access to electricity. UNDP looks forward to partnering with Sahara Group to ensure that everyone in the region has access to affordable energy, a critical part of our work supporting countries to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030,” said Steiner.

“At Sahara Group, we believe that access to energy is critical to accelerating sustainable development, especially in developing economies,” said Shonubi.

“As a leading energy provider in Africa, we are passionate about the partnership with the UNDP and are confident that it would inspire more interventions and ultimately facilitate access to reliable, clean and affordable energy for all Africans.”

Based on its track record, the Sahara Group was appointed as one of two African companies on the Private Sector Advisory Group set up by the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals Fund (UN-SDGF) in 2015-2016.

The group has since played a significant role in promoting the UN-SDGF mandate by establishing the Private Sector Advisory Group (PSAG) Nigeria, which was inaugurated by Nigeria’s VicePresident Yemi Osinbajo, and

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Tuesday 06 October 2020

BUSINESS DAY

BDTECH

In association with

E-mail: jumoke.akiyode@businessdayonline.com

Develop incentives to woo informal sector into digital economy - Experts tell FG JUMOKE AKIYODE LAWANSON

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he Nigerian Government has been charged to create additional incentives to motivate all citizens to participate in the national identification program.

This recommendation was based on data from the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) that showed the agency’s database had only captured about 42 million of approximately 200 million citizens and residents in Nigeria.

Speaking at the recently concluded Digital Identity Matters webinar held to commemorate the second edition of International ID-Day in Nigeria, Esigie Aguele, co-founder/CEO, VerifyMe Nigeria, said that identity was a core issue in people’s lives.

He said concerted efforts must be made to ensure that all citizens have an official identity, particularly the economically challenged who need to be supported.

According to him, “As a developing nation, the focus right now should be on social and financial inclusion so people who are not documented can get access to services. Digital identities are a key component to transforming the informal sector and pro-

viding growth opportunities for business. With digital IDs, they can grow into small and mediumsized businesses able to access microcredits, small loans and insurance to scale even further.”

“Let’s take the fisherman who is most likely in the informal busi-

ness demographic. His incentive may be to grow his business and make more money. Having become digitized, he can increase the types of payments he can collect because not everybody deals in cash. He can also take his business to areas where he is not

physically present, and now he is no longer a person-to-person business. Maybe, he even wants to buy a bigger boat to get more fish, so he needs a loan. These are all financial incentives for him to get into the digital economy,” Aguele said.

“There is also the social inclusion incentive which relates to government social protection and social investment programmes. These may be in the form of education for the fisherman’s children,” he said.

Mitchell Elegbe, group managing director/CEO, Interswitch said; “The fundamental approach would be to segment the population and develop an appropriate incentive for each group. Due to COVID-19, I had to transfer money to a meat seller because he refused to take cash. Money was the incentive for the meat seller to get a bank account. However, it’s not going to be one-size-fits-all. If the government says it will begin paying Nigerians who don’t have jobs but that they need a NIN to qualify, many people within the category will come forward to register. Once we have this mindset, that it comes down to creating incentives, I believe more people will be drawn into the system.”

The Digital Identity Matters webinar was sponsored by VerifyMe Nigeria, a leading digital identity and Know-Your-Customer (KYC) technology company creating trusted identities for the African markets, in partnership with TechCabal, a future-focused publication focusing on African technology and innovation.

Oracle takes 12.5% stake in TikTok global as secure cloud provider JUMOKE AKIYODE LAWANSON

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racle corporation has been chosen to provide secure cloud technology for TikTok, a popular video-sharing social networking service with over 2 billion downloads world wide.

The company which will now have 12.5 percent stake in TikTok as its cloud service provider, believes that this technical decision

by TikTok was heavily influenced

by Zoom’s recent success in moving a large portion of its video conferencing capacity to the Oracle Public Cloud.

Safra Catz, the CEO of Oracle confirmed that “As a part of this agreement, TikTok will run on the Oracle Cloud and Oracle will become a minority investor in TikTok Global.”

“TikTok picked Oracle’s new Generation 2 Cloud infrastructure because it’s much faster, more reliable, and more secure than

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the first generation technology currently offered by all the other major cloud providers,” Larry Ellison, chief technology officer for Oracle, said.

“In the 2020 Industry CloudPath survey that IDC recently released where it surveyed 935 Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) customers on their satisfaction with the top IaaS vendors including Oracle, Amazon Web Services, Microsoft, IBM and Google Cloud.... Oracle IaaS received the

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highest satisfaction score,” he said.

“Oracle will quickly deploy, rapidly scale, and operate TikTok systems in the Oracle Cloud. We are a hundred percent confident in our ability to deliver a highly secure environment to TikTok and ensure data privacy to TikTok’s American users, and users throughout the world. This greatly improved security and guaranteed privacy will enable the continued rapid growth of the TikTok user community to benefit all

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stakeholders,” Catz said.

Based on decades of experience securing the world’s most sensitive data, the Oracle Generation 2 cloud was built from the ground up to fully isolate running applications and autonomously respond to security threats. Oracle says it will combine its secure cloud technology with continuous code reviews, monitoring, and auditing to provide unprecedented assurance that U.S. TikTok user data is private and secure.

Tuesday 06 October 2020

BUSINESS DAY

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Investments

ENERGY INTELLIGENCE

Market Insight Companies Commodity Tracker Policy

OIL

GAS

PETROCHEMICALS

POWER

Nigeria, it’s time for gas – Attah STEPHEN ONYEKWELU

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n the last five decades, Nigeria’s economic fortunes have been tied to the volatility in oil prices and as the world moves away from the liquid gold, natural gas is offering a sustainable alternative to Africa’s most populous country.

With over 200 Trillion Cubic Feet (TCF) of proven natural gas reserves, Nigeria sits on Africa’s largest gas reserves but the country’s capacity to develop, gather and process natural gas remains comparatively low.

The Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) company has 22 million tonnes per annum capacity. Train 7 would increase it to 30 million tonnes when it comes on stream Nevertheless, Australia with 108TCF of gas reserves has 88 million tonnes capacity per annum. Malaysia has 97TCF of proven gas reserves with 29 – 30 million tonnes capacity per annum. Mozam-

bique has about 50 – 120TCF of proven gas reserves and plans a 50 million tonnes capacity per annum.

“Thirty million tonnes per annum capacity for Nigeria is a non-starter. It is time for gas.

It is time for Nigeria to fly on the wings of gas,” Tony Attah, MD/CEO of NLNG Limited said at BusinessDay’s Energy Series 2020.

“However, we must be deliberate and focused to make this happen. It is this deliberateness that is lacking and cannot be achieved in one year. It is time for gas.”

Similarly, Nigeria lags peers in liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) consumption per capita. LPG is also known as cooking gas. Per capita, cooking gas consumption

in Nigeria a little above 1 kilogramme (kg). This is comparatively less than its West African peers, such as, 4kg per capita in Ghana and 9kg per capita in Senegal, according to data obtained from the World Liquefied Petroleum Gas Association.

By the end of 2020, it is expected that Nigeria’s LPG capacity hit 1 million tonnes per

year. The NLNG contributes currently contributes 300, 000 tonnes and plans to increase this to 450, 000 tonnes. A recent study conducted by the office of vice president estimates that Nigeria’s true LPG capacity is three million tonnes per annum.

The International Centre for Energy, Environment, and Development (ICEED) said 93,000 Nigerians die annually as a result of smoke inhaled while cooking with firewood, with women and children as the most affected persons.

Cooking gas penetration would preserve foreign exchange and improve health.

It would also reduce deforestation; reduce the use of kerosene, slow desert encroachment.

“Gas is a tool for economic rebound and reflation. It is an enabler of various sectors or industry. Gas is food. Gas is jobs. Gas is economic development,” Audrey Joe-Ezigbo, president, Nigerian Gas Association (NGA) said. “Gas is revenue. Gas is social wel-

fare for our people. Gas is the wealth of Nigerians. Gas can make Nigeria very great again.”

People familiar with Nigeria’s natural gas value chain say the country is not short of policies and guidelines around gas and opportunities abound. What is lacking is sustained execution.

The required execution would ensure regulatory and commercial frameworks to attract investments, stabilise the sector, and galvanise the development of gas to take Nigeria to that next level where Nigerians can experience gas as food, jobs, and industrialisation.

This also requires looking at infrastructure. “You cannot achieve much without adequate infrastructure, social stability to guarantee security, and attract investments,” Attah said.

This calls greater commitment by the NNPC to implement the Nigerian Gas Master Plan which covers infrastructure, pricing and domestic supply.

Why LSE-listed San Leon Energy is extending investment window for Oza marginal oil field How Kaduna, Ogun, Kano attracted investors into their energy spaces DIPO OLADEHINDE

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ondon listed and Nigeria-focused oil and gas investor, San Leon Energy seeks to lengthen the investment window for Oza oil field till 31 October in order to finalise certain conditions precedent in the subscription agreement.

San Leon said it was invest $7.5million into the Oza oil field a few weeks ago, through a loan agreement with Decklar, a subsidiary of Asian Mineral Resources.

“All other terms of the transaction remain unchanged,” said the San Leon Energy board concerning the extension.

Decklar owns a majority interest in production and cash flow rights for the Oza oil field which was historically operated

by Shell, between 1959 and 1974, but has never reached commercialscale production.

Decklar plans to use the funds to fast-track the initial redevelopment of the Oza oil field. It intends to re-enter the existing Oza-1 well to test three oil-bearing zones, two of which are expected to be put into production. After

that, from the same location, the rig will drill a new horizontal well.

The same time it is entering into the subscription agreement, San Leon Energy has paid $750,000 as initial deposit out of $7.5 million subject to the satisfaction (or waiver) of the conditions precedent contained in the subscription agreement.

If the transaction contemplated by the subscription agreement are not completed by October 30, Decklar will be required to repay the deposit to San Leon Energy within three months of that date.

Oza Oil Field which was awarded to Millennium Oil and Gas Company during the 2003 bid round is expected to begin first production three to four months following the drawdown of the financing, as it already has access to significant export and production processing facilities.

Oisin Fanning, CEO of San Leon Energy, earlier this month said the deal is part of the company’s strategy to invest in assets with expected near-term cash flow through lowrisk lending-based model.

“The option to scale up

our investment following receipt of the result of the new drill proof-ofconcept well on equivalent terms to the initial investment also provides San Leon with valuable informed optionality,” Fanning said.

San Leon also gains the right to subscribe for another $7.5million of notes, including another 2.5million shares subject to results from a planned well.

The agreement sees San Leon take a 15percent interest in Decklar initially, potentially rising to 30percent with a further subscription alongside the subsequent funding.

San Leon will be allocated one seat on the board of Decklar.

Millennium OIl and Gas Company has also entered into a non-binding term sheet with a local Nigerian bank and the trading subsidiary of a major oil company for up to $33 million on a five-year term debt that provides a use of proceeds of $22 million to refinance existing debt of the company and $11 million for the development activities on the Oza Oil Field, based on entering into a crude sales and purchase contract.

STEPHEN ONYEKWELU & ISAAC ANYAOGU

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igeria’s national constitution has empowered state governments to generate, transmit and distribute electric power, and some states are taking advantage of this provision to improve energy access for their people by partnering with the private sector, improving access to meters and displacing dirty fuels.

Since the major issue in the sector is poor cashflow considering that many electricity users are not metered, the Ogun state government has intervened directly to solve the problem.

“In Ogun State, the government has metered all government parastatals and agencies to ensure they are adequately billed. Lagos has guaranteed contractural offtake,” said Habeeb Alebiosu, non-executive director at Viathan Engineering Limited.

The Lagos state government is embarking on a similar venture but on a larger scale.

It has ambitions to produce between 600,000 and 1million meters and recently organised a Hackathon to select the best ideas and implementation teams to produce cheaper meters, locally.

Alebiosu,in a presentation at the BusinessDay Energy Conference which held

virtually last week said one of states’ role in setting up Independent Power Plants is revenue assurance. The other is contractural offtake, with the state as an anchor tenant.

Other areas include licensing, Environmental Impact Analysis certificate and identifying load centres.

These provides a blueprint for other state governments when designing policies to improve energy access. In Nigeria, over 80million people still do not have access to electricity and half of those under the gird suffer long periods of blackouts.

In Kano, 10 megawatts (MW) solar project has been built on a 24-hectare parcel of land provided by the state government. This is a project that is happening as a result of the collaboration between the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA) and the Kano state government.

“COVID-19 has slowed down the progress of the project. However, we are getting all the necessary licences, working on the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contracts and by the fourth quarter of 2021, the solar project would be fully operational,” Aisha Abba Kyari, vice president, Renewables, NSIA said.

The NSIA has an ambitious target of 500MW of renewable energy capacity but achieved incrementally. In addition to

the enabling conditions investors expect from states as listed earlier, Kano solar project shows additional conditions such as the provision of land, resolution of land ownership disputes and compensations.

“States need to commit and be excited. They need to provide access to industrial clusters, this will in turn boost economic activity,” Abba Kyari said.

Joel Abrams, executive director Konexa, an integrated power company says there is a real case for an integrated distribution network, thanks to the growing liberalisation of the power sector.

The Kaduna state government seeks to replace diesel with cleaner forms of energy and is working with private companies to this end. Diesel generation is many times costlier than on-grid electric power, yet the largest supplier of energy for Nigerians.

“Aware of the sensitivity of Nigerians to national grid tariffs, we decided to take a small batch of customers. Our goal is to understand them from the base of the pyramid to the top and develop an integrated funnel of projects,” Abrams said.

Koxena started operations in Kaduna in because of the state’s large industrial base and mass non-industrial customers. Both Kaduna and Kano have a large peri-urban population, which Koxena has a robust business case for.

EDITOR: Isaac Anyaogu / Analysts Stephen Onyekwelu, Dipo Oladehinde / Feedback: 07037817378, / email: isaac.anyaogu@businessday.ng,

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Tuesday 06 October 2020

BUSINESS DAY

EDUCATION Weekly insight on current and future trends in education

Primary/Secondary

Higher

Human Capital

We have turned our challenge into an opportunity – Alawiye-King Wahab Olawale Alawiye-King was appointed the Executive Chairman, Lagos State Universal Basic Education Board (LASUBEB) in September, 2019. He was a Lecturer at the Lagos State University School of Part Time Studies between 2001 and 2006. He was a Member of the Lagos State House of Assembly between 2007-2015, where he served in various capacities, including the Chairman House Committee on Education and Chairman House Committee on Science and Technology. In this exclusive interview with MARK MAYAH, he said the board’s under his leadership had performed well in the past one year. He assured of laying a formidable education foundation in tune with UNESCO standard and other salient issues. Excerpt: How do you meet LASUBEB when you take charge as the Executive chairman? hank you much.

My appointment as LASUBEB executive chairman was a home coming in a family of a union I am familiar with. We met on ground very highly dedicated and devoted professionals. With the professionals we met, the board hit the ground running immediately by implementing the board’s mandate, providing relevance all inclusive free education in the state.

the three major projects we met and to the glory of God, we were able to execute the projects successfully. As part of being transparent, we at all times enlightening the public on our activities.

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What are the challenges you met on ground?

We all see challenges, and if there is any challenge, we definitely going to turn that into an opportunity. Lagos has been a metropolitan state and as such, there is daily influx of people from other part of the country that has overstretched the state facilities. The fact that we are operating a federation, we have no power to regulate people that come into our state. We had continued to manage the influx at that level by turning the challenge into an opportunity.

A year down the line, what would you say are the achievements of the board under your leadership?

There have been major achievements by Mr Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu led administration this past year in the area of Education Transformation Plan, Infrastructures, Basic Education, Teacher’s Recruitment, Home Grown School Feeding Programme, School Curriculum, Teacher’s Capacity Trainings, E-Learning and Teaching in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic. We met three major projects on ground, firstly the Eko Excel Initiative, a transformation initiative of the incumbent administration. Eko-Excel; an acronym for Excellence in Child Education and Learning which was rolled out in phases is planned to help

Which would you consider the most challenging decision you ever made as the executive chairman, LASUBEB? I do not see any most challenging decision. Leadership and management are all about positive service delivery. As a manager, you must improvise and prioritise. By so doing, you consider many options; such as indigenous factor that you do not have control over. Factor within your reach to control; you can do things within your means and reach, which has been the trick for us at LASUBEB.

Wahab Alawiye-King

14,000 Head Teachers and students embrace digital teaching, using tablets and updated curriculum in line with the Sustainable Development Goal 4, the National Policy on Education, Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) Act 2004 and SUBEB Law 2006, to aid in achieving an all-inclusive, Quality Universal Basic Education. As we speak, over 4,000 primary school teachers from 300 public primary schools have been captured under the Pilot Scheme with each of them given a tablet to work with. The programme equipped teachers with skills to deliver value, empower pupils with requisite knowledge to improve education and help in sustaining the growth of Lagos State as a leading knowledge driven city and economy in the world. Apart from the technological advantage of EkoExcel, the initiative provides www.businessday.ng

a multi-dimensional approach to learning, which includes character moulding of pupils from their formative stage. To do this, Character Boards were placed in all public schools. The Board being used to display the names of well-behaved and outstanding pupils in order to celebrate them with the intention of making other pupils aspire to have their names written for good conduct and subsequently get celebrated in a healthy competitive atmosphere. The Covid-19 pandemic became a stark reality such that the earlier paradigm shift to integrate technology into the Schools’ curriculum was apt, as the Pandemic was not envisaged. These current realities further heightened the State government resolve and commitment to innovatively use media technology to push the quality of education to a world class standard

while making learning outcomes accessible with the background knowledge that Education remains a critical success factor for the socioeconomic development of an economic hub. The second project is the home grown school feeding programme that was designed to alleviate the effect of the lockdown

by COVID-19 pandemic.

Pleased to say that across the 976 Public Primary Schools in the state, the state government through the Home Grown School Feeding Programme fed 135,445 pupils daily. Equally Mr Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu directed me to hire 2000 teachers to complement the existing team and the newly engaged were given adequate trainings before joining the workforce. We had concluded plan and processes as well, on the verge of issuing employment letters to the successful teachers. Those are

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On the exponent rise in cases of abuse against children, the perpetuating culture of silence and the impunity enjoyed by the doers of these evils. Do we expect a proper and appropriate legislation at curtailing the menace?

There is legislation in place.

We need to strengthen these laws and implement well the way it should be. At LASUBEB, we have a special unit, guidance and counselling, saddled with the responsibility at ensuring that adequate enlightenment and sensitization are made at curtailing the menace. Very recently we had sensitization programme at equipping our people on the danger that are involved in this menace. We also urge parents to get more involve because responsive parenting required a lot determination, dedication and most importantly, sacrifice.

As the pandemic crisis gradually eroding off and subsequent phase’s resumption of academic programmes, do we foresee a shift or interval education system in the state?

In Lagos state, what is para@Businessdayng

mount to the people and government is safety of our school pupils, teachers and parents. We are not in a rush to open academic programmes for our primary schools, be it in an interval system or shift mode. We met severally to look at all these scenario analysis of our decisions, at the end of the day we agreed to adopt the alternative approach by resuming using the phase approach rather than allowing every pupil to come to school daily. We did it in alternative manner, so we can be able to maintain the social and physical aspect of the safety protocol, and ensuring that the pupils are getting this education in a safe and secured environment.

What qualifies you to be appointed LASUBEB boss by the governor?

Very interesting question, it was like a home coming.

I was the chairman House Committee on Education, Science and Technology in the Lagos state House of Assembly. You can see the coloration between what I have done there and what am doing at LASUBEB. I was part of the policies initiated and passed into laws by the House, and exactly what are being implemented by me.

LASUBEB is a familiar terrain and that has been the greatest strength for me when I was appointed.

What will you want to be remembered for after your tenure?

Thank you much. We just have one goal. I have put in a passion and determination to ensure that the sector is improved. This is the foundation and once we have the foundational stage well planned, other structures would be sure in the right place. Our determination is to build a formidable foundation we can, towards opening up the potentials of the teeming population of our pupils in the state as part of our resolved.

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EDUCATION School reopening: Five things parents, governments, others need to consider TOPE IMASEKHA

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s students are making plans to go back to school, school administrators, educators, parents, the government, and private parties must all make efforts to determine the feasibility and practicality for schools to reopen in light of the effects of the COVID-19.

Reopening of schools will require a great deal of planning and preparation, and many expenses that would not have been necessary under normal circumstances may spring up.

Stakeholders in the nation have been looking forward to having students and staff back in school, but the process must be done with safety and caution.

These plans and recommendations require a variety of factors that should be taken into consideration. Reopening plans should include: * Ensuring members of the public are aware of all reopening plans; * Creating safe school environments; *Recovering learning loss; *Targeting of resources to where they are most needed; and *Getting children back to school Ensuring members of the public are aware of all reopening plans Public trust in the government plays a great role in the successful reopening of schools.

The government must ensure that all information is clearly communicated through credible channels. To productively engage members of the public and build the trust needed

to design and implement effective reopening plans, the government should: Prioritize community engagement early to build trust, shape perceptions of risk, and improve responses to government policy.

Share clear, credible, and consistent messaging through multiple accessible channels to reach all groups.

Safe school environment Maintaining the health and safety of people and environments is one of the most important aspects of reopening. To make the school environment safe, additional health and hygiene measures should be implemented, and school-based nutritional support should be extended to students to strengthen their overall health and well-being.

To provide safe school environments the following should be considered: • Distribution of waterless hand sanitizer and/or soap (where handwashing stations are already available) • Consider school-based screening for fever and cough, which may reduce risk and improve confidence • Training of teachers and other school staff to offer school-based psychosocial support to returning students • Establishing standard conditions that must be met before schools are reopened.

This will lessen the probability of a new outbreak and boost the confidence of parents, students, and teachers in terms of school safety • Renovating or installing (as necessary) of hygiene facilities like washrooms and

mandatory or for selected groups) so that students can catch up on core subjects

Adamu Adamu, education minister

restrooms Recovering learning loss To address learning loss, we should consider targeted programs for accelerated recovery and use low-cost coaching and communication methods to support teachers and engage parents. One of the unfortunate byproducts of school closures during the COVID-19 pandemic is the resulting gaps in student learning, especially among the vulnerable members of the society. Schools are tasked with developing and employing learning plans to accelerate and/or mitigate learning loss. When schools reopen after a period of closure, education authorities may want to consider adopting a flexible learning approach.

Here are some suggestions

LASUBEB continues teachers’ training on EKOEXCEL MARK MAYAH

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he Lagos State Government in collaboration with the State Universal Basic Education Board has begun training for primary school teachers in the integration of technological devices for instructional classroom delivery under the EKOEXCEL initiative.

The training is being held at CMS Primary Schools Complex, Bariga, and Vetland Primary Schools Complex, Agege. Over 2,000 more primary school teachers will be trained in this phase, bringing a total number of EKOEXCEL Schools to 5,000.

Recall that EKOEXCEL which means Excellence in Child Education and Learn-

ing is an educational transformation initiative of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu. It aims to bridge the gap in quality education delivery through the use of technological devices such as teaching tablets and smartphones in public primary school pedagogy.

Speaking at the training venue, the Executive Chairman of LASUBEB, Wahab Alawiye-King said the Lagos State Government has been anticipatory and proactive before the interruption of COVID-19 by including technology in the basic education system.

He explained that the training would not only empower and develop the participating teachers and headteachers in their careers but also equip them to www.businessday.ng

on how this can be implemented.

• Engage students in accelerated learning interventions to reverse crisis-related learning loss and strengthen future learning trends • Engage teachers in training and coaching so they can help students catch up, and ensure that school environments are safe and protected • Engage parents by capitalizing on their current involvement in remote learning to improve future outcomes • Adjust the school and exam calendar to take into account the teaching time • Consider shortening the academic year(s) and following an accelerated syllabus that focuses on core subjects • Prepare special afterschool study classes (either

Targeting resources to where it is needed the most A strong and equitable reopening and recovery requires the careful use of resources, which relies on broad coordination, effective targeting, and continual use of data to adjust and improve approaches. We must ensure that resources are focused on areas where they are most needed. To help ensure that resources are targeted in a manner that supports a strong and equitable reopening of schools, policymakers should: Use existing administrative and survey data to identify risk factors and guide the design of social transfer mechanisms Gather relevant data early and continuously throughout the reopening process to support implementation, adaptation, and learning Getting children back to school Students, teachers, and households are facing new pressures on their time and resources that will make reenrolment challenging for some families as schools reopen. Governments should implement universal campaigns to encourage enrolment and consider additional measures to support the transition back to school, including incentives to encourage parents and school meals targeted to the most vulnerable.

To encourage and support the enrollment of all students, the government should con-

sider: • Combining community participation and large-scale direct communication campaigns to parents, and consider increasing attendance options to accommodate all children, including those with the highest risk of dropping out.

• Providing financial or inkind support, such as school feeding, to help families overcome the increased costs of attending school.

The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted every aspect of our lives. We at Edugrant (www. edugrant.org) understand that all hands must be on deck to ensure the successful transitioning into the post-pandemic era. As we look to the future and plan for students to return to schools in-person very soon, we must recognize and prepare for the ways the virus and necessary public health response has changed and will change the way students learn.

Tope Imasekha is chief executive officer Edugrant; an online platform providing a range of sponsorship opportunities for students in tertiary institutions who are incapable of funding their education.

TASCE crisis: provost warned to shun corruption, victimization adapt to the new system and respond to challenges that have emerged in the education sector as a result of the pandemic.

He noted that as part of efforts towards embracing the new realities, the Board has introduced a new approach which is a blended, integrated, remote, and distance learning. “It has been established that learning and teaching can happen off-sight,” he remarked.

While addressing the classroom and school managers, he expressed that the new phenomenon, EKOEXCEL, will not only transform teaching and learning in the classroom but change some classroom activities. He, therefore, charged them to conform to the new normal in basic education.

MARK MAYAH

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he Provost, Tai Solarin College of Education (TASCE), Omu-Ijebu, Lukman Kiadese has been warned to shun corrupt practices, nepotism, victimizations, favouritism and other related offences, in line with anti-corruption mantra of the present administration, as he was being reappointed for second term in office.

Chairman, Concerned Academic Staff (CAS), Ade Balogun stated this in OmuIjebu, while congratulating the Provost of the College, Kiadese on his reappointment, noting that accountability and transparency should be his watchwords.

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Balogun explained that corruption was not limited to financial crime alone, but included “the little thing you do, or neglect to do in the conduct of your daily schedule of duties, like movement of files, handling mails, giving query letters to some staff and other official documents, among others.

He said that there was a need for the entire management and Governing Council of the institution to provide punitive measures for corrupt practices, nepotism, favouritism and victimizations, noting that it was a time to reward staff members for outstanding performances as motivation to staff.

He said that the Provost should remember that “whatever has beginning, must also have an end” that @Businessdayng

nothing stand still forever, saying that another four years was around the corner, so should sow good to reap good.

Balogun said that the Provost has begun to clamp down his oppositions during the struggle of when the staff were fighting for their salary arrears and other entitlements, noting that the Provost should sheathe his sword and let the peace reign.

He urged the State Government to quickly implement the white paper and reports of Visitation Panel constituted in finding lasting solution to the plights of the staff of the institution headed by Kamaldeen Balogun (prof ), saying that the implementation of this report would make peaceful resolution to the college.

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property&lifestyle

How Lagos’ plan for monthly rent payment will affect landlords, tenants Endurance Okafor

In a bid to bridge the housing deficit in Lagos, the state government plans to enforce a policy that will compel landlords and real estate developers to collect monthly rent payments from tenants.

Babajide Sanwo-Olu, the governor of Nigeria’s commercial city announced this in a recent round table discuss organized by the Lagos State Real Estate Regulatory Authority (LASERA), an agency committed to decommissioning the real estate sector.

“We are almost at that edge where we are going to identify real big players and we will sit with them and conclude on how well we can leapfrog housing stock,” Sanwo-Olu said, acknowledging that indeed there is housing deficit in the state. He explained that the available “stock is not being utilized fully.”

While addressing the industry stakeholders, the governor asked, “what needs to happen to achieve a monthly rent payment system? What kind of data do we need to have for people to be able to

pay rent monthly or, at most, three months so that we can reduce those incidents of people looking for support to pay their rent?”

To rent an apartment in Nigeria, one would have to make a down payment of not less than one year. In other cases; some tenants are expected to pay up to three years upfront rent.

This is, however, not the case in some African countries like Botswana, South

Africa, Benin Republic, Togo and Rwanda, where rent payment frequency is on monthly basis without also an upfront or down payment, survey by BusinessDay shows.

The frequencies at which rent is paid and how much is required as an upfront payment are the two criteria in determining rent payment system in a country.

Using both indicators, Nigerian cities come at the bottom of the pyramid, ac-

companied by Cameroun, Ghana and Sierra Leone, as the data from the survey by Estate Intel revealed that they are all at the same level.

But, the Lagos Tenancy Law 2011, for example, provides that it is unlawful for a landlord or his agent to demand or receive from a new or prospective tenant, rent over 1 year in respect of any premises; it is also unlawful for the new or prospective tenant to offer or pay rent above 1 year.

“Tenants earn salary monthly and it is okay that they are paying rent monthly. If the policy is enforced, tenants will no longer be stressed financially. They wouldn’t have to take unnecessary loans for house rent,” Tunde Balogun, CEO of Rent Small-Small said.

Having operated the monthly rent payment system for several years, Balogun said when people are used to a particular system, it is always hard to change it. ”We don’t want to experiment or try new things, except when it becomes a law and even when that happens some people still find a way around it.”

“From offering monthly rental service in the past few years, we have seen landlords who have tried the system testify that they didn’t know they would have enjoyed monthly payment of rent as much as they have done,” he explained.

Explaining the reasons for Nigeria’s rigid rent system, Adeniyi Akinlusi, former CEO, Trustbond Mortgage Bank said landlords in some cities in Nigeria collect upfront payment of 2 years because of the high-interest rate on the loans

they borrowed from banks and as such are constantly in search of ways to recoup and pay up as soon as possible.

“The second reason is, maybe, because they are not sure that the tenants will be consistent in their monthly payment.” He added that “fear of high default rate due to lack of credit collection system is a challenge.”

James Olanrewaju, a landlord that owns a duplex in Yaba area of Lagos said: “The monthly rent payment by my tenants will not allow me to get a quick return on my property.”

For the landlords to benefit from the policy, when implemented, Ibraheem Babalola, Co-founder/CEO of Muster, a Protech company, explained that “if they can plug into credit check platform that can help them verify the tenants,” they will be able to “make more money because there is a premium when people are paying monthly rent.”

Babalola also disclosed to BusinessDay that Muster was already partnering the federal government to roll out monthly payment across the nation.

Post-Covid-19: Landmark opens for business with upgraded facilities ...expands leisure, lifestyle offering to boost domestic tourism CHUKA UROKO

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s businesses pick the pieces post-Covid-19 pandemic, Nigeria’s foremost destination for business, leisure and lifestyle facilities, Landmark Africa, says it has opened its gates to fun loving and business minded visitors to its expansive Landmark Village in Lagos.

Authorities of the company disclosed, during a recent tour of their facilities, that they took advantage of the Covid-19 lockdown period to carry out facilities upgrades for existing infrastructure as they prepared to welcome visitors immediately regulations allowed.

“We also completed new projects that expanded the wide range of leisure and lifestyle offerings within Landmark,” Paul Onwuanibe, Landmark Africa CEO during the facility tour.

“So, as you come into Landmark now, you will find more contactless infrastructure across the ecosystem to minimise contact with surfaces. We have fully deployed our online booking and ticketing system at Landmark Beach and Landmark Hotels to ensure that physical interactions, especially cash transactions, are drastically reduced,” Onwuanibe added.

According to the CEO, integrated internal trans-

port system in the village is now available to convey visitors and tenants from the Landmark Towers to the Landmark Beach and even within the Retail Boulevard.

“We have built a city within a city, and we are not stopping anytime soon,” he enthused.

Hospitality and tourism industry was severely affected by the Covid-19 pandemic with a historic loss of over $270B in the United States, according to Oxford Economics. Again, with over 33,000 businesses providing support services to the industry closing down across Europe, it has been a struggle for many organisations to keep operations ongoing.

In Nigeria, the transportation, hospitality, real estate and construction sectors accounted for the highest negative growth in Q2 2020, according to the Nigeria Bureau of Statistics.

But, for Landmark Africa, the lockdown period provided an opportunity to consolidate its position as a leader in the real estate industry. It expanded its hospitality offerings to the education sector.

“We have recently signed a deal to provide executive hostel accommodation and teaching facilities for a post graduate programme to groom leaders in technology and business,” Onwuanibe informed.

He said that resident scholars for the year-long programme will be drawn from across Africa, adding, “with new projects, accelerated upgrades in line with safety regulations as well as continuous engagement with the government and other stakeholders, Landmark has showed remarkable corporate leadership in a country with 27.1 percent unemployment rate.”

The Landmark Ecosystem features an exciting mix of business, leisure and lifestyle facilities. The sprawling Landmark Event Centre with conferencing and exhibitions facilities has played host to some of the most celebrated and well attended parties in Lagos over the last three years.

With a spacious car park strategically located between the Event Centre and Landmark Towers, corporate organisations and fun loving visitors have no worries about security of their expensive cars in the densely populated Victoria Island.

The Landmark Towers is a mixed use commercial facility with 10 floors and a leisure centre. The building includes a high–ceiling retail floor with terraces, world-class restaurant, 6 floors of grade A offices and the 22-room boutique Landmark Hotel.

The Landmark Retail Boulevard provides 8,000sqm of prime retail space and is built around the Landmark

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Event Centre, the only Hard Rock Café in West Africa, Spur, Shiro Japanese Restaurants, and KFC. Visitors get a feel of the sea breeze and nature’s comforting touch on the Landmark Beach.

With provision for corporate and individual membership plans, fun loving Lagosians and tourists have a ready-made hangout spot with exotic specialty cuisine, footwear from Brazil, traditional African art stores and a bed of the cleanest sea sand on the coastal shore of Lagos.

“We are eager to welcome our visitors back to Landmark. Before the lockdown, we recorded as many as 70,000 visitors per week and this made us the prime location for events, exhibitions, trade fairs and retail commerce,” said Seun Olatubi, Chief Strategy Officer for Landmark Africa.

“To further provide more experiences for people to enjoy, we have expanded our leisure and hospitality offerings around the Beach and our waterfront property.

There are two new facilities that offer exotic and intercontinental cuisine, interactive advertising screens for brands that want to connect with the visitors at Landmark, a live-in technology academy, solar light powered board walks, conspicuous safety notices, and of course free wifi”, Olatubi added.

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Here are reasons Build-to-Rent schemes are no longer investor, renter-friendly CHUKA UROKO

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ne major fallout of the negative impact of Covid-19 pandemic on individuals and households is the reduction in purchasing power and that has, in a very significant way, affected demand for even basic necessities of life, including housing.

Before now, build-to-rent schemes were good destinations for property investors who were encouraged to do developments by the high proportion of Nigeria’s population that are renters. That proportion has not diminished. What has diminished, instead, is the ability to rent.

These schemes, which can range from commercial to residential as well as industrial property, are generally projects designed with the sole intention of appealing to the rental market as opposed to long-term homeownership.

Inresidentialschemes,which are more popular in the housing market, a developer builds @Businessdayng

mainlyapartments, usuallyclose to commercial and business districts, with the sole purpose of renting them to people who pay monthly or annual rent.

Though the proportion of renters, estimated at 80 percent of Nigeria’s population by a Pison Housing Company report on ‘The State of the Nigerian Real Estate Market’, is still high, demand has dropped considerably because of rising costs in the country, especially in the housing market.

“There are several factors affecting build-to-rent schemes; infrastructure, cost of land, cost of securing building approval, cost of construction materials. All these fall on the investor purchasing and the tenant renting the property,” Noah Ibrahim, CEO, Novarick Home and Properties, confirmed in an interview.

These costs, he pointed out, do not include the cost of managing the facility, especially when it is serviced, in terms of providing power, water, and cleaning can translate to an increase in the rental cost.

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news

Coronavirus disrupts mental health services in 93% of countries - WHO survey Anthonia Obokoh

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he coronavirus pandemic has disrupted critical mental health services in 93 percent of countries around the world, according to a new World Health Organisation (WHO) survey.

The survey of 130 countries provides the first global data showing the devastating impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the access to mental health services and underscores the urgent need for increased funding.

The survey was published ahead of World Mental Health’, scheduled on October 10. The event aims to bring together world leaders, celebrities, and advocates calling for increased mental health investments in the wake of the novel coronavirus pandemic.

The WHO has previously highlighted the chronic underfunding of mental health.

Prior to the pandemic, countries were spending less than 2

percent of their national health budgets on mental health and struggling to meet the needs of their population.

Bereavement, isolation, loss of income and fear are triggering mental health conditions or exacerbating existing ones.

Many people may be facing insomnia and anxiety.

Meanwhile, coronavirus itself can lead to neurological and mental complications, such as delirium, agitation, and stroke. People with preexisting mental, neurological or substance use disorders are also more vulnerable to SARSCoV-2 infection and may stand a higher risk of severe outcomes and even death.

The survey was conducted from June to August 2020 among 130 countries across WHO’s six regions. It evaluates how the provision of mental, neurological and substance use services has changed due to Covid-19, the types of services that have been disrupted, and

how countries are adapting to overcome these challenges.

Countries reported widespread disruption of many kinds of critical mental health services with over 60 percent reported disruptions to mental health services for vulnerable people, including children and adolescents (72 percent), older adults (70 percent), and women requiring antenatal or postnatal services (61 percent).

About 67 percent saw disruptions to counseling and psychotherapy; 65 percent to critical harm reduction services; and 45 percent to opioid agonist maintenance treatment for opioid dependence.

Nearly a third (35 percent) reported disruptions to emergency interventions, including those for people experiencing prolonged seizures; severe substance use withdrawal syndromes, and delirium, often a sign of a serious underlying medical condition. About 30 percent reported disruptions to

access for medications for mental, neurological and substance use disorders.

Nearly three-quarters reported at least partial disruptions to school and workplace mental health services (78 percent and 75 percent respectively).

While many countries (70 percent) have adopted telemedicine or teletherapy to overcome disruptions to in-person services, there are significant disparities in the uptake of these interventions. More than 80 percent of high-income countries reported deploying telemedicine and teletherapy to bridge gaps in mental health, compared with less than 50 percent of low-income countries.

WHO has issued guidance to countries on how to maintain essential services - including mental health services - during Covid-19 and recommends that countries allocate resources to mental health as an integral component of their response and recovery plans.

FG engages Heritage Bank, others on account opening for public works beneficiaries HOPE MOSES-ASHIKE

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ollowing its commitments to teeming entrepreneurs and youths’ empowerment, Heritage Bank Plc, has been engaged by the Federal Government to commence account opening for beneficiaries of the Special Public Works Programme through-out the 774 local governments.

Also, five other financial institutions- Zenith, UBA, Access, Fidelity, FCMB are part of the banks appointed to engage in this exercise.

The Minister of State for Labour and Productivity, Festus Kenyamo announced issuance of letters of engagement to six Nigerian banks to commence account opening with Bank Verification Numbers (BVN) for the 774,000 participants of the SPW Programme in their branches, through-out the 774 local governments.

The information was disclosed via the verified Twitter handle of the minister.

Recall that 1,000 participants were drawn each from the 774 local government areas in Nigeria for the Special Public Works Programme. In response to the nature of diversity and remoteness of some participants, the minister allayed the fears of missing out from the registration by the beneficiaries, stating that it has gotten assurance from the banks that even in places where they have no physical presence or branch, registration centers would be provided; hence participants don’t need to travel far.

The minister said, ‘‘The banks assured us that even in LGAs where they don’t have branches, temporary registration centers would be opened in such LGAs so that the participants would not have to travel far to open their accounts”.

C/River targets 800,000 children for immunisation …as Ayade flags off modified medical outreach MIKE ABANG Calabar

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he Cross River State government on Monday officially flagged off the modified integrated medical outreach programme with a target to reach out to over 800,000 women and children, especially those at the hinterlands.

Governor Ben Ayade, represented by his deputy, Ivara Isu said the state would double its efforts at preventing children from dying of preventable dis-

L-R: Segun Mcmedal, chairman, Lagos State Chapter of the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations; Tayo Ayinde, chief of staff to the governor of Lagos State, and Sina Thorpe, permanent secretary, Ministry of Information and Strategy, Lagos State, during a courtesy visit to the chief of staff, in Ikeja, Lagos.

Obaseki, Sanwo-Olu,Makinde, Okowa laud teachers’ commitment to human capital devt Remi Feyisipo, Idris Umar Momoh, Kelechi Ewuzie & Francis Sadhere

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overnor Godwin Obaseki, has hailed teachers in Edo State for their resilience and commitment to human development, which is exemplified in their seamless adoption of the technology-driven pedagogy now operational in over 840 schools covered by the Edo Basic Education Sector Transformation (EdoBEST) programme in the state.

The governor, who spoke in commemoration of World Teachers’ Day, specially thanked teachers in the state for their unwavering support during the just concluded governorship election in the state, noting that he would continue to prioritise their welfare, professional growth and put in place a favourable work-life balance to drive

productivity.

According to him, “I am delighted to celebrate with teachers in Edo State as we mark World Teachers’ Day. It must be noted that in the entirety of my first term in office, I took special interest in teachers and worked assiduously with them to redirect the course of public education in Edo State, with the introduction of the EdoBEST programme. We had initial hiccups, but today, we are all the better for the key reforms and policy choices made.

In Oyo, the state governor, Seyi Makinde, described teachers as gallant fighters. Makinde appreciated their dedication and support, especially in the battle to contain the Covid-19 pandemic and further dubbed them as partners in the drive to promote qualitative education in Oyo. In a statement by the state commissioner for education, www.businessday.ng

science and technology, Olasunkanmi Olaleye, on Monday, the governor, however, urged the teachers not to relent in working towards returning Oyo back to its rightful position in academic excellence among other states in Nigeria.

“We felicitate with teachers in Oyo State as they join others in the world to mark this year’s World Teachers’ Day. They have shown their gallantry in the face of the Covid-19 pandemic as they gave the required support to combat and contain the disease from spreading to our schools.”

Also, the governor of Delta State, Ifeanyi Okowa, commended teachers for their role in nation-building.

Okowa, in a statement by his chief press secretary, Olisa Ifeajika, said that teachers were the bedrock of the development of any nation as no other profession can metamorphose without

the input of teachers.

He said the state government would continue to ensure that the salaries of teachers were paid regularly as and when due.

He also said his administration was committed to improving the environment for teaching and learning, which has resulted in the construction and rehabilitation of school buildings and provision of furniture for teachers and students.

In Lagos, the state governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, represented by his commissioner for education, Folashade Adefisayo, said the government would send teachers in the state on digital skill training in the United States of America.

Adefisayo observed that teachers must move to the new level and embrace digital skills, adding that the coronavirus pandemic has shown that school is more than the buildings.

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ease in the state.

The state commissioner for health, Betta Edu said regretted that children under five years in Nigeria still die of preventable disease.

She challenged primary health care providers to reach out to children in rural communities through the programme.

Chairman, Cross River State House of Assembly committee on health, Ekpo Ekpo said the house was doing everything to step up the fight against infant mortality ratio in the state.

Glo rejoices with Nigeria at 60 …boosts academic learning with Smart Learning Suite service TEMITAYO AYETOTO

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lobacom has congratulated Nigerians on their patriotism, hard work and determination over the years.

In a goodwill message to mark Nigeria’s Diamond Independence anniversary, Globacom enjoined citizens at home and in the diaspora to uphold these unique virtues to overcome the current challenges bedevilling the nation.

“It’s been 60 years of resilience, determination and a never-say-die spirit for Nigeria.

For Glo, it’s been 17 years of imbibing and showcasing this same spirit to the world,” the company said.

The company noted that Nigerians have every cause to celebrate the numerous achievements, milestones and the country’s continuing status as one cohesive nation bound in freedom, peace and unity for the past 60 years despite its myriad of challenges. Globacom added that the nation’s composition as a country of over 300 peoples of diverse traditions, cultures, inclinations @Businessdayng

and beliefs should enrich and unite rather than divide us.

Meanwhile, educational institutions and students in the country are in for a good time as the company unveils a new service tagged Glo Smart Learning Suite designed to boost academic learning in our educational institutions, as well as meet the needs of the students in the country.

Globacom, in a statement in Lagos, described the Glo Smart Learning Suite as a veritable platform for online education, adding that it facilitates teaching and learning as well as school management.

“The Glo Smart Learning Suite is a customizable platform which offers rich features including live classes, online tests and examinations, performance reporting, course registration and blended learning (Online/Offline). The platform will be customized for schools with their specified look and feel (colors and logos) at zero cost to each school and help students whose educational institutions are shut due to COVID-19 pandemic to fulfil their educational needs.”

Tuesday 06 October 2020

BUSINESS DAY

news Dubai firm begins work on Single Mooring Buoy at Lagos port for petroleum products Olusola Bello

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s the Dangote Refinery takes shape for the purpose of processing crude oil, Drydocks World, a service provider to the marine, offshore, oil, gas and renewable energy sectors has held a steel-cutting ceremony to start production of a single point mooring buoy – Lekki SPM Project – which is due to be installed in the petroleum product handling facility at the Lekki Free Trade Zone in Lagos, Nigeria by the end of Q1 2021.

A mooring buoy is a permanent structure to which a vessel may be secured.

Examples include quays, wharfs, jetties, piers, anchor buoys, and mooring buoys.

Drydocks World in a statement it released on Monday, said Orwell Offshore, an offshore engineering company with Nigerian interests, has successfully secured the contract for the fabrication which includes the Engineering, Procurement and

Construction (EPC) basis and installation of the buoy

by Pinnacle Oil & Gas, aiming to develop the petroleum product handling facility in Nigeria.

The buoy, 16.5 metre diameter and 10.6 metres high, weighs around 290 tons and the project will require around 110,000 man hours to complete fabrication and testing works. The scope of fabrication includes bulk procurement, fabrication engineering, assembly, machining, inspection, mechanical completion, testing and load-out of the SPM Buoy.

When completed, the proposed mooring facilities will transfer petroleum products through pipelines between the offshore mooring facilities and the onshore storage terminal. The Lekki SPM project will be certified in line with the requirements of the ABS Rules for Building and Classing Single Point Moorings, 2014.

Rado Antolovic, CEO of Drydocks World said, “Dry-

docks World has a strong track record in delivering complicated and challenging offshore projects with an excellent safety and quality level. These have positioned our yard as a global specialist with expertise in delivering large-scale projects of significant complexity.”

He added that Orwell Offshore awarded this project to the company’s Dubai yard based on its track record and depth of the team understands.

Dangote Refinery is a 650,000 barrels per day (bpd) integrated refinery and petrochemical project under construction in the Lekki Free Zone near Lagos, Nigeria. It is expected to be the Africa’s biggest oil refinery and the world’s biggest single-train facility, upon completion in 2020.

Companies that may want transact business with Dangote Refinery by buying its refined products may also take advantage of such facilities to get product supply from Dangote Refinery.

Group urges govt, corporates to invest in public education SEYI JOHN SALAU

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uman Development Initiatives (HDI) in collaboration with ActionAid Nigeria with the support of NORAD in commemorating the 2020 World Teachers’ Day has urged government and corporate organisations to invest more in public education as a means of making the teaching profession more attractive.

HDI and partners organised a one-day education stakeholders’ meeting in Lagos State to articulate some of the issues as schools are reopening after a long lockdown period; and to come up with strategies for supporting a sustainable free, quality, equitable, inclusive and resilient publicly funded education safe for both teachers and pupils.

Eve r y O c t o b e r 5 i s a special day dedicated, all over the world, to celebrate teachers and advocate on issues directly affecting the teaching profession and

teachers in particular.

“Realising that the education sector has been in crises long before now, and that Covid-19 pandemic only further exposed the frailty of the public education and the vulnerability of teachers in Nigeria; the stakeholders at the event called on the Lagos State government to increase education budget to address many of the infrastructural challenges especially WASH and ICT gaps; and prioritise improving teachers’ training, increase in teachers’ salaries and their general welfare in the state,” said Olufunso Owasanoye, the executive director of HDI. According to her, without a new generation of motivated teachers, millions of children in Lagos State will miss out of quality education and will continue to miss out unless adequate measures are taken urgently to restore dignity and professionalism into teaching service.

Owasanoye opined that teachers play pivotal roles in ensuring the deliver y

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of the global Sustainable Development Goal of ensuring quality education for all by 2030. “This goal cannot be achieved in the face of rising attrition rate of professional teachers, domination of the profession by non-professionals.

“Weak institutional system to promote cooperative teaching and quality learning output as a critical barrier to achieving inclusive education which is a global trend in education and a key component of the future of education for developing countries,” stated Owasanoye.

She stated further that the teaching profession remains in crisis in the face of poor teachers’ remuneration and welfare making the profession unattractive; and generally poor teaching and learning environments.

In the spirit of this year’s World Teachers’ Day, “teachers: leading in crisis, reimagining the future,” the stakeholders present at the workshop renewed their demand for a total quality public education system for both teachers and all children in Lagos and therefore recommended the following, among others: That the Lagos State government should enforce compliance to TRCN Act in recruitment of teachers in both public and private schools as part of efforts to standardise the teaching profession; and that teachers education curriculum in higher institutions be overhauled and rejigged to follow the global best practice. https://www.facebook.com/businessdayng

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news Eligible customer policy still in...

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nies (GenCos), are still unable to benefit from the

initiative.

These electricity customers were declared so by minister of Power acting on powers from the Electric Power Sector Reform Act (EPSRA) 2005, in May 2017.

A review of the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission’s (NERC) reports and remarks made by its officials indicates that the regulator was not satisfied that the applicants would not sell already contracted power to the grid under the framework.

According to Dafe Akpeneye, NERC’s commissioner, legal regulatory licensing, most GenCos have already contracted all generated power to the national grid in their various Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) with the Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading (NBET), hence the Commission has refused to approve their resell under the Eligible Customer arrangement.

“GenCos cannot be paid twice for the same product.

They need to go and renegotiate those PPAs with NBET to free up the capacity they want to sell to eligible customers,” Akpeneye explained at BusinessDay Energy Conference held last week.

NERC, in its latest quarterly report, notes that no new eligible customer application was received as at Q4 2019.

The Commission further says it continued with the technical evaluation of 14 existing Eligible Customer applications with a total capacity of 245.455MW. “During the quarter under review, no new eligible customer application was received but the Commission continued with the technical evaluation of 14 existing Eligible Customer applications with a total capacity of 245.455MW,” NERC notes in its latest quarterly report.

However, the regulator may not be entirely blameless.

After publishing the regulation in 2017, it was only on July 30, 2020, it issued the guidelines on filing applications for a key component of the regulation, the Competition Transition Charge.

The framers of the ESPRA understand that migrating large-scale electricity users from DisCos network will cause a massive revenue loss.

So, it provides a mechanism for DisCos to recover the cost by mandating beneficiaries, the EPSRA had contemplated that NERC would implement CTCs to cushion these effects.

The CTC is a charge to be collected by the DisCos in addition to the approved tariff under the Multi-Year Tariff Order, as compensation for its loss of revenue in respect of committed prudent expenditures, and inability to earn the permitted rates of return on its assets as guaranteed by the EPSRA, in each case, resulting from the exit of an eligible customer (EC) from

the DisCo or NBET’s network.

“However, since the introduction of the EC regime, stakeholders across the sector value chain have long awaited the implementation of the CTC framework with keen interest,” said analysts at Olaniwun Ajayi, led by Wolemi Esan, in their review of the CTC guidelines.

According to the analysts, the guidelines may yet present a fresh set of challenges. For example, “while the guidelines prescribe that the DisCos are to make projections of losses that may be suffered, there is a chance that the loss actually suffered may exceed the projections made by the DisCos as some losses may not reasonably be envisaged prior to the exit of the EC,” the analysts said.

The guidelines also do not provide clarity on what would be the penalty for nonpayment on the part of the EC, especially as the penalty for non-payment of tariffs is typically the disconnection of the defaulting customer.

The new guidelines also do not seem to take into account end users that have already exited the DisCos’ networks and have since implemented off-take arrangements with GenCos according to the analysis.

The impact of these, experts say, is that implementation of the regulation may further be delayed. The Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) says 40 percent of business cost goes to paying for power due to Nigeria’s creaking national grid. The use of dirty fuels like diesels contributes to environmental pollution.

The contractual framework contemplated in the Eligible Customer regulation is such that the distribution companies, the Transmission Company of Nigeria as well as power producers all stand to generate some revenue depending on the particular class of customers involved and the signing of agreements.

According to NERC, the first category of eligible customers comprises of a group of end-users registered with the Commission whose consumption is no less than 2MWhr/h and connected to a metered 11kV or 33kV delivery point on the distribution network and subject to a distribution use of system agreement for the delivery of electrical energy.

The next category of eligible customers are those connected to a metered 132kV or 330kV delivery point on the transmission network under a transmission use of system agreement for connection and delivery of energy.

Other categories of customers under the declaration consist of those with consumption in excess of 2MWhr/h on monthly basis and connected directly to a metered 33kV delivery point on the transmission network under a transmission use of system agreement. www.businessday.ng

L-R: Philip Shuaibu, deputy governor, Edo State; Uche Secondus, national chairman, People’s Democratic Party (PDP), and Godwin Obaseki, governor, Edo State, during the thank you visit to the National Headquarter of the PDP in Abuja, yesterday.

Pic by Tunde Adeniyi

Delays for test results may cease as kit helps...

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available for many more

facilities,” she said.

Since Nigeria’s public health systems began to grapple with Covid-19, circulation of testing has been a critical challenge that has placed patients at the short end of the stick.

Patients who manifest coronavirus symptoms are compulsorily subjected to test that the results cannot be quickly obtained for lifesaving clinical intervention.

Even for non-coronavirus patients suffering from acute respiratory distress, pneumonia and malaria with symptoms suggestive of SarsCov2 infection, their chances of survival are often wasted because health workers short of personal protective equipment (PPE) would rather subject them to the struggle for testing than risk contracting the virus.

At the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), for instance, BusinessDay understands that the delay for Covid-19 test still stands in the way of emergency care, apart from the constant problem of lack of beds.

Patients due for surgery often join the queue of several others before they can qualify for surgery theatre and often get the cost PPE for healthcare workers attending to them squeezed in their bills.

Far from its target of conducting 10 million tests, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has only managed to test 520,797 samples as of October 1, marking 5.2 percent of its goal.

The decline in the rate of daily infection in September led the public into thinking Covid-19 was finally ebbing into obscurity in the country until the centre explained it was an offshoot 36 percent

drop in testing in August.

“But as it is, we have witnessed a progressive decline in the testing rates across various states as a result of lower sample collection rate.

In the month of August, we discovered that testing rate declined by 36 percent while test positivity declined by 25 percent,” Chinwe Ochu, NCDC’s head of Prevention Programmes and Knowledge Management Department said via the official NCDC Twitter handle.

But now, hospitals can have access to these points of care such that they can test and get the results immediately to determine whether to go on and manage patients using extra caution if they are positive or just the standard method of management, Audu states.

In terms of market traction, Audu notes it has a ready market but partnership nods from investors will still determine when circulation begins.

Unlike the rapid test that the NCDC earlier discouraged for its false prediction and lack of specificity, the Isothermal Molecular Assay is a nucleic acid test that is based on a polymerase chain reaction.

It is the same as the test currently run at full-fledged labs like that of NIMR but comparable to rapid test. It is superior to the antibody test.

Differentiating further, the head of virology explains that rapid test kits only indicate if an individual has been exposed to the virus and has developed antibodies ─ a protein produced mainly by plasma cells, used by the immune system to neutralise pathogens such as bacteria and viruses.

It often fails to give information on current infection, inadvertently expand the cycle of coronavirus transmission.

But a nucleic acid based test kit gives this information within a shorter timeframe and comes cheaper.

Nigeria’s dollar squeeze summed up in... World Teachers’ Day: Buhari raises service...

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with the previous year.

In September 2020, FX turnover stood at $2.26 billion, a 72.11% decline compared to the $8.1 billion recorded in September 2019.

Compared to August 2019, turnover plunged by 85% to $1.5 billion in August 2020, from $9.3 billion recorded in the same period last year.

Also, FX turnover declined 78%, 71% and 64% in May, June and July 2020, compared to the same periods in 2019.

Many businesses and manufacturers that rely heavily on dollars have been struggling as the lack of access to foreign exchange is hampering their ability to import vital raw materials, machines and spares that are not available locally.

According to data obtained from the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria, manufacturer’s outstanding dollar demand recently hits $729,450,430.

The scarcity of foreign exchange and a heap of other challenges have continued to cripple the performance of the Purchasing Managers’ Index.

The Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) witnessed a contraction for the fifth consecutive month in September, as it stood at 46.9 index

points, down from the 48.5 index points recorded in August 2020, accordingtotheCBNPMIreport.

Economists have pointed out that the PMI is a leading indicator to assess the health of an economy and also predict growth. This signals that the indexstillinacontractionisdangerous fortheeconomyhurtling towards its next recession.

The Nigerian economy contracted 6.1% in the second quarter of this year as oil price crash and the pandemic shrunk economic activities.

According to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), the unemployment rate in Nigeria is at 27%, the highest in a decade while the inflation rate for August accelerated to 13.22% as food prices surged. This gives a grim outlook to investors.

Total investments into Nigeria in Q2’20, including portfolio investments,foreigndirectinvestment and equity investments, plungedto$1.29billion,a77.88% decline from the $5.85 billion inflows recorded in Q1’20.

Although Covid-19 fears are relaxing and companies have resumed operations, if manufacturing companies are not producing as a result of the dollar crisis it could hamper the recovery of Africa’s biggest economy in the coming days.

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ers conversion programme and ICT training to mitigate the current dearth of qualified teachers in the school system,” the president announced.

He also approved the following incentives to motivate and restore the lost glory of teachers; building of low-cost houses for teachers in rural areas, sponsorship of teachers to at least one refresher training per annum, expansion of annual Presidential Teachers and Schools Awards to cover more categories with outstanding winners to be considered for National Awards and National Productivity Order of Merit (NPOM) awards.

Others were “prompt payment of salaries and other entitlements including consideration for first-line charge in annual budgets, timely promotion of teachers to eliminate stagnation, provision of loan facilities, free tuition and automatic admission for biological children of teachers in their respective schools to encourage and retain them in the system.”

“The Minister of Education is hereby directed to ensure an accelerated implementation of these policies and measures in collaboration/liaison with States/Local Governments, @Businessdayng

the Office of the Head of Civil Service of the Federation, the National Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission and other relevant agencies in the system to enthrone a culture of competence, discipline, dedication, increased learning outcomes and better service delivery in the education sector in Nigeria.”

NasirIdris,president,Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT), who urgedthegovernmenttoensure strict compliance of schools to the Covid-19 protocols on safe reopening, said 39 million youngsters were affected by the closureofschoolsinthecountry.

Idris, who said the use of technology and distance/online learning could not replace school community, stressed, “Face to face interaction between the teachers and the learner is crucial to the learning and development process.

“This means that teachers need to be provided with opportunities for regular training and continuing professional development, be provided with conducive and safe school environments, be adequately equipped and be empowered and supported to be able to meet the new challenges and demands of the 21st Century, and to ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all.”

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news

Digitalisation to make insurance products attractive, affordable for Africans Modestus Anaesoronye

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he digitisation of Africa’s insurance markets will enhance the appeal and affordability of risk transfer products in the continent, according to Africa Insurance Pulse report of the AIO launched recently.

According to the report, underwriting and risks management will benefit from improved access to data and analytics. At the same time, technology will help streamline the insurance value chain and enhance the efficiency of administrative processes.

Ultimately, digitisation will boost awareness and demand for insurance solutions, eventually translating into higher insurance penetration in Africa.

These are some of the key findings of this year’s edition focused on the digitisation of Africa’s insurance markets, according to the report by Faber Consulting on behalf of the African Insurance Organisation (AIO), being the fifth in the series.

This edition has been ex-

clusively sponsored by Africa Re, the leading pan-African reinsurance company and the largest reinsurer in Africa.

Jean Baptiste Ntukamazina, secretary-general of AIO, said: “During the Covid-19 crisis, digitisation in Africa, as in other economies, has demonstrated its benefits.

“While regulators and policymakers recognised the systemic nature of the insurance industry, the industry demonstrated its ability to continue to provide its services to policyholders without any disruption.”

Ultimately, this will reflect in an acceleration of the application of the new technology across Africa.”

Corneille Karekezi, group managing director/ CEO of Africa Re, stated: “We are seeing pronounced differences in the degree of digitisation across African insurance markets and its players. At Africa Re, we are keen to promote, accompany and support the digitisation of our core markets. The advanced technology helps insurers to access new client segments, improve their services and differentiate

their products to overcome the focus on pricing that has eroded many of our markets in the past years.”

“The Africa Insurance Pulse is based on a combination of in-depth market research and valuable insights from senior insurance executives operating across Africa,” commented Henner Alms, chairman and Partner at Faber Consulting. “The study found that currently approximately 5 percent of insurance premiums are already generated digitally.

In the long term, this share could rise to 20-50 percent of premiums.”

In Africa’s frontier markets, the introduction of digital technology contributes to advance administrative processes and improve risk management. In more advanced markets, such as Kenya, Nigeria or Ghana, digital products are already sold via mobile platforms and the technology helps to finally curb down on the sales of fraudulent motor policies.

Personal lines are expected to be digitised first, followed later by commercial lines and then specialty lines.

Only true federalism will rescue Nigeria, says ex-minister ANIEFIOK UDONQUAK, Uyo

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he former minister for lands housing and urban development, Nduese Essien says only true federalism can rescue Nigeria from the present political and economic challenges Essien a former member of the House of Representatives (1999-2007), in an interview, said unitary system which is unique to military rule had created more problems for the country under democracy.

According to him, “the Federal Government of Nigeria has been distorted from what it used to be. We are supposed to be a federation but since the incursion of the military into governance, we lost the federal structure because the military is used to unitary system against federal structure.

“We had expected that after the military rule, Nigeria should have returned to federal structure. People feel that Nigeria should be restructured to what it was supposed to be; which is a federation, because of the multiplicity of ethnic groups

that abound in Nigeria“.

The former minister explained that the continuous operation of unitary structure was depriving states resources meant for their development, stressing that the over-dependence on the centre was stifling development at state level.

“Before the advent of the military the regions were developing at their own pace using resources at their disposal, but now the Federal Government takes all the resources and shares according to her wishes and those who generate the resources are not major beneficiaries.”

Decrying the negative impact the absence of true federalism is hoisting on oilproducing states, Essien said, “Akwa Ibom State produces up to 30 percent of the oil revenue in this country but ends up getting just 13 percent of the production and yet the 13 percent is far inadequate because of the hazards that accompany oil production which has been on for over 50 years.

“The output from the oil production is not used to compensate the people suf-

fering from the hazards of the job but taken to the federal level and disbursed indiscriminately.

“Akwa Ibom has a cause to complain and it has been complaining and insisting that the derivation be increased. It is better we return to the federal structure in which each state controls her resources and pays what is agreed to the central government. That is how other federations all over the world are run,” he stated.

The former lawmaker noted that there were too many resources available to the Federal Government which he said has led to ineffective utilisation. “When the resources are so much, people always find ways of expending it and some of the ways are not justifiable. You can see what is happening, the Federal Government of Nigeria believes that people can be given raw cash in the streets and villages to live on.

“They are doing so presently through the federal minister of humanitarian affairs who goes round with billions of naira to share out to individuals.

Private sector seeks Lagos support to bridge electricity metering gap KELECHI EWUZIE

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owards bridging the metering gap in Nigeria, the management of Mojec International Holdings, has sought the support of Lagos State government in the areas of funding and provision of land to create an electricity hub.

The company which is the parent body of Mojec Meter Assets Management Company, an indigenous meter manufacturer, sought the support when Lere Odusote, Lagos State commissioner for energy and mineral resources, led a delegation on a visit to the company, in Lagos, recently.

Chantelle Abdul, chief executive officer, Mojec International Holdings commended the state government for opening a channel of discussion with the company on the need to produce meters locally at an affordable cost, stressing that such financing intervention would help bridge the metering gap at a faster rate.

According to Abdul, “part of the reason why I am elated about what the state government is doing is that we are both working together to see how we can produce these meters at a cheaper rate to the end us-

ers. Today, we have about 30 percent of those who are paying for their meters while the remaining 70 percent requires financing to get the meters across to them” Abdul lauded the state government for its commitment to transform energy sector in the state, adding that the company would welcome any assistance on its part to enable it create more jobs for the teeming youth in the state.

Odusote acknowledged the strides Mojec has recorded since it came on board producing meters locally, assuring that the state government would support indigenous operators on any innovation in the electricity value chain that would further help to solve energy problem in Lagos.

“We are very happy that a company such as this exists in Lagos. We think it is a pioneering company and a trailblazer. Our job in the ministry is to ensure that Lagos is energy sufficient.

We want to have all the energy that we want. We don’t mind working with other regions of the country. For a company like Mojec to exist in Lagos, it helps us with that story. Partnership with Mojec is the way to go and we are ready to do that”, Odusote added. www.businessday.ng

L-R: Justin Essien, digital brand manager, SevenUp Bottling Company (SBC); Ozoemena ‘Ozo’ Chukwu, Pepsi BBNAIJA Turn Up Task winner; Abigail Okala, brand manager, SBC, and Segun Ogunleye, marketing manager, SBC, at the presentation of Pepsi BBNaija Turn Up Task prize, award of VVIP all-expense paid trip to One Africa Music Fest Dubai and one year supply of Pepsi, in Lagos.

JAMB to fix exams for candidates with verification problem Godsgift Onyedinefu, Abuja

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he Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB), says it will fix a new date for candidates who had verification problems during the 2020 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).

The registrar, JAMB, Ishaq Oloyede, who made this known in Abuja, informed that 4,900 candidates had verification challenges in the examination which is a drop from over 70,000 in 2019.

The JAMB boss while admitting that the 4900 cases were still high and questionable, however, said the drastic reduction

was triggered by a process introduced by the board which allows officials to take a snapshot of any candidate who claims he could not be biometrically verified, and compare with the picture in JAMB’s database.

The registrar also informed that effective checks have been mounted by the Federal Government against incidents of identity theft in the admission process into the country’s tertiary institutions.

Oloyede, said the government, through the minister of education, Adamu Adamu issued a directive, mandating JAMB to transfer candidates’ biometric data to their institu-

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tions of choice, thus ending fresh capturing of biometrics and pictures of candidates for post-UTME tests.

The JAMB boss said Adamu’s directive had already uncovered 657 cases of candidates, whose photographs could not match the ones recorded in JAMB’s database and were currently angling to change the photographs, adding that the board has referred those who requested for change of photographs to come down to its headquarters, with the intention of bringing perpetrators of fraud to book.

“In previous admission exercises, certain candidates @Businessdayng

who appear in the institution for registration were different from those who actually sit the examination. This was possible because the institutions were taking fresh pictures and biometrics thereby making it possible for impersonators to have a field day to ply their trade.

“In the last exercise, we insisted, as directed by the minister of education, that all institutions should use the already captured biometrics and pictures by the board. This made it impossible for the candidates whose examinations were taken on their behalf by professional examination takers to gain admissions,” he said.

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POLITICS & POLICY Edo guber: INEC commissioner slams N10bn libel suit against Edo APC chieftains IDRIS UMAR MOMOH & CHURCHILL OKORO, Benin

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ike Igini, the resident electoralcommissioner (REC) in charge of Akwa Ibom State, has instituted N10billionlibel suit against David Imuse, factional chairman of the All ProgressivesCongress (APC) in Edo State and John Mayaki, chairman, Edo State APC MediaCampaign Council.

Igini, in a separate writof summons with the suit numbers B/555/2020 and B/556/2020 filed onMonday before a Benin High Court by Barrister Edwin Okonedo on behalf ofhis counsel Clement Onwuenwunor, demanded the sum of N5billion as aggravateddamages each from the APC factional chairman and John Mayaki,respectively.

He also joined theVanguard Media Limited, the African Newspaper of Nigeria Plc, the publisher ofthe Nigeria Tribune and the Sun Publishing Limited as co- defendants.

The Resident ElectoralCommissioner also de-

Mike Igini

manded for a full page unreserved apology to be publishedby the duo in every edition of the Punch Newspapers, Tribune, Guardian and theSun Newspapers for seven consecutive times, commencing not later than sevendays after the judgment of the case.

He also prayed thecourt for a perpetual injunction restraining the defendants, their agents,privies and or servants howsoever called from further publishing same orsimilar words defamatory against him.

He alleged that on Au-

gust30, 2020 during the just concluded governorship election campaigns, the APCfactional chairman and chairman, Edo State APC Media Campaign Council addressedjournalists at a press conference titled, ‘Press conference on Governor Godwin Obaseki’scriminal attempt to infiltrate INEC officers like Mr. Mike Igini’ in Auchi in Etsako West Local Government Area.

Igini averred that thepress conference which was published in the three national newspapers withdifferent headlines such as, “APC accuses Akwa Ibom REC, Igini, of meetingObaseki secretly”, and “INEC REC, Igini, plotting with Obaseki to rig election -APC”, was malicious, reckless, mischievous and with intent to destroy hishard- earned reputation.

“The publicationshave dented the image of the claimant and people who erstwhile held theclaimant in high esteem, have lost confidence in him and now avoid him.

“The claimant statesthat the defendants’ publications have greatly injured his

credit, character,reputation, electoral impartiality and has been brought into hatred, ridicule,odium and contempt of the right-thinking members of the society.

“The claimant statesthat in consequence of the defendants’ published words, the claimant has beensubjected to continuous ridicule and his global electoral integrity as anumpire has been adversely affected and could not be considered for specialassignments in Edo State for the 2020 governorship elections like hisother colleagues,” he averred.

While denying all theallegations leveled against him at the press conference, he, however, addedthat he stopped over at Protea Hotel, Benin City on August 24, 2020 forrefreshments in company of his two other colleagues on his way to Delta Statefor a burial ceremony.

He opined that the suitbecome necessary following the failure of the factional chairman of APC tocomply with his protest letter dated August 31, 2020 demanding for theretraction of the said publications.

I didn’t attend Ondo governorship INEC ready for Ondo governorship election as CBN delivers sensitive materials debate to be attacked — Ajayi KORETIMI AKINTUNDE, AKURE

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he candidate of the Zenith LabourParty (ZLP) in the upcoming Saturday governorship election in Ondo State,Agboola Ajayi has said the reason he could not participate at the Ondo Stategovernorship debate held on Sunday in Akure as he declared that he was afraidof being attacked by All Progressives Congressled government in thestate.

Politically-motivatedattacks are very common in Ondo State in recent time as supporters of theruling party - APC and the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) have been atloggerheads, attacking one another for which many have sustained injuries andscores of vehicles burnt and vandalised.

The debate, titled ‘2020 Ondo Governorship Election: Face the Voters’ wasorganised by media organisations, labour unions, civil societies, religiousbodies and other critical stakeholders in the state.

Akinwumi Abodunde, from the state-owned Rad i ov i s i o n C o r p o r a t i o n (OSRC), whoanchored the debate, said that four political parties were invited for thedebate, explaining

that only two parties were present at the programme.

“We invited candidates of APC, PDP, SDP and ZLP for this debate and none of thecandidates showed any sign that he will not attend as at one hour to theprogramme.

“But only the candidate of APC and SDP, Oluwarotimi Akeredolu and Peter Fasuarespectively were present at the scheduled time,” Abodunde said.

Meanwhile, Eyitayo Jegede of People’s Democratic Party (PDP) came an hourbehind the scheduled time. But, Ajayi, the deputy governor while speaking with BusinessDay on Monday saidthere was no how he could attend in a debate organised by the staff of OSRC andthe governor.

The deputy governor, who spoke through his Media Adviser, Allen Sowore said:”We cannot participate in such biased debate, if the deputy governor hadgone there yesterday (Sunday) they would have ambushed him, they would haveattacked him while returning. It’s a simple arithmetic. How can you expect himto participate in a debate anchored by OSRC people, also held at the state-ownedfacility? www.businessday.ng

JAMES KWEN, Abuja

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he Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has declared that it isready for this Saturday’s Ondo governorship election.

This is just as the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Monday delivered sensitivematerials to its Akure branch for onward distribution to 18 Local GovernmentAreas of Ondo State.

Also, Governor Rotimi Akeredolu, candidate of the All Progressives Congress(APC), Eyitayo Jegede, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) flag bearer andcandidates of other political parties would Tuesday sign peace accord under thesupervision of the National Peace Committee.

INEC Chairman, Mahmood Yakubu who disclosed this at the Ondo governorshipelection stakeholders in Akure said the Commission has delivered non-sensitivematerials to all the 18 Local Government Areas of Ondo State.

Yakubu said INEC moved Smart Card Readers from Oyo State and configured themfor the election, in replacement of the Card Readers that were burnt in

arecent fire incident that engulfed INEC Office in Ondo.

He stated that the Commission has made arrangements for the movement ofpersonnel and materials to electoral locations in all 3,009 polling units and203 electoral wards across the State, adding that INEC has recruited, trainedand screened all categories of ad hoc staff for the election.

Reeling out other preparations for the Ondo governorship election, the INECChairman said: “We have continued to work with security agencies under theauspices of the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security(ICCES) to ensure a hitch-free and secure election on 10th October. I wish tospecifically thank all the agencies in ICCES, especially the lead agency, theNigeria Police, for their continued support and professionalism as we preparefor the election.

“Our commitment is to ensure that the choice of who becomes the nextGovernor of Ondo State is entirely in the hands of the voters. I wish to assureall eligible voters that every vote will count and only the choice made by thepeople of Ondo State will determine the outcome of the election.

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Jegede’s chance brightened as 10major parties merge with PDP ahead of Ondo guber poll KORETIMI AKINTUNDE, Akure

N

o fewer than 1 0 maj o r pa rties out of the 1 7 p a r t i c i p a ting political partieshave resolved to support Eyitayo Jegede, the candidate of the People’sDemocratic Party (PDP), in the next Saturday governorship election in Ondo State.

The parties are Accord Party (AP), Action Alliance (AA), Action DemocraticParty (ADP), (All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), (African Action Congress(AAC), Allied People’s Movement (APM), APP, New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP) NationalRescue Movement (NRM) and Social Democratic (SDP).

The 10 political parties made the resolution on Monday at the PDP Secretariatin Akure, the Ondo State capital as part of political moves to wrest power fromGovernor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu’s government of All Progressives Congress (APC).

Oladele Ogunbameru, state chairman of Social

Eyitayo Jegede

Democratic Party (SDP), who spokeon behalf of other political parties, said the decision was made on Sunday(October 4, 2020) at a meeting held with their party leaders and chieftains ofthe PDP. According to Ogunbameru, the move was borne out of their commitment to goodgovernance in the state, which they believe can only be offered by the PDP. But while reacting to the new development, Fatai Adams, the State PDP chairman,said the support from these 10 political parties have indicated theacceptability of Jegede which shows that the party will emerge victorious onSaturday.

Ondo 2020: Makinde blames APC forincessant attacks ...tasks security agencies not toneglect their statutory responsibility KORETIMI AKINTUNDE, Akure

S

eyi Makinde, Oyo State governor and chairman, People’s Democratic Party (PDP)for Ondo State Election Campaign Committee, has blamed the ruling AllProgressives Congress (APC) for the incessant violent attacks in the stateahead of the Saturday governorship election.

Governor Makinde gave the condemnation at the state police headquarters inAkure, while lodging complaints on “the uncivilised and violent attacks ofthe APC thugs on PDP members in Akure metropolis.”

Lodging the complaints with the state’s Commissioner of Police, Bolaji Salami,Governor Makinde said, “We have always made our campaigns issuebased, butthe APC government in this state prefers violent attacks as a form of response.

“Ondo people are tired and our numerous supporters have continuously beensubjected to unfair treatment by those who hold the reins of power in thestate.

“But if they think what they did in Kogi is applicable here, they aremaking a mistake; because people are @Businessdayng

Governor Seyi Makinde

fully prepared for them.”

He therefore, called on relevant security agencies not to avoid their statutoryresponsibility of ensuring a peaceful, free and fair election, next Saturday.

Makinde said: “More still needs to be done in the area of security,because APC is trying to create voters apathy so as to scare people away fromperforming their civic responsibility on the Election Day, which will beresisted by the masses.

“We have come here to intimate the Commissioner of Police with this uglysituation, and to extract assurance from him that the APC armed thugs would besilenced and that nobody will be intimidated on Election Day.”

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Tuesday 06 October 2020

BUSINESS DAY

Live @ The Exchanges Market Statistics as at Monday 05 October, 2020

Top Gainers/Losers as at Monday 05 October, 2020 LOSERS

GAINERS Company

Company

Closing

Change

N2.29

N2.09

-0.2

DEALS (Numbers)

N49

N48.8

-0.2

VOLUME (Numbers)

Closing

Change

AIRTELAFRI

N380

N400.2

20.2

SEPLAT

N400

N410

10

NB

MTNN

N130

N135

5

UBN

N5

N4.9

-0.1

PRESCO

N53

N55

2

UAC-PROP

N0.92

N0.86

-0.06

GUINNESS

N14

N15

1

UACN

N6.5

N6.45

-0.05

OANDO

ASI (Points)

Opening

Opening

VALUE (N billion) MARKET CAP (N Trn)

27,554.49 5,984.00 603,945,613.00 7.424 14.402

Global market indicators FTSE 100 Index 5,942.94GBP +40.82+0.69% S&P 500 Index 3,394.01USD +45.57+1.36% Generic 1st ‘DM’ Future 27,934.00USD +369.00+1.34%

Deutsche Boerse AG German Stock Index DAX 12,828.31EUR +139.27+1.10% Nikkei 225 23,312.14JPY +282.24+1.23% Shanghai Stock Exchange Composite Index 3,218.05CNY -6.31-0.20%

NSE opens week on a positive note ...stocks rally by 2.11%, investors book over N290bn gain Iheanyi Nwachukwu

N

i g e r i a’s equities market opened this new week on a positive note, thanks to stocks like Airtel Africa Plc, Seplat Petroleum Development Company Plc, MTNN Plc, Presco Plc and Guinness Nigeria Plc. Investors gained about N297billion at the close of trading session on Monday October 5.

The Nigerian Stock

L-R: Emeka Onwuka, chief financial officer, Seplat Petroleum Development Company Plc; ABC Orjiako, chairman, SEPLAT; Mele Kyari, group managing director, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC); and Roger Brown, chief executive officer, SEPLAT, during a courtesy visit by the SEPLAT Team to the NNPC GMD at the Corporation’s Headquarters in Abuja … recently.

Law Union & Rock Insurance introduces products for high net worth individuals Modestus Anaesoronye

L

aw Union and Rock Insurance Plc has designed a combined insurance product for wealthy and ultra-wealthy members of society.

The product named HNI (High Net-Worth Individual) product, branded as LUR Hynet, takes into consideration the unique needs of these clients such as exclusivity, confidentiality, and flexibility.

According to the company, many times, this category of people who have more than one house, usually don’t remember to insure the one they do not live in.

Commenting on the product, Supo Sogelola, executive director, Law

Union and Rock, said: “What makes the product unique, is that it is comprehensive and helps protect you from risks you previously were not covering or aware of. For example, many HNIs have more than one house, but they usually insure the one they live in. Should there be a fire in the other house they own and that house is uninsured, the client would suffer greatly from this event.

“The product covers all forms of general insurance risk a client may encounter or may be exposed to. This includes Motor, Home, Personal Accident and Travel insurance. The product is designed to cater for not just the needs of the insured, but that of the family, domestic staff and physical assets. This means that the insured

D

Daily Official List of the Nigerian Stock Exchange.

The additional shares l i s t e d o n T h e E xc ha ng e arose from the Scheme of Merger between Dangote Sugar Refinery Plc and Sava n na h Su ga r C o mp a ny Limited. www.businessday.ng

Airtel Africa rallied most from day open low of N380 to N400.2, adding N20.2 or 5.32 percent; while Seplat followed after its share price moved from N400 to N410, up by N10 or 2.50percent.

Also, MTNN moved up from N130 to N135, up N5 or 3.85 percent while Presco Plc increased from N53 to N55, adding N2 or 3.77 percent.

Guinness Nigeria increased from N14 to N15, adding N1 or 7.14percent.

Siemens Energy says to help reduce emissions at NLNG plant ... BOG compressor train will help reduce plant emissions can cover his insurance needs and that of his family, his driver, cook, gateman, as well as cover other buildings he owns.”

He further disclosed that the product can also take into consideration new projects being constructed by offering Construction All Risk policy as well as Public Liability cover, noting that these are the many possibilities the client can enjoy, when they purchase the LUR Hynet product.

“Another benefit of this product is the rate. Because of the many policies combined, the rate is very low and attractive to the client to insure all his assets at once.

“The product is 100 per cent customizable and no two clients can have exactly the same policy”, he added.

Dangote Sugar Refinery lists additional shares on NSE ealing members of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) have been n o t i f i e d t hat a d d i t i o na l 146,878,241 ordinary shares of Dangote Sugar Refinery Plc were on Wednesday, September 30 listed on the

Exchange (NSE) AllShare Index (ASI) appreciated by 2.11percent to 27,554.56 points from 26,985.77 points recorded the preceding trading day, while Market Capitalisation increased from N14.105 trillion to N14.402trillion.

In 5,984 deals, stock dealers exchanged 603,945,613 units valued at N7.424billion.

Zenith Bank Plc, Sterling Bank Plc, UBA Plc, GTBank Plc and Transcorp Plc were actively traded stocks on the Bourse.

With this listing of the additional 146,878,241 ordinary shares, the total issued and fully paid up shares of Dangote Sugar Refinery Plc has now increased from 12billion to 12.146billion ordinary shares of 50 kobo each.

N

igeria LNG (NLNG) selected Siemens Energy to provide a cryogenic boil-off gas (BOG) compression train for its Bonny Island plant.

The solution will play a key role in providing additional BOG handling capability and spares for the existing system.

Siemens Energy’s role in the Bonny Island plant dates back over two decades when the plant was first commissioned.

The new BOG compression train will be driven by a high-efficiency electric motor and includes two Siemens Energy centrifugal compressors.

Located in Finima, Nigeria, the Bonny Island plant has been in operation since 1999.

Siemens’ partnership with NLNG and the Bonny Island project can be traced back over two decades when the plant was first commissioned.

“With more than 20 years of safe and reliable production, the NLNG Bonny Island plant is a staple facility in the global LNG industry,” said Arja Talakar, Senior Vice President, Industrial Applica-

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tions Products for Siemens Energy.

“NLNG’s selection of our cryogenic BOG compression technology is a testament not only to the reliability and performance of our existing equipment at the plant but also to our focused service and ability to meet local content requirements through our in-country presence. The new BOG compression train will contribute to NLNG’s goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions in a highly sustainable manner.”

The order further establishes Siemens Energy’s leading role in LNG boiloff gas compression. The company has a fleet of cryogenic BOG compressors that have accumulated more than 4.2 million @Businessdayng

hours in service.

“Because of current restrictions brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, all discussions between Siemens Energy and NLNG were conducted remotely via virtual meetings,” said Matthew Russell, Head of LNG Industrial Applications Products for Siemens Energy.

“In the end, proactive planning, perseverance, and the long-standing relationship between the companies facilitated seamless communication and smooth negotiations virtually.”

Manufacturing, testing, and packaging of the compression train will take place in Duisburg, Germany, with a Free on Board delivery slated for Q4 of 2021.

Tuesday 06 October 2020

BUSINESS DAY

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@Businessdayng

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A4

Tuesday 06 October 2020

BUSINESS DAY

Live @ The STOCK Exchanges Prices for Securities Traded as of Monday 05 October, 2020 Company

Market cap(nm)

Price (N)

Change

Trades

Volume

Company

Market cap(nm)

Price (N)

Change

Trades

Volume

PRICES FOR MAIN BOARD SECURITIES (Equities) BANKING ACCESS BANK PLC. 252,371.10 7.10 5.97 283 19,203,277 UNITED BANK FOR AFRICA PLC 220,586.27 6.45 3.20 447 51,299,990 ZENITH BANK PLC 596,533.38 19.00 5.26 941 204,685,230 1,671 275,188,497 OTHER FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS FBN HOLDINGS PLC 199,218.87 5.55 6.73 349 33,366,007 349 33,366,007 2,020 308,554,504 TELECOMMUNICATIONS SERVICES MTN NIGERIA COMMUNICATIONS PLC 2,747,859.26 135.00 3.85 170 1,412,707 170 1,412,707 170 1,412,707 BUILDING MATERIALS DANGOTE CEMENT PLC 2,453,833.07 144.00 - 131 620,261 LAFARGE AFRICA PLC. 257,724.73 16.00 5.61 274 20,084,502 405 20,704,763 405 20,704,763 EXPLORATION AND PRODUCTION SEPLAT PETROLEUM DEVELOPMENT COMPANY PLC 241,262.27 410.00 2.50 15 402,430 15 402,430 15 402,430 2,610 331,074,404 REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT TRUSTS (REITS) SFS REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT TRUST 1,386.00 69.30 - 0 0 UNION HOMES REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT TRUST (REIT) 10,163.30 40.65 - 0 0 UPDC REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT TRUST 10,139.42 3.80 - 3 9,487 3 9,487 3 9,487 OTHER FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS NIGERIA ENERYGY SECTOR FUND 411.91 552.20 - 0 0 VALUEALLIANCE VALUE FUND 3,692.74 115.05 - 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 9,487 CROP PRODUCTION FTN COCOA PROCESSORS PLC 572.00 0.26 - 0 0 OKOMU OIL PALM PLC. 76,312.80 80.00 - 23 20,973 PRESCO PLC 55,000.00 55.00 3.77 27 241,359 50 262,332 FISHING/HUNTING/TRAPPING ELLAH LAKES PLC. 8,500.00 4.25 - 0 0 0 0 LIVESTOCK/ANIMAL SPECIALTIES LIVESTOCK FEEDS PLC. 1,680.00 0.56 - 16 273,153 16 273,153 66 535,485 DIVERSIFIED INDUSTRIES JOHN HOLT PLC. 217.92 0.56 - 1 500 S C O A NIG. PLC. 1,903.99 2.93 - 1 100 TRANSNATIONAL CORPORATION OF NIGERIA PLC 24,388.79 0.60 -1.64 98 35,107,894 U A C N PLC. 18,584.36 6.45 -0.77 82 4,035,757 182 39,144,251 182 39,144,251 BUILDING CONSTRUCTION ARBICO PLC. 152.96 1.03 - 0 0 0 0 INFRASTRUCTURE/HEAVY CONSTRUCTION JULIUS BERGER NIG. PLC. 25,819.20 16.30 0.31 70 955,510 ROADS NIG PLC. 165.00 6.60 - 0 0 70 955,510 REAL ESTATE DEVELOPMENT UACN PROPERTY DEVELOPMENT COMPANY PLC 15,961.57 0.86 -6.52 25 4,024,010 25 4,024,010 95 4,979,520 AUTOMOBILES/AUTO PARTS DN TYRE & RUBBER PLC 954.53 0.20 - 0 0 0 0 BEVERAGES--BREWERS/DISTILLERS CHAMPION BREW. PLC. 6,968.25 0.89 - 7 106,302 GOLDEN GUINEA BREW. PLC. 829.98 0.81 - 0 0 GUINNESS NIG PLC 32,855.74 15.00 7.14 106 906,650 INTERNATIONAL BREWERIES PLC. 104,762.07 3.90 - 47 690,786 NIGERIAN BREW. PLC. 390,248.82 48.80 -0.41 96 793,063 256 2,496,801 FOOD PRODUCTS DANGOTE SUGAR REFINERY PLC 160,338.79 13.20 2.33 183 5,448,446 FLOUR MILLS NIG. PLC. 88,158.16 21.50 -0.47 107 14,894,982 HONEYWELL FLOUR MILL PLC 7,533.69 0.95 2.15 20 350,463 MULTI-TREX INTEGRATED FOODS PLC 1,340.10 0.36 - 0 0 N NIG. FLOUR MILLS PLC. 721.71 4.05 - 3 26,312 NASCON ALLIED INDUSTRIES PLC 29,011.35 10.95 5.29 30 854,131 UNION DICON SALT PLC. 2,993.06 10.95 - 0 0 343 21,574,334 FOOD PRODUCTS--DIVERSIFIED CADBURY NIGERIA PLC. 13,429.14 7.15 2.14 39 396,792 NESTLE NIGERIA PLC. 931,371.10 1,175.00 - 51 37,074 90 433,866 HOUSEHOLD DURABLES NIGERIAN ENAMELWARE PLC. 1,680.31 22.10 - 0 0 VITAFOAM NIG PLC. 7,505.06 6.00 - 29 475,545 29 475,545 PERSONAL/HOUSEHOLD PRODUCTS P Z CUSSONS NIGERIA PLC. 16,278.96 4.10 2.50 70 3,486,796 UNILEVER NIGERIA PLC. 78,132.07 13.60 - 58 522,561 128 4,009,357 846 28,989,903 BANKING ECOBANK TRANSNATIONAL INCORPORATED 77,068.12 4.20 2.44 91 3,663,197 FIDELITY BANK PLC 57,949.59 2.00 8.11 137 13,359,842 GUARANTY TRUST BANK PLC. 874,106.02 29.70 2.41 449 36,310,701 JAIZ BANK PLC 18,562.48 0.63 1.61 27 4,238,270 STERLING BANK PLC. 37,139.64 1.29 0.78 73 55,229,645 UNION BANK NIG.PLC. 142,691.69 4.90 -2.00 92 2,540,734 UNITY BANK PLC 6,662.92 0.57 5.26 16 892,685 WEMA BANK PLC. 20,830.21 0.54 -1.82 36 745,409 921 116,980,483 INSURANCE CARRIERS, BROKERS AND SERVICES AFRICAN ALLIANCE INSURANCE PLC 4,117.00 0.20 - 1 9,000 AIICO INSURANCE PLC. 11,420.85 0.84 6.33 38 1,561,015 AXAMANSARD INSURANCE PLC 19,950.00 1.90 - 11 227,050 CONSOLIDATED HALLMARK INSURANCE PLC 3,960.67 0.37 - 1 4,000 CORNERSTONE INSURANCE PLC 10,899.84 0.60 8.33 17 1,669,383 GOLDLINK INSURANCE PLC 909.99 0.20 - 0 0 GUINEA INSURANCE PLC. 1,228.00 0.20 - 0 0 INTERNATIONAL ENERGY INSURANCE PLC 487.95 0.38 - 0 0 LASACO ASSURANCE PLC. 2,197.03 0.30 7.14 37 4,209,986 LAW UNION AND ROCK INS. PLC. 4,983.74 1.16 - 1 1,000 LINKAGE ASSURANCE PLC 4,100.00 0.41 7.89 2 123,800 MUTUAL BENEFITS ASSURANCE PLC. 2,346.27 0.21 4.76 9 2,750,200 NEM INSURANCE PLC 10,719.42 2.03 - 8 79,400 NIGER INSURANCE PLC 1,547.90 0.20 - 0 0 PRESTIGE ASSURANCE PLC 3,816.72 0.60 - 0 0 REGENCY ASSURANCE PLC 1,533.81 0.23 - 0 0 SOVEREIGN TRUST INSURANCE PLC 2,272.89 0.20 - 0 0 STACO INSURANCE PLC 4,483.72 0.48 - 0 0 STANDARD ALLIANCE INSURANCE PLC. 2,582.21 0.20 - 0 0 SUNU ASSURANCES NIGERIA PLC. 2,800.00 0.20 - 1 4,000 UNIC DIVERSIFIED HOLDINGS PLC. 516.46 0.20 - 0 0 UNIVERSAL INSURANCE PLC 3,200.00 0.20 - 0 0 VERITAS KAPITAL ASSURANCE PLC 2,773.33 0.20 - 2 50,000 WAPIC INSURANCE PLC 9,356.76 0.39 8.33 18 480,578 146 11,169,412 MICRO-FINANCE BANKS NPF MICROFINANCE BANK PLC 3,132.69 1.37 9.60 5 200,000 5 200,000

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MORTGAGE CARRIERS, BROKERS AND SERVICES ABBEY MORTGAGE BANK PLC 6,784.62 1.05 - 4 160 ASO SAVINGS AND LOANS PLC 7,370.87 0.50 - 0 0 INFINITY TRUST MORTGAGE BANK PLC 5,671.82 1.36 - 1 1,500 RESORT SAVINGS & LOANS PLC 2,265.95 0.20 - 0 0 UNION HOMES SAVINGS AND LOANS PLC. 2,949.22 3.02 - 0 0 5 1,660 OTHER FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS AFRICA PRUDENTIAL PLC 10,400.00 5.20 9.47 66 1,176,997 CUSTODIAN INVESTMENT PLC 31,467.97 5.35 2.88 11 287,817 DEAP CAPITAL MANAGEMENT & TRUST PLC 450.00 0.30 - 0 0 FCMB GROUP PLC. 42,377.80 2.14 1.90 74 34,478,463 ROYAL EXCHANGE PLC. 1,389.25 0.27 - 0 0 STANBIC IBTC HOLDINGS PLC 449,792.90 40.50 - 27 124,146 UNITED CAPITAL PLC 21,300.00 3.55 6.61 115 6,920,777 293 42,988,200 1,370 171,339,755 HEALTHCARE PROVIDERS EKOCORP PLC. 2,991.61 6.00 - 3 2,851 UNION DIAGNOSTIC & CLINICAL SERVICES PLC 888.28 0.25 - 1 104,000 4 106,851 MEDICAL SUPPLIES MORISON INDUSTRIES PLC. 593.50 0.60 - 2 2,388 2 2,388 PHARMACEUTICALS EVANS MEDICAL PLC. 366.17 0.50 - 0 0 FIDSON HEALTHCARE PLC 7,302.26 3.50 -0.85 20 1,005,006 GLAXO SMITHKLINE CONSUMER NIG. PLC. 6,577.32 5.50 10.00 34 522,841 MAY & BAKER NIGERIA PLC. 5,003.18 2.90 - 15 132,832 NEIMETH INTERNATIONAL PHARMACEUTICALS PLC 3,703.36 1.95 8.33 33 612,462 NIGERIA-GERMAN CHEMICALS PLC. 556.71 3.62 - 0 0 PHARMA-DEKO PLC. 325.23 1.50 - 0 0 102 2,273,141 108 2,382,380 COMPUTER BASED SYSTEMS COURTEVILLE BUSINESS SOLUTIONS PLC 710.40 0.20 - 3 24,020 3 24,020 COMPUTERS AND PERIPHERALS OMATEK VENTURES PLC 764.87 0.26 - 0 0 0 0 IT SERVICES CWG PLC 6,413.06 2.54 - 0 0 NCR (NIGERIA) PLC. 216.00 2.00 - 2 400 TRIPPLE GEE AND COMPANY PLC. 178.18 0.36 -10.00 5 157,685 7 158,085 PROCESSING SYSTEMS CHAMS PLC 939.21 0.20 -4.76 11 1,968,695 E-TRANZACT INTERNATIONAL PLC 9,870.00 2.35 - 3 872 14 1,969,567 TELECOMMUNICATIONS SERVICES AIRTEL AFRICA PLC 1,504,012.23 400.20 5.32 18 351,892 18 351,892 42 2,503,564 BUILDING MATERIALS BERGER PAINTS PLC 1,883.85 6.50 - 5 8,396 BUA CEMENT PLC 1,413,836.78 41.75 - 42 310,893 CAP PLC 11,970.00 17.10 - 14 104,569 MEYER PLC. 265.62 0.50 - 0 0 PORTLAND PAINTS & PRODUCTS NIGERIA PLC 1,769.32 2.23 - 0 0 PREMIER PAINTS PLC. 1,156.20 9.40 - 0 0 61 423,858 ELECTRONIC AND ELECTRICAL PRODUCTS AUSTIN LAZ & COMPANY PLC 2,192.12 2.03 - 0 0 CUTIX PLC. 3,029.47 1.72 1.18 28 583,016 28 583,016 PACKAGING/CONTAINERS BETA GLASS PLC. 27,698.45 55.40 - 12 8,579 GREIF NIGERIA PLC 388.02 9.10 - 0 0 12 8,579 AGRO-ALLIED & CHEMICALS NOTORE CHEMICAL IND PLC 100,754.14 62.50 - 0 0 0 0 101 1,015,453 CHEMICALS B.O.C. GASES PLC. 1,769.04 4.25 - 8 6,034 8 6,034 METALS ALUMINIUM EXTRUSION IND. PLC. 1,781.64 8.10 - 0 0 0 0 MINING SERVICES MULTIVERSE MINING AND EXPLORATION PLC 852.39 0.20 - 0 0 0 0 PAPER/FOREST PRODUCTS THOMAS WYATT NIG. PLC. 77.00 0.35 - 2 2,466 2 2,466 10 8,500 ENERGY EQUIPMENT AND SERVICES JAPAUL OIL & MARITIME SERVICES PLC 1,252.54 0.20 5.00 29 3,446,251 29 3,446,251 INTEGRATED OIL AND GAS SERVICES OANDO PLC 25,981.65 2.09 -8.73 155 12,638,902 155 12,638,902 PETROLEUM AND PETROLEUM PRODUCTS DISTRIBUTORS 11 PLC 67,395.25 186.90 - 40 63,437 ARDOVA PLC 15,239.03 11.70 6.36 81 1,831,781 CONOIL PLC 10,582.77 15.25 - 25 114,455 ETERNA PLC. 3,573.36 2.74 - 38 528,252 MRS OIL NIGERIA PLC. 3,794.59 12.45 - 20 223,428 TOTAL NIGERIA PLC. 32,865.71 96.80 - 54 111,549 258 2,872,902 442 18,958,055 ADVERTISING AFROMEDIA PLC 887.81 0.20 - 0 0 0 0 AIRLINES MEDVIEW AIRLINE PLC 15,796.05 1.62 - 0 0 0 0 AUTOMOBILE/AUTO PART RETAILERS R T BRISCOE PLC. 235.27 0.20 - 0 0 0 0 COURIER/FREIGHT/DELIVERY RED STAR EXPRESS PLC 3,056.96 3.30 10.00 29 1,814,525 TRANS-NATIONWIDE EXPRESS PLC. 361.01 0.77 - 1 2,250 30 1,816,775 HOSPITALITY TANTALIZERS PLC 642.33 0.20 - 0 0 0 0 HOTELS/LODGING CAPITAL HOTEL PLC 3,748.05 2.42 - 0 0 IKEJA HOTEL PLC 2,099.58 1.01 - 10 107,452 TOURIST COMPANY OF NIGERIA PLC. 7,076.28 3.15 - 0 0 TRANSCORP HOTELS PLC 30,401.62 4.00 - 1 40 11 107,492 MEDIA/ENTERTAINMENT DAAR COMMUNICATIONS PLC 3,600.00 0.30 - 0 0 0 0 PRINTING/PUBLISHING ACADEMY PRESS PLC. 175.39 0.29 - 2 40,000 LEARN AFRICA PLC 786.88 1.02 - 3 2,285 STUDIO PRESS (NIG) PLC. 1,064.85 1.79 - 0 0 UNIVERSITY PRESS PLC. 534.95 1.24 - 9 234,244 14 276,529 ROAD TRANSPORTATION ASSOCIATED BUS COMPANY PLC 497.31 0.30 - 4 46,822 4 46,822 SPECIALTY INTERLINKED TECHNOLOGIES PLC 688.80 2.91 - 0 0 SECURE ELECTRONIC TECHNOLOGY PLC 1,126.31 0.20 - 2 280

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@Businessdayng

BUSINESSDAY’s

NIGERIA STOCKWATCH

Investors harvesting returns in volatile market

...bank, telecom, agric, healthcare, consumer stocks lead • Forex illiquidity fuels foreign investor exits • Local investors filling void • Investors positioning for dividend expectation • Forex scarcity, single export product becloud expected gains from near zero rate in matured mar-

kets • Low valuation douse interest in new issues market • Insurance recapitalization expected to boost rights offers • Slow pace in Covid Vaccine, unstable oil price, fear of recession pose risks.

GODFREY OBIOMA

FBN Holding and Stanbic IBTC Bank were some of the leading stocks in the financial services end.

By price appreciation, Zenith gained 38.01 between March 26 and August 14, 2020 and between July 3 and 29, it appreciated 6.88 percent. For H1, 2020 Zenith Bank recorded N346.08billion up from N331.58billion during the same period in 2019. GTBank recorded capital gain of 38.33 percent between March 26 and August14; 8.17 percent between July 3 and 29; 8.22 percent from July 29 to August 7, 10.91 percent between July 10 and August14 and 2.25 percent between August 7 and 14, 2020. In the 2020 H1, the bank reported increase in turnover from N221.98 billion in 2019 to N228.32 billion. Profit after tax came down to N94.27 billion from N99.13 billion.

Stanbic IBTC lost 35.94 percent between January and March but rewarded its shareholders through 46.12 percent capital appreciation between March and May 29 and 10 percent from July 29 to August 7. Between March and August 14, the stock strengthened by 38.3 percent. FBN Holdings appreciated 20.48 percent between March 26 and August 14.

Investors in UBA harvested 26.21 percent return through capital gain between March 26 and August 29 and 14 4.00 percent between July 10 and August 14.

V

olatility in the Nigerian equities market has continued to drive investors to their wits end as discerning ones are striking gold in financial, telecom, agric, consumer goods, industrial goods and Pharmaceutical stocks.

The difficulty in predicting the market, no thanks to the uncertainty created by the Covid -19 is however sending minnows to negative end of the return curve while foreign exchange illiquidity and difficulty in repatriating dividends are fueling exist of foreign portfolio investors, leaving local investors to fill the void .

Demonstrating its cyclical trend, the All-share index which finished at 29,183.40 basis points in June 30 , 2020 dropped to 21,330.29 basis points March 30 and picked up again to 23,021.01 April ; 25,123.64 May 29 and declined to 24,479.22 basis points.

It rose again to 25, 221.87 basis points on August 21, 2020. Market capitalization followed the same trend at N14.86 trillion January 31; N11.12 trillion March 30; N13.69 trillion May 29; N12.695 trillion June 30 before rising to N13.158 trillion on August21, 2020.

YtD slumped from 7.46 percent January to -6.04 percent on August 21. The index recorded its deepest fall of -13.49 percent in March 13 and highest week rise of 7.1 percent on April 17.

Financial Services growth stocks Volume drivers include stocks in the financial services sector. Zenith Bank, GTBank,

Stocks driving Consumer Goods sector Stocks in the Consumer goods sector that rewarded investors handsomely through capital appreciation include Dangote Sugar, Cadbury, Nestle and Unilever. Dangote sugar gained 32.22 percent between March 26 and August 14 and 2.13 percent between July 3 and 29.

Unilever appreciated 11.60 percent between August 7 and 14 while Nestle recorded price Continues on page 04

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Domestic investors are now out performing Before now, foreign investors have been having an upper hand over their Nigerian counterparts in the Stock Market. But Uche Uwaleke, a Professor of capital market at the Nasarawa State University, President, Association of Capital market Academics of Nigeria and a chartered stockbroker, in this interview with BusinessDay said the narrative is changing as local investors are filling the voiding created by foreign portfolio exits .

C

ould you give us your opinion on the general Stock Market trend?

I dare say the trend has been random and quite irregular in recent times. As a matter of fact, I doubt if any chartist or technical analyst would be able to make any sense of the pattern for the purpose of forecasting stock price movements and this is no thanks to COVID-19. Indeed, across the world, stock markets have been roiled not least because of the uncertainty associated with the pandemic and Nigeria is no exception. As of August 21, the Year-to-Date return using the Nigerian Stock Exchange All Share Index was negative 6.04% down from 7.46% on 31 Jan 2020.

What is more worrisome is the attendant volatility due to growing uncertainty regarding the duration of the pandemic and the scale of its devastation on the economy.

The intensity of the volatility can be seen from the V-shaped nature of the NSE weekly equities market returns between the 27th February when the index case was announced in Nigeria and 21st August. While the second week of March which ended on the 13th witnessed the deepest plunge of -13.49%, the second week of April that closed on the 17th recorded the highest weekly returns of 7.19%.

The Financial Services industry has been the most prominent sector within this period while Industrial Goods, Conglomerates and Consumer Goods stocks were the other volume drivers with trading activity dominated by Zenith, Guaranty and FBN on the average. So, the trend is blurred by COVID-19 and offers no clue regarding market outlook- at least in the near term.

The All Share Index and market capitalisation were up between March and May 29, 2020, down between May 29 and June 30. Stocks like Seplat, Guinness, Okomu and Nigerian Breweries recorded double digit losses between May 29 and June 30. To what do you attribute these loses?

That is true. Recall that the month of March was the height of the oil glut and the price war between Russia and Saudi Arabia amidst declining demand on the back of COVID-19 and screaming headlines in many international dailies announcing that oil price might crash below $10 per barrel. Not surprisingly therefore, many blue-chip stocks were already down as of March when the market lost over 16 per cent of its value, bringing the YTD to -18.55%. Hence, one can conclude that the month of April was used for bargain hunting which was why we had the rebound in the stocks you mentioned during the months

of April and May which are so far the best performing months of this year with the NSE ASI appreciating by 8.08 percent and 9.76 percent respectively.

Also, don’t forget that in April this year the market witnessed a lot of corporate actions in respect of full year results for 2019 as well as Q1 2020 unaudited financial statements. Companies like Okomu, Seplat, Julius Berger, Zenith and MTN were all involved which boosted their stock prices in the month of April. I recall that it was in April that Okomu and Julius Berger announced a proposed dividend of N2 per share for their shareholders.

I also think the proactive steps taken by the regulators namely SEC and NSE to ensure the market was not disrupted by the pandemic helped to restore some confidence in the market. In my opinion, what followed subsequently especially in the month of June with respect to many of these stocks that had appreciated earlier was simply a case of profit taking or better still, price correction. It was expected.

Between July 3 and 29, the index was up, same between July 29 and August 14. Stocks like Seplat, Total , Flour Mills, Stanbic IBTC, Fidson ,Neimeth, Okomu, Guinness, Nig Breweries, Cadbury, Unilever, African Prudential, Notore, Airtel, Ardova , Zenith Bank, GTBank, Wapco Lafarge, Dangote Cement, AIICO, and NEM recorded price increase. What could be responsible for the uptrend in the prices of these stocks?

It is important to point out that the NSE ASI ended on a negative note in the month of June (-1.74%) and also marginally in July (-0.88) although a number of stocks especially those on the Premium Board outperformed the market. I would attribute the appreciation in the stocks you mentioned to a number of factors: many of these companies such as Zenith, GTB, Stanbic IBTC, Dangote Cement, Guinness and Nigerian Breweries are generally believed to have good fundamentals. These companies also have track record of dividend payments and so investors are excited about their corporate results. One factor that could have been in favour of the oil and gas sector where SEPLAT belongs was the gradual crude oil price recovery.

This explains why the sector joined the big league of volume drivers in the month of June.

It is also easy to see why stocks like Airtel and MTN appreciated since their financial performance appears relatively insulated from the negative impact of COVID-19. Some of these companies too like Neimeth and Fidson may have benefitted from the stimulus packages rolled out by the government and the CBN

and investors are not unmindful of the positive pass-through to their bottom lines. Perhaps another reason for the uptrend is the much talked about forex challenge by which foreign investors who could not repatriate their dividends and other funds were compelled to reinvest them in blue-chip stocks in Nigeria against the backdrop of the current low returns in the money market.

How do you rate the level of local and foreign investor participation before and during COVID 19?

Expectedly, prior to COVID-19, there was a remarkable level of foreign investor participation in the stock market. Since the pandemic entered the country late February followed by the collapse in crude oil price, country risk heightened in Nigeria leading to lower ratings by global rating services such as Moody and Fitch and the exit of many foreign investors. As a matter of fact, the signs of foreign investors exit began to manifest in December 2019 when domestic investors outperformed their foreign counterparts, a trend that continued into the following year. To see clearly what has happened pre-COVID and now, one needs to use the NSE Domestic and FPI monthly reports as a guide. An interesting development to note in

these reports, which are on the NSE’s website, is that transactions on the NSE were dominated by foreign investors prior to the pandemic in Nigeria. Except for the months of May, June and December 2019 that witnessed the dominance of domestic investors, foreign investors led transactions throughout 2019.

But all that has changed since 2020 with domestic investors outperforming foreign investors in relation to transactions executed.

The NSE reports reveal that institutional investors such as PFAs have been driving trades in the domestic space except for the months of April and May which saw retail investors taking the upper hand. Unlike during the 2008 financial crisis when the exit of foreign investors also resulted in significant dampening of sentiments of domestic investors leading to a near-crash of the stock market, this time around domestic investors have risen to fill the void created by their exit. I think COVID-19 presents an opportunity to detach the stock market from the apron-string of foreign investors by leveraging the country’s huge population to deepen the participation of domestic investors.

We have seen interest rates almost zero in some climes like Europe and America. How would this affect investment

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in frontier markets like Nigeria?

We had this same scenario during the global financial crisis when the US Federal Reserve in particular cut policy rate to nearly zero only to resort to normalization post-crisis. I see history repeating itself. For now, the development should have a positive knock-on for FPI flows in the Nigerian economy since capital will tend to look towards frontier and emerging economies where investment returns are higher on a risk-adjusted basis. The difference this time around is that the impact will be muted by COVID-19. As I mentioned earlier, we have been through this experience in the recent past and so shouldn’t be carried away by any resulting capital inflows. Recall, it was interest rate normalization especially by the US Fed that led to capital flow reversals witnessed not too long ago.

Britain, one of Nigeria’s trading partner has slipped into recession.

What impact would this have on the Nigerian economy and stock market?

It is important to recognize that Britain is not only Nigeria’s major trading partner but also a significant source of capital importation into the country according to the National Bureau of Statistics owing, in part to our historical ties. Also, bear in mind that a good number of Nigerians live and work in the UK. Having said that, there is no doubt that the economic recession in Britain will also affect Nigeria in much the same way as the BREXIT uncertainty nega-

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foreign peers on stock exchange tively affected the stock market through reduction in capital inflows as well as Diaspora remittances since economic recession will also hurt the pockets of Nigerians residing in the UK. In your opinion, how will the current devaluation of the Naira affect foreign portfolio flows in Nigeria?

Ordinarily, devaluation of the Naira should help fix any Balance of Payments difficulties by elevating the US dollar to a point where it lures foreign portfolio inflows helping the external reserves and the BOP in the process. We also know from theory that it is meant to discourage imports and promote exports. Unfortunately, given the country’s limited exports beyond crude oil and the many risks in the horizon due to the pandemic, the country may not enjoy any near-term benefit from devaluation. I have the conviction, though, that unification of exchange rates across all forex market windows will translate into increased capital inflows in the long run. But we must keep in mind that the spread, intensity and duration of COVID-19 will continue to dictate how long it will take foreign investors to respond to such incentives from the monetary authority.

How, in your view could the new CAMA and 2019 Finance Act affect the Nigerian capital market and what are the relevant provisions that could do that?

Despite the current controversies trailing it, I think the CAMA 2020 contains provisions that will enhance transparency and governance of quoted companies as well as improve ease of doing business generally. All these are capable of rubbing off positively on the Nigerian capital market.

Some of these include section 374(6) which now requires public companies to have their audited accounts displayed on their website and section 265(6) which prohibits the same person to hold the office of Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of a public company in line with international best practices.

Regarding the ease of doing business, section 18(2) now makes it possible to establish a private company with only one shareholder and such small companies are no longer mandated to appoint auditors. Furthermore, the new CAMA makes provision for electronic filing and virtual meetings, provided that such meetings are conducted in accordance with the Articles of Association of the company. As you know, there are a lot of micro and small businesses in the country and simplifying the registration process paves way for ushering them into the formal space. This development has the potential of boosting listing on the NSE’s Alternative Securities Market (ASeM) platform.

Admittedly, the 2019 Finance Act has a number of incentives for companies which can benefit the market either directly or indirectly such as the new progressive Company Income Tax rate regime under which small enterprises with annual turnover of not more than N25 million would be exempted from paying CIT. Medium enterprises having turnover higher than N25 million but less than N100 million would be subject to CIT at 20% while the standard CIT rate of 30% would apply to large companies with turnover of N100 million and above.

Other incentives for the capital market contained in the Finance Act include the exemption of profits from Excess Dividend Tax rule as well as exemption of divi-

dend distributed by Unit Trust from With Holding Tax. Also of note is the fact that the Finance Act introduced a tax framework which ensures that securities lending transactions are taxed based on their economic substance rather than legal form.

Going forward, the tax regime in the country should be such that should give some preferential treatment to quoted companies with a view to making listing on the Nigerian bourse more attractive.

What is your assessment of the performances of SEC and NSE as regulators compared with their peers around the globe?

I would say above average without mincing words. It goes without saying that the current relative stability the stock market is witnessing today is in part due to effective regulation of the market. The SEC has implemented a raft of confidence-building measures including dematerialization of share certificates, Direct Cash Settlement, Corporate governance scorecard for quoted companies and e-transactions such as e-dividend. I am aware the Commission is in the process of launching equity derivatives as a means of increasing the menu of available asset classes for investors in the Nigerian capital market.

By the same token, the NSE has implemented minimum operating standards for market operators as well as launched the Premium Board which offers issuers the benefits of greater visibility and opportunities to raise capital. Also, the NSE has established a Whistle-blowing policy and together with the apex regulator, SEC, is enforcing zero tolerance for infractions. Undoubtedly, these measures have sent the right signals to the investing public with regard to rules enforcement and market discipline. In addition, activities in the non-interest capital market space are beginning to gain traction especially with the introduction of Sukuk bond I also think that with respect to response to the pandemic, the regulators have been quite proactive and consistent with the guidance provided by International Organization of Securities Commissions and International Federation of Exchanges in maintaining the integrity of our market. For example, I am aware that the SEC, as part of its COVID-19 response efforts adopted an electronic filing approach for capital market operators and stakeholders and also approved a sixty-day extension for public companies and capital market operators to file their 2019 annual reports and their first quarter 2020 reports. I am also privy to the fact that the NSE activated its business continuity plan by providing remote trading access for Dealing Member Firms which has ensured continued trading during normal hours. This is highly commendable.

What areas would you like these regulators to up their game?

The regulators already have their work cut out for them. The challenge is to faithfully implement the revised capital market roadmap which is already in place. Admittedly, the pandemic is taking a toll on the pace of implementing the 10-year capital market master plan which the SEC

has been driving. It is also causing a delay in the NSE demutualization process already at advanced stage and the introduction of derivatives products which rules, I understand, have already been exposed to the market. Be that as it may, the regulators cannot afford to be distracted by COVID-19.

Going forward, I expect the regulators to find a lasting solution to the issue of huge unclaimed dividends.

This will involve bringing to the table all the stakeholders including the Registrars, Stockbrokers, Banks, Judiciary and so on. Also, the pandemic presents an opportunity to put in place measures to boost retail investor base and minimize the impact of portfolio outflows on the capital market. It bears repeating that the Nigerian capital market suffers from the absence of a strong retail investor base despite the huge population. To expand the pool of such investors, it is important to recognise that capital market literacy is a major component of financial inclusion. No doubt, the SEC and NSE have done a lot in this regard. While some progress has been made, a lot still needs to be done. This will involve partnering with relevant stakeholders such as the Capital Market Academics of Nigeria to take capital market education to our tertiary institutions.

The pandemic has also brought to the fore new risks. Quoted companies are now holding virtual AGMs for instance unlike previously. I think the regulators would need to upgrade their risk-based supervision framework to meet the challenge.

Could you explain the role of NASD and how it has or should help in developing the Nigerian capital market!

The NASD as you know is an Overthe Counter (OTC) platform for securities registered by the SEC but not listed on any other exchange in Nigeria. Like other Exchanges, it contributes to capital formation in the country by providing a platform for primary and secondary market liquidity. I think the NASD has lived up to expectation since it was set up a few years ago with respect to creating transparency, price discovery and an alternative market for capital raising for unlisted public companies in Nigeria. I am aware that the company has been contributing to the development of the capital market through innovative products such as the NASD Enterprise Portal (NASDeP) launched in 2018 which helps connect high growth enterprises in the financial services sector with willing private equity investors seeking to invest, and the NASD ‘Venture Ramp’, a crowdfunding platform designed to assist entrepreneurs in raising funds for their respective projects.

As an alternative market, NASD provides an avenue for investors to deepen and widen their investments.

You will agree with me that investors with well-diversified portfolios across industries are more likely to cushion the effects of an economic headwind on their overall investments. Gladly, other platforms apart from the NSE are now in place such as the FMDQ, AFEX NCX and the latest entrant, LCFE. I read recently that three new Stock exchanges are set to launch in the US by the end of Sep-

tember bringing the total to 16 Stock Exchanges. According to Reuters, these new bourses will be vying for market share against incumbents like the New York Stock Exchange and the NASDAQ which have benefited from elevated trading volumes during the coronavirus pandemic. So, it does appear the more; the merrier. Indeed, competition amongst the different tradeable securities markets is capable of making asset pricing more efficient and reliable as investors are no longer confined to the monopoly of one market or asset class. NASD is advised to continue to maintain high standards of corporate integrity and transparency as well as a robust digital platform that makes trading easy and convenient.

There has been little or no activity in the Primary Market with regards to IPOs. What is responsible for this and what should be done?

I think the seeming drying-up of IPOs should be expected in view of the present unfavourable market conditions. Any company that risks doing so now will be punished severely by the market through high underwriting costs. IPOs are more successful in a bullish market for obvious reasons when market sentiments and confidence in the economy are high. I also think the government can lead the way to lift animal spirits in the market by implementing privatization plans through the NSE including giving effect to the provisions of Section 66 of the Petroleum Industry Governance Bill, already passed by the 8th National Assembly, which provides for the unbundling of NNPC and listing the National Petroleum Company on the NSE. It may interest you to know that Privatization of government enterprises through the Iranian Stock Exchange is behind the current stock market boom in Iran despite COVID-19, decline in crude oil price and US sanctions.

For a new investor who wants to invest in the stock market what should determine his decision and what are the risk factors?

I assume you are referring to a true investor and not a speculator. For an investor, it will be a function of many factors including his investment horizon and risk profile. By risk profile, I mean an assessment of the investor’s willingness and ability to take risk. The key risk I see in the investment horizon today is COVID-19 and the vagaries in the crude oil market. A lot depends on the spread, intensity and duration of the pandemic as well as the price of crude oil because of their passthrough to exchange rate, inflation, unemployment and the general health of the economy. What is important is for an investor in the stock market to have a long term focus and commit funds in stocks with good fundamentals. Companies with good management, reputation, corporate governance, track record of dividend payment, diversified business interests will be my pick.

A wise investor should bear in mind that diversification is an established tenet of conservative investment. In pursuit of undervalued or

what you may call bargain securities, the investor should seek expert advice with a view to determining the margin of safety which is essential to the choice of preferred securities. And let me make this important point: considering that Ponzi schemes tend to thrive during periods of economic hardship, as many studies have shown, investors should not fall prey to the fraudulent antics of their promoters. I am happy that the SEC is on top of this and is creating the necessary public awareness.

What is your forecast for the market in 2020 year-end and which are your stock picks and why?

As I noted earlier, COVID-19 has made the market outlook very cloudy even with my crystal ball. Be that as it may, the equities market is still in the negative territory eight months into the year. Year-to-Date return stands around 6% as we speak. There is every possibility that the NSE All Share Index will end the year in the red. As you know, the performance of the stock market is not disconnected from the economy. According to the latest NBS GDP report, the economy already contracted by 6.10% in Q2 of 2020. The IMF projects that the Nigerian economy will shrink by 5.4% in 2020 and there is this expectation that the economy will officially enter a recession by Q3 of 2020 following two consecutive negative growths in GDP. However, I strongly opine that if the government and CBN’s intervention funds are well targeted, the size of the contraction may not be as much as the IMF has predicted.

Head or tail, certain stocks will most likely outperform the market. These could be stocks in the agriculture and health sectors benefiting from CBN interventions, banking stocks as well as a good number of well capitalized companies on the Premium Board and NSE 30 that still parade good fundamentals. Interestingly, while many sectors of the economy recorded negative growth in real GDP in Q2, 2020, the financial services sector, dominated by banks, and the telecom sector recorded significant positive growth despite COVID-19.

This trend is likely to continue- the reason some stocks in these sectors hold strong promise to outperform the market. At a time like this, reliance on stock price trends alone for forecast purposes would be suicidal.

I hold the view therefore, that a more important consideration should be company fundamentals. Which is why my advice to stock broking firms, with discretionary mandates in the purchase or sale of securities, is to ensure their research departments have the necessary skills for carrying out both technical and fundamental analysis so that trading or investment decisions are well guided during this period of uncertainty.

Having said that, i am optimistic the market will rebound once the virus is completely dealt with- and this should be sometime in 2021. I am anxious to witness the return of ‘animal spirits’ to borrow the eternal words of the famous Economist, John Keynes. Just as Benjamin Graham noted in his Classic titled ‘The Intelligent Investor’, i am confident that ‘’this too shall pass’’.

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Investors harvesting returns...

Continued from page 1

appreciation of 22.39 percent from March 26 to August 14.

Regulatory role Building and sustaining a strong and transparent market are some of the core functions of regulatory agencies.

And the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Nigerian stock Exchange (NSE) have shown commitment in that area.

Uche Uwaleke scores the two agencies high. According to him, the current relative stability is as a results of effective regulation. He cites some SEC’s confidence-building measures like dematerialization of share certificate, direct cash settlement, corporate governance policies, e-transaction and the planned launch of equity derivative as some of the stabilizing factors.

The NSE’s minimum operating standard for market operators and launch of the Premium Board which offers opportunities for capital raising and asset growth are also seen as growth catalysts.

Across the globe, cases of fraud abound and the Nigerian Bourse has had its own share. But analysts and in-

ALL SHARE INDEX DATE ALL SHARE INDEX (Units)

31/01/2020

28/02/2020

30/03/2020

29,183.40

26,216.48

21,330.29

30/04/2020 23,021.01

29/05/2020 25,123.64

30/06/2020

29/07/2020

24,479.22

24,693.73

07/08/2020 25,041.89

14/08/2020 25,199.84

ALL SHARE INDEX (Units) 35,000.00 30,000.00 25,000.00 20,000.00 15,000.00 10,000.00

Prepared by GOBI COMMUNICATION LTD for Enquiry please contact 08023116461 godfreyobioma@gmail.com

26/09/2020

-

07/08/2020

5,000.00

18/06/2020

Lockdown -driven demand for data spikes Telecom performance Another sector that benefited from the Covid-19 inspired lock-down was the telecommunication sector. But unlike the pharmaceuticals, benefits from the stocks are not necessarily from financial stimulus but from the boost in demand for call cards and data at the peak of the lockdown. For example, MTN Nigeria grew revenue for the first half of 2020 to N638.1 billion from N567.00 during the same period

Threat of forex illiquidity, devaluation Covid 19 has triggered depression in the global economy due to the lock-

down and slowdown in economic activities. This has in turn caused decline in global demand for Nigeria’s crude oil and resulted in fall in the country’s external reserves.

The uncertainty created by the pandemic led to reduction in foreign portfolio inflows and rise in country risk and weaker global rating by Moody’s, Fitch and other rating agencies. Discerning foreign investors who foresaw the impending Covid 19- led crisis pulled out early. The good news however is that the void created by exiting foreign portfolio investors is being filled by local investors led by institutional investors like Pension Fund Administrators and retail investors.

Uche Uwaleke believes the snapping of the offloaded foreign- owned shares is saving the country the repeat of 2008 market crisis during which such exits almost caused a market crash.

The decline in the price of oil and resultant foreign exchange earnings is posing a threat as the country faces foreign exchange scarcity. The scarcity is taking its tolls on foreign portfolio investment as investors are getting frustrated with the difficulty of accessing foreign exchange for repatriation.

Such frustration is expressed by decline in portfolio inflows.

The slump in external reserves and the inability of the CBN to sustain the defense of the Naira has forced the bank to devalue the naira. This year, the Naira has been devalued by 19.5 percent from N305/$ to N379/$.

In theory, currency devaluation should lead to reduction in imports and increase in exports. However, being a mono product economy

29/04/2020

Preferred stocks in Healthcare space The Federal Government stimulus to the Health and Pharmaceutical sector has turned stocks in the sector into stars as their prices keep galloping. Fidson gained 5.00 percent between July 3 and 29; 8.57 percent from July 29 and August7; 29.82 percent between July 10 and August 14 and 8.18 percent between August 7 and 14, 2020. May and Baker appreciated 7.91 percent between July 3 and 29 and 8.99 percent between July 10 and August.

Investors in Neimeith Pharmaceutical are also having a good time. Its share price fluctuate between N1.13 and N1.78 per share. The stock gained 21.33 percent between July 29 and August 7 and 28.05 percent between July 10 and August 14, 2020. One of the lowest priced stocks in the market, Neimeth Pharmaceutical is among the companies that benefit from the Federal Government financial support meant to encourage research into the healthcare sector especially the Covid-19 vaccine.

in 2019. Profit after tax however declined marginally from N99.53 billion to N94.87 billion . For Airtel, revenue increased from $796 million to $851 million while profit after tax fell from $328.70 billion to $132.00 million in the first half of the year.

The share prices of both companies responded positively to the impressive fundamentals. For example, MTN appreciated 19.00 percent between March and August 14, 2020. Investors in Airtel enjoyed capital gain of 27.13 percent from March 26 to August 14; 5.87 percent between July 3 and 29; 9.19 percent between August 7 and 14 and 15.78 percent from July 10 and August 14, 2020.

Uche Uwaleke, Professor of capital market at Nasarawa State University attributes the increase in All-share index and share prices of companies especially in April and May as well as July and August to the impressive performance by companies in their Q1 and Q2 results. He said the April and May performances of Okomu, Zenith and MTN followed 2019 and Q1 financial results during which most of them announced dividend payments.

Further fueling the May uptrend, according to Uwaleke, was the foreign exchange scarcity which forced foreign investors who could not repatriate their dividend to reinvest same in the local market. For him, the general downward trend in June was inspired by market correction and profit taking.

10/03/2020

Agric stocks Okumu and Presco were the toasts of investors on account of government incentives to the agricultural sector which resulted in impressive performances in their results.

For H1, Okomu reported turnover of N13.53 billion up from N10.40 billion during the same period in 2019 and increase in profit after tax from N2.53 billion in H1 2019.

Presco grew revenue to N13.45 billion from N10.40 billion. Profit after tax increased from N2.57 billion to N4.39 billion in H1 2020. The result was positive responses from investors as their share prices recorded streak of gains in the volatile market.

For example, between March 26 and August 14, Okomu appreciated by 45.28 percent. Presco gained 41.28 percent between March 26 and August 14.

Oscar Onyema CEO, NSE

20/01/2020

Notable Industrial Goods stocks Growth drivers in the Industrial Goods sectors are Dangote Cement, Lafarge Africa and Bua Cement. Dangote Cement returned 11.65 percent to its shareholders through capital gain between July 3 and 29 and 7.79 percent from 10 to August 14, 2020.

Between July 3 and 29, 2020, Lafarge Africa gained 13.53 percent; 26.34 percent between March 26 and August 14 and 5.85 percent between July 10 and August 14, 2020.

Investors harvested 10.19 percent return from BUA Cement through capital appreciation between March 26 and August 14, 2020.

that depends on crude oil export for foreign exchange earnings, Nigeria may not benefit from Naira devaluation in the near term. This is because government policies to grow export of non-oil goods and services are yet to record the desired impact. Already, the closure of Nigeria border which was meant to encourage local production and exports has created challenges like inflation. With the current illiquidity and foreign investors difficulty in repatriating dividend, the belief is that devaluation will have little or no impact in foreign exchange inflow in an import dependent economy like Nigeria.

The near zero interest rates in Europe and America would have been an opportunity for the country to attract foreign portfolio investment with its relative high rates of returns from the securities market. But Ayodeji is worried that devaluation and difficulty in dividend repatriation could be a barrier.

The recession in Britain and some other developed economies is also a source of concern as this is expected to deplete remittances from Nigerians in diaspora. Over the years, this group of Nigerians have constituted a good source of foreign exchange inflow. But most of these economies are rattled by low economic activities and unemployment and it is expected that Nigerians in the Diaspora will be affected and their remittances reduced. This leaves the managers of the economy no other choice than to device creative means of attracting foreign exchange

vestors said the NSE’s whistle-blowing policy aimed at enforcing zero tolerance for infraction has sent the right signal to the investing public.

Ayodeji Eboh, managing director of Afrinvest also thinks SEC and NSE have made far reaching efforts to stimulate confidence in the market but believes there is room for improvement. Ayodeji wants further onboarding of processes especially for retail investors. Specifically, he suggests use of BVN and National Identification Numbers. He is also of the view that dividend payment should be automated using investors Know Your Customer (KYC) which are available to the Central Securities and Clearing System (CSCS) to reduce the challenge of unclaimed dividend.

He also wants NSE to educate retail investors more on its product offerings.

CAMA, spark for the market Laws governing business and investment activities in Nigeria have become outdated bringing them at variance with international standard .

And the companies and Allied Matter Act (CAMA) had become a subject of criticism for not aiding Nigeria’s ease of doing business. The recent amendment of the Act by the National Assembly with regards to the capital market was therefore seen as a relief.

The new CAMA contains changes in several areas like shareholder protection, directorship, capital requirement, digitation of meetings, filling of returns and share transfer.

In the new CAMA, directors in public companies can no longer function as both chairmen and chief executive officers(CEO). In sections 265, 307 and 275 of the revised law, holding directorship position in more than 5 public companies now requires at least three independent directors.

As part of the effort to protect share holder interest, the new CAMA provides for shareholder approval of transaction exceeding 50 percent of book values of companies’ asset at annual or extra ordinary general meetings . Persons with significant control in a public company, according to the new CAMA, must disclose his shareholding.

Ayodeji believes the changes are far reaching. He notes that the digitization of processes will be of great benefit to capital market participants while the changes with regards to directorship is expected to enhance corporate governance practices in public companies.

The fear of hostile takeover of companies has been a major concern.

And Ayodeji believes the provision that persons with significant control in public companies should disclose it, would go a long way in preventing this.

Reviving new issues market The primary market has been dormant for several years with little or no new issues in form of initial public offering or rights offer.

Ayodeji blames the current poor economic condition which is not promoting corporate performance, low valuation and weak investor sentiment for the dormant primary market.

Issuers that hope to raise capital from the market will do so if the offer price and investor appetite are high enough to encourage realization of the target capital. Since interest and performance of the equities market depend on the state of the economy, stockbrokers said revival of the economy will go long a long way in boosting savings, investment and activate the new issues market.

Tuesday 06 October 2020

BUSINESS DAY

05

NIGERIA STOCKWATCH Stock Briefs

MODUPE KADRI Executive Director and Chief Financial Officer of MTN

DEMOLA SOGUNLE TAG Managing Director of Stanbic IBTC Bank’s

M MTN

TN Nigeria traded at N199.60 N199.60 per share January and closed at N119.00 at the close of business on August 14, 2020. Between the periods, it recorded streaks of gains and losses. After losing 16.38 percent between January and March, it gained 16.7 percent between January and March. It gained 16.7 percent between March 26 and May 29; 1.29 percent between May 29 and July 30; 1.64 percent between July 3 and 29; 0.51 percent between July 29 and August 7 and 19.00 percent between March 26 and August14, 2020. The price appreciation is driven by the increase in data demand following the Covid 19 inspired lockdown.

In the second quarter of 2020, MTN’s revenue increased 12.5 percent to N638.1 billion from N567.06 in 2019 on quarter on quarter basis. Revenue declined 6.2 percent to N308.9 billion from N329.2 billion. The increase in revenue followed the 49.0 percent increase in data to N154.0 billion and 2.7percent increase in voice revenue to N363.6 billion; 33.5 percent increase in value added services to N21.9 billion and 5.0 percent rise in digital revenue to N17.8 billion.

Operational expenses rose 17.5 percent to N311.06billion from N264.6 billion in the first quarter

SEGUN OGUNSANYA Managing Director & CEO of Airtel Nigeria.

HERBERT WIGWE Group Managing Director/CEO of Access Bank

of 2019. This was due to the 23.7 percent rise in direct network operation; 14.6 percent increase in discount and commission; 68.7 percent increase in accessory cost and 28.4 percent rise in employee benefit cost.

The company paid interim dividend of N3.50 per share or 5.9 percent dividend yield to N119 price. Vetiva Capital is forecasting price of N173.25 per share; N638.073 billion revenue and profit after tax of N94.87 billion.

AIRTEL Airtel Africa, listed in the ICTTelecom service sector of the market traded N298.90 per share in January and closed at N380.00 per share August 14, 2020. Airtel rewarded its investors with 5.87 percent capital gain between July 3 and 29, 2020; 9.19 percent between August 7 and 14 and 13.15 percent from January to August 14 through price appreciation.

The company reported revenue increase from $851 million in the 2019 first half to $851 million. EBITDA declined 62.0 percent from $988 million to $375 as profit fell from $132 million to $57 million.

DANGOTE SUGAR Listed in the Consumer GoodsFood product segment of the market, Dangote Sugar is one of the blue chips. Investors have

RAVINDRA SINGH SINGHVI Ag. Managing Director of Dangote Sugar Refinery Plc

KHALED EL DOKANI Chief Executive Officer of Lafarge Africa

ABDUL SAMAD RABIU Chairman/CEO of Bua Cement

PANDEY AJAY Acting MD of Conoil

OLUMIDE ADEOSUN MD of Ardova Plc

FIDELIS AYEBAE, Managing Director of Fidson Healthcare Plc,

NNAMDI OKAFOR MD of May & Baker Nigeria Plc

KUNLE OYELANA Managing Director of GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Nigeria Plc

Matthew Obi Azoji MD of Neimeth International Pharmaceuticals Plc

harvested impressive returns from the stock which gained 32.22 percent between March 26 and August 14 and 2.13 percent between July 3 and 29, 2020. The impressive performance follows its corporate performance. For the first half of 2020, the company recorded increase in revenue from N80.36 billion during the same period in 2019 to N103.23 billion while profit after tax grew to N11.58 billion fromN10.97 billion. The revenue growth was supported by 68.8 percent year on year growth in retail bags and 30.0 percent revenue increase in 50kg sugar bag. In the first quarter, the company added 5 percent increase in price. And with volume increase, revenue went up.

Gross profit declined 36.3

percent to N8.1 billion due to 36 percent increase in cost of sale.

In the second quarter, gross profit fell 1.4 percent year on year to N20.8 billion due to cost increase caused by Covid 19; inflation, 15 percent devaluation and sustained rise in output grower cost since H1 2019.

The company’s EBITDA rose 8.4 percent to N22.35 as a result of cost containment in sell, distribution and administration expenses. This led to operational cash balance improvement to N48.7 billion.

however reported 5 percent year on year fall in revenue to N56.8 billion as a result of 4 percent fall in cement sale to 1.3 million metric tons.

In spite of the fall in sales in Q2, gross profit increased 10 percent to N24.1 billion boosted by the cost containment in raw material, energy and production.

The company recorded reduction in cost as a result of the ‘work from home’; reduction in general office expenses by 85 percent to N0.05 billion in Q2.

Vetiva capital forecasts full year volume of 5.2 million metric tonnes; 22 percent year on year revenue growth of N238.9 billion Lafarge Africa, an industrial

LAFARGE AFRICA Lafarge Africa grew net profit in Q2 by 47 percent year on year to N23.3 billion. Driven by substantial cost containment, it

Continues on page 6

06

Tuesday 06 October 2020

BUSINESS DAY

NIGERIA STOCKWATCH Stock Briefs Continued from page 5 goods building material- listed stock traded N13.89 per share in January and closed at N11.90 per share August 14, 2020. The company posted impressive results to attract investor participation.

For example, for the 2020 H1, it reported increase in revenue from N117.23 billion in 2019 to N120.54 billion and grew profit after tax from N15.83 billion to N23.32 billion.

Consequently, its stock recorded growth through capital appreciation and dividend payment. After the 39.01 percent fall in price in January 2020, it gained 16.7 percent between March and May 29 in response to its encouraging Q1 2020 result. Between May 29 and July 30, it appreciated 1.29 percent; 1.64 percent between July 3 and 29 and 26.34 percent between March 26 and August 14, 2020.

ACCESS BANK A financial service- banking listed stock, Access Bank traded N9.90 per share in January on the aver-

age and closed at N6.40 per share on August 14, 2020 . Eight months into the year, Access Bank recorded streak of losses and gains in response to the market volatility. For example, the bank lost 0.78 percent between May 29 and July 29; appreciated 7.70 percent between July 3 and 29 and 3.17 percent from July 29 to August 7 before declining 15.38 percent between August 7 and 14, 2020.

Between March and August 14, it gained by 4.06 percent.

ARDOVA For the first half of 2020, Ardova’s revenue rose from N82.78 billion to N87.31 in 2019 while profit after tax decline from N5.45 billion to N1.01 billion. The fall in PAT was due to subsidy removal.

Sale of fuel was the single largest contributor to revenue.

The company’s operational expense fell 5 percent from 8 percent in 2019 Q2 as operational profit grew to N787 million from loss of N246 million in 2019.

Debt balance fell to N6.5 billion in first half of 2020 from N15.7 billion during the same

period in 2019 H1. In spite of the decline in profit after tax occasioned by the slump in the global price of oil, investors’ interest in its stock was demonstration by the streak of gains in its price. Between July 3 and 29 and August and 14, 2020 the price of Ardova appreciated 15.03 percent and 4.93 percent respectively.

BUA CEMENT In January, 2020, Bua Cement finished at an average price of N37.00 and closed 38.90 per share August 14. The stock suffered 45.94 percent decline but appreciated 18 percent between March and May 29 as investors anticipated impressive Q1 result.

Between March and May 29, it gained 18.00 percent and 4.93 percent between August 7 as well as 10.14 percent between March 26 and August14, 2020.

STANBIC IBTC A strong and performing stock, listed in the Financial Services and other institution segment of the market, Stanbic IBTC rewarded its investors through

capital appreciation.

Trading at N38.25 January 31 and N33.90 per share on August 14, 2020, the stock recorded 35.44 percent loss between January and March driven by the Covid-19 inspired uncertainty and foreign exit of its foreign investors.

However, the void was filled by local investors resulting in 46.17 percent appreciation between March and May 29 and 5.50 percent increase between July 3 and 29. July 29 to August 14, it offered 10 percent capital gain.

Between March 26 and August 14, it strengthened 38.36 percent.

CONOIL The oil and gas stock has been largely affected by the decline in global economic activity and demand for oil, especial early April.

However, with the uptrend in the price of oil between April and May the price of Conoil recorded an uptick with double digit capital gain. It was down 19.55 percent between July 3 and 29.

Between March and August14, it rewarded investors 28.51 percent in capital appreciation.

PEFERRED STOCKS BY PERCENTAGE GAINS PEFERRED STOCKS BY PERCENTAGE GAINS UBA 26.21 Zenith 38.01 FBN HOLD 20.48 MTN 19.00 LAFARGE 26.34 OKOMU 45.32 PRESCO 41.28 NIG BPEN 34. 32 DNGOTE CEM 32.22 NESTLE

22.39 GT BANK 38.33 NEM 66.69 STANBIC IBTC 38.36 AIRTEL 27.13 BUA

10.19

2 TOP GAINERS (%) JULY 3- 29, 2020 ARDOVA ZENITH DANGOTE CEM LAFARGE PRESCO PZ GTBANK ALICO FIDSON MAY BAKER AIRTEL DANGOTE

TOP GAINERS (%) BTW AUG 7 & 14 SEPLAT OKOMU PRESCO UACN GUINNESS NIG PREW CADBURY UNILEVER

10 3.89 7.29 4.83 9.92 12.50 28.78 11.60

AFR PRUD AIICO GT BANK STANBIC FIDSON AIRTEL NOTORE ARDOVA

15.031 6.88 11.65 13.53 4.86 5.12 8.17 9.30 5.00 7.91 5.87 2.13

TOP PERCENTAGE GAINERS BETWEEN JULY 29-AUG 7, 2020 TOTAL 16.66 SEPLAT 12.83 FLOUR MILL 13.19 GT BANK 8.22 AXAMISARD 9.22 STANBIC IBTC 10.00 GLAXO 7.14 NEIMETH 21.33`

PERCENTAGE CHG BTW JULY 10 & AUG 14 5.01 2.22 2.25 2.72 8.18 9.19 19.00 4.93

UBA DANGOTE CEM LAFARGE PRESCO GUINNESS NIG BREW CADBURY GT BANK

4.00 7.79 5.85 13.81 10.71 5.72 10.37 10.91

AFRICAN PRUD STABIC IBTC FIDSON GLAXO MAY & BAKER NEIMETH AIRTEL

10, 00 12.06 29.82 8.33 8.99 28.00 15.78

FIDSON One of the stocks that has benefited from the Federal Government financial support for medical research into disease control drugs and virus, Fidson earned investors’ confidence with its stock price on the rise. Our study shows that Fidson gained 5.00 percent from July 3 to 29 and 29.82 from July 10 to August 14 to close at N3.70 per share.

For the Q1 2020, the company’s revenue grew to N4.45billion from N3.83 billion in 2019. Profit after tax however slumped to N0.348 billion.

MAY AND BAKER With market capitalization of N5.23 billion, May & Baker is not one of the market drivers. But the CBN support to pharmaceutical companies has boosted investor interest in that sector and May & Baker is one of the beneficiaries.

Trading at N3.39 May 29, 2020, the company’s stock recorded some gains and losses. Between May 26 and June 30, it lost 15.33 percent and gained 7.91 percent between July 3 and 29. Between July 29 and August 7, it gained 1.66 percent and lost 0.65 percent from August 7 to 14, 2020.

GLAXO SMITHLINE Listed in the pharmaceutical sector, Glaxo, like Fidson, May and Baker, and Neimeth pharmaceutical are beneficiaries of the Federal Government Covid-19driven research support to companies in the sector. Its price has, on the average been on the rise. With market capitalization of N6. 22billion Glaxo is not one of those giant companies. But it is expected that the government financial incentives would have positive impact on its size and performance.

Glaxo recorded increase in revenue in the 2020 second quarter from N9.96 billion in 2019 to N10.43 billion while profit after tax declined from N372.05 million to N304.53 million.

The stock traded at N8.10 per share May 29, losing 32.09 percent between March 26 and June, 2020. Between July 29 and August 7, it appreciated 7.14 percent and 8.33 percent between July 10 and August 14, 2020.

NEIMETH PHARMACEUTICAL May 29, 2020, the stock traded at N1.13 per share and rose to N1.65 per share June 30. Between July 29 and August 7, it gained 21.33 percent and 28.05 percent between March and August 14. It also recorded streak of losses in price. For example, between August 7 and 14, it lost 2.19 percent.

Neimeth has market capitalization of N3.38 billion.

Tuesday 06 October 2020

BUSINESS DAY

07

NIGERIA STOCKWATCH

Earnings, dividend potential favour Tier-1 banks, telecom stocks - Ayodeji Eboh Investors are having a hard time taking decisions on which stock to pick as risks associated with Covid 19, recession expectation and other socio- economic challenges grow. But AYODEJI EBOH, Managing director, Afrinvest, in this interview with BusinessDay offers some tips.

F

rom our data analysis, we noticed that the All Share Index has been a mix of gains and losses in 2020. Could you give us your opinion on the general Stock Market and factors responsible for the trends?

The stock market started off with optimism following a 7.5% gain in January as investors hunted for high dividend yield stocks. However, this positivity was short lived as COVID-19 outbreak tapered economic activities following lockdown measures to curb the spread.

Consequently, the benchmark index lost 9.1% and 18.8% in February and March respectively following investors exit, especially FPIs. The market rebounded in April and May following renewed interest by local bargain hunters (accounted for about 70.0% of trades) amidst low interest rate environment in the fixed income market, gradual reopening of economies and crude price recovery. Positive momentum was not sustained in June as the ASI fell 3.1% due to weak investor sentiment, FX illiquidity and concerns over a second wave of coronavirus.

We saw an uptick again as the ASI gained 0.9% in July through August as investors repositioned ahead of interim dividend while also cherrypicking stocks with impressive results.

We have seen an uptrend and decline in some stock prices in different sectors. In your opinion, what is driving this trend?

These trends have been largely driven by bargain hunting activities, investors repositioning in high dividend yield stocks as well as stocks that show resilience despite economic activities downturn and harsh operating environment. In the Banking sector, stocks like Zenith, Guaranty, Stanbic and UBA are expected to report impressive H1:2020 earnings despite unfavourable conditions and are projected to declare interim dividend. Meanwhile, stocks in the Industrial goods and Oil & Gas sectors have taken a beating due to poor prospect for earnings growth as oil prices crashed and economic activities remain poor. Corporates in the Telecommunication sector, MTN and Airtel have shown resilience and recorded strong earnings growth thus spurring interest in the sector. For the Consumer Goods sector, the narrative has been mixed as some corporates have enjoyed buying interest due to positive results while others like the Brewery segments have suffered consistent sell pressures.

Developed countries like Europe and America are dropping interest rates to almost zero. How could this affect

portfolio investment in Nigeria?

Normally, accommodative monetary policies in Advanced Economies should see funds flow to emerging markets as investors search for higher yields. Although, there was an initial outflow of funds to the tune of $97.0bn from emerging markets at the peak of the pandemic, we have since witnessed the return of foreign investors as economies reopen and commodity prices improve.

However, Nigeria is not poised to benefit from the expected flows due to FX challenges. Currently, Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs) are trapped in the country and foreign investors are unable to repatriate their investments due to FX illiquidity.

This situation leaves a bad taste in the mind of the FPIs, hence needs to be addressed to stimulate foreign portfolio investments in the country.

Nigeria’s trading partners like Britain are going into recession. What impact would this have on the Nigerian economy and stock market?

As a result of the economic impact of the pandemic, many economies are experiencing economic recession and countries in Advanced Economies (AEs) are the hardest hit. Although, Britain is not Nigeria’s main trading partner going by the latest trade data from the NBS (Britain accounted for only 3.6% of import and 2.1% of exports), the expected recordlevel economic recession across major countries and region in 2020 would significantly affect trade. Aside from trade, in 2017, the US ($6.2bn or 28.1%) and UK ($4.2bn or 19.1%) accounted for a large proportion of

remittances to Nigeria. However, the significant economic weakness in these countries would affect inflows and economic activities in Nigeria.

The lack of access to foreign exchange in Nigeria would also discourage available foreign investment.

Could you give us your views on the effects of Naira devaluation on foreign portfolio flow into Nigeria?

In 2020 alone, the domestic currency has been devalued at the CBN segment by 19.5% from N305.00/$1.00 to N379/$1.00 and this continues to discourage foreign investors as the value of their investments depreciate over time. Already, FDIs are very low at $214.2billion, representing a paltry 3.7% of total capital inflows as at Q1:2020. About 73.6 percent of the inflows represented portfolio investments. With the devaluation and the illiquidity in the FX market, we expect capital inflows to be weak in Q2 (upon release of the data) and for the rest of the year. Currently, the pent-up demand for FX is estimated at $5.0billion and the external reserves has depleted by 7.8% yearto-date, despite the $3.4billion loan from the IMF in April. We believe the CBN is waiting on the delayed $1.5bn World Bank loan to fund this backlog.

However, this is becoming a heavy cross to bear for foreign investors.

How could the amended CAMA affect the Nigerian capital market?

The amended CAMA is expected to better shape Nigeria’s corporate landscape by setting corporate operations in line with global best practices, enabling ease of doing

business and reducing regulatory hurdles. Areas as such directorship, shareholder’s protection, share capital requirement, derivatives based on the netting rule and digitalisation of processes were amended and will affects capital market participants.

Digitalisation of meetings, filings of returns and transfer of shares have also been entrenched in the new act.

For directorship, directors in public companies are prohibited from doubling as Chairman and CEO, holding director position in more than 5 public companies and companies are required to have at least 3 independent directors under S.265, 307 and 275 respectively. The aforementioned will improve corporate governance and give directors room to make meaningful contribution to the affairs of the company.

To protect shareholder’s interest, the Act introduced shareholder approval of transactions exceeding 50% of book value of company’s asset at the annual or extraordinary general meeting in Section 342. Similarly, Section 119 requires that persons with significant control are expected to disclosure their shareholdings to boost transparency and prevent hostile takeovers.

Could you assess the performances of SEC and NSE as regulators?

The SEC and NSE have been cooperating to create a stronger market and improve the competitiveness of the exchange in comparison with global peers. The NSE increased stakeholder engagement by partnering SEC to streamline listing processes for companies on one hand and increasing engagements with investors on the other. We have witnessed the launch of a series of initiatives aimed at boosting investor confidence (especially retail investors), increasing transparency and improving investor education and participation. Similarly, the ongoing demutualization of the exchange is in a bid to ensure increased efficiency, competitiveness, and adherence to a higher standard of corporate governance by the NSE Although the SEC and NSE are working towards building a better bourse, we believe there is room for improvement especially in terms of on boarding process for retail investors with the use of Biometric Verification Number (BVN), National Identification Number (NIN) and registered phone number. Also, dividend payment should be automated by obtaining full information of investors at the KYC level with the CSCS and this would reduce the burden of unclaimed dividends. There is need for increased investor education and awareness on the various products offered by the NSE. Finally, the NSE should create liquidity for retail fixed income investment in a similar manner to that of equities investors.

How do you rate the level of

local and foreign investor participation before and during COVID 19?

Foreign investors have maintained a risk-off approach towards Nigerian assets since 2019 as their stake in the equities market waned from 50% in December 2019 to 48% in February 2020. Meanwhile their local counterpart improved their stake by 1% to 52% in February. The pandemic, oil price crash, FX illiquidity, low yield environment and lacklustre macroeconomic environment further fuelled sell-offs by foreign investors reducing their stake to around 44% in June while local investors stood at 56%. Huge participation from domestic investors creates stability in the market as there is lesser dips when they exit the market compared to foreign investors. Thus, we reiterate the need for increased participation by local investors specifically PFAs as investment in equities stood at c.5% as at June 2020.

There has been little or no activity in the Primary Market with regards to IPOs. What is responsible for this and what should be done?

Currently, investor sentiment in the equities market is quite weak and this is reflected in the pricing of stocks.

The macroeconomic environment is unsupportive of positive corporate earnings and this continue to sour sentiments. The current valuation of stocks is not attractive to prospective companies and we are not optimistic of new listings on the Nigerian bourse in the near term. However, the insurance sector is currently undergoing recapitalization and we may see increased Rights issuances as companies seek to meet the September 30, 2021 deadline set by NAICOM. What is your forecast of the market for the year end 2020 and which are your stock picks?

Events that have occurred so far has cautioned an overly optimistic outlook for the market in 2020. This on the back of the absence of a vaccine for COVID-19, cyclical oil prices, unattractive macroeconomic environment in Nigeria, continued FX illiquidity and weak earnings growth.

Hence, we forecast a base case return of -2.8% and -11.8% for worse case.

However, a better-than-expected Q3:2020 results, improved macroeconomic landscape, increased participation by local investors majorly PFAs and higher dividend yield compared to rates in the fixed income market could spur positive sentiments in the market. Our stock picks would be stocks in the Tier-1 banking space and telecommunication sectors due to dividend paying potentials and prospects for earnings accretion. We also see value in selected stocks in the Agricultural, Consumer Goods and Industrial Goods sectors.

08

Tuesday 06 October 2020

BUSINESS DAY

NIGERIA STOCKWATCH Rules on Collective Investment Schemes

C

ollective Investment Scheme is a legal vehicles for investment and allows fund managers to pull assets in smaller units and invest such in diverse asset classes.

However, Fund Managers of Collective Investment Schemes are required to comply with the provisions of the new Rules and file evidence of compliance on or before September 30 2020; The application of the new total expense ratio and incentive fee computation took effect from July 2020; According to SEC, Incentive fees should not be factored into total expense ratio computation and shall be assessable and payable on an annual basis; The apex regulator also said that The Fund Managers Association of Nigeria (FMAN) shall submit acceptable benchmarks for Money Market Funds, Balanced Funds and Ethical Funds at the beginning of each year commencing Q3. 2020;

COVID 19 guidelines

by SEC As part of the efforts to ensure safety of capital market stakeholders, the Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued guidelines to the capital market operators following the outbreak of Corona Virus globally.

The safety measures include measures : • All public companies are required to continue to make material disclosures to investors on the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on their business operations.

• They should also disclose the trend and outlook for the company, and updates on the implementation of business continuity plans. Their disclosures should be published on their websites and other relevant media.

• All public companies who plan to conduct their Annual General Meetings (AGMs) are required to ensure that the conduct of the meetings complies with the provisions of the Companies and Allied Matters Act, the Investments and Securities Act, the SEC Rules and Regulations, relevant government and health circulars and guidelines issued in this regard.

• Debt issuers are also expected to continue to engage Trustees and ensure that relevant disclosures are provided. Trustees are required to provide updates to the commission accordingly.

• All CMOs are to continue with the monitoring of the real and potential risks that COVID-19 may have on their business operations and the discharge of services to investors and clients.

• In compliance with the Federal Government’s directive on the restriction of movement in Lagos, Ogun, and Abuja, the commission has activated its business continuity process. Consequently, the staff of the commission is working remotely. All its electronic channels will remain open to provide the necessary support to capital market stakeholders.

COVID-19: US SEC discloses considerations regarding operations, liquidity, capital resources

Lamido Yuguda, Director-General, Securities and Exchange Commission

The US SEC made available issues companies should consider with respect to business and market disruptions related to COVID-19. This was made with regards to its Corporate Finance Division requesThe Division monitors how companies are disclosing the effects and risks of COVID-19 on their businesses, financial condition, and results of operations and is supplementing CF Disclosure Guidance Topic No. 9 with guidance regarding additional disclosure considerations. It encourages companies to provide disclosures that allow investors to evaluate the current and expected impact of COVID-19 through the eyes of management and to proactively revise and update disclosures as facts and circumstances change.

These disclosures which are not legal in nature are expected to enable an investor to understand how management and the Board of Directors are analyzing the current and expected impact of COVID-19 on the company’s operations and financial condition, including liquidity and capital resources.

Assessment of the impact of COVID-19 operations, liquidity, and capital resources Companies are making a diverse range of operational adjustments in response to the effects of COVID-19.

These adjustments include a transition to telework; supply chain and distribution adjustments; and suspending or modifying certain operations to comply with health and safety guidelines to protect employees, contractors, and customers, including in connection with a transition back to the workplace.

These are adjustments that may have an effect on a company that would be material to an investment or voting decision, and affected companies should carefully consider their obligations to disclose this information to investors. Companies also are undertaking a diverse and sometimes complex range of financing activities in response to the effects of COVID-19 on their businesses and markets. These activities may involve obtaining and utilizing credit facilities, accessing public and private markets, implementing supplier finance programs, and negotiating

new or modified customer payment terms. These funding sources may include novel terms and structures. It is important that companies provide robust and transparent disclosures about how they are dealing with short- and long-term liquidity and funding risks in the current economic environment, particularly to the extent efforts present new risks or uncertainties to their businesses. While we have observed companies making some of these disclosures in their earnings releases, we encourage companies to evaluate whether any of the information, in light of its potential materiality, should also be included in MD&A.

Considerations As companies analyze their specific facts and circumstances and consider their disclosure obligations, the division encourage them to consider a broad range of questions. These include: • What are the material operational challenges that management and the Board of Directors are monitoring and evaluating? How and to what extent have you altered your operations, such as implementing health and safety policies for employees, contractors, and customers, to deal with these challenges, including challenges related to employees returning to the workplace?

How are the changes impacting or reasonably likely to impact your financial condition and short- and long-term liquidity?

• How is your overall liquidity position and outlook evolving? To the extent COVID-19 is adversely impacting your revenues, consider whether such impacts are material to your sources and uses of funds, as well as the materiality of any assumptions you make about the magnitude and duration of COVID-19’s impact on your revenues.

Are any decreases in cash flow from operations having a material impact on your liquidity position and outlook?

• Have you accessed revolving lines of credit or raised capital in the public or private markets to address your liquidity needs? Are your disclosures regarding these actions and any unused liquidity sources providing investors with a complete discussion of your financial condition and liquidity?

• Have COVID-19 related impacts affected your ability to access your

traditional funding sources on the same or reasonably similar terms as were available to you in recent periods?

Have you provided additional collateral, guarantees, or equity to obtain funding? Have there been material changes in your cost of capital? How has a change, or a potential change, to your credit rating impacted your ability to access funding? Do your financing arrangements contain terms that limit your ability to obtain additional funding? If so, is the uncertainty of additional funding reasonably likely to result in your liquidity decreasing in a way that would result in you being unable to maintain current operations?

• Are you at material risk of not meeting covenants in your credit and other agreements?

If you include metrics, such as cash burn rate or daily cash use, in your disclosures, are you providing a clear definition of the metric and explaining how management uses the metric in managing or monitoring liquidity? Are there estimates or assumptions underlying such metrics the disclosure of which is necessary for the metric not to be misleading?

• Have you reduced your capital expenditures and if so, how? Have you reduced or suspended share repurchase programs or dividend payments? Have you ceased any material business operations or disposed of a material asset or line of business? Have you materially reduced or increased your human capital resource expenditures?

Are any of these measures temporary in nature, and if so, how long do you expect to maintain them? What factors will you consider in deciding to extend or curtail these measures? What is the short- and long-term impact of these reductions on your ability to generate revenues and meet existing and future financial obligations?

• Are you able to timely service your debt and other obligations? Have you taken advantage of available payment deferrals, forbearance periods, or other concessions? What are those concessions and how long will they last? Do you foresee any liquidity challenges once those accommodations end?

• Have you altered terms with your customers, such as extended payment terms or refund periods, and if so, how have those actions materially affected your financial condition or liquidity? Did you provide concessions or modify terms of arrangements as a landlord or lender that will have a material impact? Have you modified other contractual arrangements in response to COVID-19 in such a way that the revised terms may materially impact your financial condition, liquidity, and capital resources?

• Are you relying on supplier finance programs, otherwise referred to as supply chain financing, structured trade payables, reverse factoring, or vendor financing, to manage your cash flow? Have these arrangements had a material impact on your balance sheet, statement of cash flows, or short- and long-term liquidity and if so, how? What are the material terms of the arrangements? Did you or any of your subsidiaries provide guarantees related to these programs?

Do you face a material risk if a party to the arrangement terminates it? What amounts payable at the end of the period relate to these arrangements, and what portion of these amounts has an intermediary already settled for you?

• Have you assessed the impact material events that occurred after the end of the reporting period, but before

the financial statements were issued, have had or are reasonably likely to have on your liquidity and capital resources and considered whether disclosure of subsequent events in the financial statements and known trends or uncertainties in MD&A is required?

Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) [4] The CARES Act includes financial assistance for companies in the form of loans and tax relief in the form of deferred or reduced payments and potential refunds.[6] Companies receiving federal assistance should consider the short- and long-term impact of that assistance on their financial condition, results of operations, liquidity, and capital resources, as well as the related disclosures and critical accounting estimates and assumptions.[ Questions to consider include:] How does a loan impact your financial condition, liquidity and capital resources? What are the material terms and conditions of any assistance you received, and do you anticipate being able to comply with them? Do those terms and conditions limit your ability to seek other sources of financing or affect your cost of capital? Do you reasonably expect restrictions, such as maintaining certain employment levels, to have a material impact on your revenues or income from continuing operations or to cause a material change in the relationship between costs and revenues? Once any such restrictions lapse, do you expect to change your operations in a material way?

Are you taking advantage of any recent tax relief, and if so, how does that relief impact your short- and long-term liquidity? Do you expect a material tax refund for prior periods?

Does the assistance involve new material accounting estimates or judgments that should be disclosed or materially change a prior critical accounting estimate? What accounting estimates were made, such as the probability a loan will be forgiven, and what uncertainties are involved in applying the related accounting guidance

Company’s ability to continue as a going concern Management should consider whether conditions and events, taken as a whole, raise substantial doubt about the company’s ability to meet its obligations as they become due within one year after the issuance of the financial statements.[10] Where there is substantial doubt about a company’s ability to continue as a going concern or the substantial doubt is alleviated by management’s plans, management should provide the appropriate respective disclosures in the financial statements[11] and consider the following questions regarding the MD&A disclosure: • Are there conditions and events that give rise to the substantial doubt about the company’s ability to continue as a going concern? For example, have you defaulted on outstanding obligations? Have you faced labor challenges or a work stoppage?

• What are your plans to address these challenges? Have you implemented any portion of those plans?

Tuesday 06 October 2020

BUSINESS DAY

09

STOCK MARKET ANALYSIS

NIGERIA STOCKWATCH

10

BUSINESS DAY

NIGERIA STOCKWATCH

Tuesday 06 October 2020

Tuesday 06 October 2020

BUSINESS DAY

11

NIGERIA STOCKWATCH ECONOMY IN CHARTS

Source: NBS

SEC’s regulation on crypto assets trading T rading in digital assets have become the norm globally as they provide alternative investment opportunities for the investing public.

To ensure that these assets are traded in a manner that is consistent with investor protection, the Securities and Exchange Commission recently moved to protect the interest of the public and instill market integrity and transparency.

According to SEC, the general objective of regulation is not to hinder technology or stifle innovation, but to create standards that encourage ethical practices that ultimately make for a fair and efficient market.

Section 13 of the Investment and Securities Act, 2007 conferred powers on the Commission as the apex regulator of the Nigerian capital market to regulate investments and securities business in Nigeria. In line with these powers, the SEC has adopted a threepronged objective to regulate innovation, hinged on safety, market deepening and providing solution to problems.

This will guide its strategy, its regulations and its interaction with innovators seeking legitimacy and relevance.

‘Consequently, the SEC will regulate crypto-token or crypto-coin investments when the character of the investments qualifies as securities transactions’, it said.

jurisdiction of the SEC, is placed on the issuer or sponsor of the said assets.

2.Issuers or sponsors are expected to satisfy the burden of proving that the virtual assets do not constitute securities by making an initial assessment filing. However, where the finding of the Commission is that the virtual assets are indeed securities (not structured to be exclusively offered through crowdfunding portals or other exempt methods), then the issuer or sponsor must register the digital assets.

3.The registration process for virtual assets will therefore involve a twoprong approach – an initial assessment filing to satisfy the burden of proof and a filing for registration proper, either made directly by the issuer or sponsor or where the burden of proof is not satisfied.

4.Similarly, all Digital Assets Token Offering (DATOs), Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs), Security Token ICOs and other Blockchain-based offers of digital assets within Nigeria or by Nigerian issuers or sponsors or foreign issuers targeting Nigerian investors, shall be subject to the regulation of the Commission. Existing digital assets offerings prior to the implementation of the Regulatory Guidelines will have three (3) months to either submit the initial assessment filing or documents for registration proper, as the case may be.

WHAT WILL BE REGULATED? 1.The position of the Commission is that virtual crypto assets are securities, unless proven otherwise. Thus, the burden of proving that the crypto assets proposed to be offered are not securities and therefore not under the

WHO WILL BE REGULATED? Any person, (individual or corporate) whose activities involve any aspect of Blockchain-related and virtual digital asset services, must be registered by the Commission and as such, will be subject to the regulatory guidelines.

Such services include, but are not limited to reception, transmission and execution of orders on behalf of other persons, dealers on own account, portfolio management, investment advice, custodian or nominee services.

2. Issuers or sponsors (start-ups or existing corporations) of virtual digital assets shall be guided by the Commission’s regulation. The Commission may require Foreign or non-residential issuers or sponsors to establish a branch office within Nigeria. However foreign issuers or sponsors will be recognized by the Commission where a reciprocal agreement exists between Nigeria and the country of the foreign issuer or sponsor.

3. A recognition status will also be accorded, where the country of the foreign issuer or sponsor is a member of the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO).

For these purposes, the Commission has adopted the following with respect to virtual crypto assets: “Crypto Asset” means a digital representation of value that can be digitally traded and functions as (1) a medium of exchange; and/or (2) a unit of account; and/or (3) a store of value, but does not have legal tender status in any jurisdiction. A Crypto Asset is – neither issued nor guaranteed by any jurisdiction, and fulfils the above functions only by agreement within the community of users of the Crypto Asset; and Distinguished from Fiat Currency and E-money.”

The SEC hereby categorizes the following virtual assets/instruments as follows:

12

Tuesday 06 October 2020

BUSINESS DAY

NIGERIA STOCKWATCH STOCK MARKET IN CHARTS SHARE PRICES OF ACCESS BANK (FROM JAN. TO AUG. 14TH, 2020)

SHARE PRICES OF 11 PLC (FROM MAR. 26TH TO AUG. 14TH, 2020) DATES SHARE PRICE (NGN)

26/03/2020

30/06/2020

10/07/2020

29/07/2020

07/08/2020

14/08/2020

DATES

31/01/2020

26/03/2020

29/05/2020

30/06/2020

03/07/2020

29/07/2020

07/08/2020

14/08/2020

143.50

192.00

192.60

173.40

175.00

175.00

SHARE PRICE (NGN)

9.90

6.15

7.10

6.50

6.35

6.30

6.50

6.40

SHARE PRICE (NGN)

SHARE PRICE (NGN)

250.00

12.00

200.00

10.00

192.60

192.00

175.00

173.40

150.00

175.00

9.90

8.00

143.50

6.00

100.00

7.10

6.15

6.50

6.35

6.50

6.30

6.40

4.00 50.00

2.00

0.00

0.00

SHARE PRICE (NGN) 26/03/2020

30/06/2020

10/07/2020

29/07/2020

07/08/2020

SHARE PRICE (NGN)

31/01/2020

14/08/2020

26/03/2020

29/05/2020

30/06/2020

03/07/2020

29/07/2020

07/08/2020

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14/08/2020

SHARE PRICES OF ARDOVA (FROM MAY 29TH TO AUG. 14TH, 2020)

SHARE PRICES OF AIRTEL PLC (FROM MAR. 26TH TO AUG. 14TH, 2020) DATES

26/03/2020

29/05/2020

30/06/2020

10/07/2020

29/07/2020

14/08/2020

DATES

29/05/2020

30/06/2020

10/07/2020

29/07/2020

07/08/2020

14/08/2020

SHARE PRICE (NGN)

298.90

298.90

328.70

328.20

348.00

380.00

SHARE PRICE (NGN)

14.40

11.80

11.65

13.45

12.15

12.75

SHARE PRICE (NGN)

SHARE PRICE (NGN)

400.00

16.00

380.00

350.00 300.00

298.90

250.00

328.70

298.90

14.00

348.00

328.20

14.40

13.45

12.00 11.80

10.00

200.00

12.75

12.15

11.65

8.00

150.00

6.00

100.00

4.00

50.00

2.00

0.00

0.00

SHARE PRICE (NGN) 26/03/2020

29/05/2020

30/06/2020

10/07/2020

29/07/2020

29/05/2020

31/01/2020

28/02/2020

30/03/2020

29,183.40

26,216.48

21,330.29

30/04/2020 23,021.01

30/06/2020

29/07/2020

07/08/2020

14/08/2020

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29/05/2020

SHARE PRICES OF BUA CEMENT (FROM MAR. 26TH TO AUG. 14TH, 2020)

30/06/2020

25,123.64

29/07/2020

24,479.22

07/08/2020

24,693.73

14/08/2020

25,041.89

25,199.84

DATES

26/03/2020

29/05/2020

30/06/2020

10/07/2020

29/07/2020

07/08/2020

14/08/2020

SHARE PRICE (NGN)

35.30

42.00

38.70

40.92

39.40

39.50

38.90

ALL SHARE INDEX (Units)

SHARE PRICE (NGN)

35,000.00 30,000.00

44.00

20,000.00

40.00

10,000.00

36.00

25,000.00

42.00

15,000.00

38.00

5,000.00

34.00

42.00

40.92 39.50

39.40

38.70

38.90

35.30

26/09/2020

07/08/2020

18/06/2020

29/04/2020

10/03/2020

32.00

20/01/2020

-

10/07/2020

Prepared by GOBI COMMUNICATION LTD for Enquiry please contact 08023116461

ALL SHARE INDEX DATE ALL SHARE INDEX (Units)

SHARE PRICE (NGN)

14/08/2020

30.00

SHARE PRICE (NGN) 26/03/2020

29/05/2020

30/06/2020

10/07/2020

29/07/2020

07/08/2020

14/08/2020

for Enquiry please contact 08023116461

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SHARE PRICES OF DANGOTE CEMENT (FROM JAN. TO AUG. 14TH, 2020) DATES

31/01/2020

26/03/2020

29/05/2020

30/06/2020

29/07/2020

07/08/2020

14/08/2020

SHARE PRICE (NGN)

119.90

129.70

139.00

127.00

141.80

141.80

136.00

SHARE PRICES OF DANGOTE SUGAR (FROM JAN. 10TH TO AUG. 14TH, 2020) DATES

10/01/2020

26/03/2020

29/05/2020

30/06/2020

29/07/2020

07/08/2020

14/08/2020

SHARE PRICE (NGN)

13.80

9.00

12.90

12.00

11.95

11.90

11.90

SHARE PRICE (NGN)

SHARE PRICE (NGN)

145.00

16.00

140.00

141.80

139.00

135.00 130.00

129.70

125.00 120.00

14.00

141.80 136.00

13.80

12.90

10.00 8.00

127.00

12.00

11.95

11.90

11.90

9.00

6.00

119.90

115.00

12.00

4.00

110.00

2.00

105.00

0.00

SHARE PRICE (NGN) 31/01/2020

26/03/2020

29/05/2020

30/06/2020

29/07/2020

07/08/2020

14/08/2020

SHARE PRICE (NGN) 10/01/2020

26/03/2020

29/05/2020

30/06/2020

29/07/2020

07/08/2020

14/08/2020

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Tuesday 06 October 2020

13

BUSINESS DAY

NIGERIA STOCKWATCH STOCK MARKET IN CHARTS SHARE PRICES OF FIDELITY BANK (FROM MAY 29TH TO AUG. 14TH, 2020)

SHARE PRICES OF FIDSON PLC (FROM MAY 29TH TO AUG. 14TH, 2020)

DATES

29/05/2020

30/06/2020

10/07/2020

29/07/2020

07/08/2020

14/08/2020

SHARE PRICE (NGN)

1.88

1.25

1.75

1.71

1.80

1.80

DATES

29/05/2020

30/06/2020

03/07/2020

10/07/2020

29/07/2020

07/08/2020

14/08/2020

SHARE PRICE (NGN)

3.40

2.98

3.00

2.85

3.15

3.42

3.70

SHARE PRICE (NGN)

SHARE PRICE (NGN)

2.00 1.80

4.00

1.88

1.75

1.60

1.80

1.71

1.80

3.50 3.40

3.00

1.40 1.20

2.50

1.25

1.00

2.85

2.00

0.80

1.50

0.60

1.00

0.40

0.50

0.20

0.00

0.00 29/05/2020

30/06/2020

SHARE PRICE (NGN)

10/07/2020

29/07/2020

07/08/2020

29/05/2020

14/08/2020

30/06/2020

SHARE PRICE (NGN)

03/07/2020

10/07/2020

29/07/2020

07/08/2020

14/08/2020

Prepared by GOBI COMMUNICATION LTD for Enquiry please contact 08023116461

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SHARE PRICES OF GUINESS (FROM JAN. 10TH TO AUG. 14TH, 2020)

SHARE PRICES OF GLAXO (FROM JUN. 30TH TO AUG. 14TH, 2020) DATES

30/06/2020

03/07/2020

10/07/2020

29/07/2020

07/08/2020

14/08/2020

SHARE PRICE (NGN)

5.50

4.95

4.80

4.90

5.25

5.20

DATES

10/01/2020

26/03/2020

29/05/2020

30/06/2020

29/07/2020

07/08/2020

14/08/2020

SHARE PRICE (NGN)

43.81

25.10

20.00

14.50

13.00

14.10

15.50

SHARE PRICE (NGN)

SHARE PRICE (NGN)

50.00

5.60

45.00

43.81

40.00

5.50

5.40

35.00

5.20

5.25

30.00

5.20

5.00

25.00

4.95

4.80

25.10

20.00

4.90

4.80

4.60

20.00

15.00

14.50

10.00

4.40 03/07/2020

10/07/2020

0.00

29/07/2020

07/08/2020

SHARE PRICE (NGN)

14/08/2020 10/01/2020

Prepared by GOBI COMMUNICATION LTD for Enquiry please contact 08023116461

26/03/2020

29/05/2020

30/06/2020

26/03/2020

SHARE PRICE (NGN)

15.25

9.30

29/05/2020

30/06/2020

11.55

29/07/2020

10.00

14/08/2020

11.75

11.75

DATE

31/01/2020

28/02/2020

30/03/2020

30/04/2020

29/05/2020

30/06/2020

29/07/2020

07/08/2020

14/08/2020

MARKET CAP. (₦' TRN)

14.86

13.66

11.12

11.99

13.69

12.70

12.88

13.06

13.15

SHARE PRICE (NGN) 18.00

MARKET CAP. (₦' TRN)

16.00

16.00

14.00

15.25

14.00

12.00

12.00 11.75

11.55

10.00

10.00

11.75

10.00

9.30

8.00

11.75

14/08/2020

MARKET CAPITALISATION (₦' TRN)

07/08/2020

11.75

07/08/2020

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SHARE PRICES OF LAFARGE (FROM JAN. TO AUG. 14TH, 2020) 31/01/2020

29/07/2020

Prepared by GOBI COMMUNICATION LTD for Enquiry please contact 08023116461

godfreyobioma@gmail.com

DATES

15.50

14.10

13.00

5.00

SHARE PRICE (NGN) 30/06/2020

8.00 6.00

6.00

29/05/2020

30/06/2020

29/07/2020

07/08/2020

14/08/2020

Prepared by GOBI COMMUNICATION LTD for Enquiry please contact 08023116461

Prepared by GOBI COMMUNICATION LTD for Enquiry please contact 08023116461

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SHARE PRICES OF MTN (FROM JAN. TO AUG. 14TH, 2020)

SHARE PRICES OF MAY & BAKER (FROM JAN. TO AUG. 14TH, 2020) DATES

29/05/2020

SHARE PRICE (NGN)

3.39

30/06/2020 2.87

03/07/2020

10/07/2020

2.78

2.78

29/07/2020 3.00

07/08/2020 3.05

26/09/2020

26/03/2020

07/08/2020

31/01/2020

18/06/2020

0.00

SHARE PRICE (NGN)

29/04/2020

-

10/03/2020

2.00

2.00

20/01/2020

4.00

4.00

14/08/2020

DATES

31/01/2020

26/03/2020

29/05/2020

30/06/2020

03/07/2020

29/07/2020

07/08/2020

14/08/2020

3.03

SHARE PRICE (NGN)

119.60

100.00

116.00

117.50

116.50

117.90

118.50

119.00

SHARE PRICE (NGN)

SHARE PRICE (NGN) 125.00

4.00 3.50 3.00

3.70

3.42

3.15

3.00

2.98

120.00

3.39 2.87

2.50

2.78

3.00

2.78

3.05

3.03

119.60

115.00

116.00

117.50

116.50

117.90

118.50

119.00

110.00

2.00

105.00

1.50

100.00

1.00

100.00

95.00

0.50 0.00

90.00

SHARE PRICE (NGN) 29/05/2020

30/06/2020

03/07/2020

10/07/2020

29/07/2020

07/08/2020

14/08/2020

SHARE PRICE (NGN) 31/01/2020

26/03/2020

29/05/2020

30/06/2020

03/07/2020

29/07/2020

07/08/2020

14/08/2020

Prepared by GOBI COMMUNICATION LTD for Enquiry please contact 08023116461

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14

Tuesday 06 October 2020

BUSINESS DAY

NIGERIA STOCKWATCH STOCK MARKET IN CHARTS SHARE PRICES OF NASCON (FROM JAN. TO AUG. 14TH, 2020)

SHARE PRICES OF NEIMETH (FROM JAN. TO AUG. 14TH, 2020)

DATES

31/01/2020

26/03/2020

29/05/2020

30/06/2020

29/07/2020

07/08/2020

14/08/2020

SHARE PRICE (NGN)

15.00

8.50

11.10

10.50

9.60

10.00

10.00

DATES

29/05/2020

30/06/2020

03/07/2020

10/07/2020

29/07/2020

07/08/2020

14/08/2020

SHARE PRICE (NGN)

1.13

1.65

1.50

1.39

1.50

1.82

1.78

SHARE PRICE (NGN)

SHARE PRICE (NGN)

16.00

2.00 1.80

15.00

14.00

1.82

1.60

12.00

1.65

1.40 11.10

10.00 8.00

10.50

10.00

9.60

1.50

1.39

1.20

10.00

1.00

8.50

1.13

0.80

6.00

0.60

4.00

0.40 0.20

2.00

0.00

0.00

SHARE PRICE (NGN)

SHARE PRICE (NGN)

31/01/2020

26/03/2020

29/05/2020

30/06/2020

29/07/2020

07/08/2020

29/05/2020

14/08/2020

30/06/2020

03/07/2020

10/07/2020

29/07/2020

SHARE PRICES OF OANDO (FROM MAR. 26TH TO AUG. 14TH, 2020)

SHARE PRICES OF NIG. BREWERIES (FROM MAR. 26TH TO AUG. 14TH, 2020) 26/03/2020

SHARE PRICE (NGN)

29/05/2020

26.80

30/06/2020

45.50

29/07/2020

36.10

07/08/2020

31.00

14/08/2020

DATES

26/03/2020

29/05/2020

30/06/2020

10/07/2020

29/07/2020

07/08/2020

14/08/2020

36.00

SHARE PRICE (NGN)

2.15

2.80

2.30

2.25

2.30

2.35

2.48

32.00

SHARE PRICE (NGN)

SHARE PRICE (NGN) 3.00

50.00 45.00 35.00

36.10

30.00

2.00

36.00 32.00

31.00

25.00

2.30

2.15

2.48

2.35

2.30

2.25

1.50

26.80

20.00

2.80

2.50

45.50

40.00

1.00

15.00 10.00

0.50

5.00

0.00

0.00

SHARE PRICE (NGN)

SHARE PRICE (NGN) 26/03/2020

29/05/2020

30/06/2020

29/07/2020

07/08/2020

26/03/2020

14/08/2020

10/07/2020

29/07/2020

07/08/2020

14/08/2020

godfreyobioma@gmail.com

godfreyobioma@gmail.com

31/01/2020

26/03/2020

29/05/2020

29/07/2020

07/08/2020

14/08/2020

SHARE PRICE (NGN)

30.25

24.50

35.80

30.00

33.00

33.90

SHARE PRICE (NGN) 40.00

SHARE PRICES OF TOTAL PLC (FROM MAR. 26TH TO AUG. 14TH, 2020) DATES SHARE PRICE (NGN)

26/03/2020

30/06/2020

96.30

10/07/2020

97.50

29/07/2020

97.50

07/08/2020

67.80

14/08/2020

79.10

80.00

SHARE PRICE (NGN)

35.80

33.90

33.00

30.00

30/06/2020

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SHARE PRICES OF STANBIC IBTC (FROM JAN. TO AUG. 14TH, 2020)

35.00

29/05/2020

Prepared by GOBI COMMUNICATION LTD for Enquiry please contact 08023116461

DATES

30.25

120.00

30.00

100.00

25.00 24.50

97.50

96.30

80.00

20.00

97.50 80.00

79.10

60.00

15.00

67.80

40.00

10.00

20.00

5.00

-

0.00

SHARE PRICE (NGN)

SHARE PRICE (NGN) 31/01/2020

26/03/2020

29/05/2020

29/07/2020

07/08/2020

14/08/2020

26/03/2020

30/06/2020

10/07/2020

29/07/2020

07/08/2020

14/08/2020

Prepared by GOBI COMMUNICATION LTD for Enquiry please contact 08023116461

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SHARE PRICES OF UBA PLC (FROM JAN. TO AUG. 14TH, 2020)

SHARE PRICES OF ZENITH BANK PLC (FROM JAN. 10TH TO AUG. 14TH, 2020)

DATES

31/01/2020

31/03/2020

29/05/2020

30/06/2020

03/07/2020

29/07/2020

07/08/2020

14/08/2020

SHARE PRICE (NGN)

8.00

5.15

6.69

6.25

6.05

6.20

6.50

6.40

SHARE PRICE (NGN)

DATES

10/01/2020

26/03/2020

29/05/2020

30/06/2020

03/07/2020

29/07/2020

07/08/2020

14/08/2020

SHARE PRICE (NGN)

20.45

12.10

16.90

16.10

15.25

16.30

16.90

16.70

SHARE PRICE (NGN)

9.00

7.00

14/08/2020

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DATES

07/08/2020

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8.00

1.78

1.50

25.00

8.00 6.69

6.00 5.00

5.15

4.00

6.25

6.05

6.20

6.50

6.40

20.00

20.45

15.00

16.90

3.00

16.10

15.25

16.30

16.90

16.70

12.10

10.00 5.00

2.00 1.00

0.00

0.00

SHARE PRICE (NGN)

SHARE PRICE (NGN) 31/01/2020

31/03/2020

29/05/2020

30/06/2020

03/07/2020

29/07/2020

07/08/2020

14/08/2020

10/01/2020

26/03/2020

29/05/2020

30/06/2020

03/07/2020

29/07/2020

07/08/2020

Prepared by GOBI COMMUNICATION LTD for Enquiry please contact 08023116461

Prepared by GOBI COMMUNICATION LTD for Enquiry please contact 08023116461

godfreyobioma@gmail.com

godfreyobioma@gmail.com

14/08/2020

Tuesday 06 October 2020

BUSINESS DAY

15

NIGERIA STOCKWATCH STOCK MARKET IN CHARTS SHARE PRICES OF CADBURY (FROM JAN. TO JUNE 2020)

SHARE PRICES OF NIG. BREWERIES (FROM JAN. TO JUNE 2020)

DATES

31/01/2020

30/03/2020

29/05/2020

18/06/2020

DATES

31/01/2020

30/03/2020

29/05/2020

18/06/2020

SHARE PRICE (NGN)

6.00

5.90

6.30

6.00

SHARE PRICE (NGN)

55.00

26.80

43.50

38.00

SHARE PRICE (NGN)

6.35 6.30

50.00

6.25 6.20

40.00

6.15

30.00

6.10 6.05

20.00

6.00

Prepared by GOBI COMMUNICATION LTD for Enquiry please contact 08023116461

DATES

31/01/2020

30/03/2020

1,360.00

18/06/2020

765.00

1,094.50

08/07/2020

18/06/2020

DATES

31/01/2020

30/03/2020

29/05/2020

18/06/2020

SHARE PRICE (NGN)

280.33

544.50

476.40

429.80

SHARE PRICE (NGN)

600.00

1,400.00

500.00

1,200.00

400.00

1,000.00 800.00

300.00

600.00

200.00

400.00

08/07/2020

18/06/2020

29/05/2020

09/05/2020

19/04/2020

30/03/2020

10/03/2020

19/02/2020

30/01/2020

08/07/2020

18/06/2020

29/05/2020

09/05/2020

19/04/2020

30/03/2020

10/03/2020

19/02/2020

30/01/2020

10/01/2020

0.00

10/01/2020

100.00

200.00 -

29/05/2020

SHARE PRICES OF SEPLAT (FROM JAN. TO JUNE 2020)

SHARE PRICE (NGN)

1,600.00

09/05/2020

Prepared by GOBI COMMUNICATION LTD for Enquiry please contact 08023116461

SHARE PRICES OF NESTLE (FROM JAN. TO JUNE 2020)

SHARE PRICE (NGN)

19/04/2020

30/03/2020

10/03/2020

19/02/2020

0.00

30/01/2020

08/07/2020

18/06/2020

29/05/2020

09/05/2020

19/04/2020

30/03/2020

10/03/2020

19/02/2020

30/01/2020

10/01/2020

5.85

10/01/2020

10.00

5.95 5.90

SHARE PRICE (NGN)

60.00

Prepared by GOBI COMMUNICATION LTD for Enquiry please contact 08023116461

Prepared by GOBI COMMUNICATION LTD for Enquiry please contact 08023116461

SHARE PRICES OF GT BANK PLC (FROM JAN. TO JUNE 2020)

SHARE PRICES OF UNILEVER (FROM JAN. TO JUNE 2020)

DATES

31/01/2020

30/03/2020

29/05/2020

18/06/2020

DATES

31/01/2020

30/03/2020

29/05/2020

18/06/2020

SHARE PRICE (NGN)

30.00

18.00

33.33

23.10

SHARE PRICE (NGN)

15.00

10.50

17.00

17.00

SHARE PRICE (NGN)

35.00

18.00

30.00

16.00 14.00

25.00

12.00

20.00

10.00

8.00

15.00

6.00

10.00

Prepared by GOBI COMMUNICATION LTD for Enquiry please contact 08023116461

08/07/2020

18/06/2020

29/05/2020

09/05/2020

19/04/2020

30/03/2020

10/03/2020

19/02/2020

0.00

30/01/2020

08/07/2020

18/06/2020

29/05/2020

09/05/2020

19/04/2020

10/03/2020

19/02/2020

30/01/2020

10/01/2020

30/03/2020

Prepared by GOBI COMMUNICATION LTD for Enquiry please contact 08023116461

2.00

10/01/2020

4.00

5.00 0.00

SHARE PRICE (NGN)

20.00

16

Tuesday 06 October 2020

BUSINESS DAY

NIGERIA STOCKWATCH

SOURCE: NSE

Copyright © 2020 The Nigerian Stock Exchange. All Rights Reserved.

Equity market trading performance by YtD (08 September 2020)

Source: Vetiva Capital

leaderSHIP

BUSINESS DAY Tuesday 06 October 2020 www.businessday.ng

Schumpeter

How good a businessman is Donald Trump?

The tax revelations only provide a piece of the puzzle

“T

HE APPRENTICE makes me $3m a day. Ker-ching.

That’s the music it makes. It sure beats bricks and mortar, hey?”

So a British businessman, imitating Donald Trump’s distinctive drawl, recalls a conversation the two men had by telephone years before Mr Trump became president. It was a high point of their relationship that the Brit still savours.

Broadly speaking, Mr Trump was right. As the New York Times reported on September 27th, after trawling through almost two decades of his long-concealed tax records, the president’s 50% stake in the reality-TV show, which helped craft his image as a successful tycoon and catapult him to the White House, was the shrewdest business move of his career.

Yet the self-styled property Midas almost blew the windfall on bricks and mortar. Before becoming president Mr Trump spent much of his money on golf courses, hotels and other trophy assets that the Times says have since racked up huge tax losses.

Thanks to that red ink, it said he paid a mere $750 in federal income taxes in both 2016, the year he was elected, and his first year in office—and not a cent in ten of the previous 15 years.

In the presidential debate on September 29th Mr Trump disputed the account, saying he had paid “millions” in income taxes.

A lawyer for the Trump Organisation told the Times that “most, if not all, of the facts appear to be inaccurate” but only directly questioned the amount of tax the president reportedly paid.

In the past Mr Trump might have shrugged it all off. In 2016 he said minimising his taxes “makes me smart”. But even if the revelations hurt him politically, many businesspeople will see them in a kinder light. For them, the most intriguing question is not whether Mr Trump is a boy scout but whether he is a good businessman.

It is a hard question to answer.

Mr Trump has never released his tax returns, and his businesses are privately held. The financial disclosures he made as president last year covered more than 100 business entities, ranging from skyscrapers to books. He can inflate assessments of his own wealth by billions of dollars just in the course of a conversation. The Times scoop provides another important piece of the

jigsaw puzzle. But because it refers to tax accounts, it probably represents what Mr Trump wants the taxman to believe, rather than the full reality.

To get the measure of the business, it helps to consider the Trump Organisation, Mr Trump’s main vehicle, as a relatively modest, America-centric enterprise. Its bedrock is property. Its biggest assets are two buildings in New York and San Francisco in which Mr Trump owns a minority stake, and his two Manhattan stalwarts, 40 Wall Street and Trump Tower.

The Times says that these four have produced big profits—until the pandemic, that is. But if

Mr Trump, like other property barons, uses the wear and tear on his buildings, known as depreciation, to generate tax deductions, it is possible that they have done even better than the tax records make out.

Then there is “The Apprentice”. According to the tax records, his appearance on the show generated $200m, which is a spectacular result. He also reported $230m of additional income from the licensing and endorsement deals that came out of it, on everything from Trump-branded hotels to Oreo cookies. Beyond that are some puny international branding endeavours on buildings in other

‘‘

Ultimately, the future will depend on the durability and value of the Trump brand. “The Apprentice” showed how lucrative it could be. But whether he could get a similar television deal in America whenever he leaves power may depend on his popularity at the end, and the manner in which he leaves the White House

countries, some of which are white elephants. The tax records indicate that his biggest losses have come from golf courses, into which he has poured money over the past decade. The Times says some of the biggest ones, including two in Scotland and one in Ireland, are loss-making even before depreciation.

How solid the Trump business remains depends on four factors about which the full picture is still unclear. The first is debt. The Times reports that he has $300m in loans coming due in the next few years for which he is personally liable. It is not known whether he mortgaged these borrowings against solid assets. If he did, they are probably manageable. If not, the debt could become contagious—but it doesn’t have to. Banks will nevertheless be jumpy. In a compliance-obsessed era, few are keen to engage with politicians of any stripe—particularly one with Mr Trump’s profile.

There may be other liabilities. Mr Trump is the subject of an ongoing federal tax audit for a $73m refund he claimed a decade ago—and which he may need to return. Of immediate concern is covid-19. Many of his commercial tenants will be reeling from the pandemic. Hotels are suffering from low occupancy; high-density office buildings in New York could fall in value because of remote working; footfall

has fallen among luxury retailers who occupy his buildings at street level.

In the 18th hole?

Ultimately, the future will depend on the durability and value of the Trump brand. “The Apprentice” showed how lucrative it could be. But whether he could get a similar television deal in America whenever he leaves power may depend on his popularity at the end, and the manner in which he leaves the White House. He could look for TV opportunities abroad, where his recognition is far higher now than it ever was during “The Apprentice”. There are plenty of international media moguls who would be keen to profit from another chapter in the Trump soap opera. Or he may simply retire, handing over the keys of the kingdom to his children to manage or to liquidate.

That is unlikely. The best time to do so would have been before taking office. In a new book about the president’s business interests, “White House, Inc”, Dan Alexander, a journalist at Forbes magazine, calculates that had Mr Trump done so back then and invested the proceeds in the S&P 500 stockmarket index, by March of this year he would have been richer by $415m—twice what he earned on “The Apprentice”. To a businessman that must rankle, whether he is an astute one or not.

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