46
Tuesday 17 September 2019
BUSINESS DAY
news
FG commissions 98.8KW solar hybrid mini-grid in Kebbi State KELECHI EWUZIE
T L-R: Adekunle Awojobi, MD, FBNQuest Trustees; Oba Otudeko, group chairman, FBN Holdings plc; Omobola Johnson, senior partner, TL Com Capital LLP/former minister of communication and technology; UK Eke, GMD, FBN Holdings plc, and Seye Kosoko, chairman, FBNQuest Trustees, at the FBNQuest Trustees 40th anniversary ceremony in Lagos. Pic by Pius Okeosisi.
Nigeria’s private wealth dropped 17% in 3yrs; here is why …still among Africa’s top wealthiest countries BUNMI BAILEY
T
he safety concerns i n Nig e r i a t hat are discouraging w ealthy pe ople from staying in Africa’s most populous country, clampdown on foreign companies such as MTN, which has scared off investors, are amongst the reasons why the country’s total wealth declined by 17 percent from the year 2016 to 2018. BusinessDay findings of the wealth data from Africa Wealth report 2019, by AfrAsia Bank, a private and corporate bank in Mauritius, show that Nigeria’s total wealth steadily declined by 17 percent to $225 billion in 2018 from $270billion in 2016. A breakdown of the report shows that the country’s total
wealth reduced by 6.2 percent to $270 billion in 2016 from $253 billion in 2017 and by 11.1 percent to $225 billion in 2018 from $253 billion in 2017. Private wealth can be referred to as the wealth held by all the individuals living in each country. It includes all their assets (property, cash, equities, business interests) less any liabilities excluding government funds. The report provides a comprehensive review of the wealth sector in Africa including individuals with a wealth of $1 million or more (HNWI), luxury treads and wealth management treads in 17 countries and 201 cities across the continent According to the report, the possible reasons for the decline are the safety con-
cerns in the country, which have deterred investment and discouraged wealthy people from staying in the country, especially women safety which is an issue in the North of the country, and the outgoing migration of those HNWI who have moved abroad mostly in countries in Europe. “Furthermore the clampdown on foreign companies such as MTN which has scared off investors, loss of local currency value versus the dollar and drop in oil prices add to it. The year-end Brent crude oil price peaked at the end of 2012-it now stands at $51 as of December 2018,” the report stated. This year, Nigeria was ranked the fifth most dangerous country based on violence and terrorist attacks by
Boko Haram, according to the World Economic Forum. MTN, Africa’s largest telecoms company, over the past five years has faced potential fines of up to $15 billion in Nigeria for a range of alleged misdeeds. The latest was last year when the company was accused of owing $2 billion in taxes by Nigeria’s attorney general. Last year, Nigeria overtook India as the country with the largest number of people living in extreme poverty, thereby becoming the world capital of poverty, according to the Brookings Institute. This year, the number has risen to 91.6 million from 87 million in June 2018. Every minute, six Nigerians enter the group of extremely poor people, according to the World Poverty Clock.
Maintain credibility, remain unshaken to promote public confidence in judgments, Malami urges judges Felix Omoh-Asun, Abuja
T
he Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation (AGF ), Abubakar Malami, has called on judges to maintain credibility and remain unshaken in order to foster and promote public confidence in judgments from the courts. He said it was only through the promotion of these values that the greatest heights in the legal profession could be achieved. Malami, who spoke at the special session to mark the commencement of Federal High Court 2019/2020 legal year, Monday, called on judges to always remember in the course of their duties that “pivotal role played by the Federal High Court by virtue of section 251 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended) makes this Court unique and
distinct from other Courts of coordinate jurisdiction. “In the light of its jurisdiction as noted in the Constitution above, I humbly urge this Court as part of the judicial arm of government, to remember that it is the anchor upon which our legitimate claim to a civilized society rests and revolves,” he said. Meanwhile, the Acting chief judge of Federal High Court, Justice John Tsoho, has implored relevant stakeholders in the country to appoint more judges to the federal high court, to alleviate the work load of judges. Speaking on the occasion, Monday, Tsoho said federal high court judges were overburdened with workload in the out gone legal year, adding that more judges needed to be appointed to ease their work schedule. Reviewing the just ended legal year, Tsoho said 116,623 cases were pending at the www.businessday.ng
high court, 16,144 filed in a quarter, while 12,692 were disposed off. “It is pertinent at this juncture to highlight the stature of litigation before this court in the last legal year. From reports received, about 116,623 cases are pending in the federal high court. 16,144 cases were filed in this quarter alone in which 12,694 have been disposed off. It is obvious that judges were overburdened with work in the last legal year. We therefore need to engage more judicial officers to help out. “However, it does appear that there was no provision for appointment of judges in the current budget. I will make efforts to discuss with relevant stakeholders to see to the possibility of facilitating the recruitment of more judicial officers in the course of the year,” he said. Tsoho said that training of judges and staff of the
judiciary to enhance professionalism was of paramount interest to the judicial authorities. He said the judiciar y would work with the legislature and the executive to entrench constitutionalism in the federal judiciary. He disclosed that the federal high court now has amended federal high court (civil procedure) rules 2019 which came into force on the 10th day of May, 2019. “The new rules contain certain innovations to meet with the dynamism in law and to bring the court at par with other courts in the developed world. Some of these include affidavit of non-multiplicity of actions (Order 3 Rule 9(2)(d); a reinforced interpretation of the Territorial Jurisdiction of the Federal High Court, such that no leave is required for service of process anywhere within the federation (Order 5 Rule 31).”
https://www.facebook.com/businessdayng
he Federal Governm e nt o f Nig e r i a, through its Implementing Agency -Rural Electrification Agency (REA) will today (Tuesday) commission a 98.8KW solar hybrid mini grid power plant at Kare-Dadin Kowa, in Kebbi State. Kare-Dadin Kowa is a small riverine community in Argungun local government area of Kebbi State, with a total population of about 3,180 people, whose major vocations are agriculture and fishing. The project is part of government’s commitment to provide equitable electricity access to unserved and underserved communities across Nigeria thereby increasing electricity access to particularly hard to reach areas. Following the installation of the 98.8KW solar hybrid mini grid power plant, 483 residential buildings, 82 commercial buildings and over 3,000 inhabitants of Kare-Dadin Kowa will be connected to receive constant electricity henceforth. A total of 565 high grid solar panels have been installed to power homes, businesses, places of worship, schools, and health centres. Sanusi Ohiare, executive director, Rural Electrification
Fund (REF) says that KareDadin Kowa community is the second of twelve communities earmarked to benefit from REF grants. Ohiare while speaking on the project’s implementation said the community was selected since they attained legal, regulatory and procurement compliance and no objection from the Federal Government. “In line with REF’s Public -Private Partnership (PPP) model, the project as executed by Nayo Tropical Technology Limited is constructed in line with international standards and best practice,” Ohiare, said. The Nigerian Rural Electrification Agency (REA) is the Implementing Agency of the Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN) tasked with electrification of unserved and underserved communities. The Rural Electrification Fund (REF) provides equitable access to electricity across Nigeria to maximise the economic, social and environmental benefits of rural electrification grants, to promote off-grid electrification, and to stimulate innovative approaches to rural electrification. REF projects are administered using the PPP model. The first call of the REF will energize 12 communities and deploy 19,000 Solar Home Systems (SHS).
Fast Credit targets 36m unbanked Nigerians through microloans …partners PFS for accounts reconciliation solution Endurance Okafor
F
ast Credit Limited, a financing house focused on providing fast and needoriented, payroll-based consumer loans has said it is rolling out products that will not only provide credits to low-income earners, but will also include them in the financial net. Established in August 2014, Fast Credit is into the business of financing personal, business and emergency loans with more of its portfolio in the public sector. According to Idechi Amucheazi, Group Head, Fintech & Innovation at Fast Credit, the company is designing products that will encapsulate the needs of the specific sector of the society, all in line with the financial inclusion agenda of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). “Yes we have something we are currently working on for the unbanked informal sector and within the next few weeks we’ll be launching it,” Amucheazi told BusinessDay during a recent press briefing at Fast Credit headquarters in Lagos. In his remarks, he added that it was important that Fast Credit knew what the financially excluded Nige@Businessdayng
rians were into and how they do it in order to design suitable products to meet their needs. “All of it will fit into our own process and we want something that will be technology-driven in order to avoid the traditional way of reaching out to them.” The national financing house licenced by the CBN will be targeting about 36.6 million Nigerian adults, representing 36.8percent of the Nigerian adult population, who do not have access to formal financial services. “Fast Credit is into the micro-lending market because there are huge untapped opportunities in the market. We provide value-based lending to this bottom of the pyramid that may not have access to credit from the traditional banking system in line with the financial inclusion policy of the CBN,” Emeka Iloelunanchi, Chief Operating Officer, Fast Credit, said. The lender is different from some conventional credit-financing institutions because while some commercial banks require a customer to have a bank account with them before they can access loans, Fast Credit does not care if a customer has an account with them or not before giving such a person a loan.