BusinessDay 20 Jul 2018

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news you can trust I **FRIDAY 20 JULY 2018 I vol. 15, no 100 I N300

Sell

$-N 357.00 360.00 £-N 475.00 483.00 €-N 412.00 420.00

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FMDQ Close Foreign Exchange Market Spot $/N I&E FX Window 361.91 CBN Official Rate 305.85

Treasury Bills 3M 0.83 11.30

6M 0.22 12.28

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Wike, Dankwanbo, Aregbesola, others win

CYNTHIA IKWUETOGHU & MICHEAL ANI

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igeria’s benchmark stock index fell for a fourth day yesterday, dropping 0.8 percent to the lowest since Oct. 27. Nestle Nigeria contributed the most inContinues on page 46

20 Years

0.00% 14.05%

-0.07% 14.16%

Apapa: Economy bleeds as trailers’ siege on Lagos persists …Ambode sets up joint security task force for truck removal

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ne again, the Nigerian economy is bleeding following the return and persistence of a gripping siege by trailers and tankers on Lagos, the country’s commercial nerve centre, shutting down economic activities in the sprawling city and inflicting pain on its residents.

The seeming collapse of the Continues on page 46

Continues on page 46

…Nestle tumbles 5.6%

10 Years

CHUKA UROKO & JOSHUA BASSEY

raditional rulers from across the length and breadth of Nigeria on Thursday were among dignitaries that graced the BusinessDay 2018 State Competitiveness and Good Governance Awards.

They include the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi; the Emir of Katagun, Umar Kabir and the Emir of Misau, Ahmed Su-

Nigerian stocks hit 8-month low as sell-off accelerates

5 Years

0.00% 13.75%

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Glamour as Ooni, others grace 2018 Governors Awards TONY AILEMEN, KEHINDE AKINTOLA, OWEDE AGBAJILEKE & JAMES KWEN

fgn bonds

Inside

L-R: Mohammed Abdullahi, governor Bauchi State, Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi, Oni of Ife, Ibrahim Hassan Dankwambo, governor Gombe State and Frank Aigbogun, publisher/CEO BusinessDay Media Limited at the States Competitiveness and Good Governance award in Abuja. picture by TUNDE ADENIYI.

Senate in rowdy session over Buhari’s lopsided appointments

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Nigeria hoteliers mull secondary markets, mid-level brands OBINNA EMELIKE

… Resort to crowd funding

oing by the difficulty in sourcing funds for the execution of new hotel projects, especially with the over 23 percent

interest rate on bank loans, Nigerian hoteliers and hospitality promoters are beginning to take their investments to secondary cities across the country.

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Aside Park Inn by Radisson in Abeokuta, Four Points by Sheraton Ikot Ekpene, Protea Hotel by Marriott, Owerri Select, Protea Hotel by Marriott Benin City

Select Emotan, Golden Tulip Jericho Ibadan, and Golden Tulip Warri Airport, many hoteliers have ongoing projects in cities such as Makurdi, Illorin, Awka, Continues on page 46

Friday 20 July 2018 2 BUSINESS DAY NEWS Egyptian investment bank acquires Senate in rowdy session over Buhari’s lopsided appointments 100% of Nigeria’s Primera Africa C002D5556

OWEDE AGBAJILEKE, Abuja

Hope Moses-Ashike

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FG Hermes, a leading financial services corporation in frontier and emerging markets (FEM), has entered into a definitive sale and purchase agreement (SPA) to acquire 100 percent of Primera Africa, a top-ranked brokerage house in Nigeria.

EFG Hermes will utilise its presence in Nigeria to serve both global and domestic investor appetite for opportunities in Africa’s largest economy. Nigeria will also serve as a hub for expansion into West Africa, as EFG Hermes’ office in Kenya now does for the other side of the continent.

Primera Africa already offers a comprehensive suite of brokerage and research services to domestic and international investors from its headquarters in Lagos, Nigeria.

Upon completion of the acquisition, Primera Africa will operate under EFG Hermes’ brand name, bringing to the Nigerian market a track-record that has spanned more than 30 years of offering best-in-class financial services, award-winning research, and a large network of investors who consistently seek compelling opportunities in high growth markets.

“Nigeria is our fourth direct entry as we continue our strategy of expanding our geographic footprint in high-potential, frontier emerging markets,” EFG Hermes Holding Group CEO Karim Awad, said. “At the close of this transaction, we will have a direct presence in 12 jurisdictions on four continents to serve our global institutional investors, regional highnet-worth individuals, and local retail investors.”

Over the past 12 months, EFG Hermes has directly entered Pakistan, Kenya and Bangladesh in ad-

dition to receiving recent regulatory approval from the FCA to operate in the United Kingdom out of its London office.

“We have been consistently focusing on ramping up our services in newly-entered markets, which resulted in the firm being ranked as the number one frontier market brokerage firm in the 2018 Extel Survey, advancing from the ninth place a year earlier.

“Most recently, the Firm also concluded its advisory to international microfinance lender ASA International (ASAI), an entity with significant African presence, on its GBP 125 million initial public offering on the London Stock Exchange (LSE),” Awad said.

“Nigeria is Africa’s largest consumer market and is consistently among the three largest economies on the continent alongside Egypt and South Africa. On the capital markets’ front, it accounted for the largest share of our brokerage executions, and revenue among all frontier markets in which we indirectly executed during 2017,” Mohamed Ebeid, co-CEO of the Investment Bank at EFG Hermes, said.

“We are entering a market that has a compelling story to tell investors. It is not just one of the largest and most economically diverse frontier markets globally; it is a growth story that has years to run after a series of structural reforms and a devaluation of the national currency.

“With oil prices now recovering, with significant portfolio inflows, and with the demonstrated ability to tap global debt markets, Nigeria will benefit from broad currency stability, we expect, remaining attractive in valuation terms at the same time,” Ali Khalpey, the London-based CEO of EFG Hermes Frontier, said.

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enate has mandated its committee on Federal Character to probe the alleged lopsided appointment of President Muhammadu Buhari.

This comes as it went into a rowdy session on Thursday, following a Point of Order raised by deputy Senate president, Ike Ekweremadu, who pointed out that the President’s appointments were skewed in favour a section of the country.

Trouble started after Senate president, Bukola Saraki, who presided over the session, read a letter from Buhari on the confirmation of appointment of a former deputy governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Tunde Lemo, as chairman, Federal Emergency Road Maintenance Agency (FERMA).

Other appointments in the agency include: Nurudeen Rafindadi (managing director), Buba Silas Abdullahi (executive director), Babangana Aji (executive director), Shehu Abdullahi (executive director), Loretta Aniagolu (executive director), Mujaidu Dako (executive director), and Vincent

Kolawale (executive director). No sooner had Saraki read the letter than Ekweremadu raised a Point of Order calling for a review of the President’s appointment.

Specifically, he said the appointments contravened Section 14 (3) of the 1999 Constitution which provides that: “The composition of the Government of the Federation or any of its agencies and the conduct of its affairs shall be carried out in such a manner as to reflect the federal character of Nigeria and the need to promote national unity, and also to command national loyalty, thereby ensuring that there shall be no predominance of persons from a few State or from a few ethnic or other sectional groups in that Government or in any of its agencies.”

The lawmaker listed federal agencies where federal character had been violated by the President in his appointment to include: FERMA, Nigerian Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC), Assets Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON), Federal Civil Service Commission.

He said: “I don’t have problem with any part of Nigeria but I have problem with the way government

is directing its appointments. Over the last two three weeks, we have had cause to either discuss this FERMA that has been announced today or the NDIC or AMCON or FCSC. The head of all these federal parastatals have come from one particular part of Nigeria. This is completely unfair.

We can’t sit in this senate and allow that to go. So, I believe, we need to take it back to the Federal Government to ensure that every part of Nigeria is represented. This is completely unacceptable to me.”

In his contribution, Senate leader, Ahmad Lawan, said it was hasty for the deputy Senate president to come to such conclusion when all the President’s appointments had not been examined. He accused Ekweremadu for looking at the issue from a narrow perspective.

He said: “Whenever government sends in any request for confirmation of appointment, government does its home work very well. What the DSP raised is not a complete picture. He has restricted his conclusion to very few. If you go to the larger picture, that issue is not supposed to be raised in the first place.

Continues on wwwbusinessday online.com

Continues on wwwbusinessday online.com

FMDQ admits Dangote Cement’s N50bn Commercial Paper on its platform DIPO OLADEHINDE

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he Dangote Group, one of the largest indigenous industrial conglomerates in Sub-Saharan Africa, through its subsidiary, Dangote Cement PLC, Africa’s largest cement producer, successfully raised from the Nigerian Commercial Paper (CP) market, N50.00 billion worth of CP notes.

With due diligence provided by its Board Listings, Markets and Technology Committee, FMDQ OTC Securities Exchange (“FMDQ” or “the OTC Exchange”) admitted on its platform, the largest CP issuance by a nonfinancial institution - the Dangote Cement PLC N50.00 billion Series 1 & 2 CP Notes under its N150.00 billion Domestic CP Issuance Programme.

Following the resuscitation of the Nigerian CP market by FMDQ in 2014, transparency, price discovery, liquidity, efficient quotation processes, amongst others, have been established in the market, paving the way for issuers and investors to effectively and sustainably meet their funding needs, as well as contribute to the development of the nation’s debt markets.

To commemorate the feat, a ceremony was held at the offices of the OTC Exchange on Thursday, July 19, 2018. Present at the well-organised Ceremony were the Group Chief Ex-

ecutive Officer, Dangote Cement PLC, Joseph Makoju, Group Chief Financial Officer, Dangote Cement PLC, Brian Egan, along with other key representatives from Dangote Cement PLC. Also present at the Ceremony were the Chief Executive Officer, Stanbic IBTC Bank PLC, Demola Sogunle, Chief Executive Officer, Stanbic IBTC Capital Limited, Funso Akere with other key representatives from Stanbic IBTC Capital Limited, the sponsor of the issue and Registration Member (Quotations) of FMDQ and other representatives from Banwo & Ighodalo, Deloitte and Touche, amongst others.

Welcoming the guests to the Ceremony, Tumi Sekoni, Directorate Head, Capital Markets, FMDQ, commended the issuer and sponsor of the issue for achieving this milestone, noting that their decision to raise funds from the debt markets was testament to the restoration of confidence in the Nigerian CP market, which had been marked by an extended period of dearth of activity, significantly weakened issuer interest and diminished investor confidence.

She further commented that the issuance would encourage other corporates and commercial entities to effectively tap the potential burgeoning CP market to finance their short-term funding needs, thereby adding more depth and breadth of the Nigerian debt capital markets (DCM).

Continues on wwwbusinessday online.com

L-R: Kobby Bentsi-Enchill, executive director and head, debt capital markets, Stanbic IBTC Capital Limited; Bola Onadele Koko, managing director/CEO, FMDQ OTC Securities Exchange; Joseph Makoju, group managing director/ CEO, Dangote Cement plc, receiving the certificate of quotation, and Yinka Sanni, chief executive officer, Stanbic IBTC Holdings plc, at the Dangote Cement plc and FDMQ OTC Securities Quotation signing of N150bn commercial paper ceremony, in Lagos, yesterday.

Mobile ecosystem to add $150bn to Africa by 2022 …as subscriptions rise from 44% to 52% of population Jumoke Akiyode-Lawanson

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frica’s mobile Ecosystem is projected to increase enough to add up to $150 billion to the economy by 2022, the latest edition of the GSMA Mobile Economy report has revealed.

The new report forecasts that there will be 634 million unique mobile subscribers across SubSaharan Africa by 2025, increasing mobile subscription to more than half of the population. The addition of subscribers is equivalent to 52 percent of the population, a significant rise from 44 percent recorded at the end of 2017.

An addition of $150 billion to the value of Sub-Saharan Africa’s economy by 2022 is equivalent to almost 8 percent of regional GDP. “For many citizens across the region, particularly those living in rural areas, a mobile phone is not

just a communications device but also the primary channel for getting online and a vital tool for improving their lives,” says John Giusti, Chief Regulatory Officer at the GSMA. According to Giusti, “More needs to be done to extend connectivity to the remaining unconnected and underserved populations across Sub-Sahara Africa, but this will require a focus on long-term industry sustainability that can only be achieved through investmentfriendly policies and supportive regulatory frameworks.”

With countries like Nigeria being classified as a ‘Mobile First’ nation, analysts say that although Sub-Saharan Africa has been the world’s fastest-growing mobile region in recent years, subscriber growth is slowing as the industry faces of affordability and a youthful population.

Research findings reveal that the region’s current mobile penetration rate (44 percent of the population) is

significantly below the global average of 66 percent.

Further, according to the World Bank, around 40 percent of the population in the region are under the age of 16, a demographic segment that has significantly lower levels of mobile ownership than the population as a whole.

However, despite these challenges, smartphone adoption continues to increase rapidly thanks to lower device costs, which is serving to accelerate migration to 3G/4G mobile broadband networks and services.

The GSMA report predicts that mobile broadband will account for 87 percent of mobile connections in Sub-Saharan Africa by 2025, up from 38 percent in 2017.

Moreover, nearly 300 million new subscribers are expected to use their devices to access mobile internet services over the next seven years.

Continues on wwwbusinessday online.com

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BUSINESS DAY

Friday 20 July 2018

6 BUSINESS DAY NEWS

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L-R: Adetola Ehile Aibangbee – partner, Tax, KPMG Nigeira; Mukul Mathur – CEO, Olam Nigeria Limited; Peter Amangbo – CEO, Zenith Bank plc; Joseph Makoju – CEO, Dangote Cement plc; Bisi Lamikanra – partner/ head, advisory services, KPMG Nigeria and Kunle Elebute – senior partner, KPMG Nigeria/ chairman, KPMG Africa, at the 2018 KPMG CEO outlook launch and CEO roundtable discussion in Lagos.

How national carrier can impact domestic tourism, tourist arrivals OBINNA EMELIKE

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hile many reactions have followed the recent unveiling of Nigeria Air, the national carrier of the Federal RepublicofNigeria,byHadiSirika, minister of state for aviation at the Farnborough International Airshow in London, the gains seem to outweigh the fears, especially inboostingtourismdevelopment.

Currently,France,Spain,USA, UK, and even UAE, which are among top 10 international destinations across the world, rely heavily on their national carriers to grow tourists traffic into their countries.

In Africa, burgeoning destinations such as South Africa, Kenya, Egypt, Rwanda are possible because of an efficient national carrier that connect passengers seamlessly to the destinations.

Lately, Ethiopia is taking advantage of the largest connectivity of Ethiopian Airline from Africa to the world to boost its tourism, while South Africa, which is an unprofitable route to most international airlines, is 80 percent accessible through South African Airways, the national carrier.

Despite its steep location on the continent, South Africa welcomed 10.29 million foreign tourists in 2017, a figure that is up only by 2 percent over 2016. However, the feat was possible with South AfricanAirways,whichoftenailed

but bailed out by the government because the absence of a national carrier means heavy drop in tourists’ traffic and revenue from tourism and related businesses.

The intrigue is that South African Airways flew over 8 million visitors from African countries in 2017, and above that figure from her citizenswho toured withinthe country for tourism.

“Our steep location on the continent puts us on a tight corner in terms of flight competitiveness.

But because we are focused on growing tourism traffic into our country, South African Airways is there to bridge the gap and offer global tourists better deals on the route, which other airlines cannot considering the profit margin of flying on that route,” Derek Hanekom, minister of tourism, SouthAfrica,explainedinsupport of national carrier.

As well, Ethiopian destinations hosted over 918,010 tourists in 2017, representing a 5.7 percent increase over the 868,780 registered in 2016. As well, it has improved on its domestic tourism front by sustaining three flights daily across its 20 airports to domestic routes where most tourists visit.

The growing number of tourists in Ethiopia, which is better known for aviation traffic and not tourism, is as a result of more international routes opened by Ethiopian Airlines (ET), the national carrier of Ethiopia.

Europe deports 29 Nigerians for various offences IFEOMA OKEKE

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overnment of six European countries on Thursday deported 29 Nigerian men for committing various offences. Joseph Alabi, the spokesperson for Lagos Airport Police Command, confirmed the development to newsmen in Lagos.

Alabi said the Nigerians were deported from Austria, Switzerland, Belgium, Germany, Norway and Lithuania.

He said they arrived at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMlA) Lagos at about 7.35am aboard a chartered Titan Airways aircraft with Registration Number: G-POWD, saying, “This morning, we received 29 Nigerians who were brought back from Europe. They were

all males.

“28 of the deportees were alleged to have committed immigration-related offences, while one of them was allegedly involved in a police case.”

He said the deportees were received by officers of the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS), the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) and the Police.

Also on ground to receive them were officials the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) and the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA).

The deportees were profiled by immigration authorities and were allowed to depart to their various destinations.

With a view to boost tourist arrivalsinEthiopiaandincreaseET’s domesticandinternationalroutes, Addis Ababa Bole International Airport is undergoing expansion that will enable it to significantly increase its annual passenger handling capacity.

Looking Kenya, another East African tourism powerhouse, the countryhostedover1,474,671visitors in 2017 and also earned $1.2 billion, a 20 percent growth from $989 million the previous year despite a prolonged and tense electioneering period.

However, Najib Balala, the country’s minister of tourism, commended Kenya Airways, the national carrier for the feat, especially opening route in the US,itsleadingmarketwith114,507 arrivals, about 17 percent growth.

Rwanda, a surprise on the continent, is pushing to become the conference hub of not only East Africa but the entire continent with the strengthening of RwandAir,whichbesidesitsKigali main hub has created a hub for the West African market in Benin Republic, after Ethiopian Airline’s hub in Lome, Togo.

Britishvisitorsgrew21percent in 2017 to “over 16,000,” of a total 1.2 million tourist arrivals.

Since launching more routes, among which is a thrice-weekly directflightlastyearbetweenLondonGatwickandKigali,RwandAir has flown over 16,000 British visitors and welcomed 1.2 million

global visitors in 2017 to several conferences and to its tourism attractions,especiallycapital,asone of the reasons behind the growth.

The country is best-known for its 480-strong mountain gorilla population, for which people travel from all over the world to see, paying £1,300 for a permit to enter the Volcanoes National Park with a guide to track down the roaming animals.

“We sell 96 gorilla permits a day, each gorilla permit costs $1,500,thatmeanswemakemore than $50 million a year,” Clare Akamanzi, chief executive of the RwandaDevelopmentFund,said.

With a national carrier in place, which is expected to be private sector driven and just 5 percent government equity, tourism stakeholders across the country think that Nigeria can attract more tourists who will be lured by the competitiveness and seamless travel on Nigeria Air. “We hardly host up to five million tourists a year, and 10 percent of our population about 18 million can travel within if there are cheaper flights,” Magnus Idimi, a tourism consultant said.

Theyalsoinsistedthatdomestic travel would be greatly boosted by the domestic services of the national carrier to hinterland and destinations most operating domestic airlines dare not fly to for reasons of unprofitability and safety.

Ecobank Nigeria appoints Patrick Akinwuntan MD designate HOPE MOSES

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oard of directors of Ecobank Nigeria Limited on Thursday appointed Patrick Akinwuntan as the managing director designate of Ecobank Nigeria, subject to the approval of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

Prior to the appointment, Patrick was the group executive, consumer banking, responsible for leading the consumer banking business across Ecobank’s global network of 40 countries, 36 of which are in Africa.

As a seasoned banker with over 20 years of senior and executive management experience, Patrick has held several strategic positions for the Ecobank group in Ghana, Togo, and Nigeria. He had previously been a Group Executive Director on the board of ETI and earlier, Executive Director in Ecobank Nigeria.

Patrick started his career with Ecobank in 1996 as head of

Commercial Bank and Regional Head in Ecobank Nigeria and since then he has held various senior and executive positions in Nigeria and within the Ecobank Group, including Executive Director, Retail Bank, Ecobank Nigeria, Group Chief Finance Officer, ETI, Group Executive Director, Operations and Technology, among others.

John Aboh, chairman of the Board of Ecobank Nigeria, has congratulated Patrick on his new appointment, saying, “We warmly welcome Patrick back to Ecobank Nigeria and look forward to providing him with full support from the Board.”

Friday 20 July 2018

‘Nigeria can earn N18trn from industrial starch annually’ IDRIS UMAR MOMOH, Benin City

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ational president of Nigeria Cassava Growers Association (NCGC), Segun Adewumi, says the country has the economic potentials of generating about N18 trillion annually from industrial starch.

Adewumi made the remark at the end of a day training of 300 cassava farmers on farm mechanisation and good agricultural practices organised by the Edo State chapter of the association in conjunction with Dizengoff Nigeria Limited in Benin City.

The NCGA boss, who noted that the price of industrial starch was about N350,000 per ton, said if 5 million of the 84 million hectares of arable land in Nigeria were devoted to cassava cultivation, Nigeria could earn double of what it was making from oil from cassava project.

He said by analysis, 5 million hectares at 40 metric ton per hectare would yield 200 million metric tons, while 200 metric tons of fresh cassava would yield 50 million metric tons of starch.

He said industrial items imported into the country yearly, which could be derived from cassava worth over N3 trillion, and pointed out that if 20 percent cassava flour inclusion in bread was implemented it would reduce the import bill on white wheat by N200 billion annually.

He listed the five major cassava industrial derivatives to include ethanol, industrial starch, glucose syrup, cassava

flour and sweetener.

According to Adewumi, the products are raw materials to numerous utility industrial items with limitless domestic and export market potentials that can also trigger off massive industrial revolution in the state and the entire country.

He observed that the beauty of the project was the limitless market opportunities for the various cassava derivatives across the world.

Earlier, the state chairman of NCGA, Donatus Imaghodor, said the training was aimed at helping the cassava farmers to know how to increase and improve their crop yields by using right methods techniques that would help them make more money from the same size of farmland with less labour.

Imaghodor said it would also make farming more attractive to the youths and young graduates, as it would afford them the opportunities to be tractor operators, weeds managers, extension officers, fabricators, technicians, transporters, products brander and marketers, sales representatives, among others.

He also added that it would assist the farmers to contribute majorly to the state Gross Domestic Products (GDP) and food basket of the nation.

He however called on the state governor to provide tractors, farm implements and inputs at the various local government councils to enable farm mechanisation easier and possible.

We will work with Senate to ensure quick passage of AMCON Amendment Bill – Reps

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arely one week after the Senate Committee on Banking, Insurance and other Financial Institutions called on President Muhammadu Buhari to issue an Executive Order on seizure of assets of persons indebted to Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON), the chairman of House of Representatives Committee on Banking and Currency, Jones Chukwudi Onyereri says in Kano State that the House would work with the Senate for a quick passage of the AMCON amendment Bill, which will ensure the Corporation gets all needed support from the National Assembly to meet its mandate.

Onyereri, who was addressing his colleagues in Kano at the opening of a three-day retreat, said given the sunset date of AMCON, which he stated was created by the government not to operate in perpetuity, the National Assembly, the executive and the judiciary must ensure that the recovery agency of government meets its obligation within the expected and acceptable timeframe.

He said, “Earlier this year, we had a public hearing and a technical session on the AMCON amendment Bill.

The Report on the Bill is out and will soon be presented before the House.

“This shows our commitment in ensuring that AMCON gets all the support it can get from the National Assembly in carrying out its mandate. This Bill is very important and we promise

to work with the Senate in ensuring a quick passage of the Bill. As we are all aware, AMCON was not created to exist in perpetuity.

“There is a sunset date for AMCON and it is expected to have achieved its mandate before the sunset date. Therefore, and more importantly, we are here to interact with AMCON to see how we can further help in making sure that AMCON achieves this mandate for the common good of the country.”

According to Onyereri, the lawmakers are happy that AMCON as an interventionist institution of the Federal Government, especially under its present management, has performed above board, but are worried that the Corporation is often constrained by institutional and legal stumbling blocks that have continued to hinder them from achieving optimum results especially since public funds were used to buy these loans that helped prevent the EFIs from going under.

As a matter of public urgency, he stated that AMCON needs to recover these monies, just as there is need to sensitize the courts on the need for speedy resolution of AMCON cases.

In his remark, Ahmed Kuru, managing director/ CEO of AMCON, who did not hide the fact that AMCON needs support, informed members of the House Committee that obligors of the Corporation were getting bolder by the day and employing all kinds of tricks to tie AMCON up in court.

Friday 20 July 2018

BUSINESS DAY

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Friday 20 July 2018

NEWS

In new bill, NEXM Bank pushes for enhanced credit access to SMEs CHUKA UROKO

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n a proposed bill before the National Assembly, Nigeria’s Export-Import Bank (NEXIM)ispushingvigorouslyfora platform that allows increased accesstofinancetosmallbusinesses (SMEs) and as well help Nigeria play more in both intra-Africa and international trade arena.

The new law, Factoring (Assignment and Receivables) bill, 2017, seeks to provide and promote a non-bank financing involving the purchase of receivables, which essentially converts conversion credit sales to cash at a discount.

Abba Bello, NEXIM Bank managing director, said as an Export Credit Agency and a trade facilitating institution, the Nigerian Export-Import Bank was concerned that the poor access to financewashinderingbusinesses, meaning that a larger proportion of trade in the non-oil exports sector took place in the informal sector and were therefore not captured in government statistics.

Thebankisfurtherconcerned about the high level of such informal trade in Nigeria and Africa, with informal non-oil exports recently estimated at a minimum of $12 billionannuallyinthe country asagainstrecordednon-oilexport trade averaging about $3 billion annually in recent times.

While this challenge is a reflection of the large informal economy, estimated at 41.43

percent of Nigeria’s GDP in 2015 bytheNigerianBureauofStatistics (NBS), it is also symptomatic of the dearth/poor access to export credit, particularly among SMEs, who are the principal players in cross-border trade, he said.

Empirical data released by the Central Bank of Nigeria indicate that less than 1% of the total loans and advances disbursed annually are allocated to the non-oil export sector over the years.

Against this background, NEXIM, according to Bello, saw the need to partner trade facilitating institutions like Afreximbank and FCI, and other stakeholders, under the auspices of the CBN Financial System Strategy 2020, to develop and promote Factoring as an alternative trade finance instrument and a SME financial inclusion strategy.

Factoring therefore is a form of structured trade finance, whereby a trader sells its accounts receivable (i.e. invoices) to a third party (called a Factor) at a discount, in exchange for immediate cash with, which to finance continued operations would help resolve most of the poor financing issues.

“This will be one of the financing options that will mitigate the tradition challenges of SMEs in meeting the eligibility criteria for accessing credit from the traditional banking institutions,” the managing director said, speaking at the Nigerian Factoring Roundtable held in Abuja.

The Factoring Bill is being championed by chairmen of Senate Committee and the House of Representatives Committee on Banking, Rafiu Ibrahim, and Jones Onyereri, respectively.

The draft bill was first produced by the Nigerian Factoring working Group since October 2016, and has already passed through the first and second readings at the National Assembly and indeed the public hearing, which was held two days ago.

As contained in a National Assembly document cited by BusinessDay, Factoring involves the purchase by a financial institution, called a Factor of receivables, that are invoices, due to suppliersexporters by customers, with the factor providing their client with fast access to at an agreed percentage of the face value of the receivables and the assumption of full credit and factored debt collection responsibilities.

Joseph Nnanna, deputy governor, CBN, who also doubles as the NEXIM Bank chairman, said the Bill was a significant collaborative effort that started over three years ago between NEXIM and some key players in the public/private sector, under the auspices of the CBN Financial System Strategy 2020, who saw the need to develop an alternative trade financing instrument to promote financial inclusion and boost access to funding by the SMEs.

Fight against human trafficking: Edo’s initiatives attract Diaspora ambassador

Reps probe $50bn revenue loss on unprocessed gold

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ouse of Representatives on Thursday resolved to investigate allegations bothering on loss of over $50 billion revenue accrued from exportation of unprocessed gold over the past two years as a result of illegal mining.

The resolution was passed sequel to the adoption of a motion sponsored by Johnson Agbonayinma, who cited the reports from the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI), which indicated that in 2014 and 2015, Nigeria lost about $9 billion to illegal mining operations and gold exportation.

In his lead debate, Agbonayinma, who quoted from 2016 reports credited to Signal One International (SOI), a privately owned United States Company, observed that if the deposits of minerals have been well harnessed by Nigerian government, they would contribute more to the national economy than oil.

He noted that the current average price of $1,200 per ounce of gold in the international market, which amounts to an unaccounted sum of $4,232,400 per day and $1,544,826,000 per annum, considering that one kilogram is equal to 35.27 ounces, going by international rates.

In his contribution, Aminu Shehu Shagari stated that when the former Minister was before the House he unfortunately showed sympathy for illegal miners to the dismay of members.

fforts by the Edo State governor, Godwin Obaseki, to rehabilitate and reintegrate victims of human trafficking and irregular migration have attracted support from indigenes of the state in the Diaspora, who are now committed to advancing the governor’s campaign and supporting the reintegration of returnees.

Recall that Governor Obaseki few weeks ago was in Brussels, Belgium, to seek the European Parliament’s partnership in building structures for robust Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) and other forms of support from the European Union so as to strengthen the state government’s programme in rehabilitating and reintegrating the returnees, and up skill other youths in the state.

Inspired by the governor’s sustained effort to stem the trend of human trafficking, Queen Klopper, a Germanybased indigene of the state and founder of Haven for Rehabilitation and Reintegration, a nongovernmental organisation, has thrown her weight behind the rehabilitation effort.

Speaking with journalists yesterday in Benin City, she charged Edo indigenes resident in the state and in the Diaspora to support the efforts of the government, so that she could make headway in its campaign against human trafficking.

She said she was back in the country to contribute her

own quota to the state government’s effort and has finalised arrangement to organise skills acquisition training for 10 of the returnees on July 20.

According to her, “I am based in Germany. I had a Foundation in Abuja, called Haven for Rehabilitation and Reintegration, which I started six years ago. I relocated to Germany but the fire to help others still burns in me. The Foundation has as its objectives to train youths on skills, prison visits to empower prisoners, and rural development, especially to empower rural women.”

Explaining her motivation for the training, she said, “The condition of Libya returnees is no longer news. They were put through hard labour and torture.

We heard about it on the news in Germany for days, as well as on social media. From there, I saw how Edo State governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, tried his best to rehabilitate them. They were given free accommodation, food and even monthly stipends, which is not easy.

“I thought that it would be a good idea to contribute my quota to his very impressive campaign, given the limited resources. I felt if I could train just a few of these people with my personal funds, it will go a long way in helping the state.”

She said the skills acquisition programme will last for two days and the module includes advanced bead making and aso-oke gele tying.

KEHINDE AKINTOLA, Abuja

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Africa50 meeting: Kenyatta, Adesina call for accelerated private sector investment in infrastructure …as Kenya to double shareholding investment to $100m

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resident Uhuru Kenyatta has made an urgent call for developing and funding bankable infrastructure projects to drive Africa’s growth agenda.

In his keynote address at the Africa50 General Shareholders Meeting held in Kenya’s capital, Nairobi, President Kenyatta said support for bankable projects in energy, transport, ICT, water and sanitation provide unprecedented opportunities for private sector participation.

“The private sector must step up and help us close the infrastructure gap on the African continent. Public funding is limited, and there are competing priorities,” he said.

Kenyatta announced Kenya would double its current shareholding investment in Africa50 to $100 million. “We must have the confidence to trust and invest in our own infrastructure.

Let us grow our partnership and make Africa50 a success.”

According to statistics provided by the African Development Bank (www.AfDB.org) the continent’s infrastructure funding requirements stand at close to $170 billion a year, leaving a financing gap of $$68 - $108 billion.

African Development Bank president/chairman of Africa50, Akinwumi Adesina, said, “We need to act with speed and urgency. Our people expect nothing else.”

He emphasised the importance of tackling factors that inhibit private sector infrastructure investments, including high costs of financing, weak regulations, lack of cost reflective tariffs, low profitability, and

weak regulatory frameworks for public-private partnerships.

Private sector infrastructure financing in Africa remains low, averaging $6 billion per year. In 2016, the figure dipped to $2.6 billion.

Adesina said Africa requires new models of financing infrastructure. “We must work smart to attract greater levels of investment financing for infrastructure development in Africa.

Globally, there is approximately a US$ 120 trillion pool of savings and private equity. Africa must creatively attract some of this into the continent,” he said.

In response to Africa’s infrastructure finance deficit, the African Development Bank has launched the Africa Investment Forum (AIF) set to take place in South Africa in November 2018.

The transaction-based forum is expected to be a gathering of global pension funds, sovereign wealth funds and institutional investors, and key private sector players.

Adesina commended President Kenyatta for the country’s bold commitment to and investments in infrastructure development over the last 5 years.

Infrastructure accounts for 77% of the Bank’s Kenya portfolio.

“Mr. President, you were one of the first African leaders to support the creation of Africa50, which I am honored to chair,” said Adesina. “The African Development Bank, of which I am President, helped create Africa50 because we believe new institutional models are needed to close Africa’s huge infrastructure financing gap.

Africa50 will be a game changer on infrastructure financing.”

Conundrum: The deathly gridlock in Apapa, Nigeria’s premier port city, won’t go away. Road users wonder why the government seems powerless in bringing the situation under control.

Pic by Pius Okeosisi

Edo engages communities on intra-state boundary dispute resolution

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ollowing an earlier meeting between the governments of Edo and her sister state, Delta, chairman of the Edo State Boundary Committee and deputy governor of the state, Philip Shaibu, has held a meeting with representatives of some Edo communities to resolve the lingering disputes over boundaries.

According to Shaibu, the Governor Godwin Obaseki-led administration is committed to resolving all disputes in Edo communities to ensure peaceful coexistence and pave way for investments.

In his welcome address at the intra-state boundary meet-

ing with leaders of the communities with boundary disputes in Government House, Benin City, the deputy governor explained that the state government had done a lot in enthroning and maintaining law and order across the state, and urged the various community representatives to give peace a chance in their respective communities.

He assured that the Obaseki administration had the willpower to resolve all boundaryrelated disputes within the state, and stressed that peace was an essential ingredient for development.

He said: “We have a governor with private sector ori-

entation and who has been attracting foreign investment from all over the world to take advantage of the positive economic outlook of Edo State.

“We need peace in the state and I urge all the leaders of the various communities to embrace peace in your domain as there can’t be development without peace. I urge you all to activate love that would bring peace in your areas of influence.”

He told the community leaders that the state government would give them three options in resolving lingering dispute over land, and explained that the first option is

that the communities have a one month window which will expire on August 18, 2018, to resolve their differences and call on the government to sign, demarcate and gazette the agreed upon outcomes.

The second option is for the parties that refuse to agree, to formally write to the government to wade into the issues and will have no option than to agree with the decisions of the state government. He added that such communities have two weeks after the expiration of the one-month period, that is, till September 1, 2018, to communicate their position to government.

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Friday 20 July 2018

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Harvard Business Review

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Global Business Perspectives Connec ting

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The West’s Failure to Reform Threatens World Order Humphrey Hawksley

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wo years ago, China and Russia issued a joint declaration with the aim of throwing out an open challenge to the current U.S.-led world order.

Coming after Moscow’s annexation of Crimea and a court ruling against Beijing’s claim to the South China Sea, the two governments announced bluntly in June 2016 that they would enhance cooperation to establish a “just and equitable international order,” in effect saying they no longer trusted the rules-based system largely drawn up after the World War II. Since then debate has picked up about the threat posed to Western values by authoritarianism.

Beijing is well aware that the system created by the United States and its allies remains the bedrock of its own success.

Even now, China needs the West more than the West needs China. China, however, is stepping into an array of vacuums created by economic crises, weak governance and unpredictable populism, yet neither Beijing nor Moscow has the wherewithal to build rival institutions of the strength that has allowed the West to hold sway in the world order for centuries.

Still, the speed of China’s rise and Russia’s resurgence has put the West at a disadvantage, exposing many Westerndominated global and regional organizations and rules as being outdated and ineffective.

There is no question that a rebalancing of world power is underway. There must be reform if such a rebalancing is to take place without violence. That is not happening as of yet, and the West cannot afford further complacency.

Creation or reform of global institutions is difficult. Both the 1815 Congress of Vienna planning for the defeat of Napoleonic France and the 1919 Treaty of

China’s President Xi Jinping flanked by U.S. President Barack Obama and Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany on his left at the G20 Summit in Hangzhou, China on Sept. 4, 2016. On the right, Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey uses the photo-op to confer with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Versailles that ended World War I failed to keep a lasting peace in Europe.

There are no hard and fast rules as to what works in molding a group of countries into a cohesive unit, except that any organization, by testing its own boundaries, can expect to face more risks. Two organizations that don’t take risks are the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and the Commonwealth of Nations.

ASEAN, established in 1967, promotes the interests of its region with an emphasis on quiet diplomacy and consensual decision-making. While this low-key culture keeps the group united, weakness has been revealed in ASEAN’s failure to unify against China’s expanding influence, marked by the military bases in South China Sea territory claimed by four of its members. Hence the United States is directly involved.

The Commonwealth comprises a third of the world’s population. Ceremonial photographs of Commonwealth leaders with the British monarchy show a coming to terms with injustices suffered during colonization, a bench mark that

should not ignored given the ongoing link around the world between conflict and historical grievances.

At this level, the Commonwealth is effective. But member states routinely violate principles of democracy and human rights, and the Commonwealth rarely speaks up on contentious issues.

Two international organizations that do make tough decisions are the United Nations and the European Union. The U.N. is global, and its Security Council is a key arbiter of world order.

The EU is regional, representing the most successful attempt so far to bring numerous states under a single umbrella of shared values and laws. But it is faced with the high-stakes challenge of determining how far to intrude on individual national sovereignty.

The U.N. Security Council still operates under its original system designed more than 70 years ago. One of its more archaic mechanisms is the right of any one of the five permanent members to veto resolutions, which routinely leads to paralysis. The Security Council

also has ten rotating members, elected every two years in a process cloaked by behind-thescenes dealmaking.

Efforts by rising powers like India, Japan and Brazil to reform the Security Council have not succeeded. There are no formal drafts on how a new Security Council can be restructured. The last notable change was in 1965 when the number of rotating members increased from six to 10.

The world, however, has seen many changes since the 1940s, and it is difficult to see how the Security Council’s present system can remain fit for purpose.

The EU is facing pressure, too. But unlike the U.N., the EU has been in a state of constant change. In the 1950s, it was a six-member trade alliance for steel and coal; today it is a 28-member regional organization. Until recently, the EU was held up as a beacon showing how regions could bond.

But financial and immigration crises, the rise of nationalism and Brexit have weakened that reputation. Too many critics see the EU as elitist, unfair, undemocratic. “There is a list of

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triggers that could ultimately be devastating for the EU,” argues Ian Kearns, co-founder of the European Leadership Network.

“Unless the EU finds a more effective way of countering them, the entire European integration project will remain vulnerable.”

As with the U.N., the EU has no road map. French President Emmanuel Macron has set out an ambitious vision based on a closer union and “European sovereignty.” But his is a lone voice. The recent electoral victory of anti-Euro parties in Italy poses a direct challenge to the concept of European sovereignty.

None of this bodes well for the tasks ahead, but if Western democracies want their values to prevail over the coming century, they must clarify and model these values, and do so without conflict. They could begin immediately at two levels.

First, the U.N., EU and other institutions should initiate reform that accommodates the grievances of rising powers and those that feel shut out of the system. To begin the process, the Security Council’s permanent five members — Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States — should signal willingness to relinquish some of the powers they now enjoy. So far they have not. In a similar way, the big beasts of Europe — Britain, Germany and France — could concede that, Brexit aside, the EU may be unsustainable in its present guise.

Second, Western leaders should refrain from painting China and Russia as threatening archetypal dictatorships.

The situation is far more complex, and such stereotyping can be especially damaging for the countries, considering the 24hour news cycle.

In this current climate of inertia, the West’s failure to modernize the world order is becoming as much a threat to the current rules-based system as Russia and China’s attempt to challenge it.

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Professionals against corruption?

SOJI APAMPA Olusoji Apampa is the CEO of The Convention on Business Integrity.

Twitter: @sojapa E-mail: aviga@ cbinigeria.com

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igeria need a response to one of the conclusions of the 2016 London Anti-Corruption Summit that activities of intermediaries such as lawyers and accountants must be better monitored for vulnerabilities to facilitating corruption and movement of proceeds of corruption. The Panama Papers largely unmasked the extent to which intermediaries, and professional services firms were involved in such corruption schemes.

The communique after the London Summit expressed this resolve in its paragraph 8, as follows: “In the nonfinancial professional services sector, we call on all countries to regulate and effectively supervise the legal, accounting, property, trust and company services sectors and support the promotion of global industry best practice in these sectors to underpin full and consistent implementation of Financial Action Task Force (FATF) standards globally. We will also be alert to activities or sectors emerging as vulnerable to being used for facilitating or laundering proceeds of corruption. We welcome the statement of support and initiative by a group of leading firms in

the international professional services sector to collaborate, share experience, and work with governments and other stakeholders to help prevent corrupt funds reaching legitimate investment and real estate markets. We will work with each other and the private sector to drive out those lawyers, accountants, real estate agents, trust and company service providers, and other professional service providers who facilitate or are complicit in corruption and to deprive them of the opportunity to carry out professional activities in future.”

The Nigerian Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption (PACAC) has worked on a programme to sensitize the Association of Professional Bodies of Nigeria (APBN) to this challenge, amongst other things. On its part, later in 2016, the Convention on Business Integrity invited Mr. Paul George, a partner at PwC UK, and co-Chair of the group that issued the “Statement of Support,” to address the APBN conference. This was followed by a second conference on “Financial System Stability” and the need to curb illicit fund flows which was done as a collaboration between PACAC, CIBN, ACCA, and CBI. The CBI brought Mr. Nick Leeson, who was responsible for the collapse of the 150-year-old Barings Bank, to address the June 2017 conference. Later in 2017, CBI in partnership with Mr. Osaro Eghobamien, SAN, of Perchstone & Graeys law firm engaged PwC UK, to explore the drivers and incentives for similar action to curb corruption being proposed for professional services firms in Nigeria. This was based on the fact that the group in London had in previous engagements expressed an interest to

Data from 2016 NBSUNODC study of Crime and Corruption in Nigeria published in 2017, suggests that per 100 bribe payers in Nigeria, 20% will refuse to pay, 30% will pay and for the last 50%, it would depend on survival considerations, suggesting this ratio could be more like 20:30:50 in the case of Nigeria forge closer ties with a similar movement in Nigeria, if one were to emerge.

Anti-corruption experts speak of the 10:10:80 rule in society – 10% of citizens will not participate in corruption as a matter of principle, regardless of the cost.

Another 10% will readily participate in corruption regardless of the alternatives before them however, there is an undecided 80% that will only choose their response based on what they consider expedient for their growth and survival.

Data from 2016 NBS-UNODC study of Crime and Corruption in Nigeria published in 2017, suggests that per 100 bribe payers in Nigeria, 20% will refuse to

pay, 30% will pay and for the last 50%, it would depend on survival considerations, suggesting this ratio could be more like 20:30:50 in the case of Nigeria.

Curbing corruption in Nigeria would then depend on encouraging the 20% to continue doing right on the basis of their principles, incentivizing the 50% to choose to do right through appropriate triggers for them to consider alternative behaviours and sending the EFCC and/or ICPC after the 30% who insist on doing wrong. This intervention will hopefully start with “the 20%” and from there carry out activities that influence “the 50%” to also come on board.

This is the right time for an intervention like this to build momentum. Two distinct strategic opportunities have come up. First, the Business Integrity Initiative (BII) of the UK Government, which is preparing its Embassies, High Commissions, Government Websites (such as great.gov.uk) and so on to provide adequate support enabling successful British Business presence in frontier markets, while promoting high standards of integrity and ethical behaviour in line with the 2010 UK Bribery Act. BII will encourage and support UK companies to embed ethical values into business strategy and practice, provide practical tools that support the long-term growth prospects of UK businesses and strengthen efforts to create a level playing field that enables responsible companies to compete fairly, according to the Business Fights Poverty Website. Secondly, the efforts of the Centre for International Private Enterprise (CIPE) an initiative of the American Chambers of Commerce to actively create a database of anti-corruption compliant entities in Frontier Markets those American companies

can do business with safely.

Starting with the lawyers and accounts, Professionals against Corruption could, promote the codification of good practice, and in collective action with international business counterparts, government, regulators and professional bodies, work to address the practical limitations of the wider system they currently work in. Professional services firms picking up the gauntlet from their counterparts who made the statement of support at the 2016, London anti-corruption summit will find ready takers of their services through relationships facilitated by CBI with American companies through CIPE & the American Chambers of Commerce; UK companies through the British High Commission; and, the body of international services firms who made the statement of support.

There are several levels of good practice international actors would need to see from counterparts in Nigeria: Ethical practice – here, the Nigerian Bar has recently updated its practice rules that should be used; Governance and controls – The international standards are encoded in the COSO Framework 2013 or 2017 risk-based version (and some or a lot of these provisions may already be covered in the practice rules); and, Anti-Corruption Compliance – the standard that embodies the cuttingedge approach to corruption prevention as documented in ISO37001. Are you a professional? Do you think a “Professionals against Corruption” is a good idea? We would like to hear from you.

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Organizational culture: To codify or not?

TAJUDEEN AHMED Ahmed, a strategy expert, with years of senior management experience in consulting, commercial banking, and FMCG, is the General Manager/ Group Head Business Development at BUA Group

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new employee started work at an organization and noticed that certain senior employees were not addressed by their first names- he rather heard “Mr. Charles”, “Oga Dapo”, Otunba Lanre”, “Lord MJ”, etc. Indicative of a classic case of culture shock, the gentleman, steeped in the behavioral pattern of his previous organization, felt like fish out of water in his first six months in the company!

Organizations tend to have a culture; notwithstanding the decision to (or not to)write/codifyit in a document.There are countless definitions, but I wish to adopt John McLaughlin’s easily-understood definition of organizational culture as “a system of shared assumptions, values, and beliefs, which governs how people behave in organizations”.

In dissecting this theme, I would start by discussing ways by which organizations could institute their culture.

Training: It appears that the simplest way of conveying the culture of an organization to employees is by training.

While some organizations called it ‘immersion’, others addressed it as ‘induction’. The training could be in-class training within the company’s premises or otherwise.

Guidance: Especially for an employee changing careers, for instance, a finance professional joining a commercial bank from an auditing firm, he may have to be properly guided by fairly experienced employees regarding the general nuances of commercial banks, and by extension, the specific culture of the bank. I have witnessed, just as I have been told about, employees who got frustrated and resigned from organizations on account of lack of guidance regarding culture.

Artefacts: These are visible forms of culture; such as slogans and symbols, ceremonies; and stories. Some form of slogans and symbols could be “think straight, talk straight” and “one firm” applied by globally-acclaimed professional services firm, Arthur Andersen, back in the day; “one customer” espoused by a certain Nigerian commercial bank today; having a certain type of chairs in meeting rooms that suggests exclusivity to the individual that would anchor discussions at such meetings; and institution of “The Black Book” for offending persons and organizations, etc.

Ceremonies include employee trainings, welcome/inaugural singing and dancing by new hires, which is now common with new recruits at football clubs; weekly meetings, quarterly performance review/strategy sessions, annual customer appreciation events,

staff annual awards, ‘employee of the month’ awards, which had been made popular by fuel-dispensing stations and supermarkets in Nigeria, etc.

Stories could be in the form of the struggles of the organization at infancy and the roles played by pioneer staff, usually told to new staff to encourage them on the need for continuous execution of the corporate vision; or, such stories could be about the founder of the organization with a view to stimulating the loyalty of new employee to the organization.

Incentives: The reward system of an organization is one of the most potent sources of instilling its culture; hence, certain behaviours could be introduced or modified via incentives. For instance, if an organization decided to reward absolute integrity, prompt attendance at meetings and corporate events, going-beyond-thecall-of-duty, customer-centrism, etc, the attitude of employees to such norms might change positively.

Acting by example: This is perhaps, the most potent route for conveying organizational culture. Nothing depicts reality than this; for instance, organizations where senior employees asked less-experienced staff to attend meetings promptly but they consistently arrived at meeting venue(s) late, are merely chasing shadows. Even in the home, the family head loses credibility if he gives orders regarding mutual behavior which he never executes.

Values: These are also a common avenue for depicting the culture of an organization. Organizations, both in the private and public sector, usually have a set of values which underpin their strategic

focus, mission, and vision. However, as desirable as this is, merely listing such values in staff handbooks, leaflets, intranet and internet, roller banners at company entrance, and other marketing items, etc without actually practising the values is a waste of time!

Many organizations are guilty of this perfunctory approach to values; as some senior management staff only got convinced by eternal consultants about developing values only to fulfil the righteousness of documenting a Strategic Plan/Strategy document. In my view, spending huge resources to develop a Strategic Plan with so-called values that are hardly executed, or that are executed in breach, in daily activities of employees and executive management is an irritatingly wasteful expenditure that signifies nothing! There is a divergence of opinion regarding whether (or not) organizational culture should be codified.

Proponents of codifying culture argue along the line of ‘anything not written is easily forgotten’, whereas the opposing argument reflects the need to emphasize practical execution of culture rather than writing it in a document.

The focus of this discourse is not to judge any of the two propositions; however, organizations need to appraise their peculiar circumstances in order to make an informed choice. These circumstances include organizational history or background, nuances of its industry/ sector, nature of business, vision and strategy, culture of its location (that is, if in a single location), diversity of cultures of its locations (if it has different branches making up a Group),etc. For instance, an

organization seeking to set up in places such as the Gulf Region, Communist countries, etc, have to adapt to peculiar nuances of such locations in formulating its culture; whether written or otherwise.

It was on this basis that commercial banks owned by Nigerians or incorporated in Nigeria had to adapt to cultures regarding work-hours, family relationship, hierarchy, borrowers’ behaviour, etc in The Gambia upon establishing subsidiary banks in that country.

In conclusion, actual execution of culture appears to take the trophy, irrespective of the decision to codify or not to codify. For instance, during my career at Arthur Andersen, now known as KPMG Professional Services, I was not under any illusion regarding the highest standards of integrity required from all employees: from entry-level staff assistant to the Country Managing Partner. Whereas the firm tried to entrench this culture, and others, on new hires, through coaching, right from the 2-week induction training, usually held at an external venue; it was the actual execution of absolute integrity, by all employees, throughout the entire activities of the firm- including pitching for clients’ projects, writing proposals and opinions, billing, time/performance management, appraisal system, end-ofyear souvenirs to clients, relationship with regulatory authorities, etc that clearly laid the marker through the entire organization regarding that culture. To act otherwise, was simply unacceptable.

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Insurance industry urged to prepare for next generation of consumers, talents …as Awosika alerts on disruptors Modestus Anaesoronye

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he nation’s insurance industry has been challenged to prepare for the next generation of consumers and talents, by embracing change and responding to the economic, social and technological needs of the insurance space.

Stakeholders who spoke at the 2018 Presidential Valedictory Lecture to mark the end of the tenure of Funmi Babington-Ashaye as the 48th President and chairman of Council of the Chartered Insurance Institute of Nigeria (CIIN) said the industry must embrace new ways of delivering its services to meet the expectation and speed of the new generation of consumers, and talents.

The lecture which was delivered by Funmi Babington-Ashaye has as its theme ‘Insurance and Generation Next- Meeting the Needs of Stakeholders’.

Ibukunle Awosika, chairman of First Bank of Nigeria

Limited who chaired the event said insurance model today is not sustainable because reality is at the door and change is inevitable.

“The industry will die if does not open itself to change and embrace the new space, stating that there are a lot of disruptors that are ready to take over the business and offer the same services the insurance companies or the brokers think they are offering, she said.

She said the potential for growth is huge, as the industry is at the least of its capacity.

“There is a bit of complacency in the industry, so you might not survive the next generation if people and technology come in with the new things they have, she stated.

Babington-Ashaye, in her lecture looked the fundaments of change for the industry, charting the future for the profession, as well as key defining factors.

She said for the industry to catch-up with the generation next, players in the business must leverage technology, adopt new ways of working, repackage products, and im-

prove products and pricing strategy, as well as data mining.

The insurance industry she further said, is at the

threshold of its evolution in which developments in technology will significantly impact its products offerings,

operations and the skill sets of personnel required to deliver value to the diverse stakeholders, in the near future, which

Roosevelt Ogbonna, group deputy managing director, Access Bank Plc (m), his wife Chioma Ogbonna (2nd l); Udeme Ufot, group managing director, SO&U (l); Mojisola Saka, chief operating officer, Soulcomms (2nd r), and Femi Adefowokan, Managing director, Maximedia Global Limited, at the Access Bank Fifth Chucker Polo Tournament held at Guards Polo Club Egham, Surrey United Kingdom.

will be dominated by generation next.

“Given the declining inflow of new entrants into the profession, the fear of a talent gap in rife. We need to change the wrong perception by showcasing the career opportunities that exist, the product we develop, the risks we assume and the professional advisory services we provide, Babington-Ashaye stated.

Panel discussants at the event include Wole Oshin, group managing director, Custodian Investment Plc; Yetunde Ilori, director general, Nigerian Insurers Association (NIA); Muda Yusu, director general, Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry and Eddie Efekoha, managing director, Consolidated Hallmark and deputy president CIIN. They all agreed on the need for the industry to bring flexibility and varieties in their offering, open up the sector for new talents, particularly from outside insurance, and improve on remuneration to make the sector attractive for generation next, enhance perception and increase trust.

Ensure Insurance set to take its rightful position in Nigerian market ...as Allianze Group completes acquisition Modestus Anaesoronye

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llianz Group has announced the completion of the acquisition of 99.03 percent of Nigerian insurer, Ensure Insurance plc. from its core shareholder Greenoaks Global Holdings Ltd. (GGH).

Ensure Insurance Plc. offers life and non-life insurance services and generated N7.7 billion, equal to18.2 million euros in gross premiums written in 2017.

The new company will continue operating in Nigeria as Ensure – a company of Allianz and will benefit from the technical underwriting expertise, global presence and financial support of the Allianz Group, the company said Wednesday at a press

conference in Lagos “We had clearly identified Nigeria as a high-potential market in Africa with a strong regulatory environment and interesting demographics. We are delighted to penetrate this fast-growing market through the acquisition of a solid financial player with a strong local expertise. Coupled with Allianz’s underwriting capacity and service delivery, the combined group will be able to provide the highest quality of products and services to Nigerian customers in both personal and commercial lines.

We trust that our combined group will help support the Nigerian economy and grow the local insurance market.” said Coenraad Vrolijk, Regional CEO of Allianz Africa.

“The consummation of this acquisition will be high-

ly beneficial to our business and improve our service platform to our valued clients. We are excited to harness the depth of technical competence that Allianz has acquired over years of experience garnered through serving clients in various sectors. We are confident that this will position us for leadership in the local operating environment.” adds Owolabi Salami, of Ensure Insurance plc.

Salami further stated that the company will continue on its innovative products and offerings, as have been done with its motor policy.

One of the things that stands us out in the market, is that we give customers 15 percent of their premium if after two years of insuring with us there is no claims.

Again, customers above 45 years and women, gets rebate in premium because we classify them as low risks clients, owolabi stated.

The Allianz Group is one of the world’s leading insurers and asset managers with more than 88 million retail and corporate customers. Allianz customers benefit from a broad range of personal and corporate insurance services, ranging from property, life and health insurance to assistance services to credit insurance and global business insurance. Allianz is one of the world’s largest investors, managing over 650 billion euros on behalf of its insurance customers while our asset managers Allianz Global Investors and PIMCO manage an additional 1.4 trillion euros of third-party assets.

Thanks to the Allianz Group’s systematic integration of ecological and social criteria in our business processes and investment decisions, we hold the leading position for insurers in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index. In 2017, over 140,000 employees in more than 70 countries achieved total revenue of 126 billion euros and an operating profit of 11 billion euros for the group.

In Africa, Allianz is currently present in17 countries and accompanies clients in 38 countries. Its 1,500 employees achieved regional revenues of 600 million euros in 2017. Allianz also provides micro-insurance for 500,000 low-income families and individuals in Africa.

Ensure Insurance plc is one of the most innovative and fastest growing insur-

ance companies in Nigeria.

The company has undergone a turnaround and transformation exercise consequent upon its acquisition from Union Bank of Nigeria plc in 2014 and at which time, it was known as Union Assurance Company plc. Ensure provides simple, accessible, relevant and affordable products to the retail segment of the industry and a bedrock of highly secure reinsurance facilities and unmatched technical competence for its corporate business customers. Ensureis focused on delivering excellent products and customer services and intends to be the dominant insurance services provider in Nigeria. Ensure Insurance plc. recorded an astounding gross revenue growth of 83 per cent in FY 2017.

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Tanker drivers shun Orile-Iganmu parking terminal Samuel Ese, Yenagoa

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imothy Nkeonye, manager, Orile Parking Terminal, has complained about persistent low patronage of the terminal as truck and tanker drivers avoid payment of N1,000 daily parking fee, preferring to remain on the road.

Nkeonye said that the 3000-capacity terminal had been experiencing low patronage since it was constructed in 2007.

“The park is experiencing low patronage as the drivers park on the expressway to avoid paying the parking fee at the terminal. They (drivers) are very difficult to control. “For now, the parking terminal can conveniently contain 600 tankers if the drivers obey parking rules, ‘’ the manager said.

Nkeonye appealed to relevant government agencies to be more proactive in enforcing the traffic law that prohibited tankers from parking indiscriminately on the roads. He suggested adequate enforcement to prohibit indiscriminate parking of trucks on the roads.

The manager also advocated punishment for offenders in order to adjust and abide by the rules.

According to him, “part of the terminal was waterlogged and the Lagos State government had intervened to find lasting solution to the challenge.

“Some of the tankers drivers had no park but instead of parking in the terminal for convenience and safety, they decided to hang around the expressway before loading at the depots,’’ the manager said.

The manager appealed to owners of the tankers and trucks to always provide their drivers with parking fees in order to have convenient spaces before loading at Apapa depot. “Some of them hid under the guise that the owners did not give them parking fees and they could not use their money to pay for the terminal, ’’ he said.

The Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) had said that efforts were being made to place bars on some Lagos bridges to prevent indiscriminate parking of tankers and articulated vehicles on bridges.

Eight persons feared dead in Ondo road crash YOMI AYELESO, Akure

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ight persons were said to have died in a road crash at Ogbese, on the Akure-Owo Road in Ondo State.

Seven others were said to be receiving treatment at a specialist hospital in Akure, the state capital.

It was learnt that the accident, which occurred at 4 a.m on Wednesday, involved a tractor without a headlamp. The tractor reportedly collided with a Toyota Hiace commercial bus from Lagos and heading to Jigawa State.

Another truck from Owo was said to have crashed into the two vehicles on the same spot. Eight of the passengers in the Toyota bus were said to have died instantly and their bodies were deposited at the hospital’s mortuary.

Rotimi Adeleye, the state sector commander of the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC), blamed the accident on speeding of the drivers, and warned motorists against night travels.

Adeleye said he had informed the head of the Shasha Market near the scene of the accident to check the hospital for possible identification of the victims, who he suspected must be from the North.

The FRSC chief also led his other officers to clear the debris of the three ill-fated vehicles to allow free flow of traffic on the busy road.

Members of Sura Market Traders Association protesting against the epileptic power supply to the market by Eko Electricity Distribution in Lagos on Wednesday. NAN

Erratic power supply sparks protest in Lagos …small business owners accuse EKEDC of impeding their operations JOSHUA BASSEY

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wners and operators of small, micro and medium scale enterprises took the street on Marina, Wednesday, to protest erratic power supply by Eko Electricity Distribution Company (EKEDC).

EKED C is one of the two electricity distribution companies in Nigeria’s commercial city of Lagos. The protesters stormed the premises of EKEDC, to demand optimal service, even as they accused the company of crazy billing without a complementary service.

The protesters under the aegis of Sura Market Association complained that their businesses have been ruined as a result, as many have closed shop.

Bunmi Ann Ajayi, who led the aggrieved small business owners, told journalists they were no longer comfortable doing business with EKEDC. He declared the resolve of his members to, henceforth, source power supply from an Independent Power Project (IPP).

The business owners brandished placards with various inscriptions: “Sura Association say no to EKEDC, we want IPP,” “Stop EKEDC exploitation, IPP come to our rescue,” “We are tired of epileptic power supply, EKEDC stop

disrupting our businesses,” FG save our businesses, give us IPP,” “Uninterrupted power supply is an illusion under EKEDC”.

Blocking the entrance of to the EKEDC premises, they lamented that over 1,000 shops in Sura Shopping Complex had become empty as many have left due to collapse of their businesses.

Ajayi accused the Discos of lacking efficient customer service and only interested in forcing her members to pay their “outrageous” electricity bills with constant threat of disconnection.

She said: “In Sura Business Complex, we have over 1,000 shops but if you go to the complex now, it is half occupied because people have left. There’s no power to do business. It is a multi-purpose business community where you have printers, people in production and service industry so we have people who need constant and regular power supply.

“We realise that in Eko Disco, there is actually nothing like customer service. The only thing we get from Eko Disco is pay your bill, if you have outstanding, you have to pay or you are disconnected, that is the only conversation we have with Eko Disco in terms of explaining to them that how come we have two or three hours of power supply or some days we don’t have power supply at all,” Ajayi lamented.

She said they resolved to sign an undertaking with a company engaged in IPP based on

the non-resolution of the problem and the need to move forward.

“We now need an alternate power supply.

In fact, we have gotten a company to do that for us but we got to know through a particular publication that they (Eko Disco) doesn’t want that, that it is like a threat to their business and we said please you have created a vacuum and a company has actually come to fill that vacuum.

“Our demand is that we want to be allowed to move our entity to a new company, they shouldn’t be a clog in the will of our progress.

We want to move along with the new company.

For us they are like a monopoly,” Ajayi.

Kayode Okunola, the assistant financial secretary of the association, said that Eko Disco had no monopoly, according to the law of the land, saying that his members were now ready to do business with any company that was ready to supply them uninterrupted power.

“We don’t want anybody to stop us. We are law-abiding citizens. That’s why we are here.

We know what to do to deter them (Eko Disco) from coming to our complex but we don’t want to do that, we are not going to do that, we are civil,” Okunola said.

The management of the EKEDC could not be reached for comments, as calls placed to the cell phone of Godwin Idimudia, head, corporate affairs, of the company did not go through.

Hope rises on abandoned Ibom science park in A’Ibom ANIEFIOK UDONQUAK, Uyo

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en years after the Ibom Science Park was abandoned with N5 billion sunk into it, the Akwa Ibom government has sealed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with a Chinese firm for its resuscitation.

Though the details of the agreement has, however, not been made public in terms of how much would be needed to complete the facility which was to serve as a “silicon valley” in the state. It was not also clear how much Serge Capital Limited which will now be in charge of the science park is investing in the project.

Udom Emmanuel, the state governor, said the Ibom Science Park is receiving attention from his government, as science and technology underpins development across the world.

Emmanuel who was represented by sec-

retary to the state government, Emmanuel Ekuwem said in reviving the science park, the state will adopt a bottom up approach to ensure that those incubated at the park would move up to set up cottage industries in the local communities.

He said the initiative is geared towards enhancing the human empowerment agenda of the State Government and promised the investors of Government’s cooperation and support in the completion of the project.

Nse Essien, the commissioner for science and technology described the event as a milestone adding that signing of the MOU is a culmination of series of discussions with the investors on the completion of the Ibom and Science and Technology Park.

According to him, the government is determined to ensure that Akwa Ibom becomes a front line state in science and technology saying that when completed would “open a window of vast opportunities for young

scientists and innovators.”

Greg Todd, president of Serge Capital Investment Limited, an Australian based firm with Chinese affiliation, said they will combine resources from Australia, China and the local communities to develop industry, agriculture, infrastructure and trade under a model that will be world class.

He promised to reinvent the operational philosophy of the science park in conformity with world leading technologies to ensure sustainable development of economic, environmental and social sectors of the State.

The project was initiated under the former administration of Victor Attah but abandoned after he left office in 2007. Though his successor, Godswill Akpabio set up a commission of enquiry to investigate the project which was handled by a South African firm, his administration did not pursue the completion of the science park till the end of its tenure in 2015.

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FINTECH News

Products Review

Technology Review

Personality Review

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Company Review

PRODUCTS REVIEW

How Quickraiz is pushing fintech into donations, emergency relief

leverage Quickraiz to provide some financial relief for victims of any disaster, whether natural or man-made.

“Given the recent statistics that indicate that mobile penetration in Nigeria is at 84 per cent while internet penetration rose from 54 percent in 2016 to

65 per cent in 2017, this clearly supports our firm believe that formalising the culture of benevolence in Nigeria on Quickraiz will create a marketplace where unattainable funds in the traditional giving pattern will be accessible and not limited to only those you know but to a pool of users,” Adeokun said.

The platform which is the first of its kind in Nigeria, supports funding campaigns for causes such as medical funding, weddings, charity, education, political campaigns, memorials, alumni association contributions, sport funding, group gifting, travels and many more.

To begin a campaign, individuals will need to register on the website. Some personal information is expected for first timers on the platform.

This is to help Ativo provide adequate security for both the recipients and the donors. A campaign can reach as much as 5 million people across several channels.

Importantly, campaigns get donation opportunities from a special list of philanthropists compiled by Ativo.

price hit an all-time high of Ks27.25 in August.

Bob Collymore, chief executive officer of Safaricom told Bloomberg in an interview that, “Before the end of the year, I would expect to have something to roll out.” Nearly one after the promise has yet to become reality.

Experts have said that fear of creating an unequal playing field could be reason for stonewalling Safaricom’s efforts at courtship by the Nigeria market. The regulatory environment is structured in such a way that telcos are relegated to

the basic role of infrastructure providers. Safaricom hopes it will not face this challenge in Ethiopia once the government follows through on its stated intention to open up its telecoms sector to foreign companies.

To be sure, Nigeria is not the only country shutting the door on M-Pesa. Of the “Big three” economies in Africa (South Africa, Egypt, and Nigeria), M-Pesa is only available in one – Egypt. Efforts to launch in South Africa have also failed repeatedly until it was finally scrapped by Vodacom.

Stories by FRANK ELEANYA

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ollowing the aftermath of Hurricane Har ve y in s ome states in the United States last year, which claimed lives, displaced whole families and destroyed properties, a three-time NFL defensive player of the year, J.J Watt, began a campaign on a US-based crowdfunding platform to raise funds for the victims. His initial target was $200,000, but he and hundreds of his would-be critics, underestimated the power of goodwill and people’s capacity to help others. The fund closed at an astonishing $37,097,298.

Giving and donations are everyday lifestyles for many people. In developed countries, online platforms such as the one Watt leveraged has been built to enable people express their humanity in a more structured, convenient and safer manner.

Nigeria has recorded many disasters – in the past and present. The most recent was the Lagos State fuel tanker incident that razed over 50 vehicles

L-R: Chukwuka Emuwa, director, Epayplus LTD; Remi Oni, executive director, First bank; Akeem Lawal, divisional CEO, Interswitch Limited; Babawande Majekodunmi, director, Ativo Limited; Yinka Olafimihan, director, Epayplus; Bayo Adeokun, MD/CEO Epayplus LTD; Banjo Ogunrosoye, Standard Chartered Bank; Ade Adedeji (SAN), chairman, Epayplus LTD; Christabel Onyejekwe, ED, NIBBS; Kennedy Uzoka, GMD UBA; Ope Badamosi; Tony Anonyai, director, Epayplus LTD), and Mike Ogbalu, MD, Verve international.

and claimed 12 lives. Although the state government have said it will prosecute the driver, the fate of the victims in terms of relief remains unknown.

A one-minute silence was observed for the victims of the tanker fire at the official unveiling of Quickraiz, an online

fintech platform designed to create a marketplace where people with genuine causes will meet with the benevolence and support of individuals, groups and organisations.

Ativo Limited, a subsidiary of fintech company Electronic Payment Plus (Epayplus), is

the brain behind Quickraiz.

Bayo Adeokun, managing director and CEO of Epayplus, said the need to take the various solutions developed by the parent company to the market led to the creation of Ativo.

Like Watt, individuals can

TECHNOLOGY REVIEW

Tired of waiting for Nigeria, M-Pesa looks towards Ethiopia After months of waiting for Nigeria’s regulators to issue it licence to bring its popular mobile money service, MPesa, to Nigeria, Safaricom appears to have moved on to Ethiopia. The company is said to be in “advanced talks” with the Ethiopian government to introduce the innovation in the market of 100 million people.

According to Reuters, MPesa introduction in Ethiopia could transform the country’s economy by allowing people send money to each other rather than rely on the “decrepit and inefficient banking

system”.

The Nigerian banking system is far removed from “decrepit and inefficient”. Eager not to be replaced by new financial technology (Fintech) startups, over 90 per cent of the banks have gone the extra mile to reinvent themselves and become champions of innovation in digital banking.

Notwithstanding, their attempts at cracking the mobile money market has not yielded the expected results of growing the number of banked Nigerians significantly. The Central Bank of Nigeria had an 80 per-

cent financial inclusion target which it admitted recently that it was not achievable by 2019.

Many years after banks began to leverage fintech to innovate their services, the number of people that are unbanked remains almost unchanged – if not in decline going by the last World Bank Global Findex.

In view of this, different experts and stakeholders have urged the financial services regulator, the CBN, to rethink current policies on mobile money which does not allow mobile network operators

(MNOs) to participate in the market, like in other African countries.

In anticipation that the CBN will have a rethink, Safaricom executives headed to Nigeria in June 2017 with the aim to secure mobile banking licence. The company was brimming with confidence having gathered a sizable financial war-chest from the sale of a 35 per cent stake in Nairobi-based Vodacom Group Limited by its parent company Vodacom Group Plc and a market capitalisation of $10.5 billion after its share

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MoneyInsight Economic legislations will add 7.5 mn jobs, N3.76 trn to incomes – Senate CALEB OJEWALE

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he Nigerian senate has in a new report, outlined major legislative decisions which it projects will over a five year period, lead to an average annual growth in jobs estimated at 7.55 million, an average of 16.42 percent reduction in Nigeria’s poverty rate, adding an average of N3.76 Trillion to national disposable incomes, equivalent to 4.39 percent of 2014 figures which was N85.62 trillion.

By the Senate’s reckoning in the report titled; Reviving The Economy, Creating Opportunities For Nigerians, 96 percent of Nigerian businesses are SMEs employing over 57 million Nigerians, hence, its focus on providing legal backings to ensure businesses operate more sustainably.

The report noted that legislative proposals in this area are therefore focused on the needs of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), particularly reducing regulatory burdens and easing access to capital with the objective of having a large number of sustainable fast-growing small and midsize businesses that have access to capital and can drive productivity, job creation, poverty reduction and improvement in standards of living.

Bukola Saraki, President of the Senate, said in the report’s foreword, that “As a country, we have a monumental task ahead of us, to stabilize the economy, create jobs and ensure our people have access to decent healthcare and education. The Senate has an important role to play in achieving these objectives.

“At inception the 8th Senate adopted the Senate Legislative agenda focusing on three broad areas: Improving Livelihoods, Improving Governance and Improving Business. Over the

L-R: Ahmed Lawan, majority leader; Bukola Saraki, President of the Nigerian Senate; with Senator Jim Inhofe of the US Senate in DC last week, discussing FinTech, Commerce and Development opportunities in Nigeria.

last three years we have been focused on driving this agenda undertaking a comprehensive review of businessrelated legislations in Nigeria with a view to improving Nigeria’s ease-of-doing-business ranking as well as improving the general operative environment for business in Nigeria, increasing access to funding for health care and education and building social safety nets for the most vulnerable in our society including those ravaged by war and conflict,” said Saraki.

Key legislations identified in the report, as capable of stimulating economic growth include the Secured Transactions in Movable Assets Act (2017) which is operational, and described as one of several legislations targeting easing access to finance.

It provides for the registration and supervision of security interest in movable properties and secured transactions. The Act creates the National Collateral Registry to provide an effective way for lenders to find out

whether the potential borrower has already granted a security interest in the collateral. It will also facilitate access to credit for new and small companies with movable assets as security, which is expected to provide basis for free-flowing credit markets and also reduces the potential losses lenders face from non-payment.

The Credit Reporting Act (2017) which is also operational, provides, a legal structure for Credit Bureau Services in Nigeria through the consumer measuring system. This system involves the establishment of a credible and credit data-base to determine the ability of every Nigerian to receive and repay a loan in Nigeria. The Act will; make loans readily available to more Nigerians especially those who might not necessarily have collateral but have good standing and are able to repay; make it easier for Nigerians to access loans through the banking system for personal or business trans-

actions and reduce the risk of lending for banks; improve access to loans for micro and small businesses.

The recently celebrated Companies and Allied Matters Act (Amendment) Bill, which is awaiting passage by the House of Representatives, will provide significant benefits to companies by reducing red tape and making it easier to comply with regulatory obligations. Most of the changes are aimed at encouraging investments that will allow small businesses and startups thrive, lower costs and ease regulatory burdens.

The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Bill, 2015, passed by both Houses but Under Consideration is described as the first of its kind in Nigeria, will for the first time supervise and promote competition by prohibiting activities which lessen competition and create private monopolies, control mergers, acquisitions and protect consumers.

Public Procurement (Amendment) Act Bill 2016, also passed by both Houses but Under Consideration, is to ensure local manufacturers receive preference in procurement processes.

It will create very big job opportunities for citizens and will hopefully close the gap between the consumption of locallymade goods and foreign goods.

Other legislations which the senate considers of importance to economic growth are the Electronic Transactions Bill, which is operational, and the Warehouse Receipts Bill, 2016 which will amongst other things, allow depositors use agricultural or other commodities stored in commercial warehouses, as collateral to obtain finance from any bank or financial institution.

As Saraki noted, the Senate intends to continue working on the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Bill to supervise and promote competition in the market to make for a more balanced development of our economy and to increase opportunities for Nigerian businesses.

The senate president expressed hope that work on this bill will be completed before the expiration of the 8th Senate. He said, “in pursuing our Improving Business agenda, we recognise that our underdeveloped transportation infrastructure is detrimental to the growth of Nigerian businesses and the economy. However, due to years of under investment the only way the country can raise the enormous amounts of capital required to fund infrastructure projects is through public-private partnerships. To this end the Senate is advancing legislation.”

It is expected that with all these legislations in place, doing business in Nigeria will be made easier, and economic growth becomes faster.

Blossom academy bridges gap between universities and data science careers

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oday, data science has become the holy grail of employability skills. According to a McKinsey study, the demand in the United States will be 50 to 60 percent greater than supply by 2018.

That translates to an estimated shortage of about 165,000 data professionals and 1.5 million managers and analysts.

The Blossom Academy program provide students, from statistics, actuarial science, and engineering disciplines, access to the hyper-personalized innovative training program, giving them the

opportunity to expand their career options by mastering the latest data science tools and methodologies.

Seven years ago, founder Jeph Acheampong had his pocket picked in Accra, Ghana. He was listening to songs on his iTouch as he stepped into a taxi, proud that he had finally been able to get himself one after months of saving. When the music suddenly stopped, he turned and saw a young man running away with it.

Four years later, while addressing a class of bright Ghanaian students with dim futures, Jeph wondered: “What if that young

man could have found a decent job? Wouldn’t he have rather worked than pickpockets?” A closer look at Ghana’s education climate revealed a system that emphasizes on theoretical concepts rather than practical, employable skills, resulting in a mismatch or no employment.

The inaugural selection process was launched earlier this year, generating over 950 applicants in less than a month. One of the selected applicants- Philemon Aidoo (now fellow), shares; “Coming from an Actuarial background, The Blossom Academy

Talent Accelerator Program has given me a broader knowledge of what can be done with data in the finance and insurance industry. I’m much better prepared to work with data than before.”

During the one-year immersive program, Blossom Academy offers self-paced training with one-on-one guidance from an industry-experienced mentor.

Fellows focus on Machine Learning and Business Intelligence in a specific industry, which gives them the knowledge and skills to conduct robust analytics on a host of real-world problems.

Through its analytics division, the accelerator also provides fellows a two-year employment after they complete the training, which could potentially lead to employment with multinationals, operating across Africa, through its placement programs.

Blossom Academy is Ghana’s first data science talent accelerator providing an innovative talent acquisition solution for the world’s best technology startups and equipping university graduates in Ghana with the skills and experience needed for meaningful careers.

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Medical experts say unsafe water, poor sanitation, hygiene increases risk for Hepatitis A ANTHONIA OBOKOH

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he high endemicity of the virus Hepatitis A is closely associated with unsafe water or food, inadequate sanitation and poor personal hygiene says the World Health Organisation (WHO).

Hepatitis A is a liver disease caused by the hepatitis A virus. The virus is primarily spread when an uninfected (and unvaccinated) person ingests food or water that is contaminated with the faeces of an infected person.

In Nigeria the prevalence of hepatitis A virus infection is high. The transmission of Hepatitis A virus occurs through ingestion of contaminated food and water or through direct contact with an infected person.

Larne Yusuf, a medical practitioner based in Lagos said that efforts should be made to enhance public education about improving sanitation, hygiene practices and food safety.

“Hepatitis A can be prevented and controlled,

though recovery might take a little time. But it is also advisable that people get vaccinated against the virus,” says Yusuf.

The incubation period of Hepatitis A is usually 14–28 days and symptoms range from mild to severe fever, malaise, loss of appetite, diarrhoea, nausea, abdominal discomfort, dark-coloured urine and jaundice.

“Hepatitis A virus is one of the most frequent causes of food borne infection. Epidemics related to contaminated food or water can erupt explosively and can lead

to significant economic and social consequences in communities.

Unlike hepatitis B and C, hepatitis A infection does not cause chronic liver disease and is rarely fatal, but it can cause debilitating symptoms and fulminant hepatitis (acute liver failure), which is often fatal,” says WHO. According to the World Health Assembly, a body of World Health Organisation adopted the Global Health Sector Strategy on Viral Hepatitis, 20162021. The strategy has a vision of eliminating viral hepatitis as a public

health problem and this is encapsulated in the global targets of reducing new viral hepatitis infections by 90 per cent and reducing deaths due to viral hepatitis by 65 per cent by 2030.

“Improved sanitation, food safety and immunisation are the most effective ways to combat hepatitis A and also adequate supplies of safe drinking water; proper disposal of sewage within communities; and personal hygiene practices such as regular hand-washing with safe water can reduce the spread of hepatitis A,” says WHO.

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Poor healthcare quality blamed for 10% of patient’s infection ANTHONIA OBOKOH

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report by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the World Bank has identified poor quality health services as being responsible for 10 per cent of every patient’s infection and is a leading cause of patients’ infection in hospitals around the world.

According to the report, inaccurate diagnosis, medication errors, inappropriate or unnecessary treatment, inadequate or unsafe clinical facilities or practices, or providers who lack adequate training and expertise prevail in all countries.

“The situation is worst in low and middle-income countries where 10 per cent of hospitalised patients can expect to acquire an infection during their stay, as compared to seven per cent in high income countries.

“This is despite hospital acquired infections being easily avoided through better hygiene, improved infection control practices and appropriate use of antimicrobials.

At the same time, one in ten patients is harmed during medical treatment in high income countries,” the report says.

The report also highlights that sickness associated with poor quality health care imposes additional expenditure on families and health systems.

There has been some progress in improving quality, for example in survival rates for cancer and cardiovascular disease. Even so, the broader economic and social costs of

poor quality care, including long-term disability, impairment and lost productivity, are estimated to amount to trillions of dollars each year. im Yong Kim, president, World Bank group said, “Good health is the foundation of a country’s human capital, and no country can afford low-quality or unsafe healthcare, “Low-quality care disproportionately impacts the poor, which is not only morally reprehensible; it is economically unsustainable for families and entire countries,” Kim said.

The report also found that around 15 per cent of hospital expenditure in high-income countries is due to mistakes in care or patients being infected while in hospitals.

The agencies further outlines steps that governments, health services and their workers, together with citizens and patients, urgently need to take to improve health care quality in their countries. This includes: Governments should lead the way with strong national health care quality policies and strategies.

Health systems should focus on competent care and user experience to ensure confidence in the system.

Citizens should be empowered and informed to actively engage in health care decisions and in designing new models of care to meet the needs of their local communities.

He a l t h c a re w o rk e r s should see patients as partners and commit themselves to providing and using data to demonstrate the effectiveness and safety of health care.

GTB holds 8th annual autism conference Kwara to commence health KEMI AJUMOBI insurance registration in August

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oremost African financial institution, Guaranty Trust Bank plc, held the 8th edition of its annual Autism conference on Tuesday, July 17 and Wednesday July 18, 2018 at the MUSON Centre, Onikan, Lagos. Themed “Raising a Child with Autism, the Role of Family and the Community” the two-day conference is part of the Bank’s Annual Autism Program, which brings together globally renowned medical specialists, parents, caregivers, health practitioners and concerned members of the public to share ideas on how to support children and adults living with Autism.

According to the World Health Organisation, 1 in 160 children live with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) worldwide.

In Nigeria, the condition is hardly diagnosed, rarely understood and children with ASD often suffer stigmatisation, in response to these chal-

lenges, GTBank launched the Orange Ribbon Initiative to support children and adults living with Autism and other developmental disabilities.

Through this initiative, the Bank has, over the last 7 years, offered more than 14,000 people training on how to manage ASD provided free one-on-one consultation services to over 3,200 children and led a sustained campaign to tackle the stigma facing people living with Autism.

Commenting on the 8th Annual Autism Awareness Conference, Segun Agbaje, the managing director and chief executive officer of Guaranty Trust Bank plc, said; “Like every other child, children with Autism have big dreams and amazing talents to contribute to our society, but they need all our support to rise above their present difficulties. As an institution that is passionate about helping young people achieve their dreams, we will continue to lead initiatives and create programmes that ensure that every child, re-

gardless of their challenges, has all the support they need to reach their full potential.

This year, the Bank’s Autism Programme began with the 2018 Autism Conference which was free to attend and open to the general public. Following the Autism conference will be free one-on-one consultations for children with Autism and other developmental challenges as well as counselling of their parents and guardians.

There will also be sessions for Speech Therapy, Physical Therapy, Behaviour Analysis, Audiology, Clinical Psychology, Developmental Psychiatry, Physiotherapy, and Occupational Therapy.

Guaranty Trust Bank plc is a Nigerian financial institution that has maintained a defined Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) strategy since its inception in 1990. The Bank actively supports numerous programmes across Africa that positively affects Infant and Maternal Healthcare, Education, the Art, Community Development and the Environment.

SIKIRAT SHEHU, Ilorin

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ollowing the newly establ i s h e d Kw a r a State Health Insurance Scheme, by Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed last week, the Agency says it will commence registration for the Scheme in August this year.

In a statement released

by Muideen Akorede, SSA to the governor on media and communications, the executive secretary of the agency, Olubunmi Jetawo-Winter, disclosed that the registration exercise will hold for 90 days across the 193 wards of the State.

Jetawo-Winter stated that during the registra-

tion period, the agency will capture all baseline health information, and bio-data of all residents, which she said, will form the bedrock of standardization of operations of the scheme.

The executive secretary added that the identification of the poor and special populations including people living with disabilities will also take place during the registration exercise.

She noted that an insurance card would be issued to every individual registered under the scheme, and that enrolment would commence once the cards have been issued. According to her, with this card, coverage

averages out to a little less than N25 per day.

Jetawo-Winter further said that those registered will enjoy health benefits covered under the scheme such as maternal and child care services, emergency care services, minor surgeries, everyday ailments, chronic illnesses such as diabetes and high blood pressure, preventive health education, among other benefits.

She called on relevant stakeholders to continue to support the State government in its efforts to provide universal health coverage to all Kwarans, just as she also thanked all the technical partners of the health insurance scheme.

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Project Pink Blue, ACT foundation partner to Nigerian Healthcare institutions, honoured at the save 2000 Nigerian men from prostate cancer professionals, 5th NHEA Awards

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roject Pink Blue, a Non- Governmental Organisation (NGO) promoting cancer awareness and management, with support from Aspire Coronation Trust (ACT) Foundation has rolled out a life-saving initiative for 2000 Nigerian men known as “Men on Blue”.

The initiative is focused on prostate cancer awareness, free prostate specific antigen (PSA) test, support, health education and navigation. Men on Blue is one of Nigeria’s first prostate cancer initiatives that is traveling to different cities across Nigeria.

In Nigeria, Prostate cancer has become the most common cause of cancer death among men. The cancer develops mainly in older men and could be more aggressive in African men compared to men of other races.

Men aged 65 or older are more at risk of prostate cancer, the average age at the time of diagnosis is about 66.

Hence, it is rare in younger men, however, with the increasing rate of prostate cancer, men aged 40 above are encouraged to get screened.

Researchers have found several factors that might affect a man’s risk of getting prostate cancer, these are: age (6 in 10 cases of prostate cancer are found in men older than 65 years), family history/ genetic factor (having a factor or brother with prostate cancer more than doubles a man’s risk of developing this disease), poor diet, obesity (overweight), smoking, exposures to some chemicals, sexually transmitted infec-

T The crowd at the Enugu Prostate Cancer Walk organized by Project PINK BLUE

tions (STIs), and vasectomy.

Ac c o rd i ng t o Ru n c i e Chidebe, executive director, Project PINK BLUE, in Nigeria, several families have lost their fathers, uncles, brothers, and in-laws to prostate cancer, mostly because the prostate cancers were presented to the doctors at a very late stage, when the cancer has spread to other parts of the man’s body like bone; lymph nodes.

“In fact, cancer that remains in the primary site does not kill. This is our rationale for “Men on Blue” providing awareness and free screenings to encourage early detection and save our men from this disease” he said.

The Men on Blue project has distributed over 1000 awareness materials in differ-

ent local languages including, Igbo, Hausa and pidgin English; over 300 men have also received prostate specific antigen (PSA) test free of charge.

At diagnostic centres, a PSA test cost N6,000 – N10,000, however, through the funding from ACT Foundation, all the 2000 men are getting this screenings for free.

While addressing the press, Sarah Dantsoho, programme director of Project PINK BLUE, made a call to all Nigerians to take their health serious, be mindful of their eating habits and urging all men aged 40years to go for prostate cancer screenings.

She also urging companies to focus on the health of their workforce by incorporating prostate cancer screenings part of their annual events

and government at all levels to match their commitments with actionable investments in addressing the burden of cancer Men on Blue is sponsored by Aspire Coronation Trust (ACT) Foundation, a grant making organization established to support local, national and regional nonprofit organizations working to address challenges and vulnerabilities across African continent especially in Health, Environment, Entrepreneurship and Leadership Project PINK BLUE is a community-based cancer non-profit with focus on cancer awareness, free screening for rural hard-to-reach communities and poor women to phase-out late diagnosis of cancer and to reduce the incidence of cancer in Nigeria.

LASG, PharmAccess collaborates to strengthen healthcare value chain SEYI JOHN SALAU

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agos State G overnment (LASG), with technical assistance from the PharmAccess foundation in a bid to strengthen healthcare service delivery in the state recently launched two innovative Public Private Partnership (PPP) initiatives.

As the state prepares to kick off its state-wide mandatory health insurance scheme, critical measures are being taken to ensure the availability of quality health services in the state; the most recent being the Access to Finance and Medical Equipment Leasing Schemes, which were launched in Lagos recently.

The Access to Finance Scheme (A2F) is a multiparty partnership between LASG (consisting of the

HBL Team

Ministry of Health, Ministry of Wealth Creation & Employment and the Employment Trust Fund), PharmAccess Foundation, Bank of Industry, Sterling Bank and FCMB whereby private Health SMEs will be provided with affordable financing to revitalize 43 state-owned Primary Healthcare Centres, located in low-income and hard-toreach areas.

Jide Idris, Lagos State Commissioner for Health in a statement said the scheme was birthed to address longstanding issues of underfunding and incapacity of the private health sector to attract investment capital for expansion. “The scheme will empower the private sector… while leveraging on their operational efficiency and resources to strengthen service delivery in Lagos

state,” he stated.

Njide Ndili, Country Director, PharmAccess Foundation, in a statement said PharmAccess’ Quality Improvement Methodology, known as SafeCare, will be implemented in the primary health centers to ensure the highest possible quality in service delivery.

“PharmAccess is privileged to serve as a convener and would like to commend the level of interministerial collaboration that took place in order for the schemes to kick off,” said Ndili adding that the Medical Credit fund - the organization’s fund dedicated to financing small and medium-sized healthcare facilities in Africa will provide partial guarantees to the credit facilities offered by commercial banks within the Access to Finance

Scheme.

Uzamat Akingbile Yusuf, Lagos State Commissioner for Wealth Creation and Employment in a statement said appropriate and functional medical equipment and ancillary services will be leased and deployed into the State’s secondary and tertiary medical facilities.

She however described the scheme as a joint initiative between LASG’s investment arm, Ibile Holdings, and private Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs), and that it aim to address the issue of poor maintenance and huge costs normally associated with full purchase of medical equipment, which will involve capacity building for state healthcare workers in the field of bio-technology and equipment maintenance.

ANTHONIA OBOKOH and ANI MICHAEL / Reporters I David Ogar, Graphics

he Nigerian H e a l t h c a re Excellence A w a r d s (NHEA) has honoured Healthcare professionals, hospitals and other stakeholders in the countr y recently in 27 different categories at the 5th Nigerian Healthcare Excellence Awards (NHEA 2018) in Lagos.

According to the press statement made available to BusinessDay, Fola Tayo received the Lifetime Achievement Award while Auwal Mohammed Abubakar, chief medical director, Federal medical centre, Yola was the recipient of the special recognition Award. The award was given in recognition of the Hospital Paupers Fund he established at the Federal Medical Centre, Yola.

“The hospital paupers fund was established in 2015. This fund is meant to cover the costs of hospital services for indigent citizens who cannot afford to pay for healthcare services and ensures that nobody is denied care in FMC, Yola based on inability to pay,” According to Anthony Omolola chairman, advisory board for NHE A 2018, we received over 2,500 nominations this year and over 60,000 votes on the NHEA online E-voting portal for all nominees. These figures are quite significant when compared to 1,500 nominations and 7,000 online votes recorded in 2017.

“The NHEA physical verification teams which is composed of various healthcare professionals visited

nominated healthcare facilities across the country, “They graded the facilities visited based on set criteria and documents sent by each nominee. The combination of the scores and online voting were used by the Jur y to determine the winner of each category,” Omolola said.

Omolola also informed the audience of the decision to begin NHEA-Nominees Corporate social responsibility (CSR) Partnership Project.

“This corporate s o c i a l re s p o n s i b i l ity project will entail working with one or a group of nominees to execute communitybased projects to enhance and bring succour to the less privileged in the society,” he said.

Other winners at the event include; Sterling Bank plc f o r t h e He a l t h c a re Friendly Financial Institution of the Year, Access Bank plc for the Outstanding CSR Health Project of the Year, GE for the Hospital Equipment Marketing Company of the Year, DoctorNow for the Pharmaccess Innovative Healthcare Service Provider of the Year, Paelon Memorial Clinic for the SafeCare Facility of the Year among others.

Shola Alabi, NHEA project coordinator, called on winners to continue to strive for greater excellence in their provision of quality and affordable healthcare.

The award is organised by Global Health Projects and Resources (GHPR) in collaboration with Anadach USA.

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BD GOVERNOR OF THE YEAR 2018 Nyesom Wike reveals projects execution secrets in a distressed economy Governor Nyesom Ezebunwo Wike of Rivers State, who was crowned last night as Governor of the Year at the BusinessDay States Competitiveness & Good Governance Awards 2018, opened up on how he has continued to execute projects despite the distress in the economy for the past three years. In a special interview in his office with BusinessDay editors (ZEBULON AGOMUO, JOHN OSADOLOR, and IGNATIUS CHUKWU), the governor also led Nigerians into his kind of politics. He hinted on how to resolve the political tension in the oil-rich state.

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cross the country there is a new name that is competing with your first names, and that is ‘Mr. Projects’. Can you speak to us on Mr. Project: can you also speak to us as it relates to the provision of infrastructural development in Rivers state as well as how you are funding your projects to the level that it has earned you a new name, considering the fact that many states across the country can be said to be practically not viable?

Thank you very much for this opportunity. For us we believe that every opportunity you have is a privilege. The people at this point in time gave us their mandate to see what we would offer. So for us, it is a privilege and we do not want to miss the opportunity. And, the only way not to miss the opportunity is to settle down and be committed in what you intend to do. When we came on board we saw that there was infrastructural deficit. In fact nobody would believe then that this was Port Harcourt in terms of the dilapidated road network. Basically, infrastructure had gone down.

So, one thing we did was, we said we would change the face of Port-Harcourt.

Now, having changed the face of PortHarcourt, we said we should turn it back to the Garden City. We laid our strategies and we said, let us go to road infrastructure first. While we were doing this, the Vice President, then as Acting President, came to Port-Harcourt. He came during the period of upsurge of oil pipeline bombings in the Niger Delta and it was the turn of Rivers State. So, we used the opportunity to show him some of the projects that we were doing; and he laid the foundation at the Doctors quarters last year. It was in the process that he saw some of our projects and he was so touched. In addressing Rivers people he said about me; “Look, indeed, you are Mr. Projects.” For the Vice President who is in another party, the ruling party at the federal level, to be convinced that actually, what he saw was commendable and then gave me that name: that of course motivated us the more. That if the ruling party – we are the opposition party – would agree to say that, look, you are doing well, obviously for us it was a motivating speech, and we took it from that point, to say that we have to continue to provide infrastructure. I am sure you may have gone round? You know, what people do not understand is that, you may have so much money, but you go and award contract that you cannot execute. Some people award contracts that would last for four years. And when that happens, you find out that it becomes a white elephant project.

We believe that there are some projects that were awarded by the previous adminis-

Governor Nyesom Wike

tration in 2007, 2008, 2009, and so on, and those projects were abandoned, despite the fact that the revenue then was very good. In fact, as at that time, the state was getting not less than N25B a month. There was even a time they got N30Bn. Take for example the Trans-Amadi Road that was awarded in 2009. We came in 2015; that means six years after the road was awarded, it was still there. That road was given to RCC to the tune of N47Bn. We asked ourselves questions: how could you, a state government, award a project of N47Bn? To me, I do not think you had intention of finishing that project.

Trans-Amadi Road is key to industrial growth of the state. Everybody who has been to Port-Harcourt knows that virtually all companies then were based in TransAmadi. But because of the dilapidated nature of the road, so many companies had left. So we said it is a priority, even though we did not award it, we must finish it. So we were committing N1Bn to RCC every month. We thank God that we finished paying that by December last year (2017).

Today if you see that road, it has given a new face to that area.

There was one project that was awarded with a huge bridge; when you are coming from Abuluoma to Woji t and to Elelenwo.

When the Guild of Editors came to Port

Harcourt for their conference, I took them to there. They said “no, there is no way you can finish this project here.” This was because there was no bridge yet; all pile work still going on, and the thing had not even crossed to the other side. They were still stockpiling sand. The President of the NGE, Funke Egbomode, was shouting that it was not possible to complete it within the framework stated. The Nigerian Bar Association came, led by their president and I showed them the same project and they said “no, where will you get the money?” I said well, we will try. Now, we have completed that project.

When we started it, we went there and we did not find any contractor on ground. We brought back the contractor and asked him, “Are you willing to finish the work?” He said if they see money. We said, “Look, we will provide the fund for you.”

What I discovered was that, so many of the contract costs were inflated. When you inflate contracts, it becomes difficult to finish. As I speak to you today, that project was commissioned by the Speaker of the House of Representatives. If you go around and see where Julius Berger is working; Elelenwo/ Akpajo, that project was awarded by the previous administration to a local company.

They were not mobilized to site. When we got there we said no, we need a company that has the capacity. We then, brought in

Julius Berger. To the glory of God that road will be commissioned this September. Go and see what is going on there. Thank God we did not make the mistake of allowing that local contractor to go on with that project, else. we would have been in a mess. This is because when we saw how difficult the terrain was, we decided to invite a tested road construction firm. Go there and see for yourself, you will know that it is something else.

If you toured round the entire city of Port-Harcourt few years back, you would be surprised that such an urban area had no passable roads. I am not talking about the rural areas yet. I mean somebody coming into Port-Harcourt; you cannot believe it. Go to Creek Road, go to all the township areas, we have brought back the Garden City. Now, it is like you are walking down a modern city. Yesterday we were at one of the jetties and the people mobbed us. They would not allow us pass due to excitement of the Creek Road to the jetty that was done.

That shows you that they appreciate what we have done for them.

As you land at the Port Harcourt Airport, opposite, that ought to be a Federal Government road but it was not done. The previous administration awarded it to a company called JITTO, though Julius Berger participated in the bidding too. In fact, it was like nothing was done. It became an armed robber’s den. In fact, when I was a minister, I encountered armed robbers there. Now, we said, no, we cannot have only one road to the airport. We sat down and invited CCGC, a Chinese company, to do it with lights and if you pass that way at night, you will appreciate it. The senate president came and commissioned it.

If you go to Ogoni land today, there is one road every politician used to make promises with. Anyone that came to power would promise to dualise it, but they were raping women on it, and armed robbers were ruling the area, it is 20km. People were playing politics with it. Some said we brought an incompetent company to do that road but that we brought Julius Berger to do Port Harcourt roads. That is politics because CCGC is an internationally reputed company too; go to Abuja and see what they have done.

Today, go to that road (Sakpaenwa) and see street lights, etc. It will be commissioned in September 2018.

So, what will open up Rivers State is road construction. People want investors to come but how can they come without good road network. They will not build roads for you.

Doing the roads is part of attracting investments. Investors would say, I think we can invest here. Now, because of what we have done, so many people are now coming back

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BD GOVERNOR OF THE YEAR 2018 Nyesom Wike reveals projects execution ...

Continued from Page 21 to the state.

What is important is commitment. If you love your people and you are committed, you will achieve these things. It is not just about; money though it is important. Hardly any project being done today that I cannot tell you about the daily update on that project.

I do not wait for the commissioner of work or special adviser on projects to brief me.

I rather brief them. Some chief executives sat here and rely on what their aides told them. For me, I go and see with my two eyes.

If your aides know you go there daily, they will not want to give you false briefs and everybody would take his/her job seriously.

The name ‘Mr Project’ is as a result of deep commitment to serve our people through infrastructure revival and rebuilding things that had gone down for long. The Vice President only said this governor deserved this.

That is what keeps us going. Yesterday, I was on inspection. If not for this interview now, I would have gone for inspection. It is not about money.

The Sakpaenwa Road again, the former administration’s bill of quantity was N15Bn with laterite. We came and decided to use sharp sand because no part of this state can do with laterite. We agreed for N9.7Bn with sharp sand. The difference is over N5Bn despite the fact that it is now sharp sand. So, it was over bloated. If I had gone ahead with their bill of quantity, I would have made the contractor so rich or those that gave them to job.

Look at monorail. Where is it going to and which traffic was it going to decongest? From Aggrey Road to UTC Junction is about 1.5km.

From the records, they spent about N54Bn and when we contacted those in charge, they

said it was going to take another N34Bn. We said, we do not see the benefit to spend such money at this point. We must remove politics from this. If we had finished it, they would say, oh they did it up 95 per cent. We said okay, let us leave it for people to see. There are projects we think are not necessary at this point in time. For us, it is commitment and to be able to prudently manage the little resources you have because you can get N200Bn every month and still do not deliver. With commitment, even with N10Bn, it will go a long way.

Since you have mentioned the Monorail project, one would want to ask; is there at any point that your administration may want to revisit the project?

To tell you the truth, we called stakeholders’ meeting and told them, do we go ahead with the project? They said no, it is not necessary. They said, use the funds to develop roads and open up the rural areas. For you to embark and deliver a project, you must secure the buy-in of the people. So, I cannot say here now whether we will go back to the Monorail, except maybe if it becomes necessary that look, for whatever it is, let’s see how we can complete it. For us to do so, there must be economic sense in it; not just to say, ah we have a monorail. It is not when you travel overseas and see something, you say, ah, I will be the first to do this in my place.

It is not about you or me but what is the economic value to our state and people for us to do this project?

The reward for hard and quality work is more work. From our interactions, you seem sure to come back in 2019. In that understanding, what new areas do we expect ahead?

There are so many things to do and

Second Phase of the Mile One Market under construction

Doctors’ Quaters

Obiri Ikwerre-Airport Link Road

Grassroots Economy Rumuokoro Market and Park

Technical Science Education Building

everyday new things come up. We cannot say we have done enough in Education or that you have done so much and not require new roads. No! You open up more roads to develop the state. You give quality education on a continuous basis. In terms of health you still need more medical doctors to be trained, create employment, etc. You cannot say you have done enough roads, health, education, etc. No number of years can be enough. The rural areas are in need.

People bombard my phone and demand for roads. You still have so much to be done. It’s not enough to say you have done four years, you abandon things and go to other things.

You need to improve the lives of the people, help to thrive, handle employment, quality education, proper healthcare, etc. That is governance.

All these things are predicated on the rule of law. You cannot have good governance when you do not have rule of law. They go together. If we get the opportunity, we continue what we are doing. Even if you get 20 years, it will not be enough because the state is expanding. If you do roads, you cannot say it is enough.

Somebody mentioned Oyigbo Roads. I will say, we are already doing it. GMS is the contractor doing that area. They started from Old Road but I have told them to move to Aba Road down to the market. Oyigbo is heavily populated. You do not need to go from Aba Road but you can go from Nchia to Oyigbo.

From Eleme Junction, you do not come back this way but to go from Nchia to Oyigbo. They require a major hospital. There is a lot to be done in those areas.

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BD GOVERNOR OF THE YEAR 2018 Wike and his politics Rallying point for the opposition?

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do not think that is the exact situation.

Everybody who loves PDP (you may be in PDP just because you cannot be with the other people, but that does not mean you love PDP), you will know that you have a role to play. Since 1999, I was a local government chairman on PDP ticket. I was made chief of staff, minister; and now governor on PDP ticket. Why would I allow the platform that elevated me to where I am to die? That is the same commitment I am talking about. I love PDP and I will do anything to make sure that PDP stays in this country.

Part of what we have done is to prove to the whole world that we are doing something. If I commissioned those projects, there would still be doubt. So, we say, everybody come; traditional rulers, ambassadors.

We brought the Sultan of Sokoto who laid the foundation stone of the Rivers State Traditional Council Secretariat to come back this year to commission it. The logic is if somebody tells him contrary things, he would say, look, I laid the foundation, I commissioned it. We brought the Ooni of Ife to commission the Cultural Centre. It was about 40 per cent done since 2008. Today, it is the best outfit in Nigeria. When the Ooni saw it, he marveled that such was in Nigeria.

We brought the European Union Ambassador to commission some offices and one of them was being occupied by a UN agency.

We brought the British High Commissioner to commission the Rumuokuta Girls Schools to see what the school is now and he was amazed how the place has transformed.

We still left one building there to show how the place was and to see what we have done now. He was amazed.

I invited those who are running for the presidency in the PDP to come and commission projects and they came: Atiku Abubabakar, Ahmed Makarfi and others.

They are not coming because I am strong but on invitation. We even invited opposition strong men; Speaker Dogara, Sokoto Governor, senate president, they came and saw with their two eyes. That is how it is supposed to be. Politics should not be that if you are in one party, you should not see eye to eye with the others. We should go round and see what they are doing too. Gov Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta State was here to commission projects and I have been to his state to commission projects also. If they end up thinking that this man is strong in the party, so be it, but it was not the intention.

Like Ekiti like Rivers?

This is not the first time. I know them and I know their character. I know what they can do. It did not start today but it started during the reruns in Rivers State. They sent 40,000 for mere LGA elections, not in the whole state. In fact, it will be worse in 2019. I know them. When a Government is so desperate, that government can do anything. This is a government that does not respect the rule of law. How does such a government fight corruption? If I tell you what this Government has been doing, as I speak to you, they are using the EFCC to do everything against the state. We are not bothered because in 2006/7, the Rivers State government took the EFCC to court and the court gave judgment and say, you cannot interfere in the financial

Governor Wike

transactions of the state. It is only the Rivers State House of Assembly that has such powers. The EFCC took the matter to appeal but they have not been able to set that judgment aside. Because they do not obey the law, they are asking our contractors questions. If they want to turn this country upside down, it is okay. You cannot coerce anybody.

If you see the plans they have for Rivers State in 2019, you will marvel. They want power at all costs and when a man wants power that way, he can go to any length.

All am doing is to tell my state, I told you this. Rivers State will be a war zone in 2019 because they are not prepared to do free and fair elections. They know they have nothing to tell Nigerians, they resort to vindictive-

You cannot push people to the point that anything you want must be so. You can not do that. You are pushing everybody now to defend himself.

If you can do this to a sitting governor, then, what about the ordinary man, what will in 2019

ness. They are doing this to Ekiti because the governor has been vocal against their administration. Now, they say, it does not matter what it takes to take Ekiti, even if it takes the governor’s life. See how the then president conceded victory in 2015, but do you think these people will concede victory in 2019? Thank God people have seen what I was saying. When you barricade a whole Government House, where then is immunity? See what the senior police officer (DOP) was saying, why did they leave? It was because there was national uproar.

The security intelligence I got is that it is the same thing they will do to me, but I say, good luck. If you want all of us to carry arms, we are ready to do it, to defend this democracy. You cannot push people to the point that anything you want must be so. You can not do that. You are pushing everybody now to defend himself. If you can do this to a sitting governor, then, what about the ordinary man, what will in 2019. They are recruiting policemen to have the numbers. To them, if it means killing up to 500 persons just to snatch a state, no problem. They just want Rivers State. They will kill themselves not us. We will not die, they will die. To them, it does not matter the number of lives to be lost. That is no longer democracy. It is just about votes. We are prepared for elections because we know what we have done to the people. They do not have anything to show. The APC Federal Government cannot mention one thing they have done in Rivers State., except use of force. There is no Local Government Area I cannot go to and show what I have done for them. Let them come and show us theirs. They have nothing to campaign here. The only instrument they have is coercion using brutality.

We have said, how many people will you kill at the same time? You have sent 30,000 policemen to Ekiti. No wonder herdsmen are killing people everywhere because you have posted policemen to Ekiti. See Sokoto

killing is now 39 persons. It has never happened before. You have neglected the major function which is protection of lives and property to focus on how to win elections.

If you listen to their meetings, it is about how to win here or there. They have trained special forces for elections and one of them is the SARS Commander here.

I do not know why a government that came to power by vote does not want the people to vote this time again.

Nigerians and 17 million unclaimed PVCs Nigerians do not need to be aloof. This will play into the hands of those doing bad.

People should come out and take their stand. Vote and insist on your vote. No struggle is easy but every struggle takes life.

That is the way to change your country. To go to sleep is dangerous because it allows a bad leader to remain. In Ekiti, they know that under credible elections, the PDP will win. So, what they are doing is cause tension in PDP strongholds and cause apathy.

I tell Nigerians, do not be intimidated.

Everybody has to make sacrifice. The media played a role in 2015, why not now!

Have you been so intimidated?

If I was that kind of persons, I would have caved in by now. They have attempted to take my life, use EFCC, etc, but I am not moved. The task is to not allow a bad leadership to take control. We tell people to do like the Ekiti people that have said, leave our state alone. Is the hand of the INEC boss clean? He has not shown us that his hands are clean.

I do not want to be carried away by what INEC chairman says because that story has been there over the years. What matters is evidence of what has been put on ground for free and fair elections? Can Continues on Page 24

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BD GOVERNOR OF THE YEAR 2018 Emma Okah, Glory Emeh defend BusinessDay award to Wike Ignatius Chukwu

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usinessDay has continued to promote hard work and good governance at the states through effective coverage and incisive analyses over the years. In doing this, Rivers State has been on the spotlight.

BusinessDay also created the States Competitiveness and Good Governance Contest to spur the governors into working extra hard for their people.

The assessment for 2018 began in 2017 and Gov Nyesom Wike emerged the overall best governor in Nigeria for 2018. Two principal officers of the Rivers State Government, the Commissioner of Information and Communications, Emma Okah (a lawyer), and the Special Adviser on Politics and Strategy, Glory Emeh (also a lawyer), threw some light in the personality and leadership mindset of Gov Wike in order to situate his BusinessDay and other media awards.

Okah said: “Winning the BusinessDay Best Governor award is not strange, it is in Gov Wike stride to excel in whatever he does.

He is a born leader and he came prepared.

Gov Wike was twice the Executive Chairman of Obio/Akpor Local Government Area, Port Harcourt. He thus knows what power means in the palm of any serious-minded executive. He used power effectively and built the best council secretariat in Nigeria.

He also emerged as National President of ALGON (the Association of Local Government Councils of Nigeria). He equally represented the ALGON at the Commonwealth Parliament on local governments, meaning he represented the 774 local council bosses and their grassroots people in the Commonwealth. This is no mean feat.

That is the kind of mindset a man like

Emma Okah

him will always have. He was chief of staff in Government House, Minister of Education and now he is Governor of Rivers State.

“Coming into office as Executive Governor in 2015, that is, after serving under a governor for four years, Wike knew that the only way to make meaningful impact in Rivers State was to go the extra mile. This is

Glory Emeh

what many others before him possibly may not have done admirably.”

In his own reaction, Wike’s political strategist, Emeh, said; “Wike is a person who is very articulate and he is a politician who instills new sprit of the times and promotes fresh commitment to the values of efficient performance. Whatever he is

doing; solutions to problems are prescribed within a framework of a more ideological perspective, and he does it with a conscious and supreme patriotic commitment to ensure that he harnesses available scare resources to attain a developmental growth.

The award as BusinessDay Best Governor 2018 is right and proper”.

funds: faculty of law in UNIPORT, Faculty of Sciences and we named it after Clause Ake; funds to UOE, to Bori Polytechnic (now Ken Saro Wiwa Poly), renovation of many schools. I did not relent because the governor and I were not together. Should I allow my state to surfer? No! I say, as a minister, see what I did for my state. You, what have you done for this state? The only thing I can see is bringing soldiers and police to kill and maim the citizens. Apart from that, not one project, not one.

Rivers State produces the wealth of the nation but they do not want to see their faces.

with this person? It is not me. This idea of ‘I must appoint my successor’ is a problem.

You are personalizing this thing. To say it must be your son-in-law or your son must take over. You are not even looking at somebody who has capacity to add value. I do not have that kind of plan. We will look at it as a government and as a party. You may bring somebody here tomorrow and he will be the one to fight you. This fatherism is somehow, it has limitation. It affects development because you must go and take permission for every action. No, I am not party to that kind of thing. That is why I am able to do my work today. The party as a whole should look at those interested and make a choice.

It is not my father’s estate and, by the way, what am I protecting? There is nothing like ‘endorsement’. What for, is it a monarchy, from father to son? It is for everybody and if you think you have capacity, throw in your bid. This idea of waking someone up to come and be governor is bad, it is wrong.

That is what we must stop.

Wike and his politics Continued from Page 23 he say no to the ruling party?

The coalition, a big step to Aso Rock The opposition groups need cooperation and understanding of certain things.

It is allowed in politics. What that means is to say, look, we have the capacity to put all efforts together to remove this bad government. That is good for Nigeria. Coming together to move Nigeria forward is the way to go. Each group would bring their programmes and form a national agenda.

We do not want to do it alone but work together so Nigeria can move forward. It should be encouraged further and that is what I stand for.

Ekiti confirms need for state police Yes, that is the evidence. The House of Reps has met to amend the law to permit state police. A governor is called chief security officer but see how he is being brutalized with flimsy excuse. State police

is inevitable.

On our own, we have set up the Neighbourhood Watch Corps. I hear they are recruiting but I do not want to interfere. All I said is, as you recruit, the security agencies will have to profile them to avoid recruiting bad eggs as happens in the police. They brief me from time to time. They may roll out in September (2018).

If Amaechi comes calling for rapprochement That is what will move the state forward.

We must remove our personal matters.

What is the problem in the state? Nothing!

A road was being done and somebody said it was passing through a opposition man’s area, and I said, rubbish. The state belongs to all. So, if the minister, if he loves his state, all he should do is support his state. As minister, let him attract projects. It is not good to deny your state of projects. Who will lose, me? When I was a minister I attracted so many projects in education and

Anybody you install to succeed you will be the first to fight you I have always said anybody working with us in the party or administrant knows the vision and the focus. If that time comes, we look at them and look at those fit to continue. We would say, can we go along

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COMPANIES & MARKETS ‘Nigerians can leverage technology Business Event for better insurance cover’ BALA AUGIE and Seyi John Salau

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arrot Technologies Limited, a financial technology firm (FinTech) start-up with special focus on inheritance and estate planning, said it sees potentials in the Nigerian insurance market that can be tapped by leveraging technology with better insurance cover.

Dinah Joshua, product manager at Carrot in a statement said the FinTech start-up aims to help Nigerians make wills, organize assets and secure their financial future.

“Our mission is to simplify access to estate planning for everyone and everywhere. Carrot is a one stop online platform that provides estate planning solutions for subscribers to securely create, update and schedule the execution of their wills and other testamentary instruments including Deed of Gifts in real time,” said Joshua.

According to him, Carrot enables testators to appoint guardians for their children and aged parents, appoint trustees, witnesses and executors on the platform.

“The distinctive benefit of a Carrot subscriber is that you also get a N1 million Personal Life Insurance cover and a N100, 000 Medical Expense Cover from Royal Exchange Assurance Plc and Leadway Insurance Plc. Carrot helps families break through the perceived challenges of securing and protecting their families’ financial future,” Joshua stated.

Life is full of uncertainties and risks faced by Nigerians irrespective of social class, ethnicity, religion and other factors, however, those who succeed in life are those who acknowledge these uncertainties and hence, arm themselves with a well-planned strategy on how to face and overcome their challenges.

Joshua opined that one of the challenges faced by Nigeri-

ans today is that of inheritance and estate planning. According to him, it is generally believed that the making of wills is an exclusive preserve of the rich, which he said was a false assumption.

Speaking further on the benefits of Carrot, Joshua said it help subscribers overcomes the difficulty, costs, and isolation that most people experience while trying to complete essential legal and financial tasks.

“Carrot enables you to make a legal and valid will, purchase a health, life, travel and unemployment benefits insurance and organize your inventory of assets – in minutes and with just a click,” said Joshua stating that the unique social experience also makes it easy for users to invite family and friends to serve important future roles, encouraging transparent dialogue about hopes and expectations.

With just a click, Carrot guides users through these decisions, and makes them easy to change at any time.

L-R: Dele Adeyinka, immediate past chairman; Tunde Kuponiyi, electoral committee chairman, and Stanley Jacobs, new chairman, all of Committee of E-Business Industry Heads (CeBIH), at the election of new executives held at the headquarters of Keystone Bank in Lagos

Venia Business Hub finds innovative banking partner in Access Bank OBINNA EMELIKE

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he Coworking Industry is an emerging force that is shaping the entrepreneurial ecosystem globally.

Going by the imperative of the industry, several conferences are held around the world to shape the agenda for a better industry. In 2017, Venia Business Hub hosted Nigeria’s first coworking conference in Lagos, unveiling the opportunities and value chain of the nascent industry to policy makers, entrepreneurs, investors, service providers, the media and coworking space operators.

The entrepreneurial ecosystem in Nigeria has seen a fundamental shift since the emergence of Coworking and Tech Hubs, with many leading

start-ups tracing their start-up locations to Coworking spaces including; Taxify, Flutterwave, Branch Int’l and AutoGenius, among others.

Since inception in 2011, the Coworking movement has continued to gain momentum, with a surge in the rise of Coworking spaces across the country and with the Government’s emphasis on driving technology and innovation as a means of driving economic growth, as evidenced by the recent working visits by the Vice President of Nigeria, Yemi Osinbajo to various Coworking Hubs.

“We are happy to see various stakeholders embracing Coworking and leveraging on its possibilities to drive entrepreneurship. LagosInnovates is one such example of the response to Coworking Conference and we expect to

see much more exciting collaborations and initiatives by various ecosystem enablers.” said Kola Oyeneyin, CEO, Venia Business Hub and the creator, Coworking Conference Nigeria.

The conference this year, Coworking: The Catalyst for Innovation, is aimed at connecting the dots of how coworking, co-creation, collaboration and technology are spurring innovation, entrepreneurship, wealth and job creation, while charting the course for a new economy and the future of work.

Speakers include; Omobola Johnson. partner at TLCom and former Minister of Communication Technology; Iyin Aboyeji of Flutterwave, Africa’s leading payment platform; Kola Aina, chairman, Ventures Park, and Ola Brown of Greentree Investment Company, among others.

L-R: Joe Akabuike, commisioner, Anambra State Ministry of Health; Dennis Okoro, director, MTN Foundation, and Basil Nwankwo, chief medical director, COOUTH, at the handover ceremony of the Emergency Ward Project in Anambra State

Babatunde Paul Ruwase, president, Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), and Marcelino Cabanas Ansorena, Spanish Ambassador to Nigeria, during a courtesy visit to Spanish Embassy in Abuja recently.

Nigeria-Malaysia Business Council partners NEPC to boost trade HOPE MOSES-ASHIKE

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igeria- Malaysia Business Council (NMBC) has collaborated with the Nigeria Exports Promotion Council (NEPC) and the Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation (MATRADE) in boosting trade and investment for the benefits of the two countries.

Michael Aderohunmu, president of NMBC, stressed the benefits of mutual co-operation in today’s business world, stressing that such ties boost trade and investment.

He added that such considerations informed the initiative of the NMBC allying with the NEPC and the MATRADE in the establishment of a Trade Corridor. Speaking during the establishment of the Nigeria-Malaysia Trade Corridor in Abuja recently, Aderohunmu, added that trade and investment were essential in driving businesses with capacity to galvanize resources from both countries to power sustainable economic growth .

According to Aderohunmu, “the world is changing rapidly we are talking about “Trade War” as matters of fact we are witnessing “New Economic Order and

Trade Re-alignments, therefore, we have so much to do to place Nigeria -Malaysia trade relationship on a high pedestal.

The NMBC has placed great emphasis of improved mechanism in trade and in exchange of goods and services mutually beneficial our economies.

The idea of establishing Nigeria-Malaysia Trade Corridor is to improve trade conditions, taking into account the interests of both countries” The trade corridor will involve series of targeted products build businesses around the following activity sectors, agriculture, oil and gas and SMEs.

L-R: Brian Richard, vice president, Coldstone Creamery; Biola Alabi, executive producer, Lara & the Beat; Actress Chioma Akpotha of the movie Lara & the Beat, and Amalia Sebakunzi, marketing director, Eat & Go at the unveiling of the Dominos Squad Meal & Coldstone Creamery Baby Cakes Ice Cream that were created for the Movie Lara & the Beat which hits cinemas.

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Responsibility in public office: A role for the middle-class

FRANCIS .O. IYOHA Professor Iyoha is of the Department of Accounting, Covenant University and Research Fellow, the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN). He wrote viafoiyoha@ican.org.ng

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f you were to name a thousand responsible public office holders in Nigeria (past or present) you would not really be surprised if your list was the same as that of your neighbour next door. Quite certainly, a thousand of such men and women would be difficult to identify because there is a famine of responsible people in public office in Nigeria.

To be in a public office is an exercise in morality but not in Nigeria where it has become a hard slog to get public office holders to be responsible. Responsibility is acting on and reacting to issues as demanded and not as convenient.

It is seeing what needs to be done and responding accordingly. A public office holder would be considered responsible when the call to duty becomes a desire which ultimately should translate to delightful outcomes. In

THEOPHILUS OPALEYE Theophilus Opaleye is a public finance expert based in Lagos. (opaleyetheo@ gmail.com)

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or a country whose median age is 17.9 years, there is an obvious lack of adequate youth inclusion in Nigeria’s political leadership. Any keen observer could in fact be forgiven for believing an unwritten rule exists among the ruling class in Nigeria that young people are not to be trusted with power. Being a young woman, there, in what is in practical terms a largely patriarchal gerontocracy as the reality suggests in Nigeria’s political setup, is an absolute double jeopardy.

Bearing that in mind, when President Muhammadu Buhari nominated a 40-year old female activist to head one of Nigeria’s most important agencies in July 2016, not a small percentage of people were both shocked and elated at the same time. Of course, detractors were quick to point out that Hadiza Bala-Usman had little prior experience in maritime operations to be Managing Director of the Nigerian Ports Authority, but no pirate can stop a fleet of reforms whose time has come to berth.

Before Hadiza Bala-Usman was appointed as The Managing Director of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) on 12 July 2016, the agency was in a state of disrepair. Riddled with the hydra-headed challenges of poor revenue generation, widespread corruption, redundant staff and overall inefficiency, the NPA was in less than excellent form. Two years after that historic appointment, Hadiza Bala-Usman has changed the face of Nigerian Ports Authority through her exceptional leadership.

well-organized societies, it is people, especially responsibly great people who make history. It is never forgotten in those societies that it is right to continue to keep the achievements of such persons alive for posterity. The reverse is the case in Nigeria where a majority of the irresponsible, especially in public office make history without posterity. Who, today, among the past or present office holders is celebrated as a hero of responsibility? None, I guess. Nigeria has become hardly fertile ground for responsibility where public office holders are a pampered ‘caste of crooks.’

The hallmark of public office has become synonymous with the ability to impose inordinate will and personality upon people who have been made docile by hunger and insecurity. Irresponsibility in public office has become the norm rather than the exception. This is insanity of no mean dimension. It is not just that most public office holders are irresponsible, they are even more so in their private lives. A state of inner peace has continued to elude them and I believe they should go searching for it in order to recover from their present insanity.

They certainly need sufficient dosage of ‘domestic responsibility’ in order to be responsible in the public sphere. In their present condition, many public office holders ought to be contemplating mortality rather than telling us raunchy tales and dreaming of crimes

I believe the middle-class can and should provide the intellectual basis for the demented public office holders to learn credibility and sanity and move away from their vices.

The middle-class should challenge, constructively criticize and make meaningful contributions to the development of the country of unimaginable magnitude. In fact, they should be weepy but the sentimental middle-class won’t let them.

There is no reason to disbelieve that responsibility cannot be achieved in public office. It could and many countries are enjoying it. Many of the heroes of responsibility lived centuries ago and their countries still have glorious concepts to build around them. There was a king in Poland (John Sobieski) who reigned in the 17th century and has not been forgotten in that country till date.

He reigned and abhorred the peripatetic and exotic lifestyle for which most kings

are known. Besides, he was never impetuous. What of Solon in Athens; a lover of democracy! He swept away the aristocrats of his days who had all things their own way and could even make and unmake laws to suit their inordinate interests just as the situation is in Nigeria today. He did not have to chorus ‘war against corruption’ even though the aristocrats were ethnically and culturally diverse but corruptly homogenous. We cannot also forget Cincinnatus, Lucius Quinctius (the Roman general) who accepted office on the understanding that it was only a temporary one and not an inheritance.

These are interesting lessons which I believe the middle-class should cause to be written in the heart of public office holders in Nigeria. They, (public office holders) ought to have implicitly understood these lessons but because they have lost the sense of history and virtue, it has become a story told to the deaf and dumb. It is, therefore, instructive that the critical mass of insane public office holders who daily loot our common resources, kill, blackmail and manipulate the system be subjected to rehabilitation instead of being propped deeper into iniquity by some elements in the middle-class.

I believe the middle-class can and should provide the intellectual basis for the demented public office holders to learn credibility and sanity and move away from their vices. The middleclass should challenge, constructively

criticize and make meaningful contributions to the development of the country. This is not the time to sit on the fence; it does no one any good. The language of the middle-class and the manner in which issues are presented and interpreted are a major obstacle to the elimination of insanity in public office. Public office holders are thus, not motivated to read, understand or engage with the realities of the present and future situations of the country.

The future of this country is important and long-term critical thinking is imperative. The middle-class is in a good stead to lead the way. The middleclass undervalues what it gives up in order to reap short-term gains from those in public office. What would stand as insurance and a sign that the future could be assured for our children is the collective will of us all to be responsible and not revel in the euphoria of stolen wealth that would certainly diminish and vanish. The time we are now is no longer auspicious for self-interest oriented groups with a short-term focus on problem-solving. We need articulate and solution seeking public office holders in a political and socio-economic environment devoid of high fertility insanity. This is possible and should not be regarded as a utopian project except we desire to continue paying for the sins of irresponsibility by public office holders.

Send reactions to: comment@businessdayonline.com

Berthing reforms at Nigeria’s ports: Hadiza Bala-Usman and the journey so far Through her vision, dedication and diligence, she has achieved the following milestones and revamped the agency’s public image to the awe of admirers and critics alike.

Revenue generation In the 2017 fiscal year, N299.56 billion revenue was generated, the highest figure in five years exceeding the 2016 figure of N162.20bn by 84.65 percent. Bala-Usman championed the introduction of e-payment system for cost reduction, identification and blockage of revenue leakages and the unveiling of automated web-based billing and revenue collection system fully integrated with the Authority’s Oracle Financial module in Oracle EBusiness Suite. Under her leadership, the NPA also acquired Four 60-tonne buller-pull tug boats worth $30 million to attract larger vessels.

Staff welfare As part of Bala-Usman’s devotion to ensuring the members of staff are rewarded and motivated she organised the 2017 Long Service and Merit Award. At the 2017 Long Service and Merit Awards, 530 staff members of the NPA were rewarded for their hard work after 25 years in the service, 7 staff members were given merit awards, 30 gallant fire service men and other crew members rewarded for rescue operations at Port Harcourt port and 12 Principal Managers were promoted to Assistant General Managers.

As part of her commitment to the welfare and health of the workforce, she organised the vaccination of employees against Meningitis. She also established wellness centres in all ports, 24-hour emergency clinic to cater for health concerns of NPA staff at Apapa Port Complex and

commissioned a Labour Call Hall Unit at Delta Ports, built in collaboration with Intels, Julius Berger and Associated Maritime Services.

Operational efficiency Under her leadership, as part of efforts to increase the operational efficiency and the safety of the NPA, the NPA has partnered with the Federal Roads Safety Corps to organize capacity building workshop on Minimum Safety Standards for trucks doing business in the ports.

In line with efforts to eliminate staff redundancy and create vacancies for qualified candidates, she has also instituted a sustainable and transparent recruitment process: one that ensures recruitment into vacant positions are done in accordance with Federal Character Commission regulations. In recognition of the strategic importance of the Hydrography and Dredging Department, it was upgraded into division status to be headed by a General Manager.

Ease of doing business Recently, NPA partnered with Lagos State Government and private investors to establish an electronic call-up system for trucks at designated holding bays and implemented a zerotolerance policy against touting at the ports by official or unofficial persons.

Sensitization workshops on ease of doing business are also frequently held for all terminal operators and other stakeholders in collaboration with the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council to ensure there is no dearth in knowledge and skill in the workforce.

Infrastructural development When Hadiza Bala-Usman resumed office in 2016, one of her first assign-

ments was overseeing the completion of renovation works on the Quay Apron at the Ikorodu Lighter Terminal, Ikorodu, which has been accomplished alongside the reconstruction of the access roads leading to the ports in Apapa, Lagos State, the reconstruction of the 4km stretch of the Apapa Wharf Dual Carriageway (jointly funded by Dangote Group and Flour Mills of Nigeria) and the Flag-off of the Lekki Deep Sea Port project to ease congestion at Apapa Port.

N1.829 billion out of the N4.34 billion required for the reconstruction of the Apapa Wharf Road has also been duly contributed under her watch.

As part of her commitment to infrastructural development in the sector, she facilitated the approval of N13 billion contract by the Federal Executive Council for the dredging of the Warri Escravos Channel in Delta State.

Fight against corruption As with most government agencies in Nigeria at that time, the NPA was a cesspool of corruption when Hadiza Bala-Usman took over the reins of leadership. In her bid to run a corruption-free agency, Hadiza Bala-Usman led NPA to become the first and only government agency to sign an open budget partnership with BudgIT. She also commissioned a comprehensive review of all concession agreements that violate due process and global best practices.

In an exceptional leadership decision, she terminated the joint venture with Calabar Channel Management over non-compliance in the Public Procurement Act, terminated pilotage revenue collection agreement for failure to comply with TSA policy and dismissed officials caught soliciting or receiving bribes from port users in

line with extant laws and regulations.

Economic development Hadiza Bala-Usman flagged off solid mineral export from the Ikorodu lighter terminal as part of economic diversification efforts of the Federal Government and designated the Lily Pond Terminal in Ijora and the Ikorodu Lighter Terminal specifically for the export of agro-produce. To boost export activities, she also enforced 24-hour operations in all ports.

She also facilitated the successful removal of the crippling monopoly on the oil and gas cargo and liberalization of oil and gas logistics to open up the sector to more investors.

Furthermore, she facilitated the berthing of the #EGINA Floating, Storage, Production and Offloading (FSPO) with Gross Tonnage (GT) of 219,800 tons at Lagos Harbour.

Port security To ensure a safe working environment for her staff, she collaborated with Lagos State Security Trust Fund for 24-hours security at Apapa Port and acquired proper lighting in the port environment.

These are just highlights of her visionary leadership as the head of the Nigerian Ports Authority. Her reforms have repositioned the organization in line with international best practice.

Through her dedication to institutional effectiveness and all-round improvements in performance, welfare, efficiency and safety, she has set the Nigerian Port Authority on an exemplary path of continued progress and prosperity. We look forward to the next accolades this exception leader will gather.

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COMPANIES & MARKETS Dangote Sugar refinery outperform peers in consumer goods index …sees 30% average annual profit growth David Ibidapo, Emeka Ucheaga, Omobola Adu and Sobechukwu Eze

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etween 2013 and 2017, 6 compan i e s re c o rd e d positive growth in their earnings on the consumer goods index.

Amongst these companies is Dangote sugar refinery which recorded an average growth rate of 30 percent, making the firm the best performing company by earnings growth on the consumer goods index during the period of analysis.

The consumer goods index comprises the most capitalized and liquid companies in food, beverage and tobacco on the Nigerian Stock Exchange. The index is designed to provide an investable benchmark to capture the performance of the consumer goods sectors. There are currently 15 stocks on the consumer goods index.

Despite the economic headwinds that have stifled economic growth, caused the

first recession in 25 years and hurt consumer spending, a few consumer goods companies still managed to deliver stellar performances.

Topping the earnings growth chart between 2013 and 2017 were Dangote Sugar (30%), NASCON (15%), Unilever (10%), Nestle (9%), Honeywell Flour (9%), and Flour Mill (3%).

Companies who saw their bottom-line grow the slowest during the period are include International Breweries, Guinness Nigeria plc, Cadbury Nigeria Plc, Northern Nigeria flour mills, Vitafoam Nigeria plc and Champion Breweries plc.

Dangote sugar saw a spike in its profits in 2016 as profit grew from N11.14 billion in 2015 to N14.39 billion in 2016 representing a 29 percent growth in profit. Profit after tax almost tripled in 2017 y/y to stand at N39.7 billion up by 175 percent.

Analysis shows that Dangote sugar was rewarded by investors outperforming its peers to be the best perform-

ing stock within the period.

The firm’s stock price grew by about 115 percent between 2013 and 2017. Within these periods, growth in earnings lagged growth in share price. It could mean the market is sees Dangote stock being undervalued thereby repriced at a higher price than its earlier price.

Surprisingly, International Breweries, despite being amongst the biggest under performers based on earnings growth between 2013 and 2017, came behind Dangote sugar to be one of the best stock performers in the consumer goods index.

Despite revenue grew by 40 percent in 2017, PBT fell significantly by 21 percent in the same year. This led to a decline in profit after tax (PAT) from N2.6 billion in 2016 to N1.03 billion in 2017. Analysis reveals that operating expenses as well as cost incurred by the firm jumped ominously within the period.

International breweries saw its total cost surge between 2016 and 2017 by 54 percent

L-R: Zakari Sabiu, permanent secretary, ministry of transportation; Hadi Sirika, Minister of State Aviation; Captain Bob Hayes, and Chidi Izuwah, director-general, Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC), shortly after unveiling the new name and logo of the Nigeria flag carrier “NIGERIA AIR” at the on going Air show in Farnborough, England.

from N16.2 billion in 2016 to N25.05 billion in 2017. This cost includes cost of sales, finance cost and staff cost.

Amongst the top 5 companies with highest earnings growth, Unilever was the

Nestlé appoints first African female market head …. to oversee Pakistan market Jumoke Akiyode-Lawanson

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estlé, one of the world’s largest Food and Beverage Company has appointed Freda Duplan, a female Ghanaian national, as its market head of the company in Pakistan.

Formally the Coastal Cluster Manger for Nestlé in the Central and West African Region, Duplan who has become the first African woman to attain this position, assumed her new office as the Market Head of Nestlé Pakistan on July 1, 2018.

With the aim to fulfil its

global commitment to enhance gender balance in its workforce and empower women across the entire value chain, Nestlé says it has the objective to be a gender-balanced company by 2018. It will do so by creating the enabling conditions in its work environment to achieve annual increases in the percentage of women managers and senior leaders.

Research findings have shown a correlation between gender balance in the workplace and better financial performance. In particular, recent studies have revealed that organizations with women leaders

are often more profitable than those without. As a result, Nestlé has encouraged gender parity and inclusiveness as a vital part of its business operations across the globe.

This has particularly been brought to bear in Nestlé’s Coastal Cluster operations where Freda Duplan, Nestlé’s current Coastal Cluster Manager in the Central and West African Region since 2015 has been appointed as Market Head of Pakistan.

Throughout her career, Freda has demonstrated remarkable leadership. Originally joining Nestlé in Ghana in 1992

as an IT manager, she has risen through the ranks, successfully leading the implementation of GLOBE at Nestlé Ghana, shared services in NBS, in Accra and Manila, and is now the first African woman to be appointed as Market head at Nestlé.

Duplan’s remarkable leadership throughout her 26 yearlong career at Nestlé supported her rise through the ranks. She was the first woman to be appointed Ghana National Sales Manager; the first woman to be a Country Manager in the Central and West Africa Market, as well as the first Head of Nestle Business Services in Africa.

Fidelity Bank describes protests at offices in Lagos as misdirected HOPE MOSES-ASHIKE and Abimbola Hassan

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idelity Bank plc on Wednesday described as unwarranted and misdirected, the demonstrations at some of its business offices in Lagos by some group of people.

Charles Aigbe, divisional head, brand and communications, said in a statement that

the actions, aimed at preventing innocent customers from carrying out their banking transactions, was the handiwork of a few disengaged drivers from one of the bank’s vendor companies.

The Bank stated that it does not owe staff salaries, severance packages or gratuity payments as erroneously being portrayed.

“Our attention has been drawn to the demonstrations at some of our Business offices in

Lagos. We understand that the drivers who were in the past outsourced to the bank, have been paid their severance packages and entitlements by their employers”.

“For the avoidance of doubt, we state categorically that Fidelity Bank is not owing staff salaries, severance packages or gratuity payments as erroneously being portrayed.

“We are a responsible financial institution, operating in

Nigeria and guided by the laws of the land. Whilst we are not against the right to constituted assembly, these actions are clearly unwarranted and obviously misdirected.

“We are initiating legal measures to put a stop to this corporate harassment and we urge the relevant authorities, including the Nigerian Police Force (NPF) to note this threat to the conduct of our legitimate business”, Aigbe said in the statement .

only company that recorded a negative growth in its share price.

In the last five years, Unilever recorded a 9 percent growth in its profits but saw its share price depreciate by 16 percent

within the same period from 48.92 in 2013 to 41.00 in 2017.

Northern Nigeria, Guinness and Unilever plc are not far behind with growth in share prices of 15 percent, 9 percent and 8 percent respectively.

Oando denies involvement in London court case Dipo Oladehinde

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n a statement to the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), Oando Plc has repudiated the Media Reports in print and digital news media purporting that the International London Court of Arbitration has ordered Oando Plc or Wale Tinubu to pay $680 million to Gabriel Volpi, following an investment dispute between Whitmore Asset Management Limited, jointly owned by Adewale Tinubu and Omamofe Boyo and Ansbury Investment Inc. owned by Gabriel Volpi.

The Nigerian oil and gas giant have said that it is not a party to the arbitration The statement stated that the London Court of International Arbitration did not order Oando Plc to pay any sum of money to Ansbury Investments Inc.; and that Oando Plc is not in any way indebted to Ansbury Investments Inc. “We understand that the parties involved in the arbitration are Whitmore Asset Management Limited (a company beneficially owned

by Jubril Adewale Tinubu and Omamofe Boyo) and Ansbury

Investments Inc. (a company beneficially owned by Gabrielle Volpi). We confirm that neither party is a shareholder in Oando PLC,” said the statement “We are informed that the London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA) on July 6, 2018 ruled that Whitmore Limited should pay Ansbury Inc. the sum of $80m. The LCIA also ordered Ocean and Oil Development Partners OODP BVI (OODP BVI), a joint venture company incorporated in the British Virgin Islands by Ansbury Inc. and Whitmore Limited, to pay Ansbury Inc. the sum of $600m.,” it added.

OODP BVI is in turn 99 percent shareholders in Ocean and Oil Development Partners Nigeria (OODP Nigeria) the majority shareholder in Oando PLC by way of 57.37 percent stake in the Company.

Oando said in the spirit of goodwill, transparency and full disclosure, the Company will continue to cooperate with the SEC in the discharge of their duties as the Capital Markets regulator during this exercise as well as update the market on any reports that may have a bearing on investors’ decision and the value of their shares.

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Editorial PUBLISHER/CEO

Frank Aigbogun EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Prof. Onwuchekwa Jemie EDITOR Anthony Osae-Brown DEPUTY EDITORS John Osadolor, Abuja Bill Okonedo NEWS EDITOR Patrick Atuanya EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, SALES AND MARKETING Kola Garuba EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, OPERATIONS Fabian Akagha EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, DIGITAL SERVICES Oghenevwoke Ighure ADVERT MANAGER Adeola Ajewole MANAGER, SYSTEMS & CONTROL Emeka Ifeanyi MANAGER, CONFERENCES & EVENTS Obiora Onyeaso SUBSCRIPTIONS MANAGER Patrick Ijegbai CIRCULATION MANAGER John Okpaire GM, BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT (North)

Bashir Ibrahim Hassan

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

Friday 20 July 2018

Petrol subsidy is no longer justifiable: End it

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ecently the federal gove r n m e n t through the minister of state for petroleum resources, Ibe Kachikwu, reported that its annual expenditure on fuel subsidy has risen to over N1.4 trillion. Going by the figures, it means about N3.76 billion is spent daily on subsidising petrol. For the records, it is also a staggering 386 per cent higher than the earlier figure of N774 million daily given on March 5, 2018 by the Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Maikanti Baru, for the importation and distribution of petroleum products in the country.

How can a any government rationalise the spending of such humungous amount on the consumption of petrol by its middle and upper class whereas 87 million of its citizens are living in extreme poverty, unable to afford the mere necessities of life?

What rational and sensible government could afford to leave millions of its citizens in poor health, ravaged by avoidable diseases such as malaria, yellow and Lassa fever, cholera, typhoid etc while it continues to spend billions of dollars and trillions of naira yearly to subsidise consumption of petrol by the rich and the middle class? Despite Nigeria being a signatory to the World Health Organisation recommendation for every government to spend at least 13 percent its annual budget to health, Nigeria has not allocated more than 6.57 percent of its budget to the health sector.

A good example is the 2018 budget where only N340.45 billion, representing 3.9 percent of the N8.8 trillion expenditure plan, was allocated to the health sector.

It took a Bill Gates recently to remind the Nigerian government of global statistics we are all aware of – that “Nigeria is one of the most dangerous places in the world to give birth, with the fourth worst maternal mortality rate in the world,

ahead of Sierra Leone, Central African Republic, and Chad,” and that “one in three Nigerian children is chronically malnourished.”

What rational government with a modicum of conscience will spend over a trillion naira yearly on frivolous consumption of petrol that adds very little to the economy while allocating only a meagre N605.8 billion to education in a country of nearly 200 million people with a clear majority young population desperately in need of education? What country with a sensible government will be happy allocating far more to its consumption of fuel than educating and developing its future workforce and human capital?

We believe there can no longer be any rational or sensible explanation for the humongous amount of money spent daily on subsidising the consumption of petrol to the detriment of other critical sectors and needs in society.

Petrol is a commodity like any other that is best left to market forces of demand and supply. The little

political capital derived from maintaining the huge and extremely corrupt fuel subsidy regime is not commensurate with the long-term damage that is being done to the economy, growth and development of the countr y by that wasteful expenditure.

Nigeria cannot afford to be travelling down an escalator that is clearly going up.

The government needs to summon up the political courage or will and finally do away with the subsidy regime. The money lost through that scheme can go a long way in transforming the existential realities of many Nigerians.

We totally agree with billionaire philanthropist, Bill Gates who surmised that any government that invests in health, education, and opportunities (human capital) is laying the foundation for sustained prosperity of that country.

Any country, however, that prioritises other issues, like Nigeria is currently doing with fuel subsidy, will realise, sooner or later, that there will be a sharp limit on how it can grow.

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BD GOVERNOR OF THE YEAR 2018 Governor Wike’s three years in office: Dawn of a golden era for Rivers State?

Simeon Nwakaudu (Edited by Ignatius Chukwu)

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or over six weeks, Rivers State held the entire country spell-bound.

The third year anniversary celebrations of the Wike administration brought to the fore the fundamentals of good governance in the face of governance failure in majority of the states of the federation.

The superlative performance of Governor Wike brought into focus the extreme and disheartening failure of the government at the centre. Therefore, everyone, including well-meaning leaders of all persuasions gravitated towards Rivers State to identify with a people’s leader, a compassionate governor.

In the course of the third year anniversary of Governor Wike, which was marked by the commissioning of key projects and the flagging off of new ones, several leaders struggled to find the space and the right terms to describe him. But one strand of description stood out as it featured at different commissioning ceremonies in the health sector. It came from the leader of the medical professionals who could not hide his joy. This beneficiary-assessment was not induced. It came from a pure heart.

Rivers State chairman of the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), Datonye Alasia, in a burst of inspiration declared that under Governor Wike, Rivers State has entered a golden era in healthcare delivery.

Though, Alasia viewed his assessment purely from the lenses of the profits that accrued to his profession, his assessment applied to the entire state and other key sectors.

From road infrastructure to education to judiciary through to empowerment and workers welfare, Governor Wike reached out to the people of Rivers State in the course of the first three years of his first term. He proved the relevance of having a prepared leader in Government House.

Road infrastructure 100 roads commissioned All through the three years of Governor Wike’s administration so far, all the three senatorial districts have benefited from key road projects. Several of these roads have helped to connect agricultural centres to Port Harcourt and other parts of the country.

In the course of the third year anniversary, another set of roads was completed while others were flagged off. These roads provided the right linkages and helped to boost the economy of the state.

The Garrison-Trans-Amadi-SlaughterWoji-Elelenwo Road is one of the major highlights of the anniversary. Abandoned at about 30 per cent by the immediate past administration, Governor Wike completed this road through diligent supervision and funding.

Another road thrown up during the third year anniversary of Governor Wike is the Woji-Elelenwo Dual Carriageway and Bridge. The past administration seemed to run away from this road project apparently

Gov Wike acknowledging cheers from the crowd

because of the sheer funding requirement.

Governor Wike dutifully funded and supervised this road for two years and delivered it to the people of Rivers State. The road has cut travel time between Eleme and Port Harcourt to more than half.

The 22.3 kilometer Airport–Ipo-Omademe -Ozuoha Road in Ikwerre Local Government Area was an economic gift to the people of the area who are predominantly farmers. This road was commissioned during the governor’s third year anniversary.

The zone is famous for cassava (and garri).

Governor Wike rolled out about 100 neighbourhood roads across the state to boost the living standard of the people.

In Elele-Alimini, the Rivers State Governor constructed and commissioned 19 roads to lift the area. For the people of Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni (ONELGA), the Wike administration completed 11 beautiful roads. In Okrika Local Government Area, 15 roads were constructed for the good people of Okochiri Kingdom.

In Port Harcourt Township, Governor Wike used the third year anniversary celebrations to bless the communities with key roads. They include: Bishop Johnson Street, Creek Road, Bishop Fubara Street, Captain Amangala Street, Tourist Beach Street and Abacha Road. The icing on the cake for road infrastructure was the completion and commissioning of the Obiri-Ikwerre Airport Road. This road is a beauty to behold and a wonderful example of good governance.

The third year celebration of the Wike administration also witnessed the flag off of the construction of Bolo Internal Roads and Eteo-Sire-Bariyira-Nonwa-Kira Road. The implication is that the delivery of projects will continue unabated.

Health sector development Vice President Yemi Osinbajo helped to commission the doctors quarters in Port Harcourt The health sector featured prominently during the third anniversary of Governor Wike’s administration. The quality of projects commissioned showed clearly that healthcare delivery will improve in the state.

The Deima Denni-Fiberesima Doctors’ Quarters at the Braithwaite Memorial Specialist Hospital (BMSH) was flagged off by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo and delivered by the administration of Governor Wike in record time. This residential facility will serve as morale booster to doctors as it will encourage them to serve the people faithfully.

As part of the third anniversary, Governor Wike completed and delivered the Mgbuosimini Health Centre and the Primary Health Building in Port Harcourt. These two projects are targeted at developing the Primary Healthcare of the people.

The training of qualified medical doctors and other health professionals to promote quality healthcare received attention as the Wike administration completed and commissioned the Medical College at the Rivers State University.

Stakeholders believe that the growth of this sector is guaranteed as Governor Wike is still developing key projects across the state.

Great educational projects Rumuokwuta Girls Grammar School and Nyemoni Grammar School as well as Faculty of Science and Technical Education Building at the Rivers State University

stand tall This is one sector that proved to the world that Governor Wike believes in the future of Rivers State. Project after project came to the fore as Rivers people celebrated the beauty of performance.

These were projects that defined the very essence of visionary leadership. Three pilot projects for the introduction of Boarding Education were unveiled. Government Girls Secondary School, Rumuokwuta, Nyemoni Grammar School, Abonnema and Birabi Memorial Grammar School, Bori highlighted the success of the education policies of Governor Wike. At Onne, the Rivers State Government rolled out Government Secondary School, Onne, while Model Primary School, Mgbuosimini was commissioned.

The Faculty of Science and Technical Education Building at the Rivers State University came on stream while Governor Wike flagged off the construction of the Students Union Government (SUG) secretariat at the Rivers State University.

Educational advancement constitutes a major plank of the New Rivers Vision. Governor Wike sees education as a fundament route towards the empowerment of the next generation.

Administration of justice The National Industrial Court complex is a beauty to behold Through consistent investments, Governor Wike has elevated Rivers State into what many now call the judicial hub of the South-South. From a state with a negative image of closure of courts before Gov Wike came just few years back, Governor Wike has improved access to justice.

In the course of the third year anniverContinues on Page 26

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Continued from Page 25 sary celebrations of the Wike administration, the National Industrial Court (NIC) flagged off by the President of the National Industrial, the justice, B.A Adejumo was commissioned by the Chief Justice Of Nigeria, Walter Samuel Onnoghen. The construction of the National Industrial Court has addressed the challenges of litigants going to Bayelsa, Imo, and Enugu for their labour matters.

The Court of Appeal, Port Harcourt Division, was in what many called a mess, and Gov Wike could not but intervene. Today, that intervention, the first of its kind, has led to the delivery of a brand new Court of Appeal with enhanced facilities.

Civil servants welfare Quarters for civil servants built but a befitting secretariat for the NLC underway The welfare of Rivers workers has always been seen as uppermost by Gov Wike. The love for workers was exhibited during the third anniversary of Governor Wike.

The administration unveiled 24-number flats of 3-bedrooms for civil servants in Port Harcourt. To ensure the sustenance of this project, the Rivers State Governor organised a facility manager for the civil servants residential quarters.

As part of the third year anniversary celebration of the Wike administration, the National President of NLC, the comrade, Ayuba Wabba, was invited by the Rivers State governor to lay the foundation for

Industrial Court Built by Gov Wike

Cultural Centre

the construction of the Rivers State NLC Secretariat.

Special Projects Best secretariat for monarchs, Rea Madrid Academy now set Rivers apart Certain critical projects that touch the lives of the people were inaugurated by the Wike administration as part of the third anniversary. These projects are vital to the development of the economy of the state.

They include: The Emmanuel Aguma House formerly known as Produce House, which was allocated to agencies of the United Nations and other international organisations.

This structure was re-modelled by the Wike administration; it was practically revived from death.

The Rex Lawson Cultural Centre was inherited by Governor Wike at 30 percent completion. In 120 days, Governor Wike Government Girls Secondary School Rumuokwuta financed and supervised it to completion.

The complex has been adjudged the best centre in the Sub-Sahara Africa.

Sultan of Sokoto commissioned the Tracan Football, Ahmad Ahmad. This event The Rivers State Traditional Rulers attracted the global sporting press and ditional Rulers Secretariat, Ooni of Ife, Oba Secretariat was flagged off and com- football family. It was a defining moment Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi, commissioned pleted during the Wike administration. for football as a business. the Rex Lawson Cultural Centre while the Sultan of Sokoto, Sa-ad Abubakar, perObi of Onitsha , Igwe Nnaemeka Achebe, formed these two major functions. This National integration/politics without commissioned Abacha Road. is regarded as the best traditional rulers bitterness Politically, Governor Wike used the third secretariat in the country, with special Osinbajo, Saraki, Tambuwal, other op- anniversary to emphasise the relevance of facilities. position leaders spent happy moments in politics without bitterness. Political leadIt was in the course of the third year PH, commissioned projects ers may be from different political parties, anniversary celebration of the Wike adminBeyond the practical gains of showcasing but there must be meeting points to foster istration that the construction of the Real Nigeria’s best performing governor for close development.

Madrid Football Academy was flagged off to two months, the third year celebrations On that note, Senate President Bukola by the President of Confederation of Afri- helped to foster national integration and Saraki, commissioned the Obiri-Ikwerre national unity. As a statesman, Governor Airport Road, Speaker of the House of Wike carefully selected leaders from all Representatives, Rt Hon Yakubu Dogara divides and international community to commissioned the Woji-Elelenwo Dual commission projects executed for the good Carriageway and Bridge while Sokoto State Governor, Aminu Tambuwal, commisof Rivers people.

There were the ingredients of peer re- sioned the Medical College at the Rivers view, friendship, international cooperation State University and the Birabi Memorial and regional integration. Every community Grammar School, Bori. These three leaders are members of the APC. was given a sense of belonging.

The European Union Ambassador to Blessed by God Nigeria, Ketil Karlson, commissioned the Emmanuel Aguma House (formerly Wins BusinessDay Governor of the known as Produce House), the British High Commissioner to Nigeria, Paul Year 2018 It was a celebration that started and endAwkright, commissioned the Government Girls Secondary School, Rumuokwuta, ed with God. This was blessed with a strong the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Onnoghen, feat by winning the BusinessDay Governor commissioned the National Industrial of the Year Award on States Competitiveness Court and Appeal Court Complex, The and Good Governance Contest, thereby General and former Head of State, Ab- confirming other institutions and media dulsalami Abubakar, commissioned the houses that had conferred such awards on Garrison-Trans-Amadi-Slaughter-Woji- Gov Wike.

A dedication and Thanksgiving Service Elelenwo Road while former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, commissioned the was held at Winners Chapel D/Line. All through the programmes, there was no Isiokpo internal roads.

Delta State Governor, Ifeanyi Okowa, casualty or untoward story, despite visitors commissioned the Mgbuosimini Health coming from across the globe. At the end, Centre/Primary School, former president, another Thanksgiving Service was held at Goodluck Jonathan, commissioned the Cathedral Anglican Church of Saint Paul in Ozuoha-Ipo-Omademe Road, former PDP Port Harcourt. It could only be God. The blessing and favour of God placed Acting National Chairman, Ahmed Makarfi, commissioned Nyemoni Grammar School, Rivers State on top and made it an interAbonnema; while Senate Minority Leader, national reference point. While others Godswill Akpabio, commissioned Omoku struggled to survive, Rivers State under the Internal Roads. Ekiti State Governor, Ayo leadership of Governor Wike has become Fayose commissioned Elele-Alimini Inter- Nigeria’s centre of development and innal Roads, PDP National Chairman, Prince ternational recognition. For three years, Uche Secondus commissioned Creek Governor Wike has deepened the process Road and 24-number 3-bedroom Flats for of pro-people governance. More blessings civil servants was commissioned by former must be in store for the people of Rivers Plateau State governor , Jonah David Jang. State under Gov Wike.

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AMCON’s intervention in Arik, Aero; achievements, challenges and prospects For many years, safety within the Nigerian aviation industry has remained a major source of concern for the travelling public as a result of air crashes that often lead to loss of precious lives due to poor corporate governance, negligence and financial profligacy. MIKE OCHONMA, BusinessDay’s transport editor takes a look at the move by the Federal Government under the aegis of Asset Management Company of Nigeria (AMCON) to restore air travellers confidence through the Arik and Aero takeover.

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part from being the fastest means of moving passengers and freight from one place to another, and the excitement and fun of flying that comes with flying, movement by air within the Nigerian airspace can be a very daunting task.

Overtime, these challenges can be natural disasters and mismanagement on the part of the operators of the airlines or lapses and pitfalls from the regulators, with the worst of it all being running into financial bankruptcy where airline companies finds it extremely difficult to meet financial obligations.

Some of the factors here if not all, reminds industry stakeholders and market watchers of the misfortune that befall Aero and Arik airlines few years ago which left the Federal Government with no option but to mandate the AMCON to intervene and give the beleaguered airline a lease of life under a receiver manager model.

According to Ahmed Kuru, managing director and chief executive of AMCON, the organisation was statutorily created by the federal government to be a stabilising and revitalising tool in the Nigerian economy.

Towards achieving its mandate, AMCON purchased nonperforming loans of about N181 billion from various banks. Over 90 percent of this was in the aviation sector. To place the companies in a position to recover and generate adequate cash flow, AMCON gave additional un-lending facilities in collaboration with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Bank of Industry (BoI) of almost N40billion on very good terms.

Unfortunately, despite this support given by AMCON, the beneficiaries could neither pay the old nor new loans, hence AMCON was compelled to appoint Receiver Managers over a lot of these companies, with the biggest being Arik and Aero.

A M C O N ’s i n t e r v e n t i o n , through the instrumentality of Receiver Management was first to stabilise the operations of the airlines, put them in a position to generate positive cash flow, then resolve their debt situation or the sale of the companies/underlying assets.

Specifically, the intervention of AMCON in Arik and Aero were intended to be value adding and non-destructive. It is noteworthy

that the corporation has adopted a similar approach to revitalise Peugeot Automobile of Nigeria (PAN), which today is back to operation and assembling vehicles for the road transport sector.

PAN Limited Kaduna through the intervention of AMCON is rolling out vehicles in large numbers for supply to different federal and state government’s institutions, the military hierarchy, financial organisations and the diplomatic community.

In terms of visible and practical achievements, at the point of intervening in Arik, the company was witnessing a high spate of flight cancellations of up to 40 percent, on-time performance ( O T P ) , w h i c h m e a s u re s t h e promptness of schedule flights had fallen to as low as 15 percent.

A further disclosure by the AMCON chief executive shows that, the staff, including pilots was owed salaries, in some cases for up to six months. As a result of this, staff morale was therefore understandably low. Several service providers including fuel marketers, maintenance and spare parts companies were withdrawing their services or were

unwilling to extend credits.

All these scenarios created significant concerns at various governmental cycles for safety and the possible impact of the collapse of the company on the economy. According to AMCON’s

At Aero, AMCON has succeeded in ensuring that the airline remains a going concern, and with the strengthening of its management, the organisation has seen a refocus on the strengths and capabilities of the airline

sources, this position has been largely arrested.

Cancellations are down to 4 percent, on-time performance (OTP) is over 60 percent, and as revealed by the organisation, all outstanding salaries of current staff are fully paid up, suppliers are now being paid as at when due. This positive outlook has come at a cost to AMCON and could not have been achieved without with the support of the Central Bank of Nigeria and some local banks.

At Aero, AMCON has succeeded in ensuring that the airline remains a going concern, and with the strengthening of its management, the organisation has seen a refocus on the strengths and capabilities of the airline.

Furthermore, the Maintenance Repair and Overhaul (MRO) licence has been made active. The airline in February this year succeeded in completing a c-check on a Boeing 737; a huge feat with a potential for savings in foreign exchange demands by local airlines.

From whatever angle it is viewed from and despite all the encumbrances, the intervention in the sector has ensured that

Nigerians are offered choices, as there is enhanced positive competition leading to improved service offering, for the flying public.

As a major policy drive of the present administration, AMCON was able to save 3,000 direct jobs, and hundreds of indirect jobs in the airline industry.

However promising and resultdriven this AMCON intervention has been, it has not come without some challenges. These include shareholder actions, lack of support by some trade creditors, some foreign lenders, and increased union demands. These were not unexpected and have been professionally and transparently handled.

The new Arik had to take bold decisions to downsize its operations, especially cutting down all the long haul flights, due to losses being sustained on these operations, and the lack of equity capital to absorb the losses.

Generally, there was the need to reassure the travelling public.

Convinced that AMCON is an asset management company, not a consultancy firm to run airlines, it hired the services of professionals to do the job.

These professionals are the ones running the airlines. This was the cause of scepticism in some quarters earlier on, but today, the narrative has changed.

Although majority of air travellers and Nigerians are happy with the AMCON intervention that has seemingly restored sanity to an extent in the operational procedures and processes of running the airlines, yet, a lot still needs to be done.

Above all, the aviation and transport sector requires solid capital to make it deliver for the good of the Nigerian people. It will require a measure of policy consistency and governmental support to thrive.

However, from industry, no matter the capital thrown at the sector, if corporate governance is not strengthened, it will still fail.

The absence of governance or quality governance and sound financial risk management systems is at the heart of the failures that are common in the sector.

Against this back-drop regulators must act with courage by insisting on proper governance in airlines. In doing this, they must look at the work being done by the Central Bank of Nigeria and the Financial Reporting Council to improve the practice in airlines.

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FEATURE

BRT leaves commuters desiring more excellent services JOSHUA BASSEY writes that after 10 years of introducing the BTR scheme into the Lagos public transportation system, there are still gaps that make the services below commuter’s expectations.

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n the developed economies, intra-city commuting is not just convenient but fun. It is aided by well paved roads and, more importantly, deployment of smart technologies like Intelligent Transport System (ITS) which offers commuters the luxury of planning their trips in a manner that time wastage is almost eliminated or reduced to the barest minimum.

The technologies give the commuter an insight into the operations of buses and trains plying different intra-city routes. It captures the arrival and departure of each bus or train at designated stations. Commuters are able to work within the scheduled time; get to the station and board without long hours of waiting and sweating.

Precision, therefore, is a crucial element in public transportation system. Nigeria is known not only for lagging behind in basic public transportation infrastructure but also for sheer insensitivity to the essence of time in productivity.

Commuters waste productive man-hours at bus stations resulting largely from unorganised public transportation system. As a consequence, workers in both public and private sectors arrive at work late and exhausted with grave implications on national productivity.

In many of the urban cities, there are widespread complaints by commuters against poor public transportation system. It is worse in a city like Lagos with an estimated huge population of 21 million people with resultant road congestion.

The Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) scheme was introduced in 2008 as an interventionist measure by the state government to address some of these challenges. The idea of building a segregated lane for the BRT buses was to ensure that commuters who choose to ride the buses are saved the agony of time wastage and high level inconvenience associated with other buses, especially the yellow colour commercial transport operators.

Hence the preaching to car owners at the time to leave their vehicles at home and join the BRT buses to and from work. It all seemed to work well the first few years until the culture of lack of maintenance caught up with the operators and the buses started depreciating.

At the official launch of the BRT scheme into the state public transportation system in May 2008 by the former governor, Babatunde Fashola, 126 new high capacity buses were introduced. The first operators of the system- Nigerian Union of Road Transport Work-

Akinwunmi Ambode

ers (NURTW) cooperatives would acquire additional buses to beef up the fleet to about 200 buses.

However, by 2014 prior to Fashola’s exit in 2015, the fleet had depleted to about 80 buses. This was even as passengers’ patronage had increased significantly.

It became obvious the operators could no longer cope, as new buses were not being injected to strengthen their operations. This was blamed majorly on lack of spare parts, as the operators resorted to fishing spare parts from carcasses of packed up buses within its garage at the Ojota loop to service those in operations.

The old buses still in operations were fast becoming like the “molues” with passengers hanging at the doors. This was at the time BRT services were only available from Mile 12 to CMS on the Lagos Island.

The scheme had since expanded its scope to Ikorodu town; a densely populated outskirts of the Lagos metropolis where residents are gravitating because of comparative advantage in home rental.

Against the background of the deteriorating services by the NURTW, and the myriad of complaints by the commuting public, the new administration of Akinwunmi Ambode in November 2015 withdrew the BRT franchise from NURTW and vested same in Primero Transport Services Limited.

Dayo Mobereola, Ambode’s commissioner for transportation at the time had justified the action: “The termination of the franchise agreement with the operator is sequel to breaches of the BRT operations Service Level Agreement (SLA) it signed with the state government

despite years of discussions and engagement to ensure the SLA was adhered to.

“Though the service level agreement requires a one-month notice prior to its termination, the Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority, (LAMATA), custodian of the agreement, had indeed given a three-month notice which the operator failed to honour.”

He further explained the government’s decision was premised on the inability of the operator to offer good public transport services to commuters on the all-important BRT corridor. “This has led to incessant complaints by members of the public over poor services provided by the operator and the deployment of vehicles not safe for use by the commuting public.”

The flag off of operations by the new franchisee - Primero Transport

Commuters can plan their trips better using the BRT services. An application, Lagos BRT app, has already been developed to assist commuters in planning their journey. The app is on the Apple store and Google play store

Services Limited, with air-conditioned buses in November 2015 was a relief, as the introduction of 434 buses ensured that passengers no longer spent hours at bus stations before boarding.

Last year, in an effort to further add value to the system, Primero in collaborating with the regulatorLagos Area Metropolitan Transport Authority (LAMATA), introduced the intelligence transport system into the BRT operations.

Abiodun Dabiri, managing director of LAMATA, said the ITS in addition to helping commuters plan their journeys would also enable the operators build a database for a robust and efficient service delivery going forward.

“Commuters can plan their trips better using the BRT services. An application, Lagos BRT app, has already been developed to assist commuters in planning their journey. The app is on the Apple store and Google play store.”

According to Dabiri, commuters can download the app on their phones to enjoy the benefit of planning their trips while monitoring the deployment of buses along the BRT corridor.

He said: “In order to make the download easier, we have provided pull up banners with the quick response code to easily download the app.”

Connected to the new technology is an electronic ticketing system.

This, according to Dabiri, comes with a huge benefit to all stakeholders in the BRT family. Aside ensuring revenue security and providing veritable platform for data collection to both the operator and the regulator, the e-ticket also provides commuters the convenience of loading money on the card.

“To use the e-ticketing system, there are two validators on the buses – the front for tap in and rear for tap out with the e-ticketing card known as the Lagos Connect. The front validator also validates the paper ticket which can be used for accessing BRT services. To load the cards, there are handheld devices for top up of cards or vend paper ticket at the terminals and bus shelters. The e-ticketing system runs on a robust platform with adequate security against hacking and information theft,” said Dabiri.

Fola Tinubu, managing director of Primero Transport Services Ltd, also confirmed that the ITS and the e-ticketing was a win-win for the operator, patrons of the BRT service and the regulator.

In recent months, however, experiences of commuters on the BRT corridor on Ikorodu road have been

raising concerns. It would seem that commuters are backed to the dark days of waiting almost endlessly at the bus shelters.

Tunji Adeniran, a regular user of the BRT buses and resident of Ketu, narrating his repeated frustrations with the system, said most of the times buses are hardly available to collect legion of passengers waiting at the bus stations.

According to Adeniran, he has had to spend 54 minutes in recent months at bus stations before boarding. Adeniran further complained that empty buses often zoom past commuters waiting to board.

“It is becoming frustrating with the BRT buses. The idea was to get to the bus station and within a short while a bus comes and off you go.

If now I have to spend between 54 minutes and one hour at the bus shelter, then the objective is defeated. If it is a case of shortage of buses, the operators should rise to the challenge so as not to go the way of former operators,” said Adeniran.

Another commuter, Davis Atere and resident of Ojota, also took a swipe at the BRT bus drivers whom he described as ‘reckless’.

“Despite the fact that they have a lane created exclusively for them, you sometime see the drivers veer off to struggle lanes with other motorists. Many times this has resulted in accidents. Recently, a school boy was crushed in Ikorodu by a BRT bus,” Atere said.

Another commuter who patraonises the BRT buses frequently also condemns what he calls poor ticketing system.

According to the commuter, between March 14 and 20 this year, the BRT ticket sellers were off and on around major BRT shelters (Ikorodu, Agric, Ketu, Ojota, Anthony, Fadeyi, Costain and TBS) where hordes of passengers normally converge.

“When we enquired from a particular ticket seller offering skeletal services at Ikorodu, he said they hadn’t been paid their monthly salaries.”

The ticker seller further told us that they were also avoiding a situation where passengers would be stranded after they must have bought their tickets. So they hide and only emerge from their hiding to start selling only when they see a bus approaching.

“To many of us at the bus shelter on the day, his narrative was simply disgusting. I believe that a transportation company that cannot properly align its operations is not worth the right of the monopoly that the operators presently enjoy,” said the dis-satisfied commuter.

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AgriBusinessInsight Market Insights

Analysis

Commentaries

Experts/Industry Views

Commodities watch

Policy Reviews

Send in Commentaries to caleb.ojewale@businessdayonline.com

Moving Nigerian dairy from 1 to 30 litres of milk per day (1) CALEB OJEWALE Twiiter: @calebtinolu

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he annual congress of the International Federation of Agricultural Journalists (IFAJ) recently held in the Netherlands, and it was an opportunity to participate in tours to some parts of one of the smallest countries in the world by land mass, yet, the second largest exporter of food in the world after the United States.

One of the places visited was CRV, a cattle breeding centre that has left its footprints on dozens of countries including Nigeria. With the urgent need to improve how cattle is raised in Nigeria, Sander de Roos, Manager for Product Development Genetics was engaged to share some insights, on what Nigeria can benefit from the Netherlands where on the average, cows deliver over 30 litres of milk per day. Excerpts: I saw in your presentation that you’ve done some work in Nigeria, can you talk about what it entailed?

In the presentation Nigeria was listed as a country where CRV is actively present. Our activities in Nigeria are relatively small scale, but still we do have Nigerian customers for semen of our Fleckvieh breed as well as Holstein.

Nigerian cows are said to deliver one litre of milk a day, and I often hear it can’t be better because of weather etc. But, considering the work you do here, please take us through in details, how we can improve the cattle stock in Nigeria to get better dairy output.

Dairy farming is a complex, with many factors influencing

p ro d u c t i o n a n d q u a l i t y o f production. Improvement of cattle stock is wholly dependent on the goal of the farmer as well as the system the farmer finds himself in. CRV can offer great genetic improvement and potential for farmers to produce more milk but this is only the genetics part of production. Physical aspects such as feed, water and climate are all a direct influence. The same goes for management on a farm.

To simply ask for a step by step solution to more production in a dairy farming is like asking which car to buy; this is dependent on so many factors that an answer is impossible to generalize. The

products that CRV can offer for dairy production are Fleckvieh (Germany), Holstein (Holland, USA, New Zealand) and Jersey (USA or New Zealand). Or breeds like Gyr and Girolando (Brazil) that are more suitable for dairy production in hot and tropical climate.

The beef quality is also currently not quite impressive, what breeds do you have that can improve what we currently have? And what would be the process of achieving this.

CRV offers numerous beef and dairy related breeds which can be used to improve the genetic pool and capacity to produce better beef. Once again, physical and

managerial aspects are important in improving general quality of the beef. Also it is important to realize what is understood by quality as the beef which is preferred in one place may be non-preferable in another area. The products that CRV can offer for beef production are beef breeds from South Africa like Bonsmara, Brahman, Boran, Nguni, Tuli, and Santa Getrudis, all very suitable for Nigeria.

Cattle is currently a hot topic in Nigeria and about 2,000 people have died in farmers-herdsmen violence this year alone. First, what is your assessment of the tradition where cattle go through hundreds of kilometres to graze?

Free grazing systems where cattle are run through a country with no specific borderlines can be found all over the world. In principle there are benefits and disadvantages of free range and grazing systems.

The biggest disadvantage that has been found to be developing, is the increase on use of land. With a growing population, the pressure on livable and fertile soils is on a rise. Competition for the use of land as well as governments increasing the control over land is putting pressure on the old grazing and free range systems resulting in tensions, such as the ones in Nigeria. If this system is to be implemented on the long run, there shall be an increasing demand for controlling and legislation surrounding the use of the land and thus of this system.

Secondly, there is the perception cattle ranching has to be big and expensive, but what would be your advice on how we can develop small scale entrepreneurs in the cattle business (generally)?

This is a generalization. Small scale farmers have been a part of agriculture for as long as history can depict. Trends show that in order to stay competitive, efficient and productive many small scale farmers organize themselves into farmer-producer organizations or cooperatives. This strategy has been used all over the world resulting in great successes and developments.

For example, the Netherlands has seen cooperatives in agriculture to be very successful, one example is that of CRV, where farmers formed a cooperative to ensure the development and access to the best possible bovine genetics.

Forward thinking engagements to attract more agribusiness investments CALEB OJEWALE

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igeria is estimated to have over 80 million hectares of arable land, and less than half of it is cultivated. There are also huge unfilled gaps in animal husbandry, and generally, the potentials for investment in Agriculture remain huge. Successive administrations in Nigeria at different times, touted the need for economic diversification which gives substantial focus on agriculture, but results are till date hard to call.

Bukola Saraki, president of the Senate, embarked on a trip to the United States last week, where he had meetings with several officials and groups from both the private and public sectors, speaking on areas of collaboration and opportunities for investments.

Agriculture was one of these areas, particularly in a meeting with some members of the American Chamber of Commerce, where it was hoped that some positive actions will be realised soon after the forward-thinking meetings.

At the US Chamber of Commerce, Saraki told the

American business community that, “Agriculture is a major piece in the puzzle as we step up the drive for the diversification of Nigeria’s revenue base from oil dependency.

And yet, we are nowhere near tapping into the Agricultural Value Chain in any sustainable way.

From Rice to poultry, to dairy products, we are producing way below the required volumes. The unavoidable fact is that there is room for exponential growth, with the right collaboration and investment.

There is absolutely no reason why Nigeria should not be self-

sufficient in, of all things, Rice.

With the right partnerships and investment boost, the opportunity is there to achieve sufficiency and even produce for export.

Dangote is currently making huge investments in Rice production, and the projections are good for the company becoming the largest producer in five years’ time.

Saraki in a speech at the meeting noted that “Gone are the days when Agriculture was seen as the preserve of the lone farmer in Nigeria. The growth in trade for Agricultural products between Nigeria and the United States has been relatively

small, rising from $3million to $9million, with immense potential still untapped in the sector, especially considering the enormous capacity Agriculture holds for diversifying our economy. Put simply, there is the massive opportunity in this area. Africa is no longer a social event; it is being seen as a business venture. We have a huge labour force that when supported with the right technology and equipment will support production to meet our domestic needs as well as serve as a source of new processed food exports.”

The senate president also used the opportunity to highlight some legislative efforts that are being made to provide legal frameworks for agriculture to thrive better in Nigeria, and more investorfriendly.

“We are currently working on a Bill to ensure policy stability in this critical area of our economy, to tackle situations such as the earlier mentioned reduction of import duty on milk to 5%, a level at which local producers cannot possibly hope to compete. If there is anything we have learnt over the years about investment in the

agriculture sector, it is that policy somersaults have made investment unattractive in this potentially rich sector, and we are working for greater stability in that regard.

He further explained that the Senate has “provided a further boost for Agriculture through legislation that not only supports existing businesses but encourages the entrance of new investors into the sector. Legislation such as the Commercial Agricultural Credit Scheme Bill, Agricultural Quarantine Service Bill, the Food Security Bill and the Soil Science Bill - are some of the laws we have passed, making Nigeria a very attractive destination for investment. This is with a view to stimulating Agriculture as a steamroller for our diversification ag e n da, a n d Nig e r ia n s a re beginning to see the benefits.”

The meeting provided an opportunity to initiate discourse with some important personalities in American business, and it is expected that, armed with more information on areas of potentials in Nigeria, more agribusiness investments should materialise in a near future.

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BUSINESS DAY

Ijegun jetty menace …Another national calamity waiting to happen

36

Succeeding as an entrepreneur – the Chinese model 34

World Bank Appoints New Vice President for Africa

33

Day a girl beat me up 35

Bimbo Oloyede wraps up ‘Strictly Speaking’ journey with great launch

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36

Macron-Elumelu entrepreneurial tango ‘Creativity and innovation, which entrepreneurship is, should, naturally, be associated with the youth, people of school age or fresh graduates. Their age group is the segment of the demographic structure of a country that is considered vibrant, foresighted and inquisitive.’

Siaka Momoh

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ntrepreneurship challenge is one big challenge for our youth today – a challenge in the nation’s business space.

Our youth must take up this challenge.

Macron’s big push It is for this reason that the trending news now in Nigeria, like in some metropolitan countries, is that the young ones should think entrepreneurship; it is for this reason too that government at all levels in Nigeria, as well as concerned Nigerians in the private sector today, drive our youth mad to think entrepreneurship. Youthful France President, Emmanuel Macron, was in Nigeria few days back on account of this. Macron came in and gave Tony Elumelu’s $100 entrepreneurship programme for African youths a big push with one billion Euros. The French government signed a development finance agreement with Tony Elumelu Foundation, TEF, in Lagos, for development finance and entrepreneurship in Africa. French President, Emmanuel Macron, announced the deal during a talk show with nearly 2,000 TEF alumni during an exclusive interactive session.

It would be recalled that TEF set aside $100 million in 2015 for an entrepreneurship programme to train, mentor and fund 10,000 young entrepreneurs across Africa by 2024.

Announcing the deal, Macron said the programme was aimed at building on the current achievements of TEF across Africa. He noted that the collaboration between the French President and TEF is a result of President Macron’s recognition that African entrepreneurs are the key to Africa’s economic transformation and his desire to connect with and elevate the voices of future leaders.

Youth, creativity and innovation The choice of youth for entrepreneurship is

well placed because creativity and innovation, which entrepreneurship is, should, naturally be associated with the youth, with the young ones – people of school age or fresh graduates. Their age group is the segment of the demographic structure of a country that is considered vibrant, foresighted and inquisitive. One should therefore expect youths to go creativity and innovation.

It is good news that the ownership structure by age, of small enterprises in Nigeria, according to a National MSME Collaborative Survey, shows that the age bracket of 24-50 dominates. Hence youth entrepreneurs are dominant in Nigeria’s entrepreneurship space. We therefore expect Nigeria youth - fresh school graduates who are aspiring entrepreneurs and active entrepreneurs, many of whom are running courses in entrepreneurship in Pan Atlantic University’s Enterprise

Development Centre, FATE Foundation, and in a few other entrepreneurship training institutions in and outside the country, to turn their creativity and innovation, that is, their dreams, to profit.

Innovation and creativity not synonyms People tend to think innovation and creativity are synonyms. They are not. According to Paul Sloane, author of ‘Innovative Leader’, “Creativity is the capability or act of conceiving something original or unusual. Innovation is the implementation of something new. Invention is the creation of something that has never been made before and is recognized as the product of some unique insight.

He said futher: “We tend to think of an innovation as a new product but you can innovate with a new process, method, business model,

Advertise here

and partnership, route to market or marketing method. Indeed every aspect of your business operation is a candidate for innovation.”

And for Yuri Ijuri and Robert Lawrence Kuhn, in ‘New Directions in Creative and Innovative Management: Bridging Theory and Practice’, “Innovation is people creating value by implementing new ideas. Innovation is turning creativity or idea into usefulness. Innovation is the process that transforms ideas into commercial value. The starting point for innovation is the generation of creative ideas. Innovation is the process of taking those ideas to market or to usefulness. Innovation is anything that provides a new perceived benefit to a customer or employee. Innovation concerns the search for

Continues on page 35

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Entrepreneurship

Succeeding as an entrepreneur – the Chinese model SIAKA MOMOH

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urning dreams to profit will need knowledge empowerment these days. Being street smart works, but in this knowledge economy age, knowledge is power, and it translates robustly to money.

Products of EDS and FATE Foundation will attest to this.

According to a study by The University of Nottingham, Ningbo, China, successful Chinese entrepreneurs are small-picture people who constantly examine their business operations from every angle.

They pay attention to the finest details and agonise over past mistakes with a view to not repeating them in future. They are voracious learners: from textbooks as well as business mentors. In particular, they fastidiously study what their opposition is up to with a view to copying best practices.

Top Chinese entrepreneurs also spend much time listening to other people: to their customers and staff – including those who have left the business. This is so, so that they can continually improve their business activities. This is incremental innovation.

These are some of the key char-

acteristics identified in a new, in-depth study of the learning behaviours of a dozen Hong Kong entrepreneurs who started up and developed their own highly profitable companies.

The research, conducted by entrepreneurship and business education specialist Thomas Wing Yan Man, PhD, of The University of Nottingham Ningbo China’s business school, focused on developing a model of entrepreneurial learning.

The average age of entrepreneurs included in his study was 45, about a third were women and most were university graduates.

Most had built businesses from scratch into organisations with at least 500 employees. At least one-third had more than 1,500 people working for them and one individual had as many as 5,000 employees. One entrepreneur is head of a company that recently listed on Hong Kong’s stock exchange.

Three entrepreneurs who participated in the research were in the catering industry, one in book retailing and one in management consulting, while all the others ran successful companies in the manufacturing sector, producing a range of items from clothes to electrical motors.

Man’s study cuts to the heart of that perennial question about whether you can really learn to be a successful entrepreneur. His find-

ings lend weight to theories that entrepreneurs do indeed learn to become entrepreneurs and are continually working on improving their entrepreneurial prowess through an active process of learning and reflection.

“Learning is a key characteristic of a successful entrepreneur. They are highly motivated in seeking learning opportunities. They learn selectively and purposely and they learn in depth. Successful entrepreneurs involved in our research actively participate in training courses and look for management practices and ideas from others and from text books. They analyse how to apply certain management theories in their own businesses,” he said.

Unsurprisingly, the work environment is a central element in the learning style of Chinese entrepreneurs. “First-hand experience is critical in the learning process.

Learning is selective, based on actual experience,” said Man, who is Associate Professor of Entrepreneurship and Innovation.

This perhaps explains why young businesspeople are coming to Pan Atlantic University’s Enterprise Development EDC to learn the trick of doing business like it should be done.

Business Opportunities

Investing in bread baking Godwin Uba

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read is a stable food in the country today.

It is consumed by all and sundry- the old, young poor and rich consume bread on daily basis. It one of the best investment one can think of.

Nigeria investors are therefore advised to invest into bread production. Bread is regarded as a food for the masses. It is taken as breakfast in many houses.

Starting the Project For any prospective investor to be successful consideration should be given to the location. This is very important because this will determine the type/categories of customers to service. Usually it is advisable to locate the project in the areas where there are large populations.

To start the business there is need to consider the type of technology to apply in the project.

What are the type of machines to use, the capacity of the machines and other basic infrastructures such as distribution vehicles, power generating and other such related issues?

The operational environment is very important. For easy approval by NAFDAC and SON, there is need to site the project in a very clean environment. Details on the structural plan and

location information will be given to the prospective investors.

Marketing Strategies Though bread can easily be sold in any part of the country, there is need to be proactive. There is to have well articulated structures marketing strategies. Having mentioned some possible market in a broader prospective, it is appropriate to structure effective marketing management and financial control.

The writer will give detailed marketing/ management to prospective investors in the business proposals/plans.

Plants & Machinery The following plants, machinery and equipment are essential for setting up an ultra-modern bakery; Electric oven (3 Deck/4Deck are available depending on the capacity), industrial burner, electric milling machines, mixer, bowl or dough mixer (of various capacities ranging from3-10 bags of 50kg flour at a time), automatic Slicing machine, Paster roller, Standard scale/measure.

Raw Materials Applications and Sources All the required raw materials for commercial bread production are locally available and include the following; flour, sugar, salt, yeast and edible or baking fat. There is need to get a

Other operating expenses N 2,298,000 Preliminary expenses (including feasibility studies) N350,000 Total N27, 891, 000 Based on our projections, a turnover Financial Implications The estimated cost of setting up an of N121, 000, 000 would be made in the ultra modern bread baking business is first year of operation as total income.

N27, 891, 000. The breakdown of this cost The expected Gross Profit in the first year is about N39 million which will increase is as follows:to N96 million within the first five years of Accommodation N2,500, 000 Plants, machinery & equipment/other operation. The payback period is within one year of operation if the project is well assets N9,407,000 Workingcapital (3 months) managed. The rate of return on investment is about 76% within the first three N13,336,000 professional food technologist that will mix the inputs properly to achieve a unique taste.

years of operation.

Implementation To handle the implementation of this project professionally, prospective investors should embark upon a detailed and bankable feasibility studies. The writer is readily available for the feasibility studies and packaging of a bankable feasibility studies reports/ business plans.

Uba Godwin can be reached via Tel: 08023664368, 08034494437 E-mail: ubagodwin@yahoo.com

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Off Business-Turf

Day a girl beat me up SIAKA MOMOH

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was a terror in the village. How? I was the headmaster’s ‘son’. The headmaster was law in the village.

He was highly revered and feared somehow, by all and sundry. He was a lord sort of. And by extension, Siaka, his ‘son’ enjoyed the same priviledge too. The headmaster’s name is F. Omo Okotete – Francis Omoerere Okotete, who is now of blessed memory.

The power that Nero wielded (this was a name that the trio of Siaka, Fidelis and Ambrose – all of us his sons - conspiratorially called him because of his toughness – recall Franco Nero, you will know what I mean) got into Siaka’s head. Call it youthful exuberance. We had a dog called Lion. Lion was my arsenal (the Blues) – my weapon of war against co-pupils who dared not to show me respect. My popular mantra was Lion, cash am.

And Lion obeyed my command to the letter.You won try me?

This was in the sixties in Oghareki, the other half of His Excellency, ex Governor Onanefe Ibori’s village –

Ogharefe. Interesting names – both have to do with wealth – the first is Oghara that has to do with market; and the second is an Oghara that is spiced with wealth. But where was the wealth? Where was the market?

I didn’t see any of these – that was far ago in the 1960s. But courtesy of Onanefe Ibori, Oghara is now a shadow of its former self. We can therefore say that Oghareki and Ogharefe are prophetic names. My people will say Oruko n roni (a name given to a person or place spells out the future of such a person or place.)

All I can recall was in existence then were villages cut off from Sapele, the real place of wealth then – not poor Ogharas. Sapele was it (guys called it ‘Safa’ just like they called Warri ‘Wafi’ and Lagos the dream land ‘Lasport’.

Wafi, Safa, Lasport was the singsong of boma boys, what we call area boys now. You can see that the area boy thing didn’t start today. Sapele was a type of Lagos because it was home to one of the country’s booming ports then. This is now history.

I was king. Can you imagine poor

me, a non-native, a non-Urhobo from Oduduwa clan lording it over sons and daughters of the land! The licence I had was the fact that an Urhobo man was my father in loco parentis. I get heart o.

But one day, I met my nemesis. Na common girl come show me. Shoo, oja rhewe(I suffered, was disgraced).

She challenged me on the street – the road that leads to Ajagbodudu, a neighbouring community also caught off from big Sapele. I hope I am getting my geography right, because this was when I was in primary 2 or 3. I had all the confidence even without Lion. I was the Goliath, she was David. We engaged in the usual preambles before a duel – throwing abusive words at each other. We were not too far into this session when she suddenly stooped.

I thought she was about picking up a wood or a stone. But I was wrong. She had a strategy which was strange to me. She scooped some sand and in a jiffy, poured it into her mouth, sprayed it into my eyes and swept me off the ground. Before I knew it, I was flat on the ground. I was humbled. See me see trouble. Oja rhewe.

Trade&Investment Matters

Nigeria-Vietnam Chamber holds business meeting SIAKA MOMOH

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he Nigeria-Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (NVCCI) will hold its 2nd Quarterly Business Meeting this year on August 16, 2018, at Golden Gate Restaurant, Alfred Rewane Road, Ikoyi, Lagos.

The event which kicks off at 9am has as theme, ‘Facing the 4th

Industrial Revolution; NigeriaVietnam in a Digitalizing World’.

According to statement signed by the chamber’s president, Oye Akinsemoyin, “It is strictly a business meeting attracting many private and public sector credible decision-makers, leading investors and captains of industry”.

He said the event would offer exclusive opportunities for mar-

keting presentation of products of interested organisations or government bodies, B-2B engagement session, pre-registering for the Annual Agriculture and Mining Sector/Golden Cashew Festival Retreat coming up between October 2 and 14 2018 in Vietnam.

Enquiries for registration should be forwarded to the Chamber’s HQ via 08023176225, he said.

BUSINESS DAY

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Editor’s Note

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ost Nigerians are said to possess entrepreneurial spirit. You hear this being pronounced severally at different forums by notable business stakeholders, local and foreign.

You do not only hear the verbal outpourings on this subject, you see and feel their manifestations on a daily basis.

Another plus for Nigeria is that the ownership structure by age, of small enterprises in Nigeria, according to a National MSME Collaborative Survey, shows that the age bracket of 24-50 dominates. Hence youth entrepreneurs are dominant in Nigeria’s entrepreneurship space. So the stage is set for the blossoming of Nigerians entrepreneurial spirit.

French President Emmanuel Macron was in town on account of this. He met his match in Tony Elumelu. Macron came in and gave Tony Elumelu’s $100 entrepreneurship programme for African youth a big push with one billion Euros. Our cover has the rest of the story.

Successful Chinese entrepreneurs are small-picture people who constantly examine their business operations from every angle. They pay attention to the finest details and agonise over past mistakes with a view to not repeating them in future. They are voracious learners: from textbooks as well as business mentors. In particular, they fastidiously study what their opposition is up to with a view to copying best practices. This is a valuable research offering you surely need to up the game in your business.

We have the Apapa ports and axis traffic gridlock nuisance in our hands. As if this is not suffi-

Siaka Momoh cient heartache, another web of private oil jetties have swung up in Ijegun in Oriade Local Government Development Area of Lagos State, a multi-billion naira project built without consideration for road infrastructure that the tank farms in these jetties need for the right supply and logistics chain. Why this madness?

Why this self-destruct? Why? Why? Flip to Enterprise Strokes for more on this heartbreaking matter.

We have a new segment Off Business-Turf which you will find interesting. Like the name suggests, it is all about the fripperies, about the sideline of business – off balance sheet stories.

We have all these and more in this month edition. Have a good read.

For advert placements, sponsorship, reactions editorial contributions, please contact SIAKA through siakamomoh@yahoo.com; 2348061396410; 23408023033988

The Macron-Elumelu...

Continued from page 33 and the discovery, experimentation, development, imitation and adoption of new products, new processes and new organizational set ups. Innovation is the conversion of knowledge and ideas into a benefit, which may be for commercial use or for the public good; the benefit may be new or improved products, processes or services.” This is entrepreneurship.

A project for the youth Macron and Elumelu are flaunting.

Case studies Some case studies will help drive the message home: Mark Elliot Zuckerberg, born May 14, 1984, is an American computer programmer and internet entrepreneur. He is best known as one of five co-founders of the social networking site Facebook. Zuckerberg is the chairman and chief executive of Facebook, Inc. Born and raised in New York State,

Zuckerberg took up writing software programmes as a hobby in middle school, beginning with BASIC, with help from his father and a tutor (who called him a “prodigy”). In high school, he was a highflier in classic literature and fencing while studying at Phillips Exeter Academy.

Zuckerberg later attended Harvard University, majoring in Computer Science and Psychology. In his sophomore year, he wrote a programme called Facemash as a “fun” project, letting students on the college’s network vote on other students’ photo attractiveness. It was shut down within days, but would become a template for his writing Facebook, a programme he launched from his dormitory room.

With the help of friends, he took Facebook to other campuses nationwide and soon after, moved to Palo Alto, California. By 2007, Zuckerberg was a billionaire at the age of 23!

You would recall Mark Zuckerberg, world renown IT colossus, was in

Nigeria recently rubbing shoulders with the high and mighty(including Nigeria’s President Mohammadu Buhari). He also had robust rapport with Nigerian young IT players. He was at Co-Creation Club, Yaba, Lagos, where he spoke to children at a summer coding camp and techno-entrepreneurs who visit the centre to build and launch their apps.

Devi Prasad Shetty - the Indian medical innovator Winner of a 2011 Economist award for innovation among a string of other accolades. Devi Prasad Shetty (born on May 8, 1953) is an Indian philanthropist and a cardiac surgeon. He is accredited with pioneering quality medical care at affordable prices by achieving economies of scale. He was awarded the prestigious Padma Bhushan, third highest civilian award in India for his contribution to the field of affordable healthcare.

After completing his graduate de-

COMING IN AUGUST: Ten lessons from Gung Ho.

gree in Medicine and post-graduate work in General Surgery, he trained in cardiac surgery at Guys Hospital in the United Kingdom. He returned to India in 1989 and initially worked at B.M. Birla Hospital in Kolkata. He performed the first neonatal heart surgery in the country on a 9-day-old baby.

His family business, the Narayana Hrudayalaya Group, provides world class cardiac care at radical low cost by applying the philosophy of mass production and lean manufacturing.

Heart surgery costs between $2000 and $5000, compared with $20,000 to $100,000 in the US. Despite providing around 60 free operations a week to poor patients, the group makes a higher profit margin than the average American hospital. Shetty’s audacious goal is to provide heart surgery for $800.

Obayomi Adeleke – the bio-technologist Adeleke, who graduated from OOU in

2004, is a biotechnologist at Bio Applications Nigeria. He is a member of the American Society for Microbiology (ASM), Gateway Future Leaders forum and an international field volunteer for One Village Foundation U.S.A. After he left school, he felt empty inside and wondered why he should call himself a microbiologist when he could not even handle a simple microscope. He felt the hunger to prove to the society he could offer something of value.

He had been an apprentice under George Chan, a professor of the Zero Emissions Research Initiative- Switzerland/Mauritius. He learnt about theoretical and practical aspects of anaerobic digester technology. He then built a functional prototype Biogas plant in Lagos, Nigeria.

His interest: sustainable biological technologies that will benefit humanity. That was the brainwave he had, that was the idea, the creativity. And he ran with it.

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Bookshelf

Bimbo Oloyede wraps up ‘Strictly Speaking’ journey with great launch The book is based on the belief that articulation and effective communication, is an efficient tool that strengthens personal and corporate development, promotes educational advancement, and enhances dynamic information dissemination and good governance.’

Ijegun jetty menace

SIAKA MOMOH

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uson Centre, Lagos was all glamour recently in Lagos as ace broadcaster Bimbo Oloyede launched two books ‘Strictly Speaking: Pronunciation Made Easy’ and ‘Strictly Speaking: An Oral Guide for Schools and Colleges’.

It was a launch that pulled the likes of Christopher Kolade who chaired the event, Olu Jacobs and wife Joke Jacobs, Dele Adetiba, Julie Coker, Adesua Onyenekwe, Siene Allwell Brown, Sonny Irabor and several other media dignitaries and business stakeholders to the Lagos Island high brow event centre..

Reviewing ‘Strictly Speaking’, Dele Adetiba, a retired fine broadcaster and contemporary of Bimbo Oloyede, noted that “it is a local version of Daniel Jones – that famous English book of pronunciation”. He said whereas Daniel Jones is largely a kind of compilation of English words and how they are pronounced, ‘Strictly Speaking’ does that and much more. “It also deals with English expressions and how they are used,” he said.

To underscore the importance of speaking proper English, Dele Adetiba said perception is held around the way we are dressed and the way we speak. “But sometimes it is totally wrong,” he explained.

Drawing from the book, he noted that spellings do not matter when it comes to pronunciation. “The import of this,” he said, “is that we must endeavour to learn pronunciation of each word right”.

Bimbo made this clearer in ‘Strictly Speaking’ by quoting Bill Bryson, author of ‘Mother Tongue’ as follows: ‘If there is one thing certain about English pronunciation, it is that there is nothing certain about it.

No language in the world has more words spelled the same way and yet pronounced differently. …English pronunciation is so various – one

…Another national calamity waiting to happen

W

might say random – that not one of our twenty-six letters can be relied on for constancy.’

According to Dele, “The book deals with vowels and the sound of each vowel. The book starts from the known to the unknown. The book has the equivalent in other languages.

With each step, you have exercises to encourage practice.”

Lack of effective communication among Nigerians, especially public officials propelled Bimbo Oloyede to write ‘Strictly Speaking: Pronunciation Made Easy’. Said she: “The book is, therefore, based on the belief that articulation and effective communication, is an efficient tool that strengthens personal and corporate development, promotes educational advancement, and enhances dynamic information dissemination and good governance.”

“In addition, as a practitioner in the broadcast sector, I have been concerned about the falling standards of presentation and pronunciation that permeate our air waves as

well as the poor performance of public officials within our public space. Hence, ‘Strictly Speaking’ is my contribution towards re-awakening the first part of the effective communication process and a practical way of improving the standard of spoken and written English, which is after all, Nigeria’s official language.

She added: “Agreed English may not be the first language of Nigerians, but it is Nigeria’s official language… I thought I was writing ‘Strictly Speaking’ for a general audience. But after due consultation, I had to come up with a second book, so that I could include certain sections that will be useful to secondary school students to enable them prepare for statutory examinations like WAEC and NECO. “I also thought it was important to learn the sounds in English by including the audio section CD to ensure it is practised. I am happy to inform you that the book, ‘Strictly Speaking: An Oral Guide for Schools and Colleges’ has just been approved by the Lagos State Ministry of Education.”

Global Matters

World Bank Appoints New Vice President for Africa EFETOBORE EKUGBE

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he World Bank has appointed Hafez Ghanem as the new World Bank Vice President for Africa, effective July 1, 2018.

According to a statement, the development expert with over 30 years of experience, Ghanem will lead an active regional portfolio consisting of over 600 projects totaling more than $71 billion.

Under Ghanem’s leadership, the World Bank will continue to support inclusive growth and poverty reduction by financing projects that boost human capital, support private sector

development, raise agricultural productivity, improve access to infrastructure, build resilience to climate change, and promote regional integration. He brings a wealth of experience to the position, having worked in more than 30 countries in Africa, Europe and Central Asia, Middle East and North Africa, and Southeast Asia. Previously the World Bank’s Vice President for the Middle East and North Africa, he led engagement in the region through a portfolio of ongoing projects, technical assistance and grants worth more than $13 billion.

Ghanem succeeds Makhtar Diop, who has been appointed as the World Bank’s Vice President for Infrastructure.

hy do we have this mad love for negativities?

Why has government failed all these years to find a solution to the traffic gridlock that has become a killer squeeze on the economy as represented by Apapa and its web of farm-tanks which have made this nation’s vital economic axis difficult to access?

As if the Apapa nuisance is not sufficient heartache, another web of private oil jetties have swung up in Ijegun in Oriade Local Government Development Area of Lagos State, a multi-billion naira project built without consideration for road infrastructure that the tank farms in these jetties need for the right supply and logistics chain.

If anything, the Apapa terrifying burden in the neighbourhood of Ijegun is enough benefit of hindsight to learn from. It is no longer news that Apapa-Wharf/Tin Can Island stretch of the Oshodi-Apapa Motorway has become a no-goarea. Reason? Traffic gridlock.

It has even gone beyond Apapa-Oshodi route. Depending on the part of the mainland you are heading from, you will experience the traffic menace. Long chains of fuel-laden tankers, containers-loaded trucks, now stretch from as far as Folorunso Williams Avenue(former Western Avenue), Orile-Iganmu axis, to Apapa. This means traffic jam to neighbourhoods.

Businesses have moved out of Apapa and neighbourhood and more are still moving out. They are moving out to more suitable places like Surulere, Ilupeju, Gbagada, and sane parts of the OshodiApapa motorway.

It is less business for commercial vehicles. Motorbikes have taken over charging cut-throat prices and commuters and consumers of products moving from one point to the other bear the brunt.

Oriade Local Government Development Area now has to bear the kind of pain; the kind of high risk Apapa community is currently subjected to. Who cares? A multibillion naira business is established in a residential area – oil depot in a residential area with no consideration for suitable network of roads; with no thought of the risk involved! One may want to ask if any environmental assessment on this huge project was done at all.

Who cares?

Originally, passage was to be through Navy Town Road but Navy sensibly said ‘No’, arguing that the

Navy Town would be endangered.

The owners had recourse to the densely populated Ijegun community and its ramshackle network of roads. The roads are in very serious state of disrepair – strewn with craters that can cause oil-laden tankers to fall over. One would have expected building of a dedicated road for this big business and if not a reconstruction of an existing road – widened concrete pavement road that is suitable for the Ijegun water-logged terrain.

But what is on ground now? An old rickety Marwa Road is home to the Oriade Local Government Development Area Office! Does the local government office care? I do not think so going by the way this arm of government is going about the issue.

Only recently, it shut down operations for a week or thereabout.

And guess what it did? It mended just some 30 metres of the several kilometres stretch from the FinNiger end of the Marwa Road to the oil depot at Ijegun water front.

The road and other adjoining roads like Old Ojo Road and the LagosBadagry Express Road under construction by CCCEC whose bridges would soon be encroached upon.

You would want to ask if we have learnt anything from the recent Otedola Bridge along Lagos Ibadan Expressway national calamity. Who cares?

If the owners of this big business do no care, and our governors do not care, we care. Nigerians care.

Residents of the Oriade community who run a litany of small enterprises in this Lagos mainland area care for their lives and businesses.

They care because they are tax payers too. The small businesses pay annual rates to the local government. Civil servants and others who are in paid employments are hooked on to PAYE whose net they cannot extricate themselves from.

Their cars are damaged regularly by the unmotorable Oriade road network; and this means regular visit to the mechanic workshop.

We know what that means? So they care. Very well since they are feeling the pinch.

Government must care. And the desired care must come now.

The Federal Government/Dangote Group/ Flour Mills Apapa issue strategic alliance can be replicated in Oriade.The owners of the big Ijegun oil jetty cannot say ‘No’ to this.

There are a handful of them. They cannot reject this proposal since it is in the interest of their business.

Friday 20 July 2018

Policy

Investments

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Market

Insight

BUSINESS DAY

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Influencers

NEWS

Climate change reducing actions, renewables key to achieving SDGs – BIMUN ... IEA says global investment in renewables fell 7% to $318bn in 2017 ISAAC ANYAOGU

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he Babcock Int e r nat i o na l Model United N a t i o n s ( B IMUN), a simulated forum of the United Nations General Assembly organised by Babcock University, has urged member states to pay closer attention to the connection between climate change, alternative energies and the role they play in reducing conflicts.

In remarks made at the second edition of the event held in the University, located in Ilishan Ogun State, in collaboration with the United Nations Information Centre (UNIC), recently, Ademola Tayo president and vice chancellor of the university said the link between climate-change and conflicts should make states invest in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

This is coming at a time the International Energy Association (IEA) has sounded the alarm over a “worrying” pause in the shift to clean energy after global investment in fell 7% to $318bn

L-R, Sonuga Michael (Olofin of Ilishan-Remo Ogun State) Ademola S. Tayo (President/Vice Chancellor, Babcock University), Oluseyi Soremekun, national information officer, United Nations Information Centre-Lagos and Chiemela Samuel, executive director, Babcock International Model United Nations, BIMUN, during the 2nd session of BIMUN 2018 conference at Babcock University, Illishan-Remo, Ogun State.

year. The organisation said the decline is set to continue into 2018, threatening energy security, climate change and air pollution goals.

Ademola Ta y o said,“Considering the role the goals play in charting a path for meaningful and all encompassing development in the world, and putting this side by side with possible threats the effects of climate change pose at their achievement,

it was a well-thought out decision that you chose the theme ‘Addressing Climate Change-Induced Conflicts: A Roadmap for Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.”

The Vice chancellor said that the previous year 2017 was one of three warmest on record. “Also, an analysis by the World Meteorological Organisation shows that five-year average global temperature from 2013

-2017 was the highest on record.

Consequently, the world continues to experience rising sea levels, extreme weather conditions and increasing concentrations of greenhouse gases.

According to Tayo, “The African continent is on the receiving end and suffers adverse effects of the backlash of climate change. This is even more important when situated within the

context of environmental conflicts. Such conflicts have devastated Africa and also generated a mass of internally displaced persons and a stream of environmental refugees.

“Achieving any meaningful development within this condition would be an effort in futility. This has not allowed Africa as a continent to translate the vast natural and human resources nature has bestowed upon her into any reasonable benefit for her teeming populations. This underscores the need for urgent and accelerated action by countries to address the phenomenon.

Speaking at the plenary, Ronald Kayanja director of UNIC, Ronald Kayanja, urged the delegates to seize the opportunity of the Model UN to think beyond their immediate environment and focus on global issues, which countries grapple with daily. “I am hopeful that after this experience you will become truly global citizens who seek to solve problems faced by the wider humanity.”

According to Kayanja, “The General Assembly

Is a forum for deliberation among governments of member states and provides collective legitimisation of norms, rules and actions.

It also provides oversight function for the UN system. It is a forum where all member states are treated as equals, providing an opportunity for all views and concerns to be expressed.

“This is probably our last chance to provide lives of dignity to our people without compromising the ability of succeeding generations to be assured of decent livelihoods. The Agenda 2030 and the sustainable development goals constitute a framework to save humanity and the planet we all call home. We must all take this framework very seriously.”

Meanwhile fossil fuels increased their share of energy supply investment for the first time since 2014, to $790bn, and will play a significant role for years on current trends, the IEA said.

Investment in coal power dropped sharply but was offset by an uptick in oil and gas spending, the World Energy Investment report found.

MARKET

NNPC plans to generate 14MW electricity from oil palms HARRISON EDEH, Abuja

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he Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) says is plans to generate about 14 megawatts of electricity from empty fruit bunches and the residue from oil palms, a form of energy known as biofuel.

Ndu Ughamadu, the Corporation’s spokesman said the plant would be built on a 26, 000 hectares facility designed to accommodate an oil palm plantation colocated with bio-diesel, crude palm oil co-generation plants and other facilities.

Under the arrangement, the oil palm would be processed into fuel grade Biodiesel and industrial crude

palm oil as by-products.

The Biodiesel will be blended with diesel in a mix of 20 per cent biodiesel and 80 per cent diesel and sold as B20 in the domestic market. Any utilized biodiesel quantity would be exported to the international market.

The NNPC Cross River bio-fuel project is in tandem with renewed drive by the corporation to develop biofuels in Nigeria through partnership with core investors to create a low carbon economy and link oil and gas sector to the agricultural sector. This is also to mitigate the adverse effect of climate change and the transformation of NNPC into an integrated energy company with diverse portfolio.

The business model would involve a Special Purpose Vehicle (SP V )

comprising NNPC, State Government and the Coreinvestor. The state Government is expected to provide land as equity while core investor takes more than 50 per cent equity and operate the venture leaving NNPC and state Government with minority share of less than

50 per cent.

So far, Kebbi, Ondo, Taraba, Benue, Jigawa, Kogo, Adamawa have shown interest in partnering with NNPC in biofuels projects.

To this end the group said it has commenced a comprehensive community integration and stakehold-

Analyst: Isaac Anyaogu, Email: isaac.anyaogu@businessdayonline.com, 07037817378,

ers’ engagement to sensitize dwellers of Iwure, Ojor and Osomba/Akin communities of Cross River State ahead of planned oil palm-based biodiesel project in the state.

Already, officials of the corporation’s Renewable Energy Division (RED) have embarked on the sensitiza-

tion campaign across affected communities, providing information on the rationale and projected benefits of the biofuels projects in the state.

The bio-fuel project is in tandem with renewed drive by the corporation to develop biofuels in Nigeria through partnership with core investors to create a low carbon economy and link oil and gas sector to the agricultural sector. This is also to mitigate the adverse effect of climate change and the transformation of NNPC into an integrated energy company with diverse portfolio.

To this end, the NNPC Research and Development Division (R&D) is also being engaged for the conduct of Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) for the projects.

Graphics: Joel Samson

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Universal Music Group consolidates presence in Nigeria with launch of strategic division First Marquee label signings include acclaimed artistes; Tekno, Stonebwoy, Vanessa Mdee and Mr Eazi OBINNA EMELIKE

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niversal Music Group (UMG), the world leader in music-based entertainment, today announced a significant expansion of operations within Western Africa, with the launch of Universal Music Nigeria. The new strategic division, will operate from a new office in Lagos, under the leadership of seasoned music executive Ezegozie Eze Jr., who has been named general manager of Universal Music Nigeria.

Eze and his team will support artistes from Nigeria, Ghana, and Gambia throughout the continent and beyond, utilizing Universal Music Group’s global networks for wider discovery, marketing, promotion and distribution. Eze, who has previously held roles at Channel O Television, Empire Mates Entertainment (Banky W &WizKid) and was a founder of Pan-African creative companies, Republic 54, Alore Group, and Duma Collective, brings vital experience in the Nigerian music market. He will report to Sipho Dlamini, MD, Universal Music South Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa.

The label has signed a host of Nigerian-born artistes including; WurlD, Odunsi (the Engine), TayIwar, and Ghanaian-born artistes Cina Soul and Stonebwoy. In addition, the label has recently signed marquee deals with acclaimed singer and songwriter, Mr Eazi for pan-African releases, co-signed Nigerian artiste Tekno in conjunction with Island Records UK and Tanzanian singer and song writer Vanessa Mdee in con-

L-R Korede Ogunyomade, Joey Akan, Akin Solanke, Linda Nnado, Ezegozie Eze, Chioma Nkwankwo, Efosa Aiyevbomwan, Helen Ighalo and Bayo Fatoba at the UMG unveil

junction with AfroForce1 Records/ Universal Music Central Europe/ Universal Music South Africa. The two signings mark the first time UMG labels from the two continents have combined to sign and release African artistes globally, with other artist partnerships in the pipeline with UMG labels from around the world.

In making the announcement, Dlamini said, “In recent years there has been an increase in visibility of Nigerian and Ghanaian music and its influence on contemporary music around the world. Eze and his team are perfectly placed to support, nurture and help develop artists and musicians from the region, whilst

creating opportunities for new talent from the region to reach the widest possible audience.”

Eze commented, “I am delighted to be officially launching Universal Music’s Nigerian division at such an exciting time for African music around the world.The world’s largest music company opening an office within the region is a huge statement of belief in our local music talent.

The signings we have already made show our ambition to help ourartists reach the widest global audience and we are looking forward to working closely with our UMG label partners around the world to make that happen.”

The new division will work in partnership with existing UMG operations throughout the continent; including Cote D’Ivoire,Morocco and alongside key markets across English-speaking Africa in order to offer artists comprehensive opportunities throughout the region and provide pan-African talent the best possible launch pad for wider international success.

Universal Music Group operates two successful live music companies within Africa, both of which will also have divisions within Universal Music Nigeria. Launched in 2017 in Johannesburg, UMG Live Africa has quickly become one of the leading

talent booking agencies within the continent. It hassuccesfully helped redefine the role of a booking agency within Africa, with a broad roster of artists made up of both UMG talent and non-UMG signed artists making more than 600 performances throughout 2017. ULive Africa was founded in 2016 and is engaged in staging, producing, programming and hosting large-scale live concerts and events throughout Africa including Runway Jazz, the innaugralAfrican Comedy Awards, LekkiSunsplash (30th Anniversary Edition), The Music Industry Awardsin Nigeria, Afrochella and Baskets & Wine in Ghana, and Cocktails in the Wild in Uganda and Nigeria, with several other exciting projects in the pipeline.

Universal Music Group is also working closely in partnership with parent company Vivendi, and several of its divisions including CanalOlympia, Vivendi and Canal+ to support and develop the live music industry throughout the continent.

Universal Music Nigeria is currently developing plans to open a recording studio in Lagos in order to further advance the recording facilities available to local African talent.It will become UMG’s second fully purposed studio within Africa, alongside the existing facility in Johannesburg, South Africa.

Through these strategic investments, initiatives and executive appointments, UMG is accelerating the company’s focus on growing the entire African music ecosystem including recorded music, music publishing, production, live events, brand partnerships and merchandising efforts.

Lara and the Beat opens in cinemas today …Coldstone & Domino launch new offerings for the new movie

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s Lara and the Beat, the latest movie courtesy of Biola Alabi Media opens in cinemas across the country today, the movie producers equally partnered with Cold Stone Creamery and Domino’s Pizza to launch a new ice-cream flavour and meal offering at the ColdStone and Domino’s outlet on Wempco Road, Agidingbi, Lagos recently.

Seyi Shay, Vector, Somkele and Chioma Akpotha, all lead cast members from the movie, joined

by Tosin Coker, the director, and Biola Alabi, the executive producer, were present at the unveiling event.

ColdStone Creamery Nigeria and Domino’s Pizza have transcended beyond serving delicious ice cream and pizza, to becoming lifestyle brands. “We are always on the lookout for opportunities such as this; Lara and the beat is a per-

fect fit as it has key elements that resonate with our brand: lifestyle, fashion and music. The beautiful story of the movie inspired a new ice cream flavor named “Baby cakes” a term of endearment used by the lead character “Lara Giwa” in the movie. The new flavor is a delicious strawberry icecream layered with yellow cake and topped with crunchy coconut shavings,” said Bimpe Olanrewaju, marketing manager of ColdStone Creamery.

“Baby Cakes would be selling at every Cold Stone Creamery store in Nigeria from July 17, 2018.

We look forward to welcoming everyone with their loved ones to any of our outlets to enjoy this exclusive new flavour,” she added.

According to Biola Alabi, executive producer of Lara and the Beat, “This partnership should come as no surprise, the ColdStone brand were our partners on

our first movie project, and they have distinguished themselves by creating unique, fun, family experiences for Nigerians, as soon as you walk into any of their stores they make you feel warm and wel-

come, which is exactly how this film will make you feel. Lara and the Beat is a movie about family and friendship, so partnering with these delightful brands only made sense for us to do.”

Some of the dignitaries at the unveiling of Lara and the Beat

“We at Domino’s pizza are very excited to partner with Lara and the Beat on this unique project, bringing to life a complete story that radiates fun, family and togetherness,” said Ilyas Kazeem, marketing manager of Domino’s Pizza.

“This is why we are dedicating a new and special menu to this movie called the “Squad Meal”.

This menu celebrates the importance of love, friendship and the joy of sharing. It consists of a Medium Pizza, Chicken Wings and our delicious Melted Choco Pocket dessert for just NGN5,000,” he added.

Lara and the Beat opens in cinemas nationwide this Friday, July 20, 2018, ice-cream and pizza lovers everywhere can visit any ColdStone Creamery and Domino’s Pizza outlet to enjoy this delightful celebration of flavour and delicious goodness.

Friday 20 July 2018

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Business Etiquette

with Janet Adetu

Movie Review - TAG

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ometimes choosing a good movie to watch, can be a daunting task, this is one of those movies with little advertising and publicity budget. There was also one slight problem the title, most people couldn’t tell exactly what the movie will be about and if it was going to be worth their while, I took a risk on this one and I am extremely happy and excited to break it to you that it was a fantastic and hilarious comedy movie, they totally killed it, I laughed so hard it looked like I was going to fall off my seat that evening.

It was very funny and I enjoyed every bit of the movie. As the title entails the movie was basically about 5 friends playing a game called Tag. These men grew up and continued playing this childhood game, just to keep the memory fresh and the bond stronger, it really worked for them.

Jeff Tomsic was the director of the movie and it was written by Rob Mckittrick, Mark Steilen. I sincerely felt they had a well taught out story, the costumes were good, and the location and cast played their roles perfectly well.

If you enjoyed “Jumanji” of earlier this year, then you definitely will enjoy this comedy movie also.

The timing was also very perfect as it didn’t feel too long; most people didn’t want to get up, even when it was over.

“Tag” was a movie based on a true life story about 5 friends who grew up together. They attended the same junior and high school and all through played a game called “Tag”, where each friend had to run around and touch the other friend for the chase to continue.

Whoever was the last had to hold on till they all converged again whenever there was a holiday. This game went on and on for years, even after they graduated from University, got married and found jobs, they kept on with the chase and this helped to keep their friendship even stronger. In this group of 5 friends, they had 2 friends who had never being tagged, they all ganged up and came up with a strat-

Being Time Conscious -Part 1

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Cast: Ed Helms, Jake Johnson (XVI), Hannibal Buress, Jon Hamm, Jeremy Renner, Annabelle WallisRashida Jones & Leslie Bibb Genre: Comedy Director: Jeff Tomsic Ratings: PG 13 (for languages throughout, crude sexual content, drug use and brief nudity) Written by: Rob McKittrick, Mark Steilen Runtime: 100 mins Studio: Warner Bros. Pictures egy and caught “Bob Callahan” as he was called in the movie and they were left with only one champion, who had never being caught. He was called “Jerry Pierce” as he was called in the movie. Jerry had never being caught, he was so skilled and talented, and he was the fastest and strongest of them all. He was willing to go to any length to make sure he wasn’t caught, even if it meant jumping off the window; he was that good and crazy.

The guys found out that Jerry was getting married in two weeks and felt that they could be no better opportunity than catching him during his wedding. So they all set out with a plan, despite not being invited, they were all determined to end the game and at least for once lay their hands on Jerry.

You need to see the length these grown up would go just to lay their hands on Jerry and win the game, guess what there was no price for the winner, it was all for fun. For them this

game kept their friendship stronger and they always had a reason to meet up, their philosophy was to always do what they did as kids, if that would make them bond better and it worked for them over the years.

To my verdict I would score “Tag” an 8/10 why because I really did enjoy the movie, it was funny, had a good choice of cast and had a nice story. It’s sometimes really nice to have a good laugh and just enjoy the jokes in a movie, without really having to think and calculate the next moves in the film.

For the comedy movie lovers, this is a sure recommendation from me and I am sure you would enjoy it too.

Feel free to review any movie of your choice in not more than 200 words, please send us a mail to linda@businessdayonline. com and stand a chance to win a free movie ticket

Linda Ochugbua @lindaochugbua

ime a very valuable asset that as they say once spent can never be regained. How valuable is your time? Does it depend on the occasion, the day, the people you will see, your priorities at the time, your mood, your attitude, eye service, favoritism, formality or informality of the event. Are you more conscious of time where it involves money, an important appointment, a service you are going to render, or a special event?

When is time less valuable to you? The truth is with time you either value it or not? You are either conscious of it or you are not?

You either value others or you do not?

Going for an event fashionably late, can either be because you care about yourself more and want to be seen by others or you consider other things more important than that prescheduled event. A lot of life and productive results unused or unachieved get lost entirely when time is unnecessarily wasted. The saying time is “money” is emphatically a true statement. Every time lost is indeed a loss of some form of income or the other.

A lot of time is gained when you make it a duty, to start your day early.

For the purpose of presence, leadership and professionalism, being known to keep time is to your advantage. It enhances your creditability, integrity, diligence, trustworthiness and pedigree. Being renowned for being a late comer simply overshadows anything considered good about you. It is a fact that at times you may schedule a meeting or an appointment, set out on time for it but still get caught in circumstances beyond your control. I must say though courtesy demands that you inform your counterpart on time and give them an update of your position. It is as simple as a phone call or message with an apology saying that you are running late; informing of how long it will take you to arrive or indicating your inability to make it after all.

“Manner are priceless but the lack of manners can cost you Millions”. It is amazing how in this neck of the woods everyone is constantly in a hurry; wanting to get to places in record time but still everyone ar-

rives late. Why be in a hurry when you can set out early, take your time, and arrive in time to get comfortable in that space. For every meeting you have you will need to ensure you arrive at the minimum 15 minutes early.

To sensitize yourself with the environment, to prep yourself for the meeting and for networking. To be successful in your endeavors be prepared always, do not be caught off guard.

Whether you are going for a formal event that includes an invitation and time stated or an informal event that does not include a formal invite but a verbal one, no one likes to be stood up. There are places where if you miss your appointment like the doctor, dentist, optician, hairdresser, the spa, another person will take over and you will need to rebook otherwise wait in

as you give yourself tasks, unless you have a bionic brain, it is time to start keeping and maintaining a dairy of events for today and beyond. Writing it down helps recall your events to an extent. Viewing your daily dairy helps you strategize your daily and weekly movement. At the same time you are able to avoid any clash of events once you have noted your plan ahead.

line again. For flight journeys or interviews time keeping is a must, the result of poor time keeping is more detrimental to you. Essentially where you have a prescheduled fixed appointment there is no excuse for not keeping to time. Missing your flight can be a sign of irresponsibility.

Being late for an interview is considered the same way too. I know some friends who are strict sticklers for time no matter the occasion, it is in their DNA to be on time. They may in the cause of the event decide to leave earlier than others but they are comfortable being on time for all occasions. On the other hand I know some friends who are perpetual late comers and are very comfortable being known for that. It is maybe that they juggle too many things in a day or pile up too many things in one space of time without considering the actual time to complete them. It ends up being heir way or the high way. It is important to avoid time overlaps when you plan you to do list for the day.

spent on emails or attending to important phone calls.

Structure your day as regards the order of importance. You may also structure your day according to how much time you will use physically doing those things. Do smaller jobs first it will save time for bigger jobs.

Time Keeping Etiquette.

1. Diarize With so much going on daily

2. Prioritize It goes without saying that as you keep note of your events for the present and the future, arrange them accordingly as to how important they are to you. It is so easy to waste precious time on doing things that is not of value to you. For instance spending all morning attending to WhatApp messages is not as valuable as that time being

3. Lateness Lateness at times is inevitable for many reasons, let it be occasionally and not all the time. Make it a point not to be late when it matters most. It is an image saboteur when you find yourself giving excuses or requesting for rules to be bent because of your negligence. Many job opportunities and deals are lost due to poor time management, as it speaks to how you will conduct yourself if you had that opportunity on your hands. Create a no lateness policy even when you know others are “African time keepers” let it be one of your productive values.

Watch Out for more time keeping tips in Part 2 Goodluck Janet.adetu@gmail.com

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Hotels Chef Umuteme and his love for culinary adventure OBINNA EMELIKE

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hile you are on a long or short stay at Transcorp Hilton Hotel Abuja, there is one interesting man to meet. He is not seen at every corner of the hotel, but impacts guests who make effort to find him with his creative offerings.

Welcome to the world of Chef Jerry Umuteme. He is a sous chef who does things differently because of his wilder view of life, adaptability and flexibility.

While his mates were tying their hands on familiar recipes, he trailed a different path. First, a culinary career was not what many of his close relations and even friends thought Jerry should pursue, but he insisted.

Again, Chef Umuteme left Nigerian menu and even continental dishes, which are common grounds for emerging Nigerian chefs to the seemingly difficult Asian menu.

He calls it love for adventure, experiment, and better still, passion. “While starting a culinary career, one should be able to explore different menus and regions, and that was exactly what I did with Chinese menu and it worked”, the chef says.

Today, the Delta Stateborn chef is master of Asian menu, particularly Chinese delicacies with several commendations from both Asian and other nationals who explore his culinary offerings at Transcorp Hilton Hotel’s Oriental Restaurant.

For over eight years now, the chef has led his team members to deliver world class Chinese cuisines to the guests. But another intriguing thing for the chef is the growing patronage at the restaurant. He sees customers from different regions of the world including Nigeria visiting, getting satisfied and repeating visits.

“Since the re-birth of the Oriental Restaurant on February 22, 2016, we now give more attention to the guests and have on the spot interaction with them in order to get their feedback. We have also introduced the “Lazy Suzan”, which allows guests on a table of more than five sitting capacity to have easy access to varieties of dishes served on the table with ease.

“The guests have been returning and we have several birthdays for both corporate and individual groups. We equally have returning guests who come with other group of guests to introduce and have a taste of the Asian cuisine” Chef Umuteme explains.

However, the indigenous chef has also paid his dues. He was diligent while being trained by four Chinese master chefs at different periods on several Asian menus. While on training, he mastered marination and cutting, which he described as the most difficult aspects in preparing Chinese cuisines.

Of course, with the several approvals and commendations from his four masters, Chef Umuteme is unequivocally inducted into the hall fame of Chinese master chef in the Diaspora.

You need a visit to the Oriental Restaurant, Transcorp Hilton Hotel Abuja, to taste and approve the chef on a personal assessment.

Chef Umuteme is interested in your visit to witness how a Nigerian is in-charge in a Chinese restaurant, and helps to offer guests culinary journey to the Oriental.

Nestled on the mezzanine floor of the multiaward winning hotel, The Oriental recently transformed from a buffet-style Asian restaurant to an a la carte restaurant offering extensive Asian menu cooked fresh on site every day by the experienced chefs led

by Chef Umuteme.

Beyond the variety of spicy Oriental menu on offer, the restaurant is an attraction on its own. The decor of the restaurant

straddles the exotic and the chic, featuring colourful Oriental chandeliers, original oriental crafts and beautiful flower arrangements. The attractive restaurant bears the influence of Fengshui principles and Eastern minimalism, both of which impart a sleek, futuristic feel that seems to suit the hotel’s discernible clientele. The restaurant’s atmosphere is defined by its red-stained furniture, Asian aesthetics, and celebrity sightings.

As well, the food displays a creative approach in dishes such as Sizzling Szechuan Beef, Teriyaki & Honey Glazed Salmon and Kung Pao Chicken. That is credit to our Chef Jerry Umuteme.

On a typical visit, guests start with Appetisers and Soups ranging from Peking Duck Soup, Egg Drop Soup, Togarashi Fried Squid, Thai Fish Cakes, Malaysian Chicken Satay among others.

On the menu for the Main Dish are: Sizzling Beef in Black Bean Sauce, shiitake mushrooms, bamboo shoots, Chilli King Prawns, Kung Pao Chicken, Thai Red Curry among others.

Also, the Set Menu comes with exciting options: Set menu for two and four guests, Chef ’s Set Menu, Mongolian Set Menu and Vegetarian Set Menu.

The restaurant also offers a special Mongolian Barbecue (BBQ) that allows guests to choose from the selection of ingredients available for the chefs to prepare their choice dishes. All the guest need is to decide on the selection and tick the boxes on the table order pad.

Chef Umuteme appreciates the fact that a lot of guests enjoy the spring rolls, Vietnamese in derivation, combining lightness and impeccable flavour combinations. The reasons for him may probably be because the portions are generous, especially when it comes to noodles, and service is unfailingly polite.

Another reason guests are thronging the restaurant is because whether you choose your favourite all time dish, or try something new, the professional waiting staff will guide you through the sumptuous menu to make sure you taste the real Oriental experience.

Top BusinessDay Partner Hotels Novotel Port Harcourt Address: 3 Stadium Road Rumuomasi, Port Harcourt Rivers State, Tel: 0809 713 5734

Transcorp Hilton Abuja 1 Aguiyi Ironsi Street Maitama, Abuja Tel: +234-708-060-3000

Protea Hotel Apo Apartments Address: Ahmadu Bello Way, Apo, Abuja Tel: 09 480 1818

Hawthorn Suites by Wyndham Abuja 1 Uke St, Garki, Abuja.

Tel: +234 9 4603900, +234 805 7522500

Chida Hotel International Address: Plot 224, Solomon Lar Way, Utako, Abuja Tel: 0810 871 8882

Radisson Blu Hotel Ikeja #38/40 Isaac John St, Ikeja GRA100271, Ikeja Tel: +234-908-780 5555

206 Hotel Plot 206 Cadastral Zone B02 Opposite Kenuj 02 Mall, Oladipo Diya Road, Durumi District, Abuja Tel: 08119707993 Email: 206abuja@gmail.com

Protea Hotel (GRA Ikeja) GRA Ikeja

Protea Hotel (V/Island) Off Ajose Adeogun Street, V/ Island

Gombe Jewel Hotel, 22, Njamena Street, off Aminu Kano crescent Wuse 2, Abuja.

Radisson Blu Anchorage Hotel 1A,Ozumba Mbadiwe,Victoria Island.

BUSINESS DAY

Friday 20 July 2018

41

Live @ the Stock exchange Prices for Securities Traded as of Thursday19 July 2018 Company

Symbol

Deals

Current Price

Trades

Volume

PRICES FOR MAIN BOARD SECURITIES (Equities) BANKING ACCESS BANK PLC. 0.00 10.10 0.50 138 6,746,490 UNITED BANK FOR AFRICA PLC 0.00 9.70 -2.02 141 3,906,327 0.00 22.95 -4.18 421 26,513,650 ZENITH INTERNATIONAL BANK PLC 700 37,166,467 OTHER FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS FBN HOLDINGS PLC 0.00 8.80 -4.86 429 19,245,278 429 19,245,278 1,129 56,411,745

BUILDING MATERIALS DANGOTE CEMENT PLC 0.00 230.00 - 20 61,321 LAFARGE AFRICA PLC. 0.00 34.00 - 81 1,426,988 101 1,488,309 101 1,488,309

EXPLORATION AND PRODUCTION SEPLAT PETROLEUM DEVELOPMENT COMPANY LTD 0.00 650.00 - 5 1,838 5 1,838 5 1,838 1,235 57,901,892 CROP PRODUCTION FTN COCOA PROCESSORS PLC 0.00 0.20 - 2 26,500 0.00 83.00 - 23 220,161 OKOMU OIL PALM PLC. PRESCO PLC 0.00 73.50 - 4 35,900 29 282,561 FISHING/HUNTING/TRAPPING ELLAH LAKES PLC. 0.00 4.26 - 0 0 0 0 LIVESTOCK/ANIMAL SPECIALTIES LIVESTOCK FEEDS PLC. 0.00 0.68 -9.33 9 810,666 9 810,666 38 1,093,227

DIVERSIFIED INDUSTRIES A.G. LEVENTIS NIGERIA PLC. 0.00 0.46 - 5 113,520 JOHN HOLT PLC. 0.00 0.58 - 0 0 S C O A NIG. PLC. 0.00 3.25 - 0 0 0.00 1.16 -6.45 199 24,391,597 TRANSNATIONAL CORPORATION OF NIGERIA PLC U A C N PLC. 0.00 13.25 -5.36 17 129,180 221 24,634,297 221 24,634,297

BUILDING CONSTRUCTION ARBICO PLC. 0.00 4.79 - 0 0 0 0 INFRASTRUCTURE/HEAVY CONSTRUCTION JULIUS BERGER NIG. PLC. 0.00 24.30 - 44 270,110 ROADS NIG PLC. 0.00 6.60 - 0 0 44 270,110 REAL ESTATE DEVELOPMENT UACN PROPERTY DEVELOPMENT CO. LIMITED 0.00 1.91 - 10 109,168 10 109,168 REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT TRUSTS (REITS) SKYE SHELTER FUND PLC 0.00 95.00 - 1 30 UNION HOMES REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT TRUST (REIT) 0.00 45.20 - 0 0 0.00 9.00 - 0 0 UPDC REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT TRUST 1 30 55 379,308

AUTOMOBILES/AUTO PARTS DN TYRE & RUBBER PLC 0.00 0.23 - 0 0 0 0 BEVERAGES--BREWERS/DISTILLERS CHAMPION BREW. PLC. 0.00 2.05 - 21 235,347 GOLDEN GUINEA BREW. PLC. 0.00 0.89 - 0 0 GUINNESS NIG PLC 0.00 97.00 - 20 341,370 INTERNATIONAL BREWERIES PLC. 0.00 39.20 -4.39 17 293,234 NIGERIAN BREW. PLC. 0.00 105.60 -2.22 79 2,839,236 137 3,709,187 FOOD PRODUCTS DANGOTE FLOUR MILLS PLC 0.00 9.50 2.15 38 262,300 DANGOTE SUGAR REFINERY PLC 0.00 19.50 6.56 61 5,277,219 FLOUR MILLS NIG. PLC. 0.00 30.00 - 79 1,781,738 HONEYWELL FLOUR MILL PLC 0.00 1.91 - 42 1,013,795 MULTI-TREX INTEGRATED FOODS PLC 0.00 0.36 - 0 0 N NIG. FLOUR MILLS PLC. 0.00 6.55 - 0 0 NASCON ALLIED INDUSTRIES PLC 0.00 20.25 1.25 22 1,539,560 UNION DICON SALT PLC. 0.00 13.45 - 0 0 242 9,874,612 FOOD PRODUCTS--DIVERSIFIED CADBURY NIGERIA PLC. 0.00 10.80 -6.09 27 180,670 NESTLE NIGERIA PLC. 0.00 1,442.30 -5.55 23 34,913 50 215,583 HOUSEHOLD DURABLES NIGERIAN ENAMELWARE PLC. 0.00 22.10 - 0 0 VITAFOAM NIG PLC. 0.00 3.25 - 7 192,828 7 192,828 PERSONAL/HOUSEHOLD PRODUCTS P Z CUSSONS NIGERIA PLC. 0.00 16.80 -0.59 30 194,935 UNILEVER NIGERIA PLC. 0.00 51.85 - 21 150,195 51 345,130 487 14,337,340

BANKING DIAMOND BANK PLC 0.00 1.29 3.20 41 2,245,809 ECOBANK TRANSNATIONAL INCORPORATED 0.00 20.70 0.49 32 707,403 FIDELITY BANK PLC 0.00 1.98 -1.00 80 4,072,615 GUARANTY TRUST BANK PLC. 0.00 38.00 3.97 261 78,361,111 JAIZ BANK PLC 0.00 0.65 3.17 4 189,430 SKYE BANK PLC 0.00 0.64 3.23 42 5,526,060 STERLING BANK PLC. 0.00 1.36 -6.21 14 558,494 UNION BANK NIG.PLC. 0.00 5.80 -1.69 45 1,107,116 UNITY BANK PLC 0.00 0.87 -7.45 10 367,820 WEMA BANK PLC. 0.00 0.68 9.68 25 1,604,518 554 94,740,376 INSURANCE CARRIERS, BROKERS AND SERVICES AFRICAN ALLIANCE INSURANCE COMPANY PLC 0.00 0.20 - 0 0 AIICO INSURANCE PLC. 0.00 0.65 -2.99 20 2,471,492 AXAMANSARD INSURANCE PLC 0.00 2.55 - 10 193,863 CONSOLIDATED HALLMARK INSURANCE PLC 0.00 0.27 3.85 6 210,500 CONTINENTAL REINSURANCE PLC 0.00 1.60 -3.03 5 229,923 CORNERSTONE INSURANCE COMPANY PLC. 0.00 0.29 - 0 0 GOLDLINK INSURANCE PLC 0.00 0.53 - 0 0 GREAT NIGERIAN INSURANCE PLC 0.00 0.50 - 0 0 GUINEA INSURANCE PLC. 0.00 0.38 - 0 0 INTERNATIONAL ENERGY INSURANCE COMPANY PLC 0.00 0.42 - 0 0 LASACO ASSURANCE PLC. 0.00 0.34 3.03 15 1,586,188 LAW UNION AND ROCK INS. PLC. 0.00 0.94 - 0 0 LINKAGE ASSURANCE PLC 0.00 0.79 8.22 18 755,000 MUTUAL BENEFITS ASSURANCE PLC. 0.00 0.33 -2.94 12 3,112,220 N.E.M INSURANCE CO (NIG) PLC. 0.00 3.00 - 12 155,750 NIGER INSURANCE CO. PLC. 0.00 0.27 8.00 5 2,057,825 PRESTIGE ASSURANCE CO. PLC. 0.00 0.50 - 4 9,000 REGENCY ALLIANCE INSURANCE COMPANY PLC 0.00 0.24 - 14 3,971,787 SOVEREIGN TRUST INSURANCE PLC 0.00 0.27 -6.90 16 3,910,429 0.00 0.42 - 0 0 STANDARD ALLIANCE INSURANCE PLC. STANDARD TRUST ASSURANCE PLC 0.00 0.48 - 0 0 SUNU ASSURANCES NIGERIA PLC. 0.00 0.21 - 13 657,000 UNIC DIVERSIFIED HOLDINGS PLC. 0.00 0.20 - 1 5,000 UNIVERSAL INSURANCE COMPANY PLC 0.00 0.50 - 0 0 VERITAS KAPITAL ASSURANCE PLC 0.00 0.30 - 0 0 WAPIC INSURANCE PLC 0.00 0.44 4.76 31 1,250,212 182 20,576,189 MICRO-FINANCE BANKS FORTIS MICROFINANCE BANK PLC 0.00 2.58 - 0 0 NPF MICROFINANCE BANK PLC 0.00 1.80 - 8 85,777

Company

Symbol

Deals

Current Price

Trades

Volume

8 85,777 MORTGAGE CARRIERS, BROKERS AND SERVICES ABBEY MORTGAGE BANK PLC 0.00 1.30 - 0 0 ASO SAVINGS AND LOANS PLC 0.00 0.50 - 0 0 0.00 1.42 - 0 0 INFINITY TRUST MORTGAGE BANK PLC RESORT SAVINGS & LOANS PLC 0.00 0.50 - 0 0 UNION HOMES SAVINGS AND LOANS PLC. 0.00 3.02 - 0 0 0 0 OTHER FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS AFRICA PRUDENTIAL PLC 0.00 4.20 5.00 35 840,222 CUSTODIAN INVESTMENT PLC 0.00 5.52 - 15 261,637 DEAP CAPITAL MANAGEMENT & TRUST PLC 0.00 0.48 - 0 0 0.00 2.00 -3.85 48 2,932,746 FCMB GROUP PLC. NIGERIA ENERYGY SECTOR FUND 0.00 552.20 - 0 0 0.00 0.36 - 0 0 ROYAL EXCHANGE PLC. 0.00 47.60 0.21 30 295,521 STANBIC IBTC HOLDINGS PLC UNITED CAPITAL PLC 0.00 3.15 1.29 94 5,835,660 0.00 103.20 - 0 0 ValuAlliance Value Fund 222 10,165,786 966 125,568,128

HEALTHCARE PROVIDERS EKOCORP PLC. 0.00 3.37 - 0 0 UNION DIAGNOSTIC & CLINICAL SERVICES PLC 0.00 0.25 -7.41 3 150,500 3 150,500 MEDICAL SUPPLIES MORISON INDUSTRIES PLC. 0.00 0.55 - 1 566 1 566 PHARMACEUTICALS EVANS MEDICAL PLC. 0.00 0.50 - 0 0 FIDSON HEALTHCARE PLC 0.00 6.15 - 3 14,917 GLAXO SMITHKLINE CONSUMER NIG. PLC. 0.00 16.70 - 15 112,140 0.00 2.25 - 24 1,255,341 MAY & BAKER NIGERIA PLC. NEIMETH INTERNATIONAL PHARMACEUTICALS PLC 0.00 0.47 -4.08 8 533,413 0.00 3.62 - 0 0 NIGERIA-GERMAN CHEMICALS PLC. PHARMA-DEKO PLC. 0.00 2.20 - 0 0 50 1,915,811 54 2,066,877

COMPUTER BASED SYSTEMS COURTEVILLE BUSINESS SOLUTIONS PLC 0.00 0.20 - 0 0 0 0 COMPUTERS AND PERIPHERALS OMATEK VENTURES PLC 0.00 0.50 - 0 0 0 0 IT SERVICES CWG PLC 0.00 2.54 - 2 1,100 0.00 6.30 - 0 0 NCR (NIGERIA) PLC. TRIPPLE GEE AND COMPANY PLC. 0.00 0.88 - 2 5,400 4 6,500 PROCESSING SYSTEMS CHAMS PLC 0.00 0.37 - 0 0 0.00 4.10 -9.89 1 100,000 E-TRANZACT INTERNATIONAL PLC 1 100,000 5 106,500

BUILDING MATERIALS BERGER PAINTS PLC 0.00 8.55 - 4 6,203 CAP PLC 0.00 34.50 - 4 3,668 0.00 23.00 - 14 116,063 CEMENT CO. OF NORTH.NIG. PLC FIRST ALUMINIUM NIGERIA PLC 0.00 0.41 - 1 35,000 MEYER PLC. 0.00 0.68 - 0 0 0.00 0.59 - 0 0 PAINTS AND COATINGS MANUFACTURES PLC PORTLAND PAINTS & PRODUCTS NIGERIA PLC 0.00 2.05 - 0 0 0.00 10.40 - 0 0 PREMIER PAINTS PLC. 23 160,934 ELECTRONIC AND ELECTRICAL PRODUCTS AUSTIN LAZ & COMPANY PLC 0.00 2.09 - 0 0 CUTIX PLC. 0.00 3.00 - 11 152,325 11 152,325 PACKAGING/CONTAINERS BETA GLASS PLC. 0.00 81.00 - 3 646 GREIF NIGERIA PLC 0.00 9.10 - 0 0 3 646 37 313,905

CHEMICALS B.O.C. GASES PLC. 0.00 4.21 - 3 16,500 3 16,500 METALS ALUMINIUM EXTRUSION IND. PLC. 0.00 9.20 - 1 30 1 30 MINING SERVICES MULTIVERSE MINING AND EXPLORATION PLC 0.00 0.20 - 18 5,508,500 18 5,508,500 PAPER/FOREST PRODUCTS THOMAS WYATT NIG. PLC. 0.00 0.31 - 0 0 0 0 22 5,525,030

ENERGY EQUIPMENT AND SERVICES JAPAUL OIL & MARITIME SERVICES PLC 0.00 0.34 -5.56 30 2,596,119 30 2,596,119 INTEGRATED OIL AND GAS SERVICES OANDO PLC 0.00 5.20 9.47 210 5,547,840 210 5,547,840 PETROLEUM AND PETROLEUM PRODUCTS DISTRIBUTORS 11 PLC 0.00 180.00 - 20 14,300 CONOIL PLC 0.00 27.00 - 22 121,414 ETERNA PLC. 0.00 6.90 6.15 94 4,067,015 0.00 27.00 - 61 166,560 FORTE OIL PLC. MRS OIL NIGERIA PLC. 0.00 28.55 - 1 5,000 TOTAL NIGERIA PLC. 0.00 200.00 - 14 5,933 212 4,380,222 452 12,524,181

ADVERTISING AFROMEDIA PLC 0.00 0.50 - 0 0 0 0 AIRLINES MEDVIEW AIRLINE PLC 0.00 2.08 -2.80 3 50,000,000 3 50,000,000 AUTOMOBILE/AUTO PART RETAILERS R T BRISCOE PLC. 0.00 0.46 - 0 0 0 0 COURIER/FREIGHT/DELIVERY RED STAR EXPRESS PLC 0.00 6.20 - 20 95,753 TRANS-NATIONWIDE EXPRESS PLC. 0.00 0.80 - 1 9,200 21 104,953 HOSPITALITY TANTALIZERS PLC 0.00 0.21 -8.70 2 101,000 2 101,000 HOTELS/LODGING CAPITAL HOTEL PLC 0.00 3.10 - 1 50 IKEJA HOTEL PLC 0.00 3.13 - 2 1,700 TOURIST COMPANY OF NIGERIA PLC. 0.00 3.50 - 1 50 TRANSCORP HOTELS PLC 0.00 7.45 - 0 0 4 1,800 MEDIA/ENTERTAINMENT DAAR COMMUNICATIONS PLC 0.00 0.44 - 0 0 0 0 PRINTING/PUBLISHING ACADEMY PRESS PLC. 0.00 0.50 - 0 0 LEARN AFRICA PLC 0.00 1.26 - 4 26,900 STUDIO PRESS (NIG) PLC. 0.00 1.99 - 0 0 UNIVERSITY PRESS PLC. 0.00 2.55 - 3 10,750 7 37,650

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BUSINESS DAY

Friday 20 July 2018

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BUSINESS SOUTH-SOUTH

COMPLETE COVERAGE OF SOUTH-SOUTH / SOUTH-EAST

Governor Wike’s investment legacy in Rivers unprecedented – Ollormate GODWIN EGBA, Port Harcourt

O

barilomate Ollor, an ex–Caretaker chairman (CTC) of Eleme Local Government Area in Rivers State has applauded Governor Nyesom Wike for what he described as his unprecedented development of the state within three years in office. He was giving his appraisal of the governor’s administration, which is in its third year.

According the Eleme CTC chairman, Wike’s administration brought to the fore the fundamentals of infrastructural development of the state, such that it has paled the former administration into insignificance.

Obarilomate, cited improvement of economic development in his Eleme LGA which include the recent commissioning of Train 2 Fertilizer plant built by Indorama Nigeria Limited, worth $1.1 billion; but which adds up to bring the global company’s investment in the state to $3.2 billion.

“The soaring business growth of Indorama Nigeria is hinged on assured security p l at f o r m p u t o n g rou n d by Governor Wike within three years of his governance. Without security, no investment can thrive,” the former council chairman said. He noted that since 2016, Indorama has expanded its investment from opening its first fertilizer plant to the second, which would come on stream by 2021.

According to him, Gover-

nor Wike’s security architecture in R ivers has p ow ere d Indorama’s Fer tilizer Com pany that is presently feeding 13 blending plants across the c o u n t r y ; s t re s s i n g t h a t t h e Eleme Industrial land space is beyond compare. “ The development of the Indorama $3.2 billion investments is for the interest of Eleme host community, Rivers State and the Federal Repub l ic of Nig e r ia. Inve stors in Rivers State now have easy access roads to Akpajo, via Elelenwo and the world class Woji–Eleme bridge linking Trans Amadi Industr ial Layout. All these are courtesy of Governor Wike’s developmental strides since May 29, 2015.”

Obarilomate equally cited t hat a l l Wi k e’s a d m i n i s t ra tion has touched all the three s t a t e ’s s e n a t o r i a l d i s t r i c t s with projects such as key roads, s chools, health cen tres, among others. “Several of these roads have helped to connect agricultural centres to the Port Harcourt state capital, and other parts of the country.

The former council chairman listed the key roads a s Ga r r i s o n – T ra n s A ma d i – S l a u g h t e r – Wo j i – E l e lenw o; the 22.3 km A irp or t – Ipo – Omademe – Ozuoha Road in Ikwerre LGA; the Port Harcourt Pleasure Park ; NBA House; Industrial Court complex ; LGA internal roads; upgrade of schools, hospitals, among others. He said these projects are economic gifts to the people of the areas.

“Governor Wike as a states-

Obarilomate Ollor

man, carefully selected leaders from all divides and the international community to commission proje cts executed for the good of Rivers p e o p l e. A m o ng t h e s i t t i ng governors in Nigeria, Wike is one that has urged Nigerians to hold government officials accountable for development. And that without fear or favour, people should no longer accept excuses from n o n -p e r f o r m i n g p u b l i c o f -

ficers,” he said.

O b a r i l o mat e s t at e d t hat, “from empirical evidence, Governor Wike has delivered on the dividends of democracy since his first year in o f f i c e. Hi s s o c i o - e c o n o m i c and infrastructural development programmes are being felt in every nook and cranny in Rivers State. On this note I and my Eleme people have endorsed him to run for second term.”

ECCIMA lauds Enugu government’s empowerment program …wants support to micro enterprises

EFEGADIRIM MADU & REGIS ANUKWUOJI, Enugu

T

he director general of Enugu Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (ECCIMA), Emeka Okereke has described the traders support grant of N50,000 by the state government as a good policy that would drive entrepreneurship in the state.

Enugu, with a gross domestic product (GDP) economy of N4.3 billion as of 2012, and an internally generated revenue (IGR) of N18 billion by 2016, is not among Nigeria’s richest states. Hence, it is in need of economic activity to drive growth.

Okereke who made the commendation, however, called on the state government to also expand the same program to micro, small and medium enterprises who are into production, to enable them expand their businesses and thereby create more employment and revenues in the state.

Enugu government last year introduced a traders’ empowerment program through which small scale traders are assisted with N50,000 in all the registered markets in the state through a raffle draw. The effort is aimed at helping expand their businesses.

Speaking to BusinessDay, the ECCIM director general

said the empowerment comes in different forms and in different ways. And that the idea of the state government to encourage traders by increasing their capacity for commercial operators the state should be commended.

“For an SME, even though the value of our currency has gone down; N50,000 is still a reasonable amount of money that can help people grow and expand their business,” he said.

He described the gesture as a welcome development; more so, when the beneficiaries are people who are already in business. “The money is to help them expand their busi-

ness. It is good.”

According to Okereke, a good number of people in Enugu were into commercial trading; and that level of encouragement for the micro and small enterprise operators can add good meaning to their lives and business operations.

He hoped the government would extend the gesture to micro, small and mediumscale business operators, who he said were into production of goods and services. He said this would help them expand their production capacities, thereby going a long way to add to the growth of the state’s economy.

Construction of 540MW QIPP set to commence soon in A/Ibom ANIEFIOK UDONQUAK, Uyo

T

he construction of the 540 megawatts (MW) Qua Iboe Power Plant (QIPP) project is set to commence soon in Ibeno, Akwa Ibom following the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the state government and Black Rhino group, the operator of the project.

QIPP is jointly developed by African Infrastructure Company, Black Rhino group, Dangote group, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) following the purchase of the rights to develop the project from Mobil, a joint venture partner between ExxonMobil subsidiary, Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited and the NNPC. The gas-fired power plant is expected to cost $1.1 billion and unlocks investment in transmission infrastructure including a new 58 km transmission line to be built by QIPP, the company says.

Speaking at the ceremony, Governor Udom Emmanuel expressed delight to be associated with the employment generating opportunities embedded into it; adding that the project would facilitate the industrialization programme of his administration.

“We want to believe the gas reserves we have here can actually make Akwa Ibom a gas hub and we can partner. We can collaborate to see how we can realize this project. Nigeria cannot have this quantum of gas and we still face a whole lot of challenges of what gas can solve. It is inexplicable, but that is the situation we found ourselves,” he noted.

According to him, the signing of the MoU is one of the solutions that will solve the country’s gas challenges maintaining that he is fulfilling his initial promise to involve his government actively in the process.

“We will make sure you have the cooperation of the communities, the government and all the agencies that need to make your job easier.”

Electricity generated in Nigeria is a far cry from daily national demand. Today, the Federal Government claims it is generating over 7,000MW, but lacks the capacity to transmit and distribute due to decaying energy infrastructure.

Speaking at the MoU event, the Chief Executive Officer and founder of BlackRhino, Brian Herlihy described the project as the beginning of not only a power project, but a huge industrialization programme.”

He thanked the state government’s team for the measure of hard work exhibited, describing the project as a long term investment. He said his team sees Akwa Ibom as the best place to be in Nigeria where things are actually happening.

Friday 20 July 2018

BUSINESS DAY

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BUSINESS DAY

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Friday 20 July 2018

Sports

Aiteo Group speaks on leadership crisis rocking the NFF … Gives 14-day ultimatum or cancel N2.5 billion sponsorship deal with NFF … Says satisfied with Amaju Pinnick led NFF executive board

eading indigenous energy company and major sponsor of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), AITEO Group, has issued a treat to withdraw its sponsorship with NFF if the ongoing crisis rocking the football administration in the country is not resolved amicably within two weeks.

In a press statement issued from Ndiana Matthew, Senior Manager, Corporate Communications, AITEO Group, the company gave a 14-day ultimatum for the crisis to be settled or they will be forced cancel all

funds generated by financial sponsorship.

“As the leading sponsor of national football activities in the country presently and the largest contributor of the funds that ostensibly comprise the subject of the investigations, we are constrained to make our position known on the matter.

“We believe that it has become necessary, given the critical importance of providing well-meaning Nigerians with our views on the accurate position, to offer the following observations so that misunderstandings are avoided,” the statement read in part.

The company warned that the position of the practices and regulation of world football in FIFA’s

sponsorship deals and agreement with the NFF. Mr Ndiana said in a signed press statement on Wednesday that the AITEO GROUP has become aware of media statements relating to suggested investigations of financial dealings at the NFF with respect to

statutes, regulations and practices are common knowledge.

“Whatever the case is, Nigerian football cannot operate in isolation.

This compels the absolute necessity to operate within the parameters that regulate the other 210 countries that comprise World Football.

Stories by Anthony Nlebem

L

The prevalence of the current crisis detracts from the exalted heights of respectability Nigeria now enjoys in African and World football. Crises like these are unnecessary distractions and are unhealthy and divisive.

If this persists, there will be only one loser - NIGERIA and its 180 Million people! This consequence must be avoided, at all costs,” the statement

by AITEO said.

The statement added: “The persisting situation makes it difficult for us, as a law-abiding entity, to operate responsibly within the demands placed on us. Accordingly, we are constrained to indicate that unless these issues are resolved satisfactorily in the manner dictated by the requirements of the world governing body FIFA within fourteen (14) days hereof, we will deem ourselves compelled to reconsider our position with respect to participation in the various arrangements in which we are involved.”

AITEO said since coming into Nigerian Football to take up financial support to the technical crew for the national team in April 2017, it demonstrated its satisfaction with the relationship by expanding the relationship to cover the sponsorship of the AITEO CUP. The company said continuing satisfaction then led to their sponsorship of the NFF Awards (with the first edition held in Lagos February 2018). Additionally, AITEO has supported the NFF with building of State FA secretariats to support grass roots football development (with six across the zones of the country on the verge of completion and another 12 about to start).

SO Nigeria to participate in maiden edition of unified Football Cup

I

n celebration of the 50th anniversary of the global initiative of Special Olympics, Special Olympics Nigeria is set to participate at the maiden edition of the unified football cup which is scheduled to hold on the 20th of July 2018 in Chicago.

Founded in 1968, Special Olympics will celebrate her 50th anniversary this year in Chicago, USA and has lined up several events for a weeklong celebration to mark this auspicious occasion. One of these is the firstever Special Olympics Unified Cup presented by Toyota on July 17, 2018.

The tournament will feature 24 teams (8 women’s teams and 16 men’s teams) comprised of people with and without intellectual disabilities from around the globe - hence the theme, Unified.

Among over 170 countries which have Special Olympics affiliations, the Special Olympics Nigeria Male Unified football team has been selected to be part of this inaugural contest where they would not only represent Nigeria, but the Africa region.

They have trained and worked hard and our hope is that they return victorious. Exxon Mobil Nigeria, a strong supporter of inclusion, has contributed towards the purchase and branding of the team’s kit and

travel attires for the tournament.

Exxon Mobil Foundation has also displayed its support for inclusion through the Skillz for Life program where people with and without intellectual disabilities are given quality health education on malaria and HIV/AIDS and taught life skills.

In 2016, Exxon Mobil sponsored the Youth Empowerment Initiatives where athletes were empowered with skills such as photography, beadwork and more.

On July 20, 2018, Special Olympics will honour its history and celebrate its future with the lighting of the Special Olympics Eternal Flame of Hope monument outside Soldier Field, home of the first games, to symbolize the ongoing mission of

inclusion. On July 21, the first-ever Global Day of Inclusion will be held at Soldier Field, a family event open to all. Later that evening, Special Olympics will host the Inclusion Fest Concert featuring internationally acclaimed music acts.

Across the world, iconic buildings are switching their lights red to raise awareness for the need for inclusion.

In Lagos, Nigeria, The Civic Centre and Civic Towers are lighting up RED for inclusion on the evening of July 20, 2018.

The call for inclusion is one every community must answer to maximize the potential every individual has. Together, let’s strive to create inclusive communities. Together we are stronger.

AITEO also noted that they heavily supported the qualification of the Super Eagles for the 2018 World Cup offering huge incentive and bonuses to motivate the players during critical matches. During the on-going 2018 World Cup proper, AITEO hugely motivated the players with a bonus of $50,000 per un-replied goal.

The company said it insisted and approved the involvement and participation of Financial Derivatives Company Limited (FDC) as Official Funds Managers in the manner and upon the terms set out in the various contracts.

In their official statement, AITEO confirmed that Mediterranean Sports Ltd is the official Marketing Agency that facilitated and packaged its entry into Nigerian Football.

There has been renewed crisis in the NFF following the directive by the sports minister, Solomon Dalung, that a court ruling on its leadership tussle be enforced.

The ruling was interpreted as voiding the September 2014 election of Amaju Pinnick while supposedly giving legitimacy to that of August 2014 of Chris Giwa.

FIFA President Gianni Infantino recently said that it only recognises the election of Amaju Pinnick hav-

ing duly supervised the polls that brought him into power.

FIFA also frowned at Nigeria for taking football matters to court, says Nigeria risks a ban if the present Chris Giwa-led leadership is sustained.

With the next court ruling on the NFF crisis fixed for September, only an out of court settlement can see the warring parties reach an amicable agreement before the expiration of the AITEO threat which many fear will be a great setback for football if indeed carried out.The cruiserweight division will feature Idowu “ID Cabasa” Okusote against Michael “Lion Heart” Godwin, while Prince “Lion” Nwoye will take on Ridwan “Scorpion” Oyekola in a lightweight challenge duel. The light welterweight category will see Vincent “Dada” Essien test his mettle against Segun “Showboy” Olalehin.

There will also be a heavyweight clash between Daniel “Big Shark” Emeka and Sulaimon “Olags” Adeosun.

The event, sponsored by GOtv and Bet King, will be beamed live on SuperSport in 47 African countries.

The best boxer at the event will go home with a cash prize of N1million attached to the Mojisola Ogunsanya Memorial Trophy.

Football actions return as International Champions Cup kicks off

F

ootball loving Nigerians will continue to enjoy another fantastic round of pulsating football entertainment as leading Digital TV Company, StarTimes Nigeria is set to bring live and exclusive coverage of the International Champions Cup (ICC) to football lovers across Africa.

The ICC games commence on Saturday, July 21st with 2 exciting games between Manchester City and Borussia Dortmund, Bayern Munich vs PSG. Other top teams competing include Real Madrid, FC Barcelona, Arsenal, Man City, Liverpool, Chelsea, Manchester United, Atletico Madrid among others.

Armed with exclusive broadcast rights, StarTimes World Football (channel 254) and Sports Focus (channel 250) channels would wow subscribers with another top-class actions series from the top teams including FC Barcelona, Real Madrid, Chelsea, Manchester United, AC Milan, Inter Milan, Arsenal and Paris Saint-Germain who are all set to play 21 matches in China, Australia and the United States.

According to the StarTimes, nonsubscribers are not left out as all the

matches can be watched live and in HD on StarTimes mobile App, which can be downloaded from the Android and iOS app store.

The competition takes place over three weeks in 22 venues on three continents and sees 18 teams participating, with each club playing three games and the club with the best record being crowned the 2018 International Champions Cup winner.

It is an indication of just how big the competition is that of the 27 players involved in the World Cup final between France and Croatia all but six will be involved in the competition, which sees the likes of Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, Liverpool, Manchester City, AC Milan and Paris St Germain taking part.

Premier League champions Manchester City get the tournament under way on Friday in Chicago, when they take on Borussia Dortmund, with Bayern Munich facing PSG the next day in Austria, before heading over the to the US themselves.

The German champions will face some formidable opposition in Manchester City and their Serie A counterparts Juventus.

Friday 20 July 2018

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BUSINESS DAY

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46 BUSINESS DAY NEWS

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Glamour as Ooni, others grace 2018...

Continued from page 1

leiman and a representative of the Emir of Bauchi, Galadima Saidu.

The event which took place at Transcorp Hilton, Abuja also attracted personalities from all walks of life.

BusinessDay publisher/chief executive officer Frank Aigbogun, decried states’ over-reliance on Federal allocation, even as he called on states to diversify their economies to increase their Internally Generated Revenue (IGR).

Speaking on Thursday at the event, Aigbogun stressed the need for states to harness their available resources.

This, he submitted, will end the monthly custom of state executives looking up to the Ministry of Finance, Abuja, for federal allocation. Some of the awardees include Governor Nyesom Wike (Rivers State) who won the Overall Best Governor of the Year; even as Governors Ibrahim Dankwabo of Gombe and Rauf Aregbesola of Osun State clinched Best Performing Governor North and South respectively.

Other award categories and their

winners include: Promotion of Made in Nigerian Goods (Abia), Sports Development (Akwa Ibom), Agriculture Development (Anambra), Tourism Development (Bauchi) and Healthcare Development (Taraba).

Others are: Rural Urban Infrastructure Development (Enugu, Nasarawa, Kwara), Transparency in Governance (Edo and Jigawa), Peace and Security (Kogi and Sokoto) as well as Education Reforms and Development (Ondo and Kaduna).

Citing the latest State of the State report published by BusinessDay Research and Intelligence Unit (BRIU), Aigbogun said: “The IGR of the 36 sub national governments rose by 12% from N831.19 billion in 2016 to N931.23 billion in 2017. Twenty-three States grew their IGR above the national average of 12%. This is a laudable development.

“Indeed Nigeria is a country that is undoubtedly blessed with significant mineral, agricultural, natural and human resources.

Each State has comparative advantage in multiple areas, from agriculture to minerals where there is increased and sustained com-

petitiveness through economic development and growth. It opens up doors to self-sufficiency in the areas of comparative strengths and bilateral trade can also be achieved with other States in the area where there is need for partnerships.

“Each State is naturally endowed with mineral, agricultural and human resources. In the area of human capital, we are 190 million - strong population with over 50% of the demography under the age of 30. Where each State government fully harnesses and optimises the resources available at their disposal, competitiveness and good governance is the result.”

The publisher of BusinessDay explained that the event was organised to celebrate governors who have distinguished themselves in all spheres of their states’ economies.

He disclosed that in selecting the awardees both quantitative and qualitative parameters such as active and well informed state government website, documents reflecting that the respective state governments transactions are executed through e-governance, openness and publication of state financials were adopted.

Friday 20 July 2018

Tankers takeover as Lagos roads turn Highway...

Continued from page 1

dex points to Thursday’s retreat, tumbling 5.6 percent.

The market attained a five-year high in January when it peaked at 45,321.82 basis points, Since then, the NSE’s benchmark All-Share index has seen a downtrend, due to continued sell-offs resulting from profit taking, investor reactions to the interest rate hike in the U.S, as well political uncertainties ahead of the nation’s 2019 general elections.

Data compiled by BusinessDay shows that Nigerian Breweries PLc, Larfarge Africa Plc, International Breweries, Union Bank Plc, Forte Oil Plc and PZ Cussons Nigeria PLC were the major drag on the NSE-ASI index to its 8month low at the close of the trading session yesterday.

Nigerian Breweries with a market cap of N844.5 billion has moved the market downward by -1208.4 points within the eight month period and was the highest by any firm on the index. Coming second place on the list is Lafarge with a market cap of N294.9 billion and the cement maker has dragged the index downward by a negative 240.8 points.

Also, loses in the share prices of international breweries Plc and

Union bank of Nigeria Plc dragged the NSEASI index by -212.4 and -88.2 points, while that of forte oil Plc. and PZ Cussons Nigeria Plc followed closely dragging down the market index by -76.9 points and -75 points respectively in the period under review.

“We expect the sell-off to intensify as we approach the 2019 general elections. Nevertheless, we may see the downtrend taper slightly by the end of this month if the H1:2018 scorecards exceed analyst’s expectation,” said Ayodeji Ebo MD/CEO at Lagos-based Afrivest securities limited.

“However, we anticipate more interest from domestic retail and institutional investors who understand the political terrain better by taking advantage of cheaper valuations in the fourth quarter,” Ebo said in an emailed response to BusinessDay. The Nigerian Stock Exchange All Share Index (NSE ASI) depreciated closed at 36,470.05 points, on Thursday. Similarly, the Market Capitalization fell by 0.76 percent to close at N13.21trn.

The three most actively traded stocks were GT Bank (78.36mn), Medview Airline (50mn), and Zenith Bank (26.51mn).

Apapa: Economy bleeds as trailers’ siege ...

Continued from page 1

‘vacate the bridge order’ given by the Nigerian Navy in collaboration with the Lagos State governm ent and other relevant

Pascal Dozie (l), pro-chancellor, Pan Atlantic University and pioneer president, LBS Alumni Association (LBSAA); Henry Onukwuba (r), author; Babatunde Debiri (2nd r), chairman, Business Executive Academy; Pat Utomi (3rd r); Enase Okenedo (4th r) dean, LBS, and Clare Omatseye (5th r), president, LBSAA, during the public presentation of the Book “Alumni Leadership and University Excellence in Africa “The case of Lagos Business School in Lagos, yesterday.

Pic by Pius Okeosisi

Nigeria hoteliers mull secondary markets,...

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Keffi, Yanegoa, Uyo, Eket, Lafia among other secondary markets.

As well, they are also following trends in the industry, which now see more business and corporate executives and even middle class willing to stay in mid-market hotel brands against the demand for star rated and luxury hotels.

Aside following the trends, hoteliers, who are also part of the larger society, are driven by the realization that most people are not quick at forgetting the lessons and the impact of the recession, hence prefer to travel on budget, while many corporate organisations have now made budget travel part of their corporate policy.

The development, according to Jemi Alade, a Lagos-based tour operator, is opening huge investment opportunity in mid-market brands and secondary cities to grow their economy.

He noted that as purchasing power keeps sliding, mid-market hotels and secondary cities become attractive to people who are on budget. International brands are also aware of the development and have responded by introducing

mid-market brands such as Double Tree and Curio by Hilton, Essentials

by Golden Tulip, Select by Marriot, Four Points by Starwood, Park Inn

by Radisson, while original midmarket brands such as Best Western, Ibis, among others are expanding.

Speaking during the opening of Protea Hotel by Marriott, Owerri Select, Volker Heiden, vice president, Protea Hotels by Marriott, Marriott International, said: “The opening of Protea Hotel by Marriott, Owerri Select, illustrates our confidence in the potential of Nigeria and is in line with our commitment to grow in strategic secondary cities across the continent. The recent expansion of the city’s airport, will give the city better accessibility, which we are confident will further drive business travel.”

The developers of the 90-room hotel; African Capital Alliance, a leading investment firm, and Kunoch Limited, developed the hotel in Owerri on the realization that the recession period witnessed many businesses leaving major cities to areas that have less demands, due to multiple taxation, high rents, high wages and huge operation costs.

Kayode Aina, general manager, Park Inn by Radisson, Abeokuta, noted that the hotel is unbelievably full with guests from Lagos who are running away from noise, and are attracted by the quality of the facilities, offerings and the cost as well.

In the case of Four Points by Sheraton Ikot Ekpene in Akwa Ibom State, the developer cited the hotel in a central location that targets guests from Uyo, the state capital and Aba, the commercial hub of Abia State. Due to the closeness of the two cities to Ikot Ekpene, guests who desire international branded hotels, which are non-existent in Uyo and Aba, are likely going to settle for Four Points at the long run.

Moreover, hoteliers are resorting to crowd funding as sourcing of funds has become a big challenge, especially going by the high interest rates charged by the banks.

The Abeokuta and Owerri hotels were made possible by crowd funding, while owners of three other hotels in the pipeline have offered other investors stakes that are

expected to bring the needed funding to complete the hotel projects in the next two years.

Continues on wwwbusinessday online.com

stakeholders has seen over 10,000 trailers and tankers take over all routes to the Apapa and the Tin Can Island ports, leaving little or no space for other road users.

The lock-down of Oshodi-Mile 2 Expressway and the Apapa environs has worsened as the gridlock continues towards Oshodi.

Only yesterday, it was Apapa and its environs that were under siege with trailers and tankers taking over available spaces, suffocating the residents and despoiling their environment.

Today, from Mile 2, trailers have lined up towards Oshodi on the expressway, and also towards Festac Town First Gate on Lagos-Badagry Expressway.

The ripple effects of this siege are on everybody and everywhere.

However, Lagos State government has set up a joint operation involving security agencies and stakeholders in the maritime sector to remove all containerised trucks and tankers parked along the Oshodi-Apapa Expressway commencing from Friday (today).

This is not the first or second time the state will be constituting a task force to address the menace of tankers and articulated trucks in Apapa and other parts of the state. Though it is hoped that there will be impact, it remains to be seen how effective and workable the latest task force will be.

Tagged ‘Operation Restore Sanity On Lagos Roads,’ the exercise will be carried out from early hours of today to Monday by 1,000 policemen, 500 officials of the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA), 100 officers of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), 120 officers of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), and 250 personnel of the Nigerian military including army, air force and the navy.

The task force has become necessary because access to Apapa has become increasingly difficulty and this is the country’s premier port city

whose economy is estimated at N40 billion a day.

“To allow this kind of situation to be impacting on that economy means a lot of money is being lost on daily basis not only by the businesses, but also by the country”, Paul Gbadedo, group managing director, Flour Mills of Nigeria, stated.

Gbadedo noted that over 75 percent of import and export businesses in Nigeria pass through Apapa and, so, both the government and businesses cannot afford to close their eyes on the scale of deterioration of the road infrastructure without doing something.

Apart from providing the equipment to be used for the operation, the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA) will also deploy 20 officials, while the relevant unions within the maritime sector such as Amalgamation of Container Truck Owners Association, Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG), National Association of Transport Operators (NATO), Association of Maritime Truck Owners (AMATO), among others will provide hundreds of their members to serve as Task Force

to work with security agencies.

Imohimi Edgal, the Lagos State Commissioner of Police (CP) who addressed the press after an emergency meeting on the chaos in Apapa axis, said the decision to set up the operation became imperative owing to the need to restore sanity and prevent complete breakdown of law and order.

He said all stakeholders unanimously agreed that the operation should commence with immediate effect, while the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) and other relevant agencies work to fashion out permanent solution to the issues within the Ports which gave rise to the gridlock.

According to Edgal, “Everybody is aware of the madness going on along the Oshodi-Apapa Expressway that has been completely blocked by trailers and tankers. The same problem we have on our bridges in Western Avenue, Iganmu and Apapa axis.

Continues on wwwbusinessday online.com

Friday 20 July 2018

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47 NEWS

BUSINESS DAY

Ex-ExxonMobil Spy Policemen to get N20m compensation FRANK UZUEGBUNAM

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ollowing protests by Supernumerary (Spy) Policemen recently disengaged by Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited (MPN), an ExxonMobil affiliate, reliable industry sources say some of the affected staff are due to receive up to N20 million in compensation from the company.

According to a source who preferred anonymity, the compensation package is communicated to the affected personnel on their disengagement from the organisation.

BusinessDay investigations reveal that following the Supreme Court judgment of April 20, 2018, directing MPN to recognise the Spy Policemen as employees, the company not only accepted the ruling, but proceeded to comply, acknowledging the number of years the affected staff had spent in the organisation in line with their human capital policy.

“On this basis, the compensation package, which totalled over N1.2 billion, was arrived at and communicated to the staff on their disengagement last weekend,” the source said, adding that on individual terms, “this translated to about between 8 to 10 times the annual basic salary of the affected personnel.”

Prior to the Supreme Court ruling, the Spy Policemen’s salaries were being paid through the Nigerian Police Force, with some augmentation by MPN monthly. This was the structure of the third party engagement from inception, as the educational qualification required for consideration for employment under the scheme was the Secondary School leaving certificate.

BusinessDay also gathered

that in addition to this package, the disengaged staff were also paid their July and August salaries, and were also to receive pensions in line with the company’s pension policy.

The 860 Spy Policemen to be paid these benefits, according to the source, comprised about 500 who were in the MPN system as at last weekend and 360 others who had been disengaged from the services of MPN long before the Supreme Court judgment.

When contacted to confirm this story, Oge Udeagha, media and communications manager of MPN, declined to comment on the value of compensation to be paid to the disengaged staff, though he said in an official statement earlier released to the media that the compensation “packages cover all categories of affected personnel, including those in active service and others who had already left the services of the company before the judgment.”

He also said the affected personnel would be offered assistance from an HR consultant to help find employment opportunities with a third-party security services.

The ex-Spy Policemen have shut down the company’s offices in Eket and Lagos since last weekend, protesting their disengagement, which the chairman of PENGASSAN, ExxonMobil chapter, Rasak Obe, said was carried out without entitlement.

They carried placards bearing such inscriptions as, “ExxonMobil sacked 860 Nigerian workers after over 22 years of slave labour”; “ExxonMobil respect the rule of law”; “ExxonMobil comply with Supreme Court Judgment,” among others.

The Benue declaration and the...

Continued from back page

while at the regional level and state levels there should be part-time elected unicameral assemblies.

Going forward, the Middle Belt demand that, in the design of a successor constitutional settlement, a Committee of Wise Men and Women, made of jurists and scholars of the highest intellect, will develop a White Paper out of the report of the 2014 political conference to distil the essential elements of a broad national consensus on the framework for a new constitutional settlement.

The next process will be for a Constituent Assembly, drawn from a broad cross section of the country to draft a new constitution based on the broad elements provided by the Committee of Wise Men and Women. This should pave the way for a national referendum for the adaptation of the new constitution based on the principle of simple majority. This would then culminate in the adoption of a new constitution, followed by a transitional period of no more than 2 years, during which elected politicians will continue to hold office until new elections are held and a

new government is installed at all levels of the federation.

The Benue Declaration culminates in a Covenant of Solidarity which the peoples of the Middle Belt have made among themselves. It is no less than a clarion call for a New Nigeria: When, in the course of history, a people desire a better life; When, in the course of ordinary events, a people desire to build a new society that will see their lives go forward and to guarantee a future for their children; They will begin by solemnly reaffirming those universal values that have guided humanity through the ages in their quest for the Good life, for justice and the pursuit of happiness.

Believing that men and women are made in the image of God; equally endowed by the Almighty Creator with inherent rights to life, liberty and happiness, to live in a secure and peaceful environment, to flourish with our children and families; Aware that, we, like every people on this earth have a right to live under a government of our choosing as enshrined in all the sacred

L-R: Wasiu Oluruntoyin, president, Container Owners Association; Olaleye Thompson, chairman, Amalgamation of Container Truck Owners Association; Hyginus Omeje, Lagos State sector commander, Federal Road Safety Corp (FRSC); Imohimi Edgal, Lagos State commissioner of Police; Taiwo Salaam, permanent secretary, Lagos State Ministry of Transportation; Tayo Aboyeji, chairman, NUPENG Southwest Zone; Wale Musa, general manager, Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA), and Nkaresmen Enoch, representative of co provost, Nigeria Air Force/operation officer provost, Fly officer, during a media briefing on the Apapa gridlock shortly after a joint meeting of the Lagos State government officials, security agencies and other stakeholders, at the State Police Command, Ikeja, yesterday.

Nigeria has more than 51% of new HIV cases in West, Central Africa frica’s biggest economy has more than 51 percent of people in West and Central Africa living with HIV, according to a new report on new HIV infections by United Nations Programme on HIV and AIDS (UNAIDS).

“West and central Africa continue to be a problem. Nigeria, for example, has seen more than 51 percent of all new cases in the region, but only 33 percent of its people living with HIV are receiving treatment,” the UNAIDS report noted at a press conference in Paris.

The UNAIDS has, over the years, been a main advocate for accelerated, comprehensive and coordinated global action on the HIV/AIDS pandemic.

“This latest report is not particularly surprising considering the present state the country is in. When you consider that the budget for health by the government is way below the World Health Organisation (WHO) recommended level or the incessant strike actions by various components of health workers, then this is one of the things to expect,” Oluniyi Olatunde, a medical doctor at Isolo General Hospital, told BusinessDay on phone “There is also the massive brain drain being experienced in the country. All these ensure that there is only minimal interaction with health workers.

“The increasing level of hardship and poverty in the country also inadvertently impacts on the health seeking behaviour

of the populace,” Olatunde also noted, adding that the bulk of the burden of care of the affected population was being borne by the International NGOs and that was not good enough.

Globally, the number of new HIV infections is declining, more people than ever are receiving treatment and deaths due to the disease and its complications are falling, but progress remains precarious, warns a new UN report.

Also from the report, the number of new HIV cases has been declining globally for 17 years. In 2017, it declined by 35.7 percent to 1.8 million from 2.8 million in 2000, but the number of people living HIV has been on the increase rising by 34.7 percent to 36.9 million from 27.4 million in 2000.

precepts of the Law of Nations and the United Nations Charter; Aware that, for the better part of two centuries, we have been at war with alien feudal lords who pursued our ancestors with threat of enslavement, persecution and subjugation under the ruse of Islamic Jihad; Remembering our heroic ancestors who remained valiant and strong with the help of God Almighty,andwereneverconquered; Regretting the failure of the Willinks Commission 1959 that wasintendedtoaddresstheunique challenges facing the so-called “minorities” of the Middle Belt and the South; Awarethat,throughthedecades of independence in 1960, succeeding Nigerian governments preserved and strengthened the yoke of oppression over the peoples of the Middle Belt under the spurious ideology of “One North”; Conscious of the fact that our peopleborethe burdens of keeping this country together as one indivisible entity; Recalling the structural violence and social injustices visited on our people through decades of neglect, systematic religious and ethnic persecution and gross social discrimination; Recalling the thousands of our war dead – men, women, children, old people and disa-

bled – who perished under a myriad of assaults through the pretexts of Sharia, socalled “religious riots”, Danish Cartoons, Boko Haram and murderous Fulani militias; Recalling the martyrs of Dogo Nahauwa on the Plateau, the martyrs of Chibok land, Southern Kaduna, Taraba and Benue, and the rape and rapine visited upon the young martyred virgins of the daughters of our people; Remembering the holy martyrs Reverend Fathers Joseph Gor and Felix Tyolaha and the 17 parishioners of Ukpor-Mbalom who were massacred for their faith on 24 April this year; Recalling the systematic destruction of churches and persecution of Christian communities of the North, from Kano to Katsina, Borno, Yobe and Zamfara; Recalling the silence of the entire world in the face of genocide against our people; We solemnly proclaim regional autonomy and selfgovernment for the peoples of the Middle Belt and all our brethren throughout the South; We covenant this beloved land of our ancestors - this green and rich homeland of ours -- to be inalienable under God forever; Reaffirming that every inch

of this land of our venerable ancestors belongs to the people who live on it, that we are entitled to all the riches under its soil, its rivers, its valleys, its rocks, and its hills and mountains to enjoy and to pass on to our children and our children’s children as an inalienable heritage forever; We hereby declare our autonomy from the iron yoke of the Old North that has treated our people with such evil contumely for more than a half-century, realigning with our brethren in the South in the pursuit of a common destiny under God; We swear that the crimson blood of the holy martyrs of our people shall never go in vain; And let it be known to friends and foes alike, to those who wish us well or ill, that we will do whatever it takes to protect the lives and liberties of our peoples; That we will defend this sacred land of our ancestors against all alien impostors, in conformity with the Right to Self-Defence by people threatened with genocide under the sacred precepts of international law and global ethics; With malice towards none and with goodwill towards all, we will march forward to protect the land we love, joining our brethren in the South and all men and women of goodwill to build a New Nigeria where truth, freedom, peace and justice shall reign.

BUNMI BAILEY

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Safety and the Nigerian Continued from back page

fice, without any effort being made to inspect the truck. Of course, this is after the routine of an appropriate ‘settlement’.

There is no way the truck that exploded on Otedola Bridge could have passed such a safety check where it was loaded, if this was diligently carried out.

The Police on the road represent another level of safety, because they can see about tyre tread, brake systems and such like. But the ‘safety’ is more apparent than real. Traffic stops, in our own reality, are ‘toll-gates’ where the policeman climbs on the step to converse with the driver and comes down smiling with something in his hand.

The Nigerian system needed to have failed at every one of these safety levels for the Otedola Bridge incident to happen. Nigeria routinely fails at those levels and more, and this is why there are so many avoidable incidents. A few weeks before the Otedola bridge tanker, a lorry carrying heavy pallets, while travelling on the overhead bridge at Ojuelegba dropped some of its pallets over the bridge. Two innocent Lagosians plying their business on the ground below lost their lives.

Yes, it is good to have an emergency service with a ten-minute response time. It is good to hold the driver, and the owner, responsible.

But there is much more that needs to be done to prevent disaster. Every incident must have a detailed forensic analysis to determine not just immediate but remote causes, and all the different levels of safety checks that have been breached to arrive at the point of disaster.

This is not just about assigning blame and punishment. No. It is also crucial for preventing the next incident from occurring.

It is the difference between a society that is ready to face disaster down and keep it to the barest minimum and another that ‘rejects’ disaster and lies in comfortable denial, waiting for the next tanker to explode, or something worse.

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Friday 20 July 2018

Tripling minimum wage may make Nigeria as expensive as Vietnam – RenCap … as foreign investors worry less about 2019 elections HOPE MOSES-ASHIKE

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oreign investors seem to show less concern about the 2019 general elections but are more worried about plans by the Federal Government to triple the minimum wage, which may make Nigeria as expensive as Vietnam.

The Federal Government had set a September date to roll out a new minimum wage for workers, which is expected to be higher than the current N18,000 established by the last administration.

The Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) have been kicking against the present Nigeria’s national minimum wage of N18,000 and have therefore

Anambra to boost livestock agric production EMMANUEL NDUKUBA, Awka overnment of Anambra State has declared the state’s willingness to key into Federal Government’s Livestock Agricultural Production Project.

Governor Willie Obiano made the declaration when a team from the Federal Ministry of Agriculture in partnership with World Bank paid a visit to the Government House, Awka on Thursday.

The governor, who was represented by his deputy, Nkem Okeke, said livestock business, which was highly lucrative, would help to improve the economy of the state.

He said the state was ready to develop its livestock business, but pointed out that nonavailability of animal feeds was one of the problems affecting the industry.

The team’s spokesperson, Winnie Ifeoma Lai-Solarin, said they came to assess the livestock industry in Anambra in preparation for the $200 million World Bank credit to enhance productivity and resilience policy value in the industry.

‘Livestock industry has over the years suffered setbacks and neglect in addition to being bedevilled by crisis raging between herders and farmers. The livestock industry is a sleeping giant in Nigeria,” Lai-Solarin said.

She added that the team would visit 21 states in the country in preparation for the project, noting that the four major components of the industry are institutional strengthening; enhancement of the performance value chain; management of the natural resources, and development of conflict eradication strength.

“Anambra stands tall among other states and has shown its willingness to key into the project; we were able to see livestock potential in Anambra and commitment by the state farmers,’’ she said.

She then revealed that there was institutional synergy of the state to turn its comparative advantage to productive purposes and promised smooth process of the project in the state.

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proposed N56,000 as a new minimum wage.

“At around $50 per month, there is understandable demand for this. But a tripling would make Nigeria as expensive as Vietnam, but without the nationwide literacy, electricity consumption or investment/GDP ratio to justify parity in wages,” analysts at Renaissance Capital said.

The average monthly salary of a worker in Vietnam is about $148 per month; those in high paying jobs bring home around $500 per month.

Vietnam’s Cost of Living Range is $700 to $1,400 per month, while its currency, Dong, pegged roughly 1:22,400 with the dollar. The inflation rate in Vietnam stood at 4.67 percent in June of 2018. Inflation rate in Vietnam

averaged 6.42 percent from 1996 until 2018, reaching an all time high of 28.24 percent in August of 2008 and a record low of -2.60 percent in July of 2000.

Taiwo Oyedele, head, tax and regulatory services, PWC, does not believe that Nigeria would be as expensive as Vietnam with the tripling of the minimum wage, saying that many countries pay a lot more than $150 monthly minimum wage and are still globally competitive.

According to Oyedele, the proposed increase in minimum wage should not be a major concern for any investor, especially those who are thinking of longterm investment. Even with a 300 percent increase, minimum wage will be only N54,000, which is $150. Most private sector busi-

nesses already pay more than this.

On the positive side, he says increase in minimum wage should lead to more economically empowered population and increase in demand for goods and services.

Nigeria’s Headline inflation rate continued to decelerate. It moderated to 11.61 percent in the month of May, from 13.34 percent recorded in April, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

“The outlook for inflation in the rest of the year appears largely uncertain owing to the likely surge in domestic liquidity arising mainly from expected fiscal injections and election-related spending,” Adamu Edward Lamtek, CBN’s deputy director,

corporate services, says.

FSDH Research forecasts a further drop in the inflation rate to 10.94 percent in June 2018.

“We expect the inflation rate to drop to a single digit in August provided there is no food shortage in the country due to of the current rising crisis in the food producing areas in the country,” Ayodele Akinwunmi, head, research, FSDH Merchant Bank Limited, says.

Johnson Chukwu, managing director/CEO, Cowry Asset Management Limited, also does not see $180 or N66,000 being demanded by Nigerian labour force as high enough for a family to live with.

Responding, Uche Uwaleke, associate professor and head, banking and finance depart-

ment, Nasarawa State University Keffi, Nasarawa State, says, “I think a major concern of foreign investors, as we witnessed in the period immediately preceding the 2015 elections, is whether or not the 2019 general elections slated for Q1 2019 would be peaceful.

“Already, increasing political tension is partly blamed for dwindling investors sentiments towards equities in the stock market.”

On whether the proposed increase in minimum wage is stoking concerns by foreign investors, he says, “I do not think any investor would be losing sleep over this given that the minimum wage adjustment has not been provided for in the budget.

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Live @ The Stock Exchange Custom Street records further decline amid impressive first-half earnings Stories by Iheanyi Nwachukwu

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igerian stocks fell further on Thursday despite impressive firsthalf (H1) financial results increasingly berthing on the Exchange.

The first-half 2018 results of Pan-African lender, Ecobank Transnational Incorporated Plc; United Capital Plc, Wema Bank Plc, and that of Multiverse Mining and Exploration Plc have all berthed on the trading floors of Lagos Bourse on Custom Street.

Despite their impressive top-to-bottom line scorecards, the Nigerian stock market still disappointed with the NSEASI recording 0.76percent decline to maintain downtrend with a week-on-week (wow) loss of 2.03percent.

The equities market year-to-date (ytd) returns currently stands negative at 4.64percent.

The Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) All Share Index (ASI) closed at 36,470.05 points against the preceding day close of 36,748.18 points while Market Capitalisation closed at N13.211trillion against preceding day close of N13.312 trillion, representing N101billion loss.

The volume of stocks traded increased by 63.61percent, from 181.28million to 296.59million, while the total value of stocks traded increased by 196.3percent, from N1.64billion to N4.86billion in 3,684 deals.

The Financial Services sector led Thursday activity chart with 181.98 million shares exchanged for N3.953 billion; while Services sector followed with 51.898 million shares traded for N107million.

GTBank Plc, MedView Airlines Plc, Zenith Bank Plc, Transcorp Plc, and FBN Holdings Plc were top-five actively traded stocks.

At the close of trading, 20 stocks gained as against 26 losers. Nestle Nigeria Plc

led the laggards list after its share price declined by N84.7 or 5.55percent, from N1, 527 to N1, 442.3.

Nigerian Breweries Plc also declined from N108 to N105.6, down by N2.4 or 2.22percent. International Breweries Plc declined from N41 to N39.2, down by N1.8 or 4.39percent.

Zenith Bank Plc was also down from N23.95 to N22.95, representing a decline of N1 or 4.18percent, while UAC of Nigerian Plc lost 75kobo or 5.36percent, from N14 to N13.25.

GTBank Plc recorded the highest price gain, from N36.55 to N38, up by N1.45 or 3.97percent. Dangote Sugar Refinery Plc followed from N18.3 to N19.5, up by N1.2 or 6.56percent; Oando Plc gained 45kobo or 9.47percent, from N4.75 to N5.2.

Eterna Plc advanced from N6.5 to N6.9, representing an increase of 40kobo or 6.15percent, while NASCON Plc advanced from N20 to N20.25, representing 25kobo or 1.25percent gain.

Ecobank Transnational reports 41% rise in H1’18 profit

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cobank Transnational Incorporated (ETI) Plc has released its unaudited consolidated interim financial statements for the six months period (H1) ended June 30, 2018.

The results at the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) show profit before tax (PBT) increased by 41percent to N65.1billion from N46.241billion in the corresponding first-half of 2017.

In the H1’18 period, ETI profit after taxation (PAT) was up by 37percent to N51.6billion, against N37.73billion in H1’17.

The company’s share price at N20.7 gained 10kobo 0.49percent after Thursday’s trading on Lagos Bourse.

The Pan African Banking Group reported gross earnings declined by 1percent to N384.6 billion, from N386.821billion in H1’2017.

Operating profit before impairment losses dropped by 3percent to N106.2 billion in H1’18 against N109.750billion in H1’2017.

Total assets increased by 2percent to N6.613trillion in H1’18 against N6.458trillion in H1’17. Loans and advances to customers declined by 8percent to N2.682trillion from N2.899trillion in H1’17; deposits from customers increased by 12 to N4.722trillion against N4.235trillion in H1.17. Total equity declined by 2percent to N587.8 billion, from N602billion in first-half of 2017.

The financial statements were approved for issue by the board of directors on July 19, 2018.

“These results show the considerable achievements we are already making in the execution phase of our strategy”, said Ade Ayeyemi, Group CEO, ETI Plc. “For the first half of the year the firm generated profit before tax of $213 million, an increase of 41percent from the same period a year ago, and a return on tangible total shareholders’ equity of 20.9percent,” he added.

Ayeyemi said “We were encouraged with the levels

of client activity we saw in most of our businesses and precisely in our deposit-generating franchise. As a result, customer deposits grew 12percent in constant currency, improving the firm’s liquidity and ability to lend to customers. The enormous efforts we have made to improve asset quality is also paying off. We have started to see improvements in our credit portfolio, resulting in lower impairment losses for the period”.

“Finally, on 14 June, we announced intended meetings with global fixedincome investors, following which, if market conditions permitted, would result in a 5-year USD denominated senior unsecured bond offering. Despite positive investor meetings, market conditions were less benign, driven by the confluence of interest rate rises in the US and sell-off in emerging market debt. As a result we have held off on the offering until such a period when conditions will improve.”

Disappointing earnings pull European stocks back from month highs

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rally in European stocks fizzled out on Thursday as poor results drove down advertising agency Publicis and a slide in metals prices dragged on the market.

As the earnings season got into full swing, the pan-European STOXX 600 ended the session

0.2 percent lower, down from the one-month high it reached in the previous session, as investors focused on a mixed bag of company results.

France’s Publicis shares tumbled 8.8 percent after an unexpected drop in second-quarter sales caused by underperformance at its U.S.

healthcare communications business.

“While operating margin was significantly ahead of expectations, the focus will be on the weaker revenue numbers, especially as [U.S. advertising agency] Omnicom earlier this week also underperformed expectations,” wrote Liberum analysts.

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FINANCIAL TIMES ABB raises prospect of more deals as it continues to reshape

Facebook starts to block content that incites violence

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World Business Newspaper

Putin attacks US critics over ‘successful’ Trump meeting Russian president said the talks had led to useful agreements Kathrin Hille

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ussian president Vladimir Putin accused the American political establishment of threatening the US economy, its national security and its allies with criticism of Donald Trump following the two leaders’ summit.

In his first assessment of the encounter in Helsinki, the Russian president told an annual meeting with Russia’s diplomatic corps on Thursday that it had in general been successful.

“We need a different, positive agenda. Of course, we talked about this at our meeting with US president Trump in Helsinki,” said Mr Putin. “No matter what differences we have, the first step is made.”

Mr Putin said his talks with Mr Trump had “led to useful agreements” — a statement set to further alarm lawmakers in Washington. The two leaders did not formally agree on a joint statement, but it remains unclear what Mr Trump may have committed to during his two-hour discussion with Mr Putin, where only interpreters were present.

Amid widespread criticism in the US of Mr Trump, who appeared to side with Mr Putin rather than US intelligence services over election meddling, the Russian president said “powerful forces” in the US were trying to undo the achievements of Helsinki.

Those forces were “ready to sacrifice US-Russia relations to their domestic political interests, ready to sacrifice the economy with what could hurt tens of thousands of jobs,” Mr Putin said. “They are also ready to sacrifice their allies in Europe, their own security.”

Russia’s Ministry of Defence had already spooked US observers on Tuesday with a statement that it stood “ready to implement in practice the agreements in the area of international security” that the two leaders reached in

Helsinki.

The ministry said it was prepared to activate contacts between the two countries’ general staffs and other communication channels for talks on the extension of the New Start treaty, which expires in 2021, co-operation on Syria and other military security issues.

But expectations in Moscow on concrete progress are so far very modest. Russian security experts said the most likely practical outcome of the talks was further US-Russian co-operation to deescalate tension in south-western Syria to prevent a direct collision between Iran and Israel.

“Apparently there will be a buffer zone in the area of the Golan Heights, and Iranian forces will be replaced by forces from Damascus,” said Andrei Kortunov, director of the government-backed Russian International Affairs Council.

On the topic of arms control, Moscow and Washington remain much farther apart. Mr Putin on Thursday urged immediate talks about an extension of the New Start treaty. But Russian arms experts said that during this month’s visit by John Bolton, Mr Trump’s national security adviser, they had sensed “very little appetite” on the US side for preserving the arms control regime.

On Wednesday, Mr Trump appeared to row back on his position in Helsinki, saying that he held Mr Putin responsible for Russian interference in the 2016 US presidential election because he was in charge of the country.

Tweeting about the meeting on Thursday morning, Mr Trump said: “The Fake News Media wants so badly to see a major confrontation with Russia, even a confrontation that could lead to war. They are pushing so recklessly hard and hate the fact that I’ll probably have a good relationship with Putin. We are doing MUCH better than any other country!”

The Chinese Communist party entangles big tech By making new technology a priority, Beijing is placing a large bet on a small group of private sector companies ID cards to the ubiquitous social Louise Lucas media app created by tech titan n China, a national identity Tencent. card is required for almost By scanning their faces with everything, from buying a the WeChat app, users can obtain train ticket, to opening a bank a digital ID that they use to register account to using an internet café. for a variety of services. For TenThey are also now part of a pio- cent, there is a further upside to neering experiment in the use of the scheme: the owner of WeChat facial recognition technology. In is becoming the repository for a scheme that started last year in another vast store of data about the southern city of Guangzhou, Chinese citizens. the Chinese government is allowThe pilot project, due to be ing users of WeChat to link their Continues on page A4

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© EPA

Toys R Us workers press investors for hardship fund Real estate investment group Vornado spurns calls to compensate those who were laid off Mark Vandevelde

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oys R Us workers who lost their jobs when the heavily indebted retailer collapsed are talking to two buyout firms about a possible hardship fund — but a third, billionaire investor Steven Roth’s Vornado Realty Trust, is refusing to answer their emails.

KKR and Bain, which took the company private in partnership with Vornado in 2005, are considering providing some financial help for workers who were hardest hit by the toy chain’s bankruptcy last year and ultimate liquidation.

Criticism over the treatment of workers has led some public pension funds in the US to reconsider investments with the two firms.

Vornado, which was an equal partner with KKR and Bain in the leveraged buyout that loaded the retailer with more than $5bn of debt, has shunned discussions with representatives of former employees, according to people familiar with the talks.

Vornado is structured as a per-

manent capital vehicle and does not raise outside money on a regular schedule, so has not experienced the same pressure from investors.

Creditors seized control of Toys R Us in April, announcing the closure of all its stores and telling 30,000 fired workers they would not be receiving the severance benefits they expected.

Former employees are trying to enforce their claims against the retailer in bankruptcy court. But they are unlikely to have any legal recourse against the trio of former owners, whom they contend are also to blame.

Instead, they have mounted a ferocious campaign of public criticism, and worked to apply pressure via the buyout funds’ investors.

Workers and their representatives have scheduled meetings with Bain Capital investors in California, Ohio, Maryland and Pennsylvania, who have collectively provided the firm with about $2bn since 2012, to press their concerns.

Two state-run pension funds, in Minnesota and Washington, are

already reconsidering future investments in KKR funds.

Laid-off workers plan to take the argument to Vornado on Friday.

They will hold a protest rally at a San Francisco office tower that is co-owned by the fund.

Jim Baker, a campaigner at the Private Equity Stakeholder Project, said he had contacted Mr Roth five times since workers wrote their letter in April, but received no reply.

Mr Roth could not be reached for comment; Vornado did not reply to a request for comment.

Industry experts say any hardship assistance for Toys R Us workers would probably have to come from buyout executives’ own pockets, because the funds cannot demand money from clients to cover payments they have no legal obligation to make.

The dialogue over a hardship fund was welcome, said Eddie Iny, a co-ordinator of the Rise Up Retail campaign that focuses on lowwage workers. But he added that it was likely to fall short of the $75m in severance benefits that workers had been counting on.

Wall Street welcomes first marijuana IPO at $17 a share Canadian medical-use cannabis producer Tilray set to start trading on Nasdaq Nicole Bullock

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all Street will play host to the latest effort by the marijuana industry to move into the financial mainstream on Thursday when trading in Tilray, the Canadian medical cannabis producer, starts on Nasdaq.

Shares in the first cannabis producer and distributor to go public on a US exchange priced late on Wednesday at $17, above an indicated range of $14 to $16 a share for the initial public offering, raising $153m and giving the company a market value of $1.56bn.

“It is a big deal for the cannabis industry’s expansion plans,” said Matthew Kennedy, an IPO market strategist at Renaissance Capital, which runs exchange trade funds that buy newly listed shares.

A US listing gives companies access to large pools of capital and heightened levels of publicity. US exchanges are able to list companies so long as their operations are legal in the jurisdiction where they operate.

“You have a much easier path to finding capital and a much cleaner way to invest,” said Sean Stiefel, a portfolio manager at Navy Capital, adding that the US was beginning to “institutionalise” cannabis investing.

Both Nasdaq and the New York Stock Exchange have accepted companies that were already listed in Canada as well as listed shares of companies that operate in cannabis-related business.

Originally listed on the Toronto stock exchange, Canopy, a producer of medical marijuana, achieved a dual listing on NYSE in May. Similarly, Toronto-listed Cronos Group began trading on Nasdaq in

February.

Nasdaq is also home to MTech Acquisition Corp, a special purpose acquisition vehicle, or spac, that intends to buy a companies “ancillary to the cannabis industry”.

NYSE lists a real estate investment trust called Innovative Industrial Properties, which owns industrial and greenhouse buildings leased to state-licensed medical-use cannabis growers.

Medical use is authorised at the federal or national level in 29 countries, according to Tilray, and, in October, Canada is expected to become the first major industrialised nation to legalise adult-use cannabis at the federal level. Citing figures from the UN, Tilray put the value of the global cannabis market, including the illicit market, at an estimated $150bn annually with more than 180m estimated users.

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FT The Chinese Communist party entangles big...

Trump sanctions bolster influence of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards

Continued from page A3 rolled out around the country, highlights one of the most intriguing aspects of China’s headlongpush into the world of artificial intelligence and other frontier technologies: the relationship between the Chinese Communist party and the country’s ambitious and enormous tech companies.

Even after four decades of market-based economic reforms, the party places a high priority on maintaining state control over the strategic uplands of the economy — from finance to energy and media.

While large private companies have emerged, the party has often looked with suspicion at highprofile entrepreneurs who might present a challenge to its hold on society. As part of a recent crackdown on a group of private companies, the chairman of insurance group Anbang, Wu Xiaohui, was sentenced to 18 years in jail for fraud.

Yet the high priority that has been given to becoming a leader in new technologies means that the party is — for now — placing a large bet on a small group of private sector companies such as Tencent, Baidu and Alibaba, whose founder Jack Ma is probably the only Chinese public figure whose global fame gets close to that of President Xi Jinping.

Given the party’s chequered history with the private sector, the global prominence of some of the big tech groups could become a source of considerable tension in the future, say observers.

However, as the WeChat-ID card programme shows, the stakes on both sides are higher than ever before: the nominally privatesector tech companies are inextricably linked with the Chinese state and its security apparatus, and the authorities retain the upper hand in the relationship.

The tech groups, says Duncan Clark, chairman of consultancy BDA and author of Alibaba: The House That Jack Ma Built, “are increasingly co-opted into national policy”. They have even been assigned roles in government strategy documents including a directive on AI that was published last year. “The party is still in charge and the party is going to use them,” he adds.

Close ties with Beijing mean that Chinese tech companies often appear to their international rivals as effective arms of the state— something that has on occasion attracted the attention of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States. And as one Beijing based lawyer puts it, US and European companies believe they are competing “not with a company, but with a country”.

Fast growing internet businesses like Tencent and Alibaba, as well as the likes of Xiaomi, the smartphone maker that listed this month, and ride-hailing app Didi Chuxing, have changed the way people in China work, pay and play. With their gleaming headquarters and asset-lite models they are light years removed from the sprawling monolithic stateowned enterprises.

Friday 20 July 2018

US repudiation of 2015 nuclear deal has undermined moderates led by President Rouhani Najmeh Bozorgmehr

W Facebook has been accused of allowing posts that helped fuel sectarian violence in Sri Lanka © Reuters

Facebook starts to block content that incites violence Social network’s stricter policy to rely on local intelligence to flag inflammatory content Richard Waters

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acebook has responded to criticism that its service may have contributed to sectarian violence in countries such as Sri Lanka and Myanmar, with a new policy that involves removing more types of deliberately inflammatory content from its service.

The social networking company has come under fire for refusing in the past to remove such posts entirely, instead downgrading them in its rankings so that they appear in people’s news feeds less often.

It has argued that allowing posts to remain while making them less visible “strikes the right balance between free expression and a safe and authentic community”.

That has left it defending the right of users to post malicious hoaxes and conspiracy theories.

Earlier this week, for instance, it faced criticism for defending its decision not to block Infowars, a website known for spreading conspiracy theories, including claims that the Sandy Hook shooting in the US, in which 20 primary school children were killed in 2010, was staged.

On Wednesday, Facebook said it had begun a new policy of blocking “certain forms of misinformation that have contributed to physical harm”. The move is a response to the spread of inflammatory material that does not rise to the level of hate speech of inciting violence directly — both of which are already banned — but which may inflame sectarian or other tensions.

“If it’s going to result in real harm, real physical harm, or if you’re attacking individuals, then that content shouldn’t be on the platform,” Mark Zuckerberg, chief executive, said in an interview with online news site Recode.

Facebook applied the policy for the first time last month in Sri Lanka, removing material that claimed Muslims were giving or selling poisoned food to Buddhists.

The company will rely on local community organisations and intelligence services to flag material they think is being spread to instil violence, in much the same way it already relies on third-party fact checkers to flag fake news.

Facebook has been embroiled in a range of controversies in Asia, some of which look set to fall un-

der its new policy.

In Myanmar, Facebook has also been accused of allowing its platform, including its Messenger app, to spread hatred between majority Buddhists and minority Muslims.

In February, Facebook suspended the account of Wirathu, an extremist Buddhist monk known for inflammatory sermons targeting Muslims.

India is among several countries pressuring Facebook to develop more effective measures to counter the spread of fake news on its WhatsApp messaging platform that has led to violent clashes. In recent months, India has seen a spate of at least 18 lynchings triggered by online rumours of the kidnapping of children.

The Facebook chief executive’s comments to Recode stirred a small social media storm of their own as he tried to explain why the company did not silence Holocaust deniers. “I find that deeply offensive,” Mr Zuckerberg said.

“But at the end of the day, I don’t believe that our platform should take that down because I think there are things that different people get wrong,” he added.

“I don’t think that they’re intentionally getting it wrong.”

Comcast walks away from Fox takeover fight US cable company concedes to rival Disney and will focus on battle for TV group Sky Arash Massoudi & Eric Platt

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S cable group Comcast conceded defeat to rival Walt Disney on Thursday in the $71bn battle to buy the majority of Rupert Murdoch’s 21st Century Fox media empire.

Comcast said it would instead focus its efforts on clinching a £26bn deal to acquire Sky, the European pay-TV group. It is attempting to fend off rival interest from Fox, which owns a 39 per cent stake in Sky and whose bid is being supported by Disney.

“I’d like to congratulate [Disney chief executive] Bob Iger and the team at Disney and commend the Murdoch family and Fox for creating such a desirable and respected company,” said Brian Roberts, Comcast chief executive.

The move draws to a close a months-long takeover battle that has gripped the media industry.

Comcast and Disney wanted to acquire Fox and Sky to bring in some of the world’s most prized entertainment assets — including the film and television studio behind The Simpsons and X-Men — and fend off digital disrupters such as Netflix and Amazon, which have rapidly upended the media business.

Shares in Comcast climbed 2.8 per cent to $38 in pre-market New York trading, while Fox shares dropped 1.5 per cent to $46.78.

For most of this year, Disney and Comcast have been fighting to acquire both the Fox assets, which include a 39 per cent stake in Sky, and full control of Sky. Shares in Sky fell 2 per cent to £15.01 in London trading.

Last week, Comcast raised its offer to buy Sky to £14.75 per share, up from its initial bid in April of £12.50.

The offer came only hours after Fox unveiled its own improved £14-ashare offer, with Disney’s backing, to buy the 61 per cent of Sky it does not

already own.

The bids showed that the companies’ battle had shifted to Europe after Disney raised the terms of the Fox takeover first agreed in late 2017 by nearly $20bn, taking the price tag to about $71bn not including debt. Last month’s new deal with Fox was designed to fend off a bid from Comcast that valued the assets at $65bn.

While Comcast explored increasing its offer for the Fox assets, and considered working in tandem with a private equity or technology company to defeat Disney, it had long been seen to be at a disadvantage, with its higher debt load constraining its ability to surpass Disney’s latest offer. From the start of discussions, the Murdoch family has also preferred to sell the Fox assets to Disney.

The Murdochs are planning to spin off their broadcasting empire, including the Fox network and Fox News, as part of the deal with Disney.

hen violent protests over corruption and severe water shortages erupted in the southern Iranian cities of Khorramshahr and Abadan this month, the response of the authorities was unusual.

As well as calling in the police to quell the demonstrations, members of the Revolutionary Guards were dispatched to the scene.

There, in the scorching summer heat, they worked day and night to complete a 90km pipeline to supply drinking water to people who had been reduced to waiting in line with buckets.

Their effort to tackle the water crisis is a prime example of the way the upheaval caused by Donald Trump’s repudiation of the 2015 nuclear deal has served to bolster the role of the Revolutionary Guards, one of Iran’s most powerful institutions. At the same time it has undermined the country’s moderates led by President Hassan Rouhani, who has had to move close to the Guards to cement his own grip on power.

One business executive close to Iran’s hardliners said: “Given the difficulty of running Iran under sanctions, Rouhani has no choice but to listen to the Guards.”

The US decision in May to withdraw from the pact signed with world powers — Mr Rouhani’s signature achievement — was in part aimed at stopping Tehran’s meddling in regional affairs and curbing its ambitious ballistic missile programme.

But another consequence has strengthened the hand of hardline Iranian factions, in the clerical and judicial establishment as well as in the Revolutionary Guards, who always said it was a mistake to strike a deal with the US. These groups, who believe their position has been vindicated, have been able to use the threats from Mr Trump and others to reassert their authority, adding to pressure on Mr Rouhani, whose credibility has been badly damaged by his failure to keep the deal and new economic curbs from Washington.

Previously, analysts say, the president had some success with reining in the Guards’ extensive role in Iran’s domestic politics and the economy. Those efforts have now been largely suspended.

“The president [Mr Rouhani] made enormous efforts to . . . reach an agreement with the west only to be ridiculed [by the US],” said Hossein Marashi, a reformist politician.

In such circumstance “it is natural for Rouhani and the reformists to be weakened and hardline forces to be strengthened.”

He added: “Western countries should be aware that if they put too much pressure on Iran, it could unleash radical Shia forces and trigger a new wave of Islamic radicalism.”

Pro-reform forces, who last year helped re-elect Mr Rouhani for a second term, complain their voices are increasingly marginalised in the president’s decision-making process.

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@ FINANCIAL TIMES LIMITED

ABB raises prospect of more deals as it continues to reshape Swiss engineering group beats profit forecasts in second quarter Michael Pooler

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BB, the Swiss engineering conglomerate, has said its portfolio is “not cast in stone”, raising the possibility of more deals to reshape the company after it beat profit forecasts in the second quarter.

The industrial group, which makes factory robots and power grids to transmit electricity, on Thursday reported a 30 per cent increase in net income to $681m for the period, as orders rose 8 per cent on a comparable basis to $9.48bn.

Ulrich Spiesshofer, chief executive, said the performance in the period demonstrated that a transformation of the company undertaken in recent years was delivering. Since his appointment in 2013, Mr Spiesshofer has sought to streamline and simplify ABB as well as cut costs.

“We wouldn’t say now our portfolio is cast in stone,” he said.

“We will continue to shape ABB, constantly look for opportunities to shift our centre of gravity and drive more growth.

“You will see us adding smaller and bigger pieces, and also divesting smaller and bigger pieces.”

The reorganisation of ABB has focused the group on four areas — power grids, electrification, industrial automation and robotics. It has involved acquisitions, such as the $2.6bn purchase of General Electric’s Industrial Solutions business last year, while also offloading activities like power

cables.

Despite exceeding analyst expectations on profits and orders, ABB’s second-quarter revenues were sluggish, increasing just 1 per cent to $8.89bn. That was below its target range of 3 to 6 per cent.

With the company struggling to return to growth, ABB has come under pressure to carry out further portfolio restructuring from Cevian Capital, the large European activist fund. Last year, Cevian co-founder Lars Forberg joined the company’s board.

Analysts at UBS said the results demonstrated a “solid [profit] margin delivery despite weak top line growth”. Shares in the company gained 3.8 per cent on Thursday to SFr22.80.

“Large orders have reached historically low levels and look set to rebound from current depressed levels, supported by an ongoing recovery in process industries,” wrote analysts at Deutsche Bank.

“The house is now in order and the group’s portfolio and cost structure look stronger than ever.”

As the US and China embark on a trade war, slapping punitive duties on billions of dollars worth of each other’s goods, Mr Spiesshofer reiterated that US tariffs on foreign metal could have a negative impact on its operations in the country, since it relies on imported steel for use in motors and transformers.

“These grades are only produced by a couple of suppliers in Japan and Korea. We need to make sure we have access to that,” he said.

Global stocks fall as US-China trade worries return Dollar index hits 12-month high, pound below $1.30 Michael Hunter & Edward White

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here is a cautious feel to trade as investors factor in a lacklustre run of earnings news alongside concerns that the trade dispute between the US and China could worsen if talks between the countries remain stalled.

The dollar index is at its highest level in 12 months while China’s renminbi traded at a one-year low.

The S&P 500 is down 0.4 per cent in mid-morning New York trade, with the Nasdaq Composite 0.5 per cent lower. BNY Mellon is down 5.8 per cent after releasing its secondquarter numbers.

European stock markets are weaker and retreating from onemonth highs touched earlier this week, while China’s equities indices turned round from modest gains to show overall declines for the day.

The trading pattern comes after Larry Kudlow, US National Economic Council director told CNBC’s Delivering Alpha conference that Chinese president Xi Jinping “does not wish to make a deal” to end tariffs.

The dollar index is up 0.3 per cent

at 95.60, taking it more than 3 per cent higher for the calendar year and at levels last seen in July 2017.

The renminbi’s onshore exchange rate, which is permitted to move within a trading band of 2 per cent in either direction, is down 0.8 per cent to Rmb6.7676 per dollar, its lowest since late July 2017.

Frankfurt’s Xetra Dax is down 0.8 per cent while the Europe-wide Stoxx 600 is off 0.3 per cent, with earnings news unable to extend one-month highs for continental stocks touched during the previous session.

Shares in French advertising group Publicis is down nearly 10 per cent after its second-quarter sales fell. The CAC 40 in Paris is 0.6 per cent weaker.

London’s FTSE 100 is bucking the trend with a marginal gain, helped by a weaker pound.

The CSI 300 index of major Shanghai and Shenzhen stocks closed down 0.1 per cent, fading from opening gains of 0.6 per cent.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng also lost momentum, down 0.4 per cent overall and off earlier gains of 0.6 per cent.

Tokyo’s Topix slipped 0.1 per cent.

ABB chief executve Ulrich Spiesshofer says performance demonstrates that a transformation of the company undertaken in recent years is delivering © Reuters

Upbeat Boeing chief shrugs off trade war fears Muilenburg hails ‘fundamental shifts’ but some observers warn of looming upheaval Patti Waldmeir & Peggy Hollinger

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ennis Muilenburg believes this is one of the best possible times to be an aerospace and defence company.

Markets may fret about how a Trump-triggered trade war could hurt Boeing, the iconic US aircraft manufacturer that he took over as chief executive in July 2015. But as he surveys the world from the vantage point of the UK’s biennial Farnborough air show, Mr Muilenburg is pleased with almost everything he sees.

Industry experts, stock market analysts and company insiders all agree on one thing: Mr Muilenburg has brought a new aggressive style of confidence to Boeing. But there are differing opinions on whether, and to what degree, that is a good thing.

“Dennis is too gung-ho. Nothing is ever bad,” said one veteran aerospace analyst, referring to Mr Muilenburg’s repeated claim that the boom and bust cycle that has dogged the aerospace business for decades is over. “A bit of humility and conservatism would go a long way”.

Nevertheless, Cai von Rumohr, aerospace analyst from Cowen investment bank, believes concerns about the potential impact of a downturn in the commercial aircraft sector are overblown. “What is not appreciated is the resilience of the demand upswing and Boeing’s

favourable productivity,” he said, along with better cash generation from the rise of higher margin services and defence sales in the company’s mix.

In an interview with the Financial Times on the eve of the Farnborough show, and then during it, the 54-year-old Mr Muilenburg stuck firmly to an upbeat message. He declared the end of cyclical performance, insisting that profits would be more stable thanks to “fundamental shifts over the last decade”.

These include a more global spread of orders, huge backlogs representing eight years of production and the growing importance of new high-margin services made possible by the digital revolution.

Boeing has come a long way since Mr Muilenburg took over three years ago. Back then, delays to the 787 Dreamliner were causing a financial hangover, while the company faced an investigation into accounting practices on the programme. Airbus, its European arch rival, seemed to have the upper hand, while Boeing was on the defensive.

Slowly, the tables were turned: Airbus faced several European antibribery investigations, and tensions flared at the top. As Airbus’s FrancoGerman management slugged it out, Mr Muilenburg brought in fresh blood — including former General Electric executive Kevin McAllister, now head of Boeing Commercial

Airplanes. Customers say Mr McAllister is reinvigorating the business.

In a move that one company insider says did much to build trust with middle management, Mr Muilenburg vowed to make personal contact with 17,000 Boeing managers within his first year. He went on to do so, listening carefully to what they had to say.

He also surprised the industry by halting his predecessor’s longrunning battle with unions at its Seattle plant — though he later fought unionisation of the company’s South Carolina plant. And tough union negotiations may lie ahead if Boeing decides to go ahead with a new “middle of the market” aircraft given that Mr Muilenburg has stressed that affordability will be key.

Mr Muilenburg expressed confidence that Boeing is on its way to finalising a deal with Embraer, the Brazilian aircraft maker, at the smaller end of the commercial aircraft market.

But he rejected suggestions that he may have erred in challenging Embraer’s Canadian rival, Bombardier, with a US trade complaint over government subsidies. That not only irritated Boeing’s Canadian and UK defence customers, but may have handed Airbus an early advantage in smaller passenger jets. Bombardier’s C Series, the industry’s newest clean sheet aircraft, was virtually given away to Airbus as a result.

James Packer resigns all his Australian directorships Muilenburg hails ‘fundamental shifts’ but some observers warn of looming upheaval Jamie Smyth

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illionaire James Packer has resigned from the boards of 22 Australian companies over the past few weeks and is no longer a director of any companies registered in the country.

The move follows the 50-yearold businessman’s resignation from the board of Crown Resorts in March, which his private investment vehicle Consolidated Press Holdings said was due to Mr Packer suffering “mental health issues”. In late June Mr Packer quit the board of CPH and has since resigned all his directorships of

Australian registered companies, according to company records.

“This is a very significant move

by Mr Packer, who for years has been one of the biggest investors in Australia and appears now not to be active,” said Stephen Mayne, a director of the Australian Shareholders’ Association.

“The Packer family have been at the forefront of Australian business for decades.”

Mr Packer inherited a media and publishing empire from his father Kerry Packer, which he later sold and used the proceeds to build Crown Resorts into Australia’s largest casino operator. The business initially flourished and

expanded to the US, Macau and elsewhere, but when 19 Crown employees were arrested in China in 2016 and later convicted of “gambling-related crimes”, Mr Packer retrenched the group back in Australia and sold off most of its overseas assets.

The high-profile arrests in China, which related to the illegal marketing of casino activities, and the breakdown of Mr Packer’s relationship with US pop star Mariah Carey, apparently took a heavy toll on the billionaire. In March Mr Packer sought medical treatment for mental illness and began stepping back from his Australian businesses.

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Friday 20 July 2018

ANALYSIS Israel’s parliament backs contentious nation state bill Legislation declares Jews alone have right to national self-determination Mehul Srivastava

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Fed’s Powell facing first test from the bond market Fed chief has downplayed the significance of a flattening in the US yield curve

Joe Rennison

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n late 2005 Alan Greenspan assured Congress that the bond market’s ability to predict a recession wasn’t what it used to be. The former Federal Reserve chairman was testifying just as shorter-dated interest rates threatened to climb above longer-dated ones, a rare event in markets and one that has been a reliable indicator of downturns.

This week Fed chair Jay Powell found himself quizzed on Capitol Hill on the same subject because short-dated rates are close to exceeding longer-dated ones in what would be an inversion of the yield curve for the first time since 2006. It is a prospect that some investors once again believe is an early warning of an economic slowdown.

The narrowing gap between yields on two-year and 10-year Treasuries is one of the hottest subjects on Wall Street, with its effects rippling out beyond the $14tn US government bond market. Shares of US banks, which benefit when they can borrow cheaply over a short horizon and lend at more expensive rates over a longer period, have lagged the broader stock market this year.

Yet the chief message over two days of Congressional testimony from Mr Powell, who has been at the helm of the Fed for six months, was that the economy is robust enough and inflation firming sufficiently for the central bank to continue to raise interest rates. The steady pace of rate increases from the Fed is one of the reasons twoyear yields are close to topping that of the 10-year and inverting the yield curve.

“The curve will invert by the end of this year if the Fed goes along with what it is saying,” said Joseph LaVorgna, chief economist for the Americas at Natixis.

“To me the fundamental reason yields are low is because investors don’t think there is much growth and inflation.”

Figures this week showing a jump in retail sales in June were the latest evidence that the US

economy has momentum, with the Atlanta Federal Reserve now estimating the economy expanded 4.5 per cent last quarter.

“With a strong job market, inflation close to our objective, and the risks to the outlook roughly balanced . . . the best way forward is to keep gradually raising the federal funds rate,” Mr Powell told the Senate Banking Committee on Tuesday.

However, the difference between two- and 10-year Treasury yields — a widely watched metric of the yield curve— has narrowed aggressively. It stood at 25 basis points on Wednesday, its lowest level since 2007 and down from 100bp a year ago.

Asked about this by Pat Toomey, a Republican senator from Pennsylvania, Mr Powell acknowledged that “if you raise short term rates higher than long term rates then maybe your policy is tighter than you think”.

The Fed chief, who after two decades at private equity firm Carlyle is seen as more closely attuned to markets than his academic predecessors, pointed to longer-dated interest rates, such as the 10-year yield, as being indicative of the so-called neutral interest rate that the Fed is seeking to target which is neither restrictive or stimulative.

“He understands how to read markets,” said Steven Blitz, chief US economist at TS Lombard.

“He is trying to push interest rates to a level that he believes accurately reflects growth in the economy. As the yield curve flattens the market is telling you that you are reaching the highwater mark.”

Yet the debate over the message that both Fed officials and investors should take from the possible inversion of the US yield curve is complicated by the possibility that longer-dated yields are being depressed by factors unrelated to the risk of recession.

Global demand for US Treasuries remains strong given their status as a haven from tumultuous geopolitics and the low level of yields available in other developed bond markets. Foreign investors added another $27bn of Treasuries to their portfolios in

May, according to data released by the US Treasury this week.

Then there is the Fed’s own holdings of Treasuries, which despite the central bank reducing the size of its multi-trillion dollar balance sheet, remain large and a potential drag on longer-term yields.

The reliability of an inverted yield curve as an indicator of recession was called into question this week by former Fed chair Ben Bernanke, who introduced the central bank’s bond-buying programme during the financial crisis. He pointed to “regulatory changes and quantitative easing in other jurisdictions”, as factors muddying the picture.

Jim Caron, a managing director of the global fixed income team at Morgan Stanley Investment Management, admits that other factors may mean the curve is giving off warning signals about the economic outlook sooner than it otherwise would.

Yet “the direction of travel is still indicating a slowing economy down the road”, he added.

“We can debate the level but the direction of travel is the same.”

And despite Mr Powell offering an upbeat view of the economic outlook, there are signs not all Fed policymakers are comfortable at the flattening in the yield curve. Neel Kashkari, the president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, noted this week that “if the Fed continues raising rates, we risk not only inverting the yield curve, but also moving to a contractionary policy stance and putting the brakes on the economy, which the markets are indicating is at this point unnecessary”.

Although the yield curve inverted a matter of weeks after Mr Greenspan testified to Congress, the Fed continued to raise interest rates until June, 2006, which was their ultimate peak before the financial crisis and subsequent recession.

Mr Powell’s testimony suggests that he understands the risks if the signal from the yield curve proves accurate. What some investors fear is that he may not act before it is too late.

he Israeli parliament has backed controversial legislation that declares Jews alone have the right to national self-determination in Israel, downgrades Arabic from its status as an official language and encourages the building of Jewish settlements.

The nation state bill, which was passed in the early hours of Thursday, is a triumph for Jewish hardliners who have struggled for eight years to introduce different versions of the law.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who championed the bill in the face of criticism from President Reuven Rivlin, called it a “defining moment in the annals of Zionism”, and ignored attacks from Arab leaders, who represent 20 per cent of Israel’s population — about 1.8m people — who said it contained “the seeds of apartheid”.

Arab lawmakers waved black

bolic, is especially controversial because it does not include a clause that guarantees equal protections for non-Jews in Israel. Since Israel does not have a constitution, legal opinions of equal rights are drawn from an interpretation of a basic law regarding human dignity and liberty.

Palestinian leaders, who maintain close ties with the Arab population within Israel’s borders, said the law confirmed that Israeli law allows discrimination between Jews and others.

“The Jewish nation state bill officially legalises apartheid,” said Saeb Erekat, the chief negotiator for the Palestinian Liberation Organization, amid concerns that the bill could be interpreted as a mandate for increased Jewish settlements in the West Bank, where some 450,000 Jews live in communities guarded by the Israeli Army.

The legislation also redefines the state of Israel’s relationship with diaspora Jews — direct-

Ayman Odeh, an Israeli-Arab member of the Knesset, holds a placard reading ‘Equality’ during a protest against the bill in Tel Aviv last week © EPA

flags, tore up copies of the bill and barracked Mr Netanyahu as he left the Knesset, after the vote.

Ahmed Tibi, an Arab lawmaker, said the legislation marked “the end of democracy”.

Last week, Mr Netanyahu insisted the government would “keep ensuring civil rights” in Israel but he said: “The majority also has rights and the majority decides.”

Most Arab Israeli citizens are descendants of Arabs who refused to flee the fighting that preceded the creation of the Israeli state in 1948. Arab Israelis already suffer from discrimination, lower employment and greater poverty.

“There’s no other reason for this law, other than the proximity of elections,” said Yohanan Plesner, head of the non-partisan Israel Democracy Institute, which opposed the bill. “They want to position themselves towards the campaign, especially on the questions of identity that fire up their base and enter the election campaign with a strong patriotic stance.”

The law, while largely sym-

ing the Israeli government to limit that influence to outside the borders of the state. While vague, experts point out that clause was inserted at the demands of the ultra-orthodox partners of Mr Netanyahu’s coalition, who consider more modern forms of Judaism practised in the west as a threat.

“There is no reason that a basic law that defines Israel as the national homeland of the Jewish people should contain a clause that alienates a large portion of Jews worldwide,” the Israel Democracy Institute said.

The bill, which passed with 62 votes out of 120, will become one of Israel’s dozen basic laws, but is expected to face immediate legal challenges.

Professor Eugene Kontorovich, of the conservative Kohelet Policy Forum, which pushed for the bill and provided legal support for it, said: “This is a well overdue piece of legislation enshrining Israel’s national character into law.

“The faux outrage against the bill is simply another attempt to single out the Jewish state and hold her to a double standard.”

Politics & Policy Friday 20 July 2018

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Nigerians poorer under APC, says Turaki

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Former Vice President and frontline contender for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential ticket, Atiku Abubakar and Governor Darius Isyaku of Taraba State when Atiku visited the governor at his office in Jalingo in continuation of Atiku’s consultative visit to PDP stakeholders on Thursday

oppress Nigerians in its desperation to hold on to power at all costs.

He said: “For the first time, everybody is dissatisfied with the Nigeria Project.

Today, the economy is in the doldrums. Nigerians have never been so divided.

Today, we have a government that discriminates while Nigerians are not only hungry, but angry because

of poverty, hunger and killings, never in the history of this nation had there been this trenchant agitation for self-determination.”

Speaking further, Turaki condemned the situation where security agencies were colluding with the officials of government to destabilise the country, stressing that it was the reason they could not be called to order.

Chairman, PDP Board of Trustees, Walid Jibrin, described the aspirant as an able and reliable member of the party, while announcing that a 12-member committee would be set up to interact with all the party presidential aspirants, stressing that the party wants to avoid mistakes by choosing a candidate acceptable to Nigerians.

Ondo APC congratulates Fayemi, predicts victory for Buhari in 2019 YOMI AYELESO, Akure

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he Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ondo State, Ade Adetimehin said the election of Kayode Fayemi as the next governor of Ekiti state is a positive signal ahead of the 2019 general

elections.

Adetimehin rejoiced with the governor-elect, his immediate family and the good people of Ekiti state over the electoral victory, describing it as a “well deserved”.

“The election of Dr. Kayode Fayemi as the governorelect in Ekiti is a clear pointer to the party’s acceptability

in every corner of this country, and a shadow of what to expect in 2019 general elections, in terms of voting pattern,” he predicted.

The Ondo State party boss, in a statement by the state publicity secretary, Alex Kalejaye viewed the election as an affirmation of Fayemi’s popularity, and attestation

APGA stalwarts to storm Aba, as Otti declares for 2019 Abia guber seat GODFREY OFURUM, Aba

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otable members of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) will today, Friday, July 20, 2018, converge on Ngwa High School, in Osisioma Ngwa Local Government Area of Abia State, to witness the official declaration of Alex Otti, to contest for the governorship seat of Abia State, on the platform of the party.

Otti, a seasoned banker, was the gubernatorial candidate of APGA in Abia State at the 2015 general election, where he came second behind, Okezie Ikpeazu, the incumbent governor of the state.

Those expected at the event include, Nkem Okeke, deputy governor of Anambra State, Senator Victor Ume, senator representing Anambra Central senatorial

zone in the Senate, Bianca Ojukwu, the wife of late Dim Chukwuemeka Odemegwu Ojukwu, Labaran Maku, former Minister of Information and other national and state leaders of the party.

Ferdinand Ekeoma, media assistant to Alex Otti, in an interaction with some select journalists in Aba, explained that his boss left his plum job, as the GMD/CEO of Diamond Bank, to come home, to provide service to his people of Abia State.

According to him, “It is his genuine desire to use his immense talent, as a banker and connections to provide quality governance to Abians.

“It was a people oriented decision. It is only the welfare of the people that can inspire someone to take such a decision. And when he stepped out in 2015, he fought the battle that changed the political history of Abia State, opened

our democratic space and ended political docility that we had prior to 2015”.

He described Aba as home to all Ndi-Igbo, which influenced his decision to make the declaration in the commercial city and not in Umuahia, Abia State capital.

“Aba is like the headquarters of Igbo nation. Aba is of utmost importance to all of us, because this is where you find every Igboman.

And of course, Aba is the most populated city in Abia, so it will give a lot of people the opportunity to take part in the occasion. So, it is going to be a special day for all progressives, politicians and non-politicians alike.

Alex Otti is an economist, banker, investor, philanthropist and politician. Otti, was a former Group Managing Director of Diamond Bank Plc, a leading retail financial institution in Nigeria.

to his sterling performance when he served the State as governor between 2010 and 2014.

He continued, “The choice of Dr. Fayemi depicts an outright rejection of of dubious and fraudulent policies of the present administration in the State, for proper and enduring development “.

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Osun guber: Veteran journalist joins race, pledges to industrialise state, alleviate poverty AKINREMI FEYISIPO

INIOBONG IWOK

presidential aspirant on the platform of the People’s Demo c ra t i c Pa r t y (PDP), Kabiru Tanimu Turaki, has said that Nigerians were now poorer under the All Progressives Congress (APC) government and Muhammadu Buhari administration, attributing it to the discriminatory policies and leadership style of the current administration.

Turaki, who was a former minister of special duties and inter-governmental affairs, was speaking at the formal presentation of his Letter of Intent to contest the PDP presidential primary to the party’s Board of Trustees in Abuja, noting that the situation was responsible for increased ethnic agitations across the country.

He noted that the bad governance of the APC government was threatening the fabrics of the nation, stressing that the Buhari administration was misusing its understanding of the dynamics, complexities and intricacies of power to

BUSINESS DAY

he All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA) governorship candidate in Osun State ,Adetokunbo Oluwatoki, said he has set aside cardinal projects to transform the state from salary earning to industrial revolutionalised state, to allievate poverty at all levels and provide youth employment.

Oluwatoki, a veteran journalist, adopted as APGA candidate for the Osun Sept.22 governorship election said he would also provide subsidised cum free education at some level, free health care, improved economy, infrastructure and agricultural and industrial revolution if he finally gets elected as governor of Osun.

A pioneer departmental editor of Lagos News and assistant cartoon editor and later political and social analyst at old National Concord Newspaper, is the son of Michael Adeyeye Fatoki, former Old Oyo state Commissioner for Health, Land and Housing said “people say without huge money, one can not venture into politics but APGA have proven the notion wrong by giving me, someone who is not among the sententious money welding-class, the ticket to contest on the party’s platform.

He said he was in a rescue mission as the state was at war, a war he described as a war of subjugation, economic infringement, delusion and poverty.

In his appreciation and acceptance speech after receiving the party flag thanked the

party leadership, saying his nomination as Osun APGA’s governorship candidate has proven the politics of moneybags wrong.

APGA National Chairman, who was represented by Mikeangel Folorunso, the Oyo Chairman of the party, said the presented party candidate was a vibrant individual with charisma to lead the state.

Folorunso said politics of money sharing would not bring development or help the people of the state out of their economy difficulties, but voting for a sincere candidate from their party would guaranty them a better future.

He enjoined people of the state to cast their vote for APGA during the Sept.

22 governorship election, stating that the democracy dividends being enjoyed in Anambra (APGA governed state) would be replicated in Osun when Oluwatoki becomes governor.

Olatunji Popoola, Osun APGA Chairman, said he was happy that the primary was a success and that the party has field a credible candidate who people in the state would be happy to vote for.

Popoola said APGA is the only party that understand the pains of the people of Osun and has a blueprint and working plan to bring ,prosperity and wealth back to the state.

The APGA primary was witness by representatives of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) while the party candidate was elected unopposed.

APC youths dissociate selves from anti-Obaseki protest IDRIS UMAR MOMOH, Benin

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he crisis rocking the All Progressives Congress in Edo State took a new dimension as some youths loyal to the state government on Wednesday dissociated itself from the recent protest organised by the aggrieved youth members of the party in the state.

Recall that some aggrieved youths of the party in the state across the 18 local government areas in the state on Monday threatened not to support Governor, Godwin Obaseki’s re-election comes 2020.

The convener and spokesperson of the aggrieved youths, Tony Kabaka, who called on the National Chairman of the party, Adams Oshiomhole to prevail on the governor to

fulfill all his electioneering promises to the youths said if their grievances were not addressed the re-election of the incumbent governor in the 2020 governorship would be a repeat of what happened in the just concluded Ekiti state governorship election.

In a counter press conference, the youths loyal to the state government yesterday, opined that Edo youths have been involved in every policy and programme initiated by the state in every sector through various organs of the party.

The spokesperson of the youths, Valentine Asuein, who is also the state youth leader of the party noted that thousands of Edo youths have been gainfully employed through the governor’s established Edojobs portal while others have been trained on

several skills.

Asuein, also added that the APC-led government ensured that all political appointees such as commissioners, special advisers, senior special assistants and special assistants among others were appointed by the party strictures in the 192 wards in the state.

He also enumerated government’s empowerment to the youths to include employment and training of youths through Edojobs and the Edo Innovation Hub, employment of thousands of Edo youths through the Public Works Volunteer Scheme, Edo State Traffic Management Agency (EDSTMA) among others.

He denied that the state government abandoned and forced out some party leaders from active politics in the state.

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BUSINESS DAY

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Friday 20 July 2018

BUSINESS DAY Highlight of the news reports on our digital platforms this week

Best five stories this week achievements as a demonstration that Africa can create and maintain a world class financial institution.

Auditor-General’s report reveals rot in MDAs, FG President Muhammadu Buhari came to power in 2015 vowing to fight corruption which had been undermining the country’s economy and entire society, but sadly, that has not happened as a recent report from the Auditor General’s office shows.

2018 World Cup: Modric, Mbappe, Kane, Courtois win FIFA Golden Ball Awards FIFA has named Luca Modric, Kylian Mbappe, Harry kane and Thibaut Courtois award winners for the 2018 FIFA World Cup.

In Ekiti, Olusola takes early lead over Fayemi- NOIPolls Kolapo Olusola (ELEKO), candidate of the People’s Democratic Party and

Apprehension in Ekiti as voters awaits result

chosen successor of Governor Ayodele Fayose, has taken an early lead of Kayode Fayemi in poll of registered voters for next

month’s gubernatorial election in the state according to a poll by NOIPolls.

For more visit our website at businessdayonline.com to catch up on full news stories.

POLL RESULTS: Will you vote in the 2019 elections? 64% of Nigerians on the BusinessDay social channels say that they will vote while 36% says that they will not be voting in the coming elections.

Write us with your opinion at digital@ businessdayonline.com to let us know what your preference is.

Poll of the week

Voters in Ekiti State are anxiously awaiting the announcement of the result of the governorship election held in the state yesterday.

UPDATED: 2019: Opposition mistakes may hand APC victory President Muhammadu Buhari has described the achievements of the Africa Export and Import Bank Afrexim

Video of the week

Tweet of the week

Cartoon of the week

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NEWS YOU CAN TRUST I FRIDAY 20 JULY 2018

Opinion The Benue declaration and the future of Nigeria

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his week witnessed the historic summit of the peoples of the Middle Belt held at the Benue state capital of Makurdi. The rally and summit took place on Monday 16th at the IBB Square while a conference of intellectuals and leaders of thought took place on Tuesday 17th July on the campus of Benue State University. A mammoth crowd witnessed the occasion, including politicians, traditional rulers, women and youth groups. The event was hosted jointly by Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue State and his Taraba counterpart, Darius Ishaku. The Special Guest of Honour was General (Rtd) Theophilus Yakubu Danjuma who was ably represented by Major-General (Rtd) Zamani Lekwot.

As my gentle readers by now would have known, the leaders of the South led by Chief Edwin Kiagbodo Clark of Pan-Niger Delta Development Forum (PANDEF), Chief Ayo Adebanjo of Afenifere in Yoruba land and Chief Nnia Nwodo of Ohanaeze Ndigbo arrived on a charter plane which was inexplicably denied landing rights at Makurdi Airport. This was the only sore point in an otherwise resoundingly successful event.

Clearly, somebody some-

where is afraid of the newfound solidarity between the peoples of the Middle Belt and the South. Early this year, at the historic Enugu Summit with its theme of “Handshake Across the Niger”, the peoples of the Middle Belt and the South entered into a historic covenant to realign their political fortunes as one people.

They have made it clear to the whole world that an “an injury to one is an injury to all”. Those who denied the Southern Elders the right to meet with their Middle Belt brethren have arrived too late. There is no turning back the wheel of history.

Like their brethren in the South-East and South-South, the Middle Belt peoples affirm their commitment to restructuring of our federation to make our country survive and flourish in the years ahead. Taking cognizance of the defects inherent in the 1999 constitution – a document that did not spring from the collective will of “We, the people”, the Middle Belt desire a new constitution that better reflects the aspirations of all the peoples of Nigeria. They look askance at the fact that the 1999 constitution was designed and handed-over to us by a military dictatorship without the full consent of the people. The very idea that

our constitutional law-givers were a faceless cabal renders it, ipso facto, without political legitimacy.

The Middle Belt takes strong exception to the gerrymandering of the structure of our federation in such a manner that favours some while short-changing others. They also have reason to believe that the number of local government areas per state as enshrined in the current constitution was done in a rather arbitrary manner to favour some regions while disfavouring others.

The Middle Belt also decry the erosion of the secular character of Nigeria under the current illegitimate constitution.

They point to examples such as the mention of Sharia 73 times, Grand Khadi 54 times, Islam 28 times and Muslims 10 times; with no mention whatsoever of words such as “Christian” or “Christianity”, not to talk of African Traditional Religion.

The peoples of the Middle Belt believe that the 2014 Political Conference was one of the most successful episodes in democratic consultations in our history. The conclusions of that confab provide the basic framework for the Middle Belt position on constitutional restructuring. The Middle Belt believes that holding another consultation of that kind will

HumanAngle FEMI OLUGBILE Physician, psycho-profiler and essayist

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few weeks ago, carnage was let loose on the Otedola Bridge on the outskirts of Lagos. A petrol tanker, fully loaded with prime motor spirit, careened off its appointed course and crashed into nearby structures, spilling petrol, and resulting in a massive explosion and fire. The fire burned over fifty vehicles and killed nine people, by an official count. Many others – mostly by-standers, sustained severe burns injuries.

One video that purported to show the sequence of events went viral on the social media. The tanker was going up a slope. It appeared there was a slowing of the traffic in front. The tanker began to roll backwards. In what was clearly an accustomed ritual for such occasions, the driver’s assistant jumped down from his side of the cabin and attempted to lodge a wooden chuck under the front tyre.

The tanker rolled backwards down the slope, gathering

be a wasteful exercise. What the government needs to do at this point is to release the report and develop a White Paper out of it as a basis for further action. After the report and What Paper would have been released, an enabling law should be passed by the National Assembly to create a constituent assembly to design a new constitution for our country.

The Middle Belt takes the view that the current six Geopolitical Zones, which have no basis in law but exist merely as convention, should be expanded to 8 constitutional Regions: North East, North West, Middle Belt West, Middle Belt East, South West, South East and South-South and Federal Capital Territory of Abuja. The Middle Belt also advocates creation of several additional states to bring the total to 54 from the current 36 states.

Among the regions to be created, the two proposed Middle Belt Regions comprising The Middle Belts West and Middle Belt East should comprise the 6 existing states of the North Central Zone in addition to Southern Borno, Southern Kebbi, Southern Kaduna and parts of Adamawa, Taraba and Gombe. Through the process of a referendum, ethnic nationalities must be given the choice of which regions they

would prefer to belong to.

The Middle Belt envisages a two-tier federation in which the federating units will be the 8 regions, each governed by an elected Governor-General.

Within each of the regions there shall be states with elected State Governors. Each state will be free to create its own municipal councils with Administrators and elected councils. The Middle Belt envisages Regions that shall be economically and financially viable; able to meet their basic obligations in terms of operating an elected government and civil service.

The bulk of the natural resources of each Region shall belong to the Region. A sharing formula will be worked out such that the central Federal Government does have some share of the revenues accruable from those natural resources. They insist on the need to have a regional police force under the control of the Governors-General to provide security for lives and properties of each of the federating Regions.

At the national level, the Middle Belt advocate for preservation of the institution of the President who shall be the Executive Head of State, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces and symbol of the nation; supported by a tri-

not have crafted a scenario for mayhem more efficiently.

There were a few supposedly good sides to the tragedy. People spontaneously showed compassion and a readiness to help their fellow man. The emergency services were on the scene within ten

major – Shell – in Lagos. For the umpteenth time, you were struck by how detailed the safety procedures were, and how faithfully they were executed in every transaction. It brought to your mind the fact that the oil industry, just like the aviation industry, was the pioneer of the drive in the best societies to entrench safety procedures in everyday life. Aviation introduced protocols for everything. A pilot automatically went through a manual of checks that could be up to a hundred items before he began to taxi for a routine take-off.

It is several days now from the tanker fire incident, and the furor has abated. Most of the dead have been buried.

The driver and the owner of the faulty tanker – a vehicle carrying twice the amount of freight it was designed to carry, and which was in palpably bad shape – would be prosecuted. Measures would be taken to ensure that every heavy vehicle passing through Lagos was checked for road worthiness. Hmm. Society, it would seem, is fine again – until the next disaster.

For just as assuredly as this last incident could have been predicted, the next one is inevitable, sadly.

Of course, the standard Nigerian reaction to such an

Safety and the Nigerian As a people Nigerians have a low level of ‘Disaster Orientation’…Because Nigerians ‘reject’, they cannot see their way to sweating a great deal over something that is not going to happen anyway – until it happens

momentum. The voice of the person recording the video could be heard rising in alarm.

It was said later by observers that the driver, having lost control, flung his door open

and jumped down from the cabin. The tanker, in free fall, hurtled down the slope, a mobile bomb unleashed on the hapless people of Lagos on a perfectly ordinary Thursday afternoon. No terrorist could

minutes. A local company offered a free supply of honey to burns victims.

As usual, a lot of the measures that ensued were reactive, and not prescriptive.

A few days before the tragedy, you had had cause to be in the premises of the oil

THE NEW WEALTH OF NATIONS

OBADIAH MAILAFIA Dr. Mailafia is a former Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, a development economist and public finance expert with a DPhil from Oxford obmailafia@gmail.com; 08036590990 (text messages only)

umvirate of 3 Vice-Presidents to be drawn from the regions other than the one the elected president comes from.

The Middle Belt also believes that the spring and fountain of participatory democracy must be founded on a vibrant parliamentary tradition. They believe that there should be a popularly elected full-time unicameral legislature at the federal level Continues on page 47

averment is ‘We reject it’.

‘Rejection’ is valid – but it is also an attitude of mind that makes avoidable tragedy inevitable. As a people Nigerians have a low level of ‘Disaster Orientation’. This concept refers to a readiness to contemplate the possibility that a disaster event might occur, and to expend effort and resources to reduce or eliminate that possibility. Because Nigerians ‘reject’, they cannot see their way to sweating a great deal over something that is not going to happen anyway – until it happens. This is why there is an industry in fake car insurance and fire extinguishers!

Fuel trucks (‘tankers’) are supposed to have ‘hull’ design, like ships, with a layer of air between two sheets of steel. That, you are told, is the standard. But here it is a common sight to see roadside welders constructing or ‘repairing’ ‘tankers’.

There is another layer of safety where Nigerians fail – the functional one. At every fuel depot, there is a checklist of safety items that are supposed to be ticked for every truck before it is allowed to load fuel. The general word, in practice, unfortunately, is that the checklist is often filled in the depot manager’s ofContinues on page 47

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WOMEN’S HUB Friday 20 July 2018

Female Genital Mutilation in Nigeria, still a reason to worry

How to make Ojojo

BUSINESS DAY

Ronke escaped this one; there must never be another

From the female casts of Lara And The Beat

ABIMBOLA IPAYE

Soaring in the business of modernised Aso-Oke for the contemporary bride

Friday 20 July 2018

Editor’s note

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t is another interesting edition and our stories for this week will be worth your time.

Our cover personality and Leading Woman for this week is ABIMBOLA IPAYE. She is the Managing Director of Traditions by Bimms. She has successfully carved a niche for herself in making traditional outfits popularly known as Aso Oke with a modern twist.

We bring to you a story on Female Genital Mutilation in Nigeria and the reason we all still need to worry about this.

Also, we bring you opinions from the female casts of LARA AND THE BEAT, their views on Nollywood as an industry and their roles in the movie.

We teach you how to make Ojojo, a delicacy from Ogun State in the south western part of Nigeria.

We share with you exercises for achieving a flat tummy, reasons to drink water and so much more.

Enjoy!

Kemi Ajumobi kemi@businessdayonline.com

Graphics by David Ogar

BUSINESS DAY

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he started her career at Stanbic IBTC pensions as a Data Analyst, since she resigned, she has never looked back. From dressing the wife of the Vice President of Nigeria, to First Ladies of different states, to distinguished individuals across the world, ABIMBOLA IPAYE is the MD/CEO of Traditions

By Bimms and she soars in this terrain where she has become a pacesetter, modernising Aso-Oke for her discerning clients who value class and treasure quality. She speaks with KEMI AJUMOBI on this and more. Excerpts.

In the beginning I grew up with four siblings. I grew up on the Island, Ajele. I never went to any private school.

I never thought I would be doing this because I wanted to do something totally different from selling and buying. I wanted to be a diplomat; I wanted to be an air hostess because I love to travel. So my childhood days had nothing to do with what I do right now. But will you say I had fun while growing up? No! Because I had worked all the days of my life. I started working at the age of 14. I’ve always worked. That’s why I can’t leave work and go somewhere and not work because my brain doesn’t shut down.

So I didn’t have a childhood days because I never used to know what they called prom, I can’t ride a bike, I can’t swim. I can’t do a lot of things children do this days. Will I love to do all those things now? Yes. Do I think I’m I too old? No. When and why did you go into your line of business?

I started doing Aso-oke seven years ago. The first Aso-oke I did was for my university friend who got married while we were still in school. So she needed someone to do her Aso-oke for her traditional marriage ceremony. She’s got an aunt that can do the Aso-oke but because I just wanted to do something, I wanted to show her that I could give her something new, I had to persuade her, and that was the very first job I did. Like I said earlier, I never thought of doing this. But I wanted to be a stylist growing up but at that time, styling wasn’t selling in Nigeria.

So I just thought I’ll keep styling myself. I’ve seen Aso-oke so many times, and to me, I thought people were borrowing other people’s Aso-oke because they looked the same to me. So I said to myself, ‘there should be more to this Aso-oke than just wearing it plain. We should bring the modernity into Aso-oke than just leaving it the way it has been for many years. We should do something new’. The George material is just a material and someone would sit down and bead on it. Aso-oke as well is a plain material, so you can do whatever it is you want to, and go as far as your imagination can carry you. That was why I started doing Aso-oke.

How profitable is it?

I would say the stress is more than the profit. But do I enjoy the profit? Yes. Do I get to spend the profit? Maybe when I’m at work.

is what I’ve imagined to wear and I just give it to you.

Aso-oke is not a business that you’d be running and you go sit somewhere and someone is doing for you, no, you just have to be here, especially when you are the brain behind all the designs and everything. So the stress in this is just more than the profit I would say.

You keep improving with your style, how do you get your inspiration?

My inspiration comes from so many different things, and by the time I’m done with my designs and someone asks me how I arrived at it, when I tell them, everyone is shocked. So I get my inspiration from so many things, to the common carpet, the common Ankara…name it. I might be looking at you and by mere talking to you something will just come to my head and I’ll say ‘do you know what, we’ll do this for you, and that’s what we’ll do’

You are 7 years in this line of work, how would you summarise your experience so far?

I wouldn’t say it has been an easy ride, but I learn more and more every day. Naturally, I’m not an easy person. I’m not a patient person but this business has taught me a lot. I’ve learnt to deal with people in different ways; I’ve learnt that everybody can’t be like me. I’ve had to cry, I’ve had to laugh and feel so much joy. But to summarise it, I’ve felt more joy than the other part of it, which is the rough and most difficult part of it. When I’m dealing with a client, it might be difficult at the beginning but the moment I see the work of my hand being displayed, the joy comes from within. So in my experience, the joy is 70 per cent and the difficulty is just 30 per cent.

Why the choice of Aso-oke?

I can easily say I just got tired of seeing boring stuff. To me, if I get into another line of work, I’ll make it new.

What poses these difficulties you’ve mentioned?

They come to me, we agree on colours; there is a reason why we have to pen down whatever it is you are ordering. People walk in and say ‘this wasn’t what I ordered for’, even when I was writing their order while they were saying it. Some, after making the orders, they can call you four weeks to delivering and say ‘I want to change my design’, even when the production is in process. They would bank on changing the design, and you have to change it because if you don’t change it, they say bad things about your business outside. It is because of experiences like these I started collecting a 70 per cent deposit.

How do you include the modern twist in your work?

I would say I was the first person that started the idea of stoning aso oke and I can remember everybody mocking me then. “Omo to ma n stone ju ni” (meaning that girl that uses lots of stones). So a lot of people used to mock me, ‘that girl that uses a lot of stones, is that the only thing?’

To me, it’s not just about just stoning. It’s

Do you make for the groom?

Yes of course. It’s a traditional outfit so it has to be for bride and groom. We make their Agbadas too.

What challenges have you experienced in your line of business?

Basically, the challenge from my job comes from my workers and weavers. The weavers are sometimes irrational. They lie all the time, they take your money but don’t bring your job, some run away with your money.

You’ve given your worker something to do, you’ve explained to them what to do, but they do something else because they think it would be nice, and because they are looking for an easy way out. My job is not an easy way out, whatever design I’m doing is not easy. If I want it in a certain way, that is what I want, that’s what I have in my head and if don’t achieve it, we are not delivering that job because you’ve explained to a client exactly what you are doing. I’ll say part of my challenges also includes the government too because they are not making things easy for us. Imagine having problems with customs, there is no power supply. We’ve been running generator for the past two weeks because they say there is something wrong with the transformer.

You can see what I mean.

ABIMBOLA IPAYE

we want to bring modernity into what we are doing, that is why we are glamming it up in our own way.

Soaring in the business of modernised Aso-Oke for the contemporary bride about recreating whatever it is. I can use stones for 100 years but I can’t keep giving you the same thing. I can have twenty people in this room, and I’ll do twenty different designs for them. None of the designs will look alike. So that’s putting a twist in whatever it is. Am I still learning? Yes. Do I still have a lot to do? Yes. Has my thinking stopped?

No, it keeps improving every day.

What is that unique factor that brings your clients from far and near?

Being able to create my own stuff, I’ve built a name. The moment I start copying what other people are doing, I don’t have a brand anymore.

So I’ve joined the line of copy and paste (which I will never do). Do I have the grace to do what others are doing? Yes. Have I been offered all the way from China? Yes. But do I want to spoil the name I’ve built? No. So the uniqueness

comes from what I’ve been able to create. I have a trademark on my work. When you see it, no matter how someone else tries to copy it, you will know this is Bimms.

How important is the traditional attire in an African marriage setting?

It is a hundred and one per cent important because that is the only way we sell our culture.

If a bride is not wearing the traditional attire from her tribe, she is not selling her culture. A Yoruba bride has to wear her culture. I don’t like you wearing a fitted top and a fitted wrapper for your engagement. While I was growing up, I’ve known Iro and Buba to always be elegant. And for you to know a Yoruba person, she would come in Iro and Buba. It’s bad enough that we’re putting all these stones and pearls on aso-oke, which we are not supposed to do but because

What do you have to say to Nigerians on embracing local fabrics more?

That’s the best. I wear more of African attires. People say it’s because I can’t find my size because I’m too skinny but the answer is No! Even when I go abroad, it’s either my skirt is Ankara, or an Aso-oke skirt or my top is something African. The more we wear our own African attire, the more people get to wear it, and I’m surprised because with the way I’ve done Aso-oke, it is not only Nigerians that wear it. I’ve had people from Senegal, Uganda, Tanzania and other parts of Africa wear my attires. Because of the way we’ve done it, people want to wear it. Someone practically said to me ‘I’m going to wear our own African culture. I want to wear aso-oke’ and she is from Benin Republic. So that’s me introducing Nigeria to the world because if she’s asked where she got her outfit, she would mention Nigeria’.

How do you help brides choose their styles? Take us through the process.

I start by getting to know the bride. I’ll call it a gift. By talking to you, I know the kind of person you are, especially your style. I know what you like to wear and what you won’t like to wear. So that’s why I’m very particular about talking to my brides, that’s where it starts from. Then I get to know what colours. In fact, if I have two or three conversations with you, I know what to do for you and usually, 90 per cent agree with what I’m doing for them, and 10 per cent say ‘no, I have my own style. This is what I want’. So most of the time, I get to pick what the brides wear. Like I always joke around, I get married every weekend because whatever it is I’m giving you

Women’s Hub

How do you get your weavers?

These weavers are freelance weavers, so mostly they come to me and say ‘somebody gave me your name, please can I work for you?’ My weavers are mostly from Ghana. I use less of Nigerian weavers, though they give me the authentic traditional outfit, but because they are Nigerians, they are not straight forward, they lie all the time, they are not serious with their jobs and they are never accurate. If they say they will bring something on the 10th of June, expect on it the 10th of July and with a lot of insolence.

Are your Aso-okes made here in Lagos?

Yes, it’s made in Lagos, Illorin, Isehin, and Oyo. Before, it was traditionally made and most of it comes from Isehin and Oyo. But because of the shiny things we put on it now, most of it is made here in Lagos.

What day in your line of work is it that you can never forget?

It’s plenty because I have cried so many times. I really can’t remember, but I know I have said a couple of times that ‘I don’t want to do this job anymore’. You get to a point in your business where you doubt if you are cut for it. I would say business is easy, but people are hard because of how impatient people are. Sometimes they insult you, and not expect it back because they are customers. I’ve cried so many times, and so many things have happened that I can’t remember.

The traditional outfit of a couple is the main focus, explain this further?

First, the couple is the the main reason everyone is coming together, so it’s very important that their outfit has to speak. We try to differentiate the couple from the crowd by not letting them wear what everyone is wearing.

Secondly, by getting what they are wearing right, because everyone coming to your event is coming to see what you are wearing even though people don’t say it, it’s the most important thing. Also, for the fact that you are only doing this once, you have to get it right the first time. Your outfit has to be on point, and traditionally, that’s what they are supposed to wear. So everybody is waiting to see what their traditional outfit will look like and so you have to deliver a hundred and one per cent.

Final words I always say to people, we’ve all been given a gift and your gift is different from my gift. Our gifts are different. Learn to focus on what God has created you to do, and be good at it. You keep improving because your customers don’t expect you to remain at the same level they first met you. I believe my gift came from God, and I wouldn’t anything without God. He has helped me from little. I’ve learnt that working hard and being truthful with what I do could get me whatever it is I want. Also, everybody should learn to be creative.

This is my field, and I’m never leaving it.

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BUSINESS DAY

Friday 20 July 2018

WOMEN’S HUB

Female Genital Mutilation in Nigeria, still a reason to worry DESMOND OKON

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oor funding has been the reason behind the low level of advocacy against Female Genital Mutilation, FGM, observed in the country, experts have confirmed to Women’s Hub. Female Genital Mutilation, FGM, is the partial or complete removal of the external female genitalia. It is a harmful traditional practice which has existed for more than 2,000 years and is performed on girls from birth, up to just before marriage, and sometimes beyond. FGM is also known as “female circumcision” or “cutting”.

In recent times, and tracking global trends on FGM, Nigeria’s anti-FGM advocacy seems to be lagging (what seems like a

silence) as compared to other African countries plagued as well.

For instance, Kenyan women took to the streets to demonstrate peacefully against a petition seeking to legalize FGM practices in Kenya recently. Civil societies, individuals, clerics in Kenya also opposed the petition, and radio debates are frequently held to address FGM. Available records indicate that globally, 200 million women and girls have been mutilated.

The prevalence rate in some selected African countries shows that Kenya has 21 per cent FGM prevalence, Nigeria has 24.8 per cent, while Tanzania and Ghana have 10 and 3.8 percent prevalence rate respectively.

In Nigeria, 20 million women and girls have been mutilated and this figure represents 10%

of the global total. In essence, this figure means that one out of every ten mutilated girl or woman in the world is a Nigerian. The zones with the highest FGM prevalence rate in Nigeria are the South West and the South East.

Despite records screaming for a more vibrant and robust advocacy against FGM in Nigeria, things are “still at a micro level” says Williams Elizabeth Talatu, National Deputy Coordinator, African Adolescent and Youth Network on Population and Development, AFriYAN, Nigeria.

“If you refer to a small scale approach in our advocacy on FGM, I will agree but if you call it silence, I don’t agree. Silence means the action of refraining from speaking. We are speaking, we are taking actions, we have

survivors sharing their stories, online advocacies are going on.

But a lot of the efforts carried out are still at micro level. There are so many other organisations doing a lot. So I do not agree that we are silent but would say there is still more that needs to be done,” Talatu said when asked if she was aware of the seeming silence in FGM advocacy.

A major reason for this is because of lack of funding. Most NGOs in Nigeria rely on various donor agencies for them to carry out various advocacy campaigns like #EndFGM here in Nigeria.

Right now most donor agencies are not prioritizing #EndFGM and this poses a huge problem.

But be that as it may, some NGOs in Nigeria are still actively involved in this campaign to end FGM said Ugwu Somto, Lawyer, and Head of the Gender and Child Department, Society for Improvement of Rural People, SIRP. Apart from funding being a major snag, poor partnership

among organisations, and a focus on numbers rather than impact are other constraints keeping anti female circumcision advocacy in stagnation.

It appears also that campaigns against female circumcision receives little attention from donor agencies who are often financial pillars to advocacy organisations When asked if a donor agency may choose to sponsor a campaign to end rape, but neglect sponsoring one that seeks to end FGM, irrespective of the fact that both are acts of gender based violence, ”Yes”, Somto said.

“One thing you have to understand is that donors have their reasons for doing things like this which I am not privileged to know. If you look at it more closely you will discover that the donor agency has a particular form of Gender Based Violence, GBV, he is most interested in.

One way you get to discover this is through their past grantees,” adds Somto.

BBC gives guides on bride prices in Nigeria Exercise for flat Tummy

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n Nigeria, many young men share a similar experience when tying the knot traditionally, irrespective of the ethnic group a bride emanates from; and Kola, a young South Western man who found love somewhere in South East; is not one who had a smooth sail from the uncommon strains of meeting the provisions of the dowry.

“My wife is Igbo and I am Yoruba,” he began, “the list was given to me, about 4-pages of A4 paper, filled, and divided into about 3 different groups. I was told by my in-laws that it could be negotiated; but the question I kept asking was, “of what relevance are these people to my wife? Did they sponsor her education, or support her family at some point?” No one seemed to provide me with a good answer. Kola said.

From Akwa Ibom State, Pius who shares the same state of origin with his wife, describes his experience as tough and ugly.

“Having gone for the knocking the first time, my thought was to get the list and fix the date. But I never knew it wasn’t done that way. They said I would have to go and come back because the first time was to know my wife’s family.

Marriage is a very sensitive issue. It’s become a topical issue, and it’s something that, as a woman, your success is measured by how successful your marriage is. A lot of women have been jilted because they haven’t gotten the suitors that can pay their bride price. The List that an Igbo family

will give you is ‘endlessly’ long.

We young people are saying ‘is this the way it is supposed to go?

Is it the normal thing for Igbos to always give a long list? And is it something we can talk about?’ that’s the reason we are having this programme. The idea is to endear and engage audiences that are young and are female, said Adline Okere, Editor, BBC Igbo.

“A situation like this, you have a go-between, a middle man who knows the terrain to guide you and stand between you and the people.

This will ensure things are done the way they should be. A stranger may not know what is right and what is wrong in a certain land, you must have somebody who will guide you” according to Chigozie Nnabuihe,” Professor of Igbo Language, University of Lagos “The Igbos do things by four. In a list for instance, if you’re asked to bring ten jars of wine, you can give them four then the rest is un-

derstood,” said Nnabuihe.

Okere believes that the family producing the list has a role play in order to mitigate every negative effect the list may churn out. “It then behoves on the families that are issuing these lists to say ‘ok this is a young couple that is about to start their lives. Do we want to weigh them down with this type of list? Will they be able to begin their lives with this type of list?” she told Women’s Hub. In addition to that, “Young men should get home. You don’t understand anybody by merely seeing him. Get home, get to know the people and their tradition. If you do not know them, look for someone who knows them. Then, things will go well. A woman doesn’t really have a say when she is getting married, the truth is that the parents stand there for her,” the professor said while emphasizing the importance of knowing the family one intends getting married into.

Crunch/Sit-Up

Twisted Crunch

Leg Lift

Plank

Side Plank

CMYK

Imposition Studio 5.1.1

cuisine

6

From the female casts of Lara And The Beat

How to make Ojojo

Friday 20 July 2018

BUSINESS DAY

kemi ajumobi

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Shaffy Bello

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was honoured to have been a part of this great ensemble. I get excited when I get to play roles that challenge me and also allows me to flex a little if I may. I played Jide’s mum. A very outspoken woman, not afraid of picking sides, very materialistic and obviously quite opinionated. My view on Nollywood is that it is still a work in progress as is everything in life. We know our challenges but I believe we are also making lemonade from the lemons we have. Room for growth? Always.

Ingredients Water yam Chopped onions Chopped chilli pepper Salt Crayfish

Chioma Akpotha

his means a whole lot to me. I had been looking forward to working with Biola Alabi and the opportunity presented itself when I got the call to be a part of this project. This is a huge platform and I am glad I’m a part of this. I played the role of Aunty Patience. She’s a loving and caring Mother who took up the responsibility of housing and caring for the Giwa sisters when they were faced with a difficult meltdown. On Nollywood, fact is we aren’t where we used to be and the journey to where we are headed isn’t that bleak anymore. We’ve gone from producing movies on VHS up till this digital era. Stories, equipment and technicalities have greatly improved and we are now breaking boarders and competing with the world.

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t’s my first lead role and first role in a movie.

It means the start of a hopefully successful acting career. I play Lara Giwa who also happens to be the lead in the movie. Lara was a spoilt girl. On Nollywood, I will say I’m proud of Nollywood.

We have come a long way and we are continuously improving our movie making standards.

I think a little more time and money should be invested into productions.

Preparation Method Remove the skin from the water yam using a knife.

Cut the water yam to sizable bits and grate.

Season the grated water yam with salt, crayfish.

Add chopped onions and diced or grated chilli pepper.

Heat up oil in a frying pan.

When hot, scoop out some grated water yam in balls.

Drop into the hot oil and let it fry till it gets brown on all sides.

Carefully remove from the oil, drain on kitchen paper towel and serve hot with any drink of your choice or with garri.

Seyi Shay

Importance W of water to a woman’s body

ater is important for regulating body temperature, cushioning your joints, strengthening your muscles, providing moisture for your skin and other tissues, and for carrying nutrients to your cells. The human body is more than 50 percent water, although the exact percentage varies, based on a number of factors, including gender, age and body composition.

Average Water Weight in Women’s Bodies Women tend to have a lower percentage of water weight than men, with an average of 52 to 55 per cent, compared to an average of 60 percent for men.

The Effect of Age As people get older, they tend to have a lower percentage of body water. For example, a baby has about 75 per cent body water, which drops to about 65 per cent by 1 year of age. While adult women have about 55 per cent body water, elderly people typically have only about 50 per cent body water.

The Effects of Body Composition Muscle contains more water than fat, so the higher your percentage of body fat, the lower your percentage of water weight.

This is why women tend to have a lower percentage of body water than men, because women typically have a higher percentage of body fat than men.

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Kemi Lala Akindoju

articipating in this movie means a lot to me as this production has a beautiful ensemble cast. The film also has a fantastic mix of Nigerian fashion, music and the city of Lagos. It is a Biola Alabi Media Film, and this is a company I love working with, I have also been looking forward to working with Tosin Coker and this film presented me with that opportunity. I played the role Tonye. Tonye is an Antagonist as she doesn’t like Lara, but by the end of the film, we see how that relationship changes. My view of Nollywood is that it is an industry that is growing, growing in many leaps and bounds. Technically, we are really improving as we now use better equipment and we now pay more attention to our production values. However, we still need to keep our stories tight and compelling.

We need more writers and more growth in the area of distribution.

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BUSINESS DAY

Friday 20 July 2018

WOMEN’S HUB

Ronke escaped this one; there must never be another CHINYERE OKEKE

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t was almost 12 midnight when my phone rang.

I was in very deep sleep and I didn’t get to pick at the first ring. I eventually picked at the second ring. It was my lodge mate that called asking me to help open the lodge gate. The gate to the lodge where we live closes at 10pm.

So whoever came after that sleeps outside. But I and Ronke had a practice of opening the gate for each other whenever either of us was late. But this particular night, it was just way too late. I practically staggered to the gate, I was sleepy eyed. On opening the gate, she quickly rushed panting like someone who just ran a marathon race. The sleep left my eyes immediately. I asked, “Ronke, what is the matter?” She tried to reply but she was still catching her breath. “Bro..bro…brother Wasiu”.

That was the only word she could muster. “What happened to Brother Wasiu I asked”? She replied in short gasping breaths, “he...he wanted to use me”. Right away, it dawned on me what she was trying to say.

I took her hand bag from her and led her to my room. I gave her a glass of water and waited for her to chill before asking her questions. While I waited so many things ran through my mind. Wasiu was one of the sons of our landlady. He was extremely rich. He was very frivolous with his spending. It was apparent that he was into “yahoo yahoo”. He was a student with no source of income, so his spending couldn’t be traced to any source. “Wasiu was close to using me this night” Ronke said, snapping me out of my thought. “What, how? Use you for what”? I asked. “Use me for his yahoo plus ritual of course” she said. I was dumbfounded.

Lately guys no longer did yahoo yahoo, it no longer paid, because most of their victims have been wiser. So most of them have resorted to yahoo plus which involves rituals and sacrifices. “How did it happen”? I asked. Then she started, “Just this evening, he called me on phone asking me to join him at a restaurant. I was less busy; I had nothing doing, so I went. On getting there, he got me everything I asked. He ordered all sorts of drinks, barbeque, Ofada rice. It felt good to be cared about.

He was just very nice. When it was 8:30pm, I told

him I wanted to leave and it was getting late. But he insisted that the day was still young and I could order for anything I wanted. I kept ordering. It felt good to eat whatever I wanted without bothering about the price. But then it was getting late, and his friends were beginning to crowd the table where we seated.

His friends were beginning to smoke cigarettes and shisha which got me really uncomfortable. Later into the night around 10:30pm, I told him I wanted to leave, but he insisted that he came with a car and he would drive me home, adding that I had nothing to worry about. It was like I was glued to the seat without any will power to make my own decision.

Shortly after that, he tapped me and told me that he had something to tell me.” He said, “For so long I have really liked you. You mean a lot to me. I would love for us to be a couple.” And I replied, “I have a boyfriend, I’m in a serious relationship and I’m sorry, I can’t date you”. He wasn’t the least bit surprised.

Actually he said, “That’s not a problem. I can be the side guy. Just mention anything you want in this life, and it will be yours. I have all the money you can imagine. The truth is I want you to be by my side tonight. I will like to lodge you in the most expensive hotel. Just choose any one. You can have all the comfort you need.” The truth is that I wasn’t even the least bit tempted by the offer. In fact I felt insulted.

He had no regard for me. But then I quietly said, “I have a boyfriend that I love and respect, nothing can actually make me do anything that would cause him to lose trust in me”. But Wasiu wasn’t even interested in my ‘love talk’. He became even more desperate. His desperation actually ignited fear in me. My heart began to race even faster and my head started calculating any means of escape. His friends joined us and they were soon exchanging some side talks.

They were whispering and nodding in agreement. To me that was enough sign. I stood up and excused myself with pretence to use the rest room. It was 10:45 pm in the city of Ibadan.

It was equivalent to 12 midnight in Lagos. I ran out of the restaurant. God willing, I saw a bike.

He rode me all the way to my gate without even bargaining the price. When I alighted I paid him whatever he asked for. “Chi, that’s how God rescued me this night ooo” She concluded.

Just then, we heard brother Wasiu drive into the compound. To our surprise, he called her and asked her to meet him outside saying, “all I need from you this night is just a hug. Just give me a hug and I will be fine”. He sounded desperate, he was close to tears. His desperation really, was scary. He sounded as though he was not going to see the light of day if he failed to hug her. I just kept wondering what pushed him into such hustle. Not just him, but many other youths. So many girls have lost their life to yahoo plus. So many destinies have been thwarted. So many have lost their potentials and meaning to life. Others were butchered, chopped and burnt. Girls have fallen prey to this because of their selfish desires to have an iPhone, to wear Brazilian hair, to wear the latest fashion trends and some just for the mere fun of it. It’s baffling how majority of the guys in colleges have joined this trending business.

Everybody is into scam. It’s now a means to an end. What’s going to happen to the upcoming generation? When the guys have sold their soul to the devil and the girls are walking wantonly with no future, dream or focus. It’s sad, really sad.

WHITNEY HOPLER Laugh together umour is a gift from God that can benefit your marriage in many ways, including reducing stress and tension, improving you and your spouse’s health, and creating bonds that build intimacy in your marriage.

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Honour each other When you honour each other’s value as people made in God’s image rather than criticizing each other, you create positive attitudes in your marriage that can help both of your enjoy your relationship with confidence.

Forgive and pursue healing Don’t allow pain from the past to interfere with your ability to enjoy marriage now. Forgive each other, with God’s help, for the ways you all have hurt or offended each other.

Make an on-going effort to be attractive for each other.

Since romantic sparks are an

How to enjoy your marriage important part of a fun marriage, do whatever you can to be romantically desirable, and ask your spouse to do the same.

Prioritize quality couple time every day Incorporate time to talk to each other without

distractions into every day of your marriage. If you’re not able to get together in person (such as when one of you is on a business trip), talk by phone or text. Eat meals together whenever possible, and don’t rush them, so you can enjoy good conversations while eating.

Go on weekly dates together Plan to go on a date with each other every week, whether you do so through an outing or simply at home. Use your Godgiven creativity to come up with fresh ideas for adventurous dates in which you all can have fun playing together.