THE NATION TUESDAY, JUNE 5, 2012
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BUSINESS NEWS Flight Schedule
Naira weakens to four-month low
MONDAY - FRIDAY LAGOS – ABUJA Departure Arrival 1. Aero 06.50 08.10 2. Associated 07.00 09.30 3. Air Nigeria 07.00 08.20 4. IRS 07.00 08.20 5. Dana 07.02 08.22 6. Arik 07.15 08.15 7. Chanchangi 07.15 8. Air Nigeria 08.15 09.35 9. Dana 08.10 09.20 10. Aero 08.45 10.05 11. Arik 09.15 10.15 12. Chanchangi 10.00 11.00 13. IRS 11.15 12.35 14. Dana 12.06 12.26 15. Aero 12.20 13.30 16. Air Nigeria 13.25 14.45 17. Chanchangi 13.30 14.30 18. Arik 13.45 14.45 19. IRS 14.00 15.20 20. Aero 14.10 15.30 21. Air Nigeria 14.50 16.10 22. Dana 15.30 16.50 23. Chanchangi 15.30 16.30 24. Arik 15.50 16.50 25. Aero 16.00 17.20 26. IRS 16.30 17.50 27. Arik 16.50 17.50 28. Dana 17.10 18.30 29. Chanchangi 17.30 18.30 30. Air Nigeria 17.35 18.55 31. Air Nigeria (T/TH) 18.30 19.50 32. Arik 18.45 19.45 33. Aero 19.20 20.40 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8.
LAGOS – BENIN Arik 07.30 Associated 08.30 Aero 10.50 Arik 11.45 Associated 13.00 Aero 14.25 Arik 15.30 Associated 16.00
1. 2. 3. 4.
Arik Aero Arik Aero
1. Arik 2. Aero 1. 2. 3. 4.
LAGOS – CALABAR 07.30 11.20 12.50 16.00 LAGOS – JOS 10.55 11.15
LAGOS – KADUNA Aero 08.00 Chanchangi 10.00 Arik 10.00 Arik 15.10
$250 million at N155.75 at its last auction on Wednesday. It did not disclose the amount demanded. The naira has been falling in recent weeks, despite the nation's foreign exchange reserves rising to a 21-month high of $37.64 billion by May 28, up three per cent from a month earlier, as dollar supply still fails to meet demand. The currency, which had consistently stabilised around the N157 to the dollar level for more than three months of this year, came under pressure two weeks ago from strong dollar demand from fuel importers and
12.15 12.45 09.10 11.00 11.10 16.20
LAGOS – OWERRI Aero 07.30 Arik 07.30 Air Nigeria 13.40 Arik 14.00 Arik 16.30
1. 2. 3. 4.
Arik Aero Arik Aero
LAGOS – WARRI 08.15 11.50 11.55 14.55
09.1 12.50 12.55 15.55
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.
LAGOS – KANO Air Nigeria 07.10 IRS 08.00 Dana 08.10 Arik 12.20 IRS 14.00 IRS 18.15
08.50 09.45 09.40 14.00 15.45 19.55
LAGOS – OWERRI 07.20 14.00 16.30
08.30 15.10 17.40
LAGOS – UYO 10.35
11.35
08.40 08.40 14.55 15.10 17.40
LAGOS – MAIDUGURI 1. IRS 11.15 13.15 2. Arik 15.50 18.00 LAGOS – ILORIN 1. Overland 07.15 2. Arik (M/T/TH/F) 17.30
By Simeon Ebulu with Agency report
investors repatriating dividends. The CBN has directly sold dollars in the interbank market since last week, outside its bi-weekly foreign exchange auction, to calm the market, with mixed results. Traders expect it to remain relatively stable so long as the apex bank intervenes aggressively to support it. Dealers said foreign investors were exiting their bond positions in Nigeria owing to the rise in inflation, projected to reach 14.5 per cent by the third quarter, from 12.9 per cent in April, which meant a worse outlook for the naira. Weakening United States job data and the unresolved Eurozone debt crisis has prompted foreign investors to pull money out of riskier frontier markets including Nigeria to safe havens or to switch to cash, dealers said.
08.50 12.40 14.10 17.20
1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
1. Dana
•As foreign investors repatriate funds
08.30 09.10 11.50 12.45 13.40 15.20 16.30 16.40
LAGOS – PORT HARCOURT (CIVIL) 1. Aero 07.15 08.35 2. Arik 07.15 08.35 3. Arik 09.00 10.20 4. Dana 09.27 10.40 5. Aero 10.50 12.30 6. Arik 11.40 13.00 7. Air Nigeria 12.00 13.10 8. IRS 13.30 15.00 9. Arik 14.00 15.20 10. Dana 15.03 16.20 11. Air Nigeria 16.00 17.10 12. Arik 16.10 17.30 13. Aero 16.15 17.30 14. Arik 17.10 18.30
1. Arik 2. Arik 3. Arik
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HE naira weakened to a fourmonth low yesterday as foreign investors nervous about inflation and currency weakness pulled their money out of government bills and bonds to repatriate it. The naira was trading at N161.25 to the dollar about midday, against N160.70 on Friday at the interbank market, dealers said. "Foreign investors are exiting the market and that's affecting the naira. This has been the trend since May," a dealer told Reuters, adding that the naira was also very illiquid at the moment. "Real interest rates have slimmed down due to a rise in inflation and forex rates are going up." The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) auctioned $300 million at N155.80 to the dollar, which wasn't enough to support the local currency. It sold
08.00 18.00
LAGOS – ABUJA SAT/SUN Arik 7.15; 10.20; 2.20; 5.20pm – 7.30; 9.15; 10.20; 2.20; 4.50; 6.45 Aero 07.30; 09.35; 13.10; 14.50; 20.20 – 07.30; 09.35; 13.10; 14.50; 20.20 Air Nigeria 08.15; 14.30; 17.15; 18.30 – 08.15; 13.30; 14.30; 17.15; 18.30
‘EEG policy, detrimental to leather industry’ From Kolade Adeyemi, Kano
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HE Leather and Allied Products Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (LAPAN) has kicked against the Export Expansion Grant (EEG) policy, stressing that it is causing more harm than good to the country’s economy. In a memorandum submitted to the House Committee on Trade and Investment over the weekend, signed by the Chairman, Board of Trustees of LAPAN, Malam Bashir Ibrahim Danyaro, the industrialists, argued that they are not convinced with the claim that it has created more jobs for Nigerians. They said: “There is this argument that the benefiting companies had provided jobs, but can it be compared to the destruction of the local tanners, who lack the financial muscles to compete in buying the raw skins?” “Due to the unattractive 30 per cent EEG offered to the exporters, thousands of jobs were lost in the shoe industries within the country. We have the leather cottage industries, which solely depends on local tanneries for their source of raw material that have been badly hit, due to the lopsided implementation of the EEG. These beneficiaries of the EEG scheme in the leather sector have sky rocketed the price to an all time high, making it impossible for any local user of leather to remain profitable in the business. “LAPAN should investigate what led to the closure of these shoe factories, namely, Bata Shoes, Silver Shoes, Anita Shoes, Exclusive Leather, Whanu Shoes, Lennards Shoes, Ajalyn Shoes,Kenny Shoes, Unix Shoes, John White and others, which were household names in Nigeria, providing hundreds of thousands of jobs.”
Plateau MDGs’ office executes N2.6b projects •Deputy Governor, Lagos State Mrs Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire with Director, Oando Foundation Tokunboh Durosaro, during the latter’s courtesy visit to the Deputy Governor at the Government House, Alausa, Ikeja.
N2.264b debt: Consultant loses to Access Bank
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USTICE John Tsoho of the Federal Court has struck out a petition filed by Chief Ajibola Aribisala (SAN) of AOS Practice against Access Bank over its alleged inability to pay a N2.264 billion debt for incompetence and abuse of court process. The court also awarded N300, 000 costs against Aribisala. In his ruling, Justice Tsoho stated that the debt, which formed the basis of the petition is disputed and as such it must be first resolved before a court can have jurisdiction over same. He ruled that Aribisala’s petition was incompetent and constitutes an abuse of court process, stressing that the bank has a legal right not to be unduly interfered with except in a manner allowed by law and, therefore, to advertise the petition, which is founded on a disputed debt amounts to an undue interference with the bank’s right. He added that the court has a jurisdiction to determine the competence of the petition and prevent the abuse of its process by terminating the proceedings where petition presented constitutes an abuse as is this case with the winding-up petition filed by Chief Aribisala. Aribisala had in the petition filed
By Akinola Ajibade
before Justice Tsoho of a Federal High Court in Lagos, alleged that he was owed N2, 264,716,007.98, as fees for various legal services he had rendered to the bank. In the petition, Aribisala averred that he was instructed at different times by the bank to recover various debts, running into billions of Naira, owed the bank by Zenon Petroleum and Gas Limited and BiCourtney Limited, adding that the bank also agreed to pay him 10 per cent of the recovered sum. He further alleged that after he had taken steps to recover the debt, Access Bank sold Zenon’s loan assets to the Assets Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) for N13.5 billion, in defiance of an earlier agreement he had with the bank. However, during the last proceedings, Access Bank faulted the claims, stressing that it did not at any time agree to pay the petitioner 10 per cent of any amount recovered. The bank, speaking through its counsel, Babatunde Fagbohun (SAN) of Aluko and Oyebode, disclosed that in the letter of instruction given to Aribisala by the bank, the mandate given to him to recover the debt was not exclusive. According to the
bank, it was never in the agreement that it could not resort to other means to recover its money. Contrary to Aribisala’s allegation that Zenon’s loan was sold for N13.5 billion, Access Bank said AMCON only issued bond for the loan, which was, in itself, an instrument of debt. The bank, while describing the bond as a promise to pay at a later date, added that it was not true that AMCON had paid for the loan. The bank said apart from the fact that Aribisala had been paid N173 million, the amount being claimed by him was in dispute, adding that this had robbed the Federal High Court of any jurisdiction in the matter. The bank sought a stay of proceedings on the ground that the alleged indebtedness was being disputed on substantial ground, adding that the court was not the proper forum for the matter to be heard. Aribisala, however, through his lawyer, Wole Olanipekun, had filed a preliminary objection to bank’s motion and urged the court to dismiss it and proceed with the matter. But the Court refused Aribisala’s preliminary objection and struck out the petition for being incompetent and constituting an abuse of the court process.
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HE Co-ordinator, Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in Plateau State, Francis Bot, has said the agency executed 449 projects worth N2.6 billion in various parts of the state in 2008 and 2009. He told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) yesterday in Jos that the projects were part of MDGs intervention programmes in its bid to meet the 2015 target. He said: “The Plateau MDGs Office was given N895.8million in 2008 to execute the projects, while the office received N1.79billion in 2009,” adding that the MDGs Office has sunk 136 motorised solar boreholes and 289 hand-pump boreholes in communities across the 17 local government areas of the state. He stated that the office distributed 37,400 units of insecticidetreated mosquito nets and 37,400 units of anti-malaria drugs. “Within the two years, 24 clinics were constructed while 55 other clinics were renovated. We have also provided hospital equipment to 96 clinics in the state,”adding that the office trained 340 youths in various skills such as woodwork, computer and carpentry. Bot said guidelines for applying for the intervention programme from the Office of the Senior Special Assistant to the President on MDGs are “too cumbersome,” and called for the review of the process to fast-track the implementation for the country to meet the MDGs deadline.