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Quick Takes TECNO Donates Solar Streetlights
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Senior Vice President & Managing Director, Addax Petroleum, Mr. Cornelis Zegelaar (right) explaining the operations of the company to the Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo (left), during his visit to the company’s pavillion at the 6th African Petroleum Congress & Exhibition in Abuja …recently
Nigeria’s GDP Projected to Hit $6.4trn by 2050 Obinna Chima The Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) has been projected to rise to $6.4trillion by 2050, thereby moving the country to the ninth position on the world ranking, surpassing Germany, United Kingdom, France, and Saudi Arabia. This was stated in a report by PricewaterhouseCoopers, titled: “Nigeria: Looking Beyond Oil”. Nigeria’s rebased figures had put the value of the nominal GDP in 2012 at N71.1 trillion (about $453.9 billion) as well as a projected figure of about N80.2 trillion (about $509.9 billion) in 2013. However, in order to achieve the 2050 GDP projection in the report, PwC stressed the need
ECONOMY for diversification of the country’s economic overdependence on crude oil. It pointed out that Nigeria’s intrinsic potential lies beyond oil, maintaining that harnessing this potential had become an imperative given the expectations of lower for longer oil prices and heightened competition in the oil market. Based on recent trends, the report reviewed the impact of low oil prices on key economic indicators and the real sector as well as addresses the question of priority sectors that should be targeted for diversification efforts. The PwC report identified agriculture, petroleum, retail
and ICT as priority sectors with the most dominant transmission links to the overall economy. It also noted that forward linkages to agro-processing and other services such as logistics as well as backward integration to input supply sectors could improve farm incomes, increase employment and improve domestic food security. Potentially, Nigeria’s global agriculture exports could takeoff at a rate similar to Brazil’s, with $59 billion in export revenues by 2030, it added. Similarly, value added to oil and gas output needs to urgently improve by implementing diversification within the sector. This implies investments across the downstream sector to develop petrochemicals,
fertilizers, methanol and refining, industries relevant in both industrial and consumer products which Nigeria currently imports. Commenting on the findings of the report, the Country and Regional Senior Partner for PwC Nigeria and the West Market Area, Uyi Akpata noted: “Consumer spending is the largest driver of the economy, accounting for about 70 per cent of GDP and this is expected to be the boost for the retail sector growth even as population continues to expand. “Thus, as incomes rise along with rapid urbanisation, it is projected that household consumption expenditure could Continued on page 24
States’ Internally Generated Revenues Rise to $4.0 Billion Eromosele Abiodun States in the country now rely less on federal allocations as latest statistics released by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) have revealed significant increase in their Internally Generated Revenues (IGRs). The CBN data for 2014 revealed that internally generated revenue provided 21.8 per cent of the total revenue of the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), compared with 15.3 per cent the previous year. Analysis of the data showed that aggregate IGR grew by 37 per cent to N801 billion ($4.0 billion) from N586 billion in
ECONOMY 2013. Again, Lagos emerged as the leading state, achieving an IGR/ total revenue ratio of 67 per cent while Ogun, Rivers and Anambra States recorded 40 per cent, 32 per cent and 31 per cent respectively. Given that the oil price has been on the slide since mid-2014, analysts posit that states have no choice than to reduce their dependence on the oil-driven monthly distributions from the FAAC by bolstering their IGR. The CBN data also revealed that Value Added Tax (VAT) receipts stood at N389 billion,
representing 10.6 per cent of total revenue in 2014. The Minister of Budget and National Planning, Udo Udoma, recently disclosed that there would be no increase in the standard 5 per cent rate of VAT “at the moment.” This, analysts stressed, means that states will have to make do with what they are getting at the moment. Analysts at FBN Quest stressed that states must double their efforts at raising their IGR since a good number of them are highly indebted. “According to the Debt Management Office (DMO), states’ domestic debt at end-2014
amounted to N1.7 trillion. Lagos has the best record for IGR and is also the largest debtor among the states, with total domestic obligations of N268 billion. The figures include arrears due, for example, to contractors and employees. “The total at end-2014 was reduced last year by the restructuring of many states’ bank borrowings into FGN bonds. This operation, supervised by the DMO, was then balanced, even undermined in the eyes of some, by the CBN rescue facility for the states, “said FBN Capital. Continued on page 24
TECNO, a leader in mobile Telecoms technology in Nigeria, has been commended for installing 88 solar powered streetlights around the computer village and environs in the Ikeja Local Government Area of Lagos State. The project, which was concluded on January 21, 2016, has been a huge success. The Ikeja community has since remained grateful to the multinational that it undertook such capital intensive project for the good of the community. Sharing his experience of constant power supply and improved security around the electronics market at night since the ‘Light up Ikeja’ project was inaugurated, Chairman Ogunbiyi Community Development Association, Ikeja Local Government Area, Mr. Adeniyi Olasoji said the project couldn’t have come at a better time when the economic situation in the country is biting hard and state governments are trying to cut costs. According to him, alternative power sources like solar is clean, sustainable and a good replacement for the power generators that light up Lagos streetlights at night and costing the government millions of naira in after sales maintenance. “TheseTECNOsolarstreetlightshavereallysavedIkejacommunity a lot of headache. Imagine the streetlights we have were not solar powered but had to run on diesel-engine generators through the night, how much money would the government throw into buying diesel now that there is fuel scarcity across the country? And if you should think in terms of the current cost of servicing these huge generators, the purchase price for most generator parts in the market is almost twice what it used to be,” Olasoji said.
Conference to focus on Untapped Potential
The Verdant Zeal Group Ltd, a marketing communication agency based in Lagos, has announced plans to host the 5th edition of its annual ‘Innovention’ lecture series tagged: “The Next Big Thing Identifying Africa’s Untapped Potential .” Scheduled to hold tomorrow in Lagos, this year’s edition and fifth in the series will seek to call stakeholders interest on the need for African nations and Nigeria in particular to see the need for a concerted agenda towards ensuring that it creates multiple streams of income if it must remain relevant globally. According to a statement issued by the company in Lagos, the conference will be declared open by the managing Director and chief Executive Officer of the Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Mr. Kyari Bukar who will chair the event. The keynote address will be delivered by Nigeria born professional and academic, Professor Pius Adesanmi – A Professor of English and Director, Institute of African Studies, Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada. The statement further stated that Bukar and Adesanmi will be joined by the Chairman, Chocolate City Entertainment, Audu Maikon, Managing DirectorTBWA/Concept Limited and President, Association of Advertising Agencies of Nigeria (AAAN), Mr. Kelechi Nwosu and the Founder/CEO, JC Capital, Mr. Joel Chimhanda.
Winner Emerges in Cussons Baby Competition
Cussons Baby’s promotional flagship platform, Cussons Baby Moments, has produced Oritsejolomisan Nina Grant, as winner for the 2016 edition. The baby winner defeated over 500 babies who entered for the season 3 of the competition. Grant won for herself the N1million educational grant grand prize, Cussons Baby products, a smart learning tablet, shopping voucher and Thermocool refrigerator. Baby Grant was closely followed by Similola Alexis Onabanjo and Obianamma Adele Anammah, who emerged first and second runners up respectively. Baby Simisola won N500,000, Cussons Baby products, shopping voucher, a smart learning tablet, and a Thermocool generator while Anammah won N250, 000, Cussons Baby products, a smart learning tablet, shopping voucher, and a Thermocoolmicrowave.Other20babieswhomadeittothesemi-final stage were also rewarded with shopping vouchers and Cussons Baby products.
“The biggest impediment to insurance in a developing economy is the inability to buy insurance and in most cases, the perception of the consumers of insurance” Commissioner for Insurance, Alhaji Mohammed Kari