Parties spend N4.9bn on political adverts

MARCH 23, 2015

Parties spend N4.9bn on political adverts ...As regulators, agencies decry unvetted political ads BY PRINCEWILL EKWUJURU

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ITH just five days to the March 28 elections, advertising spend on political campaigns has been estimated to have cost political parties, friends and well wishers of those seeking elective offices a princely N4.9 billion so far. However, federal and state advert regulatory agencies have expressed displeasure over publications of unapproved advert materials. According to data gathered from different advert agencies and reports from advert regulatory bodies, the print media have so far raked in about N1.382 billion of the advert spend, with the All Progressives Congress, APC spending N332.503 million on its presidential candidate, while its Peoples Democratic Party, PDP counterpart spent N1.049 billion, which is 65.5 per cent higher than the amount spent by APC. Field reports further put other expenses on campaign rallies for PDP and APC at N1.057 billion and N595.082 million respectively. Both parties also spent N224.36 million on outdoor campaigns. The broadcast campaign coverage for the presidential candidates were put at N508.35 million and N391.05 million for PDP and APC. Electronic media adverts were N733.9million for PDP and N555.6 million for APC respectively, bringing the total amount to N2.5 billion. In summary, a total of N4.973 billion has been spent on campaign expenses, with PDP and

APC spending N3.549 billion and N1.424 billion respectively. Last year, the Advertising Agencies Association of Nigeria, AAAN had projected that the 2015 general elections will contribute billions of naira to the advert industry, an amount it said will form major part of the advertising spend for the 2015 advertising year. But from recent development and the run of political campaigns so far, the projection has been surpassed in terms of adspend. However, advert practitioners feel the estimate is much less than what has been spent, going by the inability of heads of sectoral bodies in the advert

industry to track the amount spent by politicians, as a result of the haphazard nature the adverts were given out. It would be recalled that in 2014, former president of AAAN and Chief Operating Officer of 141 Worldwide, Bunmi Oke, predicted a bright future for any ad agency that puts its act together to tap into the windfall expected from the election year and the huge budget politicians would earmark for the 2015 political campaigns. Worried by the bulk of political campaign materials, Financial Vanguard sampled the opinions of

stakeholders who were particularly disappointed at the manner unapproved political materials litter advertising spaces in the country. It is a fact that Nigeria has a history of not coming out with election spending figures, and data are equally unavailable on the actual spending of politicians on campaigns. But going by the volume of materials churned out through the different media of communication for political parties, it is no longer in doubt that billions of naira were spent in the 2015 election campaigns. Continues on page 22

LECTURE: MD/ CEO of Wema Bank, Mr Segun Oloketuyi here makes a presentation on 'Growing Your Money' to students of Government Secondary School, Moraba, Ilorin, in Kwara State to commemorate the Child & Youth Financial Literacy Day.

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22 — Vanguard, MONDAY, MARCH 23, 2015

Cover Story

Vocation & technical education – A key to improving Nigeria’s development

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MEETING - From left: Asiwaju Solomon Onafowokan, Chairman, Coleman Wires &Cables; Mr. Taiwo Adeoluwa, SSG Ogun State; Mr. Segun Ogunsanya, MD/CEO, Airtel Nigeria; Prof. Ganiyu Olatunde, Chief of Staff, Ogun State; and Otunba Bimbo Ashiru, Ogun State Commissioner for Commerce&Industry, during a Breakfast meeting with Governor Amosun organized by the Ogun State Ministry of Commerce and Industry in Abeokuta.

Parties spend N4.9bn on political adverts Continues from page 21 The AAAN members observed with great concern the spate of unhealthy smear campaigns by the political parties and shadow interest groups across the various media channels. AAAN said: “In obvious disregard of the advertising code and ethics of the Advertising Practitioners Council of Nigeria, APCON, a body saddled with the responsibility of regulating and controlling advertisement in the country, and the AAAN, most of these political advertisements have been exposed without going through the vetting procedures and consequent approvals from the Advertising Standards Panel, ASP, of APCON. “Our concerns are that the professional values of the advertising practice and indeed, public sensibilities, as well as the very stability of the polity have been severely undermined by the continued character assassinations, wanton abuses, unrestrained attacks, threats and counterthreats that have become the bane of political communication building up to the elections," AAAN said in a release. Kayode Olagesin, Managing Director of Towncriers, an activation agency said: “There is no time in the history of the country that we have witnessed this volume of campaigns. I tell you, I don't see them spending less than N5 billion on each of the presidential candidates. C M Y K

“If you look at the way they have used the press, wrap around that costs millions, there are lots of heavy charges paid, lots of them up to N20 million for one material, five or more pages of newspapers in a day, and you have several days in a week, I tell you, they have spent billions, but the truth is that it is difficult to know

The truth of it is that it is difficult to know exactly how much they are spending

exactly how much they are spending. Mind you, the spending still continues, so you do not know yet, may be after the whole campaign, you can sit down and calculate and put some figures to it. "What is more interesting is to find out what portion of the advertising materials that passed through professional advertising practitioners in Nigeria. I daresay, a lot of it did not pass through the professional advertising practice. So it will not, therefore, have added that much value to the revenue of advertising agencies in

the country." He went on to say that the impact on advertising agencies is minimal through third hand or second hand, passing to the agencies. "I do not think agencies are on the table, the strategy and the energy are disbursed to agencies outside. I think a few agencies in Nigeria are actually having those direct contracts with political parties. We should urge the political parties to do what is right; to appoint proper Nigerian agencies to run their campaigns. That is what needs to happen. “I do not know the elements of it that are produced and done outside. I don’t know the details of that, but I know that the direct contact have not been given to Nigerian advertising agencies, a lot of them are given to people who are probably politicians to help them broker it through first, second or third party agents,” he stated. On the other hand, the OAAN, on their part, said all political adverts posted on their billboards were duly vetted by APCON’s ASP. Also disturbed were state regulatory agencies. For example, the Oyo State Signage and Advertisement Agency, OYSAA, complained that adverts posted in different sites and unauthorised places, including lamp poles around the city, is a flagrant breach of the extant laws and regulation of the agency. This, however, prompted the Director-General, Mr. Continues on page 23

echnical education is a fingerprint technicians to planned programme of conduct criminal courses and learning investigations. And due to experiences that begins with poor training, military officers exploration of career options, are known to beat up the supports basic academic and citizens who challenge their life skills, and enables powers and go scot free for achievement of high academic their inhumane actions. The standards, leadership, danger posed by preparation for industryenvironmental pollution and defined work, and advanced fake drugs is alarming. The less and continuing education. educated in the society lack the Vocational education and skill to manage AIDS, cancer training prepares learners for and diabetes among other careers that are based in serious health problems. One manual or practical activities, wonders what the nation’s traditionally non-academic health minister and the 36 and totally related to a specific state health commissioners are trade, occupation or vocation. doing to tackle these issues. In other words, it is an Every good citizen is aware that “education designed to the neglect of technical and develop occupational skills.” vocational education is Vocational and technical socially and economically education gives individuals the injurious, because it is robbing skills to “live, learn and work the nation of the contributions as a productive citizen in a the graduates would make on global society.” national development. For Technical and vocational that Nigeria is today wearing education has been an integral the toga of a poor state. part of national development Although technical and strategies in many societies vocational education seem because of its impact on deficient in ‘citizenship or productivity and economic leadership training’ (Friedman development. Despite its 1982). It provides students contributions the leaders of with “life skills to become Nigeria have not given this productive entrepreneurs as it aspect of education the engenders creative and attention it deserves, and this innovative ideas, enlarge the is one of the reasons for the economic pie, and increase nation’s underdevelopment. personal freedom. Most of the This article focuses on the so-called “expatriate dearth of skilled technical and engineers” who are being paid vocational manpower in millions of dollars to build Nigeria and argues that Nigeria’s roads and bridges are technical and vocational graduates of technical and education holds the key to vocational colleges. Yet the national development. leaders do not take technical Every facet of the economy institutions seriously. has been affected by lack of Nigeria’s current skilled technicians. The preoccupation with university financial sector lacks education reduces economic technicians to regulate the opportunities of those who are banks and to develop financial more oriented toward work software to than academic. Not properly tackle everyone needs a the rising u n i v e r s i t y fraudulent education. activities in the Awarding licenses banking sector. to greedy Without security, organizations and Many development is individuals to impossible in a graduates lack establish private society; no nation 'employability' universities that can sustain its are not even as skills, which democracy if the equipped as some citizens lack would easily of the technical and confidence in the be acquired vocational schools police. The police in the United States violate the from technical and other citizens’ human and vocational advanced nations and civil rights colleges cannot develop the and lack forensic society. laboratory and

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he 2015 election will certainly come and go but the after effect may linger for a long time. Whether it is PDP or APC that eventually wins the presidential election, the party that will come to power post-election, had better get prepared for the handling of the economy. As it stands, the nation is on a financial cliff that can fall off any time except a miracle happens. The one commodity that provides life support for the economy has seen its price at the international market fall to as low as $58 per barrel. The International Energy Agency has predicted that crude oil prices may fall to as low as $20 per barrel. Oil prices might have stabilised only temporarily because the global oil glut is worsening and U.S. production shows no sign of slowing. The US may soon run out of spare capacity to store crude, which would put additional downward pressure on prices. That process would last at least until the second half of 2015, when growth in US oil production is expected to start abating. Behind the façade of stability, the rebalancing triggered by the price collapse has yet to run its course, and it might be overly optimistic to expect it to proceed smoothly. As a result of the above oil market scenerio, the incoming government will have a Herculean task running the country effectively. Many states will not be able to pay their bills, same with the Federal Government. As it is now, money that would have

been judiciously used is being frittered away in foreign currency in the name of election. Right now, politicians have invaded the foreign exchange market to buy up the available dollar to pay electorate for votes. Instead of saving the windfall from oil when prices were high, state governors clamoured for the sharing of the excess crude account, now the account has nothing to be shared. Indications are that the pressure on the naira now is as a result of political activities in the country. Postelection, the naira may see between the bank naira some level of stability at N197 dollar rate and the black market rate after the to the dollar. November 2014 devaluation, is now about 13 per cent in less than five months. This is not in the best interest of the economy and after the election, if prices of crude continue its southward journey, things will become worse as fewer dollars will be available at the foreign exchange market for importation of essential consumer goods. This, of course, will give rise to hyper-inflation which is already rising and will continue to rise. The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) last week, released the Consumer The unusual use of dollar in Price Index (CPI) report for political campaign has led to February 2015 saying that further depletion of the prices of goods and services nation’s foreign reserves as rose slightly by 20 basis money is carried around in points, which is about 0.2 per sacks to people whom the cent. It said that rise in prices, politicians believe have some headline inflation - measured influence over a certain Year-on-Year (Y-o-Y), was section of the populace and estimated at 8.4 per cent, their presidential voting 20bps higher than 8.2per cent choice. As a result of the reported in January 2015. mopping up of the dollar from This is largely the expectation the system for non- as inflationary pressure productive use, a less than intensified in February due to three per cent differential

Tough times ahead after elections

There is no doubt that with dwindling oil prices, Jonathan or Buhari will have no option than to remove fuel subsidy completely

the weakness of the domestic currency over the past six months. This had a knock-on impact on prices of both imported food and non-food items. After the election, which ever party comes into power, Nigerians should expect a rough time going forward. There is no doubt that with dwindling oil prices, Jonathan or Buhari will have no option than to remove completely fuel subsidy. It will not be a matter of choice, it will be a matter of survival for the government to continue to meet its internal financial obligation. The first shot at raising revenue will be subsidy removal. Nigerians should not be deceived. This will certainly come into play early in the life of the new administration. None of the political parties has made it an electoral issue and Nigerians have not asked either Jonathan or Buhari what they intend to do with subsidy on petrol. The Nigerian banking sector will feel the heat as they are likely to lay off employees after the election is successfully concluded. Many companies may not be able to service their facilities and non- performing

loans may mount. Banks may be tempted to stop giving out loans due to high cost of funds. In a bid to tighten monetary policy after the election, the CBN may demand to sterilise public funds in the banking system or demand that all public sector funds be placed directly with it. The private sector deposit in banks may see some increase in the amount the CBN will withdraw from banks. The banks will then be under extreme pressure to perform post- election 2015. The Federal Government under pressure to raise money, may after the election allow the naira to further depreciate to raise more money for government as crude oil prices probably falls below $53 which is the 2015 budget benchmark. More manufacturing companies will close or reduce operations due to stifling business environment wreaking havoc on their businesses. Nigerians should expect higher electricity tariff, naira devaluation, less power from the national grid which means more expenses incurred to run generators. For now, there is no light in the tunnel.

Business & Economy Continues from page 22 Yinka Adepoju to direct all political campaign organisations/committees to apply and obtain approval of OYSAA before posting their campaign materials in any location. The agency said the warning became necessary in order not to exacerbate the already tensed political climate in the country, and to maintain the pervading peace enjoyed in the state. Speaking on the development, Mr. Adigwe Iwuala, Deputy Managing Director, Orlick Communications, said: “This will remain a conjecture until the elections are over. What you will get from any person now is an estimated amount which may be low or high. “The print industry may be pocketing about N900 million

Parties spend N4.9bn on political adverts for various adverts. If you aggregate this by the number of newspapers and magazines in the different parts of the country, you may find out that it is running to above N900 million.” On social media, Michael Uze, a public commentator, observed that the social media ad spend cannot be tracked as there is no registered body saddled with the responsibility to track what is spent on that platform. Reacting to the issue of nondisclosure of amount spent on the 2015 elections so far, Mr. Andre Nduneche, Lead Consultant, Image Machine Advertising, said Nigerians can only speculate as politicians are secretive when it comes to disclosing budgets on advertising. "The politicians are very secretive about these

things. They will not want you to know how much they are putting into it, but from all indications, you can tell by the volume of contents in all the advertising platforms which is running into billions of naira.

The 2015 electioneering campaign period is just the Christmas of advertising

“The 2015 electioneering campaign period is just the Christmas of advertising. Everybody waits for years, and that too, increases the price of advertising as it is only in four years that such opportunity calls. Money that should have been spent in four years is now spent within a short period of time. So we are looking at a very substantial amount of money,” he said. Corroborating, Mr. Ewat Okonokon, a brand analyst with Brand Campaign International, said that during electioneering periods like this, advertising contents across various advertising platforms prior to elections are increased. He noted also that the 2015 election has attracted more advertising than any period of election in the country, pointing out that politicians are beginning to

understand the power of advertising in shaping the minds of people. He went further to say that the close contest between PDP, APC and other fringe parties in 2011, did not experience a strong competition like 2015, and this has impacted greatly on the advertising industry. It will be recalled that the issue of non-disclosure of the amount political parties spend on the 2015 election prompted the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project, SERAP, to institute an action demanding that all political parties make full disclosure of sources of their campaign funds, a way of invoking the Freedom of Information bill, an action seen as a step in the right direction for public accountability. It is still in doubt whether that move will yield any positive result.

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Business & Economy

WORKSHOP - From left: Managing Director /CEO Shoreline Natural Resource Ltd, Dr. Ladi Bada discussing with Managing Director &CEO First E&P, Ademola Adeyemi-Bero during 2015 Nigeria Oil & Gas Workshop in Abuja. Photo by Gbemiga Olamikan.

Deloitt e sur ts surge Deloitte survvey repor reports in Africa’s mega pr ojects tto o projects $326bn in 20 14 201 By ADEKUNLE ADEKOYA, General Editor

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nvestment in African mega projects surged 46% to US$326 billion last year led by heavy investment in transport, energy and power, according to the third annual Deloitte African Construction Trends report, which monitors progress on capital intensive infrastructure on the continent. To qualify for inclusion in the Deloitte African Construction Trends report, projects must be valued at more than US$50 million and had to have broken ground by at least 1 June 2014. While the number of projects that qualified for inclusion in the 2014 report fell to 257 from 322 the year before, the total value of projects under construction increased from USD 222.77 billion in 2013. “Africa’s rapidly growing middle class continues to drive demand for sustainable social infrastructure,” said Mr Andre Pottas, Regional Director at Deloitte. “Africa is en route to a brighter future and overall we see the opportunities surpassing the challenges facing our continent.” Of the projects included in the 2014 Deloitte African Construction Trends report, no less than 143 were led by the public sector with a further 88 being private sector initiatives and 26 classified as public private partnerships (PPPs). Energy & Power accounted for 37% of the number of mega

projects undertaken in Africa in 2014, followed by transport (34%), mining (9%), real estate (6%), water (5%), oil & gas (4%), mixed use facilities (2%) and health care (1%). “More than 10% of the projects included in this year’s survey were structured as PPPs, which is an increase from about 4% the previous year,” said Mr Pottas. “That is very encouraging to see as we believe that significant private sector participation is required

alongside government initiatives in order to enable Africa to close its infrastructure gap with the rest of the world.” Southern Africa led construction activity on the continent, accounting for $144.89 billion in projects or 44.5% of the total value of mega construction projects on the continent last year. West Africa overtook East Africa with the region attracting US$74.84 billion in projects, or 23% of the total projects on the

continent by value. Central Africa experienced a massive 117% surge in the value of construction projects which reached $33.21 billion while North Africa saw the value of construction projects jump almost 36% to $9.12 billion. East Africa experienced a moderate 10% decline in the value of projects, which nevertheless totalled a respectable $60.67 billion in 2014. “Africa continues to be a magnet for Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and intraAfrican capital inflows,” said Mr Pottas. “With a 76% completion rate of projects collected from our previous report, expectations remain high for infrastructure to provide the developing continent with much needed market expansion.” Africa’s infrastructural transformation is being driven by increased output in the natural resources sector, which in turn has underpinned rising fiscal expenditure on infrastructure projects to facilitate rising international trade with the continent. At the same time, rapidly growing urbanisation and rising domestic demand in Africa has ushered in an unprecedented wave of foreign direct investment in the continent’s biggest and most dynamic economies. “The African Construction Trends report confirms continued, intensive construction activity across the continent,” said Mr Pottas. “The journey may not be high speed just yet but it is unfolding at a steadily increasing pace.”

SMEs can access finance with appropriate strategies — BoI BY NAOMI UZOR

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he Bank of Industry, (BoI), has said that Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in Nigeria can overcome the challenge of lack of access to finance by employing appropriate strategies suitable to their peculiar characteristics. Disclosing this at the 2015 Annual General Meeting of the Nigerian Association of Small and Medium Enterprises (NASME), Executive Director, Small and Medium Enterprises, BOI, Mr. Waheed Olagunju, said SMEs are recognised as playing key roles in the economy of any society and Nigeria is not an exception.He noted that in job and wealth creation however, they face numerous challenges including access to finance which can be overcome by

appropriate strategies that must address their peculiar characteristics, adding that, VCF is one such strategy that can facilitate access to finance by MSMEs “Since challenges facing MSMES are numerous and multidimensional holistic approach is required to de-risk MSMES. All hands must be on deck: entrepreneurs, governments, operators along the financial value chain, foreign development partners, governments at all tiers Local Govewrnment, state, federaland regulator ” he stated. Olagunju stressed that factors limiting the growth of MSMEs in Nigeria are market access: weak local patronage, infrastructure: power, transport, water etc, support services: business development support, finance / capital: perceived risky by DMBs, information: what to

do and how to go about it and technology: dependence on expensive sophisticated imported technology. The President and Chairman of Council, NASME, Alhaji Garba Gusau, challenged the political gladiators on their programmes and policies for the MSMEs at all levels of governance, saying, that MSMEs development should be in the front burner of the political discourse. According to him, to develop the MSME sector requires strong and supportive institutions and holistic infrastructural development as well as key and impactful sectoral intervention by Nigerian financial system, as a deliberate effort towards addressing the many neglect of the sector and that now that the elections are here again.

13 ships laden with petroleum products, other cargo arrive Lagos

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hirteen ships laden with petroleum products, general cargo and food items have arrived the Lagos ports, waiting to berth. The Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) stated this in its daily publication, ‘Shipping Position’ made available to newsmen yesterday in Lagos. According to the publication, seven of the ships sailed into the ports with petrol, kerosene and aviation fuel. It indicated that six other ships came in with rice, soya beans and general cargo. The document stated that 42 ships were scheduled to arrive at the ports between March 18 and April 6. It said that 18 of the ships would sail in with containers, while eight others were expected with general cargo. The document said that seven ships would sail in with rice, frozen fish, crude palm oil, buckwheat and bulk sugar. It also indicated that the remaining nine ships would arrive with kerosene, base oil, aviation fuel and petrol.

FAAC: FG, states, LGs share N522bn for Feb

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he Minister of State for Finance, Mr Bashir Yuguda, said that N522 billion was shared among the federal, states and local governments as revenue for February, 2015. Yuguda announced this in Abuja when he addressed newsmen on the outcome of the Federation Accounts Allocation Committee (FAAC) meeting. He said that the shared amount comprised the month’s statutory revenue of N401.4 billion and N6.3 billion refunded by Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC). “Also, there is the exchange gain of N55.9 billion which is proposed for distribution. “Therefore the total revenue distributable for the month of February, including VAT of N58.2 billion, is N522 billion.’’

26 — Vanguard, MONDAY, MARCH 23, 2015

Corporate Finance

Quoted firms research reports: Related brokerage firms should not be involved —Analyst BY PETER EGWUATU

By PRINCEWILL EKWUJURU

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he Senior Africa Investment Analyst, Mr. Jude Fejokwu has said that Board members of listed companies on the Nigerian Stock Exchange , NSE that own or partly own stakes in brokerage firms and/or investment banks should be prevented from publicly disseminating equity research reports and related materials on the companies they are board members of using their in-house analysts. According to him “ Real life example: Chapel Hill Denham analysts should be prevented from writing reports on Lafarge Africa, Stanbic IBTC analysts should be prevented from writing reports on Cadbury and Nigerian Breweries just to name a few. Why? Simply put, its a conflict of interest that places inherent doubt on the views that are held in the report by the “home base” analysts. Secondly, the risk of unfair disclosure is high in which the analysts of the particular company may end up being privy to non-public information before the generality of the investing public or privy to information that no one else will ever be publicly aware of. This sets an unfair advantage and sets our stock market backward when information is not fairly disseminated.” Buttressing his view , he said “ People (companies) get sick and then they get well (e.g. Forte Oil); sometimes, they get sick and then they never recover and die (e.g. Starcomms) Sometimes our blood pressure rises beyond normal and sometimes it drops below normal. My point here is everything in life has its ups and downs. Companies also have their ups and downs. Owners and significant shareholders in Nigerian companies tend to forget this fact of life. Their companies have to always be portrayed on top when they are on top and also when they are down and business is no longer as smooth as a brand new dollar bill. Failure to adhere to this “Nigerian rule” is usually taken as a personal affront by the ‘larger than life” owners of the companies in question and the analyst(s) now finds that there is an invisible professional enemy lurking somewhere hunting them in alleys and crevices. A personal

First Bank spends over N500m on savings promo

PRESENTATION - From left: Head, Product Management, Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), Mr. Oladipo Omotoso; Chief Executive Officer, Chapel Hill Denham Securities Limited, Mr. Akeem Shadare; Executive Director, Business Development, NSE, Mr. Haruna JaloWaziri and Compliance Officer, Chapel Hill Denham Securities Limited, Ms. Ewere Mgbeke at the presentation of appointment letter as a Primary Market Maker at the exchange vendetta is now established between someone at the top and someone below; truth and fiction take center stage to determine who will stand taller at the end of the day. Owners/ stakeholders should accept that businesses have circular life cycles (just like the planet we live on) and go through boom and bust cycles. Learn from these ‘down time” experiences and change them; do not fight reality!” Fejokwu, further stated that investment banks need to provide a deeper level of disclosure about the exact nature of the business relationship they have with a company and/or if they were paid in cash and/or kind to produce the particular equity research product in question each time a report is

disseminated. According to him “ In the first-half of 2009, Intercontinental Bank management was dealing with widespread speculation that the bank was in distress. When the negative news refused to go away despite using a bevy of journalists to get out their

Companies also have their ups and downs

positive message, management turned to Renaissance Capital Nigeria for succor. Management turned over their books to the Rencap analyst(s) who came out with a report stating in a nutshell that the bank is not in distress and we should all calm down. A few months later in 2009, we all know what happened to the bank. Regardless of what people may think about Sanusi’s taking over some banks and the intrigues surrounding it, my analyses in 2008 did foretell that Intercontinental Bank was a bank heading south. The events that befell Intercontinental Bank (as it relates to the bank’s performance) did not surprise me one bit when it all came to a head.”

Stanbic IBTC launches Priority Pass access card By NKIRUKA NNOROM

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tanbic IBTC Bank has launched the Stanbic IBTC Priority Pass, a customized card that gives holders access to unique benefits at over 700 airports around the world as part of its determination to deploy technology to bring added value to the lives and businesses of its clients. Priority Pass is the world’s largest independent airport lounge access programme. The Stanbic IBTC Priority Pass allows members access to over 700 airport lounges in more than 120 countries and 400 cities worldwide including Nigeria. In addition, the pass gives the holder comfort, makes travelling stress-free even in the event of flight delays, cancellations and crowded departure halls. It also keeps the traveller

relaxed in a serene ambience until he boards a flight. The cards will be issued to Stanbic IBTC Bank’s credit Speaking at the official launch in Lagos, Yinka Sanni, Stanbic IBTC Bank’s Chief Executive, said the product represents another milestone in the drive to move customers forward by continuously introducing value-added products and services that suit their lifestyles, whilst giving them access to financial options wherever and whenever they want it. Sanni said the product is another step towards leveraging innovation and evolving technologies to serve customers better. “At Stanbic IBTC Bank, we are poised to always avail the best solutions to enhance the lives of the people we serve. This product is yet another manifestation of this quest,” he stated.

irst Bank Nigeria Plc said it has expended over N500million as cash gift to over 5000 customers in the six years of its ‘Savings Promo Bonanza,’ as the bank presents a car to wound off its promo. This was revealed when the Group Managing Director, Bisi Onasanya presented one of the cars, a brand new Toyota Corolla to the winner, Mrs. Ebisan Onyema at the bank’s head office in Lagos. The promo, according to Onasanya, has rewarded over 5000 customers since inception six years ago with over N500million given out in cash, household appliances, cars and a four bedroom duplex terrace house in Lekki area of Lagos. The GMD also stated that the ‘Savings Bonanza’ delivers to the bank’s promise of putting the customer first as it is designed to reward customers for their patronage and loyalty to the brand over the years. “First Bank has been changing the life style of average Nigerians with its Savings Promo since 2008. We would continue to churn out innovative and tailored-fit products to support customers’ needs and aspirations”, he stated.

More winners emerge in Fidelity Bank’s ‘Save 4 Scholarship’ promo

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he Fidelity Bank Plc ‘Save 4 Scholarship’ Promo has produced 49 more winners that went home with N15.9 million in a final draw that took place in Lagos. The draw, which took place weekend, at the bank’s head office, brought the total amount given out throughout the duration of the promo to N80 million. Besides cash prizes, which ranged from N2 million, N1 million, N500,000 to N210,000, other consolation prizes of generating sets and fridges were also given to the winners that emerged from the six geopolitical zones of the country. Mr. Ik Mbagwu, Executive Director, Lagos & South West Directorate, Fidelity Bank, who spoke at the event said the bank has other loyalty reward promos lined up that would be more exciting than the just concluded ‘Save 4 Scholarship’ promo. He listed two of such products to include School Support Scheme through which N50 million will be given out annually and Extra Income Scheme.

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Banking & Finance

Ecobank offers products at Enugu International Trade Fair

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cobank Nigeria array of cutting edge financial product were offered to participants at the 26 th Enugu International Trade Fair. Special products that represent the banks’ ebanking, transfer and middle class solutions were all displayed and customers’ access and easy use were demonstrated to visitors at the fair. The bank also offered financial solutions and advise to the various Small and Medium Enterprises and local corporate size companies, on the new CBNs single digit intervention facilities, such as the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises(MSME ) and Real Sector Support Finance(RSSF), of which Ecobank is a championing bank.

Access Bank reiterates commitment to financial literacy

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ccess Bank has reiterated its commitment to encouraging financial literacy amongst Nigerian youths. Speaking at a session which held at the Greensprings School, Anthony Campus, Lagos on Wednesday, March 11, 2015 in commemoration of the 2015 Global Money week, Mr. Victor Etuokwu, Executive Director, Personal Banking Division, noted that Access Bank has pioneered a number of industry defining financial literacy initiatives aimed at promoting awareness for Financial Inclusion and Literacy amongst women, small and medium scale entrepreneurs (SMEs) and more especially children and schools in Nigeria. During the session with the theme “Save Today, Safe Tomorrow”, Mr. Etuokwu said, “Several years ago we launched Nigeria’s first funfilled interactive financial literacy campaign for kids, parents and educators with the Access Early Savers campaign. This shows that we have always been involved in empowering young ones”.

Transition to e-payment of taxes will be gradual — OBARO BY BABAJIDE KOMOLAFE

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n order to make tax payment more convenient for tax payers, the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) last month introduce electronic filling and payment of taxes. The initiative was in partnership with SystemSpecs, owners of the Remita electronic payment platform, which can be used for electronic filling and payment of taxes. In this interview, John Obaro, speaks on the objectives and benefits of e-filling and payment of taxes and the role of Remita in the initiatives. Excerpts What does e-filing imply to the taxpayers? Well before now, the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) has been collecting tax reports manually. So, they have now created a platform for organisations to be able to file electronically. Now, when you submit your documents into their portal, you will get a reference called document number. You will take that document number to your Remita platform, to make payments and your payments leaves your bank account and goes to FIRS account, you get an acknowledgement and you also have proper records of the taxes you have paid. What exactly is the role of Remita in this scheme? The role of Remita is a payment engine. Now, a number of organisations today already use Remita to pay vendors, to pay salaries, pension fund administrators and different types of payments. But now, they are able to make tax payments to FIRS. When they pay through the platform, they don’t need to submit any document again because we are integrated at the back to FIRS. So, we submit the data that, that organisation has provided to the FIRS in addition to moving money to the FIRS. But does e-filing means that the manual way of paying tax in the country will no longer be in existence? Well, I believe it is going to happen gradually because not all the FIRS offices have been converted. So, they are doing them in phases. There will be a period of transition, but ultimately the idea is that it goes to a paperless filing arrangement. What will be the impact

•John Obaro, MD/CEO SystemSpec

The truth is that many times we judge people that they don’t want to pay taxes

of this scheme on the economy? The truth is that many times we judge people that they don’t want to pay taxes. But the truth of the matter is that the payment process, if it is too cumbersome, some people who want to pay would just end up not paying because they would get carried away by something else. By making it easier for people to pay, it is expected that the collection would improve. Now, you have a 24-hour arrangement to pay. There is no need saying the managing director is out of town and he is not going to be back until next week. You don’t need those excuses again. It is now easier to pay from your home, from your offices and from your mobile devices. So, it is expected that the total collections would grow. Did the federal government and others involved in the introduction of this scheme take into

consideration the technological challenges we have in the country? And for those that are not technologically savvy, how will they be able to use this system? Well, the first thing you talked about was infrastructural challenges. The mere fact that there are infrastructural challenges has not stopped the rapid growth of e-payment in Nigeria. We are not where we were five years ago. In fact, we are not where we were two years ago. So, a lot of things are improving. We know we are not yet there, but we should not discountenance the fact that a lot of progress has been made. We cannot wait and say we cannot practice e-payment until everything is perfect because that day will not come. Even if you go to the developed countries, you still have occasional failures. You still have communication challenges. It may not be as much as we have here, but they still happen. So, I really would not want us to focus on a glass that is half empty, let us focus on the portion that is half full. We have the opportunities with us here and things are happening and things are getting better. So, let us focus on the fact that it is growing and the challenges that are coming up are not unresolvable. But the process of the e-filing seems to very long. Let’s consider the average individual, would that not be discouraging to him or her? For e-filing, we can say that this is the first version of the product. With the first version of the product coming out, there would be some lessons learnt and in the not too distance future, we would expect some improvements. But for clients on Remita, what we have done is to create a simply access point for them to be able to make all their payments and save themselves some cumbersome processes. So, like I said earlier, things may not be perfect, but they will improve with time. There is e-filing and e-payment, are both accessible through Remita? Remita is basically an e-payment platform. It is expected that you must have done your e-filing to collect your reference. When you now come to Remita, we will now interrogate the FIRS platform to bring out all your information, and then you make your payment. What is your expectation from the e-filing scheme generally? My expectation is that the taxpayers now know that there are electronic options for them to begin to make tax payments. They may file electronically and effect their payments. They do not necessarily need to go to a bank branch again and they need not move from one bank’s internet banking to another bank’s internet banking again. Log into Remita and make payment from anywhere. What is the relationship between Remita and the banks? Now, when customers register on Remita, they fill an application form to their banks, it is their banks that actually register them on the platform. It is a multi-bank platform, so customers come on the platform and put in all their bank accounts. When it is time for them to make any payment, they just select which account they want to fund from. It need not be tied to any particular bank. You may have accounts with different banks. So, you just select the one you want to fund from at that point in time and it goes through the internal approval rule of that organisation.

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Economy

Debt Office recommends $12.4bn borrowing ceiling for FG in 2015 Stories by EMEKA ANAETO, Economy Editor

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he Debt Management Office (DMO) has recommended a maximum of USD12.4 billion total borrowing (domestic and external) for Federal Government in 2015. This would amount to N2.5 trillion addition to the existing N7.9 trillion outstanding debt as at end 2014, bringing the total indebtedness to about N10.4 trillion. DMO which centrally manages Nigeria’s debt however said in its Debt Sustainability Analysis (DSA) report, 2014 that the solvency and liquidity indicators under the Baseline Scenario show that Nigeria is at a very low risk of debt distress. In fact

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Nigeria is actually underborrowing as at today. But under its Pessimistic Scenario DMO report shows that though the results of its analysis indicated that the country would remain at a low risk of debt distress it also shows a rising trend for all the

Prolonged deterioration in one or two variables such as reduction in GDP growth rate, increase in inflation, decline in revenue...could increase the risk of debt unsustainability

he total value of Nigeria’s external merchandise trade at the end of fourth quarter 2014 was N5.7 trillion, indicating that exports outperformed imports leading to visible trade surplus. This was, however, 11.9 per cent lower than the value (N6.5 trillion) recorded in the preceding quarter, according to the report released at the weekend by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). At the end of 2014 Nigeria’s external trade stood at N24.4 trillion. This was N3.2 trillion or 14.9 per cent greater than the value recorded in 2013. This development arose from a sharp rise in the value of exports from N14.4 trillion in 2013 to N17.2 trillion in 2014 (an increase of 20.8 per cent). A slight increase of N215.6 billion, which amounted to only a 3 per cent rise in imports, also contributed to the very favourable trade balance of N9.97 trillion recorded in 2014. The crude oil component of total trade increased by N982.3 billion or 8.3 per

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•Dr Abraham Nwankwo, Director-General, DMO debt indicators throughout the projection period (2014-2034). This means a prolonged deterioration in one or two variables such as reduction in GDP growth rate, increase in inflation, decline in revenue,

etc, could increase the risk of debt unsustainability. Also a standard stress test under the Baseline Scenario shows the impact of most extreme shocks in the solvency and liquidity

indicators which, though remained above the baseline for all the debt indicators, were well below internationally a c c l a i m e d s t a n d a r d thresholds. The result further confirmed the fact that though the country has no risk of debt distress in the near term under both Baseline and Standard Stress Test Scenarios, DMO warns that the country is highly susceptible to revenue shocks based on deterioration in m a j o r macroeconomic variables. The revenue block, according to the report, clearly show that any shock in revenue would lead to debt distress in the medium-term with a high probability of being sustained in the long-term if other sources of revenue are not developed to bridge the gap.

Economy recorded strong merchandise trade growth in 2014 — NBS cent over the level recorded in 2013. Nigeria’s import trade stood at N1.9 trillion at the end of fourth quarter 2014. This was 3.7 per cent more than the value(N1.8 trillion) recorded in the preceding quarter. The structure of Nigeria’s import trade, according to Standard International Trade Classification (SITC) was dominated by the imports of ‘’Machinery and transport equipments”, ‘’Food and Live Animals” and ‘’Manufactured Goods” which accounted for 35.4 per cent, 15.5 per cent and 15.1 per cent respectively in 2014. These commodities contributed the most to the rise in the value of import trade in 2014, whereas commodities like ‘’Crude inedible material, ‘’Oils, Fat and Waxs”, and

‘’Beverages and Tobacco” contributed the least, accounting for 1.3 per cent, 1.2 per cent and 0.7 per cent respectively. Analysis of import trade by section was dominated by the imports of ‘’Boilers, Machinery and Appliances”, which accounted for N1.7 trillion or 26 per cent of the total value of import trade in 2014. Other commodities which contributed noticeably to the value of import trade in 2014 were ‘’Mineral Products” at N1.1 trillion or 15.3 per cent, ‘’Vehicles, Aircraft and Parts” N876.5 billion or 12.1 per cent, ‘’Base Metals and Articles of Base Metals” at N673.3 billion or 9.3 per cent, and ‘’Products of Chemical and Allied Industry” at N583.5 billion or 8.1 per

cent of total imports value. At the end of 2014, the import trade classified by Broad Economic Category revealed that ‘’Industrial Supplies Not Elsewhere Classified” ranked first with N1.98 trillion or 27.4 per cent. This was followed by ‘’Capital Goods and Parts” with the value of N1.7 trillion or 22.9 per cent and ‘’Food and Beverages” with N1.2 trillion or 16.7 per cent. Nigeria’s import trade by Economic Region revealed that the country consumed goods largely from Asia with import value of N3.1 trillion or 43.5 per cent. The country also imported goods valued at N2.4 trillion or 33.7 per cent from Europe, and N1.04 trillion or 14.4 per cent from America.

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Insurance

Citibank Nigeria commemorates global money week 2015

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itibank Nigeria Limited joined the rest of the world to commemorate the annual Global Money Week. The event which held at Aunty Ayo Girls’ Comprehensive Senior Secondary School, Lagos featured a fully interactive session on financial literacy, titled “Growing Your Money”. The program focused on educating Nigeria’s youth about the economic environment whilst impressing upon them the importance of saving, entrepreneurship and financial value creation. The event was organised in partnership with Junior Achievements of Nigeria (JAN), a financial education non-governmental organisation. Executive Director and Head of Global Subsidiaries Group, Citibank Nigeria Limited, Mrs. Nneka Enwereji was at the event to deliver a lecture on financial education. While speaking at the occasion, Mrs. Enwereji encouraged the students to be accountable for their financial health by prioritising their needs over their wants. She also stressed the necessity for the students to be financially aware and empowered to save and make monetary decisions. Also present at the occasion was Junior Achievement’s Program Officer, Ms. Efe Adefulu who further reiterated to the students on the importance of saving. Addressing the girls, Adefulu expounded on the significance of financial literacy to the fiscal independence and economic sustainability of Nigeria. Global Money week is a yearly celebration which is commemorated across the world in honour of empowering the youth to be involved in reshaping their finances and their futures. Financial Literacy day serves as a time to focus on Nigeria’s youth in primary and secondary schools nationwide, equipping them through the enhancement of their financial knowledge and planning skills to create their own livelihoods. C M Y K

Brokers hinge success of businesses on professionalism Stories by ROSEMARY ONUOHA

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resident of the Nigerian Council of Registered Insurance Brokers, NCRIB, Mr. Ayodapo Shoderu, has said the foundation of any business behavior is hinged on moral principles and practices of those people involved and the standard set for or by the profession. Shoderu made the statement at the 2nd Annual Conference and Exhibition of the Ghana Insurance Brokers Association (GIBA). He said that the discretion

of the organisers of the conference in making the issues of ethics and professionalism the kernel of discussion is quite commendable because these are issues that have continued to generate an undying attention and ideation amongst professionals all over the world. “While people are part of business solutions; they are also mostly responsible for many business challenges. Business challenges which organisations may face include responsible and informed decisions making, confidentiality, piracy, fraud and misuse of information,

trade secrets and so on. “Whilst noting that there exists a thin line between professionalism and ethics in

Prescription of ethical standards for the professional cannot be a once and for all thing

LAUNCH - From left: O’lorogun Sonny Kuku, Chairman, Ecobank Nigeria; Mr Jibril Aku, Managing Director, ECobank Nigeria; Mr Patrick Akinwuntan, Group Executive, Ecobank Transnational Incorporated; Mr Olusegun Aina, Former President, CIBN and Mr Tony Okpanachi, Deputy Managing Director, Ecobank Nigeria at the launch of Ecobank SME Club held in Lagos on Thursday. Photo Lamidi Bamidele.

Cornerstone, SuperGeeks to launch Nigeria’s first gadget protection plan

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ornerstone Insurance Plc in partnership with SuperGeeks, an after-sales tech support and gadget repair service provider, is set to launch Nigeria’s first Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) agnostic supplementary warranty service – Gadget Protection Plan (GPP). The Gadget Protection Plan is the first of its kind in the Nigerian market to cater for the discerning consumers who crave for security and peace of mind with the purchase of their dream devices. The Gadget Protection Plan (GPP) is developed for customers with a view to eliminating their fears and frustrations of a wrecked device. Should a device covered by GPP experience any damage - be it the user or manufacturer’s fault, SuperGeeks will be on hand to fix it. The claim process is simple and free of any hassles. All customers have to do is sign-up for Gadget Protection Plan at the point of purchase of their next device at any of certified retail partners. Chief Executive Officer of SuperGeeks, Mr. Sam Uduma, said, “At SuperGeeks, we develop technical competence across a wide

variety of device manufacturers which allows us to offer best-in-class service quality and efficient service delivery.” Addressing the value of Gadget Protection Plan to the people, he says: “More and more, gadget users are becoming very attached to their devices, where any downtime impacts their quality of life. With GPP, we aim to migrate gadget users from a ‘break & fix’ mentality to a more preventative approach, greatly reducing the turnaround time for repairs while saving them money overall”. Managing Director, Life and Retail, Cornerstone Insurance, Mr. Tokunbo Bello, said, “We are delighted to be at the forefront of another innovative initiative that will provide Nigerians with the opportunity to benefit from the security and peace of mind that this value-rich product offers. GPP provides a quick and dependable solution to a major customer dissatisfaction which may arise from the purchase of a new device – damage. More so, you have the peace of mind that your gadget is covered by Cornerstone Insurance.”

insurance business, which is our own constituency, it is apposite to note that professionalism connotes the utmost demonstration of integrity and probity. That is, the professional must always display ability to stand up to the test of accountability. He must not do anything that will not stand to private or public scrutiny. The professional must be a person of impeccable character who will not compromise moral principles and the ethics of the profession. Professionalism also includes continuous demonstration of competence acquired partly through continuous leaning and personal development. Ethical behavior on the other side may be defined as a set of moral principles and it derives from the Greek word meaning “ethos” which means “character.” It has also been seen as a set of a system of moral principles and branch of philosophy which defines what is good for the individual and the larger society ” Shoderu said. According to Shoderu, since insurance itself is built on the principles of utmost good faith, insurance brokers are fiduciaries and insurers are trustees of policy holders’ funds. “An insurance professional must therefore put service above self and should always endeavor to employ the most effective and economic ways to doing business and achieving the legitimate objectives of his company” he said. Shoderu noted that every country must continually subject its professionals to some forms of regulations, and this may be in form of government or self -regulation or a combination of the two. “Since the society is not static, prescription of ethical standards for the professional cannot be a once and for all thing. The insurance operators must constantly challenge their regulatory institutions to come up with regulations and laws that are in line with the changing global environment. In view of the increasing temptations to cut corners or embrace unethical acts, the professionals must be vanguards in societal reformation. Professionals must realize that they are the conscience of the respective nations where they operate and refrain from the temptation of staying aloof in political, social, economic and environment matters,” Shoderu noted.

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E - Commerce

‘Technology, key to diversification of Nigerian economy’ Stories BY JONAH NWOKPOKU

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xperts have identified technology as one of the key component in the diversification of the Nigeria economy. They reached this consensus in Lagos at the Signal Alliance Customer Week Workshop organized i n conjunction w i t h Cisco.

“ We are quite satisfied with the outcome of the conversations that took place, considering the challenge the Nigeria economy is currently facing due to fall in global oil prices, exchange rate collapse, and uncertainty surrounding the elections. This is compounded by the fact that Nigeria is largely an import-based and a monoproduct economy,” said Adanma Onuegbu, CEO Signal Alliance. The experts called on all

stakeholders to work together to “build an ecosystems that will support start-ups from setting up investment institutions from seed funding to technology backed private equity, and promoting incubators and accelerators; deepening government structures that supports indigenous technology like the Federal Ministry of Communication Technology, NITDA, SMEDAN, etc, as well as encourage consumption of

local technology through strict implementation of the local content law and standardization of local technology products to enable them to compete internationally. The workshop which has the theme: ‘Diversification & Innovation: A technology roadmap to grow Nigerian economy’ has in attendance, business leaders in the public and private sectors, technology leaders and entrepreneurs, and the media. The workshop is one of the major activities of the annual Signal Alliance Customer Week that includes; customer visitation across the country, corporate social responsibility programmes in Lagos and Abuja, and customer appreciation programme.

PRESENTATION - From left: Dr Joseph Odumodu, D-G, Standards Organisation of Nigeria, presenting the final document of Nigerian National Quality Policy (NNQP) to Dr. Olusegun Aganga, Minister of Industry, Trade & Investment while Dr Patrick Korma, UNIDO Country Representative looks on in Abuja.

Lamudi.com educates users on spotting real estate scam I

n an effort to tackle online related real estate fraud, Nigeria’s online real estate platform, Lamudi.com has compiled a guide to help their users avoid falling victim to scam. They noted that “while new technologies have made it easier than ever before, for property seekers to get all the information they need to supercharge their house hunt, the Internet has also made it easier for online fraudsters to target both buyers and renters. But by being aware of a few tell-tale signs, house-hunters can learn to quickly sort the scammers from the legitimate real estate agents.” To protect themselves, they say users should take the following steps. *Avoid paying inspection fees Never agree to make any payments upfront or sign a contract without first inspecting the property no matter how official the documentation looks. Viewing the property and meeting the agent in person are the best ways to guarantee that the C M Y K

listing is legitimate. *Verify the identity of the person you are dealing with Take steps to check the agent you are dealing with is a licensed broker or agent. In the first instance, a simple online search can help you detect a scam. Try searching for the property’s address, the name of the agent and their email address. *Avoid listings that have been posted multiple times One common scam is for fraudsters to copy an existing (and legitimate) listing of a property for sale and repost it

as a rental, with their own contact details attached. Look out for duplicate listings which have different asking prices. *Never give away your personal information or documents You should never be asked to provide your bank account details or personal identification documents to someone over the internet. Importantly, never provide your credit card verification *Remember that if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is One of the most important rules in real estate is that if a

deal sounds too good to be true, it most likely is. Be sceptical about any online listings for attractive properties which are very well priced for the area. Scammers often use these very low prices to lure property seekers. *If you detect a scam, get in touch Focus your search on properties listed by wellknown real estate agencies and trusted classifieds websites. Once you have detected a possible scam on a real estate search website, notify the platform immediately.

Royal Air Maroc ferries 1.3 million passengers

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oyal Air Maroc , the official airline of Morroco, weekend said it transported about 1,3 million passengers on its African destinations in 2014 during the period spanning from November 1st, 2013 to the end of October, 2014. This, according to the airline, represents an increase of 16 % with regard to the previous year. It further said during the year, the national company operated 16 285 flights on 32 air routes towards the continent. “The bulk of this increase is ascribed to

nine air links, namely flights connecting Morocco to Senegal, Cote d’Ivoire, Mali, Mauritania, Guinea, Nigeria, Algeria, Tunisia and Gabon. Through these regular connections, Royal Air Maroc could carry 782,000 passengers.” “This result shows the commitment of the national company in the strengthening strategy of its anchorage in its natural environment, by developing its network on the continent and improving its offer and its services for the benefit of the clientele in Africa.

CSR: Rosabon empowers SMEs in Lagos, Rivers

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osabon financial services, a development finance institution has empowered over 1,500 small and medium enterprise, SME operators spread across Lagos and Rivers States. This was part of the company’s 2015 Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives. The SME operators were empowered with umbrellas. Rosabon said the gesture was “to encourage the hard working men and women of the marketplace by ensuring that they are well protected against the elements.” The Rosabon team distributed the over 1, 500 Umbrellas in the most populated marketplaces in Lagos in areas like the Yaba market, Oyingbo, Lagos Island, Bariga, Orile and in Artillery Junction, Airforce Junction, Rumuola, Garrison, Oil Mill Junction in Portharcourt. Speaking about the initiative, Head of Strategy and Marketing, Rosabon Nigeria, Chidimma Onyeokoro, said: “At Rosabon, we are passionate about community building and development, and we never allow the economic climate to affect our commitment to our customers and our community. In 2014, we embarked on a series of community building drives, and this year we plan to increase this with several initiatives planned by the team.” Recall that the company recently launched its new customer friendly website and celebrated the end of the year with daily mobile phone giveaways and a star prize of all expense paid trip for three lucky customers to holiday destinations. It had also embarked on notable Customer social responsibility drives like its health focused initiatives like the distribution of state of the art IT learning systems and relief materials to the management of Heart of Gold Hospital Surulere and the Little Saint Orphanage, Palm groove, and financial literacy focused initiatives like training camps and meetups. C M Y

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t was beautiful and simple as all truly great swindles are”, O’Henry, 1862-1910. (VANGUARD BOOK OF QUOTATIONS p239). Banking consolidation introduced by Professor Soludo, shortly after becoming Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, should actually be called ConSOLUDO-tion. It was a great swindle as a result of which millions of Nigerians, including traders, teachers, pensioners, accounts holders with banks, were lured into the capital market to buy shares from con men and women who Soludo praised continuously until Sanusi blew the whistle on the monumental scam in 2009. Today, shares which sold for N70+ and N50+, while Soludo and the banks conspired to deceive us, are on offer for N10 or less. Millions of Nigerians lost trillions – while Soludo’s friends (Directors and Chief Executive officers of the banks) literally stole depositors and shareholders funds. Yet, in his reply to OkonjoIweala’s, admittedly selfserving rejoinder, after claiming credit for everything which went well as a result of Con-SOLUDO-tion, he did not once mention the trillions lost by shareholders, the bankers now facing prosecution or the one who had been convicted – and, after plea bargain, kept

Battle of two truth benders: Soludo versus Okonjo-Iweala — 3 half the loot. He also failed to recognize that he left 25 banks he told us were healthy. But, today, Intercontinental, Oceanic, BankPHB, Afribank, no longer exist. Yet all these were banks whose MDs were winning awards as “Bankers of the Year”. So when Soludo lists all the awards he won, he deliberately omitted to reveal to the readers that the accolades came before the truth about the banking catastrophe was known to the whole world in 2009. Two such testimonials illustrate how Soludo bends facts to suit his self-exculpation. He cited one from Obasanjo in December 2004, and another by Yar’Adua in May 2009. Consolidation policy, requesting banks to have a minimum of N25 billion paid up capital, was announced in mid-2004 and the banks were given up to December 2005 to raise the capital. There were approximately 73 banks in operation in 2004; by January 2006, when “ConSOLUDO-tion” took effect there were only 25 left. Thousands of bank employees lost their jobs and many remain unemployed till today. Depositors with the banks

which failed to qualify were also adversely affected. But, reading Soludo’s indictment of Okonjo-Iweala and his selfcongratulatory submissions you would not find a word about these calamities. Obviously, Obasanjo’s comments in December 2004 could not have been referring to Consolidation which had not been concluded. Similarly, Yar’Adua’s comments were for understandable reasons very diplomatic. The late President had made up his mind to replace Soludo, an Igbo, with Sanusi, a Fulani. In a country where ethnicity is very

Shares which sold for N70+ and N50+, while Soludo and the banks conspired to deceive us, are on offer for N10 or less

sensitive matter, Yar’Adua did not want to antagonize Igbos twice – by replacing “their” man with “his” man and adding insult to injury with harsh criticisms. At any rate, even Yar’Adua did not know the disaster Soludo had been covering up at the time. It was after Sanusi blew the lid off the can of worms that the late President knew the extent of damage Soludo and “his friends” in the banks had inflicted on the nation. The unwary reader, not being aware of the sequence of events would be tricked into believing that the two former Presidents endorsed “ConSOLUDO-tion. That is a blatant lie. Meanwhile, was everybody praising Soludo? That again was not true. Atedo Peterside of IBTC was the most prominent among those who thought that Soludo had borrowed a good idea, consolidation, from abroad, but he was too hasty in its implementation and there was the possibility of a major banking crisis in the near future. Atedo was not alone. Let me remind readers and Soludo of a series, which was published in VANGUARD in

2009 titled BANKING CRISIS –THE ROAD TO HELL. Below is reproduced the opening paragraphs of that essay. In July of that year, while Soludo was still CBN Governor, I had raised alarm about banking supervision and the conspiracy of silence between CBN bank supervisors and the banks. In plain language, every single one of CBN bank supervisors, at the time were corruptly enriching themselves and were ignoring bare-faced fraud being perpetrated by the Directors of the banks – led by the MDs. Please read on. The real truth about the banks became known, as my article suggested, after Soludo was removed and the conspiracy of silence was exposed. Whether or not Soludo personally gained from the grand larceny is unknown. But, his entry into the race for Governor in his state and the money involved in that venture leave room for skepticism. However, irrespective of whether he benefited, directly or indirectly, or not, the result was devastating to the banking sector. Unfortunately, Soludo mentioned Dangote and Arik among the beneficiaries of “Con-SOLUDO-tion”. It would have been better if he had not done that; because he had merely pointed to what can be described as an apt summary of what “Con-SOLUDO-tion was all about.

Micro-Finance Stories by PROVIDENCE OBUH

WIMBIZ: Imoukhuede urges women to be visionary

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a vision, everything that you see has been achieved through a vision. It is vision that makes you entrepreneurs and makes you succeed, vision is fundamental to survival, your vision is your anchor of hope and without a vision when you are beaten down you have no reason to get up. “Your vision is your source of confidence, stability motivate your passion and your conviction to succeed. Dreams are good but then we wake up, plans are the actionable steps you must exude successfully to make your vision a reality. Without a game plan there is

resident of Council of the Nigerian Stock Exchange, Mr. Aigboje AigImoukhuede, weekend, urged women to have a vision and game plan so as to thrive in a challenging environment. He said this during the Women in Management, Business and Public Service (WIMBIZ) Annual Lecture themed: “Thriving in Tough Times: Navigating Challenging Environments.” Imoukhuede noted that societies that do not allow women to contribute to societal development cannot grow, adding that companies with more women on board suffer fewer crises. He said that the WIMBIZ has become a beacon of light not for only women but all well meaning stakeholders in Nigeria and across Nigeria. Describing vision, he said, “There is nothing more important than having a vision and there is nothing in life that has not been achieved without C M Y K

nothing to focus on, focus is relevant in the contest of a plan, focus without a plan is meaningless,” he said. He added those crises are test of ability to overcome crisis, saying, “if you do not thrive in crisis you do not worth leading others.” In her welcome address,

you go into business with a long term vision, you find out that regardless of the ups and downs and some challenges you face, at the end you are able to achieve those goals. So I think is a process but we needed to be prepared for that process having a strong decision.”

We'll assist MFIs to access MSME fund — Group

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group, Rural Finance Institution Building Programme (RUFIN), has said that it would facilitate access of microfinance banks,

Lagos water regatta holds

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WIMBIZ Chairperson, Mrs. Osayi Alile, said that the topic was chosen as a result of the realities of Nigeria and the need for people especially women to prepare and learn the most out of the situation. Alile said, “When we go into business we are always looking at the profit of today but when

rganisers of the Lagos Water Regatta have announced plans to hold this year’s edition of a fun filled water-based event depicting the socio-cultural, traditional folklores and occupational aspects of the people of Lagos State The fun filled water-based cultural sporting and recreational activity is billed to hold on April 19, 2015 at the Regatta Village, Oyinkan

cooperatives and other organizations to the N220 billion Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) funds.

Abayomi Drive, Ikoyi Lagos with the theme “Celebrating the Aquatic Splendor of Lagos”. The Regatta will feature a parade of boats and yachts, including large fishing boats, ferries, barges and other marine vessels that are beautifully adorned. Speaking in a media chat with the Chairman, Organizing Committee, Lagos Water Regatta, Engr. Olusegun Jawando said that in addition to the colorful array of decorated floats.

The Lagos State Cordinator of the group, Mrs Funmi Bello, said this at a workshop organised by RUFIN for banks and other financial institutions. According to her, “Most Nigerians in remote areas lack access to credit, therefore in facilitating access to the fund, RUFIN will be fulfilling its objective of full financial penetration to the rural areas in the country to reduce poverty, especially among women and the physically challenged persons.

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People in Business

Natural medicine has huge potential for Nigeria — OLU ADEOLA By EBELE ORAKPO

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r. Olu Adeola is the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Abeokutabased Globalherbs Na t u r a l He a l t h c a r e Product Company . In this chat with Financial Vanguard in Abeokuta recently, the Business Administration and Management graduate from the Ahmadu Bello University Zaria, speaks on why he ventured into natural/traditional medicine and why Nigeria has not been able to exploit her h u g e b i o-r e s o u r c e s potential. Excerpts: Why natural medicine? According to Adeola, he got into natural medicine because of its huge potential for Nigeria. "I have been in this business for over a decade. I was seconded from Nigeria Natural Medicine Development Agency (NNMDA). I was in a collaborative venture with the agency and while there, they discovered the enormous potential in me and my ability for in-depth research into our traditional medicine because Nigerians as a people, only look forward but fail to look backward. You have to look at the past and move on in the present to project the future. "What fascinated me in natural\traditional medicine is that it has a lot of potential in arresting most of the ailments especially in sub-Sahara Africa that orthodox medicine does not have cure for. As everyone knows, malaria is our major problem in Africa and for a very long time, we have depended on western countries for solutions to most of our problems. This should not be the case because God has created us in this environment and has given us all that we need to survive under this environment but it is

•Some of the natural medicine products It takes about 10 years. In orthodox medicine, they have to do a lot of writeups and carry out a lot of tests."

•Olu Adeola ...God has created us in this environment and has given us all that we need to survive under this environment perhaps, our inability to look inwards that has made it impossible for us to unlock the potential within our environment. Since I came into natural medicine, it has been a blessing to me, my family and mankind because over the years, I have been able to collaborate with the National Institute for Pharmaceutical Research and Development (NIPRD) in Abuja in the research for drugs for diabetes, tuberculosis, malaria and other ailments." Asked whether they have come up with any natural drug for diabetes, he said: “A lot of good things have been done by NIPRD and even the NNMDA, but you know, the problem in Nigeria is lack of funding. I know that at NIPRD, a lot of

work has been done on that but as you know, research is not something you start one day and come out with your findings the next day.

Natural medicine has a lot of potential in arresting most of the ailments that orthodox medicine does not have cure for

Some of the products developed: “I developed a product called Valueplus, a dental drop and mouthwash. It is 100 per cent Nigerian product and it has been submitted to NIPRD for scientific investigation. It can help HIV-positive people against opportunistic infections like oral thrush as well as HIV negative people who want to preserve their dental health. Other products are Dr. Malaria, hyperherbs, combatol range of hair and skin products, bitters etc. "NNMDA has been up and doing as it relates to most of the products I have developed because I have a good working relationship with the leadership of the agency. Also, the DirectorGeneral of the National Board for Technology Incubation, Dr. Mohammed Jibrin has been highly resourceful and supportive. To most entrepreneurs at the Technology Incubation

Centre, Abeokuta, it is like going back to the classroom because for every product you make, there is a mandate that you must be able to present it for external investigation. So it is not just to claim that you have done so and so, you have to defend it,"he said. Adeola who presently has three employees and hopes to employ more if he is able to access funds, appealed to the Federal Government to make the conditions for accessing loan from the Bank of Industry less stringent so entrepreneurs can easily access loans from the bank as that will help Nigeria move from a mono economy to diversified economy to enable her exploit the huge potential in bio-resources. "Nigeria has got it but the only thing is our inability to exploit it. “All my raw materials are locally sourced except some of the packaging materials which we import because most of the companies that produce the packaging materials are not in the country so we resort to buying from outside the country. Aside that, virtually everything has been given to us in Nigeria free of charge." C M Y K

42 — Vanguard, MONDAY, MARCH 23, 2015

Vanguard, MONDAY, MARCH 23, 2015 — 43

Advertising & Promotions

State ad agencies abandon regulatory brief for revenue generation By PRINCEWILL EKWUJURU

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he signage and advertisement regulatory agencies in western part of the country have abandoned their primary duties of providing cleaner, saner and beautiful environment that could attract investors to the states to revenue generation. The investigation conducted by Vanguard on the activities of the agencies like the Lagos State Signage and Advertising Agency, LASAA, Ogun State Signage and Advertising Agency, OGSAA, Oyo State Signage and Advertising Agency, OYSAA, Ekiti State Signage and Advertising Agencies, EKSAA and the Kwara State Signage and Advertising Agency, KWSAA, showed a drastic reduction in their primary objective of environmental beautification. The law setting up LASAA is the same law setting up others as most of them copied from Lagos State as states controlled by the same political party, in exception of Ekiti state. LASAA was established by the Lagos State government through Law No. 9 of 2006. While section 3 of the Law empowers the Agency to: Control outdoor structures to be used for signage and advertisements; Issue licenses and permits for the construction and placement of outdoor structures in any part of the state; Protect the environment from potential adverse impact from visual blights and; Control the number, size and location of outdoor structures. Other functions are: Ensure the outdoor structures are soundly and carefully designed, erected, modified, maintained or removed when no longer in use to avoid potential danger to lives and property; Ensure that

outdoor structures are compatible with surrounding land uses and environment and further ensure the beautification of the immediate surrounding and vicinity of the advertisement; Control the pasting and display of posters on public structures and highways; Organise the procedure to regulate the ownership and operation of outdoor structures for the purpose of signage or advertisements under specific regulations as contained in this Law and; Reject, revoke or modify a permit if found to be in violation of any of the provisions of this Law or the conditions for its grant. The agency is also to: Prepare and keep all records related to the issuance and denial of

outdoor structures permit as well as appropriate general records; Monitor and inspect through its Monitoring Unit any outdoor structure and verify its compliance with this Law; and; Establish a database of all the outdoor structures used for signage and advertisement, their owners and operators as well as their location and the reason for the operation.

The law setting up LASAA is the same law setting up others as most of them copied from Lagos State

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erman Technology Nigeria Limited, a subsidiary of Salhab Group, has opened the first Karcher range of cleaning equipment office in Nigeria market. Speaking at the inauguration of the showroom in Victoria Island, Lagos, Mr. Axel Stolz, Vice President, International Sales and Marketing, Alfred Karcher GmBH, said, “We are excited at the opportunity to bring our cleaning equipment and solutions to Nigeria. We are offering Nigerians a broad variety of equipment that meet a wide range of cleaning needs across various industries such as manufacturing, hospitality, food and agro, automotive industry etc.’ Continuing, Mr. Stolz said, ‘The potential of the Nigerian market is huge. We recognize that the country is the largest economy in Africa and as such our headquarters in Germany will be providing all the logistics and support for the local partner over here. Service is an important sales tool for us. This has necessitated the setting up of a world class after sales center along with this showroom to ensure that we deliver quality product care to customers.”

'Diversification of economy via GIS is deliberate' *PROMO - From left: Specialist, Youth Segment, Etisalat Nigeria, Ife Oyeyipo; Nigerian Hip Hop A-List Artistes, Remilekun Abdulkalid Safaru (Reminisce); Specialist, Merchandizing and Communications South-West Region, Etisalat Nigeria, Femi Adewuyi and Analyst, Youth Segment, Etisalat Nigeria, Michael Nwoseh;at the Etisalat Cliqfest held at Moshood Abiola Polytechnic, Abeokuta.

Outdoor practitioners for capacity building training

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he Outdoor Advertising Association of Nigeria, OAAN, said its going to North Dakota State University, NDSU, for a capacity-building training programs to acquire

more skill.. The program according to the association starts with the Executive Education Workshop Focusing on the theme: “The Art and Science

Colgate introduces toothpaste reinforce with technology

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It appears that the state governments were deliberately careful to emphasize outdoor advertisement structures as opposed to outdoor advertisement (content/ message) per se. It seems that those who crafted the LASAA law are particularly concerned about the nature and location of the physical structures that display outdoor advertisement rather than the advertisements that are displayed on these structures. This understanding of the spirit of the regulatory law is consistent with the obligation of the states to provide for the safety, protection and beauty of the environment, but not for revenue drive since the agencies collect subvention from the state governments.

Karcher Centre opens in Nigeria

n a renewed bid to combat dental cavity and enhance oral health in Nigeria, Colgate Palmolive Nigeria has introduced new toothpaste, Colgate Maximum Cavity Protection, MCP, produced with Pro-Argin Technology, a new anti-cavity technology. The new toothpaste, which is also a sugar acid neutraliser,was recently presented to dental care professionals at the Sheraton Hotels and Towers, Lagos. Speaking, Mrs. Hannah Oyebanjo, Marketing Director, Colgate Palmolive Nigeria, said that the company has a lot of initiative for the country, adding that the introduction of Colgate MCP was just one

of such. Mr. Cheslin Twigg, Profession Manager, Colgate West/East Africa, said Colgate MCP was the first and only family toothpaste with a unique sugar acid neutraliser technology and fluoride. He stated the company was introducing the best cavity-protection toothpaste to the professionals, adding that research had shown that the product was so advanced that it decreased early decay by half. Fluoride, he added, does not neutralise sugar or prevent cavity, unlike Colgate MCP, which is the future of cavity protection and would make things easy for the dentists.

of Outdoor Advertising in the Age of Digital Media.” The five-days training will hold from April 12 to 17, at the Department of Communication of the University. The resource persons are drawn from other American Universities and the field of American Professional Outdoor Advertising Practitioners. Dr. Mark Meister, Professor and Chair of NDSU’s Department of Communication said his team is excited about the opportunity to collaborate with OAAN in co-hosting this special Training Program, which demonstrates the University’s commitment to serving its publics, locally and internationally.

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he Director of Projects, Graduate Internship Scheme, GIS, Peter Papwa, said diversification of the economy to the non-oil sector is a deliberate attempt by the Federal Government through its GIS sponsored Subsidy Reinvestment and Empowerment Program, SUREP. The Director made this assertion at the stakeholders/ Feedback session for Interns and Firms representatives in Lagos, where he said that the GIS is in line with FG’s resolve to diversify the economic base of the country. He also stated that government was deliberate by keying into the non-oil sectors through the GIS with a view to developing capacity and skills required to compliment the oil and gas sector. The Director observed that the initiative has culminated in partnership established with several government and nongovernmental Organizations with Memorandum of Understanding, MoU signed especially as relating to export trade promotion.

C M Y K

44 — Vanguard, MONDAY, MARCH 23, 2015 Email:lesleba@lesleba.com, lesleba@gmail.com Blog page:www.lesleba.com/blog2 Website: www.lesleba.com Tel:0805 220 1997

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he Nigerian Stock Exchange was founded in 1960 to provide a platform for buying and selling of shares of listed public companies. Consequently, the size and vibrancy of domestic stock markets generally provide a bird’s eye view of the degree of confidence and scope of activities in an economy. The forced consolidation of banks in 2005, increased the market value of shares by over 100% from $14bn in 2004 to over $32bn by 2006. Nonetheless, the obnoxious practices of insider and margin trading in a boisterous speculative market, eventually spurred capitalization beyond $80bn (N13.4Tn) in 2007. However, the underlying unethical practices in the banking consolidation exercise and the selective covert operations of sponsored market makers became unexpectedly exposed by the international financial crisis of 2008 which led to the stock market shedding over half of its value to close below $34bn (N5.6Tn) by 2009. Sadly, the deflation in stock values resulted in extremely stressful consequences for everyone who had adopted the equities market as a safe financial refuge. Nonetheless, the market never fully recovered until it was again lifted beyond N8Tn ($56bn) in 2010 with the listing of Dangote’s heavy investments, particularly, in the cement industrial subsector. Former CBN Governor, Lamido Sanusi’s regulatory reforms, especially in the area of risk management, as well as the various internal reforms embarked upon by both the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Nigerian Stock Exchange sustained relative stability and confidence in the capital market and gradually pushed

Shareholders as victims of devaluation average market capitalisation beyond N12Tn ($72bn) until crude oil prices tumbled rapidly within the last six months to fan speculative embers which burned off almost a quarter of value to bring capitalization below N10tn by March 2015. Ironically, however, the nominal N10Tn present market capitalization is not even a true reflection of the actual fall in value of equities, as the listed values camouflage the devasting impact of Naira devaluation; st for instance, the 2014 1 quarter average market capitalization of about N12.5Tn was equal to about $75bn, when the Naira exchanged for less than N160=$1. Ironically, however, even the N2.5Tn reduction in stock value in one year, is not also truly reflective of the real actual loss in market capitalization. Indeed, twelve months ago, the equity value of over N12.5Tn was valued at about $78b when the Naira exchanged for N160=$1. However, the current N10Tn market capitalization is barely $50b at current exchange rate of about N200=$1. Instructively, if the Naira had remained stable at the old rate of N160=$1, the current market capitalization of N10Tn would command the higher value of about $60bn rather than $50bn with the reduced Naira exchange rate of N200=$1. Thus, the stock market lost about $30b from the speculative run instigated by falling crude prices and the double devaluation of the Naira between December 2014

and March 2015. Similarly, the total market value of bonds (government debts) was over N4.25Tn or ($25.5bn) just a year ago, when Naira exchanged for about N160=$1. Today, regrettably, the same Bond value of N4.25Tn will barely command the dollar equivalent of about $21bn with N200=$1 exchange rate. Similarly, your investment in stocks would inevitably, lose over 20% of its purchasing value against the dollar equivalent barely 12 months ago because of Naira devaluation. In effect, it is as if someone brazenly picked your pocket while you watched helplessly! Infact, if your share certificates served as collateral for any transaction, your bankers or creditors, most certainly, would already be making repeated calls for you to augment the value of your collateral or in the alternative, you may be forced to liquidate your debt and or lose your collateral.

Several countries who could not manage the same eternal burden of surplus cash have travelled this path

Business & Economy Non-oil export drops by 9%, says NEPC BY PROVIDENCE OBUH

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he Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC) has said that a 9 percent decline from $2.970 billion to 2.714 billion was recorded in the country’s non-oil export between 2013 and 2014. Meanwhile, with the dwindling oil revenue coupled with the quest to increase the basket of exportable products from Nigeria, the council has concluded plans to launch the One State One Product (OSOP) initiative targeted at developing and promoting one product for C M Y K

environment. Indeed, if in spite of an annual average inflation rate of 10%, the Naira further crashes because of the ever present burden of surplus Naira chasing dollars rationed from CBN, the dollar exchange rate could rise to N300 or above against the Naira, such that another 50% may be rubbed off the dollar value of market capitalization. This is not a false cry of wolf, several countries who could not manage the same eternal burden of surplus cash have travelled this path; indeed Ghana, our sister nation in ECOWAS suffered a steady decline from one Cedi equals one dollar to the present 35,000 Cedis (or 3.5 New Ghana Cedis after redenomination) to the dollar. Incidentally, in spite of media reports of increasing oil revenue and alleged better economic management, the Cedi lost almost 40% of its purchasing value against the dollar in the last 12 months; thus unless, we arrest the root cause of surplus cash , the Naira will inevitably travel the same path to challenge the virtue and economic significance of savings. Ultimately, since investments depend on availability of savings, the rate of investments will invariably also drop in response to the reduced level of savings. Thus, the adverse impact of speculation, inflation, and unyielding Naira depreciation will ultimately strangle and reduce the enthusiasm for fresh investments, so that the flow of new equity into market will also be reduced, while the already listed existing shares may attract little interest from a suspicious and apprehensive public. In this event, the economy will unravel and deepen poverty nationwide. SAVE THE NAIRA, SAVE NIGERIANS

export per state. To this end, the council has identified 13 National Strategic Export Products (NSEPs) that will replace oil as part of diversification of the economy using the Nigerian Industrial Revolution Plan (NIRP) and the Nigerian Enterprise Development Programme (NEDEP) as key strategies. The NSEPs are grouped under three categories Agro-industrial (Palm oil, Cocoa, Cashew, Sugar, Rice); Mining related products (Cement, Iron ore, Metals, Auto parts/cars, Aluminium); Oil and Gas industrial products (Petroleum products,

Fertilizer/Urea, Petrochemical and Methanol). Speaking at a two-day capacity building programme for State Committees on Export Promotion and City Chambers of Commerce and Industries in all States of the Federation with the theme: “Techniques of Non Oil Export Project Formulation and Implementation,” Executive Director/CEO, Nigerian Export Promotion Council, Mr. Olusegun Awolowo, said that Nigeria’s exports are still dominated by oil while its nonoil exports are dominated by Agriculture.

Either way, these are trying times for all Nigerian income earners and stock market patrons, as the doors to distress and inevitable deepening poverty open wider and wider with a sliding Naira, which will in turn invariably instigate inflation beyond 10% to further reduce the real purchasing value of the N10Tn present stock market capitalization below $50bn. Instructively, an annual inflation rate of 10%, means that the present market capitalization will additionally also lose about N1Tn ($5bn) of its domestic purchasing value every year. Thus, unless average annual dividends from equities exceed 10% annually, your investment in the stock market may ultimately be gradually whittled away to make your once valuable share certificate as worthless as a mere piece of paper. Incidentally, the earliest stocks listed in the exchange were 50 kobo shares. For example, the 50 kobo UAC share was the equivalent of over $0.70 (70 US cents) at the time of issue about 40 years ago. However, the current market price of N36 for UAC PLC shares is barely equivalent to US $0.18 (18 US cents!). Nevertheless, even if the price remained at N36 per share, if the Naira further declines to say N300=$1 because of surplus naira, the real value of this share would fall below 12 US cents. The above narrative is indicative of the plight of investors under the present unstable and hazy economic

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