financial vanguard

CMYK

Continues on page 18

FEBRUARY 3, , , , , 20142014201420142014

*Bank of Industry's 2013 Annual General Meeting: From right: Secretary, Board of Bank of Industry, EmmanuelOnoji, Chairman of the Board, Mohammed Dikwa (mni), Managing Director/CEO, Ms. Evelyn Oputu and the ExecutiveDirector, Business Development, Waheed Olagunju, during the 2013 annual general meeting of the bank held atTranscorp Hilton Abuja.

$3.8bn Egina FPSOproject under threat

BY OMOH GABRIEL,BUSINESS EDITOR

The contract awarded to SamsungHeavy Industry and Lagos Deep

Offshore Logistics by Total for thedevelopment of fabrication andintegration yards for Egina and futureprojects is generating furore, bad

•Intrigue, underhand dealing may frustrate take off•Nigeria may lose 50,000 jobs•$200m local content at risk

blood and intrigue, and if notaddressed could jeopardise the takeoff of the project. The matter maybecome subject of litigation as LADOLis alleging an underhand dealing bysome powerful Nigerians to depriveit of its due share of the project.

But the major contractor, SamsungHeavy Industry, has said that it is

acting on the briefs it got and the factthat the latter does not have the neededfacility to carry out the project asplanned.

Financial Vanguard investigationhas shown that a memo from the StateHouse Abuja dated 20th January, 2014signed by the Senior Special Assistantto the President to the Minister ofTransport and copied the Chief of Staffto the President, approved paragraph2 i-iv of the prayers of an earlier lettersent to the President from the ministry.

The Ministry of Transport had askedthe permission of the President thus,

“that the FPSO project can be locatedat Agge, Bayelsa State, when thefacilities to handle such operations aredeveloped. In addition, the FPSO canbe conveniently located at anydedicated oil and gas terminal.

“All Oil and Gas related cargoesmust be handled only at thedesignated terminals as in the letterfrom BPE. Operators are, however,free to choose ports of discharge oftheir cargoes within the designatedterminals at Onne, Warri and Calabarports. Vessels coming to Nigeria withcargoes particularly oil and gasrelated cargoes, except petroleumproducts, must first go to theappropriate NPA/Concessionedterminals to be cleared by Customsand other relevant authorities,terminal operators, shipping lines etcand to pay necessary dues/charges.In order to maintain transparency andpromote healthy competition in thesector, all port development facilitiesunder the jurisdiction of the FederalMinistry of Transport/NPA should becarried out in accordance with extantpublic procurement and infrastructuredevelopment laws and policies.”

Financial Vanguard investigationshowed that on the 16th of September

CURRENCY BUYING CENTRAL SELLING

CBN Exchange rate as at 31/01/2014

124.85 4.85

2,896.00 -16.00

106.52

0.64

-0.79

DOLLAR 154.75 155.25 155.75POUNDS 254.8114 255.6347 256.458EURO 209.6553 210.3327 211.0101FRANC 171.5252 172.0794 172.6336YEN 1.513 1.5179 1.5228CFA 0.3013 0.3113 0.3213WAUA 236.9715 237.7371 238.5028RENMINBI 25.5274 25.6103 25.6933RIYA 41.2623 41.3956 41.5289KRONA 28.0904 28.1812 28.2719SDR 237.7424 238.5106 239.2787

-0.0198.22

15.63

Cover Story

18 — Vanguard, MONDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2014

,

,

Continues from page 17

,

,


ARE YOU READY FORYOUR BUSINESS?

At this point I believethat you have a hugeidea of what a business

is. You also understand the prosand cons of owning yourbusiness, as well as whom anentrepreneur is. Let’s just sayeverything I have mentionedand explained are what I callthe foundations of theremaining two chapters of thisbook.

Now having read all this, thequestion is, “how prepared areyou to start your business?” Doyou have what it takes to ensurethe take off and successfullanding of your business? Orare you unsure of your abilitiesto carry you through the journeyof being your own boss?Whatever is the case by the timewe are through with thischapter, making up your mindand measuring your readinesslevel will no longer be an issue.

The journey of a thousandmiles, they say begins with asimple step, and God was kindenough to bless every man witha sense of purpose, but theproblem is, a lot of people havenot discovered the purpose forwhich they were created. WhenI see people without a sense ofvision and purpose, I ask myselfhow can you change a world,when you do not have theslightest idea of why you whereput in the world in the firstplace?

You’ve got to have a sense ofpurpose, because it is theessence of living; the poor manis not the man who does nothave a dime in his bank account,but the man who does not haveideas in his mind. When yourlife lacks purpose, it losescolour. You cannot afford to sitstill and do nothing, you haveto get up and put your purposeto good use. There’s aparticular line I love in one ofthe songs written by Mary Mary(a gospel group made up oftwo sisters), and it says “get updon’t sit here; get up if youwant to get there”.

What do you see, whatpictures are you painting withyour mind, you have to startfrom the mind, your vision, Iremember the story of Abrahamand his nephew Lot in the Bible.When God wanted to separatethem, God told Abraham, thatHe would give him as far as hiseyes could see! So you see thecreator Himself expects

The Basic Guide to StartingYour Business Part 6

everyone to have a vision thatis fired up by the desire to livea purpose driven life. My dearyou have all it takes inside ofyou, to be what you want tobe. A popular preacher oncesaid “suffering is a choice; soyou choose.” Stop waiting forthe government, now is thetime to seize your destiny andtake control, if you work hardon it, you will definitelysucceed.

Andrew Young, therenowned American

diplomat, said in one of hislectures: “For 18 years I eyedthe United Nations seat as theUnited States representative,I didn’t let it get off me untilI saw it happen”. Your visionis the map of your intentions.

It is a written picture of yourjourney to greatness; it maytake your time, and somereworking, but certainly it is thesecret of champions. If you arewaiting for the government,you will end up a wretchedfellow, with no story or history.

I made up my mind a longtime ago, to live my dreams,very far away from the clutchesof poverty. Looking back today,I can smile and say “I haven’tdone badly after all!” Well, if Ihad I wouldn’t be writing thisbook to inspire and encourageyou. Stop delaying, now is thetime to start, don’t dwell onweighing the possibilities ofsucceeding or not. “A man whotakes a risk and fails is by farbetter than the man who takesno risk at all.” You have to bedecisive and launch out, takingevery available chance, lifeitself is a risk. Like I said earlieryou have to be bold and fearlessand unforeseen forces willcome to your aid. Now is thetime to act, wake up and live,stop asking questions, followyour heart and act as though itis impossible to fail.

$3.8bn Egina FPSO projectunder threat

2013, ”The ManagingDirector (MD), LADOL,through a letter dated 16th

September 2013, which wasreceived at the Presidency onthe 25th of November,informed the president that ithad finalised its joint venturewith Samsung HeavyIndustries Limited to buildAfrica’s only fabrication andintegration facility. Shefurther informed thepresident that “The fact thatSamsung is partnering ‘witha wholly owned indigenousNigerian company sector tobuild this facility is a credit tothis administration’s effort ofensuring indigenousparticipation in the maritimeand petroleum sector. Overthe next two years, LADOLwill be investing $350 millionin the Lagos facility and anadditional $150 million in anew facility in Agge, BayelsaState; both facilities willcreate 100,000 direct andindirect jobs. She prayed thepresident to assist inensuring smooth operation ofits facilities in Lagos andAgge during the constructionby directing relevantministries to assist by:

“Allowing all vesselsinvolved in the Egina projectthat need to call at LADOL tosail directly into LADOL tosave cost, time and avoiddouble handling. LADOLalready has approval toreceive two internationalvessels each week. Thiswaiver will only be for Eginaproject facility constructionand operation period;assigning additionalpersonnel as requested totheir offices in the LADOL

Free Zone to support theconstruction and operation ofthe facilities which will becarried out 24 hours a dayand seven days a week;ensuring that project cargonot delivered directly into thezone be processed within 24hours and transferred to thezone within the same time.Any pending and oroperations at LADOL inLagos and Agge be fasttracked and approved as amatter of urgency;establishing a presidentialoversight team to oversee thework being done at LADOLfor Egina, harmonise efforts

of the various governmentagencies and to ensure bothcompliance with governmentregulations and the smoothrunning of the constructionand operation phases atLADOL”.

Based on this request to thepresident, the Presidencyasked for the view of theMinister of Transport on theissue. According to Financial

Vanguard’s investigation,in his comment on therequest of LADOL: theHonourable Minister ofTransport (HMT), througha letter Ref. No. T.0160/s.197/JA·7 dated 22nd

November 2013, informedthe president and said: “TheMaritime Workers Unionhad, in June 2013, writtenthe president and copiedthe ministry, protestingagainst the construction ofproposed floating,production, storage andoffloading (FPSO) inLADOL facilities in Lagos.The ministry had directedthe Nigeria Ports Authority,NPA, to look into thematter.

“The NPA had observedamong others, that it wouldnot be technically andoperationally possible toinstall a FPSO facility at theproposed location due tothe width and draft of theLagos channel whichcannot accommodate thefacility as a result of limitedroom for safemaneuvering.”

The ministry, it wasgathered, “ whileconsidering NPA’sobservations reviewed therequest from LADOL andconcluded that it would notbe technically andoperationally safe toapprove the construction ofFPSO facility project inLagos. However, theministry will support andencourage the constructionof the FSPO in Agge,Bayelsa State, being agreen field which is withrequisite draft and withoutany objection from NPA.”

*From left: Registrar/Chief Executive, Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN),Rotimi Omotoso, Chairman, ICAN, Fidelity Bank Chapter and GM, Lagos Bank, EmekaObiagwu, President, ICAN, Alhaji Kabir Alkali Mohammed, ED, Lagos and South-WestBank, IK Mbagwu and President, Society of Women Accountants in Nigeria (SWAN) andED, Risk Management, Fidelity Bank Plc, Onome Olaolu at the investiture of executivesand patrons of ICAN, Fidelity Bank Chapter in Lagos.

A man whotakes a riskand fails isby far betterthan the manwho takes norisk at all.

The NPA hadobserved amongothers, that it wouldnot be technicallyand operationallypossible to install aFPSO facility at theproposed locationdue to the width anddraft the Lagoschannel whichcannotaccommodate thefacility as a result oflimited room for safemaneuvering

CMYK

CMYK

Vanguard, MONDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2014 — 19

,,



Garden-'City Boy 'w r o t e :“Whoever posted this

dumb comment must either beincurably disillusioned or belooking in from an observatoryon some strange galaxy. Hegoes about it like another'awusa liar.' “Nigerians will notbe interested where thepresident or governor comesfrom” believing he may betaken seriously. Sorry, we carewhere the president comesfrom, no pretenses. Awusapeople and their inveterateabsolutism made it so, and soit remains until the country isrestructured into a nation oftruly federated zones or states.

“TO RESTRUCTURENIGERIA IS A TASK THATMUST BE DONE!

The fellow compounds hislies and drab foolery withclaptrap: “in the late 70s,General Murtala Mohammedcame on the Nigerian politicalscene, he created an unusualsensation”. I would also thinkthat Mohammed indeedcreated ‘unusual sensation’ as“His words were laden with‘immediate effect’ he recitedover and over with therepetitiveness of a parrot andthe mannerism of a henpecking corn - mannerism thatattracted public ridicule.

Murtala Mohammed was noteven sure if he was Rufai orRamat. For quite some whileduring his intrusiveinvolvement in “Nigeria’spolitics”, the public was at aloss as to which deadlyMohammed it was really todeal with -Ramat or Rufai. Inthat confused state of mind, theman’s myopic vision was

Reactions to: Time forNigerians to ditch ethnicarithmetic, state of originand federal character

“ what he thought Nigeriashould be that it was notconsumed with the passion ofa united Nigeria.” And guesswhat? One of Mohammed’stoxic legacies is the deadly,intractable sectarian turmoilthat ravages the land today.

The writer paints a lunatic inthe picture of an architect of a“Nigeria that is free from theencumbrance of North-Southdichotomy who wanted to seea Nigeria where there wasjustice and fair play to all, nomatter where they come from.”They can tell that to springchickens. For the authenticMurtala Mohammed we allknow masterminded the July

1966 coup – the world’sbloodiest.

He and his accomplicesmurdered over 300 fellowofficers of Southern extraction,mainly Igbo officers, includingGen. Ironsi and Col. AdekunleFajuyi in what theycharacterise as a “REVENGECOUP.” It is on record that topon his “vision” at the time wasto have the North secede fromNigeria as “the basis for unitydid not exist.” That motive wasmade clear in Yakubu Gowon’sfirst broadcast after theirinsane coup.

Not only did Mohammed’scup get full, it spilled over. His

aim was to visit personalvendetta on Maj. Nzeogwu’skinsmen."

Dr George Inyang wrote:and said “You are advocatingconfusion in Nigeria. For youreducation, the main problemsof Nigeria are corruption, lackof punishment for corruptionand poor leadership. Thenational conference mustendorse ethnic ID, state oforigin, federal character andsix zones because Nigeria is adiverse country. Zoning iswrong because it encouragesmediocrity. Qualifications forleadership should be goodeducation and competence not

by any means or by buyingvotes or rigging ok.”

Ehizelé Osazuwa whoresides in Paris, France wrote:“Corruption in China of highmagnitude”? Where have youbeen, to the Pluto? You havethis naive approach to theinstitutionalised corruptionthat is so visible as a garmenteven to the infants toexperiment as though a sinequa non to the success in life.Is it not logical that corruptionof any level, much less of “highmagnitude” could not bringany development to a country?

As a mater of fact, it’s due toChina’s intolerance towardany corrupt individual orcorporation that makes Chinathe fastest developing nationon earth. Where were you ofrecent when a governmentofficial in China was arrestedand jailed for long time forhaving a Rolex watch on thatdrew the attention of the anti-corruption body to thoroughlyscrutinize him?

You sound like your Fatheris one of those looting

Nigeria's money that you shyaway to talk about corruptionbut rather complaining aboutlack of unity that is less orsecondary in priority if thingsmust be put right in Nigeria.However, I am not saying thatyour rather tagged rhetoric hasno element of traits responsiblefor all the problems facingNigeria but I guess you shouldhave linked it to the virus itself— corruption. See, the level ofacademic, social and politicaldevelopment in Nigeria aredissipating so fast as you allare witnesses due to the cultureof corruption and impunity thatthose outside the border gazein shock and question ifNigeria is worth being calleda country any longer.Corruption has become adogma to Nigerian politiciansas it’s to the man on the street— it’s so accepted andpracticed that any thatquestions the system would beconsidered a fool.

Obiora Uzo · NnamdiAzikiwe University Awkawrote: “My question is whywill this Nigeria be one andwhat happened when we havemany countries from thisNigeria? Smaller countriessucceeded better as big ones”.

Jossy Jossy of the Instituteof Management and

Technology, Enugu inresponse to the article said:“Nigerian politicians are themajor problem our country isfacing today. This is the righttime to teach them a lesson.APC should go to hell.”

Efeturi Ojakaminor on hispart said: “I agree with you.First, let us begin to seeourselves as Nigerians.”

Chukwuka Okoroafor said:“This certainly is a dream, butthe way our elite play us offagainst each other should alsobe addressed via corruption,riots, etc.

GEO: “These zones wereartificially created alongpolitical leanings...” Divide upNigeria along its NATURALlanguage lines. There is nostrength in numbers in theNigerian situation. Chinaworks because she has acommon natural language thatis dominant. It also has anational natural religion that isalso dominant. Most Chinesecitizens ascribe to the samecommon ideals.

UnapologeticallyYorubasaid: "I am very pragmatic.This would be an utopia, aNigeria of our dreams.Unfortunately, the politicalclass has sold us dummiesand divided us horribly.Maybe when we return toregionalism and have eachmatured to the state where wecan all reason along thoselines, then we can give it ashot. For now, the NC willresolve all the other issuesyou have raised!

Esaulogbon said: "Nigeria isnot ripe for that. Ethnicism stillreigns supreme, and somebelieve they own others orthey develop others. Until thismentality of ‘ we are betterthan others’ is removed, whatyou are proposing will be aninvitation for disasters."

$3.8bn Egina FPSO project under threat The memo signed by theChief of Staff to the Presidentsaid, “The basis of the claimof LADOL that approval hasbeen granted to it to receivetwo international vessels aweek is rested on the FederalRepublic of Nigeria OfficialGazette dated 4th December,2008 wherein the effectivedate of the government noticeis stated to be 27th September2010. “However, theauthenticity, and legality of theGazette are in doubt for thefollowing; “The clarificationissued by the Bureau of PublicEnterprises (BPE), dated 10thJuly 2008 showed the types ofcargoes designed for each

concessioned terminal; theNigeria Customs Service inDecember 2010 drew theattention of the Minister ofFinance that the earlierapproval given to LADOL toreceive ships from foreignwaters contravened provisionsof Section 12 of the Customand Excise Management Act(CEMA) Cap C. 45 LFN 2004which states that suchauthority lies with thepresident.

“Consequently, the Ministerof Finance in February 2011,advised the Ministry ofTransport to obtain the explicit

approval of the president toenable LADOL operate withinthe law as the Ministry ofFinance had earlier in 2010indicated support fordeclaring the LADOL FreeZone as a Deep Offshorelogistics base with ApapaPilotage District.

The Federal Ministry ofJustice had indicated, videletter Ref No. S.I. 885 of 20thNovember 2013, amongothers, that “GovernmentNotice No. 284 was irregularlyissued and is ultra viresbecause of the unnamedPermanent Secretary who

purportedly issued it.” Inaddition, the law under whichthe designation was made wasnot stated. Furthermore, noperson or authority tookresponsibility for thedesignation.”

Last week, based on theemerging controversy, LADOLtook Samsung Heavy Industryand its allies to court, overwhat it termed plots to excludeit from the juicy $3.8 billionEgina Oil platform project,which it jointly won late lastyear. Also joined in the suit atthe Federal High Court beforeJustice Aneke on Friday,

January 24, are, TotalUpstream Nigeria Limited(Total), Nigerian ContentMonitoring Board (NCDMB),and the Minister of PetroleumResources.

The $3.8 billion facilitylocated 130 kilometersoffshore was conceived byTotal Upstream NigeriaLimited in collaboration withthe Nigeria NationalPetroleum Corporation(NNPC), and is expected totake off by the end of 2017.

The Egina platform will be

You are advocating confusionin Nigeria. For your educationthe main problems of Nigeria arecorruption, lack of punishmentfor corruption and poorleadership.

Cover Story Continuation

CMYK


Cover Story Continuation

the first of its kind in Africawith a projected productioncapacity of 200,000 barrelsper day (bpd) and a storagecapacity of 2.3 million barrels.

In the proceedings whichwere issued for LADOL byProfessor Fidelis Oditah, QC,SAN, LADOL seeks 19 reliefagainst Samsung and otherdefendants, asking the courtto make a declaration that acontract awarded by Total toSamsung on or about 15March, 2013 for theconstruction and installationof a floating productionstorage and offloading unit(FPSO) at Total’s Eginaoilfield in oil mining lease(OML) No 130 in deepoffshore Nigeria (the “EginaFPSO Project”) is subject tothe Nigerian Oil and GasIndustry ContentDevelopment Act 2010.

Other relief being sought bythe company includes a“declaration that the EginaFPSO Project contract wasawarded by Total to Samsung,with the approval of theNigerian regulatoryauthorities including NNPC,NAPIMS, NCDMB and theMinistry of Petroleum, on thebasis inter alia that asignificant proportion of thesteel fabrication and theintegration of the FPSOtopsides would be carried outat LADOL’s yard in theLADOL Free Zone, TarkwaBay, Lagos.

“A declaration that theEgina FPSO Project contractwas also awarded by Total toSamsung on the basis interalia of Samsung’srepresentations andassurances to the Nigerianregulatory authorities thatSamsung would build andoperate training facility in theLADOL Free Zone for thetraining and education ofNigerians.

“A declaration that theEgina FPSO Project contractwas bidded for and obtainedby Samsung on the basis of ajoint venture and/orarrangement betweenSamsung and LADOL for thedevelopment, constructionand operation of an offshorefabrication yard and FPSOintegration facilities in theLADOL Free Zone for thepurposes, amongst others, ofthe Egina FPSO Project (JointArrangement).

“A declaration that havingbidded for and represented tothe Nigerian regulators that

$3.8bn Egina FPSO projectunder threat

LADOL was its local contentpartner and on the basis of theJoint Arrangement, obtainedthe award of the Egina FPSOProject contract; it is not opento Total and Samsungunilaterally to exclude LADOLfrom the execution of the saidcontract”.

LADOL, said to be the onlywholly Nigerian indigenousoil and gas service provider, isfurther seeking a declaration

that the purported exclusionof the company from theexecution/performance of theEgina FPSO Project contractby Total and Samsung is aviolation of the Act andconsequently is of no effectwhatsoever.

Also being sought are, “anorder, pursuant to section 68of the Act, cancelling theEgina FPSO Project contract,on the basis that thepurported exclusion ofLADOL from the performance/execution of the Egina FPSOProject contract andSamsung’s failure to build a

training school in Nigeria (asit had promised it would) area violation of the NigerianNational Content law.”

The company further wantsa disqualification of Samsungfrom bidding for orparticipating in any capacitywhatsoever in any projects,operations, contracts orsubcontracts in the Nigerianoil and gas sector.

Findings revealed that thecollaboration betweenLADOL and Samsung beganin early 2010, when Totalannounced its intention tobegin the development of itsEgina oilfield.

*From left: Head, Media & External Relations, Mr. Babatunde Lasaki, Head, Marketing &Corporate Communications, First Bank, Mrs. Folake Ani-Mumuney, President, BrandJournalists Association of Nigeria, Mr. Goddie Efose and Head, Stakeholder Management,Mr. Ogechukwu Udeagha at the First Bank Brand Journalists Media Parley in Lagos.

Transcorp, GE partner to improve powergeneration in Nigeria

2013 power privatisation programme, the$300 million plant is part of the $2.5 billioninvestment pledge made by the Chairmanof Transcorp and Heirs Holdings, Tony O.Elumelu, to deliver affordable, accessiblepower to Africa under the Power AfricaInitiative.

“The agreements were signed at a closeddoor meeting between executives of bothcompanies, led by Elumelu and the GlobalChairman of General Electric, Jeffrey Immelt.They follow a cooperation agreementexecuted by Transcorp and GE in 2013,” thecompany said in the statement.

A publicly listed conglomerate withstrategic investments in the power,hospitality, business and energy sectors,Transcorp, through TUPL, is committed totransform and bring the plant to profitabilityby increasing its generating capacity toimpact positively on the socio-economicdevelopment of Nigeria.

GE, one of the world’s most reputablecompanies is the global leader in the design,manufacture, supply, installation andmaintenance of technology and services forthe Power, Aviation, Oil & Gas, Healthcareand Transportation sectors.

By NKIRUKA NNOROM

Transnational Corporation of NigeriaPlc has announced partnershipwith General Electric, GE, to

expand the capacity of Transcorp UghelliPower Ltd, TUPL, power plant to 1000mega watts in the next three to five years.

Transcorp said in a statement that bothcompanies have also signed a separateagreement to rehabilitate the damaged GT15 turbine at the Ughelli Plant, which willadd 115MW to the plant’s output.

The company added that the agreementswould dramatically increase capacity at theUghelli power plant in 2014.

Currently, the Transcorp Ughelli powerplant generates 360MW of electricity, upfrom 160MW on November 1, whenTranscorp took ownership of the plant. Withthe additional 115MW, as well as otherrehabilitation works planned at the plant,output at Ughelli will increase to 700MWby December 2014, the company said.

The Ughelli power plant is Nigeria’slargest gas-fired electricity generationasset. Purchased by Transcorp during the

Etihad Airwaysto supportdevelopment ofaviation biofuelindustry in UAE

Etihad Airways, Takreer,Total and the Masdar

Institute of Science andTechnology have announcedthey will collaborate on a newinitiative, BIOjet Abu Dhabi:Flight Path to Sustainability, tosupport a sustainable aviationbiofuel industry in the UnitedArab Emirates.

BIOjet Abu Dhabi wasannounced a day after EtihadAirways conducted ademonstration flight with aBoeing 777 powered in part bythe first UAE-producedbiokerosene from an innovativeplant biomass-processingtechnology. The biofuel waspartially converted frombiomass by Total and itspartner, Amyris. Takreer, awholly owned subsidiary ofAbu Dhabi National Oil Co.(ADNOC), did the finalaviation biofuel distillation,adding the UAE to a handfulof countries that haveproduced and flown on theirown biokerosene.

BIOjet Abu Dhabi willengage a broad range ofstakeholders to develop acomprehensive framework fora UAE biofuel supply chain,including research anddevelopment and expandedinvestment in feedstockproduction and refiningcapability in the UAE andglobally.

Arik Air carries2.7m passengersin 2013

Arik Air has announceda steady growth in the

number of passengers itcarried between 2012 and2013. The end of year figurereleased by the airline showsthat a total of 2.75 millionpassengers were carried in2013. The figure represents18.6 per cent increase over the2012 passenger figure of 2.32million.

According to Mr AdebanjiOla, CommunicationManager, Arik Air, “ The monthof March 2013 was significantin that the airline recorded thehighest passenger figure forthe year with a total of 260,132passengers carried across itswide network of 30destinations. This was againstthe 171,794 passengers carriedin the same month in 2012. Asignificant increase was alsorecorded in the month of Aprilwhen a total of 249,854passengers were carried. Thisrepresents about 33.7 per centincrease over the 2012 figure.”


CMYK


Business & Economy

The Federal Governmenthas concluded

plans to develop andimplement a comprehensiveBackward Integration Policy forthe iron and steel sub-sector ofthe Nigerian economy. TheMinister of Industry, Trade andInvestment, Mr. OlusegunAganga, who said this duringa one-day stakeholders’ forumon ‘Transformation of Minerals,Iron and Steel Sub-Sector forIndustrial Revolution inNigeria’, in Lagos noted thatthe initiative was in line withthe Nigeria IndustrialRevolution Plan (NIRP).

The stakeholders’ forum,which was organised by theMinistries of Industry, Tradeand Investment and Mines andSteel Development, providedthe platform for all players inthe iron and steel sub-sector tofashion out workable andsustainable plans of action toleverage the BIP to support thedevelopment of criticalindustries across the country.

FG moves torevitaliseNigeria’s iron,steel sector

The Nigeria CustomsService (NCS)collected a total of

N833.4 billion revenue in2013 out of a targeted sum ofN1.4 trillion, according to anofficial document obtained byour correspondent.

The 2013 revenue was N17.5billion less than N850.9billion it collected in 2012. TheService explained that themoney was collected fromduties, fees and levies.

The document also showedthat the Service seized goodsworth N8.5 billion also in2013, even as it explained thatthe seized goods were thosethat entered into the countrythrough illegal routes.

The Customs said that thevalue of the impoundedgoods was N3.1 billion higherthan the N4.6 billion worth ofgoods seized in 2012.

It stated that the seizureswere made at the seaports,airports and border posts,adding that it wouldstrengthen the anti-smuggling strategies andensure that smuggling wasreduced to the barest limit.

The Service explained thatthe cost placed on the seizedgoods were their marketvalues and the duty thatought to have been paid onthem.

Customs collects N833.4bn revenuein 2013 *Seizes goods worth N8.5bn

By GODWIN ORITSEOn the revenue collected in

2013, it said that N387 billionwas collected as cash onimport duty, while N68.9billion came from NegotiableDuty Credit Certificate importduty. The statement addedthat it collected N24.4 billionfrom excise duty, N1.8 billionfrom fees, N21.4 billion from“CET” special levy andN329.1billion from leviescollected on behalf ofagencies.

A breakdown of the revenue

collected on behalf ofagencies showed that portlevy accounted for N30.50billion; sugar levy, N4.8billion; wheat grain levy,N38.3 billion; and wheat flour,N313.5 million. Othercollected agency fees,according to the document,are: rice levy, N10.3 billion;steel levy, N584.9 million;and wine, N22.1million.Others are: textile, N90.8million; cement, N830.6million; cigarette, N913.6

million; and NationalAutomotive Council levy, N13,505. It was also said thatsome special levies, includingComprehensive ImportSupervision Scheme andNational Export SupervisionScheme accounted for N44.1billion.

The value of the goods wasN7.1 billion, while the dutypayable on them was N1.4billion. It stated that rice andvehicles topped the list of thegoods in 2012.

The Federal Government will beginthe disbursement of N10billion for

Cassava Bread Development Fund,CBDF, to peasant farmers that have beenregistered to benefit from the initiativenext week. The cassava bread initiativelaunched in 2011, seeks the inclusion ofup to 40 percent High Quality CassavaFlour in bread. The policy started with arequest for bread makers to include 20percent in their flour. UTC was first toadopt the policy, followed by Butterfieldand now Park & Shop.

While giving update on NigeriaCassava Project at a press briefing inAbuja, the National President of theNigeria Cassava Growers Association,NCGA, Pastor Segun Adewumi, said thefund would help in research anddevelopment, training of master bakersand other stakeholders, establishment oflocal production plants for enzymeamong others.

He explained that the associationthrough its executive council and allstate chairmen has agreed to access thefund for the incoming rainy season to

FG begins disbursement of N10bn cassava fundsBy FAVOUR NNABUGWU boost cassava production in the country.

The Federal Government had last yearearmarked a start-up fund of N10 billionto enhance development in the cassavavalue chains through the CBDF aimedto be generated from the tariffs onimportation of wheat flour.

CBDF, the Minister of Agriculture andRural Development, Dr. AkinwumiAdesina, had informed would also beused to support research anddevelopment efforts on cassava bread,training of master bakers, support formaster bakers for the acquisition of newequipment for production.

“The fund is ready for disbursement,and has been deposited at the Bank ofIndustry for bakers and processors andat the Bank of Agriculture for growers.

“We were at the Bank of Agriculturein Kaduna and we all reached anagreement that we will not give thefunds out until the rainy season comes.50 percent of the money is a grant while50 percent will be paid back by individualfarmers in form of loan,” he explained.

Adewumi said that the peasantfarmers’ programme of the cassavainitiative was aimed at curbingunemployment, as well as diversifying

the economic and revenue base of thecountry through graduate youthempowerment via agriculture.

On the sustainability of the initiative, hepointed out that the Federal Governmenthas taken the right step in sustaining itwith the launch of the GrowthEnhancement Support, GES, scheme,adding that all his members across thecountry have keyed into the scheme.

According to him, every member hasbeen directed to cultivate not less thantwo hectares of cassava farm as part ofefforts to enhance the cassava GESprogramme apart from different levels ofsupport to the Federal Government’sagriculture transformation agenda, ATA.

Adewumi, who faulted the opinion of aZimbabwean farmer, Mr. ShadrackMadlion, on the Federal Government’son-going intervention to salvage thecassava industry, commended PresidentGoodluck Jonathan, Dr. AkinwumiAdesina and other stakeholders for giving“a new life to Nigerian farmers”.

“Cassava is one of the positive storiesabout Nigeria. The global leadershipposition of Nigeria in cassava productionis not questioned. It is our birth right anda source of pride to us.

The United KingdomDepartment for

International Development(DFID), through its GEMS3project is partnering with theKogi State government to trainofficials of the Kogi State Boardof Internal Revenue andofficials of the 21 LocalGovernment Areas in the stateon the state’s proposed DraftHarmonised Revenue Bill.

The one day workshop heldin Lokoja last week, presentedthe LGA representatives anopportunity to discuss andreview pertinent issues such astenement rates for private andcommercial properties, right ofoccupancy fees and other leviescurrently being implemented inthe state.

The bill, which is aimed atpromoting fair taxation acrossthe state, proposes that “If anyperson disputes an assessment,he may apply to the relevantLocal Government Council bynotice of objection in writing toreview and to revise theassessment and suchapplication shall state preciselythe grounds of objection to theassessment and shall be madewithin 14 days from the date ofservice of the notice ofassessment/demand notice”.

UK partnersKogi onha rmon i sedrevenue bill

By WILLIAM JIMOH

From left Dharmendra Jain, Operations Director, Nigeria; Adeola Tejumola, CEO, West, Eastand Central Africa; Dorotha Bimoeller, Head of Field Work Efficiency, Global; Tyson Mck-eown, Regional Operations Director, all of TNS RMS after the launch of TNS RMS computerAided Telephone Interview (CATI) Centre held at the company''s head office in Lagos.


Business & Economy

FG to tap from $90bn Open Data resourceBy EMMANUELELEBEKE

The Minister ofCommunication

Technology, Mrs.Omobola Johnson,says Nigeria is preparedto tap from the $90billion dollar resourcefrom Open DataInitiative.

The minister disclosedthis at the inaugurationof the world’s first OpenData DevelopmentInitiative in Abuja. Shesaid the move wasaimed at tapping fromthe huge economic

benefits that accrue fromthe initiative, with aGlobal PositioningSystem, GPS, dataworth $90 billion.

According to her, thestep was also aimed atsupporting FederalGovernment’s objectiveof driving innovation,investment andeconomic growth byenabling access to

government data.The initiative is a

consultative andinclusive process thatwill open up high valuedatasets from acrossgovernment ministries toNigerian citizens,businesses and the restof the world for free.

The commencement ofthis process makesNigeria the world’s firstfederal Open Datainitiative tosimultaneously launchinclusive and

c o n t i n u i n gconsultations, with bothgovernment and non-g o v e r n m e n tcommunities on theirOpen Data priorities todevelop the country’snational Open Dataimplementation plan.

So far, over 50countries have launchedfederal-level Open Datainitiatives. The impacton economic growth hasbeen transformative.

An analysis by globalconsulting firm,

McKinsey, indicatesthat Open Datagenerates more than $3trillion of new economicvalue for the U.S.economy alone.

Also the weather dataof the US generates$30billion annually,while the total worth ofGlobal PositioningSystem GPS data isworth $90billion.

The Nigeria FederalOpen DataInitiative, supported bythe World Bank and

DFID is meant tohighlight the potentialefficiency, innovationsand public value thatcan be achieved whengovernment usestechnology to open itsdata.

The minister stressedt h a t F e d e r a lGovernment considersthe partnership withWorld Bank on OpenData Initiative as apriority to promoteeconomic growth andensure value addition tothe data in thegovernment Ministries,Departments andAgencies.

She said that data hasincreasingly becomeimportant amonggovernment and privatesector operators as itplays a pivotal role inmajor decision makingand planning, and assuch can’t be ignored.

‘’Data is becomingincreasingly importantin all aspects of our life.When analysed andpresented in anintelligent format, datais essential to makinginformed decisions thatproduce value. Theessence of publishingn o n - s e n s i t i v egovernment data onlineis to deliver value-adding insights thatbenefit citizens”

‘’ We would like toensure that our OpenData initiative is drivenby demand. We will beguided by the practicalneeds of Nigerians toensure that Open Datafuels innovation andgrows the Nigerianeconomy,” she added.

The launch of theOpen Data Initiativewas heralded by anOpen Data stakeholderengagement workshopthat brought togethermore than 120representatives fromacross MDAs, and theprivate and non-profitsectors to identifypriorities and actions toinform theimplementation of theNigeria Federal OpenData. The Workshop isdesigned to explore therole of Open Data ino r g a n i s a t i o n a linnovation; highlightthe public value that canbe created by openinggovernment data, aswell as challenges andmitigation strategiesassociated with theseefforts.


CMYK


CMYK

Banking & Finance

It was a very familiarroad with a familiardestination which the

Lamido Sanusi led CentralBank of Nigeria chose toembark on.

At the end of January 2013,the official exchange rate stoodat N155.74 while the parallelmarket rate was N159 perdollar. The difference betweenthe two rates, referred to as theparallel market premium wasN3.26 or 2 per cent, well belowthe five per cent globalbenchmark. But by the end ofthe year, the premium hadwidened to 11 per cent orN17.3. Though the officialexchange rate remained stableat N155.7 per dollar, theparallel exchange rate hadrisen by 8.8 per cent to N173per dollar.

“The Committee alsoexpressed concern about thewidening gap between theofficial and the BDC exchangerates, noting that this couldprecipitate speculation andround-tripping. Though, theBDCs represent a smallcomponent of the foreignexchange market, thewidening spread appeared tohave fed into creepingincreases in core inflation”,lamented the

CBN Governor, LamidoSanusi at the Monetary PolicyCommittee (MPC) meetingheld on January 21st.

But this should not havehappened in the first instancebut for the fact that the apexbank surprisingly forgot whathappened in 2011. That year,specifically in June, the CBN,restricted to $250,000 theamount of autonomous foreignexchange each bank could sellto BDCs. The apex bankobserved that much of theforeign exchange demand inthe interbank market andcausing the interbank rate torise persistently is notconsistent with economicrealities. It was informed thatmost of this demand wascoming from BDCs. Of coursethe demand was actually beenfuelled by politicians who havesuddenly adopted the dollar astheir currency of trade becauseof its portability. Thus the apexbank decided to restrict dollarsthat banks can sell to BDCs.The restriction though causedthe interbank exchange rate tofall and converged with that ofthe official rate and hence closethe gap between the two rates,it however caused the parallel

Foreign exchange: CBN and thepainful lesson of history

By BABAJIDEKOMOLAFE

market exchange rate to risefrom N158 per dollar to N167per dollar, with the gapbetween the official exchangerate and the parallel marketrate widening from N3.19 toN16.54.

Thus, it was surprising,when the CBN in

September last year introduceda set of restrictions on theforeign exchange market. Itbanned foreign currencycollection of proceeds ofinternational money transfer,banned importation of foreigncurrency by banks, and peggeddollar sale of banks to BDCs to$250,000 per BDC per week.According to former President,Chartered Institute of Bankersof Nigeria (CIBN) andManaging Director, MaxifundSecurities Limited, “It was abad policy.” In simpleeconomics, the restrictionswere reductions in foreignexchange supply and inresponse to the law of demandand supply, the parallel marketexchange rate begin to rise.Furthermore, the restrictionsempowered the banks as themajor source of foreignexchange supply ofautonomous foreign exchangein the open market.Consequently they becameprice givers and dictated theforeign exchange rate at whichthey sell to BDCs. When theCBN introduced a circular thatpegged their margin to one percent above interbank rate, thebanks resorted to hoarding andround tripping. “Some of thebanks would even post therates but when you want to buythey will say that they don’thave”, noted Alhaji, AminuGwadabe, President,Association of Bureaux DeChange Operators of Nigeria

(ABCON), which is theumbrella body of BDCs.

It was this scenario thatcaused the parallel marketexchange rate to rise from N163per dollar at the end ofSeptember to N173 per dollarat the end of December. It wasa problem caused byforgetfulness of history.

Though very harmful to theeconomy, the parallel marketpremium is however caused bythe government or its monetaryagency. This lesson which isalso the conclusion of many

academic works on parallelmarket and parallel marketpremium is summed up byBabajide Komolafe (2009) asfollows.

“The parallel market derivesits importance and power fromthe premium. Also the size ofthe premium reflects theamount of official restriction ofexternal transactions in theofficial foreign exchangemarket and it is the motivatingfactor for diversion of foreignexchange from the officialmarket to the parallel market”.

It is for this reason that theProfessor Soludo led CBN in2006, introduced the policytitled, “Further Measures ToLiberalise the ForeignExchange Market." The aim ofthe policy was to address the

widening gap between theofficial exchange rate and theparallel market rate.

Earlier that year the apexbank following introduction ofWholesale Dutch Auction(WDAS) had achievedconvergence of the officialexchange rate and theinterbank exchange rate. Butwhile the interbank ratedeclined and converged withthe official exchange rate atN130 per dollar, the parallelmarket exchange rate rose fromN142 per dollar on February20th when WDAS wasintroduced to N152 per dollaron March 26th. Thus the gapor premium between theofficial/interbank exchangerate and the parallel marketrate widened to N20 from N10.The strategy adopted toarrest the situation wasto increase supply of foreignexchange in the parallel marketand at the same time reducedemand in the market.

To achieve the former, theCBN admitted BDCs into theofficial market through directdollar sale, and also allowedthem to act as brokers in theinterbank market. To achievethe later, the CBN removedrestrictions on foreignexchange purchases bywidening the scope oftransactions that can be fundedby official foreign exchange.The effect was phenomenal. Inthe first month ofimplementation, the parallelmarket exchange rate droppedto N142 per dollar and by July13th, it converged with theofficial and interbank rates atN130 per dollar. Thus for thefirst time in the history of thenation’s foreign exchangemarket the elusive parallelmarket was arrested and theinfluence of the parallel marketespecially the black market waswhittled down.

That is the lesson of historywhich the presentadministration of CBN learntbitterly in 2011, and had tolearn last year. In realisation ofthis blunder, the apex bank onFriday 24th January removedthe limit of $250,000 imposedon foreign exchange sales toBDCs by banks. That is the firststep. The parallel marketexchange rate has dropped toN168 per dollar and thepremium reduced to N12.25 or7.8 per cent but this is still hugeand quite above the 5.0 percent global benchmark. Thesolution is to remove otherrestrictions to foreign exchangesupply, and thus weaken themonopoly of the banks in themarket.

,

,

Micro, Small andMedium Scale

Enterprises, MSMEs, inNigeria are to earn aboutN2.624 trillion this year, iftheir financing challenges areaddressed.

Part of the amount is 60 percent of the sum budgeted forcapital expenditures in the2014 budget, currently beforethe National Assembly, whilethe remainder, about N1.7trillion will be contracts to beawarded by privateorganizations in the year.

Mr. Diji Atoyebi, Head,Support Desk, Access BankPlc, who gave this breakdownat a forum for contractors inLagos, said the year will beremarkable for MSMEs,especially contractors, notingthat the MSMEs will only bein a position to benefit fromthe contracts to be awardedthis year if they areadequately supported andfinanced.

He said, “This year iscrucial for contractors,especially as it is the periodof electioneering and the yearbefore the general elections.This is especially as thecurrent administration, both atthe Federal and State levels,will want to wrap up on-going contracts and issue newones, in order to win thesupport of electorates.

“The N4.92 trillionproposed in the 2014 budget,had N1.54 trillion budgetedfor capital expenditure. It isestimated that contractors willtake up over 60 per cent ofthe capital expenditurebudget.

“Also, it is estimated thatover N1.7 trillion worth ofcontracts are awarded bycompanies in the privatesector annually. This is themarket that MSMEs,especially contractors areexpected to play in 2014.”

He further stated thatdespite the high number ofplayers in the contractorsegment of the MSMEsmarket, the sector is stillprofitable, noting margins areas high as 30 per cent insome instances.

He explained that factorsthat will position contractorsand other MSMEs to benefitfrom the opportunities in thesector, include Access torequisite funding to executejobs, networking and goodgovernment policies and thetrack record of the contractor.

MSMEs to earnN2.64trn in2014

By MICHAEL EBOH

CMYK

•LamidoSanusi

Earlier that yearthe apex bankfollowingintroduction ofWholesale DutchAuction (WDAS)had achievedconvergence ofthe officialexchange rate andthe interbankexchange rate.

CMYK


26 —Vanguard, MONDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2014

Banking & Finance

FBN Holdings, the parent company ofFirst Bank Nigeria Limited has unveiled

refreshed brand identity, aimed at retainingits competitive edge and gain entry into newmarket segments.

“Our new identity will help us to preserveour heritage and make us appealing to a morediverse market segment”, said ChiefExecutive Officer, Bello Maccido at theunveiling ceremony.

To signal this, the bank is now representedby an Elephant, with head raised in a forwardmarching position, with the ‘FBN Holdco’behind.

According to Dr. Oba Otudeko Chairman,FBN Holdings, “The elephant is the respectedand instantly recognizable icon of our brandidentity and as such, we have retained theelephant. We have however re-ignited thisiconic symbol with a number of enhancementsthat communicate a robust evolution relevantfor today.

“The raised head of the elephant in ourrefreshed identity is our promise to allcustomers that with us in their corner, everyfinancial challenge they face, they can facewith their head held high. The deep bluecolour represents momentum, innovation andevolution. These principles ensure that wecontinue to develop solutions that are at the

Nigeria’ssovereign wealthfund invests$10m in agricfund

Nigeria’s sovereignwealth fund, referred to

as the Nigeria SovereignInvestment Authority (NSIA)has invested $10 million in asmall and medium enterprisesfocused agricultural fund.

The investment wasannounced on Friday via astatement titled; NSIA makes a$10 million commitment to theSME focused Fund forAgricultural Financing inNigeria FAFIN.

The statement said, “TheNigeria Sovereign InvestmentAuthority (“NSIA”) through itsNigeria Infrastructure Fund ispleased to announce a US$10million total commitment to theFund for Agricultural Financingin Nigeria (FAFIN or TheFund) as one of 3 collaborating sponsors, alongside theNigerian Federal Ministry ofAgriculture and RuralDevelopment (“FMARD”) andKfW, the German government-owned development bank.

“The Fund is an innovativeinitiative, designed to transformthe agriculture financelandscape in Nigeria. With aUS$100 million target, FAFINwill provide tailored equity anddebt capital and technicalsupport solutions tocommercially-viable small andmedium-sized enterprises(SMEs) and intermediariesacross Nigeria’s agriculturalvalue chain.

“The Fund will be dedicatedto catalyzing an agriculture-ledinclusive economic growth inNigeria through enhancedagricultural productivity, value-added processing and marketlinkages. The $100 milliontarget will be reached throughfurther contributions fromprivate sector investors.

“The participation of the NSIAin this initiative is a firmdemonstration of its agriculturestrategy as one core area of focusalongside power, housing,healthcare, motorways etc.Through this strategic act, theNSIA hopes to support therealization of the FederalGovernment of Nigeria’sAgriculture TransformationAgenda and facilitate Nigeria’sfood security.

“Uche Orji, Chief ExecutiveOfficer of NSIAcommented ”Agriculture is asector of strategic importanceto the NSIA and an area we seeopportunities for significantgrowth and profit through thefacilitation of the enhancementof Nigeria’s critical agricultureinfrastructure.”

Foreign portfolio investorswithdraw $12.8bn in 2013*External reserves maintain downward trend*CBN sells $2.9bn to defend naira

BY BABAJIDEKOMOLAFE

Foreign portfolio investorswithdrew $12.8 billion

from the economy last year,even as the nation’s externalreserves maintained itdownward trend last week.

Speaking at the MonetaryPolicy Committee (MPC)meeting held last month,Deputy Governor, Central Bankof Nigeria (CBN), CorporateServices, Alhaji BarauSuleiman disclosed that thewithdrawal of funds by foreignportfolio investors wasresponsible for the aggravateddemand for foreign exchangelast year.

He noted, “The aggravateddemand for foreign exchange(for transfers/Letter of Creditvalid) that we have seen in2013 is largely in the area ofinvisibles which has increasedby 23.8 per cent from 24 percent ($13.3 billion) to 48.2 percent ($26.1 billion) duringcorresponding period in 2012.”

The withdrawal of foreignportfolio investments from thecountry was attributed to anumber of factors slowingdown of quantitative easing(increasing money supply viabond purchase ) by the UnitedStates Federal Reserves,concerns about the appointmentof a new CBN Governor anddecline in the nation’s externalreserves. This was reflected inthe communiqué issued at theend of the MPC meeting, whichstated, “The MPC also notedthe reduction in portfolioinflows driven by thecommencement of the QE3tapering by the Fed, transition

concerns at the CBN andcontinued depletion of theECA, thus dampeninginvestor confidence. Thereduction of the US stimulusespecially, could in addition,trigger capital flow reversalsand put greater pressure onthe naira exchange rate.”

Meanwhile the nation’sexternal reserved declinedfurther by $10 million last

week, falling to $43.12 billionas at Tuesday from $43.22billion the previous week.Cumulatively, the externalreserves have declined by$490 million dollars, from$43.61 billion at thebeginning of the year. Lastyear, it rose from $45.98 billionin January to a peak of $48.85billion before falling steadilyto $43.61 in December.

On the other hand, the CBNlast month continued its effortto defend the naira by selling$2.939 billion through theRetail Dutch Auction System(RDAS). This represents 49.7per cent increase whencompared with the $1.99billion sold in December. Lastyear, the apex bank sold$25.37 billion, up by 32.9 percent from $19.1 billion sold in2012. The amount sold inJanuary represents 39.3 percent increase when comparedwith the average monthlyforeign exchange sales forlast year, which was $2.11billion.

Despite the sharp increasein foreign exchange sales, thenaira however depreciated atthe interbank foreignexchange market by N3.64 inJanuary. Data from theFinancial Market DealersQuote (FMDQ) revealed thatthe interbank foreignexchange rate rose fromN158.84 per dollar on January2nd to close at N162.48 perdollar last week. Similarly thenaira depreciated by five koboat the official market, as theofficial exchange rate etchedup to N155.75 at the end ofthe month from N155.7 at thebeginning of the week. Butthe naira appreciated by N5at the parallel marketcourtesy of the removal of limitimposed on foreign exchangesales to bureaux de change bybanks. This prompted theparallel market exchange rateto fall to N168 per dollar fromN173 per dollar at thebeginning of January.

FBN Holdings targets new market segmentswith refreshed identity

heart of all their challenges. The raised foot ofthe elephant in the refreshed identity is apromise that we will always put our best footforward for each and every one of ourcustomers. And finally, the adoption ofcomplimentary colours platinum and gold intoour logo, precious metals identified with valueserves as a reminder of the inherent value anddurability of our brand. Our brand refresh marksa renewed promise to all our stakeholders - apromise to continue to set the gold standard ofvalue and excellence in financial solutionsacross Sub Saharan Africa.”

Also speaking, the Head, Marketing andCorporate Communications, Folake Ani-Mumuney enthused; “the refreshed identityembodies our internal values and the directionwe are headed in as a group, like the iconicelephant, which signifies strength andresilience, two of the greatest traits to have asan individual, as an institution and as a nation.Since launching in 1894, the FBN brand hasestablished itself as a brand of strength anddynamism, with the vision to be the leadinginternational financial services group in SubSaharan Africa. Our brand is at the heart of theholistic experience we seek to deliver to ourstakeholders, an essential part of retainingpatronage and the competitive edge that keepsus at the coveted position of market leader.

From left: Daniella Okumagba, Head, Expatriate and Diaspora Banking, Stanbic IBTC Bank;Ebere Nwaolikpe, Western Union, Assistant Marketing Manager – ECOWAS; Catherine Ezegwu,Head, Money Transfer, Enterprise Bank and; Elohor Obeido, Product Officer, UBA Plc, duringthe Western Union “My WU” loyalty campaign.


CMYK

Corporate Finance

From right: The Ogun State governor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun welcoming Mr. GiovaniCaprio of the World Bank to the Ogun State 2014 Retreat for top government officials held atOta, while Mr. Gboyega Aiyemomi also of the World Bank looks on. Photo By: WUMI AKINOLA.

dividend or bonus shouldendeavour to do so alongsidethe financial statement beingsubmitted.

She said, “Going forward, wewill not take this kind ofinformation to the market. Wehave told the companies thatonce there is board meeting,the Exchange should benotified immediately about theoutcome of such meeting.Interim dividend and interimaccount should be submittedat the same time; otherwise,such statement will not bepublished.

“Failing to do that, we willtell the company to hold on tothe account until such time itis ready to submit everythingin details.”

Speaking on non-implementation of the order,stockbrokers said that it iscausing confusion in themarket, while calling on theNSE to make it mandatory thatcompanies must feed theinvesting public with fullfinancial details, including theprofit and loss account,balance sheet, dividend andbonus where applicable andall the things associated withit to save investors frommaking lopsided decision.

According to DeleOdusanya of Quantum

Securities, “the practice doesnot allow for good investmentdecision because it is not onlydividend that should beconsidered when makinginvestment decision. You haveto consider what proportion ofprofit made that is beingreturned back into the systemfor further investment by thecompany and you want toknow what proportion of profitmade that is being paid out asdividend.

“At times, you havecompanies that pay out 80 to90 percent of their profit asdividend. Such companies donot allow for future growth. So,you are not only consideringdividend alone; you areconsidering the totality of thecompany’s performance inthat financial year. That willenable you to make investmentdecision. If the financialstatement does not come intotal, you won’t be able toreview the whole financialstatement using all thenecessary aspects of finance tomake your investmentdecision,” he said.

He noted that in a situationwhere a company sends outjust part of the financialstatement without stating thedividend to be paid, it distortsinvestment decision on thatparticular stock.

Brokers to NSE: Enforce directive onfinancial statement submission

Stories byNKIRUKA NNOROM

There is increasingdissatisfaction amongthe stockbroking

community over the failure ofthe Nigerian Stock Exchange,NSE, to begin implementationof the directive to quotedcompanies that statement ofaccounts should not besubmitted separately frominterim corporate action for agiven accounting period.

They posited that thepractice is distorting activitiesin the market as it does notallow investors andinvestment advisers to makeinformed investment decision.

Corporate action is anintention of a given companyto reward its shareholderswith either dividend or bonusissue in a given financialperiod.

In most cases, companiesintending to pay dividend orgive investors bonus sharesfail to release this information

alongside their financialstatement for the period.

Issuing a warning last yearat a training for journalists onthe NSE’s X-Compliance andBrokers Trak, Hauwa Zoaka,Head, Listings Compliance,Listings RegulationDepartment of the NSE, saidthat the practice would nolonger be tolerated.

She had stated that thepractice is creating confusionin the market, insisting thatany company that intends topropose either interim

Investors have expressed delight overdeclaration of 19.91 kobo dividend by the

Board of Directors of PZ Cusson Nig. Plc,describing it as a good development forshareholders.

PZ Cusson Nig. Plc had announcedintension to pay 19.91 kobo to itsshareholders as interim dividend for the halfyear ended November 30, 2013.

Information available to Vanguard showsthat only shareholders whose names appearon the register of member as at February 3-4,2014, will benefit from the dividend, whilepayment date will fall due on February 12,2014. The unaudited financial statement forthe period showed that the company posted52.90 percent increase in profit after tax toN2.31 billion from N1.51 billion in equivalentperiod of 2012.

The profit before tax rose by almost the samemargin, rising by 53.61 percent from N2.010billion in 2012 to N3.077 billion.

The earnings per share for the periodsnowballed to 58kobo compared to 17 koboin 2012, representing 243.39 percent growthover the period.

However, the revenue increased marginallyby 4.70 percent to N34.461 billion from

Investors commend PZ Cusson overinterim dividend declaration

N31.045 billion in the corresponding periodof 2012.

Commenting on the result, AmbassadorOlufemi Timothy, President, RenaissanceShareholders Association, said, it is a verygood development since PZ Cusson does nothave the tradition of paying interim.

He observed that with the amount paid, thecompany would likely not declare less thatN1.00 as final dividend.

Olufemi, however, attributed the declarationto the adoption of International FinancialReporting Standard by companies, saying thatthe accounting system is forcing companies tobe more transparent in their financialdisclosure.

“One should be thankful to IFRS accountingsystem; it is making these companies to tellthe truth about their earnings and profit,”Olufemi said, calling on other big chipcompanies to follow suit. Speaking in the samevein, Gbadebo Olatokunbo, anothershareholder, commended the company overthe payment, saying it is an indication that PZhas finally overcome its challenges.

“I am not surprised about the interimdividend; PZ has for some time been havingproblem and has been working on it.

Oando Energy ResourcesInc (OER), a subsidiary

of Oando Plc, has unveiledplans to raise US$ 50 millionthrough a private placement.

In connection with theoffering, OER intends toacquire a five percent interestin OML 131 in exchange forcommon shares of the company(the “OML 131 Acquisition”).

The private placement,according to a notice filed withthe Nigerian Stock Exchange,NSE, will consist of 35.07million ordinary shares and17.54 million common sharepurchase warrants (the“Warrants”) at a unit price ofC$1.57.

Each whole Warrant willentitle the holder to acquire onecommon share of the companyat a price of C$2.00 percommon share for a period of24 months from the date of theclosing of the ConocoPhilips,COP, acquisition.

The company stated that if,after a period of six monthsfrom the closing of the COPAcquisition, the commonshares of the company trade onthe Toronto Stock Exchange(“TSX”) at a price greater thanC$3.50 for a period of at least10 consecutive trading days,the Warrants will expire on thedate which is 30 days followingthe last day of such 10consecutive trading days.

Oando subsidiaryto raise US$50mvia privateplacement

Wall Streetgains onsigns ofgrowth

Wall Street rose onThursday, with the

S&P 500 climbing more thanone percent, buoyed by datashowing the U.S. economygrew as expected in the fourthquarter.

Facebook Inc (FB.O) sharesshot up 15.7 percent to$61.95, driving the Nasdaqup more than two percent bymidday. The social mediacompany delivered itsstrongest revenue growth intwo years on Wednesday,beating analysts’ estimates.

The S&P 500 has turnedpositive for the week, thanksto the day’s gains. The broadmarket index, however, wasstill down nearly threepercent for the month.Investors are concerned thatrecent bold efforts by centralbanks in emerging economiesto stabilise their currenciesmay not be enough to staunchan exodus of funds fromthose markets.


CMYK

Corporate Finance

By NKIRUKA NNOROM

UnityKapital AssurancePlc has announced plan

by its major shareholder,Unity Bank Plc, to divest its50.30 percent holdings in theunderwriting firm.

Consequently, Capital AssetsLimited has been appointed asthe Financial Adviser to thetransaction and a “Request forExpression of Interest, EOI,”for the sale of the shares hasbeen prepared for publication.

The divestment, according toa statement from Unitykapitalis in compliance with theCentral Bank of Nigeria(CBN)’s directive that allbanks in Nigeria should divestfrom non-banking subsidiariesor adopt a holding companystructure in keeping with thenew licensing regime.

It would be recalled thatUnity Bank had last yearsecured shareholdersapproval in an extra-ordinarygeneral meeting to divest

From left: Executive Director, WEConnect International Nigeria, Miss Comfort Sakoma, GroupHead, Inclusive Banking, Access Bank Mrs Ope-Wemi Jones, Country Director World Bank, DrMarie-Francoise Marie-Nelly and Head, Inclusive Banking, Access Bank, Mrs. Titilola Familoniat the WEConnect International Nigeria Launch in Abuja.

Nigeria’s corNigeria’s corNigeria’s corNigeria’s corNigeria’s corporporporporporate bond worate bond worate bond worate bond worate bond worthththththN29.29bn tN29.29bn tN29.29bn tN29.29bn tN29.29bn to mature in 20o mature in 20o mature in 20o mature in 20o mature in 201111144444

BY PETER EGWUATU

The corporate bondworth N29.29 billionfloated by four firms in

the Nigerian capital market isexpected to mature this year2014.

Findings from the DebtManagement Office (DMO)show that three of the firmswhich are listed on theNigerian Stock Exchange,NSE accounted for 93.2 percent worth of the bond thatwill mature in 2014, while onefirm which is not quotedaccounted for 6.8 percentworth of the bond.

The three companies whichare listed on the NSE include:Guaranty Trust Bank(GTBank) Plc, C & I LeasingPlc, and Lafarge (WAPCO)Nigeria Plc. NGC SterileLimited is the fourth companyand is not a quoted entity.

The corporate bond marketpresently has a low level ofsecondary market activities,apparently because of thedearth of corporate bonds inthe segment.

It should be noted thatGTbank bond which was ratedAa- by Agusto and Co.Limited, were placed througha book building exercise withinstitutional investorsconducted by GTB AssetManagement Limited, WSTCFinancial Services Limitedand FBN Capital Limited,acting as Issuing Houses/Book Runners.

The bond was issued at parvalue and has a coupon of13.5 per cent per annum,which is the cut-off pricedetermined by the Bank andthe Issuing Houses/BookRunners upon the conclusionof the book building exercise.An application was filed withthe NSE for the listing and

admission to trading of thebond. The offering was thefirst tranche under the Bank’sN200 billion Debt IssuanceProgramme, through which itraised debt from time to timeover a period of two years inorder to significantly enhanceits funding/lendingcapabilities. The offering wasalso the first Naira-denominated bond issue bythe Bank. In January 2007,

the Bank successfully issuedUS$350 million EurobondNotes due 2012 in theinternational capital marketswithout the guarantee ofeither the FederalGovernment or anyinternational financialinstitution.

For the C&I Leasing, itsplacing of N2.24 billionunsecured variable couponredeemable convertible loan

stock commenced in 2009 tomature 2014. The coming onboard of this unsecuredconvertible loan stock was asa result of low activities in thecapital market especially inequity market occasioned bythe global economic crisis.Institutional shareholderssuch as Leadway AssuranceCompany Limited, CrusaderInsurance (Nig.) Plc, AfricanDevelopment InsuranceCompany Limited, CreditAlliance Financial ServicesLimited, ContinentalReinsurance CompanyLimited, OUT ConsortiumFinance Limited, and UBATrustees Limited control about40 percent of the company’sequity.

For Lafarge (WAPCO),GCR accorded its bond anational scale Naira currencylong term rating of AA-(double A minus) to theN11.88bn .The Programmerating was derived byapplying a notching upapproach, starting from thelong term corporate creditrating of Lafarge WAPCO of A(single A). Supported by thenature of the SecurityPackage and the underlying

t r a n s a c t i o ndocumentation, the degree ofasset coverage implies highrecovery prospects, allowingfor the up notching.

The NSE admitted on itsdaily official list N11.88billion, 11.5 per cent FixedRate Bond (Series 1) 2011/2014 in favour of LafargeCement WAPCO Nigeria Plcon March 5, 2012. The Bondwas part of the company’s N50Billion Debt Issuanceprogramme.

Unity Bank to sell 50.3% holding in UnityKapital

about N5.4 billion of its non-banking subsidiaries.

The Group ManagingDirector, Falalu Bello, hadinformed the shareholdersthat the bank’s investment innon-banking subsidiaries wasin three categories whichinclude; subsidiaries,associates and otherinvestments, saying that itwas divesting from UnityInvestment & Capital Limitedwhich it owned 100 percent inthe sum of N307.21 millionand Unity Registrars Limitedwhich it owned 100 percent inthe sum of N143.64 million.

Unity Bank also divested its55 percent stake in NorthlinkInsurance Brokers Limited,which cost N35.23 million;Newdevcom Investments &Securities Limited in which itcontrolled 54 percent in thesum of N166.40 million.

Others include: HexalixProperties Limited which itowned 100 percent and costsN137. 27 million; FUG

Pension Limited in which ithad 55 percent stake costingN255.11 million and UnityBureau De Change which is100 percent owned by thebank with the cost of N287.30million.

The three associatecompanies from which thebank divested includeCaranda ManagementServices Limited, which itcontrolled by 42 percent at thesum of N97.18 million; PelicanPrints Limited (40 percent),costing N11.84 million andUnity Kapital Assurance Plc(49.49 percent) costing N4.05billion.

Other investments andholdings it divested frominclude Knight Rook Limited(25 percent); Kakawa DiscountHouse Limited (six percent);FSDH (eight percent); ICHLNigeria Limited (15 percent);NIBBS ( four percent); CSCS(one percent); JaizInternational Limited (onepercent); and Afrexim Bank(one percent).

FCMB rewardsmore customerswith N1m, gifts

First City MonumentBank (FCMB) Limited

has rewarded customers withcash and various gifts after itconducted its second monthlyregional and zonal electronicselection of customers for thebank’s 30th anniversary promoheld recently.

This resulted in an additional133 lucky customers, from 26locations around the country,winning various cash andprizes. Three customers wonN1million each, while 130others won LCD Televisions,Fridges, Generators and othercash and prizes.

At the Lagos/South-WestRegional draw held at Ijebu-Ode in Ogun state, Mrs.Yetunde Adeyemi Oludaisiwas rewarded with N1million,while Mr. Abubakar Isah Sabawon the N1million at theNorth Regional draw held inKaduna. The third N1millionwinner, Mr. Kevin OsekemenAtama, resulted from theSouth-East/South-SouthRegional draw which tookplace in Enugu.

GE Africa, StandardBank sign$350mf i n a n c i n gp a r t n e r s h i p

Efforts to increaseaccess to power

infrastructure in Africa hasreceived a boost with aUS$350million financingagreement between globalinfrastructure giant, GeneralElectric and one of Africa’sleading financial institutions,Standard Bank. Thepartnership seeks to provideaffordable access to powerinfrastructure to augmenttraditional large scale gridcapacity development.

The partnership will target10 priority countries: Nigeria,Angola, Tanzania, SouthAfrica and Ghana. Others areKenya, Mozambique,Uganda, Ethiopia and SouthSudan. Financing activity willcenter on project finance,equipment finance, tradefinance and advisory. Theprogram will be open toindependent power producers(“IPPs”) and non-recourseinfrastructure projects,industrials and manufacturers,natural resource companies,food and agriculturalprocessors, small to mediumenterprises (“SMEs”), andother potential borrowers.

30

— V

an

gu

ard

, MO

ND

AY

, FE

BR

UA

RY

3, 2

01

4

CMYK

Sim Capital Alliance Plc 103.50 103.50 103.50 103.50 10.56 9.71Stanbic IBTC Bank Plc 21.01 21.00 1,299,771 15.69 10.64 0.87 18.03UBA Capital Plc 2.30 2.14 26,034,956 1.41 0.03 0.21 6.71

HEALTHCAREMedical SuppliesMorison Industries Plc 2.01 2.23 785 10.54 9.52 0.00 0.00Healthcare ProvidersUnion Diagnostics & Clinicals Services 0.50 0.50 387,550 0.50 0.50 0.00 0.00

PharmaceuticalsEkocorp Plc 3.91 3.51 5,000 5.31 5.31 88.50Evans Medical Plc 3.64 3.46 135,039 1.45 0.70 0.19 0.00Fidson Healthcare Plc 2.90 2.90 1,226,065 3.20 0.83 0.44 3.07Glaxo Smithkline Consumer Nig 69.00 69.00 14,149 23.11 2.58 2.62May & Baker Nigeria Plc 2.26 2.26 246,196 5.61 3.61 0.20 9.05Neimeth International Pharm 1.65 1.57 199,153 1.96 0.95 0.09 14.13Nigeria-German Chemicals Plc 7.36 7.36 2,195 12.91 0.95 0.00 0.00Pharma-Deko Plc 1.68 1.85 4,500 200 4.28 0.00 0.00

ICTComputer Based SystemsCourteville Investment Plc 0.81 0.83 422,500 0.52 0.50 0.10 10.00

Computers and PeripheralsOmatek Ventures Plc 0.50 0.50 80,000 0.50 0.50 0.00 12.50

IT ServicesNCR (Nig) Plc 16.83 16.83 598 9.31 3.25 0.00 1.43Tripple Gee and Company Plc 2.07 2.07 360 3.59 3.25 0.01 0.00Processing SystemsChams Plc 0.50 0.50 100 50,000

ICTTelecommunicationsStarcomms Plc 0.50 0.50 4,000 1.47 0.50 0.00 0.00

INDUSTRIAL GOODSBuilding MaterialsAshaka Cement Plc 18.29 18.70 525,586 30.00 12.00 2.14 7.86Berger Paints Plc 9.05 9.05 24,960 12.57 8.10 1.09 4.97CAP Plc 46.99 47.68 153,765 43.98 15.16 2.28 8.88Cement Co. of Northern Nig. Plc 10.30 10.30 970,285 15.49 4.16 1.47 2.31Dangote Cement Plc 235.00 234.49 761,746 132.51 95.00 7.56 13.17First Aluminium Nigeria Plc 0.50 0.50 100,000 0.75 0.50 0.00 0.00DN Meyer Plc 1.51 1.45 101,530 3.51 1.02 0.00 0.00Lafarge WAPCO Plc 114.00 114.00 364,213 48.05 36.58 4.10 42.86Portland Paints & Products Nig Plc 5.79 5.51 155,020 5.28 5.11 0.44 14.19Paints & Coatings Manufacturers 1.95 1.85 100,000 3.36 0.51 0.23 2.89Premier Paints Plc 10.00 11.00 123,564 13.40 10.93 0.00 0.00

Packaging/ContainersAvon Crowncaps & Container 1.71 1.71 1,000 6.91 5.94 0.5 39.60Nigerian Bags Manufacturing Company 2.74 2.70 2,717,101 3.60 1.47 0.25 9.16

Tools and MachineryNigerian Ropes Plc 7.85 7.85 40 8.69 8.26 0.00 0.00

NATURAL RESOURCESChemicalsBOC Gases Plc 6.66 6.66 1,000 9.20 6.80 0.78 7.37

MetalsAluminium Extrusion Ind Plc 7.75 10.50 500 12.39 10.70 0.13 85.77

Non-Metalic Mineral MiningMultiverse Plc 0.50 0.50 3,000 0.50 0.50 0.01 0.00

Paper/Forest ProductsThomas Wyatt Nig. Plc 0.83 0.87 43,412 1.38 1.38 0.00 0.00

Electronic and Electrical ProductsCutix Plc 2.05 1.97 381,363 2.50 1.62 0.11 13.15Nigerian Wire & Cable Plc 0.50 0.50 840 2.58 2.58 0.00 0.00

Mortgage Carriers, Brokers and SeAbbey Building Society Plc 1.44 1.44 2,000 1.51 1.33 0.03 28.80INDUSTRIAL GOODSPackaging/ContainersAbplast Products Plc 3.98 3.98 6,888 3.98 3.98 0.00 0.00Beta Glass Co. Plc 17.67 17.67 109,200 15.58 12.71 3.90 3.26Greif Nigeria Plc 12.68 12.68 150 15.03 13.97 0.90 0.00Nampak Nigeria Plc 4.30 4.30 29,198 4.30 3.60 1.22 3.52Poly Products (Nig) Plc 1.05 1.05 200 1.86 1.05 0.30 6.18Studio Press (Nig) Plc 2.92 2.78 84,311 2.92 2.92 0.07 41.71W.A. Glass Ind. Plc 0.63 0.66 2,749,340 0.63 0.63 0.00 0.00

OIL AND GASEnergy Equipment and ServicesJapaul Oil & Maritime Service 0.55 0.56 7,379,912 0.97 0.87 0.19 6.06

Intergrated Oil and Gas ServicesOando Plc 18.98 19.16 22,021,125 78.97 27.99 1.73 4.17

Petroleum and Petroleum ProductsAfrican Petroleum Plc 20.50 20.50 82,191 37.10 0.50 4.93 7.40Beco Petroleum Plc 0.50 0.50 10,000 0.70 0.50 0.00 0.00Conoil 51.99 51.99 3,018 5.59 3.89 0.61 6.99Forte Oil Nig Plc 90.20 90.20 401,436Mobil Oil Nigeria Plc 120.15 123.50 168.020 163.50 141.00 6.11 11.11MRS Oil Nigeria Plc 54.44 54.44 4,993 2,100 63.86 2.98 19.23Total Nigeria Plc 180.00 180.00 35,531 240.00 195.50 14.63 17.07

HospitalityTantalisers Plc 0.50 0.50 10,000 200 0.01

SERVICESAfromedia Plc 0.50 0.50 100 0.72 0.51 0.00 12.75Automobile/Auto Part RetailersRT Briscoe Plc 1.33 1.30 622,565 3.65 1.30 0.21 8.19

Courier/Freight/DeliveryRed Star Express Plc 4.30 4.20 1,121,000 3.67 2.65 0.60 4.91Trans-National 2.50 2.75 280,623 0.25 11.12Employment SolutionsC & I LEASING PLC 0.56 0.56 2,690,075 1.64 0.90 0.04 11.25

Hotels/LodgingCapital Hotel 4.55 4.55 1,000 400 3.00 0.34 34.09Ikeja Hotel Plc 0.73 0.73 2,719,700 2.07 1.33 0.92 2.12

Media/EntertainmentDaar Communications Plc 0.50 0.50 10,000 0.50 0.48 0.00 0.00

Printing & Publishing.Academy Press Plc 2.43 2.43 1,000 3.68 3.17 0.25 12.19Learn Africa Plc 1.91 1.91 1,336 0.30Studio Press Nig. Plc 2.52 2.52 24,120 0.00 0.00University Press 4.07 4.35 266,220 6.82 3.60 0.54 27.69

Road TransportationAssociated Bus Company Plc 0.94 0.94 105,900 0.80 0.50 0.00 0.00

SpecialityInterlinked Technologies Plc 4.90 4.90 1,050 5.15 4.90 0.00 0.00

Transport-Related ServicesAirline Services and Logistics Plc 3.38 3.23 224,750 2.78 1.57 0.60 4.22Nigerian Aviation Handling Company 5.72 5.99 278,210 11.75 6.50 12.53 8.75

Opening Closing Quantity Year Year P.EPrice N Price N Traded High Low E.P.S Ratio

Oil and Gas and ProductsPetroleum Prod ucts

Capital Oil Plc 0.50 0.50 2,000 0.50 0.50 0.09

1st fTier SecuritiesAGRICULTURECrop ProductionFTN Cocoa Processors Plc 0.50 0.50 105,000 0.50 0.50 0.10 50.00Okomu Oil Palm Plc 40.60 40.60 165,886 24.58 14.53 7.33 2.77Presco Plc 44.01 43.45 750,594 8.30 6.40 2.75 4.37

Livestock/Animal SpecialitiesLivestock Feeds Plc 3.85 4.04 3,093,508 0.66 0.48 0.11 15.00

CONGLOMERATESDiversified IndustriesA.G. Levents Nigeria Plc 1.78 1.78 8,148 2.54 1.45 0.16 5.18Chellarams Plc 3.95 3.95 4,500 7.60 6.43 0.31 20.74John Holt Plc 1.40 1.40 89,500 8.82 5.89 0.00 0.00SCOA Nigeria Plc 5.32 5.32 208 8.28 5.52 0.35 15.77Transnational Corporation 3.57 3.92 17,009,668 1.82 0.50 0.24 3.64UACN Plc 69.00 68.01 2,373,094 42.50 28.70 6.89 4.14

CONSTRUCTION/REAL ESTATEBuilding Construction/StructureARBICO Plc 5.05 5.30 31,443 4 20Constain (WA) Plc 2.35 2.13 5,172,253 2,720,390.38

CONSTRUCTION/REAL ESTATENon-Building/Heavy ConstructionJulius Berger Nig Plc 69.00 69.00 37,562 62.26 32.96 4.11 10.11Roads Nigeria Plc 8.46 8.46 42,564 8.28 3.01 4.73 2.26

Real Estate DevelopmentUACN Property Development 19.04 19.99 173,350 20.15 11.59 1.69 7.33

Real Estate Investment TrustsSkye Shelter Funds 100.00 100.00 250 100.00 97.00 11.75 8.51Union Homes Real Estate Investment 50.00 50.00 - - - - -

CONSUMER GOODSAutomobile/Auto PartsDN Tyres & Rubber Plc 0.50 0.50 8,900 0.50 0.50 0.00 0.00

Beverages-Brewers/DistillersChampion Breweries Plc 15.27 14.51 4,625 4.63 2.23 0.00 0.00Guinness Nigeria Plc 226.00 222.00 635,162 255.00 186.00 9.95 19.98International Breweries Plc 29.90 29.61 345,885 7.10 5.23 0.41 16.29Nigerian Brew Plc 159.45 156.50 3,838,248 100.00 72.50 5.08 22.22Premier Breweries Plc 0.77 0.77 10,000 1.01 0.93 0.00 0.00

Beverages-Non-Alcoholic7-UP Bottling Company Plc 71.40 71.40 31,035 51.49 ,39.00 2.69 13.92

Food ProductsDangote Flour Mills Plc 9.50 9.50 105,318 19.90 4.31 0.00 16.91Dangote Sugar Refinery Plc 11.50 11.60 672,853 16.20 4.02 0.91 14.38Flour Mills Nigeria Plc 88.00 88.00 112,544 95.00 57.00 4.09 16.89Honeywell Flour Mill Plc 3.59 3.76 1,455,031 6.60 2.31 0.39 16.92National Salt Co. Nig Plc 13.21 13.87 575,145 6.70 3.80 1.01 5.75UTC Nigeria Plc 0.64 0.61 254,144 0.88 0.50 1.13 8.83

Food Products-- DiversifiedCadbury Nigeria Plc 60.68 60.88 262,805 37.27 8.33 1.35 27.61Nestle Nigeria Plc 1,120.95 1,125.00 335,714 840.10 400.00 25.43 32.84

Household DurablesNigerian Enamelware Plc 32.27 32.27 60 36.19 33.96 13.89 2.44Vitafoam Nig. Plc 5.30 4.96 1,136,147 5.54 2.91 0.61 7.07Vono Products Plc 1.65 1.52 101,500 2.88 2.88 0.00 0.00

Personal/Household ProductsPZ Cussons Nigeria Plc 37.70 38.00 1,234,322 41.02 21.02 0.82 4.39Unilever Nigeria Plc 55.00 54.00 1,557,325 47.39 27.60 1.44 32.91

FINANCIAL SERVICESBankingAccess Bank Plc 9.00 9.10 13,365,163s 12.39 4.70 1.42 8.73Diamond Bank Nigeria Plc 6.90 6.92 15,663,190 7.51 1.92 0.90 8.34Ecobank Transnational Incorporated 14.70 14.70 6,485,017 14.04 9.90 2.81 5.00Fidelity Bank Plc 2.38 2.42 4,170,875 3.47 1.13 0.43 7.93First City Monument Bank Plc 4.75 4.75 865,336 5.70 2.90 0.00 0.00Guaranty Trust Bank Plc 27.79 27.50 20,570,535 26.09 13.02 2.10 12.39Skye Bank Plc 3.70 3.88 9,206,606 6.50 2.65 0.71 9.15Sterling Bank Plc 2.32 2.31 2,496,853 3.05 0.80 0.54 5.43UBA Plc 7.75 8.16 11,096,181 7.69 1.64 0.67 11.19Union Bank Nig. Plc 8.77 9.20 563,708 10.60 2.34 0.00 0.00Unity Bank Plc 0.50 0.50 343,300 1.22 0.50 0.00 0.00Wema Bank Plc 1.06 1.10 3,650,671 1.75 0.52 1.34 0.43Zenith Bank Plc 23.90 23.30 8,508,459 21.49 11.96 2.09 10.24

Insurance Carriers, Brokers and SectorAfrican Alliance Insurance 0.50 0.50 1,000 0.50 0.50 0.00 0.00AIICO Insurance Plc 0.85 0.85 2,256,187 1.11 0.50 0.50 22.20Continental Reinsurance Plc 1.13 1.12 455,439 1.03 0.58 0.14 6.79Cornerstone Insurance Company 0.50 0.51 4,511,259 0.54 0.50 0.02 27.30Consolidated Hallmark Insurance 0.50 0.50 35 0.50 0.50 0.50 10.00Custodian and Allied Insurance Plc 2.00 2.06 9,054,578 2.44 1.08 0.28 7.43Equity Assurance Plc 0.50 0.50 31,104,000 0.50 0.50 0.01 50.00Goldlink Insurance Plc 0.50 0.54 62,500 0.68 0.50 0.00 0.00Great (Nig) Insurance Plc 0.58 0.57 417,734 0.50 0.50 0.03 16.67Guinea Insurance Plc 0.50 0.50 150 0.50 0.50 0.01 50.00International Energy Insurance Plc 0.58 0.60 786,218 0.50 0.50 0.00 0.00Investment and Allied Assurance 0.50 0.50 1,670,890 0.50 0.50 0.02 25.00LASACO Assurance Plc 0.50 0.50 3,000 0.50 0.50 0.00 0.00Law Union & Rock Insurance Plc 0.50 0.50 100 0.60 0.50 0.00 0.00Linkage Assurance Plc 0.50 0.50 1,300 0.50 0.50 0.03 16.67Mansard Insurance Plc 2.35 2.35 465,543 2.59 1.06 0.16 16.19Mutual Benefits Assurance Plc 0.50 0.50 900 0.54 0.50 0.00 0.00NEM Insurance Co. (Nig) Ltd 0.78 0.80 6,171,226 0.81 0.50 0.37 2.19Niger Insurance Co. Plc 0.50 0.50 43,500 0.61 0.50 0.02 26.00OASIS Insurance Plc. 0.50 0.50 1,200 0.50 0.50 0.03 16.67Prestige Assurance Co. Plc 0.67 0.65 768,775 1.01 0.50 0.06 15.50Regency Alliance Insurance 0.50 0.50 100 0.50 0.50 0.04 12.50Sovereign Trust Insurance 0.50 0.50 1,000 0.56 0.50 0.09 5.65Staco Insurance Plc 0.50 0.50 200 0.50 0.50 0.00 0.00Standard Alliance Insurance 0.50 0.50 4,000 0.50 0.50 0.00 0.00UNIC Insurance Plc 0.50 0.50 7,464 0.50 0.50 0.00 0.00Unity Kapital Plc 0.50 0.50 502,000 0.50 0.50 0.02 25.00Universal Insurance Plc 0.50 0.50 15,000 0.50 0.50 0.00 0.00Wapic Insurance Plc 0.95 0.99 15,810,521 1.08 0.50 0.07 15.43

Microfinance BanksFortis Micro-Finance Bank Plc 6.60 6.60 4,100 6.00 0.00 0.04 150.00

NPF Micro-Finance Bank Plc 0.81 0.79 380,199 1.18 0.92 0.92 10.56Mortgage Carrier, Broker and SectorAbbey Building SOC 1.49 1.49 50 1.57 1.37 0.19 47.6 7Aso Savings and Loans Plc 0.50 0.50 50,000 0.50 0.50 0.02 25.00Resort Savings & Loans Plc 0.50 0.50 400,000 0.50 0.50 0.00 0.00Union Homes Savings Plc 0.50 0.50 25,000 0.50 0.50 0.00 0.00

Other Financial InstitutionsAfrica Prudential Plc 3.04 3.19 7,714,736 0.75 0.00 0.19 9.16Crusader (Nigeria) Plc 0.50 0.50 22,000 0.50 0.50 0.00 0.00Deap Capital Management & Trust Plc 0.99 0.99 100 2.02 2.02 0.00 0.00FBN Holdings Plc 14.45 14.45 22,676,968 20.00 8.57 2.03 9.85Nigeria Energy Sector Fund 552.20 552.20 100 552.20 12.68 43.55Royal Exchange Assurance 0.60 0.62 1,698,771 0.78 0.50 0.13 6.00

Opening ClosingPrice Price Quantity Year Year P.E.

Company (N) (N) Traded High Low E.P.S. Ratio

Capital Market Daily Stock Market Report as at Friday, January 31, 2014


CMYK

Commodity Index

Jan. 24 - Jan. 30, 2014

Micro Finance

The Bank of Industry(BoI) has promised tosupport Bonny Island, in

Rivers State, host community toNigeria Liquified Natural Gas(NLNG), in the area of capacitybuilding.

Managing Director of the BoI, Ms.Evelyn Oputu, made the disclosureduring a visit of the Council of Chiefsto the bank’s corporate office in Lagos.

Oputu explained that thepartnership will be done in the areaof capacity building to train the youthson relevant skills, saying, “a lot of theproblems of the youths why they donot have jobs, is that they havenothing to do because they do nothave skills. They require skills to beable to find jobs that are relevant.Because it's one thing to go to schooland be educated, and another toactually know specific areas wherejobs are, and then the second aspectis to acquire the skills that arerelevant to be able to be selfsustaining and to be an entrepreneur.

“Second step is to find out from thecommunity what they have ascomparative advantage over the othercommunities and therefore developthe community to be an economiczone that will benefit and sustainthem outside of the natural resourcesthey have.

For funding, she said that fund isnot a limiting factor, “We are going tobe looking at who is available and

BoI to empower NLNGhost community

The Institute of CharteredAccountants of Nigeria(ICAN), has raised alarm over

the powers vested on FinancialReporting Council of Nigeria (FRCN)to punish errant members, especiallyaudit firms.

Speaking at a forum organised by theAudit, Investigations and ForensicAccounting Faculty, with the theme:“IFRS Implementation: The Journey SoFar, Auditors and Regulator ’sPerspective,” President of the Institute,Alh. Kabir Mohammed, cautionedmembers of the institute, saying, "letme sound a note of warning that theAct has conferred a power ofinvestigation of professionalmisconduct on the Financial ReportingCouncil of Nigeria. This is a welcomedevelopment, as it is in line with theinstitute’s disciplinary measure forerrant members. I trust you will guideagainst this.” Highlighting some of theinstitute’s contribution on financialreporting to audit practitioners,Mohammed said that as members ofthe International Federation ofAccountants (IFAC) it is part of theinstitute’s responsibility to adoptstandards issued by the global body forNigeria.

To this end, he said, “the professionalpractice monitoring department wascreated to monitor audit firms andascertain the level of their compliance

IFRS: ICAN raises alarm overFRCN’s power to sanction

with Nigerian standard on qualitycontrol and professional code ofconduct and guide for members.

“The council of ICAN has establishedthe Nigerian Auditing StandardsCommittee (NASC) to develop andissue, on its behalf, standards andstatement on auditing and relatedservices. The issue of such standardsand statements will help to improve thedegree of uniformity of auditingpractices and related services.

“The institute also publishedguidelines for merger of small andmedium audit firms to create awarenessand guidelines for merger of small andmedium sized audit firms aimed atencouraging sole practitioners toexploit the benefits of size in theiroperations and provide effectiveguidelines to be adopted by firmscontemplating merger process.

Chairman, Audit, Investigations andForensic Accounting Faculty, Mr. FrancisMedessou, said that the adoption of theIFRS by all listed companies sinceJanuary 1, 2012 has had profoundimplications for financial reporting in thecountry. Medessou added that it has notbeen a smooth transition, hence there areissues and challenges that border on thereporting processes and outputs,financial compliance and control activitiesas well as the extent and depth offinancial disclosures that are yet to beresolved.

what is available. Where we feel thereis a gap, we will come up with ideas,it is a partnership and we are goingto be working together because theyhave come with one of their partnerswhich is one of the communities in thesociety that is the NLNG. They havedemonstrated that they are interestedin working with the people.

We are going to have funds fromthem and we are going to merge itand we will also bring ourdevelopment partners, who arealready in that area of development,UNIDO, UNDP, all of thosedevelopment partners to be able tochange things and occupy them.

On the other hand, ChairmanBonny Chief Council, Chief AminPepple, said that the visit wouldfurther strengthen its partnership,pushing development of the kingdomforward.

According to Pepple, Bonnykingdom plays host to so manymultinational oil companies, sayingthat Shell, Mobil, NLNG are all sitedon the island of the kingdom. "Weknow they are all there for profit andthe government at all levels havecomplained of inadequate funding todevelop everything at the same time.

“It then behooves us to look foralternative sources of funding todevelop our people and develop ourkingdom by extension developing thecountry."


CMYK

Interview

We are indeed very happy toreceive you and yourteam. As you are aware,

Vanguard was established 30 years agoby the Chairman/ Publisher, SamAmuka. Today, one million peopleread our paper everyday on the weband hard copy. So no platform givesyour chamber a better exposure thanVanguard. What is the purpose of yourvisit today?

We want to thank you for the supportyou have been giving the chamber inall its activities, particularly during itsannual international trade fairs. We wantto request for such continuouscooperation especially now that thechamber is coming up with a number ofissues with the aim of promoting thebusiness environment of our greatcommunity.

The purpose of our coming here todayis to inform you about the preparationsfor the 35th Kaduna International TradeFair. The preparations havecommenced; the fair is scheduled tostart from February 21st to 2nd March2014, at the usual venue -KadunaInternational Trade and InvestmentCentre, Zaria Road, Rigachikun.

Our theme for this year is AgricultureTransformation For IndustrialDevelopment: Public-PrivatePartnership Approach. This themewas chosen by the Council ofthe chamber to reflect on the

Nigeria has beenconsistently inpolicy somersaults— Alimi Bello

Nigeria has beenconsistently inpolicy somersaults— Alimi Bello

IN 20 days time, the 35thKaduna International Trade Fairwill hold in the state. Dr. AbdulAlimi Bello is the President ofKaduna Chamber of Commerce,Industry, Mines and Agriculture,the organiser of the yearlyexhibitions. He spoke withVanguard about the thrust of thisyear’s edition, their preparationsso far and what is new for localand international exhibitor,among other issues. EXCERPT

By OMOH GABRIEL, Business Editor,FRANKLIN ALLI & PROVIDENCE OBUH

,

,

country’s over-dependence on oil asmore or less the only source of revenuesustaining our economy despiteenormous potentials available in otherareas particularly agriculture.

“We try as much as possible to alwayschoose a theme that relates to thecurrent realities. Recall that the themeof last year ’s fair (34th) was oncombating security challenges.

In arriving at a choice of this year’stheme, we considered the expressedconcerns and discussions on thecountry’s over-dependence on oil asmore or less the only source of revenuesustaining our economy despiteenormous potentials available in otherareas particularly agriculture. It istherefore the position of the chamberthat focus should shift to agriculture andindustrialisation.

The opening ceremony for this year’sfair will be on Saturday, February 22nd

in honour of our exhibitors.Our presence in your office today is

to request for your usual support andcooperation by giving the trade fairactivities the much needed publicityboth before and during the trade fairperiods.

Editors, on behalf of my team and thechamber, I once again thank you for yourtime and I hope we are going to have a

mutual andr e w a r d i n grelationship. Thankyou very much.

I am wellacquainted withK a d u n aInternational TradeFair. I used tocover the trade fairwhen I was afinance reporter.What is new to methat I am not awareis the inclusion ofquiz competitionsfor secondaryschools. What is theessence of the quizcompetition and who is it targetedat?

You just saidsomething about thefuture readers of

your newspaper; that they aregenerations yet unborn. As a form ofcorporate social responsibility, what canthe chamber do to create awarenessamong secondary schoolstudents in the 19Northern states? Sothe essence of thequiz competition isour socialresponsibility forthe educationalsector of theeconomy in thesestates. It issupposed to addvalue to theeducational sector.

This year’scompetition will bethe fourth in theseries. We also havea one day seminar onthe theme of thefair. At the seminar,we are expecting General TheophilusY. Danjuma, retired; former ministerof Defence, Prof Ango Abdullahi,former Vice-Chancellor of AhmaduBello University/ former SpecialAssistant to the President on Food andSecurity. The event comes up onMonday February 24 at the conferenceHall of the trade fair. On Tuesday, 25th

we intend to have interactive sessionwith major stakeholders in the financialsector. It is scheduled to hold in theevening at Hamdala Hotel. Again, in theevening of March 2, there will be afarewell dinner in honour of ourexhibitors.

Most of the products at ourintentional trade fairs are

imported, why are you not using theplatform to promote our domesticproducts?

I am happy the Chairman, OrganisingCommittee, Alhaji Awwalu Makarfi, ishere. He shall respond to that question.He has been in contact with so manymanufacturers locally and outside thecountry.

He has been working round the clockand I would like him to add a word. Toa very large extent, you and I and otherpersons know the situation of theeconomy.

Generally, our market is flooded withforeign products and what you see at

the trade fairs is a reflection of theeconomy.

Many people think trade fairs areplatform to buy and sell. This is verywrong. In reality, a trade fair is a forumwhere ideas are exchanged; it is a placewhere you explore investmentopportunities that are available in acountry; it gives you information aboutwhat is available here and there.

The chamber serves as bridge betweenour members, the government,manufacturers in Nigeria as well as

People see thetrade fair as a

place to display andsell items, we allowthat to happen nowbecause it addsglamour to thefair, if this featureis not there, peopleare not likely tocome

•Dr. Abdul Alimi Bello


CMYK

Interview

,

,

those that are coming from outside thecountry. So, we are yet to be where weshould be. A lot of the time, people seethe trade fair as a place to display andsell items. We allow that to happen nowbecause it adds glamour to the fair. Ifthis feature is not there, people are notlikely to come. So, your observation isvery right. It is a reflection of our society.

What value will your trade fair this

year add to the economy?As you could see from the theme we

have chosen this year, AgricultureTransformation for IndustrialDevelopment, it was deliberate becauselast year, for instance, the theme wascombating security challenges becauselast year, we were at the height ofsecurity challenges particularly theBoko Haram issue and it is our duty tolook at the situation on ground andformulate the theme along that line toreflect the reality on ground. Havingattained reasonable peace, whatNigerians are concerned about today isto go to farm. Generally in Kaduna andeven in Maiduguri, Adamawa and Yobebefore this time, the situation has beenmore or less normal for now.

A year ago, the situation was so badthat we postponed the fair. This year,we have not had security issues. Whenyou are bringing local and international

people to attend your fair, you have todo everything possible to protect theirlives and property. Coming back to theissue of the theme, there has been a lotof discussions on Federal Government’sAgric Transformation Agenda. Nigeriabasically is an agricultural society. Wehave the land which is fertile and wehave the population. And in almost eachstate in the country, there is oneresource or the other that can grow verywell and meet the demand of localconsumption and even exporting it toother countries.

There is no doubt about it. Every statehas agric potentials. And now that therehave been so much discussion on theagric issue, we feel that we have to gobeyond these discussions by motivatingNigerians to go back to agriculture. Webelieve if agriculture is given dueattention and you have mass productionthrough commercial farming, I can tellyou this country will be better. I can tellyou even if you want to export; it is noteverything you export.

That is why we feel if agriculture istransformed, it will lead toindustrialisation. Kano and Kaduna arewhere a lot of tomatoes are produced.But these are perishable items and theyneed very few days to move them to themarket. Now that we don’t have railway,they take them in vehicles to the marketand by the time they get to places likeLagos, half of the tomatoes would havespoilt. This is because we do not havemeans of processing them in Kano andKaduna. We believe if we have toachieve agric transformation, we haveto collaborate. Government has tocollaborate with farmers and otherstakeholders and look at how we canget a better result, particularly on theissues of production- how do youprocess what we produce? We all havethe responsibility to move Nigeriaforward.

Sometime in the past, multinationalslike UAC were the first to go back intoagriculture with a view to backwardintegration. I was part of the team thatset up UAC farm. At that time, themanufacturing sector was competing inthe open market. The then governmentasked what we can do to encourage themanufacturers. UAC had their farm inKaduna State; Nestle in Niger andNigeria Breweries. This led governmentto grant multinationals single digit loanto encourage them. You asked whathappened. By the time the FederalGovernment established thecommercial agricultural creditguarantee scheme, I asked the Ministerof Agriculture what his focus is. He saidthe large scale farmers will access loanat single digit – but have we sat downto find out what affected themultinationals - why did all of themabandon their farms? What happened?This is deliberate.

When I was farming in UAC Farm,

despite our seriousmechanization andinvestment, what wecould get was three tofour tons of maize perhectare but when wetravelled to SouthAfrica, a single farmerharvests 10 to 12 tons ofmaize per hectare, whilewe were struggling toharvest four tons and weare a member of WorldTrade Organisation(WTO). Why are we notgetting 10-12 tons ofmaize per hectare? Thisis an example of areaswhere we need to payattention to, and be ableto move forward. Whatis happening is a disease-reliance on a mono-economy.

How far are youcollaborating with the

Agric Minister, Dr. Adewunmi Adesina?

Well, I had a one-on- one discussionwith him and I said to him - 'I hope andI pray you would be able to take theTransformation Agenda to a peak of noreturn.' This is because our country hasbeen consistently inconsistent in policysummersaults. Do you understandwhat I mean? If you stand for 5 to 10minutes with Dr. Adesina, you will beconvinced he has what it takes totransform this sector. I participated insome of his agenda and I am waitingfor stakeholders' meeting. Each timewe write him, he gave us audience. Infact, what we have done in KadunaChamber is not only to carry out annualinternational trade fair, we haveintroduced some other things so thatwe are engaged in activities all roundthe year.

Agriculture fairs is another thing wewill be doing. We shall invite you whenit kicks off in the year. The minister iseven looking forward to theactualisation of such fairs. I was in thesouthern part of Brazil recently. If youcould recall, Brazil was one of the worstnations – their monetary policy,everything was bad. They used to bethe highest debtor to the IMF. But now,Brazil has a very strong economy. Theyare even creditor to IMF now. Theyborrow IMF money.

The farmer I slept in his house has anabattoir. On an average, he slaughtersnot less than 1000 heads of cattle a day.Do you think we cannot do it? We arecoming to that one day. There are somany things we need to do. Whetherwe like it or not, we will be forced to goback to the farm and I kept on sayingone thing - God has given us abundantland. There are just one or two thingsto do if only we put the interests of thenation first above our personal interest. It is not that we can’t do it.

Do you still farm? Yes, of course but not commercial

farming. I manufacture things that areagric-related. I manufacture animalfeeds.

What is your position on the current

fertilizer policy? On a serious note, we have policies

that are never consistent. Let me tell youa typical example of what happened

when we started UAC Farm. It was5,000 hectares of land. In fact, fertilizerrapplications were done by aircraft. What happened that time was thatgovernment controlled fertiliser. Youpay your money in advance and whenit comes to the time for planting, theygive you the fertilser. Either you go andcollect it from Minna or Port Harcourtor any destination which governmentcontrols. We paid around November /December against coming plantingseason. Did you know we did not getthe fertilizer -meanwhile we had spenta lot of money on land preparations?We had spent millions of naira andabove waiting for fertiliser . We couldn’tafford to fail to farm that year.

That is what we call window planting.There is a particular hectare you mustcover for you to break even. If youinvest, say, N5 million, you must be ableto cover 2000 hectares and if you don’tand there is a period between which youmust do your planting because rain inthe north comes at a particular time. Ifyou plant maize, it requires 140 days ofconsistent rain but if the rain stoppedat a particular period in the year andthe maize didn’t get enough water, youare in trouble. Count yourself as a loser-you have lost money.That is why thepresent Minister of Agriculture tookaway fertilizer distribution from thegovernment to the private sector.

Another thing you want to ask yourselfis the level of nutrients in the soil. From our social study or IntegratedScience, if you plant something here inLagos or at Iseyin, it can grow but itrequires a particular nutrient for it togrow well. Soil has nutrients but not allsoils have complete nutrient. That is whyyou have to find out which nutrient thesoil is lacking and then you addfertilizer. But how many of us take timeto find out which nutrient is deficient ina particular soil, and what quantity isneeded? Not only that, the fund thatgovernment said they are makingavailable to farmers - are they reallyavailable? They make the loans conditionso difficult for farmers to access.

These are things we want to look atand that is why we are organising theseminar; we want a situation wherebythe next agric minister continues fromwhere Adewunmi stops and not tosomersault the policy he introduced.

We want a situation wherebythe next agric minister continuesfrom where Adewunmi stops andnot to somersault the policy heintroduced, if we have consistentpolicy, banks will put their money inagric projects with the hope ofgetting it back




CMYK

Homes & Housing Finance

Lagos State governmenthas adopted the use ofdry construction

technology for the building ofthe proposed 1008 units IjoraBadia housing project. Thesystem is being used as a test-run in a bid to promoteefficiency and costeffectiveness in the state’squest for mass housingdelivery.

The dry constructiontechnology is based onminimal usage of water andsand, focusing on reinforcedconcrete, boards and metallic

•Low cost housing development

Mass housing: Lagos adoptsalternative building method

Stories byYINKA KOLAWOLE,with agency report

structures that are assembledas prefabricated houses. Thefinished works includeassembled partitions,suspended ceilings andraised floor systems.

Governor BabatundeFashola said during a visit tothe project site, at Ijora, thatthe new method ofconstruction adopted for theproject ensures that work wasongoing despite the absenceof work equipment at the site.

Fashola noted that there arenumerous benefits from thetechnologically drivenapproach. “Traditionally, ittakes about one person a dayor more to lay about 100blocks. With this system, youcan do a thousand blocks a

day, so, you would see thatyou are gaining 10 times moreefficiency. Over time, we willnow write a manual hopefullyfrom them about a Nigeriandeveloped system forefficient, cost effective savingmass housing delivery,” hesaid.

The governor also used theoccasion to assure formeroccupants that over N200million has been approved fortheir resettlement, calling onthose involved to contact theoffice of the Attorney Generalof the State who is in chargeof the disbursement of thefunds.

Prof. Olumide Olusanya,one of the promoters of thetechnology, speaking on the

new building technology,noted: “Some 20 years ago,when roads were being built,they used to mix the cement,the concrete and the formwork in the middle of theroad. Today, the constructiontechnology has changed. Thedrain is constructed off site,they bring the mechanicalshovels, excavate, put thedrains in and your road isalmost half done. It is thesame way we haveapproached this housingproject.”

Fashola said Lagos State iskeen on using locallydeveloped technology totackle the housing shortage inthe state, adding that skilledprofessionals are involved inthe project. “We have topintellectuals like professors,architects and others whohave designed the system.

“Yes, there is not a lot ofwork going on on site here,but there is a lot of work goingon off-site. The form workwhich the Professor wasexplaining to us that makesfour blocks in one vibrationsequence instead of one block,the form work that makes theblock with the conduit alreadylaid inside the blocks so thatthe electrical fittings and theconduit pipes can be installedat the time that the blocks isbeing laid are all beingprepared off-site. It means alot of time would be gainedin addition to efficiency,leading to more cost effectivehouses as materials are beingused optimally while thequality is not beingcompromised. So, in the nextfew months as they ’veexplained, the first buildingswill be on this site but thework is being done mentallyand technologically off-site sothat when they deployeverything goes on smoothly,”Fashola stated stated.

In a bid to complimentgovernment’s effort to tackle the

problem of housing deficit in Nigeria,three firms have signed a partnershipagreement on the provision of N1billion low-cost housing scheme in thecountry. The scheme tagged: ‘IgleIrorun’, is an initiative of Lafarge inresponse to the challenges ofurbanisation and the housing gapestimated at about 17 million units.

The partners, LAPO MicrofinanceBank, Lafarge Cement WAPCONigeria Plc and French DevelopmentAgency (AFD), were said to havesigned the agreement for the projectin October 2013 at the plant of LafargeCement WAPCO in Sagamu, OgunState.

Speaking on the development,Project Manager, Affordable Housing,Lafarge Cement WAPCO, Mr. BoyerAurelien, said the scheme is aimed atproviding affordable housing to low

Three firms partner on N1bn affordable housing schemeincome earners in the country, with aprojection of reaching out to 400 clientsby the end of April this year. He saidthe intervention would commence inSagamu and Abeokuta in the firstphase. “We provide feasibility forpeople who ordinarily will not haveaccess to these services that willimprove the lives of the beneficiaries.While LAPO has a history of assistingpoor households by providing financialservices and empowering the people,”he said.

Aurelien further stated: “The LafargeGroup is committed to achieving theobjectives of building mega citiesprecisely for low income people byimproving the conditions of living. AtLafarge, we have the ambition ofimproving housing conditions for twomillion people around the world.Nigeria is one of our key prioritieswhen it comes to affordable housing.We have conducted an extensive

market survey on how we can besthelp low income people; we identifiedLAPO as the best partner in affordablehousing based on its brilliant outreachand knowledge of low income peoplein this country.”

On his part, Managing Director,LAPO, Mr. Godwin Ehigiamusoe, saidthe company, as part of the agreement,was offering credit facilities to clientswho desire to own houses infurtherance of its social andenvironmental mandate of improvingthe standard of living of the poor. Hehowever added that the desire toreally own a house must be evident.

“The reason why we want to getinvolved in the provision of housingis because of our mandate ofimproving the standard of living of theordinary people. We also realise thathousing is not just shelter for poorpeople; it is also a place for theirbusiness.

Ogun plans lowcost housingscheme

Ogun State HousingCorporation said it’s

planning to deliver low andmiddle income housing estatesacross the state.

In a statement, thecorporation said its flagshipscheme, Plainfields Estate, wasalready being developed as acommunity housing prototypethat would provide the citizensan opportunity to buy into itsplan over the next few years.

According to the statement,the estate will, uponcompletion, have a variety ofapartment units. “Thecorporation will deliver housesand serviced plots across thethree senatorial districts, butwill avoid a blanket approach.This means that these projectswill be tailor-made to suit theneeds of the locality and themarket. Everyone who hasrecognisable means oflivelihood in the formal andinformal sectors is qualified tobuy. However, the corporationis keen to help those who needmortgages and who are firsttime buyers. Because ourobjective is to encourage homeownership, the owner-occupierwill always be our preferredbuyer.

UK mortgageapprovals jumpin 2013

The number of mortgagesapproved for house

purchases rose by 20 percentin 2013 compared with themarket doldrums of theprevious year.

There were 734,969 homeloans approved in during theyear, with the numbersaccelerating towards the end ofthe year, the Bank of Englanddata shows. This was up from612,654 the previous year,when many first-time buyerswere locked out of themortgage market.

Mark Harris, chief executiveof mortgage broker SPF PrivateClients, said he expecteddemand to keep rising in 2014,but that mortgages would notget any cheaper. “We expectthis to continue this year asHelp to Buy [government-backed mortgage scheme] getsinto its stride and lendingappetite remains strong, withmost lenders aiming to do morelending than they did lastyear,” he said.

The Bank of England figuresshow that total lending toindividuals has been pushed torecord highs in recent monthsby the revival in the housingmarket.


CMYK


CMYK

Insurance

Union AssuranceCompany Limitedhas posted Gross

Premium Income, GPI, ofN4.303 billion for the 2012financial year.

The figure represents a 12per cent increase from N3.842billion realised in 2011.

Addressing shareholders atthe company’s AnnualGeneral Meeting, AGM, inLagos, Chairman of thecompany, Mr. Emeka Emuwasaid that year 2012 inretrospect was challenging,yet the company deliveredmodest growth.

The Chairman said that netpremium income rose fromN2.874 billion in 2011 toN3.549 billion in 2012 whilelife and retail businessportfolio increased by 61.7per cent from N1.040 billionin 2012 to N1.681 billion in2012.

He said “The company

Form left: Vice Chairman of Standard Alliance Insurance Plc, Olorogun O’tega Emerhor; Chairman, Alhaji Yahaya Sa’ad;Company Secretary Agnes Okiemute Umokoro; Managing Director, Mr. Imokhai Thomas; and Group Executive Director Mrs.Orerhime Emerhor-Iwuagwu at the company’s 17th Annual General Meeting in Lagos.

Stories by ROSEMARYONUOHA

The Nigerian Councilof RegisteredInsurance Brokers,

NCRIB, has advocated thesupport of all insuranceconstituent bodies for the WestAfrican Insurance Institute,WAII, to allow it meet themandate of producing therequired qualitative humanresource for the industry in theWest Africa sub region.

President of the NCRIB, Mr.Ayodapo Shoderu made theappeal during the visit of thenew Director General of theInstitute, Mr. Frederick

NCRIB solicits support forWAII’s advancement

Bowen-John to the Council inLagos.

Shoderu opined that theinsurance industry in WestAfrica had not been able tolive up to its expectationsbecause of insufficient humanresource or professionals whowill render creative anddynamic insurance servicesto meet with changes inconsumer’s expectations.

“For the dire challenges ofhuman resources to be met inthe Nigerian insuranceindustry, like its peers inother West African countries,all training institutions ofwhich WAII is inclusive, mustbe given required supportand patronage by reputable

professionals and bodies inthe sector” Shoderu stated.

The NCRIB President urgedWAII to create more relevantcourses for insurance brokersin its curriculum, consideringtheir pivotal place as the mainprofessionals in the insuranceindustry value chain.

Shoderu disclosed that partof his administration’s thrustof office was to effectivelyliaise with notableprofessional bodies inNigeria and across the worldin order to grow humancapital development of theinsurance broking sector andthat the same gesture wouldbe extended to WAII.

Responding, Bowen-John

who came in company withthe Deputy DirectorGeneral of the Institute,Mr. Abdul RasheedAkolade said the visitationwas to galvanise greaterinterest of insurancebrokers in the Institute,going by the existingrecords which revealedthat most of the studentsthat attended theinstitution were sponsoredby underwritingcompanies.

He promised that the newmanagement of theInstitute had brought withthem qualitative years ofhuman resources,administrative andinsurance professionalexperience, which theywould bring to bear inturning the fortunes of theindustry around, to thedelight of the promoters.

BY GODFREY ONORIODE

The Board of Directors ofStandard Alliance

Insurance plc has assured itsshareholders that it wouldride on the opportunitiesprovided by the ‘nopremium, no cover’ policy togrow its business.

Chairman of the companyAliyu Yahaya Sa’ad, stated thisat its 17TH Annual GeneralMeeting, AGM, in Lagos,adding that the companyplans to continuously providethe best possible service to itsexisting clients andcompetitively capture theinterest of new clients throughemploying aggressivemarketing strategy.

According to the Chairman,the ‘no premium, no cover’policy has come to stay andthe company will work withthe National InsuranceCommission, NAICOM, toensure the fullimplementation of the policy,adding that the policy willhelp to eliminate the problemof unpaid premium in theindustry.

On future outlook, theChairman said “We shall alsostrategically build on ourreputation as one-stop generalinsurance service provider toremain competitive andgenerate a profitable after taxposition as we look forward toa boisterous year ahead.

He added that investors willnot be left out in theexpectation of the companyfor a better performance as theprospect of a reduction incredit risk would make thecompany attractive topotential investors and reposemore confidence in themanagement of the company.

On financial performance theChairman said that thecompany was able to post anunderwriting profit of N2.6billion from an underwritingincome of N4.99 billion at theend of December 2012 againstN4.25 billion recorded in theprevious year of 2011,representing a growth of 17.4per cent. Gross premium grewby 19.5 per cent from N4.55billion recorded in 2011 toN5.38 billion recorded at theend of December 2012, whileinvestment income rose toN208 million in 2012 asagainst N176 million achievedin 2011.

StandardAlliance toleverage on‘no premium,no cover’ in2014

Union Assurance records 12% growth in GPIrecorded a substantialincrease of 21.5 per cent inclaims settlement within theperiod under review,recording N955 millionin2012 from N786 million in2011. This was largely due tothe occurrence of a number ofone off claims. The company’stotal assets grew by 2.5 percent from N9.026 billion in2011 to N9.261 billion in2012.

On the future outlook, theChairman said “Withoutmuch doubt, 2013 promises tobe an interesting andrewarding year for us all evenas we grapple with stringentregulatory changes. UnionAssurance management iscommitted to pursuingstrategies that will bringabout optimum utilization ofresources and reducing cost.All agencies will be re-tooledfor expanded operations andbusiness growth. We expect

them to triple premiumrevenue over the next fewyears and hope to consolidateour investment income tomaximum result.”

He said “As part ofNAICOM’s transition to risk-based supervision and strictobservance of the provision ofsection 50 of the insurance act2033, it announced theenforcement of the ‘’ NoPremium No Cover” policyeffective from 1st January2013. This policy aims tostimulate liquidity within theindustry eliminating the largeprovisions of outstandingpremium income and a majorrisk faced by insurancecompanies. It has thereforebecome unlawful forinsurance companies to grantcover to an individual orcorporate body without firstreceiving premium. Thoughthe ‘’No premium no cover”policy may currently present

some challenges, weexpect to overcome these.We will continue tooverhaul our systems andprocesses to support therapid growth in our lifeand retail businesses.

“We recognize the widerange of risks that oursystems are subjected toin today’s business worldand have made significantstride in our quest to runrobust informationcommunication technology(ICT) solutions to preventpotential breaches of ourcustomer’s information.We have deployed aneffective documentmanagement system andboth life and generalbusinesses are already ona parallel run of the CoreBusiness Application(CBA) that currentlydrives our businesses,”the Chairman said.


CMYK

People in Business

Mr. Is’haq ModibboKawu is theChairman/Chief

Executive Officer of Abuja-based Word, Sound andVision (WSV) MultimediaLimited, a complete mediaoutfit that cuts across print,radio and television.

Succinctly tagged 'TheComplete Company',WSV apart from coremedia, is also intoresearch, training andconsultancy. In this chat withFinancial Vanguard in Abuja,Kawu talks about whatinspired him to start WSV,the challenges and hisdreams for the company.Excerpts:

Background:Having graduated top of his

class in mass communicationsat the undergraduate level,Modibbo Kawu was giventhe university's award for thebest student. Thereafter, heobtained a master’s degree inpolitical science and haveworked in journalism andbroadcasting for 37 yearsbefore establishing WSV.

Said Kawu: “I have workedfor Radio Nigeria, reported forRadio France International,Radio Netherlands and BBCWorld Service. I was apioneer member of staff ofRadio Kwara, pioneerGeneral Manager of KwaraState Television Authorityand editor of Daily TrustNewspaper. I was alsoChairman of the EditorialBoard.” It was, therefore, notsurprising when in 2011,having traversed the entirelength and breadth of theindustry, he decided to buildas it were, a one-stop shop forthe media.

Inspiration:“I left in 2011 to start Word,

Sound and Vision(Multimedia) Limited and thewhole idea was to puttogether under one roofeverything I have done in allthe media, as well as add newthings - marketingcommunications, eventmarketing, internetjournalism etc, as well asresearch and consultancy.That is why we say that WSVis a multimedia company. Wewant to be able to add valuein all the areas of media,provide platforms for serviceat various levels and thenprovide a strong trainingplatform for media today.When you listen to radio,watch television or see articleswritten by people in thenewspapers, a lot is verydeficient so we feel there is aniche that our company canproductively engage our

community in and with, tobe able to add value andimprove the quality ofjournalism andbroadcasting. We also wantto do productions,documentaries, provideplatforms to record music,videos and all that, and thendo research, opinion polls,perception index analysis,statistical analysis, focusgroup discussions etc. So wewant to be a one-stop shopfor the multi-dimensionalchallenges associated withmedia work in the 21stCentury for clients in

life is very difficult so I knewthat it was never going to beeasy. The whole idea of thiscompany has been in myhead since 1987 but thecompany was not registereduntil a few years ago and wedid not start functioning as acompany as such until a yearago. It is a very challengingbusiness environment. WhenI was starting, one of thepeople I respect a lot in thiscountry said to me: ‘Modibbo,I have to praise your couragebut Nigeria is very hostile tohonest business.’ The

as we are, tryingto do everythingunder one roof, itis not easy. LikeI said, I comefrom ab a c k g r o u n dwhere I havebeen told fromday one thatnothing comeseasy and youknow the blowthat does notbreak your backstrengthens it, sowe are trying toshow that wehave somespine,” hestated.

A n o t h e rchallenge is thelow quality oflabour force. “Ihave been awareof that for a verylong time. I saw

that practically as the editorof Daily Trust Newspaper.The quality of graduatescoming out of the schoolsystem leaves a lot to bedesired but whatorganisations have to do isto invest a lot of money intraining. We plan to do a lotof training. We started with

between 35 and 50 membersof staff doing different areasof media in the long-term butright now, we are providingthis modest opening forpeople. And then we aregoing to have platforms ofengagements with otherconsultants who come onshort-term basis to work onprojects with us so they aregoing to be part of thedatabase of experts who workwith us on periodicassignments.

Expectations:“We hope that in five years,

we should have completelystabilised and be touchingthe lives of people all overNigeria and beyond becausewe are thinking in terms ofpartnerships within andoutside the country. We hopethat we would also have ourown radio and televisionchannels, newspaper as wellas magazine and continue toprovide services andtraining. It is a holistic thingthat nobody has ever done.We are going to be on the lipsof people all over the countrywhere media is concernedand a lot of people who knewme when I went to work earlyin broadcasting willremember seeing aspects ofmy life from that level andlater on, as a columnist andthey will also see this side ofme as a complete mediaperson who has straddledevery aspect of media andwho is giving back to societythat he loves very much. Ithink our country hastremendous capacity forchange and developmentand I have always advocatedchange and developmentand I believe that WVS willbe the harbinger of theprogressive Nigeria that webelieve will satisfy theintersts of all the people inthis lovely country.”

different areas of socialexistence,” he said, adding:“We have installed a soundstudio, probably one of thebest anywhere; we haveplatforms to edit, a languagelaboratory, a creative hubwhere we bring in peoplefrom different mediabackground so that together,they can provide solutionscoming from the differentbackgrounds each one bringsto the job. We have a platformof graphics and then onlinefacilities. Our televisionstudio is almost ready. Weintend to also do somethingin newspaper as well asmagazine. So it is a holisticventure.”

Challenges:Speaking on challenges

faced by businesses inNigeria, Kawu said: “Rightfrom when I was eight yearsold, my father used to tell methat every true beginning in

business environment isvery tough no doubt, but wehave depended absolutely onthe goodwill of a lot of peoplewho have helped us throughthe teething phase. It is avery gradual process. It is notoften in the media world thatone has had the opportunityto have done radio, tv andnewspaper. A lot of times,people have either doneelectronics and never touchedprint and vice-versa. I havebeen very lucky to have doneeverything, working for someof the best mediaorganisations in the world. Ithink all of that provided thebasis for what we have done.

“It is very tough trying to dobusiness here but it is eventougher trying to do what hasnot been done before. Peoplehave either done radio ortelevision or newspaper. Nowyou have somebody being aspresumptuous or audacious

an in-house seminar for thestaff when we were taking offlast year and we are hopingthat as we begin to stabilise,we send our staff to differentinstitutions in the country andhopefully, abroad. I wasreading an interview with thefounder of PhillipsConsulting on their 20thanniversary and what struckme was what he said abouttraining people who mightjust move away. He said thegood thing is that when youtrain people properly, thosethat will leave would havetaken away your work ethosand become yourambassadors wherever theygo and I believe in that verystrongly. I believe that if youtrain people, even if theymove away, you have not lostanything because you haveassisted the growth of yourown country by helping togrow certain individuals whoare really good quality staff."

Employees:Speaking on the number of

employees, Kawu said: “We(my wife and I) run a schoolin Kaduna. We also have aschool in Ilorin. So now, I amemploying close to 50 peoplein the different endeavours.In the multimedia area, weare about 20 and as I said,because we are trying to doso many things, we wouldeventually want to begin tomake money and employpeople at other levels. WVSeventually would stabilise ata point where we will have

,

,I come from a background where

I have been told from day onethat nothing comes easy and youknow, the blow that does notbreak your back strengthens it sowe are trying to show that wehave some spine

WWWWWe we we we we want tant tant tant tant to imo imo imo imo imprprprprprooooove quality of journalism andve quality of journalism andve quality of journalism andve quality of journalism andve quality of journalism andbroadcasting broadcasting broadcasting broadcasting broadcasting – MODIBBO KAWU– MODIBBO KAWU– MODIBBO KAWU– MODIBBO KAWU– MODIBBO KAWU

By EBELE ORAKPO

•Is’haq Modibbo Kawu...It is a holisticthing that nobody has ever done

•Inside WSV's Language laboratory.


CMYK

Tax Matters

Introduction

For the development and growthof any society, the provision ofbasic infrastructure is necessary.

This explains why government showsgreat concern on how funds can bemade available to achieve their setgoals for the society. Government needsfunds to be able to execute its socialobligations to the public. These socialobligations include but are not limitedto the provision of infrastructure andsocial services. Meeting the needs ofthe society calls for huge funds whichan individual or community could notcontribute alone. One of the mainmethods through which funds areacquired for the government is throughtaxation. Citizens are expected todischarge their civic responsibility bypaying their taxes to contribute to thedevelopment and administration of thesociety at large.

Tax evasion and avoidance remainsthe greatest problems plaguing taxadministration in Nigeria. Apart fromsalaried employees, most citizens inNigeria pay inadequate taxes or notaxes at all and this has led to asubstantial loss of government revenue.The reasons for such behaviour couldbe attributed to several factors; theinsufficiencies and complexities of taxlegislation coupled with taxpayerstaking advantage of loopholes in thetax law, high rates of taxation and alack of sense of civic responsibilityamongst the taxpayers.

Tax evasion and avoidance have beena menace which seem to have defiedsolution had bedevilled the Nigeriantax system right from colonial times.While some have blamed the situationon the tax authorities for not living upto expectation with regards to taxadministration, others attribute it to theunpatriotic attitude of the taxpayers.

This disturbing aversion to taxationhas some historical antecedents.Traditionally, there has always been ahostile response to the payment of taxby the people who viewed tax collectorsas a nuisance to the society. And thefew that paid tax, did so with the greatestreluctance. Even in the Bible, instancesabound where the Jews treated the taxcollectors with disdain and contempt.

This negative attitude continues inmodern times and with taxpayersperfecting various methods offrustrating the tax authorities. To saythe least, this negative attitude totaxation is unpatriotic in view of the wellrecognised role which taxation plays inthe economy. In fact, it is undeniabletoday that every government dependsto a large extent on taxation not onlyfor its socio-economic development butalso as a means of ameliorating theexisting inequalities of wealth in thesociety.

Definition of Tax Evasion andAvoidance

Tax Evasion as defined by theCanadian Department ofNational Revenue is “the

omission or commission of an actknowingly with intent to deceive so thatthe tax reported by the taxpayer is less

Fighting tax evasion in Nigeria

than the tax payable under the law, ora conspiracy to commit such an offence.This may be accomplished by thedeliberate omission of revenue,fraudulent claiming of expenses orallowances, and the deliberatemisrepresentation, concealment orwithholding of material facts.”

Tax practitioners have described taxavoidance as a situation where thetaxpayer arranges his financial affairsin a way that would make him pay theleast possible amount of tax withoutinfringing the legal rules. It is a termused to denote those various deviceswhich have been adopted with the aimof saving tax and thus sheltering thetaxpayers’ income from greater liabilitywhich would have been otherwiseincurred.

Tax evasion is the wilful and deliberateviolation of the law in order to escapepayment of tax which is imposed by lawof the tax jurisdiction, while taxavoidance is the active means by whichthe taxpayer seeks to reduce or removealtogether his liability to tax withoutactually breaking the law.

While the law regards tax avoidanceas a legitimate game, tax evasion is seenas immoral and illegal.

These ‘twin devils’ have created agreat gulf between actual and potentialrevenue. The government hasperennially complained of thewidespread incidence of tax avoidanceand evasion in the country as companiesand other taxable persons employvarious tax avoidance devices to escapeor minimize their taxes or deliberatelyemploy fraudulent ways and means ofevading tax altogether, sometimes withthe active connivance of tax officials.

Tax Evasion SchemesThe problem of evasion is much more

glaring under the direct assessmentmethod under which the self-employedare taxed than with the indirectassessment method under whichemployees are taxed. It is generally

believed that the self-employed pay lessthan 10 percent of their personal incometax to the government yearly, whileemployees pay the remaining 90percent.

Even civil servants and the othersalaried workers are equally guilty ofthis nefarious practice in the manner inwhich they abuse the personalallowances and relief statutorilyprovided by the law. Thus, almost everypotential Nigerian civil servant, in theirclaim for personal allowances andreliefs, would claim falsely that he ismarried with four children.

Tax evasion has continued to remainan endemic problem in this country.Tax evasion” ... has become sowidespread that there now exists a casheconomy of widespread proportionwhich the tax man has no control”.

Tax evasion may be perpetrated inseveral ways, some of which comprisethe following:

False claims in respect of children,wife, capital allowances, dependentrelatives, life assurance premiums etc;

Understating or false declaration ofincome receipt from trade, business,professional, vocation or employment;

Omission to state gross amount ofdividends, rents etc. received in Nigeriafrom outside sources.

False claims of contribution to apension scheme.

Reduction of tax liabilities throughfraudulent tax returns.

Giving incorrect information inrelation to any matter or thing sufferingthe liability to tax of any taxable person.

unauthorised routes. This is intendedto evade the payment of customs duties.

Personal Income Tax:

Unscrupulous employers maytry to evade payingemployment taxes. Most

often this is done by intentionally failingto remit to the tax authorities theemployment taxes it collected from itsemployees. After a certain amount oftime, the employer will then dissolvethe company or claim bankruptcy,leaving the employment taxes unpaid.Other methods are paying theemployees in cash; filing false payrolltax returns, or failing to file payroll taxreturns.

VAT Evasion:

One of the simplest ways toevade VAT in Nigeria is toinflate the claims to deduct

VAT paid at earlier stages or outrightfabrication of fake invoices for purchasesnever made.

Curbing Tax Evasion

The federal and various statesgovernments havecommendably deployed several

measures aimed at curtailing orminimising tax evasion in Nigeria.Most of these measures are containedin various legislation empowering thegovernment department, ministries,agencies or any commercial bank withwhom any company has any dealingwith respect to any kind of transactionor business to demand from such aperson a tax clearance certificate ofthree years immediately preceding thecurrent year of assessment. In a similarmanner, the government introductionof provisional tax within 30 days bycorporate entities or the declaration ofinterim dividends constitute acommendable anti-evasion endeavour.In some states, similar anti-evasionmeasures have been adopted.

In other instances, tax evasionmeasures take the form of legislationwhich compels performing musicians topay tax to the government before beingallowed to play. Stiff penalties wereimposed for failure to comply with suchdirectives.

Our tax laws are replete with punitivemomentary measures as well as criminalsanctions aimed at solving this problem.One of such many provisions is section66 of the Companies Income Tax Actwhich conferred on the Federal InlandRevenue Service (FIRS) the power toseize and sell defaulting taxpayers’goods, chattels as well as their premisesin extreme cases in order to recover theamount of tax owned by such taxpayers.Others are found in the FIRS ACT of2007 which stipulates the followingoffences and penalties as follows:

Section 40 – FAILURE TO DEDUCTOR REMIT TAX

The penalty on conviction is pay taxwithheld or not remitted. In addition toa penalty of 10% of the tax withheld ornot remitted per annum plus interest atthe prevailing CBN rate andimprisonment for a period notexceeding three years.

Types Of Tax EvasionCustoms Duties:

A typical area of tax evasion inNigeria is the attempt toevade customs duties.

Typically importers try to evade customsduties by either under–invoicing orchanging the product description toattract lower rates of duty. A lot of goodsare brought into the country through

,

,

Tax evasionand avoidancehave been amenace whichseem to havedefied solutionhad bedevilledthe Nigeriantax systemright fromcolonial times.

• Kabir-Mohammed-Mashi , AgDG, FIRS


CMYK


His wealth was aslegendary andmysterious as that of

Da Rocha in Lagos.Incidentally, there was anoverlap in the respectivegrips on financial power alliedwith political power ofDantata and Sir Ojukwu inthe three regions – East,North and West – undercolonial rule. One can noweven say, with the benefit ofhind sight, that the Britishwent out of their way tofinancially promote certainindividuals, in each region, inorder to use them as listeningposts so as to prolong colonialrule.

While the GovernorGenerals of Nigeria, residentin Lagos, sat on small chairs,when Sir Ojukwu and DaRocha sat on couches toreceive them, the AlhajiDantata of their generationwould only allow theGovernor of the then NorthernRegion to seat on a matcovered with Persian rug,when he came to visit in hisprivate home which wassituated on land larger thanthat of the Ado Bayero, theEmir of Kano.

He was a great producemerchant whose diversifiedbusiness included some of thegroundnut pyramids which

The Inheritors: Why Nigeria’s One Man BusinessNever Last – 3 Alhaji Dantatamade Kano famous before theoil boom demolished them. Hewas reputed to be the nation’slargest exporter ofgroundnuts at a time whenthat commodity accounted fora substantial percentage ofthe export earned by Nigeriaand when true federalism wasthe prevailing constitutiongoverning the macro-economy.

Legends have it that AlhajiDantata was not only intogroundnuts but he also dealtin hides and skins, onionsand all the agriculturalproducts which the North hadto offer to a nation undergoingpolitical and economic growthpains. He had such a stranglehold on commercial activitiesinvolving farm produce, asthe biggest agent in the entirenorth and the country thatseveral wagons of theNigerian Railways wouldhave gone up and down thecountry empty if the greatmerchant refused to sendproduce for just two days.And, he traded both ways –from North and from theSouth. He was also the largest

buyer of kola nuts from theSouth in addition to locallygrown rice, fruits, peppersand tomatoes. He was alsoone of the biggest distributorsof imported food items,textiles and perfumes. Hiswarehouses were bulgingwith tomato puree, Titus andGesha sardines as well asother provisions. Needless tosay, his activities dominatedthe Northern NigeriaMarketing Board which wasestablished to organize themovement of produce and toguarantee quality, especiallyfor exports.

Later control of theMarketing Board became thespringboard to enormouswealth by young andeducated Northerners forseveral decades. They servedas intermediaries betweenthe illiterate farmers and thecustomers in Europe needingNigerian groundnuts, palmoil, coal, tin, hides and skins– among other products.

In fact he was in control tothe extent that it was said thatmillions of Nigerians wouldhave starved if Dantata

simply locked up hiswarehouses for one week. Henever stepped into a bank.Like most great merchantswho started small, his housesand shops were his banks andthey were stuffed with largeamounts of money; so muchso that he eventually did notknow how much he was worth.

As the stores multiplied andhe had to delegate moreauthority to his storekeepers,he eventually lost control ofhis accounts and increasinglyof the businesses he started.

He was also known tosponsor those agitating forNigeria’s independence fromcolonial rule. People like thelate Malam Aminu Kano –young, educated Northerners– who had joined Southernerslike Herbert Macaulay,Azikiwe and Awolowopressing for independencefrom British dominationreceived support from him.Perhaps, it was on account ofhis support for the agitationfor independence andperhaps because, too muchavarice took over or becausehe was seriously defrauded byhis storekeepers, but,suddenly, Dantata found

himself in deep financialtrouble. Increasingly, he wasfinding it difficult to pay hissuppliers and his businessempire was in danger ofcollapsing.

Then, one day in 1956, orso, the entire country wasstunned as the newspapersreported that Alhaji Dantata,had been arrested andcharged with printing andcirculating counterfeitcurrency. For some of thosewho knew the Kano businessmagnate, it was a trumped upcharge, partly on account ofhis support for independenceand partly because he wasalso suspected to be nursingthe ambition to use hisenormous wealth to becomethe next Emir of Kano. Forothers, perhaps out of envyor because they could notfigure out how one personcould come about with somuch money; they had a clueat last.With bewilderingspeed, he was prosecuted,found guilty and sentencedto several years in prison. Tilltoday, there is a great deal ofcontroversy regarding theevidence on which Dantatawas convicted. But, about onething, there can be nodispute, the consequenceswere devastating – thesentence wrecked Dantata’sbusiness empire.


E-Commerce

Online market is atype of e-commercesite that provides

opportunities for onlinebusinesses to transactbusinesses relying primarilyon sites other than theirs. Itrefers to a type of e-commercesite where product andinventory information isprovided by multiple thirdparties, whereas transactionsare processed by the marketplace operator. In an onlinemarket place, consumertransactions are processed bythe market place operator andthen delivered and fulfilled bythe participating retailers orwholesalers.

Compared to vendor-specific online retail stores,selection is usually wider,availability is higher, andprices are more competitive.Examples of online marketplaces include eBay or ourown Kaymu.com.ng or OnlineExchange, OLX in Nigeria.

Entrepreneurs who do nothave the resources to build,host and maintain websites fortheir businesses can leverageon this type of platform to notonly create a web presence fortheir business, but to alsogrow profits as they wouldmake their products andservices available to a widerrange of customers.

Speaking on howentrepreneurs can takeadvantage of this type ofplatform to grow businesses,the Managing Director ofKaymu.com.ng, MassimilianoSpalazzi, noted that onlinemarket place fostersentrepreneurship bystrategically positioning smallto medium scale businessesbefore a large homogeneousaudience to generate sales.

He explained that businesssavvy entrepreneurs haveembraced the online market

How entrepreneurs can leverageonline market place

Stories byJONAH NWOKPOKU

place as a mechanism fortransforming their businessoperations, adding that addedvalue of the online marketplace include opportunities toincrease revenue, ability toopen 24 hours a day, sevendays a week and the capacityto use the internet’sinteractive nature to enhancecustomer service.

According to him, “How anentrepreneur exploits theopportunities the onlinemarket place presents totransform relationships with

customers is crucial to his orher success as the onlinemarket place is changing theface of entrepreneurship.”

Spalazzi further explainedthat in Nigeria,Kaymu.com.ng has created ameaningful presence forentrepreneurs by committingto an integrated marketingplan focused on creatingmaximum exposure to smalland medium scale sellers onthe platform.

He said, “Owning a shop onthe online market place is

essential to maximisingexposure to a mass customerbase. Entrepreneurs can takeadvantage of the marketingchannels, huge customer baseand resources implemented byonline marketplaces to buildtheir businesses.

Through the onlinemarketplace, small to mediumscale businesses can markettheir products and servicesglobally and reduce theexpense of marketing,advertising and staffing.”

A twelve man team fromthe social network giant,

Facebook, has paid a courtesyvisit to Nigeria’s onlineretailer, Konga.com.

Nichola Mendelsohn, Headof Facebook, Europe, MiddleEast and Africa, who led theteam said while addressingKonga’s leadership andmarketing team, that whatmotivated the visit was that

Facebook team visits Konga.comKonga’s success story with areputation that has gonebeyond local shores is quicklygaining traction around Africadespite having only been inexistence for less than twoyears.

“We were really impressedwith how Konga has been ableto stamp its footprint inNigeria in such a short timewith plenty of positive

feedback coming from userson Facebook,” she said.

She also expressedsatisfaction with thesuccessful execution ofKonga’s Black Friday/CyberFriday-Fall Yakata andKonga’s ChristmasCampaigns and disclosed thatFacebook will furtherstrengthen its relationshipwith the Konga brand withmutually beneficial partnershipsthat would help the brand andthe over 12 million activepeople using Facebook inNigeria.

In response, the ChiefOperating Officer ofKonga.com, Alex Kamara, onbehalf of Konga team,thanked the Facebook teamfor taking out time to visit. Henoted that, “Konga alwaysgoes where its users love togo,” and used theopportunities to highlightsome of the initiatives thatKonga has planned for itsusers in the coming year.

The Founder/ CEO of Nigeria’s taxihailing company, Easy Taxi Bankole

Cardoso, has been featured on CNN’sAfrica Start-Up, a new programming strandthat shines the spotlight on African Start-ups and entrepreneurs.

Explaining the idea behind the taxiapplication during the programme, Cardososaid, “It’s as easy as the name. I wanted itto be simple for customers, very easy forusers to download the app and request ataxi at a click.”

CNN’s Africa Start-up hosts Easy TaxiHe noted that, in the long run, he sees

Easy Taxi changing the taxi culture inNigeria with hopes to standardize thepricing of taxis in the country.

He said that the taxi hailing app whichwas launched in Nigeria six months ago hasreceived impressive response fromNigerians.

“Demand is catching on. I’m bringing acompletely new model, a completely newidea to Nigeria, it’s not where we want it tobe yet but it’s getting on,” he said.

Amazon sharesfall 9% afterloss warning

Amazon.com Inc sharesfell more than 9 per

cent in early trading onFriday, after the onlineretailer warned of a possibleloss in the current quarterand its quarterly resultsmissed expectations in theholiday shopping season.

At least seven brokeragescut their price targets on thestock, by as much as $30 to alow of $415. Another sevenraised their price targets byas much as $100 to a high of$500.

Amazon shares were downat $372.81 in early trading.The stock had gained byabout a third in the last sixmonths.

The world’s biggest onlineretailer said it expectsoperating results for thecurrent quarter to range froma $200 million loss to a $200million profit, compared witha profit of $181 million a yearearlier.

The outlook was somewhatconservative, reflectingAmazon’s focus on investingaggressively in growthopportunities and newinitiatives, analysts said.

Twitter buyspatents, sealslicensing pactwith IBM

Twitter Inc has bought900 patents and signed

a cross-licensing agreementwith IBM, making peacewith Big Blue and bulkingup on its intellectualproperty portfolio as it takeson larger rivals Google andFacebook.

The agreement announcedon Friday comes afterInternational BusinessMachines Corp accusedTwitter in November - on theeve of its high-profile initialpublic offering - ofinfringing three of itspatents. At the time, itunderscored how fewpatents the six-year-oldsocial media companypossessed in relation tomore established rivals.

A cross-licensingagreement will helpsafeguard Twitter againstsimilar claims in the future.

Twitter ’s legal director,Ben Lee, said in a jointstatement with IBM onFriday.that, “Thisacquisition of patents fromIBM and licensingagreement provide us withgreater intellectual propertyprotection.

Mr Vitus Ezinwa, General Manager, Human Resources (right) and Mr Kachi Onubogu,Commercial Director, both of Promasidor Nigeria, makers of Cowbell Milk having a discussionduring the company's 2014 Sales / Marketing Conference held at the Transcorp Hotels, Calabar,Cross Rivers State.


Advertising, Media& Marketing

From Left: General Manager, Mass Market, Airtel Nigeria, Wole Abu;Head of Marketing, Seven-Up Bottling Company, Mr. Norden Thurston;Senior Marketing Manager, PepsiCo , Mr. Shakeel Akram, and GeneralManager, Value Added Services, Airtel Nigeria Mr. Victor Bannerman-Chedid at a Press Conference to unveil Pepsi/Airtel consumer promo inLagos recently.

STORIES BY PRINCEWILLEKWUJURU

Authors of marketingbooks and market

intelligence experts have atdifferent times identifiedincrease in population,changing lifestyle, search forbetter ways to satisfy man’sgrowing hierarchy of needsand competition as factors thatcannot be ignored in today’smarket place.

Discerning producers ofconsumer goods and serviceswho appreciate consumerloyalty are everyday evolvingstrategies to entrench theirbrands in consumer’s heart.As the saying goes, it is hardto win a loyal customer buttakes a second to lose a dis-satisfied customer.

These words are premisedon the array of antisepticsoaps on the shelves whichhas rekindled the marketingactivities of Rickett Benkiser,which earlier hadreinvigorated the antisepticmarket, thus bringing brandslike SafeGuard from ProcterAnd Gamble, a strongcontender for the top spot inthe market. Tonnex antisepticmedicated soap, by TennysonIndustries Limited, BBBantiseptic soap marketed byGavannah Trading CompanyNigeria, Black soap by J.V.Nessa Nigeria Limited andDemocare Medicated Soap byVictory Broad Investment andh2h Moringa soap by VidsaMultiventure Limited Nigeriaall combined to give Dettol arun for its market share.

The only attractive portionthese contending brands havebeen able to play up is‘pricing.’ A tool Dettol alsoplays on. For example, atablet of Dettol soap sells forN100, while others sell at thesame amount, but the brandactivation embarked upon byDettol has given it an edge.

In effect, the move by ReckittBenckiser, manufacturers ofDettol Re-energize, a brandextension of the Dettol brandto align its corporatephilosophy with theconsumer-centric marketingmatrix to attain marketleadership was itsengagement with varioussectors where the brand plays.

The brand has succeeded inbuilding the biggest consumerdirect contact programme inNigeria through variousinnovative engagementplatforms, which is lacking inother competing brands. Forexample, through the ‘DettolNew Mum initiative,’ thebrand reached 5.8 millionmothers in 44 cities in Nigeria,that is about six millionmothers in five years. Itsampled these mothers,taught them good hygiene

ANTISEPTIC SOAP MARKET:

Dettol deploys market matrixdevice to stay afloot

practices and educated themon what good hygiene doesfor them, their babies andtheir families.

Furthermore, the Dettolbrand has also reached 3.5million school children inthree years by visiting 7,000schools across Nigeriacourtesy of its school handhygiene programme, ‘GoodHealth is in Our Hands.’Another strong success factoris Reckitt Benckiser’s abilityto bring innovative solutionsto meet the needs of itsvarious consumers per time.Just recently, the firmreiterated its commitment tothis avowed characteristicwith the launch of its newestsoap variant, Dettol Re-energize.

The Marketing Manager(Personal Care), ReckittBenckiser, Mr. Ahmed Shah,said innovation, consumerengagement and continuousresearch were three criticalsuccess factors that could not

be compromised in today’s competitivemarket. He said Dettol Re-energize,which was unveiled at a trade launch afew months ago was another product ofinnovation and extensive research intoconsumers’ want and preference.

“Our research has shown thatconsumers want a soap that has pleasantfragrance and ability to refresh them.This is why we have introduced a DettolSoap variant with a pleasant long lastingorange fragrance that refreshes and alsogives them protection against germs”,he stated.

Corroborating, the Managing Director,Reckitt Benckiser Nigeria Limited, Mr.Rahul Murgai, said that beinginnovative has helped the company tobuild the Dettol franchise across marketsincluding Nigeria. Speaking at the tradelaunch of Dettol Re-energize in Lagos,he described the extension of the soapcategory as another “great innovation”.

Murgai noted that as a product ofextensive research, the new soap variantwas unique for its reviving citrusfragrance and the trusted Dettol germprotection that offer consumers longlasting freshness and protection.

TwinPine Limited, anindigenous mobile

advertising network and MTNNigeria provider of mobiletelecommunications serviceshave signed agreement tojointly provide advertisers theopportunity to serve theiradvertising content on MTN’smobile portal ‘MTN Play’.

The agreement which isexclusive to TwinPine will takeadvantage of the tremendoustraffic which ‘MTN Play ’currently controls to giveadvertisers and brand ownersthe opportunity to reach theirtarget market via the platform.

Speaking on the partnership,the Managing Director ofTwinPine, Mr. Elo Umeh said,

TTTTTwinPine, MTN sign agreement onwinPine, MTN sign agreement onwinPine, MTN sign agreement onwinPine, MTN sign agreement onwinPine, MTN sign agreement onmobile advermobile advermobile advermobile advermobile advertisingtisingtisingtisingtising

“We are pleased to be partnering withMTN on this innovative platform.Being an indigenous mobileadvertising network, we have theadvantage in that we understand thelocal market and can better helpbrands reach their target audiences.We also have the technologicalcapacity to meet the needs ofadvertisers however large”.

According to Umeh, the agreementnot only covers mobile advertising,but also extends to mobile contentpurchased on the ‘MTN Play ’platform via the Mobile AdvertisingService. With this deal, Twinpineenables mobile content providers’ billMTN users for digital content drivenby mobile advertising via SMSchannels.

Beyond “Happy NewYear!” (Part Three)

Today, we shall conclude our customerexperience agenda by considering customer

dialogue and connection.Customer DialogueDo you hear the voice of your customers? Do

you listen? If you don’t, something is wrong. Youneed to constantly engage your customers in adialogue. You need to obtain ongoing feedbackon your products/services, your performanceversus competition, the performance of yourfrontline employees or even the customer’sperception of their last service experience.Customers are a treasure trove of information andthey’re usually willing to offer you insight thatcould help you resolve some of your knottiestproblems – if only you’ll listen.

This year, you may want to reorganize yourcustomer feedback mechanism, both online andoffline. Some customers may not want to beassociated with a “complaint box” but they’d bewilling to offer feedback online. Make it easy forcustomers to get their views across to you. Youmay want to get a professional to analyze andreport such feedback to you at regular intervals.On your part, commit to acting on the feedbackobtained. In addition, conduct studies to obtaincustomer perception. Customer satisfactionstudies are useful, but they don’t tell the entirestory. Instant feedback on most recent serviceexperiences may be more helpful in pin-pointingareas that need improvement.

You may also want to find ways of getting yourcustomer care line to live up to the name. If aftergoing though the menu maze associated withautomated customer care lines all they get is “youare caller number 91 waiting to speak to ourconsultants; you’ll need to wait for 40 minutes…,”customers will lose hope. Who wants to wait thatlong on the phone to reach you?

Customer ConnectionBegin to find ways of connecting with your

customers, beyond the normal transaction-basedinteractions. I don’t want to use that highfalutin,but threadbare expression – relationshipmarketing – which today has little or norelationship in it. Get to know your customers asindividuals and treat them as such. Most times,organizations treat customers as mere statistics!That attitude won’t help you see customers forwho they really are.

It’s difficult to connect with customers when allyou know about them is just enough informationto conduct a transaction. You’re also not going toconnect with customers if the only time you call iswhen you want to ask for an order. You need todo things that will make the customer begin tovalue your relationship over and above the coreproduct or service they buy from you.

Last lineOver the last three weeks, we have been

considering things that can help us improvecustomer experience in 2014. Some of these thingsare: customer focus, customer appreciation, peopledevelopment, customer dialogue and customerconnection.

You may recall that at the beginning of the year,many companies sent “Happy New Year”messages to their customers. The messages, bycard, email or SMS, were as evocative as theywere intriguing. The best for me was: You are thereason why we are here. (I can hear someonesay, “So they know!”) That message bears greatsentiments. But, beyond the sentiments, ourmessage is that the best way to ensure yourcustomers have a “happy and prosperous newyear” is to serve them well. Reduce their waitingtime. Listen to their complaints. Resolve theircomplaints promptly. Better still, give them fewerreasons to complain.

Concluded


Agric

Mr. Ajibola Olawale, the ChairmanCatfish Farmers Association of

Nigeria, CAFAN, Kwara State Chapter in thisinterview with Gabriel Ewepu bares his mindon fish farming, the All Farmers Associationof Nigeria, AFAN, and how farmers couldcooperate to move the agriculture sectorforward.

Excerpts:

How long have you been in fish farmingbusiness?

I have been a fish farmer for over 25 years,and it was after I completed and obtained myNational Diploma certificate.

Which category of fish farming are youengaged with?

I practice all kinds of fish farming, whichincludes tilapia, catfish, and others.

Since you started this catfish farming, haveyou made any meaningful progress?

The only sustainable means I am livingtoday is through catfish farming. The peak Ihave attained today was through fish farming.This is because the business is highly lucrative,and had made serious impact in my live, thatis why I have remained in the business for thepast 25 years. For now I am self-employed andI have my own farm.

How many fish farmers do you have?I have just one fish farm in Kwara State. I

have made huge amount of money from thebusiness for all these years. I have a minimumof 10 employees working with me in the farm.

Since you started this business have youreceived any form of assistance from any ofthe three tiers of government?

None, except this present administrationunder the Minister of Agriculture and RuralDevelopment, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina. He hasmade life meaningful for us fish farmers inKwara State. Under the Growth EnhancementScheme, GES, the aquaculture sector was oneof the beneficiaries under agriculture. The 500juveniles given to individual farmers and 5 bagsof feeds subsidised at 50 per cent rate for thefarmers, it has changed the lives of Kwarafarmers.

How many Kwara State farmers havebenefited from this policy GrowthEnhancement Scheme?

Finance, bane of fishfarming — Kwara CAFAN boss

We are 850 fish farmers and 795fish farmersso far have benefitted from the scheme,including those in the ministry and all thefish farmers from the local government areasof Kwara State.

How have you been able to carry alongcatfish farmers in Kwara State?

I thank God so far, and we have been ableto form the Fadama Group under our canopy,as well as aqua culturists and Fish FarmersAssociation of Nigeria working together tosee to the success of the GES in Kwara State.We have over 300 members under KwaraState CAFAN, and looks forward to theregistration of more members with theassociation, who will also benefit from theGES.

With the increasing number of yourmembers in CAFAN, can you say they havethe capacity and ability to locally produce,meet the demands of Nigerians and alsoexport catfish to other parts of Africa andthe world?

Just to cover an avenue for now, and despitethe GES we recorded the highest sales byindividual farmers, and also the rate of freshcatfish consumption had also increased, andwith what we have been given under theGES, we are still pleading if the number isnot increased we might not be able to takecare of the demand of fish products locallyfor now. This is because the awareness is therenow that eating fresh fish is the best comparedto imported frozen fish.

What is CAFAN’s position in the proposedbanning of imported of fish by the federalgovernment?

We are not praying for the banning ofimported fish, because consideringproductive capacity by fish farmers in thecountry, we cannot meet up to 40 per cent ofthe local demand and consumption. So westill need frozen fish to support our localconsumption of fish. Gradually, may be if thisprogramme would be extended and increasedabove the initial 500 units per farmer, I thinkwe will be able to cover the demand to 50and 70 per cent in 2014.

Has your members received technicaltraining from the government to boostproductivity?

Actually, we have not received any training

from the federal government, we are onlylucky to have some feed millers who havecome to our assistance through free trainingfor majority of fish farmers in the country,including Kwara State.

You mean the method of fish farming inthe country is still at a crude stage?

You see our method is still going belowaverage; we still need perfection in someareas, like in terms of input support andmanpower, which has to do with training toassist our local farmers.

Do catfish farmers have access to loanfacilities to develop and grow theirbusiness?

It is quite unfortunate, as a supplier I havenot received loan from any commercialbank. So far I have carried out projectsunder United Nation that is Food andAgricultural Organisation, FAO, Nigeria,where I made some supply to states thatwere affected by the 2012 flood.

Likewise on this GES, where I paid moneyinto First Bank of Nigeria, FBN, where Ibank, and nothing has come out asassistance from them since I wrote to them.

The federal government hasto intervene in this issue ofaccessing loans and if fishfarming is to survive. We needfinancial assistance, becausewe cannot go it alone. Banksshould be nurtured to see fishfarmers as their friends andnot as enemies.

Whenever they want to giveloans it should not be givento political fish farmers, ratherthey should identify thepracticing fish farmers, andnot to give us practicing fishfarmers a tie-rope, where theywill be asking for collateral inform of building and otherlanded properties, but shouldask the fish farmers to usetheir farms as collaterals,especially when it is not on aleased land.

Most fish farmers have beenable to develop their fishponds but feeding the fishesis the big problem but withoutthe assistance of the banksthere is no way individual fishfarmers can survive it.

Are you saying CAFAN ishelpless financially?

We are very helpless,because feeding occupies 75per cent in the cost ofproduction in fish farming.For an individual fish farmer,it will be difficult for you tofeed even 1000 fishes to asuitable size without anyassistance in form of soft loansor grants.

Relationship betweenCAFAN and All FarmersAssociation of Nigeria,AFAN

To some of us, All FarmersAssociation of Nigeria, AFAN,should be an umbrella bodyfor farmers, including fishfarmers, but this is not thecase now. AFAN is for cassavaand maize growers, forgettingPoultry Association ofNigeria, PAN, cattle rearers,and other kinds of farmers.

I feel the leadership ofAFAN should be rotatedamong the various sub sectorof the industry.

A multi-partner initiative –Strengthening AgriculturalInput and Output Markets inAfrica (SAIOMA) – aimed atimproving smallholderfarmers’ access to markets,has been launched by theUnited State Agency forInternational Development(USAID) and the Alliance fora Green Revolution in Africa(AGRA).

The initiative, which is athree-year GlobalDevelopment Alliancebetween USAID, Bill &Melinda Gates Foundation,Rockefeller Foundation andthe Swedish Ministry ofForeign Affairs, is also meantto increase farmers’ earningsand improve their well-beingsand the livelihoods of theirfamilies.

The SAIOMA initiative thatwill also be implemented inKenya and Malawi along sidesix districts in East andCentral provinces in Zambiawill benefit 35,000smallholder farmers, 468agro- dealers, and 30 Small/Medium Enterprises.

AFAN calls forearlydisbursement ofN14bn dryseason farminggrantsThe Chairman, All

Farmers Association ofNigerian (AFAN) in OgunState, Mr. Olusegun Dasaolu,has called on concernedagencies to ensure judiciousand early disbursement of theN14 billion grants in supportof dry season farming.

Mr. Olusegun Dasaolu madethe call in Abeokuta whilehailing the FederalGovernment Speaking inAbeokuta, for the grants tofarmers.

He said that farmers in thestate were happy to note thatPresident Goodluck Jonathanhad their interest at heart.

”The early disbursementwill help farmers to preparetheir lands, pay for labour, buyseeds and fertiliser inpreparation for the season’splanting,” Dasaolu said.

Mr. Bayo Adewusi, a lecturerat the Department ofHorticulture, FederalUniversity of AgricultureAbeokuta, described thegesture as a welcomedevelopment.

USAID, AGRAprovide support toimprove access tomarkets forsmallholder farmers

•Ajibola Olawale


We are first to successfully undergooperational audit — Dana Air

Dana Air's ChiefOperating Officer

and AccountableManager, Mr. YvanDrewinsky, said Dana isthe first airline to havesuccessfully undergonethe yearly scheduledoperational audit

Stories byLAWANI MIKAIRU

The Managing Director ofFederal Airport Authority of Nigeria, FAAN, Mr

George Uriesi, has said the agency has remodelledthe way it does its business. Concessionaires whoare willing to do business with FAAN are nowrequired to show proof of financial solvency andability to deliver any project given to them within 24months.

George made this disclosure during the Investment Forum organised by the Ministry ofAviation to showcase the investment opportunitiesin the aviation sector in Lagos. He said the numerouscases involving concessionaires against FAANcurrently pending in various courts are results ofdue diligence not properly followed.

According to him, “ the rules have changed. Themoney must be there to execute the project after allthe necessary papers have been signed. The era of collecting projects and not starting is gone. You muststart the execution of the projects within six monthsand the project must be completed within 24 months.”

Concessionaires must nowdeliver projects within 24months — FAAN

Over 52 Consumer Protection Officershave been deployed by the Nigerian Civil

Aviation Authority, NCAA, across major airportsin Nigeria. These officers have been posted tomore than 10 airports. This is coming just asNCAA is commended by air travelers for theConsumer Protection Directorate initiative andthe way it has been mediating on complaints fromair travelers. The officers were posted to theseairports after successfully completing their on-the-job training called (OJT).They weredeployed to join other officers already on groundat the airports. Capt. Fola Akinkuotu, DG,NCAA, said, “ the directive for thorough trainingand mass posting of these officers is to providesupport to the transformation agenda of theFederal Government of Nigeria.”

The Director General said that with theremodeling of the airports, there should be acorresponding increase in the number of CPDofficers at the airports to attend to passengercomplaints.

All the airports that are involved in the exerciseare Murtala Muhammed International Airport(MMIA), Murtala Muhammed Airport 1(Domestic), Murtala Mohammed Airport 2(MMA 2) in Lagos.

NCAA deploys more CPDofficers to airports

exercise prescribed bythe Nigeria CivilAviation Authority,NCAA.

Drewinsky said thisduring therecommencement of fullcommercial flightoperation after the liftingof suspension placed onthe airline by NCAA toenable the agency carry

out the operational audit.The airline resumedoperation with more thanone hundred passengerson its MD 83 plane fromLagos to Abuja. Amongthe passengers on boardthe flight were aviationreporters.

It will be recalled thatthe Nigerian CivilAviation Authority in

exercising its statutorysafety oversightfunctions on all theoperating airlines, hadprescribed a yearlyscheduled auditprogramme to ensuresafety in the sky and toalso avoid hitches inflight operations. DanaAir is the first airline tohave successfully

undergone theoperational auditexercise.

Drewinsky said the operational “ openitems” NCAA requestedthe airline to close beforeresuming operation“were items relating tostandard operationalprocedures and hadnothing to do with safety.So we closed all theitems which is the reasonwe resumed flightoperation.” He alsodisclosed that the airline

flight crew have beensent for refresher coursesto enable them keepabreast of currentpractice after more thanthree months off duty.

He also disclosed thatthe airline has signed acontract with a companyto deliver two newBoeing 737 with the firstone arriving this week,and the other coming inFebruary.”We areactually increasing ourfleet with Boeingaircraft.” On routes, hesaid the airline isresuming flightoperation with Lagos-Abuja route and willsubsequently return toother routes likeCalabar-Uyo-Lagosroutes. at 6:35 PM.

Aviation

financial vanguard

Documents

fpso project

samsungheavy industry

board of bank

financial vanguard

business development

terminal operators

anydedicated oil

gas terminal