CMYK

JUNE 10, , , , , 20132013201320132013

Continues on page 18

FOLLOWING the stoppage ofsubsidy payment to importers ofpetroleum products by Federal

Government as a result of the petrole-um subsidy scam, and the ban on theimportation of cement and rice into thecountry, the volume of cargo andnumber of vessels that sailed into thenation’s seaports in 2012 dropped by7 percent when compared to 2011. Of-ficial figures presented at the mid-yearreport of the Transport Ministryshowed that a total of 77 million tonnesof import was recorded in 2012 asagainst 82.8million metric in 2011.

According to the report which somegovernment officials are attributing tothe success of the current transforma-tion programme of the federal govern-ment between 2009 and 2011, therewas a steady increase in the volumeof imports until 2012 when the graphstarted nose diving. In 2009, the vol-ume of cargo throughput showed that66.9metric million tonnes of importswere recorded from ports across thecountry, while 75million metric tonnesof imports were recorded in 2010. For2011 and 2012, 82.8 and 77 million met-ric tonnes of imports, respectively,were also recorded, an indication thatthe ban on cement and the subsidyscam were responsible for the drop inimport volume.

From Left Dr. Enase Okonedo, Dean, Lagos Business School; Mr. Tony O. Elumelu, Chairman, Heirs Holdings; Dr(Mrs) Awele V. Elumelu; and Mr. Chris Ogbechie, Dean, Strategy, Lagos Business School after Mr Elumelu’s keynoteaddress at the inaugural Lagos Business School African Business Conference.

Stoppage of fuel subsidypayment, ban on cementdip imports by 7%

A breakdown of figures sighted byVanguard in the mid-term report ofthe transport ministry showed thatmost of the nation’s imports camethrough the premier port in Apapaquays with a total volume of 21mil-lion metric tonnes in 2012, 23.4mil-lion metric tonnes in 2011, 22millionmetric tonnes in 2010 and 21.1mil-lion metric tonnes in 2009. The fig-ures also showed that while a totalof 15million metric tonnes came inthrough the Tin-Can Island port in2012, 15.4million metric tonnes wasrecorded at the port in 2011, 13mil-

lion metric tonnes in 2010 and 14.1million metric tonnes in 2009. For theoil and gas free zone in Onne in Riverstate, 27million metric tonnes and 26.2million metric tonnes were recorded in2012 and 2011 respectively, while 2010and 2009 saw imports stood at 23.3mil-lion metric tonnes and 17.5million met-ric tonnes.

The port in Calabar Cross River statehad the lowest records of imports asonly a million metric tonnes came intothe country through Calabar in 2012as against 1.9million in 2011, 1.6mil-lion in 2010 and 1.7million metrictonnes in 2009. There was also a de-cline in the imports that came throughDelta ports as only 7million metric

tonnes came in 2012, 8.5million in2011, 9.1million in 2010 and 7.3mil-lion metric tonnes in 2009. “Drop in2012 is attributed to the ban on im-portation of bulk cement and the chal-lenges in the era of subsidy paymentfor petroleum products importation”.The report stated.

Besides the drop in imports, therewas also a drop in the number of ves-sels that called at the nation’s portslast year. The figures also showed thatwhile 4,868vessels called at the vari-ous ports across the country in 2012,the 2011 figure stood at 5,327, asagainst 4,962 and 4,620 in 2010 and

By GODWIN ORITSE

CURRENCY BUYING CENTRAL SELLING

CBN Exchange rate as at 7/06/2013

104.00 +0.39

95.27 +0.51

127.9 -1.55

2,353.00 -10.00

16.49 0.01

DOLLAR 154.75 155.25 155.75POUNDS 239.0733 239.8457 240.6182EURO 203.032 203.688 204.344FRANC 164.2781 164.808 165.3397YEN 1.5608 1.5658 1.5709CFA 0.2863 0.2963 0.3063WAUA 230.8667 231.6127 232.3586RENMINBI 25.2171 25.299 25.3809RIYA 41.2645 41.3978 41.5311KRONA 27.2294 27.3174 27.4053SDR 233.4094 234.1636 234.9177

Cover Story

CMYK

18 — Vanguard, MONDAY, JUNE 10, 2013

His Excellency, Governor Babatunde Raji Fashola flanked by Ms Toyin Olakanpo, Founder -Children and Business Nigeria Network, Hon. (Mrs.) Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire, Deputy Gov-ernor, Lagos State and Mr. Uzoma Dozie, ED - Lagos Businesses, Diamond Bank, (Her Excel-lency Mrs. Onari Duke) and Chief Keith Richards, MD Promasidor Nigeria Limited at the 1stAnnual CEO Forum & Business Round Table at the Wheatbaker Hotel, in Lagos recently.

Stoppage of fuel subsidy payment,ban on cement dip imports by 7%

Continued from page 17

2009 respectively. Lagos areaports recorded the highestnumber of vessel call with atotal of 1,609 at the Tin-CanIsland port, Calabar portagain recorded 159 vesselcalls in 2012 respectively.

The issue of ship traffic wasnot left out in the entire sta-tistical data report as there wasa steady rise in the numberof large vessels that called atthe various ports between2009 and 2011 until 2012when a decline was experi-enced with a total RegisteredGross Tonnage (GRT) of121million metric tones asagainst 122.8 in 2011.

Speaking on what couldbe responsible for the

downward trend of importsinto Nigeria, the NationalPresident of the Association ofNigerian Licensed CustomsAgents (ANLCA) Alhaji Olay-iwola Shittu told Vanguardthat some factors can be at-tributed to the current trendnoting that government’s eco-nomic policies with stringentguidelines is one major rea-son Nigeria is experiencingthe low level of import. Shit-tu noted that the stringentguideline has made import-ers to bring contraband witha view to beating the system.He explained that the emer-gence of some powerful ship-ping lines is also one factorthat led to the situation asthese shipping firms now buymega vessels to carry largevolume of imports, to the dis-advantage of the smallershipping firms. These ship-ping companies, which hesays are three in number, de-

termine the pattern of tradeand sometimes control thefreight rates for shippers.

The ANCLA president saidthe trend could also be attrib-uted to the large volume ofcontraband currently stockedat the port, adding that whenimporters cannot take deliv-ery of whatever imports theyhave brought into the coun-try, how will they sell andimport again. Another stake-holder in the maritime indus-try, Mr. Lucky Amiwero,agreed with Shittu, but add-ed the issue of security as an-other major reason that has af-fected the rate of importation.He noted that as a result ofthe current security challeng-es in Nigeria, ports of neigh-bouring countries are nowtaking over trans-shipmentsthat were destined for Nige-rian ports.

“Most of our trans-ship-ments are taken over by oth-er countries due to the secu-rity challenges confrontingNigeria” he added. Amiweroalso noted that the cost of do-ing business at the seaportshas taken importers to theborder posts where duties arecheaper than in the ports.The issue of economic meas-ures that government has putin place is another major fac-tor that has put restriction onimportation

“For example, the restrictionon rice import has reducedthe importation of the com-modity and this trend willcontinue until more importfriendly measures are put inplace to encourage importa-tion”. The logistics expertalso attributed the low levelof imports to the undefinedimport procedure. According

to him, the procedure as it isdoes not encourage trade. Heexplained that for trade to befacilitated, it must be consist-ent, predictable but that is notthe case in Nigeria.

In his own view, AlhjiMikky Okunola said that

the level of downward trendof import can be attributed tothe current transformationgoing on across the country,noting that government de-partments and agencies areputting in place one form oftransformation or another.

“When a country goesthrough changes, it comeswith all sorts of things. Oneof such things is the reduc-tion in import we are current-ly experiencing. People whoordinarily take risk before willhave to do a rethink beforethey stake their monies intoany business,” Okunola said.He explained that most im-porters who would ordinarilytake the risk of importing an-ything they like, now sit backto do a rethink before theytake the plunge. Even thebanks are not left out becausethey are cautious with thekind of loan they give and towhom they give it."

Maritime analysts howev-er agreed that the low levelof imports can also be attrib-uted to the general downturnof the world’s economy, add-ing Nigeria is not the onlycountry affected in this. Theysaid that the global economicdown turn has affected theglobal trading system, hopingthat it is hoped that the trendwill change in the course ofthe year.

AS the Roman Historian,Plutarch (AD 46-120?) had

noted “The mind is not a ves-sel to be filled but a fire to bekindled.” Given their corruptand greedy lifestyles Nigeria’sleaders do not seem to careabout integrity or moral values.They are good at predicting thefuture without creating it. AsPeter Drucker has observed “Ifyou want to predict the future,create it.”

In Nigeria, the growingproblem of unemployment inthe country has contributedlargely to the worseningproblem of poverty among thepopulace. Unemploymentaccording to Olaitan (1996)leads to frustration anddisillusionment which mayresult in crime or drug abusein a futile attempt to escapefrom and forget the pains andhumiliation of poverty andlack. The problem ofunemployment, he furtherstated, has worsened asmillions of school leavers andgraduates of tertiaryinstitutions have not securedgainful employment over theyears. Unemployment hasposed a serious problem notonly to the welfare ofindividuals but also to that oftheir families. Many ablebodied and highly qualifiedpersons who could not securegainful employment haveremained economicallydependent on their parents.This is because they lack thenecessary occupational skills tobe self employed and toeffectively function in today’sworld of work. Theseoccupational skills can beprovided by technical andvocational education.According to Abdulahi (1994)technical education is thataspect of education thatinvolves the acquisition oftechniques and application ofthe knowledge of the sciencefor the improvement of man’ssurrounding.

Technical and vocationaleducation prepares one for theworld of work with which theindividual become reliant andcan make contributions to thedevelopment of the society. Asemployers look for new talentsevery year from new graduates,it is important to not only havea solid education butgraduates that have features

Vocation and technical education –A key to improving nigeria’sdevelopment. PART 2

that stand out from the rest ofthe graduating students. Withthe economy being moreglobalized than ever, it isimportant to have abackground and a skill set thatallows graduates to becomeimmersed in the globaleconomy right from graduation(Cote, 2007). It is important forthese students or graduates tohave skills in innovation intechnology education andentrepreneurship to be readyto fit into the global marketplace on which today’seconomy depends on.Entrepreneurial Skills Neededby Technical and VocationalEducation.

Leadership is not a majorcause of Nigeria’s under-developed status. Nigeria canbecome an economic power-house (and realize its visions)only if proper attention is givento education and technological

development and promotesand rewards creativity, andchannel its material andhuman resources to productiveuse. The leaders mustrecognize the relevance oftechnical and vocationaleducation in nationaldevelopment and adopt andadapt what works in developednations. The resources beingwasted in the on-going false re-branding campaign shouldhave been used to re-brand thenation’s education sector. Noamount of rhetoric (or fancifulslogan) would solve Nigeria’ssocio-political and economicproblems. The leaders couldsalvage Nigeria’s image by re-branding their mentality anddoing the right thing: tacklecorruption, reform the electoralsystem and fix the dilapidatedinstitutions.

,

,

Leadership isnot a major

cause ofNigeria’s

under-developed

status.

CMYK

Vanguard, MONDAY, JUNE 10, 2013 — 19

Business & Economy

LAST week at the OPECmeeting in Vienna, the

Minister of Petroleum Resourc-es was reported as expressingconcern over China and Amer-ica sourcing energy from shaleoil. Early in the year this col-umn raised alarm over the de-velopment. We reproduce thisarticle first published in Janu-ary 2013 as a reminder thatNigeria should diversify itseconomy as fast as possible.

Nigerians whose pass time isbickering over oil resources maysoon find out that what they con-sider as the goose that lays thegolden eggs will no longer givethem the resources to steal from.Oil may soon be selling for farbelow the 1982 price level. Nothanks to President BarackObama who at his first term in-auguration urged Americans onto find a solution to the coun-try’s continued dependence onexternal oil. Five years down theline, America is almost self suf-ficient in oil production and isnow turning down offers fromtraditional suppliers. America isone country where when thegovernment decides on a lineof action it follows through. Butin Nigeria for over two yearsnow the issue of the PetroleumIndustry Bill passage has beenwith us without progress. Whileothers are busy finding alterna-tive to crude oil as means of en-ergy, Nigeria’s policy makersare busy stealing the little re-sources available to diversifythe economy. Shamefully, justlast week former President ofBotswana said at Daily Trust Fo-rum that it amounts to criminalnegligence for Nigeria leadersto continue to steal the people’sresources entrusted to themthrough corruption practices.

Last week the news wire wereawash with reports that The

Dark cloud over 2013budget as Nigerialoses US crude oil market

•President Barack Obama•Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke

United States, the highest im-porter of Nigeria crude nowgets so much crude from its ownshale deposits that Canadianexporters to US are selling asfar a field as Europe, showinghow deeply the U.S. energyrevolution is transforming glo-bal oil flows.

As recently as 2011, closeto 100 per cent of Cana-

da’s crude exports went to itsneighbour the United States, ac-cording to the U.S. govern-ment’s Energy Information Ad-ministration (EIA). But tradeand shipping sources said morethan 2 million barrels of lightcrude from Canadian offshoreoilfields have gone to Europein the last month, in a taste ofwhat is to come. The change isdue to technological advancesthe U.S. expects will bring900,000 barrels per day (bpd)record jump in its oil output to7.3 million bpd in 2013, fromplaces like the Bakken shale de-posit in North Dakota that nowfeeds U.S. East Coast refiner-ies served by Canada.

While this revolution is tak-ing place in the international oil

market Nigeria federal execu-tive arm of government is at warwith federal legislators on theright budget bench mark forcrude oil, but the oil marketequation is fasting changingagainst Nigeria. While the ex-ecutive favours the use of $75dollars per barrel the legisla-tors pegged the budget at $79dollars. Both parties will soondiscover that they have been toooptimistic about the internation-al oil market. From the look ofthings both side should reviewthe budget and reduce thebench mark to $60 per barrel.

US refineries’ traditional sup-pliers Nigeria, is to seek alter-native customers and is feelingthe pinch of the new Canadiancompetition in its establishedEuropean markets. BesidesCanada, other traditional sup-plies to US market will seekcustomers in Europe and Asia.If most suppliers of crude arenow to face a shrinking marketin Europe, one thing is sure,the price of crude will nose divesouth word, meaning a crash inprices of crude. This apparent-ly will derail the 2013 budget,no doubt. Hitherto, US oil re-serves have been too expensiveto recover using old technolo-gy. New technology of a drill-ing technique called hydraulicfracturing, or fracking, in whichwater, sand and chemicals areforced deep underground todrive out trapped oil and gas,have allowed access to millionsof barrels of U.S. oil that werepreviously unattainable. Thisshale oil is sweet – meaning ithas low sulphur levels and issuitable for the U.S. refiners –like the Canadian and Nigeriaoil it is supplanting. To the av-erage America oil trader Shale

oil is making its way to the eastcoast of the United States by railinstead of shipping from longdistance, so this is backing outoffshore sweet east coast Cana-dian and Nigeria production.For oil traders the profit mar-gin had widened sufficiently forarbitrage as it allowed for anominal profit of nearly $1 mil-lion on 600,000 barrel ship-ment.

The question is where isNigerian NNPC seeking

new markets? Apparently as itis with Nigeria they have goneto sleep until one day they findthat there is no market for Ni-geria crude. What then willhappen? Federal allocation tostates will dwindle, salaries willremain unpaid, federal govern-ment will borrow and borrow tofinance the budget, the deficitwill grow wider and the privatesector will be crowded out ofaccess to credit. The scaringthing is that rising U.S. shaleoil output has already startedre-routing flows of Nigeria andAlgerian light, sweet crude oilwhich used to flow regularly tothe United States. U.S. importsof light, sweet crude will fall tovirtually zero by 2014, an exec-utive of French Energy Com-pany Total’s trading arm pre-dicted in October. This progres-sive upheaval in crude oil pat-terns has prompted Europeanrefiners to look at changing theirslates – lists of suitable crudeoil grades for use as feedstock— to adapt. Traders said thatthe extra volumes of Canadiancrude arriving in Europe havedepressed prices for Nigeriangrades, which have fallenaround $1 since early Decem-ber. Nigeria federal govern-ment functionaries, Governorsand legislators who have beenfeeding fat on the proceeds ofcrude sales should be ready todrink the crude when it returnedunsold.

,,

Intervention funds beingmanaged by the Bank of

Industry (BoI) on behalf of thefederal and stategovernments, internationaldevelopment partners andprivate sector now stands atabout N1.6 trillion.

Managing Director of thebank, Ms. Evelyn Oputu, whodisclosed this, also assured thebusiness community in thecountry that they don’t needinsider connection in the bankto access credit facility.

Fielding questions fromjournalists during a three daytraining programme for the

BOI-managed funds hit N1.6trn

media held in Lagos. She saidthat owing to confidencereposed on the managementof the bank by thegovernments, local andinternational developmentpartner, its manage fundshave swelled to more than onetrillion naira. She gave thebreakdown of the cumulative

figure as follow: "CBN N235billion financing fund forcommercial banks, N100billion cotton, textile andgarment fund, N10 billionRice sector Fund and N16.91billion National AutomotiveCouncil Fund. Others are $4million UNIDO Energyprogramme, $500 millionAFDB fund , 500 billionPower\Aviation Fund; N5billion Dangote Fund, N9.5billion cement fund as well as

N90 million Women Affairsfund.

“No government ordevelopment agency wouldgive money to institution if ithas been making loses. Andthey know the funds are securewith us, “she said.

Oputu refuted allegationsfrom some entrepreneurs thatwithout insider connectionyou can get loan from thebank. "You don’t need insiderconnection; rather, an

entrepreneur should have awell - packaged bankableproposal before seekingfunding support from thebank. The bank insists oncollateral for big loans becausethe money is not mine; itbelongs to Nigerians, and ifyou don't pay back the loan I’llsell your house and recoverthe loan.“

The BoI boss noted that thebank has witnessedunprecedented expansion inits credit operations, withoutcompromising the quality ofinvestments and postedimpressive financial results.

Both partieswill soon dis-

cover that theyhave been too

optimistic aboutthe international

oil market.

By FRANKLIN ALLI &FAVOUR NNABUGWU

20 — Vanguard, MONDAY, JUNE 10, 2013

CMYK

Business & Economy

THE Lagos Chamber ofCommerce and Industry,

LCCI, is set too brainstormwith stakeholders at a semi-nar for a renewed campaign

LCCI, stakeholders to brainstorm oncassava flour for bread

By NAOMI UZORfor inclusion of cassava flourin baking bread and confec-tioneries. In a release by thePublic Relations Manager,Mr. Tope Oluwaleye, he saidthe LCCI is at the vanguardof a renewed campaign forinclusion of cassava flour in

baking bread and confection-eries will brainstorm withstakeholders in a seminartagged “High Quality Cassa-va Production &Utilisation inBaking and Allied Industries:Status, Trend and Opportuni-ties” scheduled for Thursday

13th

June at the LCCI Con-ference & Exhibition Centrein Alausa, Ikeja.

According to him, formerPresident of Nigeria, ChiefOlusegunObasanjo, who is astrong advocate of the inclu-sion of cassava in bakingbread, is expected to be theChief Guest of Honour, whilethe Executive Governor ofLagos State, Mr. Babatun-deRajiFashola is the specialGuest of Honour.

He disclosed that the key-note address at the event willbe delivered by the Chairper-son, Science and TechnologyCommittee of the Chamber,Engr. (Mrs.) JosephineMaduka. “It will be recalledthat the Minister for Agric.and Rural Development, Dr.AkinwunmiAdesina had can-vassed variously, on behalf ofGovernment, for the inclusionof cassava flour in the bakingof bread. Currently, the Min-istry has achieved 20 per centinclusion but its target is 40per cent by 2015, according tothe Technical Adviser on Cas-sava to the Minister, MrsToy-inAdetunji” he said.

NIGERIA currently losesabout N80 billion (500

million dollars) annually toforeign shipping operatorsfollowing FederalGovernment's inability toenforce the ship chandlinglaws of the land.

Nigeria loses N80bn annually to neglectof ship chandlingBy GODFREY BIVBERE This has resulted in foreign

shipping operators refusing tomake use of the indegeniousship chandlers.

Head of government andinternational matters ofNigerian Customs LicensedShip Chandlers Association(NCLSCA), Dr. MartinsEnebeli, disclosed this at theMaritime Reporters

Association of Nigeria(MARAN) monthly pressround table. He said this is incontravention of the recentLocal Content Actpromulgated by the FederalGovernment.

According to Enebeli who isalso the Trustee/SecretaryGeneral, Marine Oil TradersAssociation of Nigeria,Nigerian Ship chandlers areentitled to 95 percent of shipchandling services to shipsthat call at the nation’s ports.He urged the government toensure that the Local ContentAct is wholly implemented inorder to encourage Nigeriansparticipation in the maritime,oil and gas sector effectively.

Enebeli said theparticipation of multinationalcompanies in ship chandlinghas rendered manyNigerians jobless and hasresulted in capital flight. Hesaid in recent times, he haspersonally lost about 200, 000dollars to foreign ship ownersin the course of businesstransactions.

Enebeli commended theMARAN whom described ascritical stakeholder in themaritime industry, noting that

its critical assessments ofhappenings in the sector havehelped successivegovernments in policyformulations.

On Nigerian MaritimeAdministration and SafetyAgency (NIMASA), Enebelicommended its DirectorGeneral, Patrick Akpolokemi,especially in its fight againstpiracy in the nation’s water .

He said the Cabotageshould have been anautonomous parastatal of itsown adding that NIMASAleadership needs the supportsof the stakeholders tosucceed.

Earlier, the President ofMARAN, Bolaji Akinola saidthe association is an affiliateof the Nigerian Union ofJournalists (NUJ) which wasformed about 25 years ago.

He said the association willcontinue to be on the side oftruth in order to move themaritime industry forward.Akinola also commendedEnebeli for his unrelentingeffort aim at moving shipchandling business in thecountry forward.

IN demonstration of one ofits core beliefs that distrib-

utors constitute major bastionto any business, Lucky Fibresmakers of Nobel Carpet, re-cently dazzled its ever relia-ble trade partners across Ni-geria to grand receptions toappreciate their support.

The distributors’ parties,which held in four key citiesacross Nigeria, started in La-gos and covered for the com-pany’s distributors within theSouth West Zone; Port Har-court branch party covered forthe entire Eastern Zone, whilethe Kano branch party coveredfor the whole Northern Zone.The event featured presenta-

Nobel carpet rewards distributors across Nigeriation of awards to deservingdistributors that were able tomeet and surpass the set tar-get during the just concludedtrade promo.

The high points of the eventswere the presentation of thestar prizes to a total of fivewinners, Mrs. Adesina Oluke-mi (Kess Carpets) and Mr.Surajudeen Oladokun(Obokun Carpets), winnersfrom Lagos & Ibadan, got abrand new Honda City andHyundai Elentra cars respec-tively. Sir R.C Oforukwuga(RC Ofor Carpets) and Mr.Tony Ogu (Tony InternationalCarpets), winners from PortHarcourt zone event got brand

new Honda City and HyundaiAccent cars respectively, whileAlhaji Lawan Abubakar (BeliVentures Nigeria Enterpris-es), winner from Kano partygot Hyundai Accent.

Speaking at the Lagos par-ty, Mr. Kunal Malhotra, Gen-eral Manager, Nobel Carpet& Rugs stated that, Lucky Fi-bres Plc has decided to rewardthese distributors for their con-tinuous and unparalleled sup-port for the brand, Nobel Car-pet. He also emphasised thatthe success the brand hasachieved is heavily hinged onthe support enjoyed from thedistributors.

In Malhotra’s words, “We

TIN-can island commandof the Nigeria

Customs Service (N.C.S.) saidthat its has not made anychanges to its tariff levy forvehicles imported into thecountry through the command.

The command said that thetariff remain as issued from thecustoms high command,stressing that no customs AreaComptroller (C.A.C.) hasauthority to un-animouslyreduce tariffs.

In an interactive session withthe media yesterday in Lagos,Public Relations Officer (PRO)of the command, ChrisOsunkwo, denounced reportson reduction of “arbitraryvehicle tariff” by the commandreferring to such reports asproducts of speculation.

According to Osunkwo,“there is no change in the tariffprescribed by the managementof the service for used vehicle.It is the sole prerogative of thecustoms high command toproduce the valuationdatabase. The customs areaComptroller has no authority totinker with it.”

It was revealed that Commonexternal tariff of the WorldCustoms Organization, is thebasis on which the rates areprepared, though its applicationvaries depending on the needs ofindividual countries.

Speaking further, the customsimage-maker argued that onlyclearing agents see the prevailingrates as arbitrary given that ratesare uniform across all customscommands.

Increase in revenue generatedby the command for many toabout N20billion, was attributedto “the administrative acumen ofthe new CAC and the dedicationof officers of the command”

BRIEFNo change invehicle tariff– Tin-can Customs

By GODFREY BIVBERE

From left: Managing Director, ASO Savings & Loans Plc, Mr. Hassan Musa Usman; Minister of Housingand Urban Development, Ms Ama Pepple representing President Goodluck Jonathan and; Arc. Nya-EtokEzekiel, Chairman, Sub-Committee on Low Income Housing, Ministerial Implementation Team on HousingDelivery in Nigeria and Vice Chairman, Forum of Africa’s Advocates For Affordable Social Housing, atthe opening ceremony of 3rd ASO Housing Exhibition & Conference on held in Abuja.

CMYK

Vanguard, MONDAY, JUNE 10, 2013 — 21

Business & Economy

Global food wastage hits $1trn annually — UNEPwho presently go to bed hungryevery day,” the statementadded.

Also speaking to news menon this year ’s WorldEnvironment Day celebrationin Lagos, the ExecutiveDirector of Environment RightsAction, ERA, Dr. Godwin Ojoalso said that as a result of thefood wastage, half of Nigeria’spopulation faces threats ofhunger and starvation.

He said that given the factthat, “sixty million Nigeriansare unemployed and only 10%are gainfully employed, it couldbe said that half of thepopulation are underfed,malnourished and are underserious threats of dying ofstarvation. Believe or not,thousands of Nigerians die ofhunger and other relateddiseases,” he added

He noted that the theme for

this year’s World EnvironmentDay, which was jointly chosenby the United NationsEnvironment Programme,UNEP and the United NationsFood and AgricultureOrganisation is very apt in theface of the multiple planetarycrises that face mankind,adding that the planet isthreatened by climate change,food crisis and an apparentlyunyielding energy crisis.

“The theme for this year callson all of us to reflect deeplyabout the state of the worldenvironment especially inrelation to run away climatechange and food crisis facinghumanity in general.According to availablestatistics, over 1.2 billion peoplego to bed hungry everyday andanother half of that figure dieof starvation and malnutritionglobally. As we think of

overconsumption of theaffluent societies across theglobe, let us reflect on the socialdisparity over food access andconsumption patterns.”

Ojo explained that the trendis fueled by food wastagesresulting from lack of access tofood supply due to poor roadinfrastructure and the capitalistgreed of agribusiness men.“The so called global fooddeficits is artificial and thecreation of man because of thegreed of agribusiness,” he said.

The ERA boss however notedthat, “To address the problemof food waste and deficits fromNigeria will require that somemeasures be put in place likefixing the deplorable roadnetworks that seriously affecttransportation of food fromareas of surplus to areas ofdeficits.”

BRIEFS

AT least ten states inNigeria will benefit

from $1.2 million in newfunding from the WorldCocoa Foundation (WCF)and that is set to provideassistance to 70,000 cocoafarming households by 2015.

The program announced atWCF’s 23rd AnnualPartnership Meeting inWashington, D.C. byNigeria’s Minister forAgriculture and RuralDevelopment, Dr. AkinwumiAdesina, will focus onbusiness skills trainings andsupport for diversification ofrural economies in order toincrease cocoa farmhousehold incomes. It isexpected to generate benefitsfor more than 480,000Nigerians and help doublehousehold incomes within thenext five to six years.

Commenting on thepartnership, WCF PresidentBill Guyton said, “The WorldCocoa Foundation and ourcompany members aregrateful for the confidenceplaced in us by the FederalMinistry of Agriculture, stategovernments and non-government institutions andare excited about thisopportunity to expandservices to thousands of smallscale farmers in the cocoa-producing states of Nigeria.”

The Nigerian partnershipbetween the FederalGovernment of Nigeria andWCF builds upon the

foundation of the WCF CocoaLivelihoods Program (CLP),funded by the Bill & MelindaGates Foundation and WCFmember companies withpartners from the GermanDevelopment Agency GIZand SOCODEVI. Thispartnership will ensure thatthe Nigerian programbenefits from lessons alreadylearned through CLP’sengagement in other WestAfrican cocoa-producingcountries. “Nigeria has ahistory of a prosperous,viable and vibrant cocoaindustry in the past. The

cocoa industry provided uswith foreign exchange andrevenue, which built for usour enduring infrastructure,institutions and edifices,”Adesina noted.

In carrying out the programactivities, WCF will closelycollaborate with Nigerianfederal and state institutions,with active involvement of theNigerian Ministry ofAgriculture’s Cocoa Division,its Cocoa TransformationAgenda Team, and other localinstitutions. The CocoaTransformation Team will leadand provide guidance and

oversight on the overallprogram coordination, andwill assist implementingpartners with advice onspecific technical issues,identification of innovativetechnologies, and leveragingother complementaryprograms.

“The federal government isdeveloping partnerships withcountries and investors thatare ready to invest in Nigeria.We are adopting the valuechain approach from inputsupply to support on-farmproduction to value addition,local consumption and exportof produce and products. Ourgoal is to eventually accountfor at least 25 per cent of theworld market, with an outputof 500,000 MT by 2015, as weaim at the 1.0 million MTmark,” Adesina continued.

Ten states to benefit fromWCF’s $1.2m fundingBy JIMOH BABATUNDE,with agency report

THE United NationsEnvironment Programme,

UNEP has decried the highlevel of food wastage going onglobally, saying it nowamounts to a trillion dollarevery year.

In connection with the themeof this year ’s WorldEnvironment Day: ‘Think, Eat,Save, Reduce yourFoodprints,’ it says “each yearan estimated one third of allfood produced ends up spoilingin the bins of consumers,retailers, farmers andtransporters. Together, thesespoilt food total 1.3 billiontonnes and worth an estimated$1 trillion every year.”

“This amount of food canfeed several millions of people

By JONAHNWOKPOKU

WIMBIZ holdswomenempowermentforum

Women in Management,Business Public

Service (WIMBIZ), aNigerian based non-profitorganization recently held aroundtable business lunch inAbuja with plans to hold twomore before the end of theyear in Ibadan and PortHarcourt.

The Roundtable Lunchwhich has been runningsuccessfully in Lagos since2006 provides a popularplatform for dynamic femaleexecutives to shareexperiences, discuss ideas onpertinent issues that affectthem, develop opportunitiesto give back to society, bridgegenerational gaps and createnetworking opportunities.

The theme for the maidenedition in the capital city was,“Straight from the heart” andhad Mrs. Ifueko OmoiguOkauru, former ExecutiveChairman of the FederalInland Revenue Service(FIRS) as the keynote speakerwhile Mrs. Omobola Johnson,Minister of CommunicationTechnology and a foundingmember, Board of Trustees,WIMBIZ hosted the event.

IFC, a member of the WorldBank Group, aims to reachone million smallholder farm-ers in Africa by promoting sus-tainable agriculture and agri-business practices, a goal ittoday while hosting a confer-ence in Nairobi which broughttogether the private sector, do-nors, civil society and finan-cial institutions to discuss howto connect farmers to largemarkets, address climatechange and food security inAfrica. Agriculture accountsfor nearly half of the conti-nent’s GDP, and employs 60percent of the labor force. TheWorld Bank estimates that by2030, if production is opti-mized, agriculture could de-velop into a $1 trillion indus-try in Sub-Saharan Africa.

However, farmers in Sub-Sa-haran Africa face numerouschallenges that keep them fromrealizing the productive poten-tial of their land. Sara Clancy,Manager of IFC’s SustainableBusiness Advisory in Sub-Sa-haran Africa, said, “Weather,pests, crop disease, and mar-ket failures make farming aninherently risky enterprise inSub- Saharan Africa.

IFC targets 1mfarmers in Africaby 2018

•FROM LEFT: Ambassador of Nigeria to The Netherlands, Dr (Mrs) Neemat Akanbi; Minister of Industry,Trade and Investment, Mr. Olusegun Aganga; and wife, Mrs. Abiodun Aganga, during the presentation ofthe first Netherlands-African Business Council Distinction in Public Service Award to Aganga, in TheHague, The Netherlands

22 — Vanguard, MONDAY, JUNE 10, 2013

CMYK

Banking & Finance

BRIEF

From: Mr Malachy Agbo Editor in Chief of Citizen with Dr Remi Babalola Chairman of theoccassion And Dr Abraham Nwankwo Director General Debt Management Office,.at Citizen'smaiden annual public lecture held in Ikoyi Lagos. Photo By Akeem Salau.

FIRST Bank of NigeriaLimited (FirstBank) is

currently upgrading its IT in-frastructure to enhance serv-ice delivery and provide spe-cialised financial solutions toall customer segments, thebank’s management hassaid.

FirstBank’s spokesperson,Folake Ani-Mumuney, saidthe bank’s upgrade to Fina-cle 10 banking platform willsimplify customer transac-tions, support the latest da-tabase technologies as wellas improve functional andoperational capabilities on itsnetwork. “A periodic reviewof our processes to seek waysof upgrading customer expe-rience is an activity that weare passionate about in First-Bank. Consequently, ourquest at any given time is toensure the bank is better po-sitioned to offer efficient serv-ices to its over 7 million cus-tomers across the globe,” shestated.

Ani-Mumuney said First-Bank continues to investheavily in technology in itsbid to drive service excel-lence and product innovationacross its branches and elec-tronic channels. “Our Fina-cle 10 platform will drive op-erations that support newlines of business and furtherextend our services to theunder-banked and unbankedin the nation,” she added.

She explained that as isstandard with such enhance-ments, the bank regrets thatsome customers may haveencountered some servicedisruptions which may con-tinue over the next couple ofweeks when the upgrade willbe concluded.

According to her, the bankhad since provided severalalternative platforms to en-

FirstBank upgrades IT infrastructurefor enhanced service delivery

sure that customers can beserviced at any given time.She said the bank had dur-ing the period, opened someof its branches for longerhours and on weekends in-

creased the number of staff inits call centres who are em-powered to provide on-the-spot assistance. “We are ap-proaching an advanced stageof the upgrade and will like

to appeal to our customers forunderstanding and patienceas we work towards enhanc-ing customer experienceacross all our touch points,”she stated.

UNITY bank Plc haslaunched the second edi-

tion of its 3-in-1 savings pro-motion tagged: Aim, Save &Win, with the organisationdangling various prizes in-cluding a car, motorcycles,refrigerators and plasma tel-evisions sets at customers.

The bank’s Managing Di-rector, Unity Bank Alh. AdoYakubu Wanka, said that thebanks was launching the sec-ond edition in appreciation of

D E P O S I T D R I V E :Unity bank re-launches Savings promo

the success of the first whichwas concluded six monthsago. “About six months ago,we concluded the 1st Seasonof our Aim, Save & Win Pro-motion, which was our bankfirst outing since we beganbusiness in January, 2006.Today we are gathered topresent the 2

nd edition of the

savings promotion - The 3-in1Savings Advantage.

I am pleased ‘to report thatthe 1 st Season was success-fully executed. We kept ourpromises by graciously en-riching the lives our custom-ers for their loyal patronage”,he said. According to Wanka,over a thousand participantswere rewarded with variousprizes, six of such customerswon Hyundai Vema Salon careach, at the end of the firstseason.

Others, he added, got mo-torcycles, Refrigerators, Gen-erating sets, Bicycles, Mobilephones, LCD television setsand scholarships to supportchildren education.

“There was not a single in-stance where a winner wasshortchanged or our bankfailed to deliver. I am sure theRegulators of the Promotionsindustry can testify to this. As

a reputable financial institu-tion, Unity Bank Plc wasfounded on the principles ofintegrity and it is our resolveto continue to uphold this im-portant banking and businessvalue.

“Our bank spent over N100million to conduct the Promo-tion in the first instance andwill be spending more thistime around. This is in orderto positively touch the lives ofmore customers”, he said.

Wanka said that the secondSeason’s 3-in-l Savings Ad-vantage, has been designed tobenefit all Nigerians – exist-ing customers and all otherswho open accounts with thebank. He urged customerswith dormant accounts andprospective customers to takeadvantage of the new promo-tion to grow their money bykeeping their accounts activeand win.

“For those who will opt totake our Business Empower-ment & Thrift Account BETA),you stand the chance of win-ning business empowermenttools relevant to your trade; ifyou take other Savings Ac-count; you also stand a chanceof winning a Kia Rio salon carand other wonderful prizes.

Ecobank wins2013 AfricanBanker‘s Award forinnovation

ECOBANK Transnational Incorporated

has won the Award for In-novation in Banking in thisyear’s African Banker’sawards. The annualawards, which reward out-standing talent andachievement in Africa’s fi-nancial sector, were heldunder the patronage of theAfrican Development Bankat its Annual GeneralMeeting in Marrakech,Morocco. Mr. Albert Ess-ien, Deputy CEO and Headof Ecobank’s Corporateand Investment BankingDivision, accepted theaward on the Group’s be-half. Also in attendance wasMr. Patrick Akinwuntan,Ecobank’s Group ExecutiveDirector and Head of Do-mestic Bank, representingthe Group’s retail, local cor-porate, public sector andmicrofinance businesses.

“Innovation provides thekey to unlock the potentialof the African continent.This is especially relevantwithin financial services,where the unbanked pro-portion of the population isstill high,” said Omar BenYedder, Publisher of Afri-can Banker. “Innovationhelps us to reduce transac-tion costs and reach out tothe wider community,which is what Ecobank issuccessfully doing.

They are leveraging tech-nology and their extensivefootprint to enhance theircustomer service and, byproviding faster and afford-able access, Ecobank ismaking a significant contri-bution to improving finan-cial inclusion across Afri-ca.”

MR. Otu Umoh Sunday, a resident ofIkot Ekpene Road Aba, Abia State has

emerged the latest winner of “Salary-4-Life”star prize in the on-going Diamond Bank Sav-ingsXtra Season 5 reward scheme.

The Salary-4-Life is a unique benefit of theSavingsXtra Reward Scheme in which Dia-mond Bank pays the sum of N100, 000 intothe winning customer’s account every monthfor the next 20 years.

The May monthly draw was held at thepopular Araromi Spare Parts Market inIbadan recently brought the usual hustle andbustle in the market to halt as traders closedshop to witness the draw. The draw whichwas conducted through an electronic proc-ess as approved and witnessed by the Na-tional Lottery & Regulatory Commission and

Diamond Bank rewards customer with Salary-4-Lifethe Consumer Protection Council also saw Mr.and Mrs. Clement Obi, a couple operating jointsavings account with Diamond Bank in Ibadanwin N2 million in the draw while Mr. ObiakaEkeabuike Gilbert of Mubi branch, Mr.Okonkwo Sunday Ndubuisi of Port Harcourtbranch; Justus Emeka, Madubuchi of Abujabranch, Okeke Nkiruka Francis of Ikejabranch; Mr. Julius Ugwu Agu of Ladipobranch among others won N1 million each.

Mr. Odili Ogwu, a member of the CustomerExperience Group, Diamond Bank ,speakingat the event said the bank’s SavingsXtra ac-count is the most rewarding way to save, add-ing that the bank has rewarded over 3,000customers with over N2 billion through itsSavingsXtra reward scheme which began in2008.

Vanguard, MONDAY, JUNE 10, 2013 — 23

BRIEF

Corporate Finance

2012 was particularly not arosy year for companies in

the cement industry, as theyear was characterised byheavy down pour, which last-ed well into the last quarterof the year. This, according toindustry watchers, led to con-traction in the level of demandfor cement, as the consequentflooding disrupted construc-tion activities by major con-tactors and private homebuilders. This, coupled withepileptic power supply, badroad network and lack of ac-cess road impinged opera-tions of most manufacturingcompanies within the year,leading to increasing cost anderosion of revenue. It is esti-mated that power generationconsumes about 30 percent ofcompanies’ revenue in Niger-ia. Despite these challenges,Lafarge WAPCO, a foremostcement manufacturing andmarketing company in Niger-ia, recorded significant im-provement in all the indica-tors.

Financial positionThe audited 2012 financial

result prepared in line withInternational Financial Re-porting Standard, IFRS,showed that the revenue forthe year rose by 41 percent toN87.965 billion from N62.502billion in 2011. The operatingprofit rose by 98 percent fromN13.152 billion to N26.041billion in the review period.Profit before tax at N21.264billion was 105 percent im-provement over N10.349 bil-lion recorded in 2011. Despiteastronomical increase in taxcharged for the year, whichjumped to N6.6 billion fromN1.7 billion in 2011, due todeferred tax provision of N4.7billion, Lafarge WAPCO wasstill able to deliver 70 percentincrease in profit after tax forthe period. The figure grewto N14.611 billion fromN8.655 billion in the previousyear. However, the net fi-nance cost increased to N5.4billion from N1.7 billion in2011, due to cessation of cap-italisation of interest on loansused for the construction ofthe company’s new plant in2012. The trend, the compa-ny assured, would not contin-ue in 2013 as cost is expectedto drop since the loans arebeing repaid.

Basic earnings per sharegrew from 288 kobo to490kobo, a 70 percent growthwithin the period. Comment-ing on the result, the Man-

Lafarge WAPCO: Trudging on despitestifling challengesBy NKIRUKA NNOROM

,,

aging Director/CEO, Mr. JoeHudson said, “The resultclearly testifies to the effec-tiveness of the various initia-tives deployed throughout2012”, and assured that “man-agement will continue to lev-erage on improvement andcost efficiency initiatives thatmade the organisation proudin the year under review.”

In his remark, the FinanceDirector, Mr. Fred Amobi stat-ed, “This is a good perform-ance in a very challengingyear. The operating result isa reflection of careful execu-tion of our various processes/cost improvement strategiesduring the year.”

Dividend payout

Given the outstandingperformance, N1.20

per share or gross dividendof N3.602 billion was paid outto shareholders followingtheir approval at the annualgeneral meeting. The divi-dend paid was 60 percent in-crease over N2.251 billionpaid in 2011. “Given the cashflow requirements to repaythe bank loan and to pay downthe corporate bond at maturi-ty, it is important to maintain

dividend payout to sharehold-ers at a level which ensuresrepayments can be achievedwith no risk of default and im-pairment of the company’soperation,” explained theChairman, Chief OlusegunOsunkeye, while addressingshareholders at the annualgeneral meeting.

Performance driversAccording to the chairman,

the impressive turnoverachieved was due to signifi-cant increase in cement dis-patched within the year, whichrose to 2.9 million metric tons,a 35 percent increase over thatdistributed in 2011. Osunkeyenoted that the increase in ce-ment dispatched resulted froma combination of improved runtime on the older plants; rampup of production volume at thenew plant in Ewekoro and amore stabilized supply of nat-ural gas by Nigeria Gas Com-pany. Also the introduction ofLafarge WAPCO ReadyMix,concrete mixed to project spec-ification and delivered to con-struction sites when needed,added to the top-line; the com-pany raked in a total of N874million from the new products

in 2012. “With the competitivelandscape becoming more in-tense, we continue to introduceinnovative building materialproducts based on opportuni-ties offered by the market. Todrive product and commercialinnovation, the company haskeyed into the Lafarge groupperformance improvement in-itiative code named ‘EXTRAMILE. This initiative has as itsmain objective growth in mar-ket share and improved prof-itability through the accelera-tion of differentiation in ourbusiness and strengthening ofour commercial capabilities,”Osunkeye added.

Future outlook

Lafarge is exploring opportunities to enhance its

route-to-market by partneringwith its key industrial custom-ers on product quality im-provement, as well as work-ing with multi-lateral devel-opment agencies and micro-finance institutions on afford-able housing. “We will contin-ue to pursue the introductionof innovative building materi-al products that will helpdeepen our reach to custom-ers and differentiate us fromcompetition.

“The deficit in urban hous-ing stock and the urgent needby government at all levels toupgrade various road net-works in the country providesgrowth opportunity for the ce-ment sector and we will con-tinue to adapt our productionand commercial operations tothese opportunities to benefitour shareholders,” he assured.

NATIONAL Salt Company of Nigeria, NAS-

CON, said it is poised tomaintain its leadership posi-tion in the salt industry de-spite increasing competition.

Addressing shareholders atthe annual general meetingin Lagos, the chairman, Al-haji Aliko Dangote, said thecompany plans to increase itsproduct base in the line withits vision of becoming a front-line food business in Niger-ia.

He explained that NAS-CON would veer into season-ing business, vegetable oilrefinery and tomato packag-ing as part of the plan.

The production, which hesaid would commence bythird quarter of 2013, wouldbolster the revenue base andkeep it ahead of competition,adding that the company hasstarted sourcing for raw ma-terials for the production.

“We will continue to be com-mitted to improving our up-ward trend, and we will en-sure that your company con-tinues to grow and remaincompetitive so as to deliverincreasing dividends to allstakeholders.

“The business of your com-pany is doubling because thebusiness is bigger than whatwe are doing currently andthe future of your company isvery great,” Dangiote said.

The company posted a turn-over of N13.4 billion, reflect-ing a percentage growth of 30percent over N10.31 billionreported in 2011.

Operating profit before taxachieved was N4.0 billion,while profit after tax rose toN2.8 billion from N2.2 billionin 2011, showing growth of25 percent over the previousyear.

According to the chairman,the performance was a reflec-tion of the efforts by theboard, management and staffin response to the difficultiesexperienced in the year,which led to a stronger andmore profitable business.

Shareholders in the meet-ing commended the manage-ment for the performance and90kobo dividend paid, whileurging the company to en-sure an even spread of itsproducts across other marketsin the country.

The shareholders also ap-proved 90kobo per share fordistribution, compared with70kobo paid in 2011.

NASCON set tomaintainleadership positionin salt industry

The impressive turnover achieved wasdue to significant increase in cement

dispatched within the year, which rose to2.9 million metric tons, a 35 percent in-

crease over that distributed in 2011

F I V E Y E A R S F I N A N C I A L S U M M A R Y

24 — Vanguard, MONDAY, JUNE 10, 2013

CMYK

Corporate Finance

INVESTMENT on theNigerian Stock

Exchange, NSE, remainedupbeat last week with themarket capitalisation of listedequities rising by 4.68 percenthelped by gains recorded onshares on some blue chipstocks.

Some of the stocks thatappreciated in price includeLivestock Feeds, Chemicaland Allied Products Plc,Eternal Oil, May&Baker, andNeimeth among others.

Specifically, Livestock Feedsrose by 48.87 percent orN1.95 to close at N5.94 fromN3.99. CAP followed with33.09 percent or N14.89 gainsto close at N59.89 fromN45.00 per share, whileEterna Oil recorded 28.30percent or N0.88kobo capitalgains to close at N3.99 fromN3.11 it started the week at.

M&B and Neimeth added26.70 or N0.59 and 25.00percent or N0.25 to close atN2.80 and N1.25respectively.

Consequently, the marketcapitalisation rosesignificantly by 4.68 percentto N12.641 trillion, while theNSE All-Share Index, ASI,rose by 4.68 percent to closeon Friday at 39,564.79 basispoints. Also, the NSE 30Index appreciated by 4.46percent to close at 1,890.55.

All, except two of the NSEindices appreciated during

the week: NSE ConsumerGoods, NSE Banking, NSEInsurance, NSE-Lotus II andNSE Industrial Goodsadvanced by 2.90 percent,2.54 percent, 2.04 percent,6.17 percent, and 6.59percent in that order.However, NSE Oil/Gas andNSE-ASeM depreciated by0.09 percent and 0.12 percentrespectively.

On the other hand, PortlandPaints led on the laggards’side with loss of 18.98 percent

or N1.12 to close at N4.78,while Vono Products followedwith 18.96 or N0.40 losses toclose at N1.71. IPWA, Costainand McNichols closed as thelast three on top five loserschart dropping by 16.67percent or N0.12, 14.47percent or N0.23 and 11.50percent or N0.26 to close atN0.60, N1.36 and N2.00 pershare in that order.

The financial services sector(measured by volume) ledthe activity chart with aturnover of 1.302 billionshares valued at N13.510billion traded in 17,126

DETERMINED to expose itsmembers to the intricacies

of being on audit committees ofcompanies, the Ibadan ZoneShareholders Association(IBZSA) will today, June 10,2013, highlight the roles auditcommittee members play inensuring accountability in firmslisted on the Nigerian StockExchange (NSE).

The Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA) of 1990provides that audit committeescomprise directors of the companyand ordinary shareholders, whorepresent the interest of theminority investors in listedcompanies.

However, shareholders in someof the audit committees have notperformed efficiently as expecteddue to various reasons includinglack of accounting knowledgeand lack of understanding of theirroles.

In order to bridge theknowledge gap, IBZSA hasconcluded arrangements to hold a one-day seminar inIbadan Oyo State.

IBZSA is one of the sevenzonal association created by theBureau of Public Enterprise(BPE) in 1992 to take care ofinterest of shareholders of publicquoted companies in Ekiti,Kwara, Ogun, Ondo, Osun andOyo States.

“Our members are in auditcommittees of various companies.But we noticed of recent thatthere is a gap in knowledge ofwhat should be the roles andresponsibilities of auditcommittee members ofcompanies. It is in this light thatthe association is organising aone-day national seminar withthe topic- ‘Roles andResponsibilities of AuditCommittee Members ofCompanies,” chairman of thebody, Chief Sola Abodunrin saidin a statement.

According to him, keynoteaddress will be delivered by theDirector General of Securities andExchange Commission (SEC),Ms. Arunma Oteh, while otherpapers will be delivered byrepresentatives from Baker TillyNigeria Limited (CharteredAccountants).

He said the seminar is free and“considered necessary at thistime to equip and prepareparticipants on their roles andresponsibilities as auditcommittee members.”

BRIEFShareholdergroup holdsseminar onauditcommittee’srole

deals. The FinancialServices sector represented67.93 percent and 53.76percent of the total tradedvolume and valuerespectively.

The Banking sub-sectorof the financial servicessector, boosted by activityin the shares of ZenithBank Plc, Unity Bank Plcand Skye Bank Plc was themost active sub-sector onthe week’s activity chartwith a sub-sector turnoverof 1.013 billion sharesvalued at N11.376 billion,which exchanged in 11,873deals. Also, the Bankingsub-sector accounted for52.87 percent and 45.27percent of the total sub-sector traded volume andvalue respectively.

NSE consolidates, as marketcapitalisation rises by 4.68%

UNION Bank Nigeria Plcsaid it is putting

processes in place to help itregain its position in thebanking industry and sustainits operations on a growthpath.

Speaking at the bank’s factsbehind the figure on theNigerian Stock Exchange,NSE, Friday, the GroupManaging Director, Mr.Emeka Emuwa, said thefollowing the recapitalisationexercise which was completedin 2012 and return toprofitability same year, thebank has commenced arebuilding exercise in 2013,adding that the transformationprogramme has beendeveloped and approved bythe board, and has also beinglaunched.

He noted that the bankwould be seeking a strong

position in emerging segmentsof the economy, includingagriculture, retail, oil & gasand energy sectors as part ofthe growth plan, adding thatreliability was at the core of thestrategy and transformationagenda of the bank.

He said, “We will leveragethe rich heritage of the pastinto the future by modernizingour brand and platform,ensuring that our products,systems, services, people,processes and financialreporting are reliable.

We will also be providingreliable service to existingcustomers and be seen bystakeholders and customers astrusted partners. Besides, wewill also be extending ourservice offering to the nextgeneration of customers, whileincreasing wallet share of theexisting customers.”

He added, “Furtherperformance improvementswill be realised fromoptimisation of the branchnetwork, physical upgrade ofthe branches, efficiencyimprovement of the branches,as well strategic hiring intargeted segments, includingretail credit, retail liabilities,agriculture, energy, and oil &gas. “The on-goingtransformation agenda isexpected to create aninstitution that will reliablyserve the customers andgenerate value for all keystakeholders.”

Emuwa emphasised that thebank’s liquidity ratio hasremained well above theminimum regulatoryrequirement of 30 percent,while capital adequacy ratio(CAR) has exceeded theminimum 15 percent

regulatory requirementsince the banks’recapitalisation.

Speaking at the event,Oscar Onyema, CEO, NSE,commended themanagement for returningthe bank to profitability,saying that it has been aleading force in the bankingsub-sector of the NSE.

He urged the bank tostrive to improveaccountability anddisclosure that permitted theachievements andconsolidate on the goal ofbuilding Nigeria’s leadingend-to-end financialservices organisation.

Union Bank returned toprofitability in 2012,following the completion ofthe recapitalisation processwith the profit after tax risingto N7.9 billion in 2012 fromloss position of N76.7 billionin 2011.

Stories by NKIRUKA NNOROM

Union Bank restructures operationsfor improved profitability

CMYK

Vanguard, MONDAY, JUNE 10, 2013 — 25

CMYK

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26 —Vanguard, MONDAY, JUNE 10, 2013

Vanguard, MONDAY, JUNE 10, 2013 — 27

CMYK

Micro-Finance

THERE will be noexemption for

Microfinance Banks(MfBs) and the Small andMedium Enterprises(SMEs) from adoption ofthe set of accountingstandards, InternationalFinancial ReportingStandards (IFRS).

IFRS is a set ofaccounting standardsdeveloped by theInternational AccountingStandards Board (IASB)to provide globalframework for how publiccompanies prepare and

disclose their financialstatements and alsoprovide general guidancefor the preparation offinancial statements.

Out-gone President ofthe Institute of CharteredAccountants of NigeriaICAN, Mr. AdedoyinOwolabi said this inLagos, stating that it hasrequested for moreinformation to bedisclosed.

According to him,“IFRS will help thosenations that have reallyembraced it in terms ofcomparability, in terms oftransparency and in termsof accuracy.

“No business formation

will be exempted fromIFRS, even those they feelwill be exempted arebeing packaged to whatwe call micro GAAP,Generally AcceptedAccounting Principle inline with what is going oninternationally. “The lastgroup of businesses mustkey in by 2014 and theyare learning from what isgoing on right now, theirauditors and consultantsare learning. By 2014, thewhole nation would havecut in, because at the endof the day any countrythat is left behind, wouldbe left standing in termsof business activities,” hestated.

PERCEPTION Managers, O’Kenventures has announced plans

to host the National Public Discourseon Local Government, LG Autonomyin Lagos. The discourse scheduled forTuesday June 11, 2013 is to examinethe merit and demerits of the LGautonomy and the Public AffairsDirectorate of CMC Connect Limited(Perception Managers), in associationwith O’Ken Ventures (Strategy andReputation Consultants), will beconvening key stakeholders to analysethe theme: Local GovernmentAuthority: How Autonomous?

According to CMC Connect, “Onearea that has continued to generatecontroversy and heated debate amongthe electorate and the three tiers ofgovernment in Nigeria is the issue ofLocal Government Autonomy.

“Since its reform in 1985, the roles of

the Local Government have come toinclude bringing governance closer to thepeople, engendering administrativeconvenience, ensuring effective mobilisationof resources, creating avenues forpreservation of cultural heritage & commoninterest, and the maintenance of law andorder.

“However, these responsibilities have beenconstantly underplayed due to several issues,which include the alleged overbearinginfluence of state governments and controlof human and material resources availableto the local government authorities.”

Meanwhile, the discourse is expected to bechaired by the Former Vice President AtikuAbubakar GCON, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola,Osun State Governor, National President ofthe Association of Local Governments ofNigeria (ALGON), Dr. Ozo NwabuezeOkafor, and a host of others.

IFRS: No exemption for MfBs, SMEs

VODACOM istargeting about

6,000 SME through itsValue Added Service(VAS) offering, “One NetExpress” and about30,000 subscribers

Executive HeadNetwork Services, GaryHart said that One NetExpress provides bigbusiness switchboardbenefits to smallbusinesses, noting that itis already in use by overtwo million Vodafonesubscribers across UK andEurope.

Hart advised SMEs tolook at VAS in terms ofproductivity, saying “Vodacom aims to attract6,000 customers in thefirst year, at fivesubscribers per customer,meaning a total of 30,000subscribers.”

Accordingly, he said,“Together thesecustomers have realisedsavings of over £1 billionin just one year. VAS isavailable for under R149per month per device(user) and is specifically

Vodacom targets 6,000 SMEsdesigned for companiesemploying up to 100employees.

“One Net Expressincludes a host of callmanagement functions,such as hunt groups andauto attendant, whichmeans these businessesnever have to miss a callagain.”

However, One NetExpress, which providesbig business switchboardbenefits to smallbusinesses, is already inuse by more than two-million subscribers ofVodacom’s parentcompany Vodafoneacross the UK andEurope.

ITIM endorsesMalaysia SME congress

INTERNATIONAL Trade and Industry hasendorsed the 5th Malaysia Small and Medium

Enterprises, SME annual congress for 2013.The congress scheduled to hold on July 3, 2013,

is expected to attract the participation of over 1,000SMEs and create platform for inspiring SMEs toachieve greater local and international success.

Chief Executive Officer, Malaysia SME, WayneLim said that SMEs made up 99 per cent of thetotal business establishments in Malaysia, hencespeakers are to share their success stories tomotivate and inspire other SMEs.

Lim said, “With its focus on the growingentertainment segment, the congress will beintroducing three new speakers, who grew theirbusinesses to international recognition.”

BY PROVIDENCEOBUH

Discourse on LG autonomy holds in Lagos

Commodity Index

Vanguard, MONDAY, JUNE 10, 2013 — 2928 — Vanguard, MONDAY, JUNE 10, 2013

InterviewInterview

cassava processing plants in Abriba.It was commissioned by the stateGovernor, His Excellency, T.A.Orji,on the 10th of December 2010.Also, we have vegetableprocessing plant in Aba; it hascapacity to produce 25 metrictons, and it can process palmkernel oil, groundnut oil,soybeans.

It uses the boiling system.Also, we have rice plant andthey are two. It can giveyou 10-15 tons per day ofprocessed paddy rice. Also,we have palm oil extractionplant and palm plantation.We are putting up a plantfor smoking fish at Ibeju-Lekki in Lagos. So you see;our focus has been onagriculture and agro-alliedbusiness.

You have been a banker and

now a farmer. How is the currentregime of interest rate affectingfarmers like you?

Thank you; farming business isquite different from any otherbusiness. If you invest in the oilsector, you have expectation aboutreturns on investment but farming isvery risky in terms of natural andenvironmental risk. If the road to thefarm is not good it makes the cost ofproduction high. Also, we havegovernment’s policy somersaults.For example, we are now talkingabout 40 percent cassava content inbread. Obasanjo started with 10percent and when he left the wholething died down. I actually burnt myfingers when I ventured intoagriculture.

Also, we have funding problembecause of the nature and riskinherent in farming business, banksshy away from lending to farmers. The interest rate is so high andwhen you borrow from banks, theinterest rate is between 18-20

percent,and no farmerwho genuinelywants to invest can go for it. Itis a difficult problem. The CentralBank came up with what they calledCommercial Agriculture Credit

GuaranteeScheme. The

rate is nine percent.Nine percent is still very high for

farmers. So to take a loan at a commercialrate for farming is not going to work. Eventhe Nigerian Incentive Risk-based AgricLending, NISER, whereby the federal

government guarantees 85 percent of theloan is not going to work. This is

because agriculture is capitalintensive. The banks will still

charge you their normal interestrate at 18 percent and it is onlywhen you have repaid thefacility that you get a rebate of10 per cent. I have been alender and I know what I didto my creditors. (Laughs);So, I don’t borrow frombanks. It is personal funds.

What about the Bank of

Agriculture (BOA)?The bank is yet to be recapitalized. It has

not been very active The Federal Government says that by

2017 there will be no more importation ofrice. You are into rice processing. What isyour take on this?

This is a policy and the policy won’t work

except there is effective implementation ofthe policy by the Customs. That is my fear.One thingaboutgovernment

is that they play the drum and youstart to dance but you won’t hearwhen they stop playing it. So theyjust make you to invest money. Itis now we are having an effectiveMinister of Agriculture. This is thefirst time since I have been in thisfarming business that we are havinga Minister that has passion for agrictransformation. So if they don’tback policy with law like the 40percent cassava flour inclusion inbread, the moment this governmentgoes out those flour millingcompanies will go back. By thattime you have invested a lot ofmoney on machine that you can’tretool for another productionmethod. Yes, the policy is good butthey have to enforce it to protectlocal industries.

You have been farming for five

to eight years. How profitableis commercial farming

in Nigeria?

As I told you earlier, when Ileft banking, the money I

invested in farming went downthe drain because of the roadwere bad, transportation toevacuate produce to markets wasnot readily available, gettinginputs to the farm even labourcost because of rural –urbanmigration was difficult. Thereare no young men in the villages

today to do farm work. So it has notbeen easy. Again, coupled with riskmanagement of old method,fertilizers problem and the rest ofthem; again, if you don’t weed at theappropriate time, in your very eyes,you lose millions of naira.

There was a time we neededfertilsers desperately. So, I went toAbuja to see the Minister. They saidI should write a letter. I wrote theletter. They gave us two or threetrucks and they said I should go toLafia in Nasarawa State to carry thefertilizer to Abriba. It was better forme to go to the black market to buythan to move fertilizers from Lafia toAbriba. But this thing has beentaken care of through GrowthEnhancement Strategy for fertilizerdistribution under the presentadministration. I have thisexpectation that this economy will in

the long run bedriven by theagriculturalsector whetheryou like it or not. For you to gointo agriculture

you must becommitted to your

community, and youmust have a passion forit apart from thereturns you expect. Also the type ofagriculture one shouldpractice is one that issubsidized in order tomake it profitable. You

subsidise the interestcosts, the inputs and the

most important area ofagriculture is clearing. You can

clear this place today and if youdo nothing in three or six months’

time it is over grown and the moneyis gone.

On the issue of clearing, how are

the Agricultural DevelopmentProgramme, ADP, the River BasinsDevelopment Authorities andFADAMA doing?

They are moribund; they are all

dead. They are doing nothing. The issue of herdsmen; what is

your experience and that of otherfarmers in your community?

It is a big problem. During lastyear’s planting season, those cattlewent through our farms andchopped off growing cassava. Thisis despite sign boards that read:Cattle Should Stay Clear. I am acommunity leader; I am the generalpresident of my town union. Soapart from being a farmer, I have theresponsibility in terms ofdevelopment and protection. Whenthe herdsmen were confronted theywent and call their brothers in themilitary. They came and intimidateeverybody. That is what happens.We even paid for one of the cattlethat was killed; we paid them backthe cost and did nothing. However,we have farm estate where ourworkers live, both casual and staffand they protect the farms.

Who are your customers?Everything we are doing now is

being patronized by local peoplewho buy from us. We produce andsell but the margin is not much yet.

What is your position on plans by

the government to privatiseCommodity Exchange?

We have actually registered as

member of the commodity exchangethinking it was going to startsoperation soon. It will create claimsbacked by commodities and just aswe have stocks it will be traded. Andwith speculations it will make thecommodity more affordable. Also,government should fix minimumprice for certain agriculturalcommodities and monitor stocksduring period of excess harvests.This is because we have problems ofstorage and the rest of them.

In the capital market, we have

shareholders Associations; do youhave farmers associations?

Yes, in fact, we are members of AllFarmers Association of Nigeria,AFAN; Cassava GrowersAssociation, Rice GrowersAssociation, etc.

Do you have technical partners? Yes, we have technical partners

Dr. Jona Ezikpe, former managing director of the defunct Manny Bank, DeputyManaging Director of NAL Merchant Bank,

former Director Afribank now Chairman/ CEO, NEMAFarms Ltd, was a guest of Vanguard Board of Editorstwo weeks ago. He spoke on his foray into agricultureand the transformation going on in the sector.

Excerpts: Give us a brief background about yourself

My name is Dr. Jona Ndukwe Ezikpe. I’m from Abriba. Iwas the Managing Director of Manny Bank but I exited

before hurricane Soludo came. Also, I was the DeputyManaging Director of defunct NAL Merchant Bank, and aDirector in the then Afribank. Also was a teacher at one time. Ihold a PhD degree in Finance and Economics from theUniversity of Nebraska, Lincoln, U.S.A, where I got my threedegrees. When I came back to Nigeria, I did my youth ServiceCorps at the University of Nigeria, Enugu Campus, and I gotstuck there for sometime. But before I went abroad to study, Iwas a trader, which Abriba people are known for; and during thecivil war, I was a military contractor. When I left the banking, Iasked myself the question what next? Should I continue in thefinancial market and trading financial instruments or should Ido something different? So I decided to go into farming. I havea farm, a company called NEMA Farms Co. Ltd.

The administrative office is at 39 Campbell Street, LagosIsland while the project site is at Abriba, my town, and wehave office in Aba. We are into cassava, rice andmaize farming. The farm is located along IwuRiver. Also, we are into processing. I have

,

,

To take a loan at a commercial ratefor farming is not going to work. Even

the Nigerian Incentive Risk-basedAgric Lending, NISER, whereby thefederal government guarantees 85percent of the loan is not going to

work. This is because agriculture iscapital intensive

,

,

It is now we are having an effectiveMinister of Agriculture. This is the firsttime since I have been in this farmingbusiness that we are having a Minister

that has passion for agrictransformation Continues on page 30

30 — Vanguard, MONDAY, JUNE 10, 2013

Interview

from China. How many people have

employed? We have 500 workers both casuals

and staff.

How much of cassava exportare you doing at the

moment? We have set up a plant for

processing cassava chips but it isstill relatively small. What we do isproducing and selling to people thatexport the commodity. We haveplans for export but having burntour fingers once, we are verycareful. We focus mostly on the cash–cows, crude palm oil and kernel.These are the things that give youquick money.

However, our strategic focus is togo into ethanol production. We aretrying to partner with the federalgovernment on the 240 metric tonshigh quality cassava flour. One ofthem is sited in my town, Abriba.

At some point in the near future,hydrocarbons give way as a majorsource of energy as was with coal.Nobody talks about coal anymore.Also we are looking for people topartner with us in our palm kerneland vegetable processing. Evencocoa grows on my farm

There seems to be high level ofinterests in farming in the

northern part of the country thanin the Southern part that has fertileland and rain forests for differentkinds of crops. What do youthink needs to be done toencourage people like you?

Any transformation or reforms

must cut across the entireagriculture value-chain, for it tomake farming attractive and also thepolicy for pheasant farmers shouldbe different to commercial farmers.For subsistence farmers,government can give them grant. Ifyou give a farmer N20, 000, whydon’t you give it to him as a grantinstead of a loan while you fund thecommercial farmers? But don’t askme to bring a house in VictoriaIsland as collateral for a farm inAbriba. So if you ask me to suggesthow to make farming attractive, Iadvocate that just as you haveeducational levy, we should haveagric development levy whereby itis deducted at source, and youcreate fund managers but they arenot going to lend the money. Theagency that can lend is Bank ofAgriculture and if the interest rate is

not more than the average savingdeposit rate of Deposit Money Bank,it becomes attractive andeconomical. Also commercial banksshould be compelled to set asidepart of their profits for agric fundingbecause they have been declaringN20 to N100 billion as profit. As Isaid, the future of this country isagriculture.

You have talked so gloriouslyabout the Minister of

Agriculture, Dr. AdewunmiAdesina; what are those things inyour opinion that you haveexperienced or this man has donefor agric transformation?

Thank you; let me give you a

background of how I met theMinister. When I lost money inAgriculture, I wrote to the Ministerbut there was no response. I methim at the local wing of the MurtalaMuhammed Airport. I walked up tohim and asked: “Are you theMinister of Agriculture?

He replied, ‘Yeah”. I said: “I wroteyou a letter but you didn’t reply. Wewent up to the VIP lounge andtalked. I told him my story. Thething touched him. Before now, theroad to my farm was bad, and wehad fertilizer problem as I told youearlier.

The Minister sent some officials ofhis ministry from Abuja to our farm.After that he called the Governorand told him about that bad road. AsI speak with you, the road had beentarred, the road crossing my farmgate from Nwanta and beyond. Alsothey are sitting a cassava processingplant in Abriba now, and in one formor the other, I am going to benefit bysupplying them raw materials and Ican establish noodles and breadfactories near it and this will createemployment.

Also, the scam in fertilizerdistribution is no longer there.Before now, they vote billions ofnaira for fertilizers but farmers gotnothing. Now, you can be on yourown as a farmer and you get a callor text message to come and carryyour fertilizer and cassava stem atsubsidized rate. They have my cellphone no; GESS….; the Minister isstill making reforms. So in myopinion, he is doing great and heshould be allowed more time. Evenhis workers are happy. How can youtell if a Minister is working, it is ifhis workers are happy? It is from theway those working with him talksabout him you will know they arehappy with what he is doing.

,,

Our strategic focus is to go intoethanol production. We are trying to

partner with the federal government onthe 240 metric tons high quality

cassava flour.

My initial investmentin farming wentdown the drain

Continued from page 29

•Dr. Jona Ezikpe... Any transformation or reforms must cut across theentire agriculture value-chain

DHL sees biggrowth in NigeriaDHL Global Forwarding, aleading logistic firm has saidthe future of freight forwardingin Nigeria looks promising, es-pecially for genuine operators.

Vice-President, DHL GlobalForwarding, Mr. Dominiquevon Orelli, said the boom in thetelecoms industry and the ex-pected transformation in thepower sector gave an indica-tion that the nation’s freight for-warding business and indeedthe economy would witness aflip.

A statement by the companyreported Orelli as giving the in-dication during his visit to La-gos and stressed that many es-tablished firms were increasingfocusing on their core business,leaving the logistics to thosespecially set up to handle it. Healso said Nigeria’s large pop-ulation offered a great attrac-tion for investors to expand andtransform their businesses.

BRIEFS

Lagos State Government isseeking the assistance of the

Scottish DevelopmentInternational to develop itsenergy and solid mineralsectors.

Commissioner for Energy andMineral resources, Engr. TaofiqAjibade Tijani, represented bythe Permanent Secretary, Mrs.Iyabo Obasa, disclosed thiswhile hosting the ScottishDevelopment Internationalteam lead by the InternationalSenior Executive on Trade andInvestment Scotland, Mr.Andrew Monaghan

The Permanent Secretary whilebriefing the Delegation on theactivities of her Ministry saidLagos is ready to collaboratewith reputable Scottish firmswith wide expertise on solidminerals, renewable power, oiland gas development.

She said the creation of theMinistry in 2011 by the presentadministration was a deliberateattempt to accomplish the policydirection of attending to thePower need of residents andexplore the hydrocarbon, oiland gas potential as well asother mineral resources of thestate.

She disclosed to the visitorsthat the Fashola administrationplaces a greater premium onpower which is a major cardinalfocal point of developmentfollowed by Agriculture,Transportation and Health. Shetherefore sought the assistanceof the Scottish DevelopmentTeam in attracting investors inthe energy sector especially inrenewable energy, waste toenergy project, captive powerproject and solar energydeployment in the State.

Lagos seeksScottishassistance onenergy, solidminerals

By KUNLE KALEJAYE

Vanguard, MONDAY, JUNE 10, 2013 — 31

Homes & Housing Finance

BRIEFS

•Private estate development

THE Federal MortgageBank of Nigeria (FMBN)

requires a capital base of N200billion in order to make mean-ingful impact in redressing thehuge housing deficit in thecountry, while it has also recov-ered N5.7 billion out of its non-performing loans.

Managing Director, Mr Gim-ba Ya’u Kumo, FMBN, at a re-cent forum organised by Niger-ia Union of Journalists (NUJ),in Abuja, noted that the N200billion capitalisation will trans-late to 4,000 percent of the cur-rent capital base of the bankwhich is N5 billion.

Ya’u Kumo lamented that eventhe bank’s current capitalisationof N5 billion is not fully paid up,noting that only the federal gov-ernment has paid up its shareof N2.5 billion representing 50percent, while two other share-holders - Central Bank of Ni-geria (CBN) and the NationalSocial Insurance Trust Fund(NSITF) - have not paid up their30 per cent and 20 per centshares respectively.

The FMBN boss said that ag-gressive injection of funds by thefederal government is neededin tackling the huge housingdeficit in the country. Accordingto him, total collections of Na-tional Housing Fund (NHF) cur-rently stands at N106 billionfrom 3,772,031 contributors,while about N100 billion had so

‘FMBN needs N200bn capitalisationto tackle housing deficit’*Recovers N5.7bn non-performing loans

Stories byYINKA KOLAWOLE

far been advanced as loan tocontributors to the scheme.

Ya’u Kumo further disclosedthat out of the total sum thathas accrued to the NHF, aboutN100 billion has been givenout under two loan windows tocontributors and developers.He said the bank has so farapproved NHF loans of aboutN90 billion out of which onlyN39.8 billion or about 22 percent has been disbursed; whileit has also approved N110 bil-lion Estate Development Loans(EDL) out of which only N62billion or 52 per cent has beendisbursed.

It would be recalled that VicePresident of the Nigeria La-bour Congress (NLC), Mr. IsaAremu, recently joined the callfor recapitalisation of FMBN toenable it better facilitate homeownership in the country, de-claring that the Nigerian hous-

ing situation cannot improvesignificantly on a sustainablebasis if FMBN is not strength-ened. “The bank must haveenough money, because theseare the main development in-stitutions that we need in thiscountry. I think we are tiredof those institutions that arenotorious in catching thievessuch as EFCC. We need in-stitutions that are adding val-ue critically, and the FMBNis one of them,” he said.

Meanwhile, the apex mort-gage bank has recoveredabout N5.7 billion out of theN11.24 billion non-perform-ing loans it granted real es-tate development companiesfrom the NHF under the EDLscheme, according to DaudaYusuf, the bank’s Head ofCorporate Affairs. FMBN hadin 2009 published the namesof corporate bodies linked to

prominent citizens as debtorswho had refused to settle theirdifferent liabilities, and gavethem a 21-day ultimatum to payup. The EDL facility was grant-ed to private developers, statehousing corporations andhousing cooperatives to pro-duce mass houses by theFMBN at 10 per cent interestrate with a maximum repay-ment period of 24 months.

But members of the Real Es-tate Developers Association ofNigeria (REDAN) then disa-greed with the bank over thefigures. Yusuf however saidthe parties had reconciled thefigures. “The loans were takenin phases, each developmentcompany came with theirclaim, but when the disagree-ment came up, the bank set upa committee in conjunctionwith REDAN, and the commit-tee reconciled the issues.

Ogun planscompletion ofworkers’ estate

OGUN State Governmenthas concluded plans to

complete structures currentlyat the foundation stage atthe Laderin Workers’ Estatein Abeokuta.

Commissioner for Hous-ing, Mr. Daniel Adejobi,who disclosed this in Abe-okuta, said the governmentwould utilise the availableland in the estate to buildadditional two and three-bedroom flats for its workers.According to him, interest-ed buyers will have to make10 to 20 per cent down pay-ment for the houses, whilethe balance will be spreadover a period of at least 15years depending on the ageof the buyer.

Adejobi said the existenceof the estate in that area hadopened it up to business ac-tivities, pointing out thatwith the speedy develop-ment being experienced inthe estate, the governmentwould provide more infra-structure such as drainagesand good road network.

The commissioner saidgovernment, through theOgun Property InvestmentCompany and Housing Cor-poration, has over 50 hous-ing estates in different partsof the state.

Lagos disbursesN89m staffhousing loan

Lagos State governmentsaid it had disbursed a

sum of N89.6 million to 367staff to purchase land andrenovate the existence ones.

The state government alsosaid it had expended aboutN100 million on vacationjobs for secondary schoolpupils across the state,adding that arrangementhas been concluded toestablish special desks in allstate-owned hospitals andmedical facilities for theelderly retired officers fromthe state public service.

Head of Service, PrinceAdesegun Ogunlewe, whomade the disclosure, saidthat is planning to embarkon mortgage policy toenable workers of the stategovernment and the generalpublic purchase housingunits with monthlyrepayment arrangement.According to him, the policyis to encourage publicservants to own theirbuildings rather thancontinuing to depend on thegovernment for staffquarters.

NIGERIAN Institution ofEstate Surveyors and

Valuers (NIESV), LagosState branch, recently gaveawards of excellence to someNigerians for their contribu-tions to housing developmentin Nigeria, prominent amongwho is a former Governor ofLagos State, Alh. Lateef Ja-kande.

Jakande was honoured forhis exemplary leadership inproviding mass housing for

Housing development: NIESV honours Jakande, othersthe low income earners dur-ing his tenure as the gover-nor of Lagos State.

Other awardees includeMr. Toyin Ayinde, LagosState Commissioner PhysicalPlanning and Urban Devel-opment - for his efforts atreducing illegal and defec-tive structures in the state;former branch chairmen ofNIESV, Mr. Akin Olawore;Mr. Joshua Ladenegan andMr. Abiodun Oluwaluyi;

and former president of theinstitution, Mr. Nweke Nwa-zurike.

Awards were also given tocorporate bodies such as Ab-bey Building Society Plc, In-spiration FM, Wemabod Es-tates, Real Estate Environ-ment, Murhi InternationalTelevision and the NigerianArmy Directorate of Post-Service Housing Develop-ment.

32 — Vanguard, MONDAY, JUNE 10, 2013

Vanguard, MONDAY, JUNE 10, 2013 — 33

34 — Vanguard, MONDAY, JUNE 10, 2013

Insurance

“MITI facilitated the earlydevelopment of nearly all majorindustries by providing protectionfrom import competition,technological intelligence, helpedin licensing foreign technology”.MITI also assisted with researchfunding to help selected Japaneseindustrial sectors to catch up with,and even surpass theachievement, of advancedeconomies.

For instance, it was MITI whichselected iron and steelmanufacturing as well as shipbuilding in the early 1950s andelectronics and cars in the 1960s.Companies such as SONY andTOYOTA became top globalcontenders thanks you MITI. Atthe time, Japan was not a majorglobal competitor in both sectors.But, by the early 1970s, Japan wasthe world’s leading ship builderand was one of top three steelmakers. MITI had the power todirect banks to lend to selectedcompanies in targeted sectors atlow interest rates and also to getthe country to ban the importationof foreign goods while developingits own industries rapidly.

Unlike Nigeria today, thecoordinating Minister foreconomic activities was not theMinistry of Finance; it was MITI.And, the result was there for all tosee. One thing is clear from thebrief summary of MITI. Onlyindividuals with the greatestminds can cope with themountain of concerns which theMinister has to handle. Fewpossess such minds and some havegone from MITI to become PrimeMinister in Japan.

NIGERIA’S MTI: FIGHTINGLIONS WITHOUT ARMS

For Nigeria to benefit from thecreation of this Ministry, onlypeople with great intelligence,broad exposure and a highcapacity for managingcomplexities should be appointed.It is not an assignment fordullards or one to pay benefactors

or even to please the party. Fewpeople can handle it.

Although ministerial briefs arenot published in Nigeria, it iscertain that the current Ministerof Trade and Investment does notenjoy the clout his counterparts inJapan did in the 1950s to 1970.Aganga is not even thecoordinating Minister and theonly bank he can “bully tosubmission” is the Bank ofIndustry, BOI, and may be noteven that one. Whereas a MITIMinister could walk up to thePrime Minister of Japan and askthat American compact carsshould be prohibited from importto encourage Japanese carmanufacturers and it was done,Aganga has to plead and beg toget any item on the prohibitionlist. So, for example, our textileindustry dies and batterymanufacturers pack up and go –taking productivity and jobs withthem because our MTI lacks thepower to protect them. Theimporters are too strong here.What we had done with our MTI,after borrowing a good page fromthe Japanese play-book, amountsto sending a gladiator into thearena to fight lions (read foreigncompetitors) without sword orshield; not even a pen knife.Nigerian MTI is as naked as anew-born baby and almost just ashelpless.

In short we had done everythingto ensure that Segun Aganga orany other person occupying theseat at MTI will fail totally. Wehave created a Ministry in whichonly a miracle worker or anextremely exceptional personcould succeed. Many are boundto fail. The cross-reference toJapanese MITI had been made inorder for the Federal government,other Ministers and the generalpublic to understand the

handicaps facing the occupant ofthis seat and appreciate thatagainst all odds the incumbentMinister had largely succeeded inhis assignments. As the Chineseadvise, “if you are given lemon,make lemonade out of it”.Nigeria’s MTI minister had madea lot of “lemonade” out of basketsof lemon handed to him. Apartfrom being a workaholic, almostkilling himself with work, he

harbor in 1969, in a fish companycalled Slade Gorton andCompany; he would sell all the fishalready in the warehouse and,again, sell fish still to be caught.He went on to amass millions inlegitimate sales commissions.Aganga belongs in that class ofsalesmen; people who provideoptimism when it is in shortsupply; who bring water out ofstone. Granted, he had stretchedthe claims once in a while, and hehad been cautioned right here onthese pages. But, on the whole heis the best Minister in Jonathan’scabinet of under-performingMinisters. Let me leave you witha few of his accomplishmentswhich would have appearedordinary until you read thehurdles placed in front of the MTIMinister. Then thoseachievements become extra-ordinary. Space would not permitme to explain fully the benefits ofeach of these landmarkachievements at the moment.Perhaps another opportunity willpresent itself.

MITI/MTI AND THE GAPBETWEEN VISION ANDREALITY.

My full year course, onDevelopment Economics, in myJunior year, as an undergraduatefocused on the comparativeadvantages and disadvantages ofplanned and free economies. Onething was clear to me after twosemesters of plugging throughInput-Output Tables, whichconstituted the core of plannedeconomies, was the complexity ofthe task involved. With computersstill in their infancy in 1967, myterm paper on that course aloneconsumed almost sixty percent ofmy time. In the end, I wasconvinced that the Japanesehybrid, partly planned and partly

free, was superior, and moreoperator friendly. At the sametime, it was clear to me that totallyfree economies were headed fortrouble sooner or later. Fordeveloping countries, a certaindegree of planning isindispensable. That is why weneed MTI and a person likeAganga.

MTI and the officers operatingit, ideally, constitutes the gapbetween our vision and the realitywe currently experience. Visioningshould have been closely alliedwith MTI because our collectivedream of greatness should aim tolift us to higher levels ofproductivity and investments thanwhat we now seem capable ofdelivering. The activities of MTIshould empower ordinary people,in a nation, to do extra-ordinarythings to develop the economy. Sofar, MTI is leading, but there isno linkage between its activitiesand the other ministries. Withoutthat linkage, the full benefits ofMTI will never be realized. Andwe would have wasted part of theopportunity which havingsomeone like Aganga presents.

MTI has done a lot, given thedifficulties, we can only help theMinistry to achieve greater thingsby giving it more powers. But, weare reaping only a small portionof the harvest. For instance, banksin Nigeria had stubbornly refusedto fund agriculture. Yet, noMinistry can compel them; eventhe Central Bank of Nigeria,CBN, appears helpless. Japan’sMITI had no such problems as itwas empowered to allocate creditas it thought was in the nation’seconomic interest. A bank eithercomplied or went out of business.MTI and Aganga need that sortof power for Nigeria to experiencea major breakthrough in foodsecurity, at least.

Mid-Term reports on key ministries: MTI - 2

operates on the level of big ideas– the sort which actually bringabout true and sustainabletransformation.

I has listened to him talk on twooccasions. I was invited the firsttime; I just walked in the secondtime and I discovered the secondreason why he had madesomething out of almost nothingat MTI. He is a great salesmanand a spell-binding speaker. Andto sell broad visions, meaningthings unseen by others, you needgreat salesmen. Like one of mycolleagues, Harry, at the Boston

,

,

Visioning shouldhave been closelyallied with MTI

because ourcollective dream ofgreatness shouldaim to lift us tohigher levels of

productivity andinvestments than

what we now seemcapable ofdelivering.

THE National InsuranceCommission (NAICOM)

has been called upon to enforcequick payment of genuineclaims by insurance companiesin the country.

A university lecturer, DrOluyombo Onafowokan, of theDepartment of FinancialStudies, Redeemers University,Mowe, Ogun, who made thecall, noted that there hadbeen many complaints from thepublic on issues relating to non-payment of genuine claims byinsurance companies.

“Many genuine claims havenot been resolved betweeninsurance companies and someinsured persons because of

NAICOM tasked on promptinsurance claims settlement

policy terms and conditionsand in some cases, fraud. InNigeria, some insurance termsand conditions are not madeknown to customers uponsubscribing, because insurancecompanies want to make moregain,” he said.

Onafowokan said that therewere many cases of unclaimedinsurance benefits because oflack of details, fraud anddocumentation. According tohim, many people do notsubscribe to insurance policiesbecause of lack of trust andhidden conditions. He calledfor more enlightenmentcampaign to educate Nigerianson insurance policies. “Here in

Nigeria, it is only the elites whosubscribe to insurance policy,the illiterates are not interestedin insurance because they donot trust the system,” he added.

On the planned introductionof insurance as a subject insecondary school curriculum,Onafowokan said that it was agood policy but expressedconcern that there would beshortage of teachers. He saidthat the modules and contentof the course should beconsidered beforeimplementing the policy. Thelecturer said that the subjectshould be simplified, so that itwould not be too complicatedfor the students to understand.

Niger Insurance reassurescustomers improve serviceBy FAVOUR NNABUGWU

THE management of Niger Insurance plc has reassured customers that the insurance company is determined

to continue rendering excellent services to them .The company’s Managing Director, Kola Adedeji gave this

assurance while fielding questions from journalists in Lagos.He said the insurance outfit appreciates that it is in businessprimarily to satisfy the customers.

Adedeji stressed that even though the organisation hasalways ensured that its customers are properly catered for,Niger Insurance is focusing more on the customers to knowtheir specific needs, meet those needs and surpass theexpectation of the customers.

The Niger Insurance boss also informed that the companyis striving to ensure that more members of the populaceembrace the culture of insurance, saying concerted effortsare being made to enlighten members of the insuring publicso that they will know what they stand to benefit bypatronising the insurance industry.

Vanguard, MONDAY, JUNE 10, 2013 — 35

Appointments & Promotions vicahiyoung@yahoo.com 08033348923

THE FederalGovernment has

named Mrs. Sally Mbanefo,as the new Director/ General/Chief Executive Officer, DG/CEO, of Nigerian TourismDevelopment Corporation,NTDC. Mbanefo, who hassince assumed officepromised to focus ondeveloping local content ofthe tourism industry amongother priorities.

She is a 1986 Law graduateof the University of Lagoswith 26 years corporateprofessional experience inBanking, Manufacturing,and Oil & Gas sectors, with astint in private and socialentrepreneurial practice.

In 1987, she began hercareer as a pioneer staff in theTreasury department of AbacusMerchant Bank Limited (oneof the first indigenous banks inNigeria).

In 1989, Mbanfo joinedInternational Merchant BankLimited (former First NationalBank of Chicago) where shespent 15 years in Treasury,International Trade,Operations, Loan Recovery,

Mbanefo now Director General NTDC

Capital Markets, Shareholder/Investor Relations, HumanCapital Management, GeneralAdministration and was ChiefForeign Exchange Dealer ofthe bank before herappointment as CompanySecretary/Legal Adviser to theboard, the youngest at the timefor a publicly quoted company.

The new NTDC DG/CEO, managed two publicoffers for the bank that laterbecame IMB Plc and todayFCMB Plc.

Having built strongcontacts in governmentagencies, regulatoryauthorities and the publicsector, she rose through theranks to become director ofbusiness development in2002 in IMB Plc and a non-executive director of IMBMorgan Plc (former IMBSecurities) while still thecompany secretary.

Mbanefo was head-hunted by Lafarge CementWapco Nig Plc as companysecretary & Head of SupportServices, the most senior

female executive in Africa atthe time.

Mbanefo subsequentlymanaged a public offer forLafarge Cement WapcoNigeria Plc before herinvitation to Coca-Cola Nigeriaand Equatorial Africa Divisionas the Public Affairs andCommunication Director for tencountries in Africa.

redeployed to the CabinetSecretariat from where inAugust of same year, he wasappointed the PermanentSecretary, Ministry ofEducation. On November 18,2010, Afolabi was sworn in byPresident Goodluck Jonathanas HoS.

He retired from service inSeptember 2011.

Chams, whose board Afolabiwas appointed into, started asa privately-owned business in1985 as a Computer Hardwareand Maintenance Servicescompany and has moved fromcomputer maintenance to thefuture of ICT.

In 2008, Chams Plc was listedon the Nigeria Stock Exchange(NSE) after a successful privateplacement in which it raised N5Billion.

FORMER Head ofService, HoS, of the

Federation, Professor OladapoAfolabi, has been appointed adirector of Chams Plc and isexpected to bring his wealth ofexperience in both academicand public service to bear onthe Chams board.

A specialist in Environmentaland Food NutritionalChemistry, Afolabi was HoSfrom November 2010 toSeptember 2011.

An alumnus of ObafemiAwolowo University, OAU, IleIfe, Osun State, where heearned his BSc in 1975, Afolabialso got his MSc inBiochemistry from the sameinstitution before obtaining hisPh.D. in Applied Chemistry in1981.

He taught in manyinstitutions in Nigeria andoutside the country includingOAU, Ladoke AkintolaUniversity of Technology,Ogbomosho, and theUniversity of Zimbabwe.

His civil service years startedin 1991 when he joined theFederal EnvironmentalProtection Agency, FEPA, fromwhere he rose to the rank of anActing Director.

From FEPA, he joined theMinistry of Environment in1995. In October 2006, Afolabiwas appointed a PermanentSecretary and in June 2007,became the PermanentSecretary, Ministry of Labourand Productivity.

In November 2007, he was

Chams appoints Afolabi Director

•Mbanefo

INSTITUTE of Chartered Accountants ofNigeria, ICAN, has elected new officers

to run its affairs for the next one year, with AlhajiKabir Alkali Mohammed, emerging as the 49thPresident.

Also elected are: Mr. Chidi Ajaegbu, as VicePresident; while Samuel Olufemi Deru, andDeacon Titus Alao Soetan, were elected 1st and2nd Deputy Vice Presidents respectively.

Mrs. Joy Onome Olaolu, is the Institute’sHonorary Treasurer.

Mohammed attended WestHam College, NowEast London University; Chelmer Institute ofHigher Education, Essex; London School ofAccountancy.

He is a holder of the prestigious mni, obtained

from the National Institute for Policy &Strategic Studies Kuru, Jos and alsoattended Havard Business School, Boston,USA.

Alhaji Mohammed has served the Institutein various capacities such as Chairman,Deputy Chairman and member of variouscommittees.

His services to the public include NationalTreasurer, Alumni Association of theNational Institute; Council member, FederalPolytechnic, Nasarawa; Member, Economic& Financial Committee, UPDEA, Ghana &Tunisia (1995-1999); Member, Commissionon Review of By-Laws of UPDEA, BurkinaFaso (1993).

ICAN elects President, other officers

EDO State Governmenthas given automatic

appointment to 30 corpsmembers in the state publicservice and the stateInformation andCommunications Technology,ICT, department.

Four of them got the jobs forwinning the State Governmentaward for distinguishingthemselves in service.Governor Adams Oshiomhole,who disclosed this during thepassing-out ceremony of threethousand and six Batch “B”Corps members deployed inthe State also announced acash gift of N25,000 per corpsmember who did their primaryassignments in the state publicschools.

He said the gesture was inappreciation of their

contribution to thedevelopment of the state andby extension the nation.

Oshiomhole said: “havingworked so hard, I am happythat the NYSC recognizes thatbeyond sermonizing, one of thethings we can do to encourageoutstanding performance is topublicly acknowledge thosewho have distinguishedthemselves.

“Moments ago I have had thehonour of presentingcertificates of merit as well assmall cash gifts to those of yourcolleagues who performedin an outstanding manner. Inaddition to this certificate ofmerit and the cash, I am soimpressed by the narrative ofthe State Coordinator that EdoState Government should gobeyond the cash and certificate.

Edo offers 30 corps members jobs

posted to the Ministry ofAgriculture and WaterResources and in 2009 he was

Nigeria,anchored by Mr. BradBoyson, SHRM ExecutiveDirector for Middle East &Africa.

During the unveiling, Mr.Alexander Alonso, SHRM’sVice President (Research), leda concurrent session on thecompetency model, whichprovided an overview of thecritical competencies neededfor individual success andgrowth in an HR career.

According to him, “It is aroad map for ensuringdevelopment as successful HRprofessionals. We looked atcompetencies from a careerpath perspective to determinewhat was needed at each level,to be truly successful.

The model focuses primarilyon the competencies neededfor success, including technicalexpertise comprised of the corebodies of knowledge assessedby HR Certification Institutetests. If you want to knowwhether you’re performing thebehaviours of a successful HRprofessional, this is a way tofind out if you are, and if not,how best to learn thosebehaviours.”

SOCIETY for HumanResource Management,

SHRM, has launched an HRcompetency model for humanresource professionals ’in-depth checklist to gauge theirprofessional development fromentry to executive levels.

The model was unveiled atthe 2013 SHRM StrategyRoundtable hosted by theSHRM Member Forum

•Afolabi

SHRM launches competencymodel for HR professionals

Governor Adams Oshiomhole of Edo State presents a certicate ofmerit to Mr Okafor Elias, one of the four persons who won the stateaward during the passing out ceremony of Batch B 2012 NYSCCorps members in Benin City.

36 — Vanguard, MONDAY, JUNE 10, 2013

Agriculture

BRIEFS

Minister ofAgriculture andR u r a l

Development, Dr. AkinwumiAdesina, has disclosed thatbiotechnology offers greatpotential to help feed Africa,but regretted that seeds fromfrom gene revolution arecommercial, not public goods.

In a message sent toBioscience for Farming inAfrica (B4FA) Media Fellowsorganised for Nigerianjournalists in Abuja recently togain insight into plant geneticsand its relevance for Nigerianfarmers, the Minister said thereare challenges to overcome forgene revolution in Africa.

He said Bt-cotton is growingin West Africa and South Africaas well as successfuldevelopment and testing of GMmaize in Kenya and SouthAfrica, and GM bananas inUganda, to address pest anddisease complexes have shownthat there are great potentialsfor biotechnology in Africa.

While noting thatconventional breeding still

Turn toagriculture,Fayemi urgesjobless youths

Gov. Kayode Fayemiof Ekiti has called on

youths to engage inagricultural production toreduce unemployment.

Fayemi gave the advice lastweek in Ado-Ekiti at thePassing-Out Parade of the2012 Batch ‘B’ Corpsmembers posted to the state.

He said it was time foryouths tackle the challengesof poverty, unemployment aswell as social unrest throughfood production.

The governor, who wasrepresented by the DeputyGovernor, Prof. ModupeAdelabu, reiterated thatagriculture was one of theways out of the challenges of unemployment and poverty.

According to Fayemi, thesector can convenientlyaccount for 80 percent of thejob provision index in thecountry if well harnessed.

He frowned at the desperate search for white-collar jobs by graduates,saying:

“Instead of joining the armyof unemployed graduates, tryyour hands on productiveventures such as agriculture,medium scale businesses,rendering social services,buying and selling, amongother opportunities.”

Fish farmerswant inclusion inGES programme

CROSS sections of fishfarmers in the FCT have

appealed to the FederalGovernment to include themin the ongoing GrowthEnhancement Support (GES)scheme.

The local fish farmers madethe appeal in an interviewwith the News Agency ofNigeria (NAN) in Abujarecently.

They said that theirinclusion in GES wasnecessary considering thehigh demand for fish by theresidents within and outsidethe Federal capital city.

Mr Ndubuisi Mpama saidthat private fish farmers whoproduced most of the fishconsumed in Abuja, needed assistance too justas crop farmers.

Mpama noted that fishfarming, if properly handled,could also help in some areasof food challenges faced bythe country at the presenttime.

holds the best option , Adewumisaid public research institutionsare dominant, not privateresearch institutions

“Unlike in green revolutionin Asia, seeds from generevolution are commercial, notpublic goods, farmers need tobe able to reuse seeds. Limitedpublic-private partnerships forsharing proprietarytechnologies for crops ofimportance for the (AfricaAgricultural TechnologyFoundation).

Rufus Ebegba, in hispresentation on Status ofBiosafety in Nigeria, saidmodern technology is analternative tool to addressglobal challenges as modernbiotechnology is a fusion of cellsthat overcome naturalphysiological reproductivebarriers used in traditionalbreeding and selections.

While noting that the issue ofbiosafety is gaining ground in

Africa, he said the presence ofbiosafety law in Nigeria willserve as a key that will openthe door for the country’s safemodern biotechnologyactivities for nationaldevelopment. “Modernbiotechnology under aregulated system will enhanceeconomy growth and foodsecurity.

B4FA used the media fellowsopportunity to hold theNigerian launch of its newbook, Insights: Africa’sfuture.... Can biosciencecontribute?

Speaking at the launch, Dr.Baba Abubakar, ExecutiveSecretary, AgriculturalResearch Council of Nigeria(ARCN), who represented theMinister of Agriculture andRural Development, Dr.Akinwumi Adesina, said“There has been a lot ofnegative propaganda. … Thereis a lot we can gain through the

use of biotechnology.” On thebiosafety bill, which awaits theassent of President GoodluckJonathan, “we have been tryingto see that the governmentsigns the bill for biosafety … wewant to make sure that whatyou consume is safe.” Regarding the collection ofessays, he commented that youmust know your subject well towrite about it in clear, simpleterms.

One time Minister ofTechnology, Prof. TurnerIsoun, speaking on the booksaid “We want to maketechnology available to smallfarmers. … We need technologyto improve food security. There is nothing controversialabout it. We must makeenlightened and strategicchoices.” Prof. Isoun added,“The future for biotechnologyin Africa is bright.”

Dr. Kevin Urama, ExecutiveDirector of the AfricanTechnology and Policy StudiesNetwork, based in Nairobi,noted, “We as Nigeria, Africa,must try to be at the table whentechnologies are beingdeveloped so we are notlatecomers.” He added, “It has60% of arable land but is hungry– that continent is Africa. Wehave the richest soils but arenot harnessing them.”

Sir Brian Heap, B4FA’sProject Leader, stated that inthe book of essays “I hope you’llfind accounts from differentperspectives that will help toaddress it in a balanced wayand help everyone fromfarmers up to the President, abook you can use to helppromote dialogue.” He addedthat Dr. Templeton, whosefoundation supports B4FA,especially hopes to help smallfarmers: “How can we raise thestandard of living ofsmallholder farmers and helpthem develop asentrepreneurs?”

increased awareness offinancial support beyond theboundaries of Nigeria andincreasing understanding ofconventional components of agrant application/proposaland effective proposal

submission.He said the workshop is

meant for individuals,corporate organizations,farmer Associations,researchers, Non-Governmental Organizationsand Groups with impactfulcommunity developmentgoals.

FISON seeks increased fundingopportunities for businessesprovide participants withrecommendations ondeveloping a competitiveproposal and exposingparticipants to the rudimentsof funding opportunitiesavailable, potential grantproposal writing resourcesand grant applicationprocedures.

According to him, writingwinning proposals is allbusinesses need to accesscheap funds nationally andanywhere in the world.

He stated that the workshopis designed to bring about an

THE Fisheries Society ofNigeria, FISON, has

announced plans to sensitisestakeholders in the sector onways to unlock their fundingpotentials, making it easier forthem to attract financing fortheir business.

FISON, in a statementannouncing its forthcomingworkshop scheduled to holdJune and July in Lagos,Calabar and Abuja, explainedthat the workshop is toempower beneficiaries withspecialized knowledge andtechniques to unlock theirfunding potential.

Dr Abba Abdullah, NationalPresident, FISON, said theworkshop which is beingorganized in conjunction withWinrock International will

FISON is the apex Non-Governmental Organizationresponsible for promoting andcoordinating activities in thenation’s sub-sector throughsupporting effective training& teaching of aquaculture andfisheries in Nigeria.

FISON also fosters theinterests in aquaculture andfisheries programmes at alllevels of governance,promoting research into thedevelopment of the Fisheriesresources and potential inNigeria among others.

New gene revolution should notbypass Africa — Akinwumi

By JIMOH BABATUNDEwith agency reports

*Participants at the B4FA media fellowship in Abuja recently

Vanguard, MONDAY, JUNE 10, 2013 — 37

BRIEFS

Aviation

L-R, Director, Consumer Protection Directorate, Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA),Mallam Adamu Abdullahi, CEO/MD, West Link Airline, Capt. Ibrahim Mshelia and Chair-man, LAAC, Mr. Chucks Iwelumo during the 19th Annual Seminar of League of Airport &Aviation Correspondents (LAAC), title “Dealing with Emergency Challenge in Aviation Secu-rity” held yesterday at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Ikeja. Lagos.

NIGERIA Civil AviationAuthority ,NCAA, has

been advised to increase itsmanpower so as to reduce thedelay experienced by pro-spective airline operators fromacquiring Air Operator Cer-tificate , AOC

The Chief Executive of WestLink Airlines, Captain Ibra-him Mshelia gave this adviselast Friday when receiving hisAir OperatorsCertificate,AOC, for the WestLink Air, a chartered operatorthat is also licensed for Umra,lesser hajj. He said the addi-tional manpower in the regu-latory authority will help re-duce time spent to acquire AirOperators Certificate ,AOC,in the country.

On why the AOC took yearsto collect, Captain Msheliaexplained that there were de-lays with issues associatedwith the processes especiallywith documentation and man-power.

“Sometimes we make errorsin our documentation and ittakes time to communicate itto the NCAA and time to com-municate back so with thattime is spent. What I gatheredin the system is not new to anyof us, manpower. When thesystem has enough manpow-er perhaps it may cut down onthe time spent to acquire theAOC. The operator too is alsoa problem if a document is

New airline gets operating license,urges NCAA to increase manpower

By LAWANI MIKAIRU

given, to be returned in a dayand it takes a week, the oper-ator is also delaying himself.”

Mshelia also said that theairline painstakingly wentthrough the process of regis-tration so that the airline will give its clientele and passen-gers the best of services.

“I wouldn’t say it will be dif-ferent, we would definitely dothing differently because ourpurpose is to replicate what wesee when we travel out.”

“ Our local carriers over theyears have tried their best, weare not saying they are notdoing well, we are sayingthere is room for improvementand we are that airline that willbring improvement and weare putting things in place tomake sure that when we startoperating you can look at yourwatch and know that WestLinkhas flown.”

On manpower training, herevealed that his aviation

training school, MishAvia-tion, in Ghana will be gradu-ating students in the next cou-ple of days and this is becauseof the passion for the indus-try.

Meanwhile, the NigerianCivil Aviation AuthorityNCAA has urged the manage-ment of Westlink Airlines tohave safety as its watchword.

Presenting the AOC to theChairman of Westlink Airlines,the director of AirworthinessStandards NCAA, Engr. Ben-edict Adeyelika congratulatedthe management of the airlinefor waiting patiently for thedocuments which processingstarted 2010.

Engr Adeyelika advised theairline team to ensure that thestandard of safety do not fallbelow expectation and tomaintain good safety recordsat all times.

According to him, the en-trance of Westlink Airlines intothe Nigerian aviation markethas opened ways for other in-terested would be airline op-erators to apply for theirAOCs.

SKYWAY Aviation Handling Company Limited

,SAHCOL, has donated ma-terials to the victims of the lastflood in Asaba, Delta State.

According to Basil Agboaru-mi, Head Corporate Commu-nications, who representedthe company, the items, whichincludes Kerosene CookingStoves, Buckets and CookingPots were individual dona-tions received from Manage-ment and Staff of SAHCOL,across its network.

This is another CorporateSocial Responsibility ,CSR,gesture from SAHCOL, madein the spirit of ensuring thatthe less privileged benefitsfrom the company’s goodwill.

SAHCOL was representedat the event by Basil Agboaru-mi, Head Corporate Commu-nications, accompanied byDarlington Egun, Passenger

SAHCOL donates relief materialto flood victims

Services Officer, Asaba Station. Agboarumi on behalf of the

Managing Director, OluropoOwolabi, and the entire staffof SAHCOL, handed over thematerials to officials of theDelta State Government, rep-resented by Paul Osahon, Di-rector of Information, Ministry

of Information, Asaba, EdnaObaniedo, Principal AdminOfficer, State EmergencyAgency and Morka Ikechuk-wu, Principal Store Officer, ofthe Delta State EmergencyAgency Asaba. SAHCOL isan Aviation Ground HandlingCompany.

NAMES of Dana Air crew who diedalong with 150 others in the 3 June,

2012 plane crash are not on the cenotaphunveiled by the Lagos State governmentlast Monday.

This was revealed by the airline lastTuesday, a day after the first anniversaryof the air disaster which claimed 157 livesin Iju-Ishaga area of Lagos, southwestNigeria.

According to Tony Usidamen, Dana Head

Cenotaph: Dana plane crew members’ names missingof Corporate Communications. “Theirnames are not there.” He said the names ofthe pilot, Captain Peter Waxton, the co-pilot,Mahendra Rathore, Engineer Widyo Utomoas well as flight attendants; OnyinyeMgbangwa, Vivienne Atangakak, UcheUlasi and Eke Godwin are not also on thecenotaph.

The cenotaph contains 156 names of the157 people who died during the planecrash.

Gombe o upgradeairport tointernationalstandardTHE Gombe State

Government last Tuesdaysaid it would upgradefacilities at the Gombe airportto international standard.

Alhaji Shehu Ahmed,Commissioner of Works andInfrastructure told the NewsAgency of Nigeria (NAN) inGombe that the governmentwould key into the currentefforts of the FederalMinistry of Aviation to accessfunds for the project.

He said that the fundswould be utilised to remodelthe airport’s terminalbuilding, provide anoperational cargo terminaland cold stores forpreservation of perishablegoods for export. “We wantwhat will give Gombe thestatus of being truly aninternational airport, not amixture of arrival anddeparture. Our aim is to makethe state a real commercialand tourist destination,considering its centrallocation in the North East subregion. “ he said.

Oshiomole'schopper notgrounded —Aviation ministry

Nigeria's Aviationministry said that the

helicopter conveying theEdo State Governor, AdamsOshiomhole, was notgrounded, but only asked toobey extant rules.

Coordinating Manager,Information andCommunications forAviation Parastatals, YakubuDatti, said the aircraft wasonly called back to fill itsmanifest and make somepayments which the pilothad failed to do. "Thehelicopter picked thegovernor from governmenthouse in Benin. Byprocedure, the pilot wassupposed to file manifestand all other procedures,but because these were notdone before takeoff, NAMAcalled them down to do allthose things. Of course youcannot just pick someone upand fly over the airport justlike that,"Datti said.

An online media hadreported how Oshiomhole'strip was cut short after thepilot of the chartered aircraftwas ordered to return toBenin airport when he wasalready airborne for Awka.The governor was travellingto Anambra for the funeralof late Colette Obi, wife ofBen Obi, a presidentialadviser on political matters.He angrily left the aircraftand aborted the journeyafter it was not cleared overan hour after the pilot madenecessary payments.

38 — Vanguard, MONDAY, JUNE 10, 2013

Vanguard, MONDAY, JUNE 10, 2013 — 39

Advertising, Media& Marketing

BRIEF

AS part of activities marking the 2013 World No

Tobacco Day, WNTD, BritishAmerican Tobacco, BAT, hasbrought to fore the implicationsof stifling a legal tobacco indus-try, as advocacy groups kickagainst all forms of tobacco ad-vertising.

In the same vein, the tobaccocompany issued a series of im-ages to illustrate what it be-lieves the world would looklike, if the legal tobacco indus-try is forced out of existence.

Kingsley Wheaton, BAT’sGroup Head of Corporate andRegulatory Affairs, warnedthat, “The reality is that peo-ple will continue to smoke. Butinstead of buying legal taxedcigarettes, made by legitimatetobacco companies and sold byreputable retailers, they’ll turnto black market sources to getwhat they want.”

According to Wheaton, “Thetobacco industry is highly reg-ulated, sells a legal productand we have a legitimate busi-ness. We conduct our businessin a professional and respon-sible way, abiding by the lawsin all the countries we operatein, often going above and be-yond our legal obligations.Unfortunately the same can’t besaid for the sophisticated net-work of criminals ready andwaiting to step-in and take

No Tobacco Day: BAT cautions onstifling legal tobacco industry…As ERA, FoEN calls for tobacco Ad ban

over if the legitimate tobaccoindustry didn’t exist.”

The global black market fortobacco accounted for 660 bil-lion (Framework ConventionAlliance) cigarette sales in2012, making it roughly equiv-alent in volume to the world’sthird largest multinational to-bacco company. It is not a vic-timless crime. Illegal tobacco issold by well-organised gangs,some of whom have recognisedlinks to terrorism.

“These people don’t abide bythe law or follow government

regulation, they don’t pay tax-es, they don’t care what’s intheir products and they happi-ly sell to minors. If we didn’texist to supply tobacco productslegally, traffickers would fill thevacuum and this cannot be theoutcome society wants,” Whea-ton further said.

According to him, BAT in2012 alone, Wheaton statedthat the company had invest-ed £171m in research and de-velopment, R&D activities aspart of its responsibility to-wards reducing the health risks

associated with its products.Recently at a press briefing

recently, Director, CorporateCampaigns, Akinbode Oluwa-femi of the EnvironmentalRights Action, ERA, in collab-oration with Friends of theEarth, FoEN, in celebration ofthe WNTD titled: Ban TobaccoAdvertising, Promotion andSponsorships, said the groupaims to pressure national gov-ernments to implement com-prehensive ban on TobaccoAdvertising, Promotion andSponsorship, TAPs.

ITS a known fact worldoverthat Small Medium Enter-

prises are the bedrock of eve-ry economy.

Likewise, MTN Nigeria is notmissing in the fact of mentor-ing prospective entrepreneursthrough its product: MTN Linkforum.

The product in its enterpriseto produce a self reliant andproductive economy like in oth-er states it has traversed,moved its train to Kadunawhere tens of Its subscribers gotinspired, mentored and em-powered by the success storiesof accomplished entrepre-neurs.

The House of RepresentativesFinance Committee Chairman,Hon. Abdulmumin Jibrin anda former State Co-ordinator,National Poverty EradicationProgramme, NAPEP, AlhajiMusa Zubairu, in there talk-shop that agreed that for oneto succeed in life and business,vision, passion and dedicationmust be the watchwords.

In his view, the House Com-mittee Chairman on Financetold the audience that in kick-starting a business, there wasthe need to create a vision on“what you intend to do; be itlong-term or short-term,” add-ing that for any business tothrive, “you must picture whatyou really want.”

In addition, he reiterated theneed to have passion for thebusiness one intends to pursue,as well as being knowledgea-ble about that business, point-ing out that for the much-need-ed success, in any chosen busi-ness to be realised, “You mustalso have facts and detailsabout the business you want todo.”

According to Jibrin, startingup a business, no doubt, at-tracts a lot of challenges, whichis normal, noting that “at thestart it will not be productivebut stick to it.”

Besides, he said ‘networking’is equally important, that is,making the necessary contactsand getting the will and inter-est of customers. This, he saidhelped him later in life, espe-cially when he decided to gointo politics.

The law-maker also stressedthe need for proper manage-ment of one’s business, saidthat apart from planning wellto win contracts and supplies,“you need to have a flexiblemind on whatever you want todo and above all, avoid stereo-type, accept everybody, studyand don’t judge.”

Stories by PRINCEWILLEKWUJURU

MTN berthsentrepreneurmentorship inKaduna

batch of consumers thatemerged at the second raffledraw held at the LesukaaEvents Centre, Port Harcourt.The eight lucky consumers are:Ozioko Ikechukwu, Kogi,James Nweke and others.

They recently returned fromDubai in the United ArabEmirates where they shoppedfor items worth N1 million in60 seconds. They left Nigeriaon Friday, May 31 andreturned on Monday, May 3,2013.

Twenty – Eight year oldNweke is a professionalsecurity bouncer that recentlyrelocated to Kano fromOnitsha. Speaking on hisemergence, he said: The veryday I bought the Legend beerthat won me the Dubai Trip wasa boring day for me. I thendecided to stroll down toInternational Hotel, alongEnugu Road to have a drink.Getting there, I saw that apromo was on, and I instantlyordered for Legend Stout. Ibecame upset when I didn•ftwin any of the instant prizes,

but a lady sitting close to mepersuaded me to send the codeon my crown cork, and I justgave it to her to assist me. Tobe honest, I didn't expect towin, as I was already planningto go back to my home state –Anambra State. I was shockedwhen they called me that I hadwon a trip to Dubai. I could nothold my excitement.

Incidentally, the Dubai trip,courtesy of Legend

Extra Stout, was Nweke's firsttime outside Nigeria. He alsogot his first internationalpassport and visa courtesyLegend Extra Stout. He furtherremarked: I neither had aninternational passport, normoney to procure one, not totalk of traveling abroad.Nigerian Breweries madeprovision for all our traveldocuments without collectingany dime from me. If not forLegend, there is no way I couldhave been what I am today,because all this happenedwhen I was at the verge oflosing all hopes.

James further said he willremember Legend for a lot ofthings. He said: One, the beerhas given me a better life andexposed me to theinternational world for the veryfirst time in my life. I sharedviews with tourists fromdifferent countries, wined anddined in some of Dubai's mostexpensive restaurants. "This istoo much for a bottle of beer."

"To my friends thatdiscriminated against me,Legend shut their mouth, andI became the first to embark ona foreign tour in our group.Please help me roll the drumsfor Legend."

Same goes for other winners;Ayodele Ishalaiye, 24, residentin Lagos, is a Youth Corpercurrently serving in EbonyiState. Oritsuwa Okotie, fromDelta State, has had a goodstint of international travelacross some of the Africancountries. Yet, he described histrip to Dubai as eye-opening.Wilson Osah, an aluminiumfabricator from Port Harcourt,said he is yet to wake up fromthe dream.

THE aspirationaladrenaline of

ambitious consumers hopefulof going to Dubai is at an elball high altitude. It's already onemonth into what many havedescribed as the deal of theyear: The Legend Real DealNational Consumer Promotion.

Of the 25 consumers whomLegend Extra Stout haspledged to take to Dubai andback, 17 have emerged in twoseparate raffle draws held inLagos and Port Harcourt.

While on the all-expense paidtrip to Dubai, the Legendstoured important Dubailandmarks and shop for giftitems worth N1 million at oneof the city's biggest shoppingmalls. The first raffle drawheld at De Dems Bar, Egbeda,Lagos produced nine winners.Of these nine, seven have goneto Dubai and have returnedricher.

James Nweke from KanoState and Aghedo Cyril SadiqEhinoria from Lagos could notmake the first trip. Theyhowever joined the second

LEGEND: When reward changes lifestyle

From Left: Mr. Olusegun Koleoso, Business Development Manager, Chief Keith Richards, MD, both ofPromasidor Nigeria Limited presenting a car to Mr. Henshaw Christopher Effiom while Mr. Kachi Onubogu,Commercial Director watches on in the on-going “What’s Inside that Matters Promo” in Lagos.

40 — Vanguard, MONDAY, JUNE 10, 2013

Email:lesleba@lesleba.com, lesleba@gmail.comBlog page:www.lesleba.com/blog2Website: www.lesleba.comTel:0805 220 1997

Business & Economy

THE Lagos Chamber ofCommerce and Industry

(LCCI) has condemned theinflux of foreigners, mostlyAsians, into the retail segmentof the economy, noting that itis crowding out indigenousenterprises. It also the ongoingrehabilitation airports acrossthe country will positivelyimpact the economy.

These formed part of thecommuniqué issued by LCCIafter its meeting, Wednesday,in Lagos to review the state ofthe nation’s economy, whichwas contained in a releasemade available to Vanguard bythe Director General of LCCI,Mr. Muda Yusuf.

The communiqué stated interalia: “Council noted with

concern the increasing numberof non-nationals, especiallyAsians, in the retail segmentof the economy, especially theopen markets. This hasresulted in the gradualcrowding out of indigenousenterprises in the DistributiveTrade Sector. Council thereforecalls on the appropriateagencies of Government toquickly address the problem inorder to protect existing jobs inthe sector. It commended theongoing remodeling andrehabilitation of the airportsnationwide. These wouldenhance Nigeria’s image,perception and serve travellersthe better. The economy willbenefit greatly from the goodfirst impression that the newlook airports would create, butalso admonished the aviationauthorities to rid the airports of

touts.“The Council reiterated the

need to diversify the economyin the light of the unfoldingscenario of declining prices ofcrude oil globally and thechallenges confronting localproduction. It noted that theeconomy as currentlystructured is very vulnerable toexternal shocks. All thesecreate a gloomy revenueoutlook for Government whichis a major cause for concern. Acritical factor in this regard isthe creation of an enablingenvironment that will enhanceproductivity and efficiency inthe non-oil sector of theeconomy.”

It commended the recentproclamation of state ofemergency by the president asa bold step towards tackling theproblem of insurgency in some

parts of the country. “In thenear term, the Chamber hopesto see improved businessactivity in the affected states

after restoring security andconfidence.” The organisedprivate sector (OPS) expressedconcern about difficulties inaccessing credit, high interestrates and the persistenttightening of Monetary Policy.

LCCI condemns influx of foreigners into retail sector By YINKA KOLAWOLE

Omoh Gabriel - Group Business EditorBabajide Komolafe - Finance EditorClara Nwachukwu - Energy EditorPeter Egwuatu - Head, Capital MarketYinka Kolawole - Snr Bus. CorrespondentFavour Nnabugwu - Insurance CorrespondentGodwin Oritse - Maritime CorrespondentGodfrey Bivbere - Maritime CorrespondentMichael Eboh - Capital Market ReporterOscarline Onwuemenyi - Energy ReporterFranklin Alli - Industry/Agric. ReporterAmaka Abayomi - Money market ReporterEbele Orakpo - Energy ReporterIfeyinwa Obi - Maritime Reporter

CONTRIBUTORSPrincewill Ekwujuru - Media/MarketingNaomi Uzor - IndustryProvidence Obuh - Micro FinanceLAYOUT - Graphics Department

O U R T E A M

NIGERIANS mayh a v e heaved a

huge sigh of relief with themedia reports that Alhaji AlikoDangote, Africa’s richestbillionaire, has also waded intothe murky waters of petrolrefinery business in Nigeria.

Dangote’s considerablebusiness interests alreadyinclude a wide range ofconsumer products, such ascement, sugar, salt, rice, pasta,fruit juice, wheat flour, etc, inthe Nigerian market.

The multiplicity of multi-billion dollar cement factoriesin several African countries areclear demonstrations thatDangote’s business savvyextends beyond Nigeria’sborders. Indeed, Dangotestocks probably make up morethan 50% of total equity valuesof over N12bn on the NigerianStock Exchange, on whichAliko Dangote currently sits asPresident. In other words,with assets valued at over$20bn, Aliko Dangote regallycommands intimidatingbusiness credentials, whichdemand that his businesschoices and strategies must berespected.

Nonetheless, recent mediareports that Dangote wouldsink about $8bn into buildinga mega refinery in Nigeria maybe seen by some observers assprinting into a territory, whereangels fear to tread!

On the last count, there wereover 23 beneficiaries of licencesto establish refineries invarious locations in Nigeria; 20of these licences went toprivate investors, while thefederal government andChinese investors, later in2011, jointly undertook to alsobuild refineries in Kogi, Lagosand Bayelsa Statesrespectively.

In an earlier article in July2012 in this column titled “SixNew Refineries Hurray, ButNot Yet Uhuru”(www.lesleba.com), we notedwith concern that “surprisingly,no licencee has so far shownmuch seriousness; initially,licencees decriedgovernment’s requirement of ahuge upfront startup fee;ultimately, the authoritiesreconsidered and accordinglyreduced the fee. Nonetheless, the investors stillfailed to begin construction. Local funding was obviously aproblem, as prevailing cost offunds above 20% makesborrowing for such a project asuicidal mission.

“Alternatively, much cheaperforeign loans requiresovereign guarantees thatgovernment was not willing toconsider. More importantly,all investors preferred a freemarket pricing policy thateliminated subsidies, as theuncertainty and time lagrelated with subsidy refundscould ultimately jeopardise thesuccess for such ventures”.

In the light of the foregoing,some Nigerians decry

the reluctance of governmentto directly commit fresh fundsto build additional refineries,as insensitive andirresponsible. Curiously, thesame Nigerians also recognizethat public establishments andparastatals do not show therequired discipline to runpublic utilities and corporationsefficiently; besides, suchestablishments providesubstantial opportunities forwaste and corruption.

Nonetheless, the supporters/

promoters of governmentrefineries insist that what isgood for the goose is also goodfor the gander, andconsequently, argue that, if inspite of the advanced plans forprivatization, government stillcurrently seeks over $4bn torevamp power infrastructure,then the establishment of newrefineries should similarlyenjoy the same largesse!

However, in early July 2012,there were media reports of afresh memorandum of

test-running and dismantlingthe refinery, another month fortransportation to Nigeria, andfour months to reassemble theplant, and commenceproduction”.

Incidentally, it is almost ayear since the federal

government MOU with theAmerican consortium, butregrettably, there is not yet onenew refinery in sight!

Indeed, we had cautioned inour above referenced articlethat “in its anxiety to facilitateadequate fuel supply, theNigerian governmentappeared constrained to fetchwater with a porous and poorlycellotaped basket! Theultimate result can only befrustration and failure”.

Consequently, we advisedthat a successful strategy forprivate refineries mustinevitably abolish CentralBank’s illegal substitution ofnaira for monthly distributabledollar denominated revenueand replace this economicallydestabilizing payment systemwith monthly allocations ofdollar denominated revenuewith the instruments of dollarcertificates.

Undoubtedly, such paymentsystem would also be a moreplausible watertight vessel forthe resolution of the subsidydilemma, as the resultantstrengthening in the exchangerate of the naira will precipitatea huge fall below N97/litre inthe price of fuel, therebymaking subsidy paymentsunnecessary. Furthermore, alevel playing field that wouldmotivate and spur investors toquickly establish refinerieswould similarly evolve.

So, in spite of the serialfailures of earlier licencees,why, we may ask, shouldDangote’s current foray elicitany hope of success with thecontinued entrenchment ofthe fuel subsidy system? Well,even a casual observer of AlikoDangote would recognize thatthe eminent gentleman playshard ball, and is obviously notone to carelessly throw awaymoney, especially when suchfunds are personallyguaranteed debts. Incidentally, last week,Reginald Stanley, theExecutive Secretary of thePetroleum Pricing RegulatoryAgency (PPRA), confirmed inmedia reports that “in spite ofN971.138bn ($6.15bn)earmarked in budget 2013 forsubsidy, in reality, no marketerhas so far been paid for petrol imports carried out betweenJanuary and May 2013)”. Consequently, liquidation of2012 claims may have gulpedall payments made so far thisyear!

Incidentally, none ofDangote’s multifariousinvestments carry thisuncertain payment yoke. Nonetheless, it is unlikely thatan astute and successfulbusinessman like Dangote willgleefully borrow $8bn (overN1.3tn) to plough into anybusiness that would behamstrung by government’scommercially irresponsible andsuicidal payment system? Ordoes Aliko know somethingthat the rest of us are not privyto? Thus, in spite of the fueluprising of January 2012, is thegovernment ultimately ready toabolish fuel subsidy, withoutminding whose ox is gored? Only time will tell!

SAVE THE NAIRA, SAVE

NIGERIANS!!

REFINERIES: Dangote to the rescue?

understanding between apartnership of private UnitedStates/Nigerian companiesand the federal government. Under this MOU, six refinerieswould be constructed inmodular forms within 30months at a cost of $4.5bn. According to Mr. Mansfield,the consortium’s spokesperson,the modular constructionprocess for the refineries“entails six months ofconstruction works in the US,(including all piping andelectrical work), one month for

,

,

Incidentally,none of

Dangote’smultifariousinvestments

carry thisuncertain

payment yoke