Parties spend N4.9bn on political adverts

CMYK

MARCH 23, 2015

Continues on page 22

...As regulators, agencies decry unvetted political ads

Parties spend N4.9bn onpolitical advertsBY PRINCEWILLEKWUJURU

WITH just five days to theMarch 28 elections,advertising spend on

political campaigns has been estimatedto have cost political parties, friendsand well wishers of those seekingelective offices a princely N4.9 billionso far. However, federal and stateadvert regulatory agencies haveexpressed displeasure overpublications of unapproved advertmaterials.

According to data gathered fromdifferent advert agencies and reportsfrom advert regulatory bodies, theprint media have so far raked in aboutN1.382 billion of the advert spend,with the All Progressives Congress,APC spending N332.503 million on itspresidential candidate, while itsPeoples Democratic Party, PDPcounterpart spent N1.049 billion,which is 65.5 per cent higher than theamount spent by APC. Field reportsfurther put other expenses oncampaign rallies for PDP and APC atN1.057 billion and N595.082 millionrespectively. Both parties also spentN224.36 million on outdoorcampaigns.

The broadcast campaign coverage forthe presidential candidates were putat N508.35 million and N391.05million for PDP and APC. Electronicmedia adverts were N733.9million forPDP and N555.6 million for APCrespectively, bringing the total amountto N2.5 billion. In summary, a total ofN4.973 billion has been spent oncampaign expenses, with PDP and

APC spending N3.549 billion andN1.424 billion respectively.

Last year, the Advertising AgenciesAssociation of Nigeria, AAAN hadprojected that the 2015 generalelections will contribute billions ofnaira to the advert industry, anamount it said will form major part ofthe advertising spend for the 2015advertising year. But from recentdevelopment and the run of politicalcampaigns so far, the projection hasbeen surpassed in terms of adspend.However, advert practitioners feel theestimate is much less than what hasbeen spent, going by the inability ofheads of sectoral bodies in the advert

industry to track the amount spent bypoliticians, as a result of thehaphazard nature the adverts weregiven out.

It would be recalled that in 2014,former president of AAAN and ChiefOperating Officer of 141 Worldwide,Bunmi Oke, predicted a bright futurefor any ad agency that puts its acttogether to tap into the windfallexpected from the election year andthe huge budget politicians wouldearmark for the 2015 politicalcampaigns.

Worried by the bulk of politicalcampaign materials, FinancialVanguard sampled the opinions of

stakeholders who were particularlydisappointed at the mannerunapproved political materials litteradvertising spaces in the country.

It is a fact that Nigeria has a historyof not coming out with electionspending figures, and data are equallyunavailable on the actual spending ofpoliticians on campaigns. But goingby the volume of materials churnedout through the different media ofcommunication for political parties,it is no longer in doubt that billionsof naira were spent in the 2015election campaigns.

LECTURE: MD/CEO of WemaBank, Mr SegunOloketuyi heremakes a presen-tation on 'GrowingYour Money' tostudents of Gov-ernment Second-ary School, Mora-ba, Ilorin, inKwara State tocommemorate theChild & YouthFinancial LiteracyDay.

CMYK

22 — Vanguard, MONDAY, MARCH 23, 2015

Cover Story

The AAAN membersobserved with great concernthe spate of unhealthy smearcampaigns by the politicalparties and shadow interestgroups across the variousmedia channels.

AAAN said: “In obviousdisregard of the advertisingcode and ethics of theAdvertising PractitionersCouncil of Nigeria, APCON,a body saddled with theresponsibility of regulatingand controlling advertisementin the country, and theAAAN, most of thesepolitical advertisements havebeen exposed without goingthrough the vettingprocedures and consequentapprovals from theAdvertising Standards Panel,ASP, of APCON.

“Our concerns are that theprofessional values of theadvertising practice andindeed, public sensibilities,as well as the very stabilityof the polity have beenseverely undermined by thecontinued characterassassinations, wantonabuses, unrestrainedattacks, threats and counter-threats that have become thebane of politicalcommunication building upto the elections," AAAN saidin a release.

Kayode Olagesin,Managing Director ofTowncriers, an activationagency said: “There is notime in the history of thecountry that we havewitnessed this volume ofcampaigns. I tell you, I don'tsee them spending less thanN5 billion on each of thepresidential candidates.

“If you look at the way theyhave used the press, wraparound that costs millions,there are lots of heavycharges paid, lots of them upto N20 million for onematerial, five or more pagesof newspapers in a day, andyou have several days in aweek, I tell you, they havespent billions, but the truthis that it is difficult to know

exactly how much they arespending. Mind you, thespending still continues, soyou do not know yet, may beafter the whole campaign,you can sit down andcalculate and put somefigures to it.

"What is more interestingis to find out what portion ofthe advertising materialsthat passed throughprofessional advertisingpractitioners in Nigeria. Idaresay, a lot of it did notpass through theprofessional advertisingpractice. So it will not,therefore, have added thatmuch value to the revenueof advertising agencies in

the country." He went on tosay that the impact onadvertising agencies isminimal through third handor second hand, passing tothe agencies. "I do not thinkagencies are on the table, thestrategy and the energy aredisbursed to agenciesoutside. I think a fewagencies in Nigeria areactually having those directcontracts with politicalparties. We should urge thepolitical parties to do what isright; to appoint properNigerian agencies to run theircampaigns. That is whatneeds to happen.

“I do not know theelements of it that areproduced and done outside.I don’t know the details ofthat, but I know that thedirect contact have not beengiven to Nigerian advertisingagencies, a lot of them aregiven to people who areprobably politicians to helpthem broker it through first,second or third partyagents,” he stated.

On the other hand, theOAAN, on their part, said allpolitical adverts posted ontheir billboards were dulyvetted by APCON’s ASP.

Also disturbed were stateregulatory agencies. Forexample, the Oyo StateSignage and AdvertisementAgency, OYSAA, complainedthat adverts posted indifferent sites andunauthorised places,including lamp poles aroundthe city, is a flagrant breachof the extant laws andregulation of the agency.

This, however, promptedthe Director-General, Mr.

Parties spend N4.9bn on politicaladverts

Continues on page 23

Continues from page 21

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

The truth ofit is that it isdifficult toknowexactly howmuch theyare spending

Technical education is aplanned programme of

courses and learningexperiences that begins withexploration of career options,supports basic academic andlife skills, and enablesachievement of high academicstandards, leadership,preparation for industry-defined work, and advancedand continuing education.Vocational education andtraining prepares learners forcareers that are based inmanual or practical activities,traditionally non-academicand totally related to a specifictrade, occupation or vocation.In other words, it is an“education designed todevelop occupational skills.”Vocational and technicaleducation gives individuals theskills to “live, learn and workas a productive citizen in aglobal society.”

Technical and vocationaleducation has been an integralpart of national developmentstrategies in many societiesbecause of its impact onproductivity and economicdevelopment. Despite itscontributions the leaders ofNigeria have not given thisaspect of education theattention it deserves, and thisis one of the reasons for thenation’s underdevelopment.This article focuses on thedearth of skilled technical andvocational manpower inNigeria and argues thattechnical and vocationaleducation holds the key tonational development.

Every facet of the economyhas been affected by lack ofskilled technicians. Thefinancial sector lackstechnicians to regulate thebanks and to develop financial

Vocation & technical education – A keyto improving Nigeria’s development

software toproperly tacklethe risingf r a u d u l e n tactivities in thebanking sector.Without security,development isimpossible in asociety; no nationcan sustain itsdemocracy if thecitizens lackconfidence in thepolice. The policeviolate thecitizens’ humanand civil rightsand lack forensiclaboratory and

fingerprint technicians toconduct criminalinvestigations. And due topoor training, military officersare known to beat up thecitizens who challenge theirpowers and go scot free fortheir inhumane actions. Thedanger posed byenvironmental pollution andfake drugs is alarming. The lesseducated in the society lack theskill to manage AIDS, cancerand diabetes among otherserious health problems. Onewonders what the nation’shealth minister and the 36state health commissioners aredoing to tackle these issues.Every good citizen is aware thatthe neglect of technical andvocational education issocially and economicallyinjurious, because it is robbingthe nation of the contributionsthe graduates would make onnational development. Forthat Nigeria is today wearingthe toga of a poor state.

Although technical andvocational education seemdeficient in ‘citizenship orleadership training’ (Friedman1982). It provides studentswith “life skills to becomeproductive entrepreneurs as itengenders creative andinnovative ideas, enlarge theeconomic pie, and increasepersonal freedom. Most of theso-called “expatriateengineers” who are being paidmillions of dollars to buildNigeria’s roads and bridges aregraduates of technical andvocational colleges. Yet theleaders do not take technicalinstitutions seriously.Nigeria’s currentpreoccupation with universityeducation reduces economicopportunities of those who aremore oriented toward work

than academic. Noteveryone needs au n i v e r s i t ye d u c a t i o n .Awarding licensesto greedyorganizations andindividuals toestablish privateuniversities thatare not even asequipped as someof the technical andvocational schoolsin the United Statesand otheradvanced nationscannot develop thesociety.

Manygraduates lack'employability'skills, whichwould easilybe acquiredfrom technicaland vocationalcolleges

Vanguard, MONDAY, MARCH 23, 2015 — 23

Business & Economy

CMYK

Yinka Adepoju to direct allpolitical campaignorganisations/committees toapply and obtain approval ofOYSAA before posting theircampaign materials in anylocation. The agency said thewarning became necessary inorder not to exacerbate thealready tensed political climatein the country, and to maintainthe pervading peace enjoyed inthe state.

Speaking on thedevelopment, Mr. AdigweIwuala, Deputy ManagingDirector, OrlickCommunications, said: “Thiswill remain a conjecture untilthe elections are over. Whatyou will get from any personnow is an estimated amountwhich may be low or high.

“The print industry may bepocketing about N900 million

for various adverts. If youaggregate this by the numberof newspapers and magazinesin the different parts of thecountry, you may find out thatit is running to above N900million.” On social media,Michael Uze, a publiccommentator, observed thatthe social media ad spendcannot be tracked as there isno registered body saddledwith the responsibility to trackwhat is spent on that platform.

Reacting to the issue of non-disclosure of amount spent onthe 2015 elections so far, Mr.Andre Nduneche, LeadConsultant, Image MachineAdvertising, said Nigerians canonly speculate as politiciansare secretive when it comes todisclosing budgets onadvertising. "The politiciansare very secretive about these

things. They will not want youto know how much they areputting into it, but from allindications, you can tell by thevolume of contents in all theadvertising platforms which isrunning into billions of naira.

“The 2015 electioneeringcampaign period is just theChristmas of advertising.Everybody waits for years, andthat too, increases the price ofadvertising as it is only in fouryears that such opportunitycalls. Money that should havebeen spent in four years is nowspent within a short period oftime. So we are looking at avery substantial amount ofmoney,” he said.

Corroborating, Mr. EwatOkonokon, a brand analystwith Brand CampaignInternational, said that duringelectioneering periods likethis, advertising contentsacross various advertisingplatforms prior to elections areincreased. He noted also thatthe 2015 election has attractedmore advertising than anyperiod of election in thecountry, pointing out thatpoliticians are beginning to

understand the power ofadvertising in shaping theminds of people.

He went further to say thatthe close contest between PDP,APC and other fringe parties in2011, did not experience astrong competition like 2015,and this has impacted greatlyon the advertising industry.

It will be recalled that theissue of non-disclosure of theamount political parties spendon the 2015 election promptedthe Socio-Economic Rightsand Accountability Project,SERAP, to institute an actiondemanding that all politicalparties make full disclosure ofsources of their campaignfunds, a way of invoking theFreedom of Information bill, anaction seen as a step in the rightdirection for publicaccountability. It is still indoubt whether that move willyield any positive result.

Parties spend N4.9bn on political advertsContinues from page 22

The 2015 election willcertainly come and gobut the after effect

may linger for a long time.Whether it is PDP or APC thateventually wins thepresidential election, theparty that will come to powerpost-election, had better getprepared for the handling ofthe economy. As it stands, thenation is on a financial cliffthat can fall off any timeexcept a miracle happens.The one commodity thatprovides life support for theeconomy has seen its price atthe international market fallto as low as $58 per barrel.

The International EnergyAgency has predicted thatcrude oil prices may fall to aslow as $20 per barrel. Oilprices might have stabilisedonly temporarily because theglobal oil glut is worseningand U.S. production shows nosign of slowing. The US maysoon run out of spare capacityto store crude, which wouldput additional downwardpressure on prices. Thatprocess would last at leastuntil the second half of 2015,when growth in US oilproduction is expected to startabating.

Behind the façade ofstability, the rebalancingtriggered by the price collapsehas yet to run its course, andit might be overly optimistic toexpect it to proceed smoothly.

As a result of the above oilmarket scenerio, the incominggovernment will have aHerculean task running thecountry effectively. Manystates will not be able to paytheir bills, same with theFederal Government. As it isnow, money that would have

Tough times aheadafter elections

been judiciously used is being frittered awayin foreign currency in the name of election.Right now, politicians have invaded the foreignexchange market to buy up the available dollar

between the bank naira -dollar rate and the blackmarket rate after theNovember 2014 devaluation,is now about 13 per cent inless than five months.

This is not in the bestinterest of the economy andafter the election, if prices ofcrude continue its southwardjourney, things will becomeworse as fewer dollars will beavailable at the foreignexchange market forimportation of essentialconsumer goods. This, ofcourse, will give rise tohyper-inflation which isalready rising and willcontinue to rise. The NationalBureau of Statistics (NBS) lastweek, released the ConsumerPrice Index (CPI) report forFebruary 2015 saying thatprices of goods and servicesrose slightly by 20 basispoints, which is about 0.2 percent. It said that rise in prices,headline inflation - measuredYear-on-Year (Y-o-Y), wasestimated at 8.4 per cent,20bps higher than 8.2per centreported in January 2015.

This is largely the expectationas inflationary pressureintensified in February due to

the weakness of the domesticcurrency over the past sixmonths. This had a knock-onimpact on prices of bothimported food and non-fooditems.

After the election, which everparty comes into power,Nigerians should expect arough time going forward.There is no doubt that withdwindling oil prices, Jonathanor Buhari will have no optionthan to remove completely fuelsubsidy. It will not be a matterof choice, it will be a matter ofsurvival for the government tocontinue to meet its internalfinancial obligation. The firstshot at raising revenue will besubsidy removal. Nigeriansshould not be deceived. Thiswill certainly come into playearly in the life of the newadministration. None of thepolitical parties has made it anelectoral issue and Nigerianshave not asked either Jonathanor Buhari what they intend todo with subsidy on petrol.

The Nigerian banking sectorwill feel the heat as they arelikely to lay off employees afterthe election is successfullyconcluded. Many companiesmay not be able to service theirfacilities and non- performing

loans may mount. Banks maybe tempted to stop giving outloans due to high cost of funds.In a bid to tighten monetarypolicy after the election, theCBN may demand to sterilisepublic funds in the bankingsystem or demand that allpublic sector funds be placeddirectly with it. The privatesector deposit in banks may seesome increase in the amountthe CBN will withdraw frombanks. The banks will then beunder extreme pressure toperform post- election 2015.

The Federal Governmentunder pressure to raise money,may after the election allowthe naira to further depreciateto raise more money forgovernment as crude oil pricesprobably falls below $53which is the 2015 budgetb e n c h m a r k . M o r emanufacturing companies willclose or reduce operations dueto stifling businessenvironment wreaking havocon their businesses. Nigeriansshould expect higherelectricity tariff, nairadevaluation, less power fromthe national grid which meansmore expenses incurred to rungenerators. For now, there isno light in the tunnel.

The unusual use of dollar inpolitical campaign has led tofurther depletion of thenation’s foreign reserves asmoney is carried around insacks to people whom thepoliticians believe have someinfluence over a certainsection of the populace andtheir presidential votingchoice. As a result of themopping up of the dollar fromthe system for non-productive use, a less thanthree per cent differential

to pay electorate for votes.Instead of saving the windfallfrom oil when prices werehigh, state governorsclamoured for the sharing ofthe excess crude account, nowthe account has nothing to beshared. Indications are thatthe pressure on the naira nowis as a result of politicalactivities in the country. Post-election, the naira may seesome level of stability at N197to the dollar.

There is nodoubt that withdwindling oilprices,Jonathan orBuhari willhave no optionthan to removefuel subsidycompletely

The 2015electioneeringcampaignperiod is justthe Christmasof advertising


CMYK


Business & Economy

The Bank of Industry,(BoI), has said that Small

and Medium Enterprises(SMEs) in Nigeria canovercome the challenge oflack of access to finance byemploying appropriatestrategies suitable to theirpeculiar characteristics.

Disclosing this at the 2015Annual General Meeting of theNigerian Association of Smalland Medium Enterprises(NASME), Executive Director,Small and MediumEnterprises, BOI, Mr. WaheedOlagunju, said SMEs arerecognised as playing key rolesin the economy of any societyand Nigeria is not anexception.He noted that in joband wealth creation however,they face numerous challengesincluding access to financewhich can be overcome by

SMEs can access finance withappropriate strategies — BoI

appropriate strategies thatmust address their peculiarcharacteristics, adding that,VCF is one such strategy thatcan facilitate access to financeby MSMEs

“Since challenges facingMSMES are numerous andmultidimensional holisticapproach is required to de-riskMSMES. All hands must be ondeck: entrepreneurs,governments, operators alongthe financial value chain,foreign development partners,governments at all tiers LocalGovewrnment, state, federal-and regulator ” he stated.

Olagunju stressed that factorslimiting the growth of MSMEsin Nigeria are market access:weak local patronage,infrastructure: power, transport,water etc, support services:business development support,finance / capital: perceived riskyby DMBs, information: what to

do and how to go about it andtechnology: dependence onexpensive sophisticatedimported technology.

The President and Chairmanof Council, NASME, AlhajiGarba Gusau, challenged thepolitical gladiators on theirprogrammes and policies for theMSMEs at all levels ofgovernance, saying, thatMSMEs development shouldbe in the front burner of thepolitical discourse.

According to him, to developthe MSME sector requiresstrong and supportiveinstitutions and holisticinfrastructural development aswell as key and impactfulsectoral intervention byNigerian financial system, as adeliberate effort towardsaddressing the many neglect ofthe sector and that now that theelections are here again.

13 ships ladenwith petroleumproducts, othercargo arriveLagosThirteen ships laden

with petroleumproducts, general cargo andfood items have arrived theLagos ports, waiting toberth. The Nigerian PortsAuthority (NPA) stated thisin its daily publication,‘Shipping Position’ madeavailable to newsmenyesterday in Lagos.

According to thepublication, seven of theships sailed into the portswith petrol, kerosene andaviation fuel. It indicatedthat six other ships camein with rice, soya beans andgeneral cargo.

The document stated that42 ships were scheduled toarrive at the ports betweenMarch 18 and April 6. It saidthat 18 of the ships wouldsail in with containers,while eight others wereexpected with generalcargo. The document saidthat seven ships would sailin with rice, frozen fish,crude palm oil, buckwheatand bulk sugar. It alsoindicated that the remainingnine ships would arrive withkerosene, base oil, aviationfuel and petrol.

FAAC: FG,states, LGsshare N522bnfor FebThe Minister of State for

Finance, Mr BashirYuguda, said that N522billion was shared amongthe federal, states and localgovernments as revenue forFebruary, 2015.

Yuguda announced this inAbuja when he addressednewsmen on the outcome ofthe Federation AccountsAllocation Committee(FAAC) meeting.

He said that the sharedamount comprised themonth’s statutory revenueof N401.4 billion and N6.3billion refunded byNigerian NationalPetroleum Corporation(NNPC).

“Also, there is theexchange gain of N55.9billion which is proposed fordistribution.

“Therefore the totalrevenue distributable for themonth of February,including VAT of N58.2billion, is N522 billion.’’

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

Investment in African megaprojects surged 46% to

US$326 billion last year led byheavy investment in transport,energy and power, accordingto the third annual DeloitteAfrican Construction Trendsreport, which monitorsprogress on capital intensiveinfrastructure on thecontinent.

To qualify for inclusion inthe Deloitte AfricanConstruction Trends report,projects must be valued atmore than US$50 million andhad to have broken ground byat least 1 June 2014. While thenumber of projects thatqualified for inclusion in the2014 report fell to 257 from 322the year before, the total valueof projects under constructionincreased from USD 222.77billion in 2013.

“Africa’s rapidly growingmiddle class continues todrive demand for sustainablesocial infrastructure,” said MrAndre Pottas, RegionalDirector at Deloitte. “Africa isen route to a brighter futureand overall we see theopportunities surpassing thechallenges facing ourcontinent.”

Of the projects included inthe 2014 Deloitte AfricanConstruction Trends report, noless than 143 were led by thepublic sector with a further 88being private sector initiativesand 26 classified as publicprivate partnerships (PPPs).Energy & Power accounted for37% of the number of mega

DeloittDeloittDeloittDeloittDeloitte sure sure sure sure survvvvveeeeey repory repory repory repory reports surgets surgets surgets surgets surgein Africa’s mega prin Africa’s mega prin Africa’s mega prin Africa’s mega prin Africa’s mega projects tojects tojects tojects tojects tooooo$326bn in 20$326bn in 20$326bn in 20$326bn in 20$326bn in 201111144444By ADEKUNLE ADEKOYA,General Editor

projects undertaken in Africain 2014, followed by transport(34%), mining (9%), real estate(6%), water (5%), oil & gas(4%), mixed use facilities (2%)and health care (1%).

“More than 10% of theprojects included in this year’ssurvey were structured asPPPs, which is an increasefrom about 4% the previousyear,” said Mr Pottas. “That isvery encouraging to see as webelieve that significant privatesector participation is required

alongside governmentinitiatives in order to enableAfrica to close its infrastructuregap with the rest of the world.”

Southern Africa ledconstruction activity on thecontinent, accounting for$144.89 billion in projects or44.5% of the total value ofmega construction projects onthe continent last year. WestAfrica overtook East Africawith the region attractingUS$74.84 billion in projects, or23% of the total projects on the

continent by value. CentralAfrica experienced a massive117% surge in the value ofconstruction projects whichreached $33.21 billion whileNorth Africa saw the value ofconstruction projects jumpalmost 36% to $9.12 billion.East Africa experienced amoderate 10% decline in thevalue of projects, whichnevertheless totalled arespectable $60.67 billion in2014.

“Africa continues to be amagnet for Foreign DirectInvestment (FDI) and intra-African capital inflows,” saidMr Pottas. “With a 76%completion rate of projectscollected from our previousreport, expectations remainhigh for infrastructure toprovide the developingcontinent with much neededmarket expansion.”

Africa’s infrastructuraltransformation is being drivenby increased output in thenatural resources sector,which in turn hasunderpinned rising fiscalexpenditure on infrastructureprojects to facilitate risinginternational trade with thecontinent. At the same time,rapidly growing urbanisationand rising domestic demandin Africa has ushered in anunprecedented wave of foreigndirect investment in thecontinent’s biggest and mostdynamic economies.

“The African ConstructionTrends report confirmscontinued, intensiveconstruction activity across thecontinent,” said Mr Pottas.“The journey may not be highspeed just yet but it isunfolding at a steadilyincreasing pace.”

BY NAOMI UZOR


Corporate Finance

First Bank spendsover N500m onsavings promo

By PRINCEWILLEKWUJURU

First Bank Nigeria Plcsaid it has expended

over N500million as cash gift toover 5000 customers in the sixyears of its ‘Savings PromoBonanza,’ as the bank presentsa car to wound off its promo.

This was revealed when theGroup Managing Director, BisiOnasanya presented one of thecars, a brand new Toyota Corollato the winner, Mrs. EbisanOnyema at the bank’s headoffice in Lagos. The promo,according to Onasanya, hasrewarded over 5000 customerssince inception six years agowith over N500million given outin cash, household appliances,cars and a four bedroom duplexterrace house in Lekki area ofLagos.

The GMD also stated that the‘Savings Bonanza’ delivers tothe bank’s promise of putting thecustomer first as it is designedto reward customers for theirpatronage and loyalty to thebrand over the years. “First Bankhas been changing the life styleof average Nigerians with itsSavings Promo since 2008. Wewould continue to churn outinnovative and tailored-fitproducts to support customers’needs and aspirations”, hestated.

Quoted firms research reports:Related brokerage firms should notbe involved —Analyst

BY PETER EGWUATU

The Senior AfricaInvestment Analyst,

Mr. Jude Fejokwu has saidthat Board members of listedcompanies on the NigerianStock Exchange , NSE thatown or partly own stakes inbrokerage firms and/orinvestment banks should beprevented from publiclydisseminating equity researchreports and related materialson the companies they areboard members of using theirin-house analysts.

According to him “ Real lifeexample: Chapel Hill Denhamanalysts should be preventedfrom writing reports on LafargeAfrica, Stanbic IBTC analystsshould be prevented fromwriting reports on Cadbury andNigerian Breweries just toname a few. Why? Simply put,its a conflict of interest thatplaces inherent doubt on theviews that are held in thereport by the “home base”analysts. Secondly, the risk ofunfair disclosure is high inwhich the analysts of theparticular company may endup being privy to non-publicinformation before thegenerality of the investingpublic or privy to informationthat no one else will ever bepublicly aware of. This sets anunfair advantage and sets ourstock market backward wheninformation is not fairlydisseminated.”

Buttressing his view , he said“ People (companies) get sickand then they get well (e.g.Forte Oil); sometimes, they getsick and then they neverrecover and die (e.g.Starcomms) Sometimes ourblood pressure rises beyondnormal and sometimes it dropsbelow normal. My point hereis everything in life has its upsand downs. Companies alsohave their ups and downs.Owners and significantshareholders in Nigeriancompanies tend to forget thisfact of life. Their companieshave to always be portrayed ontop when they are on top andalso when they are down andbusiness is no longer as smoothas a brand new dollar bill.Failure to adhere to this“Nigerian rule” is usuallytaken as a personal affront bythe ‘larger than life” owners ofthe companies in question andthe analyst(s) now finds thatthere is an invisibleprofessional enemy lurkingsomewhere hunting them inalleys and crevices. A personal

vendetta is now establishedbetween someone at the topand someone below; truth andfiction take center stage todetermine who will stand tallerat the end of the day. Owners/stakeholders should accept thatbusinesses have circular lifecycles (just like the planet welive on) and go through boomand bust cycles. Learn fromthese ‘down time” experiencesand change them; do not fightreality!”

Fejokwu, further stated thatinvestment banks need toprovide a deeper level ofdisclosure about the exactnature of the businessrelationship they have with acompany and/or if they werepaid in cash and/or kind toproduce the particular equityresearch product in questioneach time a report is

disseminated.According to him “ In the

first-half of 2009,Intercontinental Bankmanagement was dealing withwidespread speculation thatthe bank was in distress. Whenthe negative news refused togo away despite using a bevyof journalists to get out their

positive message,management turned toRenaissance Capital Nigeriafor succor. Managementturned over their books to theRencap analyst(s) who cameout with a report stating in anutshell that the bank is notin distress and we should allcalm down. A few monthslater in 2009, we all knowwhat happened to the bank.Regardless of what peoplemay think about Sanusi’staking over some banks andthe intrigues surrounding it,my analyses in 2008 didforetell that IntercontinentalBank was a bank headingsouth. The events that befellIntercontinental Bank (as itrelates to the bank’sperformance) did not surpriseme one bit when it all cameto a head.”

PRESENTATION - From left: Head, Product Management, Nigerian Stock Exchange(NSE), Mr. Oladipo Omotoso; Chief Executive Officer, Chapel Hill Denham Securities Limited,Mr. Akeem Shadare; Executive Director, Business Development, NSE, Mr. Haruna Jalo-Waziri and Compliance Officer, Chapel Hill Denham Securities Limited, Ms. Ewere Mgbekeat the presentation of appointment letter as a Primary Market Maker at the exchange

Companiesalso havetheir upsand downs

Stanbic IBTC Bank has launched the StanbicIBTC Priority Pass, a customized card that

gives holders access to unique benefits at over700 airports around the world as part of itsdetermination to deploy technology to bringadded value to the lives and businesses of itsclients.

Priority Pass is the world’s largest independentairport lounge access programme. The StanbicIBTC Priority Pass allows members access to over700 airport lounges in more than 120 countriesand 400 cities worldwide including Nigeria. Inaddition, the pass gives the holder comfort,makes travelling stress-free even in the eventof flight delays, cancellations and crowdeddeparture halls. It also keeps the traveller

Stanbic IBTC launches Priority Pass access cardBy NKIRUKA NNOROM

relaxed in a serene ambience until he boardsa flight. The cards will be issued to StanbicIBTC Bank’s credit Speaking at the officiallaunch in Lagos, Yinka Sanni, Stanbic IBTCBank’s Chief Executive, said the productrepresents another milestone in the drive tomove customers forward by continuouslyintroducing value-added products andservices that suit their lifestyles, whilst givingthem access to financial options wherever andwhenever they want it.

Sanni said the product is another steptowards leveraging innovation and evolvingtechnologies to serve customers better. “AtStanbic IBTC Bank, we are poised to alwaysavail the best solutions to enhance the livesof the people we serve. This product is yetanother manifestation of this quest,” hestated.

More winners emerge inFidelity Bank’s ‘Save 4Scholarship’ promoThe Fidelity Bank Plc ‘Save

4 Scholarship’ Promo hasproduced 49 more winners thatwent home with N15.9 million ina final draw that took place inLagos. The draw, which tookplace weekend, at the bank’shead office, brought the totalamount given out throughout theduration of the promo to N80million.

Besides cash prizes, whichranged from N2 million, N1million, N500,000 to N210,000,other consolation prizes ofgenerating sets and fridges werealso given to the winners thatemerged from the six geo-political zones of the country.

Mr. Ik Mbagwu, ExecutiveDirector, Lagos & South WestDirectorate, Fidelity Bank, whospoke at the event said the bankhas other loyalty reward promoslined up that would be moreexciting than the just concluded‘Save 4 Scholarship’ promo.

He listed two of such productsto include School SupportScheme through which N50million will be given outannually and Extra IncomeScheme.


Banking & Finance

In order to make taxpayment moreconvenient for tax

payers, the Federal InlandRevenue Service (FIRS) lastmonth introduce electronicfilling and payment of taxes.The initiative was inpartnership withSystemSpecs, owners of theRemita electronic paymentplatform, which can be usedfor electronic filling andpayment of taxes. In thisinterview, John Obaro ,speaks on the objectives andbenefits of e-filling andpayment of taxes and the roleof Remita in the initiatives.Excerpts

What does e-filing imply tothe taxpayers?

Well before now, the FederalInland Revenue Service(FIRS) has been collecting taxreports manually. So, theyhave now created a platformfor organisations to be able tofile electronically. Now, whenyou submit your documentsinto their portal, you will geta reference called documentnumber. You will take thatdocument number to yourRemita platform, to makepayments and your paymentsleaves your bank account andgoes to FIRS account, you getan acknowledgement and youalso have proper records ofthe taxes you have paid.

What exactly is the role ofRemita in this scheme?

The role of Remita is apayment engine. Now, anumber of organisations todayalready use Remita to payvendors, to pay salaries,pension fund administratorsand different types ofpayments. But now, they areable to make tax payments toFIRS. When they pay throughthe platform, they don’t needto submit any document againbecause we are integrated atthe back to FIRS. So, wesubmit the data that, thatorganisation has provided tothe FIRS in addition to movingmoney to the FIRS.

But does e-filing means thatthe manual way of paying taxin the country will no longerbe in existence?

Well, I believe it is going tohappen gradually because notall the FIRS offices have beenconverted. So, they are doingthem in phases. There will bea period of transition, butultimately the idea is that itgoes to a paperless filingarrangement.

What will be the impact

The truthis thatmany timeswe judgepeople thatthey don’twant to paytaxes

•John Obaro, MD/CEO SystemSpec

Transition to e-payment of taxeswill be gradual — OBARO

BY BABAJIDEKOMOLAFE

Ecobank offersproducts at EnuguInternational TradeFair

Ecobank Nigeriaarray of cuttingedge financial

product were offered toparticipants at the 26th

Enugu International TradeFair. Special products thatrepresent the banks’ e-banking, transfer and middleclass solutions were alldisplayed and customers’access and easy use weredemonstrated to visitors atthe fair. The bank alsooffered financial solutionsand advise to the variousSmall and MediumEnterprises and localcorporate size companies, onthe new CBNs single digit intervention facilities, suchas the Micro, Small andMedium Enterprises(MSME) and Real Sector SupportFinance(RSSF), of whichEcobank is a championingbank.

Access Bankreiteratescommitment tofinancialliteracy

Access Bank hasreiterated itscommitment to

encouraging financialliteracy amongst Nigerianyouths.

Speaking at a sessionwhich held at theGreensprings School,Anthony Campus, Lagos onWednesday, March 11, 2015in commemoration of the2015 Global Money week,Mr. Victor Etuokwu,Executive Director, PersonalBanking Division, noted thatAccess Bank has pioneereda number of industrydefining financial literacyinitiatives aimed atpromoting awareness forFinancial Inclusion andLiteracy amongst women,small and medium scaleentrepreneurs (SMEs) andmore especially children andschools in Nigeria.

During the session with thetheme “Save Today, SafeTomorrow”, Mr. Etuokwusaid, “Several years ago welaunched Nigeria’s first fun-filled interactive financialliteracy campaign for kids,parents and educators withthe Access Early Saverscampaign. This shows thatwe have always beeninvolved in empoweringyoung ones”.

of this scheme on theeconomy?

The truth is that many timeswe judge people that theydon’t want to pay taxes. Butthe truth of the matter is thatthe payment process, if it istoo cumbersome, some peoplewho want to pay would justend up not paying becausethey would get carried awayby something else. By makingit easier for people to pay, itis expected that the collectionwould improve. Now, youhave a 24-hour arrangementto pay. There is no needsaying the managing directoris out of town and he is notgoing to be back until nextweek. You don’t need thoseexcuses again. It is noweasier to pay from your home,from your offices and fromyour mobile devices. So, it isexpected that the totalcollections would grow.

Did the federal governmentand others involved inthe introduction of thisscheme take into

consideration the technologicalchallenges we have in the country?And for those that are nottechnologically savvy, how will theybe able to use this system?

Well, the first thing you talked about wasinfrastructural challenges. The mere fact thatthere are infrastructural challenges has notstopped the rapid growth of e-payment inNigeria. We are not where we were five yearsago. In fact, we are not where we were twoyears ago. So, a lot of things are improving.We know we are not yet there, but we shouldnot discountenance the fact that a lot ofprogress has been made. We cannot wait andsay we cannot practice e-payment untileverything is perfect because that day will notcome. Even if you go to the developedcountries, you still have occasional failures.You still have communication challenges. Itmay not be as much as we have here, but theystill happen. So, I really would not want us tofocus on a glass that is half empty, let us focuson the portion that is half full. We have theopportunities with us here and things arehappening and things are getting better. So,let us focus on the fact that it is growing andthe challenges that are coming up are notunresolvable.

But the process of the e-filing seems to verylong. Let’s consider the average individual,would that not be discouraging to him orher?

For e-filing, we can say that this is the firstversion of the product. With the first versionof the product coming out, there would besome lessons learnt and in the not too distancefuture, we would expect some improvements.But for clients on Remita, what we have doneis to create a simply access point for them tobe able to make all their payments and savethemselves some cumbersome processes. So,like I said earlier, things may not be perfect,but they will improve with time.

There is e-filing and e-payment, are bothaccessible through Remita?

Remita is basically an e-payment platform.It is expected that you must have done youre-filing to collect your reference. When younow come to Remita, we will now interrogatethe FIRS platform to bring out all yourinformation, and then you make yourpayment.

What is your expectation from the e-filingscheme generally?

My expectation is that the taxpayers nowknow that there are electronic options for themto begin to make tax payments. They may fileelectronically and effect their payments. Theydo not necessarily need to go to a bank branchagain and they need not move from one bank’sinternet banking to another bank’s internetbanking again. Log into Remita and makepayment from anywhere.

What is the relationship between Remitaand the banks?

Now, when customers register on Remita,they fill an application form to their banks, itis their banks that actually register them onthe platform. It is a multi-bank platform, socustomers come on the platform and put inall their bank accounts. When it is time forthem to make any payment, they just selectwhich account they want to fund from. It neednot be tied to any particular bank. You mayhave accounts with different banks. So, youjust select the one you want to fund from atthat point in time and it goes through theinternal approval rule of that organisation.


CMYK


CMYK

Debt Office recommends$12.4bn borrowing ceilingfor FG in 2015

•Dr Abraham Nwankwo, Director-General, DMO

Economy

Prolongeddeterioration in oneor two variablessuch as reduction inGDP growth rate,increase ininflation, decline inrevenue...couldincrease therisk of debtunsustainability

Stories byEMEKA ANAETO,Economy Editor

The Debt ManagementOffice (DMO) has

recommended a maximum ofUSD12.4 billion totalborrowing (domestic andexternal) for FederalGovernment in 2015. Thiswould amount to N2.5 trillionaddition to the existing N7.9trillion outstanding debt as atend 2014, bringing the totalindebtedness to about N10.4trillion.

DMO which centrallymanages Nigeria’s debthowever said in its DebtSustainability Analysis (DSA)report, 2014 that the solvencyand liquidity indicators underthe Baseline Scenario showthat Nigeria is at a very lowrisk of debt distress. In fact

Nigeria is actually under-borrowing as at today.

But under its PessimisticScenario DMO report showsthat though the results of itsanalysis indicated that thecountry would remain at a lowrisk of debt distress it alsoshows a rising trend for all the

debt indicators throughout theprojection period (2014-2034).This means a prolongeddeterioration in one or twovariables such as reduction inGDP growth rate, increase ininflation, decline in revenue,

etc, could increase the risk ofdebt unsustainability.

Also a standard stress testunder the Baseline Scenarioshows the impact of mostextreme shocks in thesolvency and liquidity

indicators which,though remainedabove the baselinefor all the debtindicators, werewell belowinternat ional lya c c l a i m e ds t a n d a r dthresholds.

The result furtherconfirmed the factthat though thecountry has no riskof debt distress inthe near term underboth Baseline andStandard StressTest Scenarios,DMO warns thatthe country ishighly susceptibleto revenue shocksbased ondeterioration inm a j o rmacroeconomicvariables.

The revenue block, accordingto the report, clearly show thatany shock in revenue wouldlead to debt distress in themedium-term with a highprobability of being sustainedin the long-term if othersources of revenue are notdeveloped to bridge thegap.

Economy recorded strong merchandisetrade growth in 2014 — NBS

The total value of Nigeria’sexternal merchandise trade at

the end of fourth quarter 2014 wasN5.7 trillion, indicating that exportsoutperformed imports leading tovisible trade surplus. This was,however, 11.9 per cent lower than thevalue (N6.5 trillion) recorded in thepreceding quarter, according to thereport released at the weekend by theNational Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

At the end of 2014 Nigeria’sexternal trade stood at N24.4 trillion.This was N3.2 trillion or 14.9 per centgreater than the value recorded in2013. This development arose froma sharp rise in the value of exportsfrom N14.4 trillion in 2013 to N17.2trillion in 2014 (an increase of 20.8per cent).

A slight increase of N215.6 billion,which amounted to only a 3 per centrise in imports, also contributed tothe very favourable trade balance ofN9.97 trillion recorded in 2014. Thecrude oil component of total tradeincreased by N982.3 billion or 8.3 per

cent over the level recorded in 2013.Nigeria’s import trade stood at N1.9

trillion at the end of fourth quarter2014. This was 3.7 per cent more thanthe value(N1.8 trillion) recorded in thepreceding quarter.

The structure of Nigeria’s importtrade, according to StandardInternational Trade Classification(SITC) was dominated by the importsof ‘’Machinery and transportequipments”, ‘’Food and LiveAnimals” and ‘’Manufactured Goods”which accounted for 35.4 per cent, 15.5per cent and 15.1 per cent respectivelyin 2014. These commoditiescontributed the most to the rise in thevalue of import trade in 2014, whereascommodities like ‘’Crude inediblematerial, ‘’Oils, Fat and Waxs”, and

‘’Beverages and Tobacco” contributedthe least, accounting for 1.3 per cent,1.2 per cent and 0.7 per centrespectively.

Analysis of import trade by sectionwas dominated by the imports of‘’Boilers, Machinery and Appliances”,which accounted for N1.7 trillion or26 per cent of the total value of importtrade in 2014.

Other commodities whichcontributed noticeably to the value ofimport trade in 2014 were ‘’MineralProducts” at N1.1 trillion or 15.3 percent, ‘’Vehicles, Aircraft and Parts”N876.5 billion or 12.1 per cent, ‘’BaseMetals and Articles of Base Metals”at N673.3 billion or 9.3 per cent, and‘’Products of Chemical and AlliedIndustry” at N583.5 billion or 8.1 per

cent of total imports value. At the endof 2014, the import trade classifiedby Broad Economic Categoryrevealed that ‘’Industrial SuppliesNot Elsewhere Classified” rankedfirst with N1.98 trillion or 27.4 percent. This was followed by ‘’CapitalGoods and Parts” with the value ofN1.7 trillion or 22.9 per cent and‘’Food and Beverages” with N1.2trillion or 16.7 per cent.

Nigeria’s import trade by EconomicRegion revealed that the countryconsumed goods largely from Asiawith import value of N3.1 trillion or43.5 per cent. The country alsoimported goods valued at N2.4trillion or 33.7 per cent from Europe,and N1.04 trillion or 14.4 per centfrom America.


CMYK

CMYK

34 —Vanguard, MONDAY, MARCH 23, 2015

Insurance

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

Brokers hinge success of businesseson professionalism

President of theNigerian Council of

Registered InsuranceBrokers, NCRIB, Mr.Ayodapo Shoderu, has saidthe foundation of anybusiness behavior is hingedon moral principles andpractices of those peopleinvolved and the standardset for or by the profession.

Shoderu made thestatement at the 2nd AnnualConference and Exhibitionof the Ghana InsuranceBrokers Association (GIBA).

He said that the discretion

Stories byROSEMARY ONUOHA

of the organisers of theconference in making theissues of ethics andprofessionalism the kernel ofdiscussion is quitecommendable because theseare issues that have continuedto generate an undyingattention and ideationamongst professionals all overthe world.

“While people are part ofbusiness solutions; they arealso mostly responsible formany business challenges.Business challenges whichorganisations may faceinclude responsible andinformed decisions making,confidentiality, piracy, fraudand misuse of information,

trade secrets and so on.“Whilst noting that there

exists a thin line betweenprofessionalism and ethics in

insurance business, which isour own constituency, it isapposite to note thatprofessionalism connotes theutmost demonstration ofintegrity and probity. That is,the professional must alwaysdisplay ability to stand up tothe test of accountability. Hemust not do anything that willnot stand to private or publicscrutiny. The professionalmust be a person ofimpeccable character who willnot compromise moralprinciples and the ethics of theprofession. Professionalismalso includes continuousdemonstration of competenceacquired partly throughcontinuous leaning andpersonal development. Ethicalbehavior on the other side maybe defined as a set of moralprinciples and it derives fromthe Greek word meaning“ethos” which means“character.” It has also beenseen as a set of a system ofmoral principles and branch ofphilosophy which defineswhat is good for the individualand the larger society ”Shoderu said.

According to Shoderu, sinceinsurance itself is built on theprinciples of utmost good faith,insurance brokers arefiduciaries and insurers aretrustees of policy holders’funds. “An insuranceprofessional must thereforeput service above self andshould always endeavor toemploy the most effective andeconomic ways to doingbusiness and achieving thelegitimate objectives of hiscompany” he said.

Shoderu noted that everycountry must continuallysubject its professionals tosome forms of regulations, andthis may be in form ofgovernment or self -regulationor a combination of the two.

“Since the society is notstatic, prescription of ethicalstandards for the professionalcannot be a once and for allthing. The insurance operatorsmust constantly challengetheir regulatory institutions tocome up with regulations andlaws that are in line with thechanging global environment.In view of the increasingtemptations to cut corners orembrace unethical acts, theprofessionals must bevanguards in societalreformation. Professionalsmust realize that they are theconscience of the respectivenations where they operateand refrain from thetemptation of staying aloof inpolitical, social, economic andenvironment matters,”Shoderu noted.

Cornerstone Insurance Plc in partnershipwith SuperGeeks, an after-sales tech

support and gadget repair service provider,is set to launch Nigeria’s first OriginalEquipment Manufacturer (OEM) agnosticsupplementary warranty service – GadgetProtection Plan (GPP). The Gadget ProtectionPlan is the first of its kind in the Nigerianmarket to cater for the discerning consumerswho crave for security and peace of mind withthe purchase of their dream devices.

The Gadget Protection Plan (GPP) isdeveloped for customers with a view toeliminating their fears and frustrations of awrecked device. Should a device covered byGPP experience any damage - be it the useror manufacturer’s fault, SuperGeeks will beon hand to fix it. The claim process is simpleand free of any hassles. All customers haveto do is sign-up for Gadget Protection Plan atthe point of purchase of their next device atany of certified retail partners.

Chief Executive Officer of SuperGeeks, Mr.Sam Uduma, said, “At SuperGeeks, wedevelop technical competence across a wide

Cornerstone, SuperGeeks to launchNigeria’s first gadget protection plan

variety of device manufacturers which allowsus to offer best-in-class service quality andefficient service delivery.”

Addressing the value of Gadget ProtectionPlan to the people, he says: “More and more,gadget users are becoming very attached totheir devices, where any downtime impactstheir quality of life. With GPP, we aim tomigrate gadget users from a ‘break & fix’mentality to a more preventative approach,greatly reducing the turnaround time forrepairs while saving them money overall”.

Managing Director, Life and Retail,Cornerstone Insurance, Mr. Tokunbo Bello,said, “We are delighted to be at the forefrontof another innovative initiative that willprovide Nigerians with the opportunity tobenefit from the security and peace of mindthat this value-rich product offers. GPPprovides a quick and dependable solution toa major customer dissatisfaction which mayarise from the purchase of a new device –damage. More so, you have the peace ofmind that your gadget is covered byCornerstone Insurance.”

Citibank Nigeriacommemoratesglobal money week2015

Citibank NigeriaLimited joined the rest

of the world tocommemorate the annualGlobal Money Week.

The event which held atAunty Ayo Girls’Comprehensive SeniorSecondary School, Lagosfeatured a fully interactivesession on financial literacy,titled “Growing YourMoney”.

The program focused oneducating Nigeria’s youthabout the economicenvironment whilstimpressing upon them theimportance of saving,entrepreneurship andfinancial value creation.

The event was organised inpartnership with JuniorAchievements of Nigeria(JAN), a financial educationn o n - g o v e r n m e n t a lorganisation.

Executive Director andHead of Global SubsidiariesGroup, Citibank NigeriaLimited, Mrs. NnekaEnwereji was at the event todeliver a lecture on financialeducation.

While speaking at theoccasion, Mrs. Enwerejiencouraged the students tobe accountable for theirfinancial health byprioritising their needs overtheir wants.

She also stressed thenecessity for the students tobe financially aware andempowered to save andmake monetary decisions.

Also present at theoccasion was JuniorAchievement’s ProgramOfficer, Ms. Efe Adefuluwho further reiterated to thestudents on the importanceof saving.

Addressing the girls,Adefulu expounded on thesignificance of financialliteracy to the fiscalindependence andeconomic sustainability ofNigeria.

Global Money week is ayearly celebration which iscommemorated across theworld in honour ofempowering the youth to beinvolved in reshaping theirfinances and their futures.Financial Literacy dayserves as a time to focus onNigeria’s youth in primaryand secondary schoolsnationwide, equipping themthrough the enhancement oftheir financial knowledgeand planning skills to createtheir own livelihoods.

Prescription ofethicalstandards forthe professionalcannot be aonce and for allthing


CMYK

CMYK

E - Commerce

CSR:RosabonempowersSMEs inLagos,RiversRosabon financial

services, adevelopment financeinstitution has empoweredover 1,500 small andmedium enterprise, SMEoperators spread acrossLagos and Rivers States.

This was part of thecompany’s 2015 CorporateSocial Responsibilityinitiatives. The SMEoperators were empoweredwith umbrellas. Rosabon saidthe gesture was “toencourage the hard workingmen and women of themarketplace by ensuring thatthey are well protectedagainst the elements.”

The Rosabon teamdistributed the over 1, 500Umbrellas in the mostpopulated marketplaces inLagos in areas like the Yabamarket, Oyingbo, LagosIsland, Bariga, Orile and inArtillery Junction, AirforceJunction, Rumuola, Garrison,Oil Mill Junction inPortharcourt.

Speaking about theinitiative, Head of Strategyand Marketing, RosabonNigeria, ChidimmaOnyeokoro, said: “AtRosabon, we are passionateabout community buildingand development, and wenever allow the economicclimate to affect ourcommitment to our customersand our community. In 2014,we embarked on a series ofcommunity building drives,and this year we plan toincrease this with severalinitiatives planned by theteam.”

Recall that the companyrecently launched its newcustomer friendly website andcelebrated the end of the yearwith daily mobile phonegiveaways and a star prize ofall expense paid trip for threelucky customers to holidaydestinations.

It had also embarked onnotable Customer socialresponsibility drives like itshealth focused initiatives likethe distribution of state of theart IT learning systems andrelief materials to themanagement of Heart of GoldHospital Surulere and theLittle Saint Orphanage, Palmgroove, and financial literacyfocused initiatives liketraining camps and meetups.

Stories BY JONAHNWOKPOKU

Experts have identifiedtechnology as one of

the key component in thediversification of the Nigeriaeconomy. They reached thisconsensus in Lagos at theSignal Alliance Customer

W e e k Workshoporganizedi nconjunctionw i t h

Cisco.

‘Technology, key to diversification ofNigerian economy’

“We are quite satisfiedwith the outcome of theconversations that took place,considering the challengethe Nigeria economy iscurrently facing due to fall inglobal oil prices, exchangerate collapse, and uncertaintysurrounding the elections.This is compounded by thefact that Nigeria is largely animport-based and a mono-product economy,” saidAdanma Onuegbu, CEOSignal Alliance.

The experts called on all

stakeholders to work togetherto “build an ecosystems thatwill support start-ups fromsetting up investment institutions from seedfunding to technology backedprivate equity, andpromoting incubators andaccelerators; deepeninggovernment structures thatsupports indigenoustechnology like the FederalMinistry of CommunicationTechnology, NITDA,SMEDAN, etc, as well asencourage consumption of

local technology throughstrict implementation of thelocal content law andstandardization of localtechnology products to enablethem to competeinternationally.

The workshop which hasthe theme: ‘Diversification &Innovation: A technologyroadmap to grow Nigerianeconomy’ has in attendance,business leaders in the publicand private sectors,technology leaders andentrepreneurs, and themedia.

The workshop is one of themajor activities of the annualSignal Alliance CustomerWeek that includes; customervisitation across the country,corporate social responsibilityprogrammes in Lagos andAbuja, and customerappreciation programme.

Lamudi.com educates users on spottingreal estate scam

In an effort to tackle onlinerelated real estate fraud,

Nigeria’s online real estateplatform, Lamudi.com hascompiled a guide to help theirusers avoid falling victim toscam.

They noted that “while newtechnologies have made iteasier than ever before, forproperty seekers to get all theinformation they need tosupercharge their house hunt,the Internet has also made iteasier for online fraudsters totarget both buyers and renters.But by being aware of a fewtell-tale signs, house-hunterscan learn to quickly sort thescammers from the legitimatereal estate agents.”

To protect themselves, theysay users should take thefollowing steps.

*Avoid paying inspectionfees

Never agree to make anypayments upfront or sign acontract without firstinspecting the property nomatter how official thedocumentation looks. Viewingthe property and meeting theagent in person are the bestways to guarantee that the

listing is legitimate.*Verify the identity of the

person you are dealing withTake steps to check the agent

you are dealing with is alicensed broker or agent. In thefirst instance, a simple onlinesearch can help you detect ascam. Try searching for theproperty’s address, the nameof the agent and their emailaddress.

*Avoid listings that havebeen posted multiple times

One common scam is forfraudsters to copy an existing(and legitimate) listing of aproperty for sale and repost it

as a rental, with their owncontact details attached. Lookout for duplicate listings whichhave different asking prices.

*Never give away yourpersonal information ordocuments

You should never be asked toprovide your bank accountdetails or personalidentification documents tosomeone over the internet.Importantly, never provideyour credit card verification

*Remember that if it soundstoo good to be true, it probablyis One of the most importantrules in real estate is that if a

deal sounds too good to be true,it most likely is. Be scepticalabout any online listings forattractive properties which arevery well priced for the area.Scammers often use these verylow prices to lure propertyseekers.

*If you detect a scam, get intouch

Focus your search onproperties listed by well-known real estate agencies andtrusted classifieds websites.Once you have detected apossible scam on a real estatesearch website, notify theplatform immediately.

PRESENTATION - From left:Dr Joseph Odumodu, D-G,Standards Organisation ofNigeria, presenting the finaldocument of Nigerian NationalQuality Policy (NNQP) to Dr.Olusegun Aganga, Minister of Industry, Trade &Investment while Dr PatrickKorma, UNIDO CountryRepresentative looks on inAbuja.

Royal Air Maroc , the official airlineof Morroco, weekend said it

transported about 1,3 million passengerson its African destinations in 2014 duringthe period spanning from November 1st,2013 to the end of October, 2014. This,according to the airline, represents anincrease of 16 % with regard to the previousyear.

It further said during the year, thenational company operated 16 285 flightson 32 air routes towards the continent.

“The bulk of this increase is ascribed to

Royal Air Maroc ferries 1.3 million passengersnine air links, namely flights connectingMorocco to Senegal, Cote d’Ivoire, Mali,Mauritania, Guinea, Nigeria, Algeria,Tunisia and Gabon. Through theseregular connections, Royal Air Maroccould carry 782,000 passengers.”

“This result shows the commitment of thenational company in the strengtheningstrategy of its anchorage in its naturalenvironment, by developing its network onthe continent and improving its offer andits services for the benefit of the clientelein Africa.


CMYK

Micro-Finance

It was beautiful and simpleas all truly great swindles

are”, O’Henry, 1862-1910.(VANGUARD BOOK OFQUOTATIONS p239).

Banking consolidationintroduced by Professor Soludo,shortly after becomingGovernor of the Central Bankof Nigeria, CBN, shouldactually be called Con-SOLUDO-tion. It was a greatswindle as a result of whichmillions of Nigerians,including traders, teachers,pensioners, accounts holderswith banks, were lured into thecapital market to buy sharesfrom con men and women whoSoludo praised continuouslyuntil Sanusi blew the whistleon the monumental scam in2009. Today, shares which soldfor N70+ and N50+, whileSoludo and the banksconspired to deceive us, are onoffer for N10 or less. Millionsof Nigerians lost trillions –while Soludo’s friends(Directors and Chief Executiveofficers of the banks) literallystole depositors andshareholders funds.

Yet, in his reply to Okonjo-Iweala’s, admittedly self-serving rejoinder, afterclaiming credit for everythingwhich went well as a result ofCon-SOLUDO-tion, he did notonce mention the trillions lostby shareholders, the bankersnow facing prosecution or theone who had been convicted– and, after plea bargain, kept

Battle of two truth benders:Soludo versus Okonjo-Iweala — 3half the loot. He also failed torecognize that he left 25 bankshe told us were healthy. But,today, Intercontinental,Oceanic, BankPHB, Afribank,no longer exist. Yet all thesewere banks whose MDs werewinning awards as “Bankers ofthe Year”.

So when Soludo lists all theawards he won, he deliberatelyomitted to reveal to the readersthat the accolades came beforethe truth about the bankingcatastrophe was known to thewhole world in 2009. Two suchtestimonials illustrate howSoludo bends facts to suit hisself-exculpation. He cited onefrom Obasanjo in December2004, and another by Yar’Aduain May 2009. Consolidationpolicy, requesting banks tohave a minimum of N25 billionpaid up capital, wasannounced in mid-2004 andthe banks were given up toDecember 2005 to raise thecapital. There wereapproximately 73 banks inoperation in 2004; byJanuary 2006, when “Con-SOLUDO-tion” took effectthere were only 25 left.Thousands of bank employeeslost their jobs and manyremain unemployed till today.Depositors with the banks

which failed to qualify werealso adversely affected. But,reading Soludo’s indictment ofOkonjo-Iweala and his self-congratulatory submissionsyou would not find a wordabout these calamities.Obviously, Obasanjo’scomments in December 2004could not have been referringto Consolidation which had notbeen concluded.

Similarly, Yar’Adua’scomments were forunderstandable reasons verydiplomatic. The late Presidenthad made up his mind toreplace Soludo, an Igbo, withSanusi, a Fulani. In a countrywhere ethnicity is very

sensitive matter, Yar’Adua didnot want to antagonize Igbostwice – by replacing “their”man with “his” man andadding insult to injury withharsh criticisms. At any rate,even Yar’Adua did not knowthe disaster Soludo had beencovering up at the time. It wasafter Sanusi blew the lid off thecan of worms that the latePresident knew the extent ofdamage Soludo and “hisfriends” in the banks hadinflicted on the nation. Theunwary reader, not beingaware of the sequence ofevents would be tricked intobelieving that the two formerPresidents endorsed “Con-SOLUDO-tion. That is a blatantlie.

Meanwhile, was everybodypraising Soludo? That againwas not true. Atedo Petersideof IBTC was the mostprominent among those whothought that Soludo hadborrowed a good idea,consolidation, from abroad,but he was too hasty in itsimplementation and there wasthe possibility of a majorbanking crisis in the nearfuture. Atedo was not alone. Let me remind readers andSoludo of a series, which waspublished in VANGUARD in

2009 titled BANKING CRISIS–THE ROAD TO HELL. Belowis reproduced the openingparagraphs of that essay. InJuly of that year, while Soludowas still CBN Governor, I hadraised alarm about bankingsupervision and the conspiracyof silence between CBN banksupervisors and the banks. Inplain language, every singleone of CBN bank supervisors,at the time were corruptlyenriching themselves and wereignoring bare-faced fraudbeing perpetrated by theDirectors of the banks – led bythe MDs. Please read on.

The real truth about thebanks became known, as myarticle suggested, after Soludowas removed and theconspiracy of silence wasexposed. Whether or notSoludo personally gained fromthe grand larceny is unknown.But, his entry into the race forGovernor in his state and themoney involved in thatventure leave room forskepticism. However,irrespective of whether hebenefited, directly or indirectly,or not, the result wasdevastating to the bankingsector. Unfortunately, Soludomentioned Dangote and Arikamong the beneficiaries of“Con-SOLUDO-tion”. It wouldhave been better if he had notdone that; because he hadmerely pointed to what can bedescribed as an apt summaryof what “Con-SOLUDO-tionwas all about.

“

President of Council of theNigerian Stock

Exchange, Mr. Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede, weekend, urgedwomen to have a vision andgame plan so as to thrive in achallenging environment.

He said this during theWomen in Management,Business and Public Service(WIMBIZ) Annual Lecturethemed: “Thriving in ToughTimes: NavigatingChallenging Environments.”

Imoukhuede noted thatsocieties that do not allowwomen to contribute to societaldevelopment cannot grow,adding that companies withmore women on board sufferfewer crises.

He said that the WIMBIZhas become a beacon of lightnot for only women but all wellmeaning stakeholders inNigeria and across Nigeria.

Describing vision, he said,“There is nothing moreimportant than having a visionand there is nothing in life thathas not been achieved without

WIMBIZ: Imoukhuede urges women to be visionaryStories byPROVIDENCE OBUH

a vision, everything that yousee has been achieved througha vision. It is vision that makesyou entrepreneurs and makesyou succeed, vision isfundamental to survival, yourvision is your anchor of hopeand without a vision when youare beaten down you have noreason to get up.

“Your vision is your source ofconfidence, stability motivateyour passion and yourconviction to succeed. Dreamsare good but then we wake up,plans are the actionable stepsyou must exude successfully tomake your vision a reality.

Without a game plan there is

nothing to focus on, focus isrelevant in the contest of a plan,focus without a plan ismeaningless,” he said.

He added those crises are testof ability to overcome crisis,saying, “if you do not thrive incrisis you do not worth leadingothers.”

In her welcome address,

WIMBIZ Chairperson, Mrs.Osayi Alile, said that the topicwas chosen as a result of therealities of Nigeria and theneed for people especiallywomen to prepare and learnthe most out of the situation.

Alile said, “When we go intobusiness we are always lookingat the profit of today but when

you go into business with along term vision, you find outthat regardless of the ups anddowns and some challengesyou face, at the end you areable to achieve those goals. SoI think is a process but weneeded to be prepared for thatprocess having a strongdecision.”

A group, Rural FinanceInstitution Building

Programme (RUFIN), hassaid that it would facilitateaccess of microfinance banks,

We'll assist MFIs to access MSME fund — Groupcooperatives and otherorganizations to the N220billion Micro Small andMedium Enterprises(MSME) funds.

The Lagos State Cordinatorof the group, Mrs FunmiBello, said this at a workshoporganised by RUFIN for banksand other financialinstitutions.

According to her, “MostNigerians in remote areaslack access to credit, thereforein facilitating access to thefund, RUFIN will be fulfillingits objective of full financialpenetration to the rural areasin the country to reducepoverty, especially amongwomen and the physicallychallenged persons.

Organisers of the Lagos Water Regattahave announced plans to hold this

year’s edition of a fun filled water-based eventdepicting the socio-cultural, traditionalfolklores and occupational aspects of thepeople of Lagos State

The fun filled water-based cultural sportingand recreational activity is billed to hold onApril 19, 2015 at the Regatta Village, Oyinkan

Lagos water regatta holdsAbayomi Drive, Ikoyi Lagos with the theme“Celebrating the Aquatic Splendor of Lagos”.

The Regatta will feature a parade of boatsand yachts, including large fishing boats,ferries, barges and other marine vessels thatare beautifully adorned.

Speaking in a media chat with the Chairman,Organizing Committee, Lagos Water Regatta,Engr. Olusegun Jawando said that in additionto the colorful array of decorated floats.

Shares whichsold for N70+and N50+,while Soludoand the banksconspired todeceive us, areon offer forN10 or less


CMYK

People in Business

Mr. Olu Adeola isthe Managing

Director/Chief ExecutiveOfficer of Abeokuta-based GlobalherbsNatural HealthcareProduct Company. Inthis chat withFinancial Vanguard inAbeokuta recently,the BusinessAdministration andManagement graduatefrom the AhmaduBello University Zaria,speaks on why heventured inton a t u r a l / t rad i t iona lmedicine and whyNigeria has not beenable to exploit herhuge bio-resourcespotent ia l .

Excerpts:

Why naturalmedic ine?

According to Adeola, hegot into natural medicinebecause of its hugepotential for Nigeria. "Ihave been in this businessfor over a decade. I wasseconded from NigeriaNatural MedicineDevelopment Agency(NNMDA). I was in acollaborative venture withthe agency and while there,they discovered theenormous potential in meand my ability for in-depthresearch into ourtraditional medicinebecause Nigerians as apeople, only look forwardbut fail to look backward.You have to look at thepast and move on in thepresent to project thefuture.

"What fascinated me innatural\traditionalmedicine is that it has a lotof potential in arrestingmost of the ailmentsespecially in sub-SaharaAfrica that orthodoxmedicine does not havecure for. As everyoneknows, malaria is ourmajor problem in Africaand for a very long time, wehave depended on westerncountries for solutions tomost of our problems. Thisshould not be the casebecause God has created usin this environment andhas given us all that weneed to survive under thisenvironment but it is

By EBELE ORAKPO

Natural medicine hashuge potential for Nigeria— OLU ADEOLA

perhaps, our inability tolook inwards that has madeit impossible for us tounlock the potential withinour environment. Since Icame into naturalmedicine, it has been ablessing to me, my familyand mankind because overthe years, I have been ableto collaborate with theNational Institute forPharmaceutical Researchand Development (NIPRD)in Abuja in the research fordrugs for diabetes,tuberculosis, malaria andother ailments."

Asked whether they havecome up with any naturaldrug for diabetes, he said:“A lot of good things havebeen done by NIPRD andeven the NNMDA, but youknow, the problem inNigeria is lack of funding. Iknow that at NIPRD, a lot of

work has been done on thatbut as you know, researchis not something you startone day and come out withyour findings the next day.

It takes about 10 years. Inorthodox medicine, theyhave to do a lot of write-ups and carry out a lotof tests."

Some of thep r o d u c t sdeveloped:“I developed aproduct calledValueplus, adental drop andmouthwash. It is

100 per cent Nigerianproduct and it has beensubmitted to NIPRD forscientific investigation. Itcan help HIV-positivepeople againstopportunistic infectionslike oral thrush as well asHIV negative people whowant to preserve theirdental health. Otherproducts are Dr. Malaria,hyperherbs, combatolrange of hair and skinproducts, bitters etc.

"NNMDA has been up anddoing as it relates to mostof the products I havedeveloped because I have agood working relationshipwith the leadership of theagency. Also, the Director-General of the NationalBoard for TechnologyIncubation, Dr.Mohammed Jibrin has beenhighly resourceful andsupportive. To mostentrepreneurs at theTechnology Incubation

Centre, Abeokuta, it is likegoing back to theclassroom because forevery product you make,there is a mandate thatyou must be able topresent it for externalinvestigation. So it is notjust to claim that youhave done so and so, youhave to defend it,"he said.

Adeola who presentlyhas three employees andhopes to employ more ifhe is able to access funds,appealed to the FederalGovernment to make theconditions for accessingloan from the Bank ofIndustry less stringent soentrepreneurs can easilyaccess loans from thebank as that will helpNigeria move from a monoeconomy to diversifiedeconomy to enable herexploit the huge potentialin bio-resources.

"Nigeria has got it but theonly thing is our inabilityto exploit it.

“All my raw materialsare locally sourced exceptsome of the packagingmaterials which we importbecause most of thecompanies that producethe packaging materialsare not in the country sowe resort to buying fromoutside the country. Asidethat, virtually everythinghas been given to us inNigeria free of charge."

Naturalmedicine has alot of potentialin arrestingmost of theailments thatorthodoxmedicine doesnot have curefor

•Olu Adeola...God has created us in this environmentand has given us all that we need to survive under thisenvironment

•Some of the naturalmedicine products


CMYK

Advertising & Promotions

*PROMO - From left: Specialist, Youth Segment, Etisalat Nigeria, Ife Oyeyipo; NigerianHip Hop A-List Artistes, Remilekun Abdulkalid Safaru (Reminisce); Specialist,Merchandizing and Communications South-West Region, Etisalat Nigeria, Femi Adewuyiand Analyst, Youth Segment, Etisalat Nigeria, Michael Nwoseh;at the Etisalat Cliqfest heldat Moshood Abiola Polytechnic, Abeokuta.

The signage andadvertisement regulatory

agencies in western part of thecountry have abandoned theirprimary duties of providingcleaner, saner and beautifulenvironment that could attractinvestors to the states torevenue generation.

The investigation conductedby Vanguard on the activitiesof the agencies like the LagosState Signage and AdvertisingAgency, LASAA, Ogun StateSignage and AdvertisingAgency, OGSAA, Oyo StateSignage and AdvertisingAgency, OYSAA, Ekiti StateSignage and AdvertisingAgencies, EKSAA and theKwara State Signage andAdvertising Agency, KWSAA,showed a drastic reduction intheir primary objective ofenvironmental beautification.The law setting up LASAA isthe same law setting up othersas most of them copied fromLagos State as statescontrolled by the samepolitical party, in exception ofEkiti state.

LASAA was established by theLagos State governmentthrough Law No. 9 of 2006.While section 3 of the Lawempowers the Agency to:Control outdoor structures tobe used for signage andadvertisements; Issue licensesand permits for theconstruction and placement ofoutdoor structures in any partof the state; Protect theenvironment from potentialadverse impact from visualblights and; Control thenumber, size and location ofoutdoor structures. Otherfunctions are: Ensure theoutdoor structures aresoundly and carefullydesigned, erected, modified,maintained or removed whenno longer in use to avoidpotential danger to lives andproperty; Ensure that

State ad agencies abandon regulatorybrief for revenue generation

By PRINCEWILLEKWUJURU

outdoor structures arecompatible with surroundingland uses and environmentand further ensure thebeautification of theimmediate surrounding andvicinity of the advertisement;Control the pasting anddisplay of posters on publicstructures and highways;Organise the procedure toregulate the ownership andoperation of outdoorstructures for the purpose ofsignage or advertisementsunder specific regulations ascontained in this Law and;Reject, revoke or modify apermit if found to be inviolation of any of theprovisions of this Law or theconditions for its grant.

The agency is also to: Prepareand keep all records related tothe issuance and denial of

outdoor structures permit aswell as appropriate generalrecords; Monitor and inspectthrough its Monitoring Unitany outdoor structure andverify its compliance with thisLaw; and; Establish a data-base of all the outdoorstructures used for signageand advertisement, theirowners and operators as wellas their location and thereason for the operation.

It appears that the stategovernments weredeliberately careful toemphasize outdooradvertisement structures asopposed to outdooradvertisement (content/message) per se. It seems thatthose who crafted the LASAAlaw are particularly concernedabout the nature and locationof the physical structures thatdisplay outdooradvertisement rather than theadvertisements that aredisplayed on these structures.

This understanding of thespirit of the regulatory law isconsistent with the obligationof the states to provide for thesafety, protection and beautyof the environment, but not forrevenue drive since theagencies collect subventionfrom the state governments.

The Outdoor AdvertisingAssociation of Nigeria,

OAAN, said its going to NorthDakota State University,NDSU, for a capacity-buildingtraining programs to acquire

Outdoor practitioners for capacity building training

more skill..The program according to

the association starts with theExecutive EducationWorkshop Focusing on thetheme: “The Art and Science

of Outdoor Advertising inthe Age of Digital Media.”

The five-days training willhold from April 12 to 17, atthe Department ofCommunication of theUniversity.

The resource persons aredrawn from other AmericanUniversities and the field ofAmerican ProfessionalOutdoor AdvertisingPractitioners.

Dr. Mark Meister, Professorand Chair of NDSU’sDepartment ofCommunication said his teamis excited about theopportunity to collaboratewith OAAN in co-hosting thisspecial Training Program,which demonstrates theUniversity’s commitment toserving its publics, locallyand internationally.

In a renewed bid to combat dental cavityand enhance oral health in Nigeria,

Colgate Palmolive Nigeria has introducednew toothpaste, Colgate Maximum CavityProtection, MCP, produced with Pro-ArginTechnology, a new anti-cavity technology.

The new toothpaste, which is also a sugaracid neutraliser,was recently presented todental care professionals at the SheratonHotels and Towers, Lagos.

Speaking, Mrs. Hannah Oyebanjo,Marketing Director, Colgate PalmoliveNigeria, said that the company has a lot ofinitiative for the country, adding that theintroduction of Colgate MCP was just one

Colgate introduces toothpaste reinforce with technologyof such.

Mr. Cheslin Twigg, Profession Manager,Colgate West/East Africa, said Colgate MCPwas the first and only family toothpaste witha unique sugar acid neutraliser technologyand fluoride.

He stated the company was introducingthe best cavity-protection toothpaste to theprofessionals, adding that research hadshown that the product was so advanced thatit decreased early decay by half.

Fluoride, he added, does not neutralisesugar or prevent cavity, unlike Colgate MCP,which is the future of cavity protection andwould make things easy for the dentists.

Karcher Centre opensin NigeriaGerman Technology

Nigeria Limited, asubsidiary of Salhab Group, hasopened the first Karcher rangeof cleaning equipment office inNigeria market.

Speaking at the inaugurationof the showroom in VictoriaIsland, Lagos, Mr. Axel Stolz,Vice President, InternationalSales and Marketing, AlfredKarcher GmBH, said, “We areexcited at the opportunity tobring our cleaning equipmentand solutions to Nigeria. We areoffering Nigerians a broadvariety of equipment that meeta wide range of cleaning needsacross various industries suchas manufacturing, hospitality,food and agro, automotiveindustry etc.’

Continuing, Mr. Stolz said,‘The potential of the Nigerianmarket is huge. We recognizethat the country is the largesteconomy in Africa and as suchour headquarters in Germanywill be providing all thelogistics and support for thelocal partner over here. Serviceis an important sales tool for us.This has necessitated the settingup of a world class after salescenter along with thisshowroom to ensure that wedeliver quality product care tocustomers.”

'Diversification ofeconomy via GIS isdeliberate'

The Director of Projects,Graduate Internship

Scheme, GIS, Peter Papwa, saiddiversification of the economyto the non-oil sector is adeliberate attempt by theFederal Government through itsGIS sponsored SubsidyReinvestment andEmpowerment Program, SURE-P.

The Director made thisassertion at the stakeholders/Feedback session for Internsand Firms representatives inLagos, where he said that theGIS is in line with FG’s resolveto diversify the economic baseof the country. He also statedthat government was deliberateby keying into the non-oilsectors through the GIS with aview to developing capacity andskills required to complimentthe oil and gas sector.

The Director observed that theinitiative has culminated inpartnership established withseveral government and non-governmental Organizationswith Memorandum ofUnderstanding, MoU signedespecially as relating to exporttrade promotion.

The law setting upLASAA is the samelaw setting up othersas most of them copiedfrom Lagos State

Business & Economy

Email:[email protected], [email protected] page:www.lesleba.com/blog2Website: www.lesleba.comTel:0805 220 1997


Omoh Gabriel - Group Business EditorBabajide Komolafe - Deputy Business EditorClara Nwachukwu - Energy EditorPeter Egwuatu - Asst. Business EditorYinka Kolawole - Snr Bus. CorrespondentFavour Nnabugwu - Insurance CorrespondentGodwin Oritse - Maritime CorrespondentGodfrey Bivbere - Maritime CorrespondentMichael Eboh - Energy ReporterFranklin Alli - Industry/Agric. ReporterIfeyinwa Obi - Maritime ReporterRosemary Onuoha - Insurance ReporterNkiruka Nnorom - Capital Market Reporter

CONTRIBUTORSPrincewill Ekwujuru - Media/MarketingJonah Nwokpoku - E-CommerceNaomi Uzor - IndustryProvidence Obuh - Micro FinanceLAYOUT - Graphics Department

CMYK

BY PROVIDENCE OBUH

The Nigerian ExportPromotion Council

(NEPC) has said that a 9 percentdecline from $2.970 billion to2.714 billion was recorded inthe country’s non-oil exportbetween 2013 and 2014.Meanwhile, with the dwindlingoil revenue coupled with thequest to increase the basket ofexportable products fromNigeria, the council hasconcluded plans to launch theOne State One Product (OSOP)initiative targeted at developingand promoting one product for

Non-oil export drops by 9%, says NEPCexport per state.

To this end, the council hasidentified 13 National StrategicExport Products (NSEPs) that willreplace oil as part ofdiversification of the economyusing the Nigerian IndustrialRevolution Plan (NIRP) and theNigerian EnterpriseDevelopment Programme(NEDEP) as key strategies. TheNSEPs are grouped under threecategories Agro-industrial (Palmoil, Cocoa, Cashew, Sugar, Rice);Mining related products(Cement, Iron ore, Metals, Autoparts/cars, Aluminium); Oil andGas industrial products(Petroleum products,

Fertilizer/Urea, Petrochemicaland Methanol).

Speaking at a two-day capacitybuilding programme for StateCommittees on Export Promotionand City Chambers of Commerceand Industries in all States of theFederation with the theme:“Techniques of Non Oil ExportProject Formulation andImplementation,” ExecutiveDirector/CEO, Nigerian ExportPromotion Council, Mr.Olusegun Awolowo, said thatNigeria’s exports are stilldominated by oil while its non-oil exports are dominated byAgriculture.

The Nigerian StockExchange was founded

in 1960 to provide a platformfor buying and selling ofshares of listed publiccompanies. Consequently, thesize and vibrancy of domesticstock markets generallyprovide a bird’s eye view ofthe degree of confidence andscope of activities in aneconomy.

The forced consolidation ofbanks in 2005, increased themarket value of shares by over100% from $14bn in 2004 toover $32bn by 2006.Nonetheless, the obnoxiouspractices of insider andmargin trading in a boisterousspeculative market, eventuallyspurred capitalization beyond$80bn (N13.4Tn) in 2007.However, the underlyingunethical practices in thebanking consolidationexercise and the selectivecovert operations of sponsoredmarket makers becameunexpectedly exposed by theinternational financial crisis of2008 which led to the stockmarket shedding over half ofits value to close below $34bn(N5.6Tn) by 2009. Sadly, thedeflation in stock valuesresulted in extremely stressfulconsequences for everyonewho had adopted the equitiesmarket as a safe financialrefuge. Nonetheless, themarket never fully recovereduntil it was again lifted beyondN8Tn ($56bn) in 2010 with thelisting of Dangote’s heavyinvestments, particularly, inthe cement industrialsubsector.

Former CBN Governor,Lamido Sanusi’s regulatoryreforms, especially in the areaof risk management, as wellas the various internal reformsembarked upon by both theSecurities and ExchangeCommission and the NigerianStock Exchange sustainedrelative stability andconfidence in the capitalmarket and gradually pushed

Shareholders as victimsof devaluationaverage market capitalisationbeyond N12Tn ($72bn) untilcrude oil prices tumbledrapidly within the last sixmonths to fan speculativeembers which burned offalmost a quarter of value tobring capitalization belowN10tn by March 2015.

Ironically, however, thenominal N10Tn presentmarket capitalization is noteven a true reflection of theactual fall in value of equities,as the listed valuescamouflage the devastingimpact of Naira devaluation;for instance, the 2014 1st

quarter average marketcapitalization of aboutN12.5Tn was equal to about$75bn, when the Nairaexchanged for less thanN160=$1.

Ironically, however, even theN2.5Tn reduction in stockvalue in one year, is not alsotruly reflective of the realactual loss in marketcapitalization. Indeed, twelvemonths ago, the equity valueof over N12.5Tn was valued atabout $78b when the Nairaexchanged for N160=$1.However, the current N10Tnmarket capitalization is barely$50b at current exchange rateof about N200=$1.Instructively, if the Naira hadremained stable at the old rateof N160=$1, the currentmarket capitalization of N10Tnwould command the highervalue of about $60bn ratherthan $50bn with the reducedNaira exchange rate ofN200=$1. Thus, the stockmarket lost about $30b fromthe speculative run instigatedby falling crude prices and thedouble devaluation of theNaira between December 2014

and March 2015.Similarly, the total market

value of bonds (governmentdebts) was over N4.25Tn or($25.5bn) just a year ago,when Naira exchanged forabout N160=$1. Today,regrettably, the same Bondvalue of N4.25Tn will barelycommand the dollarequivalent of about $21bn withN200=$1 exchange rate.

Similarly, your investment instocks would inevitably, loseover 20% of its purchasingvalue against the dollarequivalent barely 12 monthsago because of Nairadevaluation. In effect, it is asif someone brazenly pickedyour pocket while youwatched helplessly! Infact, ifyour share certificates servedas collateral for anytransaction, your bankers orcreditors, most certainly,would already be makingrepeated calls for you toaugment the value of yourcollateral or in the alternative,you may be forced to liquidateyour debt and or lose yourcollateral.

Either way, these are tryingtimes for all Nigerian incomeearners and stock marketpatrons, as the doors todistress and inevitabledeepening poverty openwider and wider with a slidingNaira, which will in turninvariably instigate inflationbeyond 10% to further reducethe real purchasing value ofthe N10Tn present stockmarket capitalization below$50bn.

Instructively, an annualinflation rate of 10%, meansthat the present marketcapitalization will additionallyalso lose about N1Tn ($5bn)of its domestic purchasingvalue every year. Thus, unlessaverage annual dividendsfrom equities exceed 10%annually, your investment inthe stock market mayultimately be graduallywhittled away to make youronce valuable share certificateas worthless as a mere pieceof paper.

Incidentally, the earlieststocks listed in the exchangewere 50 kobo shares. Forexample, the 50 kobo UACshare was the equivalent ofover $0.70 (70 US cents) at thetime of issue about 40 yearsago. However, the currentmarket price of N36 for UACPLC shares is barelyequivalent to US $0.18 (18 UScents!). Nevertheless, even ifthe price remained at N36 pershare, if the Naira furtherdeclines to say N300=$1because of surplus naira, thereal value of this share wouldfall below 12 US cents.

The above narrative isindicative of the plight ofinvestors under the presentunstable and hazy economic

environment. Indeed, if inspite of an annual averageinflation rate of 10%, the Nairafurther crashes because of theever present burden ofsurplus Naira chasing dollarsrationed from CBN, the dollarexchange rate could rise toN300 or above against theNaira, such that another 50%may be rubbed off the dollarvalue of market capitalization.This is not a false cry of wolf,several countries who couldnot manage the same eternalburden of surplus cash havetravelled this path; indeedGhana, our sister nation inECOWAS suffered a steadydecline from one Cedi equalsone dollar to the present35,000 Cedis (or 3.5 NewGhana Cedis afterredenomination) to the dollar.Incidentally, in spite of mediareports of increasing oilrevenue and alleged bettereconomic management, theCedi lost almost 40% of itspurchasing value against thedollar in the last 12 months;thus unless, we arrest the rootcause of surplus cash , theNaira will inevitably travel thesame path to challenge thevirtue and economicsignificance of savings.Ultimately, since investmentsdepend on availability ofsavings, the rate ofinvestments will invariablyalso drop in response to thereduced level of savings.

Thus, the adverse impact ofspeculation, inflation, andunyielding Naira depreciationwill ultimately strangle andreduce the enthusiasm forfresh investments, so that theflow of new equity into marketwill also be reduced, while thealready listed existing sharesmay attract little interest froma suspicious andapprehensive public. In thisevent, the economy willunravel and deepen povertynationwide.

SAVE THE NAIRA, SAVENIGERIANS

Severalcountries whocould notmanage thesame eternalburden ofsurplus cashhave travelledthis path

Parties spend N4.9bn on political adverts

Documents

Transcript of Parties spend N4.9bn on political adverts