BIG STORY

Nigeria wants to borrow less but

ignores easy revenue sources
By Dipo Oladehinde
NIGERIA’S path to economic
prosperity may lie in prioritis-
ing low-hanging revenue-gener-
ating opportunities over debt,
according to experts surveyed
by BusinessDay.
Africa’s biggest economy
said it wants to reduce its reli-
ance on borrowing and explore
alternative means of generating
revenue.
“Clearly, in the environment
that we have now, internation-
ally as well as nationally, we
are in no position to rely on bor-
rowing. Our direction for the
tariff is to reduce the quantum
of borrowing or intercept deficit
financing in the 2024 budget,”
Wale Edun, the finance minis-
ter, told a joint Senate Commit-
tee scrutinising the 2024–2026
Medium-Term Expenditure
L-R: Obinna Anyaegbu, executive director, Chisco Group; Ime Enang, executive director, BusinessDay Cen-
tre for Social and Economic Development; Ope Onaboye, CEO/co-founder, Renda Africa; Ide Dima-Okojie,
Continues on page 2 head, marketing and communications, DHL Express; Charles Eke, area sales manager, DHL Express Nigeria;
Yusuf Lawal Othman, national president, Nigerian Association of Road Transport Owners; and Ijeoma Ude,
Why Nigeria isn’t among investors’ chief marketing and sales manager, BusinessDay, at the BusinessDay Technological Disruptions in Logistics
favourite destinations – Page 2 Conference, in Lagos, yesterday. Pic by David Apara

News you can trust * Wednesday 22 November 2023 Vol. 21, No 1,554 N400 www.businessday.ng facebook/businessdayonline @businessdayng @businessDayNG
FMDQ Close
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Will investment return on FG’s Delayed bill

deprives
insurers of risk-
olive branch to oil majors? based capital
By Modestus Anaesoronye
THE delay in passing the Con-
By Dipo Oladehinde
solidated Insurance Bill is pull-
NIGERIA has withdrawn civil ing the plug on efforts to adopt
claims against energy giant Eni the risk-based capital (RBC),
SpA, and its partners including a recapitalisation model that
Shell, ending a long battle in allows insurance companies to
Italian courts over allegations take risks based on the size of
of corruption in an oil field deal,
but analysts believe this may Continues on page 30
be inadequate to halt the exit
of investors from the country.
A Bloomberg report last Nigerian firms
week said Nigeria’s justice
ministry will waive the claims
raise N807bn as
before Italy’s highest court “un- commercial paper
conditionally” and “with im-
mediate effect”. It also said the up 200%
country will also “irrevocably”
waive the right to any further >> Turn to page 31
legal action in Italy against Eni,
its affiliates, and current and Logistics firms
Continues on page 30
mine gold from
data to optimise
Petrol prices up 164.8%, further
drains cash-strapped Nigerians
L-R: Simbi Wabote, executive secretary, Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB); Abdulrazaq Isa, chairman, Wal-
tersmith Group; Heineken Lokpobiri, minister of state for petroleum resources (oil); Olasupo Olusi, managing director/chief executive officer,
cost
– Page 2 Bank of Industry, during the official visit of the minister to Waltersmith Refinery located in Ibigwe, Imo State for status update…recently. >> Turn to page A2
2 www.businessday.ng
BIG STORY
L-R: Doris Anite, minister of industry, trade and investment; Wale Edun, minister of finance and coordinating minister of economy; A.V. Wirtschaft, chairpeson, Afrika-Verein Dee deutschen; President Bola Tinubu; Yussuf Tuggar,
minister of foreign affairs; and Sabine Dall’omo, chairperson, Afrika-Verein Dee deutschen wirtschaft Germany, at the German-Nigerian Business Forum in Germany, yesterday.
Why Nigeria isn’t among
investors’ favourite destinations
By Folake Balogun
NIGERIA has ranked among
the top global places investors
should avoid due to its poor
governance ratings, according
to the latest World Economic
Governance Index.
On Tuesday, the rating
agency graded Africa’s biggest
economy D, which indicates
poor governance and a level
shy of other economically chal-
lenged countries like Lebanon,
Syria and Yemen.
On the World Economic
Governance Index, Nigeria
was ranked 40.8. For rule of
law, it got 30.9; press freedom,
52.1; political rights, 53.5; and
corruption, 26.7.
Countries with less than
100 score are rated poor while
countries with above 100 are
rated high in terms gover-
nance indicators.
“Don’t invest in countries
with poor governance. They
can cost you billions and ex-
pose you to legal and political
troubles,” the World Economic
Governaance report said.
Experts said this develop-
ment alongside other many
challenges have spooked for-
eign investors out of Africa’s
most populous nation.
That has coincided with
the race by other African
Petrol prices up 164.8%, further
drains cash-strapped Nigerians
By Abubakar Ibrahim
THE average retail price of
petrol has surged by 164.8
percent since the federal
government abolished fuel
subsidies in May, placing a
heavy burden on Nigerian
consumers who are now
grappling with significantly
higher transportation costs
and an overall rise in the
cost of living.
Data obtained from the
National Bureau of Sta-
tistics revealed that the
average retail price of petrol
in October was N630.63,
countries to attract invest-
ment. These smaller countries
relative to Nigeria are offering
investors more than Nigeria
is willing to and are therefore
stealing a march on the “giant
of Africa”.
For instance, in the lat-
est 2023 Rule of Law Index
released by the World Justice
Project, Nigeria finds itself
placed 120th out of 142 coun-
tries and 23rd among 34 coun-
tries in Sub-Saharan Africa
regarding adherence to the
rule of law.
Countries ahead of Nigeria
in the Sub-Saharan region in-
clude Rwanda, Namibia, Mau-
ritius, Botswana, South Af-
rica, Senegal, Ghana, Malawi,
The Gambia, Benin, Burkina
Faso, Tanzania, Kenya, Togo,
Zambia, Ivory Coast, Niger,
Sierra Leone, Liberia, Mada-
gascar, Angola and Guinea.
The WJP report employed
eight key indicators to as-
sess countries’ performance:
constraints on government
powers, absence of corruption,
open government, fundamen-
tal rights, order and security,
regulatory enforcement, civil
justice, and criminal justice.
“Nigerians will pay the ul-
timate price of the country be-
coming less of an investment
destination, particularly in
indicating a 164.8 percent in-
crease from N238.11 in May.
According to the lat-
est Premium Motor Spirit
Price Watch report, this
development is an indi-
cation of a 222.92 percent
increase when compared
to the N195.29 recorded in
October 2022.
“Likewise, comparing
the average price value with
the previous month (.i.e.
September 2023), the aver-
age retail price increased by
0.71 percent from N626.21,”
the report said.
the form of jobs. For a country
whose population will surpass
that of the United States by
2050 to become the third most
populous nation globally, jobs
are critically needed,” Charles
Akinbobola, analyst at Sofi-
dam Capital, said.
He added: “This minute,
you are in business in Nigeria,
and the next minute you could
be out by the stroke of the
pen of a clueless government
official who seeks to protect
his ego more than the jobs of
thousands of people.
“Other times a government
policy is enough to frustrate
foreign investors and send
them packing. The upside for
these investors is that there
are growing options in other
African markets”.
In August, GlaxoSmith-
Kline (GSK), a British mul-
tinational pharmaceutical
and biotechnology company,
announced plans to exit Nige-
ria, after 51 years of operation
in Nigeria.
GSK’s eventual exit from
Nigeria has been a long time
coming and adds the health-
care company to a list of for-
eign companies that have
dumped Nigeria.
The list includes South
African retailer Shoprite,
Abu-Dhabi Based-telecommu-
Prior to the subsidy re-
moval, petrol prices were
artificially kept low by
government intervention.
However, the government
argued that the subsidy
was unsustainable and that
a market-driven approach
would be more efficient.
While the decision to
eliminate subsidies was
met with criticism from
some quarters, the govern-
ment maintained that it
was necessary to ensure the
long-term viability of the
fuel industry.
nication company Etisalat and
UK-based Intercontinental
Group.
The exit of another mul-
tinational makes the job of
President Bola Tinubu to lure
foreign direct investment
(FDI) even harder.
“The evidence at hand
is that Nigeria is extremely
harsh to foreign companies
and that does the country no
favours in its bid to lure new
investments and create jobs
for its teeming youth popula-
tion,” a senior business leader
told BusinessDay.
FDI inflow into Nigeria has
tumbled in recent years, slip-
ping to a 10-year low in 2022.
Total FDI in the first quarter
of 2023 was a paltry $48 million,
a 69 percent decline from $155
million recorded in the first
quarter of 2022.
In March, Unilever’s Nige-
rian subsidiary said it would
stop manufacturing homecare
and skin-cleansing products as
it sought to make its business
“competitive and profitable.”
Unilever recorded a foreign
exchange loss of N14.36 billion
in the second quarter of 2023,
up from N1.06 billion in Q1.
The company said the re-
valuation loss arose from
foreign currency-denominated
balances related to trade loans.
The federal government
said the country has re-
corded significant strides
in salvaging the state of the
economy since the reform.
“The Federation Account
is witnessing improved rev-
enue inflow since the re-
moval of fuel subsidy from
an average of N650 billion
monthly to over N1 trillion
in the last four months,”
said Wale Edun, minister
of finance and coordinating
minister of the economy.
At the opening ceremony
of a two-day retreat for the
Federal Account Alloca-
tion Committee on Monday,
Edun said the economic
reforms the administration
has embarked on since its
inception in May clearly
Continues on page 31
WEDNESDAY 22 NOVEMBER 2023
Nigeria wants to borrow less but ignores...
Continued from page 1
Framework and Fiscal
Strategy Paper.
For Nigeria, debt is the
easier of the two funding
options. Exploring revenue
opportunities requires dis-
ciplined planning, honesty,
time-tested officials, eco-
nomic reforms and consis-
tent government policies
that can inspire investors’
confidence.
Debt, on the other hand,
requires far less rigour and a
basic commitment to repay.
The problem however is
that the room for more bor-
rowing is fast diminishing,
which has made it ever more
important that the govern-
ment goes the harder and
more demanding route of
raising fresh capital rather
than binge on debt.
Data from Nigeria’s bud-
get implementation report
showed the government in
2022 spent a total of N5.65
trillion on debt servicing,
representing 106 percent
of the total N5.30 trillion
revenue generated within
the period.
In the first six months
of 2023, the federal govern-
ment’s total expenditure
stood at N8.5 trillion while
its revenue amounted to N5.1
trillion, creating a deficit of
N3.4 trillion.
While the Federal Gov-
ernment’s debt stock has
tripled to N87.38 trillion in
the last five years, economic
growth has been stuck at
around 2 percent when not
contracting.
The rising debt level is
not the only problem. The
other worry is that most of
that debt may not have been
channelled rightly, gulped
by recurrent expenditure
and debt servicing.
For instance, data
showed recurrent expendi-
ture of N7.1 trillion account
for 83 percent of total fed-
eral government spending
of N8.5 trillion in the first six
months of 2023.
The lifeline of low-hang-
ing revenue opportunities
Experts narrowed down
to a few equity financing
options available includ-
ing boosting export indus-
trial expansions, attracting
foreign direct investment,
unlocking capital through
joint ventures and unlock-
ing dead capital.
“I have argued that the
problem is that we are too
focused on the (small) do-
mestic market. We should
be focusing on exports,”
Seun Smith, a public finance
analyst, said.
“As long as the President
and his administration con-
tinue to focus on the very
poor, very small domestic
market, then we are never
going to make progress,”
he added.
Olisa Agbakoba, senior
partner and head of the Ar-
bitration and ADR practice
group at Olisa Agbakoba
Legal, said the proposed bud-
get for 2024, which stands at
N26 trillion, can be funded
by strategic efforts without
acquiring debts.
“I wrote to the former
minister of finance, pointing
out something called ‘MOFI’,
Ministry of Finance Incorpo-
rated; it holds all the assets
of the federal government.
As a result of my letter, she
inquired and came up with
preliminary findings that
Nigeria had N33 trillion. So,
when you say N26 trillion,
the problem is not that we
don’t have money, but that
we do not look for it,” Agba-
koba told BusinessDay.
The legal expert also ex-
plored potential revenue
sources for the President
Bola Tinubu-led administra-
tion, including areas such
as space, finance, and mari-
time.
He said: “I am conducting
a predictive study to identify
potential sources of income.
For example, we have Elon
Musk, who owns Starlinks,
with a constellation of satel-
lites in low jurisdictional
orbits in Nigeria, not con-
tributing financially. We
have a space agency and
satellite service users like
DSTV not making payments,
and I estimate this could
amount to around $6 billion.
Continues on page 30
WEDNESDAY 22 NOVEMBER 2023 www.businessday.ng 3
4 www.businessday.ng WEDNESDAY 22 NOVEMBER 2023
WEDNESDAY 22 NOVEMBER 2023 www.businessday.ng 5
6 www.businessday.ng
ECONOMY
52 taxes, unresolved N200bn
USSD debt squeeze telcos
By Frank Eleanya
THE number of taxes and
levies telecom operators in
Nigeria are forced to pay
to federal, state, and local
government agencies has
increased to 52 from 41, ac-
cording to Gbenga Adebayo,
president of the Association
of Licensed Telecommunica-
tion Operators of Nigeria
(ALTON).
Adebayo, who was
speaking at a closed-door
stakeholders’ meeting on
Thursday, also disclosed
that banks were yet to pay
the USSD debt owed to tele-
com operators, which has
now risen to N200 billion
from N120 billion in June.
Multiple taxation is seen
as one of the primary bottle-
necks affecting the profit-
ability of the telecommuni-
cations business in Nigeria,
and efforts by operators
to draw the government’s
attention to it have yielded
little or no results.
In a recent communique
to the Senate Committee on
Telecommunications, Tony
Izuagbe, president of the As-
sociation of Telecommuni-
L-R: Gifty Nkrumah, policy analyst, Africa Centre for Energy Policy Ghana; Leo Atakpu, deputy director, African Network for Environmental
and Economic Justice; Chineye Omu, operation officer, Debt Management Office; and Mohammed Attach, national coordinator, Procurement
Observation and Advocacy Initiative, during the Hybrid National conference on Public presentation of Assessment of Utilisation of Special
Drawing Rights in Nigeria and Ghana held in Abuja, recently. Pic by Tunde Adeniyi
DISASTER
Flood displaces 650,000 Nigerian children— UNICEF
NO fewer than 650,000 Ni-
gerian children have been
displaced by flood across
the country within four
years, according to Gerida
Birukila, UNICEF chief of
field office in Kaduna State.
Birukila said this on the
occasion of the commemora-
tion of World Children’s Day
on Monday in Kaduna.
Represented by Joyce
Eli, the UNICEF’s chief
said that the displacement
happened between 2016 and
2021. The theme for this
year’s celebration is: “Im-
pact of climate change on
children”.
Birukila further noted
cation Operators of Nigeria,
also made similar submis-
sions, urging the committee
to quickly address these is-
sues to avoid revenue losses
in the industry. According
to him, the multiple taxation
is often a result of multiple
regulations.
“The Nigerian telecom
industry is often faced with
multiple regulations that
usually lead to multiple
taxation. As of today, our
members pay taxes to fed-
eral government agencies,
state government agencies,
and local government agen-
cies. All these taxes impact
our members negatively
because money earmarked
for network expansion must
be redirected to pay illegal
taxes,” Izuagbe said.
Operators in the industry
have come under immense
pressure recently as a result
of the harsh economic situ-
ation of the country, which
exacerbated existing chal-
lenges. MTN and Airtel, the
two largest operators in the
industry, reported losses in
their half-year results.
Airtel reported a $13 mil-
lion loss after tax for the
that more than 3.1 million
children could be displaced
by riverine floods over the
next 30 years
She said Nigeria was the
second worst country world-
wide in terms of children’s
exposure and vulnerability
to the impacts of climate
change, scoring 8.5 out of
10 on UNICEF’s Children’s
Climate Risk Index (along-
side Chad).
“Nigeria’s child popula-
tion of more than 110 million
accounts for 10 per cent of
the 1 billion children world-
wide who live in extremely
high-risk countries from the
effects of climate change.
NEWS
half year ended September
30, 2023, compared to the
$330 million profit after tax
reported in the same period
of 2022. The company said
the loss was largely driven
by a foreign exchange loss
of $471 million recorded in
finance costs before tax and
because of the devaluation
of the Nigerian naira in
June. The telco posted $12
million profit before tax in
H1 2023, a decline of 97.7
percent from the $516 mil-
lion reported in H1 2022, as
total finance cost rose to $873
million from $358 million.
MTN Nigeria’s nine-
month net profit also
showed a decline as a result
of the steady decline of the
naira. The telco’s foreign
exchange loss rose to N232.8
billion within the period
from N27.9 billion a year
earlier.
Since the current ad-
ministration announced it
was floating the naira with
the goal of unifying the ex-
change rate, the naira has
gone on a downward spiral,
falling to as low as 1,300 per
dollar in the parallel market
and about 1,000/$ in the of-
“Nigerian children are
disproportionately affected
by climate change. Rising
temperatures, flooding,
drought, and intense storms
are the most serious climate-
related threats to children
in Nigeria.
“Among the direct health
effects are physical dangers
that lead to injury, heat
stress, diminished access
to safe water, sanitation
and hygiene services, and
an increase in waterborne
diseases such as cholera,
diarrhea and malaria,” she
said.
Birukila added that envi-
ronmental degradation and
ficial market. The removal
of petrol subsidy has also
led to a surge in headline
inflation. On Wednesday,
the National Bureau of Sta-
tistics said inflation rose to
27.5 percent in September.
Telcos have also not
been able to get commercial
banks to agree they will pay
the accumulated debt from
USSD charges they were
yet to remit. In September,
Umar Garba Danbatta, for-
mer executive vice chair-
man of Nigerian Communi-
cations Commission (NCC),
had said the deposit money
banks agreed to pay the
debt. He didn’t however say
when it will be paid.
Adebayo, ALTON presi-
dent, later clarified that the
banks merely acknowledged
there was a debt but never
agreed they were going to
pay or when they planned
to pay. While they delayed
paying, the debt had now
ballooned to N200 billion.
Stakeholders say the con-
tinued delay in settling the
debt affects the attainment
of the federal government’s
80 percent financial inclu-
sion target.
climate change also contrib-
uted to malnutrition due to a
shortfall in food availability.
She said, “And this con-
tributes to increasing pov-
erty and displacement.”
According to her, energy
poverty in Nigeria is a cross-
cutting issue that affects
child rights.
Birukila lamented, “Only
55.4 percent of the total pop-
ulation in Nigeria benefit
from access to electricity.
“While urban areas have
much greater access to elec-
tricity at 83.9 percent, the
rural population has to cope
with just 24.6 percent access.
NAN
WEDNESDAY 22 NOVEMBER 2023
CRIME
Navy hands over N70m seized
cannabis to NDLEA in Badagry
THE Forward Operating
Base (FOB) of the Nigerian
Navy, Badagry, Lagos, on
Monday, handed over 50
sacks of cannabis sativa
worth N70 million to the Na-
tional Drugs Law Enforce-
ment Agency, (NDLEA) in
Badagry.
On the seizures, Kelly
Umoru, the Base Opera-
tions officer, FOB, repre-
senting Aiwuyor Adams-
Aliu, the commanding of-
ficer FOB, said they seized
the cannabis sativa on
Sunday.
“On November 19, at
about 6.30.a.m, they got
an intelligence tip-off of
suspected smuggling activi-
ties within our own Area of
Operations.
“The intelligence in-
dicated that a boat was
sighted offloading products
suspected to be cannabis
sativa at Gbethrome Beach
ECONOMY
Abiodun woos foreign
investors to Ogun
By Folake Balogun
DAPO Abiodun, governor
of Ogun State, has invited
foreign businesses to take
advantage of the Special
Economic Processing Zone
and make the state their
investment destination.
He extended the invite
while speaking as a guest
on CNBC Africa on the side-
lines of the Intra-African
Trade Fair, organised by
Afreximbank, in Cairo,
Egypt.
“Ogun State has put ev-
erything in place to host any
business venture,” he said.
He said Ogun State has
the required infrastructure,
including accessibility, ac-
cess to power, and a youth-
ful and educated population
to make it investor-friendly.
“Now, why are we here
(Cairo)? We are here to at-
tract more investors to our
state, particularly as we
pride ourselves on having
the required infrastructure,
be it road, rail, or air. We
have a new airport, unargu-
ably one of the best airports
in Nigeria.
“Our airport is situated
in our Special Economic
Processing Zone. The zone
is being supported by Afrex-
imbank and being operated
and constructed by a private
sector player called Arise
LLP,” he said.
“Today, we want people
to know about the zone, to
come and establish process-
ing concerns and factories
in that zone, referencing
the 5,000 other industrial
activities that exist in Ogun
State,” Abiodun stated.
The governor listed some
of the companies in the state
to include Lafarge, Nestle,
Cadbury, May & Baker,
Unilever, and Olam Flours,
close to the Ashipa com-
munity.
“Consequently, the Base
Quick Response Team, led
by myself and Base Intel-
ligence Officer, Lt. E. U.
Okorie, proceeded to the
scene of the crime for inves-
tigation and possible arrest.
“The team conducted a
cordon and search opera-
tion in the area,” he said.
Umoru said after search-
ing, a total of 50 sacks of the
suspected products which
were valued at about N70m
were recovered.
“The adjoining commu-
nities were also searched
but no other products or
suspects were found.
“Investigations are on-
going in conjunction with
other security agencies to
identify the drug traffick-
ing syndicate and in due
course, arrest and pros-
ecute same,” he said.
among others.
He noted that companies
coming to invest in the state
would take advantage of its
vast agro produce like rub-
ber, cassava, which Ogun is
the number one producer
in the world, palm oil, ca-
shew, cocoa, cotton, eggs
and poultry.
“We are trying to attract
investors to this processing
zone, more so because we
have gas, which allows them
to access power. So, you are
sure that your major cost of
production, which could be
power in most instances, is
already mitigated.
“And I believe that we’ve
managed to convince a lot
of our listeners that Ogun
State, the industrial capital
of Nigeria, the education
capital of Nigeria with re-
serve of youthful popula-
tion is ready to receive you
and as a government, we’ve
provided a lot of reforms
and policy initiatives to
further increase our rating
on the ease of doing business
index,” he added.
Governor Abiodun also
spoke on the significance of
the African Quality Assur-
ance Centre (AQAC), which
has been established at the
Special Economic Process-
ing Zone, a development
that he said, is bound to
make Nigeria get value for
her agro-produce.
Abiodun noted that Nige-
ria, before now, was sending
her agro-produce meant
for export to neighbouring
countries like Ghana to be
certified as fit-for-purpose.
“But with AQAC in Ogun
State, and within the agro-
processing zone, he said
agro-produce from Nigeria
can now be certified fit-for-
purpose in line with world
best practices,” he said.
WEDNESDAY 22 NOVEMBER 2023
L-R: Emem Bassey, chief medical director, University of Uyo Teaching Hospital; Simi Alabi, Clinical Lead for Population Health, BLMK
Integrated Care System; Wasiu Adeyemi, representing the minister health and social welfare; Jude Emejulu, professor of Surgery/
Neurosurgery, Nnamdi Azikiwe Teaching Hospital; and Ibrahim Wada, Founder of Nisa Medical Group, during the Doctor For Change
Conference 2023 in Lagos.
HEALTH
Nigeria, others could lose $100trn
to drug-resistant diseases by 2050
By Godsgift Onyedinefu
UP to $100 trillion of glob-
al gross domestic product
could be lost due to Antimi-
crobial Resistance by 2050,
with Nigeria and other low
and middle-income coun-
tries (LMICs) being the
most negatively impacted.
The Nigeria Centre for
Disease Control disclosed
this in a statement to the
World Antimicrobialà
Awareness Week (WAAW)
on Monday.
According to the World
Health Organisation (WHO),
AMR occurs when bacteria,
viruses, fungi and parasites
change over time and no
longer respond to medicines
making infections harder to
treat and increasing the risk
of disease spread, severe ill-
ness and death. As a result
of drug resistance, antibiot-
ics and other antimicrobial
OIL
Subsidy removal: FG records N1trn monthly revenue - Minister
WALE Edun, minister of
finance and coordinating
minister of the economy,
says that the federation
account is witnessing im-
proved revenue inflow
since the removal of sub-
sidy from an average of
N650 million monthly to
over N1trillion in the last
four months.
The minister stated this
on Monday in Asaba at the
opening ceremony of a four-
day retreat organised for
members of the Federation
Account Allocation Com-
mittee (FAAC)
Edun, represented by
Okokon Udo, the perma-
nent secretary, finance,
special duties, said the gov-
ernment had for a long,
realised that petroleum
subsidy was not sustain-
medicines become ineffec-
tive and infections become
increasingly difficult or
impossible to treat.
The WHO disclosed that
there are 15 priority anti-
biotic-resistant pathogens
causing the greatest threat
to human and animal health
and 4 of them have been
detected in Nigeria.
The NCDC emphasised
that the impact of AMR on
the economy, health sys-
tems and the attainment
of the Sustainable Devel-
opment Goals (SDGs) are
enormous.
Every year, antimicrobi-
al resistance (AMR) directly
causes 1.27 million deaths
and is associated with an ad-
ditional 3.7 million deaths.
LMICs, including Nigeria,
bear the brunt of this bur-
den, accounting for nearly
90 per cent of the direct
death toll, the centre stated.
able.
According to him, the
subsidy regime eroded rev-
enues that should have
been available to fund vi-
able expenditures that were
critical to the well-being of
the populace.
The minister said the
present administration was
mindful of the needs and
welfare of Nigerians and
assured that it would con-
tinue to implement peoples
oriented policies.
“We all know that
achieving tax revenue to
Gross Domestic Product
(GDP) target of 22 percent
and tax to GDP of 18 per
cent by 2026 are parts of the
cardinal objectives of this
administration.
“However, we appreci-
ate the need not to over-
NEWS
Over 99.5 percent of
AMR–related deaths are
among children under five.
Recent studies show that
more people die directly
from AMR than from HIV/
AIDS, malaria, or any form
of cancer other than lung
cancer.
In Africa, the burden of
death attributed to AMR
was highest in western Afri-
ca, at 27.3 deaths per 100,000
making it a super region for
death due to drug-resistant
pathogens.
Antimicrobial agents are
essential for food security
and the global consump-
tion of antimicrobials is
projected to rise by 70 per-
cent by 2030 and will affect
sustainable food production
systems if nothing is done.
Since 2017, Nigeria has
some strides in its response
to AMR. There is now an
AMR surveillance network,
burden the taxpayers by
introducing so many new
taxes. What is necessary
to be done is to broaden
the tax base, simplify and
streamline tax administra-
tion for ease of collection,”
he said.
Edun added “Among the
prior activities of this gov-
ernment after coming into
office, was the constitution
of a Presidential Committee
of Fiscal Policy and Tax
Reforms. The committee
has submitted an interim
report which is full of op-
timism’’.
The minister also noted
that the present adminis-
tration was not oblivious
of the untold hardship faced
by Nigerians, following the
removal of fuel subsidy, and
harmonisation of exchange
antimicrobial stewardship,
and awareness programmes
across the country creating
awareness of AMR among
healthcare professionals,
farmers, and the public.
The Centre informed
that the National Antimi-
crobial Resistance Techni-
cal Working Group (AMR-
TWG) joins the global com-
munity to raise awareness
of the dangers of misuse or
overuse of antimicrobials
and promote collaboration
across sectors to preserve
the efficacy of these critical
medicines.
It stressed that fighting
AMR is a global endeav-
our that must be addressed
through a One Health ap-
proach, and to effectively
curb the menace, all sectors
must join forces and encour-
age the prudent use of anti-
microbials and preventive
measures.
rates.
“Government is bent on
ensuring that the economy
bounces back to normal as
we continue to consolidate
on recovery efforts with fo-
cusing on achieving inclu-
sive economic growth and
development,” he added.
Edun said that Presi-
dent Bola Tinubu-led ad-
ministration has put in
place structured palliative
measures to cushion the
economic consequences of
the ongoing reforms.
Governor Sheriff Obor-
evwori of Delta State, in his
remarks, tasked the Federal
Government to muster the
political will by putting the
necessary policy and insti-
tutional framework in place
to diversify the nation’s
economy. NAN
FINANCE
Reps to audit Lottery Trust Fund
for spending 100% IGR
By Joy Odor
THE House of Representa-
tives committee on finance
on Monday agreed to ap-
point an external auditor
to audit the accounts of the
National Lottery Trust Fund
for spending 100 percent
of its internally generated
revenue (IGR).
James Faleke, the chair-
man of the committee also
directed the Fiscal Respon-
sibility Commission and the
Office of the Accountant-
General of the Federation
to also probe the Fund and
submit their reports to the
committee.
Faleke gave the order
when Bello Maigari, the
executive secretary/CEO of
the Fund, appeared before
the committee in the ongo-
ing 2024-2026 Medium Term
Expenditure Framework
and Fiscal Strategy Paper
interactive session with
ministries, departments and
agencies.
The committee chairman
informed that the audit
report would be made avail-
able to the House for further
action.
Earlier in his presenting
on remittances to the Fed-
eral Government, Bello told
the committee that the Fund
has so far in 2023 generated
N2.49 billion of which the en-
tire sum had been expended
on various projects.
Bello said the money
was raised from statutory
remittances from licensees
and permit holders, saying
N6.28 billion was gener-
ated in 2022, but the amount
was also spent on various
SPORT
NFF too broke to sack Super
Eagles coach Pereiro
By Anthony Nlebem
DESPITE Super Eagles’
shambolic performance
for the 2026 World Cup
qualifiers against Lesotho
and Zimbabwe, the Nigeria
Football Federation (NFF),
has disclosed that the fed-
eration is financially handi-
capped to sack Jose Peseiro
and pay the Portuguese his
severance package, accord-
ing to NFF executive com-
mittee member Nse Essien.
Recall that Nigeria failed
to qualify for the 2022 FIFA
World Cup in Qatar and
have managed to earn just
two points in their first two
qualifiers after playing two
draws against Lesotho and
Zimbabwe.
The three-time African
Champions played a 1-1
draw against Lesotho in
Uyo on November 16 and
were held to another 1-1
draw by Zimbabwe in the
2026 FIFA World Cup Afri-
can qualifying series Day
2 at the Huye Stadium in
Rwanda on November 19
www.businessday.ng 7
projects carried out by the
Fund. He added that the
Fund spent and incurred
a deficit of N255 million in
2022 because they had a car-
ryover of liabilities in 2021.
On what the N6.2 bil-
lion revenue in 2022 was
spent on, Bello said they
intervened in many areas,
including education, sports
development, social ser-
vices, public welfare and
disaster management.
He added that the money
was also spent on the run-
ning cost of the Fund and
confounded the lawmakers
when he said that the Fund
was also expected to pay
emoluments, allowances
and benefits of members of
its board, as well as salaries
and allowances of staff.
Faleke said, “It’s like the
government opened this
agency for you and your
family. That is what you are
saying. That is the mean-
ing. You generated almost
N2.5 billion and you spent
the N2.5 billion to the kobo.
You generated N2, 49 billion
from one source and then
expended the exact same
amount. And you put perfor-
mance, 100 percent.
“We are going to carry
out a status enquiry on
the Nigerian Lottery Trust
Fund. Status enquiry means
we are going to bring in an
external auditor to audit
your accounts, your books,
all your income and expens-
es from day one to date. We
would send our report to the
plenary and if you are found
guilty, you will be made to
refund all expenditure,”
he said.
putting their chances of
playing at the 2026 FIFA
World Cup in dilemma.
The result means Nige-
ria are second in Group C
with just two points from
two matches and mounts
pressure on Super Eagles
coach Peseiro as the Por-
tuguese tactician has been
blamed for his team’s poor
performance and fans have
called for this sack.
“If we had the money to
pay for compensation, we
would be willing to relieve
him of his job. We’re not
happy,” NFF member Es-
sien told reporters.
“Everybody is asking for
the sack of the head coach.
It’s unfortunate that from a
possible six points, we only
have two points. We’re in a
very precarious situation.”
The 2026 FIFA World
Cup qualifiers resume in
June 2024 with Nigeria
hosting South Africa, cur-
rent leaders of Group C,
before travelling to an away
game against Benin Re-
public.
8 www.businessday.ng WEDNESDAY 22 NOVEMBER 2023
WEDNESDAY 22 NOVEMBER 2023
OPINION
By Adebayo Adeleke
WHEN President Buhari
imposed border closure
in 2019, it was perceived
as the solution to Nige-
ria’s perennial insecurity
and economic challenges,
though it was with mixed
results. Despite the gov-
ernment declaring the
policy a success, sever-
al studies and national
realities suggested that
the closure fell short of
achieving its intended
purposes. A critical factor
contributing to this fail-
ure was identified as the
inadequate governance of
national borders.
Retired Maj.-Gen. Ba-
bagana Monguno, the for-
mer National Security Ad-
By NJ Ayuk
BEHIND every discovery,
final investment decision
(FID), and first oil an-
nouncement in our conti-
nent are companies of all
sizes, advancing our energy
industry and bringing Afri-
cans closer to realising the
energy security and pros-
perity that their petroleum
resources represent.
Collectively, these com-
panies are validating the
African Energy Chamber’s
(AEC’s) long-held assertion
that the African continent
represents the next frontier
for energy exploration and
production.
Despite concerns over
corporate divestment from
the African oil and gas sec-
tor in recent years — moves
made largely in an effort
to conform to expanding
global ESG expectations —
international oil companies
(IOCs) and African national
oil companies (NOCs) con-
tinue to be the key driving
forces behind Africa’ short-
term supplies, hydrocarbon
potential, medium-term
production, and spending.
As detailed in the African
Energy Chamber’s (AEC)
newly released report, “The
State of African Energy 2024
Outlook,” NOCs collectively
hold the continent’s larg-
est working interest share
of African hydrocarbon
potential and supplies due
to their involvement in
upstream operations while
IOCs hold the second largest
share from their legacy op-
Improving border governance for Nigeria’s economy and national security
viser, highlighted the gov-
ernment’s plan to set up a
dedicated border security
force to address Nigeria’s
porous borders during the
2021 Paris Peace Forum.
Although concrete steps
in this direction are yet to
be fully realized, acknowl-
edging the necessity for
improved border manage-
ment is a crucial first step.
The recent deployment
of fully armed tactical
personnel by the Nigeria
Security and Civil De-
fence Corps (NSCDC) to
secure borders with the
Niger Republic through
Katsina State is a positive
development. However,
with over 1400 illegal bor-
der routes, 86 official land
borders, and 14 seaport
border control posts, ad-
dressing the multifaceted
challenges requires more
than isolated efforts.
Understanding smart
border management
Coordinated border
management encompass-
es a range of activities
beyond physical closure,
including the regulation
of legal and illegal im-
migration, ensuring the
safe and secure movement
Oil companies still have vital role to play in African Energy
erations in both North and
sub-Saharan Africa.
But we are also seeing
increased activity by inter-
national NOCs (INOCs) and
independent companies in
Africa. These entities are
also contributing to the
overall success of Africa’s
fossil fuel industry.
National oil companies
in leading roles
As our new outlook re-
port explains, we expect
African NOC flow rates to
reach approximately 2.63
million barrels per day (bpd)
of liquids and 13.55 billion
cubic feet per day (Bcf/d)
of gas in 2023. In 2024, while
we expect NOCs’ total liquid
product to drop to 2.57 bpd of
liquids, we are forecasting a
significant increase in their
natural gas production: to
14.17 Bcf/d.
Of all the NOCs operat-
ing across Africa, the ef-
forts of just four amount to
the lion’s share of the total
supply. Estimates predict
that, together, Sonatrach of
Algeria, Angola’s Sonangol,
Libya’s National Oil Cor-
poration, and the Nigerian
National Petroleum Com-
pany (NNPC) Limited will
be responsible for 85 percent
of liquids and 88 percent of
natural gas produced by
African NOCs between 2023
and 2024.
The prominence of oil
and gas production in the
nations that these NOCs
represent is due in part to
an open and cooperative ap-
proach to development and
a commitment to progress
shared between them.
In September 2023, hav-
ing failed to meet its OPEC
of authorized people and
goods, and preventing
smuggling, human traf-
ficking, and infiltration.
As a security function,
Although, efficient border management is not
just a matter of security; it is fundamental to
Nigeria’s economic prosperity and should be
a top priority for Tinubu’s presidency
it calls for coordination
and concerted action
by various government
agencies to secure our
frontiers and safeguard
our nation from the risks
involved in the movement
of goods and people from
Nigeria to other African
countries and vice versa.
To manage Nigeria’s bor-
ders effectively, it is re-
quired to take a holistic
approach, considering the
terrain and relationships
it has with its neighboring
countries.
A competent border
management system
calls for the tight cou-
pling of technology and
infrastructure that is
capable of handling the
geopolitical, social, and
economic challenges we
quota and contending with
a decline in production, the
NNPC announced a substan-
tial reduction of its standard
contract negotiation period
from three years to just six
months.
Formalising the new
terms in an agreement
signed with oil majors Shell,
Chevron, Eni, ExxonMo-
bil, and TotalEnergies, the
NNPC hopes they will help
expedite foreign investment
in Nigeria’s hydrocarbon
sector. With $13.5 billion
secured at present, Nigeria
aims to reach a production
level of 2.1 million bpd by
December of next year.
Amidst the Angolan oil
and gas industry’s return
to a more prosperous posi-
tion, which this year saw
the nation outpace Nigeria,
taking the top spot among
Africa’s largest oil produc-
ers, Sonangol brokered a
deal with the China Nation-
al Chemical Engineering
Company (CNCEC) outlin-
ing the development of a
refinery in Lobito. With a
projected production rate
of 200,000 bpd and a slated
completion date in 2026, the
refinery should eventually
reduce Angola’s reliance
on imports for gasoline and
diesel.
In Algeria, Sonatrach
has been working with Ital-
ian multinational energy
company Eni on natural
gas production and the ex-
port of liquefied natural
gas (LNG) to Europe. Since
signing a Memoranda of In-
tent in January of this year
outlining future joint pro-
jects, including upstream
decarbonisation and energy
face in Nigeria owing to
our vast border fronts.
However, while adopting
smart border manage-
ment aligns with global
economic trends, Nigeria
faces unique challenges.
This means that simply
having infrastructure
and technology is insuf-
ficient; there is a need for
a comprehensive strategy
that includes geopolitical,
social, and economic con-
siderations.
Nigeria has a very
large and complex bor-
der, which it shares with
the Niger Republic to the
North, Chad, and Cam-
eroon to the East, the Gulf
of Guinea and the Atlantic
Ocean to the South, and
the Benin Republic to the
West. The varied terrain,
climatic conditions, and
diplomatic relationships
add layers of complexity,
demanding more than just
technological solutions.
transition initiatives, the
two companies have made
progress on these efforts,
meeting in Algiers as re-
cently as October 2023 to
discuss fugitive gas emis-
sion detection and flaring-
down options at Sonatrach’s
natural gas fields.
Other recent develop-
ments include the Memo-
randum of Understanding
established between Nor-
way’s largest oil and gas
producer, Equinor, and Lib-
ya’s NOC. The agreement
includes plans to evaluate
Libya’s maritime region in
the Mediterranean for its oil
and gas potential and extend
oil and gas sector training to
local personnel.
Oil majors advancing
exploration
In March of this year, in
partnership with Shell and
QatarEnergy, Namibia’s
national petroleum corpo-
ration, Namcor, publicised
a third oil discovery in the
Jonker 1-X well in the Or-
ange Basin off Namibia’s
southern shore, adding to
the sizeable discoveries
made by Shell and France’s
TotalEnergies in the Graff-
1X and Venus-1X wells in
2022. Namibia expects to
see first oil from these finds
by 2030.
At the Angola Oil and
Gas 2023 conference and
exhibition in September,
Melissa Bond, Managing
Director for ExxonMobil
Angola reported 18 new
discoveries in Block 15 and
plans for further drilling in
the Namib Basin next year.
Numerous oil and natu-
ral gas discoveries in West
Africa continue to show
Integrated border man-
agement: The Balance be-
tween Globalization and
National Security
Globalization demands
the free movement of
people, goods, and ideas.
However, the increas-
ing threats at the border
require heightened vigi-
lance and robust controls.
Striking a balance be-
tween economic prosper-
ity and border security is
crucial for Nigeria.
Border management
is an integral part of
military security and de-
mands proactive intel-
ligence, inclusion of tech-
nological advancements,
and coordinated action by
bureaucrats, politicians,
economic agencies, secu-
rity personnel, and other
related stakeholders of
the nation to safeguard
our borders from any sort
of infiltration and attack.
Adeleke, a supply chain and
security expert, writes from the
diaspora
great promise as well. Con-
sidering just the BP-Kosmos
Yakaar-Teranga discovery
in Senegal, BP and Kosmos’
Orca discovery in Mauri-
tania, and Eni’s Bailene
discovery off the Ivory Coast
amount to 3.6 billion barrels
of oil equivalent, with ad-
ditional sites in Ghana, Ga-
bon, and Angola, this region
is an exploration hot spot.
As exploration is crucial
to sustainability for Africa’s
oil and gas industry, the
AEC is pleased to report
active exploratory drilling
schedules over the next
two years, with oil majors
operating in Algeria, Egypt,
Nigeria, and Namibia as the
main drivers behind these
efforts.
Filling voids and capital-
ising on opportunities
Where international cor-
porate divestment from
Africa’s oil industry is oc-
curring, smaller players are
taking up the slack.
Whether under public
pressure to decrease emis-
sions and focus on sustain-
able development goals or
stakeholder pressure to sell
off mature fields in pursuit
of higher returns, as oil
and gas majors pull away
from portions of their op-
erations, INOCs and wholly
independent entities remain
eager to take over where
Ayuk is executive chairman,
African Energy Chamber
www.businessday.ng 9
The hallmark of good
border management is
preventing illegal migra-
tion, smuggling, and in-
filtration of insurgents
and terrorists. Although,
efficient border manage-
ment is not just a matter of
security; it is fundamental
to Nigeria’s economic
prosperity and should be
a top priority for Tinubu’s
presidency.
Borders are central to
national security and the
smooth flow of trade be-
cause goods cannot move
between countries unless
they pass through their
borders. However, secu-
ritizing border govern-
ance in Nigeria requires
a multifaceted approach.
Acknowledging the short-
comings of past policies,
embracing smart border
management, and foster-
ing international coop-
eration are vital steps
toward ensuring national
security and economic
prosperity. Policymakers
must therefore recognize
the interconnected nature
of border management
challenges and work col-
laboratively to address
them effectively.
they left off.
By taking on ventures
like the re-development
of declining wells to boost
production, these smaller
companies are helping to
satisfy the increasing global
demand for fossil fuels while
offering continued support
to host communities facing
the perils of abandonment
otherwise, and their cu-
mulative efforts add up to
a significant percentage of
Africa’s energy economy.
As documented in our
2024 outlook report, the
24-month period of 2023-2024
will see INOCs like Equinor,
PetroChina, the China Na-
tional Petroleum Corpora-
tion (CNPC), and several
more responsible for three-
quarters of all INOC liquids
output in Africa. In the same
time frame, we project that
independents like the APA
Corporation, Marathon Oil,
Wintershall DEA, Perenco,
Seplat Energy, Tullow, and
ConocoPhillips will col-
lectively produce the third-
highest natural gas output.
As the AEC continues to
advocate for a thriving Af-
rican energy industry and
encourage investment in
our continent — just as we
encourage every hydrocar-
bon-bearing African nation
to engage in uncomplicated,
mutually beneficial trade
negotiations — our own
optimism grows.
For the AEC, each out-
look report we publish in-
dicates that the African oil
and gas industry is secure,
strengthening with time,
and well on its way to be-
coming an invaluable asset
to the global energy market.
10 www.businessday.ng
By Segun Oshundairo
IN the last three decades, the
housing deficit in Nigeria
has risen to an extremely dis-
turbing level. Available data
shows that in 1991, Nigeria’s
housing deficit was 7 million.
It rose to 12 million in 2007,
14 million in 2010, and 20 mil-
lion units in 2018, and in 2023,
Nigeria now has an estimated
28 million housing deficit.
There are real estate experts
who say the housing deficit in
Nigeria is well over 50million
depending on the indices of
data collection.
Recently, the Permanent
Secretary, Federal Minis-
try of Works and Housing,
Mahmuda Mamman said the
Federal Government plans to
assist vulnerable Nigerians
to own houses to bridge the
housing gap in Nigeria. Mam-
man made this disclosure
while speaking with jour-
nalists on the first day of the
12th meeting of the National
Council on Housing and Ur-
ban Development which took
place in Kaduna State.
The theme for the 12th
council meeting was “Har-
nessing local and interna-
tional credit schemes as a
panacea for affordable hous-
ing infrastructure develop-
ment under the “Renewed
Hope Agenda.” The Perma-
nent Secretary is quoted to
have said: “The National
Housing Scheme Programme
by the ministry would assist
the vulnerable population
of the country in affording
a roof over their heads and
this would in turn bridge the
gaps in the housing sector.”
He further explained that the
By Andy Yih-Ping Liu
INTERPOL, the Interna-
tional Criminal Police
Organization, plays a vital
role in coordinating law
enforcement efforts across
countries. However, the
exclusion of Taiwan, a
nation that’s law-abiding
with immense potential,
from the organization
significantly undermines
its crucial work.
This exclusion is det-
rimental because China
marginalized Taiwan’s
role within the organiza-
tion under the guise of
“political issues”, and
consistently ensured
Taiwan’s exclusion from
meaningful participation
in Interpol, thereby creat-
ing a significant impedi-
How to practically bridge the housing gap in Nigeria
housing ministry intended to
go for social housing schemes
to provide decent and afford-
able houses to cater to the
housing needs of Nigerians.
Like past initiatives of
the government, these ideas
sound good and the outlook
should easily excite Nigeri-
ans. However, professionals
in the mortar and bricks
business like myself would
argue that until real issues
in the real estate sector are
addressed, this renewed hope
imitative of the government
to bridge the housing deficit
will fail woefully like other
plans in the past. To practi-
cally reduce the housing gap
in Nigeria, the government
must immediately address
some fundamental issues.
Review existing land laws
The Land Use Act, 1978
was enacted originally to en-
ergize economic development
in Nigeria by ensuring effec-
tive and equitable utilization
of land and land resources.
It was also to reduce the
high cost of land required for
industrial estates and mecha-
nized agriculture. However,
land management in Nigeria
since the enactment of the
Act has become more cum-
bersome and regressive to the
process of homeownership
for Nigerians.
What the Act has created
instead, is a lack of uniform-
ity in the laws governing
land-use and ownership in
Nigeria. It has also led to
uncontrolled speculation
in urban land, problems of
access to land rights by Nige-
rians on equal legal basis and
fragmentation of rural lands
arising from the application
of traditional principles of
inheritance and social re-
sistance from local non-state
actors.
Another major problem
in the housing sector which
can be linked to the Act is
inadequate information/
data for land use planning
and management in Nigeria.
A number of field investiga-
tions by experts reveal lack
of data on land use and no
Taiwan: The missing link in the Interpol network
ment to crime prevention
and intelligence sharing,
and unjustly excluding
my country from Interpol
activities. The exclusion
of Taiwan from Interpol
is a significant setback
for the organization’s mis-
sion to coordinate law en-
forcement efforts globally.
Taiwan’s outstand-
ing capacity to carry out
border security checks
and combat transnational
crimes such as terrorism
and human trafficking
is severely hampered by
its lack of access to real-
time criminal intelligence
shared through Interpol’s
I-24/7 system and its stolen
and lost travel documents
database. This means that
vital exchanges of intelli-
gence are often out of date
and incorrect. Yet at the
OPINION
comprehensive and up-to-
date plan or map showing
land use pattern and struc-
ture of ownership in most
areas of Nigeria. These are
fundamental issues with land
laws in Nigeria that must be
fixed immediately.
Ease land title processing
In many states in Nige-
Review of the property registration
process and introduction of simplified
means of registration would make the
acquisition of land titles, deeds, and
approvals less cumbersome
ria today, getting approved
government title for real es-
tate investment has become
extremely difficult and frus-
trating. More troubling is the
bureaucracy and bottlenecks
around the processes.
Recently, the Lagos State
Governor, Mr Babajide San-
wo-Olu, assured the leader-
ship of the Lags Chamber
of Commerce and Industry
that his administration will
fast-track the approval for
the Certificate of Occupancy
of the land allocated to the
organisation for the construc-
tion of the trade fair and
exhibition centre.
Many real estate investors
in Lagos will be happy if the
Lagos State Governor can
fast-track their own title ap-
plications too. Real estate in-
vestment without proper tile
documents gets practically
stalled. In Lagos and other
parts of the country, real
estate investors especially
those operating in the private
sector are sometimes left
frustrated from extremely
cumbersome and expensive
land title processes.
This must be resolved for
any meaningful progress to
be achieved in the area of
Nigeria’s housing deficit. It
is simple: the property reg-
istration process in Nigeria
needs to be simplified, and
digitalised, thereby reduc-
ing human participation to
same time, as transnation-
al crime flourishes in this
era of globalization, Tai-
wanese passports, which
enjoy visa-free access to
145 countries and territo-
ries, have become prime
targets for transnational
criminals. This is a global
threat that should not be
underestimated.
According to the 2023
safety and crime rankings
by the database website
Numbeo, Taiwan ranked
third for safety out of 142
countries evaluated. It
also had the third-lowest
crime rate among all coun-
tries, surpassing other
Asian nations. Taiwan
has made significant con-
tributions to international
crime prevention. It pos-
sesses advanced technol-
ogy and expertise, ben-
the barest minimum so as to
eliminate corrupt practices,
enhance the government’s
credibility, and make it easi-
er for investors and property
owners to do the right thing
without cutting corners.
The review of the prop-
erty registration process and
introduction of simplified
means of registration would
make the acquisition of land
titles, deeds, and approvals
less cumbersome, and con-
tribute to the growth of the
housing sector in Nigeria.
Address rising prices of
building materials
The number of abandoned
real estate projects have con-
tinued to rise across the coun-
try. It is now a common thing
to see developers stop their
construction project halfway
due to the high cost of build-
ing materials. The cost of
the average building mate-
rial has risen by over 100%
or more in the last twelve
months. Something must be
done about this immediately.
The production of build-
ing materials locally should
be encouraged under the
supervision of expert engi-
neers who will ensure that
only high-quality materials
are used alongside the lat-
est building techniques, to
ensure the safety, longevity,
and quality of the finished
product.
Mass production of locally
manufactured building mate-
rials under expert guidance
would reduce construction
costs, and housing costs, and
ultimately ease the operation
of building and construction
companies in building more
homes thereby contributing
to bridging the housing defi-
cit in Nigeria. Cement should
efits from its strategic
geographical location,
ensures global security,
and fosters strong inter-
national collaborations.
As the world’s 21st-largest
economy and 17th-largest
exporter, Taiwan serves
as a crucial link between
Northeast and Southeast
Asia, functioning as a
hub for the flow of people,
goods, and capital.
Taiwan’s advanced
technology and expertise
can also make a signifi-
cant contribution to Inter-
pol’s capabilities in com-
bating modern-day crime.
Taiwan is renowned for
its expertise in prevent-
ing cybercrime, address-
ing technology-related
offenses, and investigat-
ing financial crimes. By
sharing its knowledge and
WEDNESDAY 22 NOVEMBER 2023
be the number one target.
Promises by local cement
manufacturers to reduce the
price of the product has not
materialised. On the flip side,
the forex crisis should be
looked into. More than 60%
of materials used for building
construction are imported
into the country. The free fall
of the Naira to the Dollar has
made things worse. It should
be fixed.
Activate a vibrant and
functional mortgage culture
In many advanced socie-
ties, real estate financing and
homeownership is driven
by a vibrant and functional
mortgage system. Mortgage
is made available and acces-
sible to all irrespective of the
income levels. It also ensures
that prospective lenders get
good repayment tenure and
interest rates. The current
interest rate for mortgage
loans in Nigeria is between
18% and 25%. That cannot
help to bridge the housing
gap as most Nigerians cannot
access it.
The mortgage system in
Nigeria needs to be restruc-
tured to really meet the needs
of those who cannot afford
a home, that is, low-income
earners. Many Nigerians
who are low-salary earners
cannot afford the short-term
financing provided by mort-
gage banks, hence the hous-
ing deficit in the country.
The National Housing Fund
Scheme (NHF) should be
reviewed to help low-income
salary earners get onto the
property ladder.
The government should
look into proper mortgage
refinancing. In June 2013,
the Nigeria Mortgage Refi-
nancing Company (NMRC)
Oshundairo is the CEO of Arc-
View Investments Limited; one
of Nigeria’s leading real estate
development companies with
special focus on the delivery of
affordable homes
providing technological
support, Taiwan could
greatly enhance Inter-
pol’s ability to respond to
emerging criminal trends
and effectively tackle the
challenges posed by tech-
nology-driven crimes.
Moreover, Taiwan’s
strategic geographical
location grants it a unique
advantage in supporting
Interpol’s activities in
East Asia. Taiwan plays a
crucial role in identifying
and disrupting criminal
operations, thereby en-
suring regional and global
security.
Taiwan’s involvement
Yih-Ping Liu is the repre-
sentative of Taiwan Mission in
Nigeria
was established. NMRC is a
wholesale secondtier finan-
cial institution which refi-
nances portfolios of mortgage
& commercial banks rather
than originating individual
mortgages and will cater for
financial institutions rather
than individual borrowers.
The idea was to activate a
vibrant mortgage culture in
Nigeria and ensure continu-
ous liquidity for mortgage
banks. Much success has not
been recorded in this regard
and it must be looked into.
See housing as social in-
vestment
Ultimately, the govern-
ment must see provision
of housing for vulnerable
Nigerians as a form of social
investment and not a means
to make money or generate
revenue. The models used
by the Late Alhaji Lateef
Jakande can be reviewed
to fit into our current reali-
ties. It is unacceptable to see
many working class Nige-
rians finding it difficult to
get on the property ladder.
Currently, the average low
income earner does not have
a space on the property lad-
der in Nigeria.
A middle income earner
can only squeeze in. A guar-
anteed place on the property
ladder for low and middle in-
come earners can only come
when and if the government
goes into mass housing initi-
ates driven with the orienta-
tion that it is a form of social
investment.
Create robust private sec-
tor partnerships
Currently, more than 90%
of housing units produced
in Nigeria are facilitated by
the Private Sector. A lot still
needs to be done to ensure
and support the private sec-
tor to do more. Governments
at all levels in Nigeria must
look for credible private real
estate developers to work
with. Partnerships that make
land and finance available to
them at heavily subsidized
rates will help them deliver
more affordable homes to
Nigerians.
in Interpol’s General
Assembly would enable
its police authorities to
interact with counter-
parts from other nations,
fostering collaboration
and enhancing global col-
lective ability to combat
transnational crime. By
supporting Taiwan’s par-
ticipation in Interpol’s
General Assembly, the
world takes a significant
stride towards achiev-
ing this goal. Therefore,
Taiwan’s participation
in Interpol is not merely a
matter of national interest
but a crucial step towards
strengthening global se-
curity. By rectifying the
historical injustices that
have hindered Taiwan’s
involvement, the world
can harness its expertise
and resources.
WEDNESDAY 22 NOVEMBER 2023
By Etim Etim
IT is a bit of a relief that Godwin
Emefiele is finally having his
day in court. He now has the op-
portunity to defend himself, and
possibly prove his innocence. He
is facing a six-count illegal pro-
curement charge in which he’s
accused of awarding a contract
for the purchase of 43 vehicles
worth N1.2 billion between 2008
and 2020 to a female staff of
the bank, Sa’adatu Ramallan
Yaro, in violation of Section 19
of Corrupt Practices and Other
Offences Act 2020. The law bars
public officials from awarding
contracts to themselves, their re-
lations or their staff. In his initial
arraignment in August on the
same offence, the former CBN
Governor faced nine charges,
the vehicles were worth N6.9
billion and Mrs Yero and her
company, April 1616 Investment
Company Ltd, were co-accused.
By dropping her and her
company from the current
charges, it is likely that Mrs
Yaro has agreed to serve as the
prosecution witness against
Emefiele, indicating that the
government wants to send
him to jail by all means. When
an accused person becomes a
prosecution witness (PW), it is
usually in return for a favour,
which may be dropping of all
or some of the charges. The
implication is that the prosecut-
ing authorities (EFCC, in this
case) will have more evidence
against the defendant and a
greater chance of winning the
case. Mrs Yaro will tell the court
everything she knows about the
contract and the involvement
of the former CBN governor. I
pity Emefiele because he could
be facing a prison sentence of
over 10 years without an op-
tion of fine. I have spoken to a
few senior staffers in the CBN
who have hinted that the said
Mrs Yaro is related to a former
governor of Kaduna State and
she was hired into the bank
“to pursue business agenda”.
“I have spent over 28 years in
this bank, and I don’t know her.
She must be one of those people
hired by the former governor
as contract staff for specific
agenda”, a director told me over
lunch last weekend.
But why is Emefiele facing
his predicament alone? Where
are his colleagues in the Bank,
his bosses and the cabals in
the Villa who benefitted from
his years of service? Clearly,
Emefiele did not run the bank
alone. What of the four deputy
governors who worked with
him? Are they so honest and
clean that nothing could be
found against them? What of
those powerful cabals who
were so close to the former
president that they used their
influences to benefit massively
from the arbitrage created by
the dual exchange rates? Why
are they not facing any charge?
What of the former President
himself? Was he not aware of
what was happening inside the
CBN? Was he not aware of the
huge profits the cabals were
making just by buying FX in
the official market and selling
them in the unofficial market?
These people were so wealthy
that one of them bought a bank
and a mobile telecommunica-
tions company without moving
from his chair. All they did was
Why Godwin Emefiele
shouldn’t go down alone
round tripping the dollars from
one market to the other. Every
morning, they would wake up
with calculators to compute
the billions of Naira they were
making in profit. Is the EFCC not
aware of this? If Emefiele turns
out to be the only person tried
out of the lot that participated in
what he did and benefitted from
him, it would seem that he is a
victim of grand vindictiveness.
Have his friends and associ-
ates intervened on his behalf?
Where is Jim Ovia; James
Ibori; Udom Emmanuel and all
his other powerful friends and
associates in the banking and
oil industries? Where are those
in government and business
who wined and dined with him
when the goings were good?
Why have they abandoned
him now? Where is Emefiele’s
wife, by the way? Why has she
not been showing up in court
to support him? Or has she left
the country? You know, some
women can’t face trouble.
I saw Godwin Emefiele in
the court premises the other
day, and I shed tears for him.
But why is Emefiele facing his
predicament alone? Where are his
colleagues in the Bank, his bosses and
the cabals in the Villa who benefitted
from his years of service?
He looked gaunt, tired, desolate
and helpless. This was once the
CEO of the largest bank in the
country; an influential voice
who could move the market and
set stock prices flying; a man
who easily signed off on a billion-
naira credit to a customer and
a man who was an influential
presence in the banking indus-
try and the Bankers’ Committee
meetings. For six months now,
he’s been in detention apart
from a one-week break granted
by the court in November. He
has been in Kuje prison since
last week, pending when the
court would consider his bail
application this week. His fall is
one of the greatest tragic events
in recent memory, and it holds
some lessons for some public
officials who believe that they
are too powerful.
But what led to his fall and
what lessons can we learn? Poor
judgement and lack of character
to stick to what is right. Eme-
fiele came to the CBN in June
2014 after President Goodluck
Jonathan had intimidated, har-
assed and forced out Mr. Sanusi
Lamido Sanusi for his courage,
boldness and outspokenness.
As CBN Governor, Sanusi had
written to President Jonathan
in 2013, informing the President
that the NNPC was not remit-
ting crude oil sales proceeds
into the consolidated federation
account as stipulated by the Con-
stitution. Nigerians had always
suspected that the NNPC was a
leaking basket when it comes
to our commonwealth, but the
government did not nothing.
That December, former Presi-
dent Obasanjo wrote Jonathan
a stinker of a letter, accusing
the President of cluelessness
and making reference to the
Sanusi letter, which was not
made public then. Obasanjo ac-
cused Jonathan of doing nothing
about the missing billions from
the NNPC. There was outrage
Etim, a social commentator
writes from Lagos
OPINION
across the land and the Jonathan
administration went on over-
drive to counter the damage the
Obasanjo letter caused. It was a
mortal blow to Jonathan, then
already perceived as the weakest
Nigerian leader ever.
Jonathan was livid with
rage with Sanusi and he wasted
no time in forcing him out
of office. But surprisingly,
he did nothing to NNPC or
his oil minister, Mrs Diezani
Allison-Madueke, who was
then swimming in her own
ocean of corruption scandals.
So, when Emefiele was ap-
pointed in 2014 to replace Sa-
nusi, I understand that he was
warned by Jonathan’s officials
that if he did not ‘cooperate’,
he would meet the same fate
that befell Sanusi. In other
words, Godwin Emefiele went
into office as our fifth CBN
Governor frightened, fearful
and intimidated given what
his predecessor went through.
Villa officials were constantly
hammering into his head that
‘’you must be loyal to Oga o’’,
and he took it to heart. And
that explains why he willingly
opened the CBN vault to Aso
Rock and PDP officials to take
as much dollars as they could to
prosecute the 2015 presidential
elections. Until this day, I can’t
seem to understand why it is
so easy for the CBN Governor
to withdraw so much foreign
exchange cash from the CBN
on the orders of the President.
Has the practice stopped?
I was surprised that Presi-
dent Buhari, who came to of-
fice in 2015 as anti-corruption
czar, did not prosecute Eme-
fiele for being complicit in this
massive looting of the CBN.
I wrote about it, but nothing
happened. Unknown to me,
a more massive ‘looting op-
eration’ was to unfold under
the new President. A powerful
three- man cabal emerged and
it quickly designed a round
tripping scheme and made bil-
lions under President Buhari.
Again, Emefiele was a willing
tool in their hands because they
too kept telling him that ‘’the
President is in the know and he
is part of it’’. It was a big bazaar!
By the time Emefiele com-
pleted his first five-year term in
June 2019, he too had become a
powerful and wealthy member
of the cabal and an insider in
the Villa. It was therefore not
difficult for them to sell the
idea of running for President
to him. He was told that ‘’Oga
wants him’’. The campaign was
well funded and the media ads
ran into billions. I wrote two
articles asking him to stop the
charade, but like a drunken
sailor, he paid no attention.
You may not take a heed to the
admonitions in my articles, but
sooner or later, I will always be
borne out. Truth is constant!
The eventual crash of Eme-
fiele’s presidential bid angered
him to no end, and he thought of
nothing else than to stop the am-
bition of the leading contender
in that race. There began his
downward spiral to where he
is today. He was essentially con-
sumed by greed, graft, anger,
envy and his inability to make
sound judgement in the face of
contending interests. His story
is the biggest tragicomedy of the
Fourth Republic.
By Dapo Akande
THE Nigerian Police Force
was established in 1930 and
currently consists of 371,800
men and women, with 36
Commands across the coun-
try. That is one in each
state. The 36 Commands
are grouped into 12 zones
but have only 7 different
administrative organs. The
Force has over 2000 stations
spread across the country
and its head is the Inspector
General of Police.
For a population of 220
million, the size of the Nige-
rian Police Force is hugely
inadequate. That they are ill
equipped and their welfare
under successive govern-
ments has been appalling
only adds to the country’s
precarious security situa-
tion. Nigeria’s current ratio
of 180 policemen to every
100,000 citizens makes
nonsense of the United Na-
tions recommended ratio
of 300:100,000 but that’s not
all. For years, there has
been a clamour for State
Police forces to replace the
unwieldy unitary system
that we currently run; where
instruction must first be
sought from the Inspector
General stationed in Abuja.
The rationale for each
state to have its own police
force is hinged on several
arguments but two of them
are; first, for easy and better
control as the State Gover-
nors can then be their state’s
chief security officers not
just in name but also in prac-
tice. Second, those recruited
would predominantly be
indigenes or residents of
the state, which would auto-
matically place them in the
best position to gather Intel-
ligence about crime.
Policing has far more to
do with gathering timely
and reliable intelligence
which helps law enforce-
ment agents to apprehend
criminals and to nip planned
criminal operations in the
bud before they take place
than about noisy bragga-
docio that doesn’t produce
results. Evidence that this
system of decentralization
is more profitable than what
Nigeria practices can be seen
in the US, where they have so
many layers of police - coun-
ty police, state police and the
Federal police, better known
as the Federal Bureau of In-
vestigation (FBI). In the UK
too, there is no centralized
police system as the country
is policed by different terri-
torial police services. As at
2013, there were 45 of them,
serving in independent re-
Securing our people
gions and with each headed
by a Police Commissioner.
However, there are certain
territorial police service
units that have a national
role, such as the Specialist
Operations directorate of the
Metropolitan Police. Nigeria
is urgently in need of a police
system that will engender
timely decisions.
Having indigenous po-
licemen serve their locality
is not an idea that’s entirely
alien in Nigeria as this was
the case until the Aba Wom-
en’s Riots of 1929. The change
came when policemen, given
orders by the colonial gov-
ernment to shoot defense-
less women, could not bring
themselves to obey. They
refused to kill their kinsmen
in cold blood, so to break
this impasse, the colonial
masters drafted policemen
from Lagos to come and do
the dirty job. That marked
the beginning of deliber-
ately posting an Okon from
Cross River State to serve
in Gombe and sending an
Ogunaike from Ogun State
to serve in Anambra. The
British had their own self-
ish reasons for employing
this strategy which clearly
doesn’t serve the nation’s
security interest but like in
the case of so many policies
which blatantly don’t serve
the public interest, the politi-
cal will has been lacking to
make the necessary change.
We hear regular tales
of our policemen having to
spend their own money to
buy their uniforms and it is
alleged that they also bear
the cost of fuelling the police
vehicles that they are offi-
cially assigned to use. This
cannot but sink further the
morale of someone whose
take home pay is already
disgracefully low. It would
be foolhardy of anyone to
expect such a person to be
willing to make the ultimate
sacrifice in service of his
country, if circumstances
call on him to do so. Stories
of policemen saying they
cannot leave their station
to help citizens in distress
because they don’t have fuel
in their vehicles abound.
Faced with the unfair pres-
sures of paying out of pocket
for services the police force
is meant to provide free
for them, coupled with an
abysmally low salary that
is seldom paid on time, it is
almost a fait accompli that
they would resort to corrupt
practices such as taking
bribes and extorting from
members of the public to
survive and meet up with ex-
Akande, Editor in Chief of
EduTimes Africa magazine is
a Surrey University graduate
with a Masters in Professional
Ethics. An Institute for National
Transformation alumni, he has
authored two books, The Last
Flight and Shifting Anchors.
Contact: dapsakande25@
gmail.com
www.businessday.ng 11
pectations. With these chal-
lenges and many more in
mind, just how well should
we realistically expect our
policemen and women to
secure the people?
A report published by Si-
mona Varella for Statista on
February 24, 2021, corrobo-
rates what most Nigerians
already know, which is that
political instability, citizen
alienation, terrorism and
violence define the Nigerian
crime scene. Nigeria was
also recently included in
the list of countries with the
least peace in the world, ac-
cording to the Global Peace
Index. It is now the 17th least
peaceful state in the world.
In addition, Nigeria now
ranks as the third country
most affected by terrorism,
based on the Global Terror-
ism Index. The same report
disturbingly rates Nigeria as
the country with the second
highest risk of genocide in
Africa and sixth highest risk
globally.
If our governments, both
national and subnational,
sincerely desire to secure
the people and induce an
atmosphere of genuine peace
in the country, it behoves
them to gain the trust of the
populace by entrenching a
culture of good governance.
Nigerians of all tribes and
creeds need to come together
to forge a national ideol-
ogy. A community of people
lacking a common ideology
that binds them together
and propels them towards
a common goal, will move
in opposing directions and
no matter how often they
sing the national anthem or
recite the national pledge,
a sense of togetherness and
true progress will forever
remain a pipe dream. The
British have their liberal
welfarism just as the Ameri-
cans have their American
Dream. What is the Nigerian
Dream? Once we’re able to
formulate this and live by its
creed, a newfound unity and
sense of hope for the future,
will evoke a far greater sense
of patriotism amongst the
people. A man committed to
the ideals of his nation will
never use his own hands to
bring it down. He will protect
it with everything he has. It
was the insightful Lee Kuan
Yew, father of modern day
Singapore, who decided that
the best way to arouse a deep
sense of duty and patriotism
in the hearts of the officers
and men of the newly formed
Armed Forces of Singapore,
was to make them feel that
they had a tangible stake in
the nation. And he could not
think of a better way to in-
duce this sense of ownership
in the national project than
to make them landlords. The
result of introducing highly
innovative policies soon
made it possible for these
military men to own and live
in their own house. He was
proved right.
Changing the nation...one
mind at a time
12 www.businessday.ng WEDNESDAY 22 NOVEMBER 2023

EDITORIAL
PUBLISHER/EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
Frank Aigbogun Need for Nigeria to domesticate renewables value chain
EDITOR Nigeria has an abundance tion in the oil and gas indus- related costs, coupled with a tems will be made reap the
Tayo Fagbule of sunlight, wind, water, and try by prescribing minimum Without local number of government sub- economic benefits by way of
with the rise of renewable thresholds for the use of local sidies granted to photovoltaic local job creations and con-
energy sources as the next big services and materials for the manufacturing of solar companies and organisations tribution to infrastructural
DEPUTY EDITORS deal, the country has a chance promotion of technology and panels, photovoltaic in countries such as the Peo- developments.
Lolade Akinmurele to leapfrog its economic devel- skill to Nigerian labour in the ple’s Republic of China and The Federal Government
John Osadolor, Abuja opment but there is a caveat. oil and gas industry.
(PV) batteries, and the United Kingdom. of Nigeria boasts of creating
Without developing local Nevertheless, Nigeria has other essentials, The average cost of en- 250,000 jobs through the five
NEWS EDITORS manufacturing capacity for an abundance of sun, water, the country will be ergy generated by large-scale million solar home systems
renewable energy components and wind but to harvest these solar plants is around $0.068 drive. But it exports more
Femi Asu (print) in Nigeria, the mistakes in the energy resources, the country exporting jobs to China kilowatts per hour (kWh), jobs abroad than it creates
Temiloluwa Bamgbose (online) country’s oil and gas sector will imports literally all the compo- where these renewable compared to $0.378 ten years locally due to the absence of
again rear up their ugly heads nents and equipment required. ago and the price fell 13.10 local manufacturing capac-
in the management of this Without local manufacturing energy components percent between 2018 and 2019 ity for renewable energy
CHIEF MARKETING & SALES growing energy source. of solar panels, photovoltaic and equipment are alone, according to figures by components.
For decades, Africa’s big- (PV) batteries, and other es- the International Renewable China, currently the
MANAGER gest oil producer has extracted sentials, the country will be made Energy Agency. world’s leading producer of
Ijeoma Ude and exported crude oil without exporting jobs to China where However, in Nigeria, the solar PV equipment as well
local value addition. these renewable energy com- cost of solar installations has as the largest installation
GM BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT (North) Consequently, it imports ponents and equipment are able energy components and refused to fall because there market accounted for 2.20
Bashir Ibrahim Hassan refined petroleum products to made. This repeats the story in equipment will be dependent are no large economies of million jobs or more than half
meet domestic demand because the oil and gas sector where the on ancillary industries such scale to drive local manufac- of global sector employment.
there is no local capacity to country has for decades failed as glass making, an alumini- turing and push prices down. By comparison, the United
ADVERTISEMENT MANAGER refine them. Nigeria imports to make locally the essential To fix Nigeria’s energy States is currently home to
um-manufacturing base, and
Queen Nkwocha practically all the technology pieces of equipment required access to rare earth elements supply challenge the Federal around 240,000 solar energy
and equipment required for and to build an ecosystem or minerals. Government under the Eco- jobs, according to the 2019
FINANCE MANAGER the exploration and produc- that ensures technology is At the moment, most of nomic Sustainability Plan jobs report by the Interna-
Adedayo Adetoye tion of oil. transferred. Nigeria’s domestic demand for (ESP) intends to install solar tional Renewable Energy
Even though the Nigerian Without value addition glass as a result of infrastruc- home systems in five million Association (IRENA).
Content Development and through local application of the ture development is imported. homes coordinated by the It is a game of numbers
COPY SALES MANAGER Monitoring Board (NCDMB) technology and manufacturing Rural Electrification Agency and volumes. Local manufac-
Meanwhile, local manufactur-
Florence Kadiri has committed to changing of the equipment vital for build- ing of solar panels consumes in partnership with private turing of these solar compo-
this narrative in the oil and gas ing a sustainable renewable large quantities of photovol- companies. This relies on nents and equipment is about
DIGITAL ADVERT SALES MANAGER sector, it is important to realise market, Nigeria will simply taic glass, which is used in low-cost, single-digit interest upstream of the sector. As-
that if Nigeria does not develop be exporting jobs to China and solar modules that produce loan facilities from the Central sembling solar components
Linda Ochugbua the capacity to make compo- other parts of the world. Bank of Nigeria. is the mid-stream and solar
solar energy. There is a negli-
nents and equipment required Government has to get gible local ecosystem for this. Since Nigeria does not installation is downstream.
for renewable energy, it will be serious with de-risking the The cost of solar power manufacture solar energy For local manufacturing,
EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD exporting jobs to countries that sector if they want to avoid the panels is dropping at a stag- systems equipment and com- that is, for the upstream to
Imo Itsueli have built the capacity. mistakes that were made in the gering rate worldwide, as ponents it will rely on imports take off there have to be many
The main purpose of the oil and gas sector. a result of the narrowing to fulfil this demand. The local players in the mid-stream
Mohammed Hayatudeen
local content act of 2010 was to A thriving local manufac- gap between solar energy economies of the countries demanding for these solar
Afolabi Oladele increase Nigerian participa- turing industry for renew- where these solar home sys- components and equipment.
generation costs and other
Vincent Maduka
Opeyemi Agbaje
Amina Oyagbola
Bolanle Onagoruwa
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WEDNESDAY 22 NOVEMBER 2023 www.businessday.ng 13

METHODOLOGY
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Ÿ Amplify Competence in Achieving Sustainable Competitive
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14 www.businessday.ng
AGRIBUSINESS
Price of rice to surge 32% – AFEX
By Damilola Odifa
AFEX, Africa’s leading
commodities player, has
projected that the price of
rice - Nigeria’s most con-
sumed staple will surge 32
percent to further amplify
a cost of living crisis in the
country.
The commodity ex-
change company in its new
Wet Season Crop Produc-
tion Report 2023 also antici-
pates an increase in prices
across all commodities,
with rice experiencing the
highest increase.
Coming right ahead of
the yuletide season, foods
such as jollof rice, which
is a common feature on
the Christmas menu, will
cost the average Nigerian
more this year than it did
last year, as rice price is
projected to jump.
The report said, “While
there is an expected in-
crease in production (of
paddy rice) by approxi-
mately 4 percent, we antici-
pate a potential surge in the
price of paddy rice by up to
around 32 percent.”
According to the report,
the driving force behind
OAU, COL train Osun vegetable
farmers on digital agric
By Damilola Odifa
THE Commonwealth of
Learning (COL) in part-
nership with Obafemi
Awolowo University (OAU)
and the Agricultural and
Rural Management Train-
ing Institute (ARMTI), has
trained over 70 vegetable
farmers in Osun on digital
agricultural solutions.
This was done at the
Training and Capacity
Development Workshop
recently at OAU, Ile-Ife,
themed, ‘Scaling-up Life-
long Learning for Farmers
on Digital Agricultural So-
lution for Vegetable Farm-
ers in Southwest Nigeria
Towards Achieving the
SDG Goals’.
Akanni Akinyemi,
deputy vice-chancellor of
research and innovation
development at OAU, rep-
resenting Simeon Bamire,
the vice-chancellor, said
that innovation, technology
and science should be made
to power agriculture for ef-
fective benefits.
“I think the whole es-
sence of the training was
how to use science, tech-
nology, and innovation
to power agriculture in
such a way that we can be
food sufficient,” Akinyemi
said.
Also, Peter Popoola, as-
the surge is the low opening
stock amid reduced supply
of the commodity in the
international market.
“This price surge is
anticipated to commence
from a higher initial base
price, starting at around
N400,000/metric ton at the
onset of the fourth quarter.
“By the third quarter of
sistant director of ARM-
TI, who was representing
Olufemi Oladunni, direc-
tor-general, ARMTI, en-
joined vegetable farmers to
corporately work together
as a society to go far and
achieve Sustainable Devel-
opment Goals(SDG).
He said that vegetable
producers were brought
together under the coop-
erative society over the
years, but now want to
promote digital coopera-
tive formation.
He added that they want
to invest in more farm-
ers that can have digital
window platforms; be able
to leverage information,
assess high-quality seeds,
and deal with pests and
diseases affecting their
food security.
“Vegetable farmers can
come together under the
digital platform and use
computer, technology to
network their produce
and discuss the challenges
facing them, which experts
will provide solutions to
thereafter.
He noted that the youths
will not farm with hoes and
cutlasses, stressing that
technology is the way to go.
Popoola urged the veg-
etable farmers to rise to
the task ahead of them by
purchasing smartphones
2023, our forecast suggests
that the price of paddy rice
is likely to stabilize within
the range of N480,000 to
N500,000/metric ton,” it
added.
Families dependent on
rice as their primary sus-
tenance face an uncertain
future as the prospect of
inflated prices threatens
that they can afford, for
them to move forward in
this digital era.
In the same vein, Toyin
Ojo, senior lecturer at the
department of agricultural
extension and rural devel-
opment, OAU, lectured the
farmers on “Digital Com-
munication for Profitable
Vegetable Marketing”.
Ojo advised vegetable
farmers to market their
vegetables through com-
puters, websites, E-mails,
blogs, infographics and
video chat that would give
them visibility and more
customers online.
He said that through
digital communication,
they would have market
access and price transpar-
ency, access to market
information, supply chain
efficiency, and climate
information.
Other benefits include
e-commerce for vegetable
sales, empowering women
and youth in vegetable
farming, building an on-
line presence for increased
visibility, leveraging social
media, mobile apps for im-
mediate supply.
He charged them to use
the gainful knowledge of
the workshop to key into
digital communication
for Profitable Vegetable
marketing.
In association with
their access to this dietary
staple.
Rice stands out as the
most critical food crop for
individuals in low- and
lower-middle-income coun-
tries. Over 3.5 billion people
rely on rice for more than
20 percent of their daily ca-
loric intake, the AFEX said.
Food prices, especially
Kogi, Kwara, Lagos lead
states in rising food prices
By Damilola Odifa
RESIDENTS of Kogi,
Kwara, and Lagos states
paid highest for food in
October, following the
surge of inflation to 27.33
percent, and food inflation
to 31.52 percent, latest Na-
tional Bureau of Statistics
(NBS) data on inflation
shows.
According to the NBS,
food prices rose the high-
est in Kogi State by 41.74
percent, followed by
Kwara at 38.48 percent.
Lagos came third as
food prices spiked 37.37
percent.
“In October 2023, food
inflation on a year-on-
year basis was highest
in Kogi (41.74 percent),
Kwara (38.48 percent) and
Lagos (37.37 percent),”
the report stated, “while
Borno (24.41 percent), Ke-
bbi (24.90 percent) and
Jigawa (25.10 percent)
recorded the slowest rise
in food inflation on a year-
on-year basis.”
The inflation rate,
largely driven by food
prices, quickened in Oc-
tober for the 10th consecu-
tive month in 2023.
It rose to 27.33 percent
from 26.72 percent in the
WEDNESDAY 22 NOVEMBER 2023
rice, have been increasing
rapidly in Nigeria in the
past few years. In the latest
inflation report by the NBS,
food inflation quickened
to 31.52 percent in October
2023 from 30.64 percent in
September.
The NBS also notes that
rice prices increased by an
average of 60.59 percent in
previous month, accord-
ing to the Consumer Price
Index (CPI), which meas-
ures changes in prices of
goods and services.
The CPI report shows
that food and non-alcohol-
ic beverages contributed
the most (14.16 percent) to
the increase in headline
inflation.
Food inflation rose
31.52 percent in October
from 30.64 percent in the
previous month.
“The rise in food infla-
tion on a year-on-year
basis was caused by in-
creases in prices of bread
and cereals, oil and fat,
potatoes, yam and other
tubers, fish, fruit, meat,
vegetables, milk, cheese,
and eggs,” the NBS said.
The rising prices of
food and other goods and
services are putting a
strain on consumers’
budgets, making it in-
creasingly difficult for
many to afford basic ne-
cessities.
A recent survey by
SBM Intelligence found
that Nigerians were
spending 97 percent of
their monthly income on
food, with Kogi, Kwara,
and Lagos residents be-
ing the worst hit for the
September.
Beyond rice, the report
by AFEX made projections
on price outlook for maize,
sorghum, cocoa, and soy-
bean.
For maize, the report
stated that the average
price of maize will increase
by 5 percent going forward,
soybean by will increase by
approximately 9.8 percent,
while sorghum prices will
increase by 20 percent.
The report noted that
cocoa prices will increase
by around 70 percent year-
on-year, “due to continuous
decline in production vol-
ume of cocoa amidst strong
international demand for
Nigeria cocoa.
The report also ex-
pressed concern that input
lending remained a major
challenge in the country
as banking sector credit to
agriculture stood at barely
6.16 percent in 2022.
The report further iden-
tified food insecurity and
food inflation as major
challenges confronting the
country with a 5.7 million
metric ton deficit across
human consumption and
agro-processing.
month of October.
According to the NBS,
the contributions of items
on the divisional level to
the increase in the head-
line index are food and
non-alcoholic beverages
(14.16 percent), housing,
water, electricity, gas and
other fuel (4.57 percent);
clothing and footwear
(2.09 percent); trans -
port (1.78 percent); and
furnishings, household
equipment and mainte-
nance (1.37 percent).
Others are education
(1.08 percent); health (0.82
percent); miscellaneous
goods and services (0.45
percent); restaurant and
hotels (0.33 percent); al-
coholic beverage, tobacco
and kola (0.30 percent);
recreation and culture
(0.19 percent) and com-
munication (0.19 per-
cent).
On a month-on-month
basis however, October
2023 food inflation was
highest in Yobe (5.35 per-
cent), Sokoto (3.68 per-
cent) and Jigawa (3.45
percent), while Edo (0.95
percent), Katsina (1.03
percent) and Rivers (1.10
percent) recorded the
slowest rise in inflation
on month-on-month basis.
WEDNESDAY 22 NOVEMBER 2023 www.businessday.ng 15

COMPANIES & MARKETS

Cadbury’s cocoa revenue grows by 180% in foreign markets
By Olamide Ologunagbe tion globally, trailing 2024. N1.04 million. decrease, is attributed nine months showed a
behind Ivory Coast, The overall revenue Despite these positive to increased operating negative value of N8.72
Cadbury Nigeria Plc, a Ghana, and Indonesia, for the company amount- aspects, the chocolate costs and the impact of billion, indicating that
Mondelēz International with production figures ed to N59.2 billion from maker recorded a loss the naira devaluation the company is not gen-
subsidiary has record- of approximately 2.2 the N30 billion recorded of N10.24 billion in profit Cadbury’s operating erating sufficient cash
ed a 180 percent surge million MTS, 800,000 in the same period in during the first nine expenses surged by 32.3 from its core business
in revenue from cocoa MTS, and 739,483 MTS, 2022. Refreshment bever- months of 2023, com- percent, reaching N6.34 activities to cover its
products in other mar- respectively. Nigeria’s ages account for 69.3 per- pared to the profit of billion in the period operating expenses.
kets apart from Nigeria. cocoa production stands cent of the total revenue. N12.8 billion recorded in under review, compared The net cash used
The chocolate confec- at 340,000 MTS, with a The biscuit arm the same period in 2022. to N4.80 billion in the in investing activities
tionery reported N2.83 targeted increase to launched just a year ago, This decline, amount- corresponding period also recorded a negative
billion in cocoa revenue 500,000 MTS by the year generated revenue of ing to a 463.7 percent of 2022. value of N889.6 million,
during the first nine The increase was no- compared to a nega-
months of 2023, up from tably influenced by the tive N978.3 million in
N1 billion in the same selling and distribution the same period of 2022,
period in 2022. expenses, contributing indicating that that
This revenue encom- N5.07 billion, up from the company has spent
passes the manufactur- N3.93 billion in 2022, more cash on its invest-
ing and sale of cocoa while administration ing activities than it has
powder, cocoa butter, expenses settled at N1.29 received from them
cocoa liquor, and cocoa billion, a rise from N869 Net cash generated
cake. million in 2022. from financing activi-
In the Nigerian mar- The company’s net ties grew to N24.73 bil-
ket, revenue from cocoa finance income experi- lion in the nine months
products for the nine enced a significant de- of 2023, a notable in-
months stood at N370.8 cline, turning into a cost crease from N5.19 billion
million, an increase of N19.89 billion from a recorded in the same
from the N179.28 mil- gain of N712 million in period of 2022.
lion recorded in the cor- 2022, primarily due to a As of September 30,
responding period 2022. foreign exchange differ- cash and cash equiva-
L-R: Ismail Rufai, head, financial advisory, One 17 Capital Limited; Omar Shaikh, MD, Islamic Financial ence loss of N21 billion. lents amounted to N41.54
BusinessDay had ear-
Council UK; Garba Mohammed, executive director, 6thBank; Muhammad Kabiru Ahmed, chairman and
lier reported that Nige- president, Society for Corporate Governance Nigeria; and Alhassan Abdulkarim, executive director, Jaiz
Net cash used in/ billion, up from N23.84
ria is currently ranked Bank plc North, during 6th African International conference on Islamic Finance, theme “Towards a Just generated from operat- billion recorded in the
fourth in cocoa produc- Transition” in Abuja. Pic by Tunde Adeniyi ing activities for the same period of 2022.

Zazuu, African-focused fintech, Philanthropists donate $434m to social

impact sector in five years
shuts down over funding By Hope Moses-Ashike sector. conversations about tax
Their collective goal incentives. He empha-
By Dipo Oladehinde ABOUT 31 Nigerian phi- was to explore innovative sized the potential impact
neurs, Kay Akinwunmi ing the groundwork for
(CEO), Korede Fanilola future growth.” lanthropists have given a strategies aimed at foster- of incentivizing corpo-
ZAZUU, a U.K.-based (COO), Tosin Ekolie However, the com- total of $434.17 million in ing a robust philanthropic rate social responsibil-
and Africa-focused fin- philanthropy in the last network in Nigeria, am- ity and infrastructure in-
(CTO), and Tola Alade pany said due to a
five years. plifying and deepening vestments, stating that it
tech startup has shut- (CDO), Zazuu is an end- tough funding climate, A new report released their initiatives’ impact. could alleviate challenges
tered due to its inabil- to-end money transfer it failed to secure a at the African Philan- In a thought-provoking faced by nonprofit or-
ity to raise additional marketplace that low- growth funding round thropy Forum (APF) in keynote address, Aigboje ganizations and enhance
funding. “We failed to ers the cost of remit- despite exploring every Lagos showed that the Aig-Imoukhuede, Co- the overall philanthropic
secure a growth fund- tance payments into option before making minimum dollar amount Founder of Tengen Fam- landscape.
ing round. We explored Sub-Saharan Africa. the decision. given by a philanthropist ily Office and Chairman Mac-Ikemenjima out-
every option before tak- The company said “Massive thanks to ranges from $922 to $1,317. of the Aig-Imoukhuede lined the Ford Founda-
ing this difficult deci- it is the world’s first our brilliant team, our The median donation Foundation, highlighted tion’s commitment to
sion,” the company said cross-border payment customers who stuck amount was $197, 394, the pivotal role of devel- understanding philan-
in a statement. while the average dona- opment in propelling na- thropic giving in Nigeria,
marketplace that allows with us, our inves-
tion was $14, 005, 485. tional progress. aiming to break down
Recall that last year, customers to find the tors, and partners who The research also Aig-Imoukhuede barriers and leverage tax
Zazuu raised $2 million best rates across multi- bought into our vision. found philanthropists stressed the necessity of incentives to encourage
to deepen its cross-bor- ple financial providers, Your belief in us kept to be highly engaged in addressing the root causes private giving.
der payment offering view the real costs of a us going. the private and corpo- of challenges in Africa, ad- He acknowledged the
and also build what it transfer before sending, “Sure, it stings. But rate type of philanthro- vocating for sustainable untapped potential for
described as the world’s and track a transfer we’re walking away py, where 30.1 percent solutions over temporary organized civil society
first non-biased pay- from source to recipi- with our heads high, of philanthropists were fixes. He underscored and non-governmental
ment platform. ent. proud of what we built reported to fundraise or the significance of state organizations to benefit
The fundraising “To our friends and and the lessons learned. carry out resources mobi- support for sustainable from a structured system
round saw participa- lisation through strategic interventions in social of incentives.
supporters, we have We’re still all about
partnerships, 25.5 percent housing and education. The Lagos convening
tion from Launch Af- some difficult news to making financial ser- seeking gant through mul- During the session, it provided a platform to un-
rica, Founders Factory share. Zazuu will be vices fair and accessible tilateral organisations became evident that while veil the findings of Nige-
Africa, Hoaq Club, and closing its doors,” the for all. We are so grate- and 19.2 percent asking there exists a culture of ria’s Philanthropy Ecosys-
other investors includ- company said. ful to have shared this individuals to give. Fam- giving on the continent, tem Mapping exercise. This
ing CEO of Kuda, Babs “When we started Za- experience with you,” ily contributions at 13.2 a major hurdle lies in comprehensive study sheds
Ogundeyi. zuu, we aimed to make the startup said. percent was another. the informal nature of light on the demographics
Announcing it in international money The startup, in July The event with the giving, which often goes of philanthropists, explor-
a LinkedIn post, the transfers fair for Afri- last year, announced theme,”Catalyzing Local unrecorded. ing factors such as age,
startup attributed the cans. With the support it secured $2 million to Philanthropy for Social Dabesaki Mac-Ikemen- gender, and religious affili-
shutdown to its inabil- Impact.” convened phi- jima, senior program of- ation. The report revealed a
of our investors and deepen its cross-border
lanthropists, private and ficer for West Africa at the multigenerational engage-
ity to secure a growth team, we made huge payment offering and corporate foundations, as Ford Foundation, urged ment in philanthropy, with
funding round. strides securing regula- also build the world’s well as Small and Medium Nigerian philanthropists significant contributions
Founded in 2018 by tory approvals, building first non-biased pay- Enterprises (SMEs) en- to broaden discussions on from Gen X, Baby Boomers,
four Nigerian entrepre- our products, and lay- ment platform. gaged in the social impact philanthropy to include and Gen Y.
16 www.businessday.ng
COMPANIES & MARKETS
C&I Leasing’s gross earnings hit N16bn in Q3
By Amaka Anagor-Ewuzie
C&I Leasing Plc, a trans-
portation logistics solutions
company, has announced
a nine percent growth in
gross earnings in the third
quarter of this year.
According to the compa-
ny’s third-quarter financial
report, the gross earnings
grew nine percent to N16.3
billion year-on-year and it
was driven by the growth of
its marine business which
accounted for 69 percent of
total gross earnings for the
9-month period.
Speaking during the facts
behind the figures briefing
in Lagos, Ugoji Lenin Ugo-
ji, chief executive officer/
managing director of C&I
Leasing Plc, said its net op-
erating income increased by
10 percent to N8.5 billion in
the first half of 2023, which
is an increase from the N7.6
billion reported in the third
quarter of 2022.
He said there was an
eight percent increase to
N7.5 billion in Earnings
Before Interest, Taxes, De-
preciation, and Amortiza-
Kebbi govt partners WACOT limited
to boost domestic rice production
By Cynthia Egboboh, Abuja
THE Kebbi state government
has partnered WACOT Rice
Nigeria Limited to boost do-
mestic rice production under
the Promoting Rice Fortifi-
cation in Nigeria (PRiFN)
project.
Speaking at the launch of
the project in Abuja, Neeraj
Kumar, the managing director
of WACOT Rice said that the
project aims to support the re-
alization of the federal govern-
ment’s goal of fortifying rice
as part of the national strategy
for combating micronutrient
deficiency in the country.
For him, WACOT Rice Ni-
geria Limited, a subsidiary of
Tropical General Investments
Energy Institute pushes for a sustainable,
greener future in Africa
By Amaka Anagor-Ewuzie
THE Energy Institute has
through its annual En-
ergy Sustainability Con-
ference initiated impor-
tant conversations and
collaborations to shape a
sustainable and greener
energy future for Africa.
Themed ‘Driving En-
ergy Transition in Africa:
Policy Reforms, Technol-
ogy, and Resilience for
Delivering Energy Secu-
rity,’ the conference, was
held in Lagos between
November 13th – 14th,
2023.
Speaking on the inau-
gural day, Olu Arowolo
Verheijen, special advis-
er to Nigeria’s President
on Energy, pointed out
the need for collabora-
tion between the public
and private sectors in
achieving sustainable
energy goals.
According to her, the
journey towards sustain-
able energy cannot be
tion (EBITDA) as against N7
billion recorded in the same
period in 2022.
Ugoji also announced
that the group recorded a 12
percent increase in profit
after tax of N414.1 million
year-on-year which was
achieved through a combi-
nation of top-line growth,
cost reduction initiatives
and optimal utilisation of
assets.
According to him, ba-
sic earnings per share of
42 kobo increased by 221
percent YoY due to higher
earnings, adding that year-
to-date growth in total assets
increased by 25 percent to
N72.1 billion, largely driven
by assets being held in cur-
rencies other than local.
He said the Capital Ad-
equacy Ratio increased 800
basis points to 35 percent
on the back conversion of a
$10 million convertible note;
total assets witnessed a 25
percent increase to N72.1
billion in Q3.
“The global economy has
witnessed turbulent few
years and a weak recovery
seems on the cards accord-
(TGI) Group, remains com-
mited to producing quality and
nutritious rice to meet Nige-
ria’s needs.
He said, “The successful
pilot of the rice fortification
project is a significant stride
towards a healthier, stronger
Nigeria. We are immensely
proud to have played a central
role in this initiative to bring
fortified rice to Nigerians.
“On the project, the Ke-
bbi State Government worked
with WACOT Rice, producers
of Big Bull Rice and Patriot,
among others, to demonstrate
the feasibility of rice fortifica-
tion in the country.”
He assured that WACOT
Rice, which has made tremen-
dous contributions to Kebbi
achieved by the public
sector alone.
Nick Wayth, Fellow
Energy Institute (FEI)
and chief executive offic-
er of the Energy Institute
said there is an urgent
need to address energy
demand in West Africa.
According to Wayth,
West Africa’s energy
demand is growing faster
than the rest of the con-
tinent, which calls for
urgent sustainable solu-
tions.
Osten Olorunsola, FEI
and chairman of the En-
ergy Institute Nigeria
said there is a need for
nations to adopt sustain-
able practices in response
to current energy trends.
The conference also
featured dynamic panel
sessions addressing cru-
cial topics such as ‘The
Price Tag of Inclusive
Energy Security’ and
‘Disrupting the Gender
Gap: Embracing Allyship
and Sponsorship in the
WEDNESDAY 22 NOVEMBER 2023
Business Event
ing to the OECD’s Economic
Outlook. Uncertainty over
the evolution of the war
in Ukraine, and the recent
happens between Israel
and Palestine can smear
the GDP with a growth rate
from 3 percent in 2023 to 2.9
percent in 2024.
“Africa’s GDP is expect-
ed to grow from $2.98 tril-
lion in 2022 to $3.144 trillion
by the end of 2023. Major
contributors to the GDP in
Africa are Nigeria, South
Africa and Egypt; this is L-R: Henry Akpede, vice chairman, Lagos Advertising and Ideas Festival (LAIF) Management Board;
due to their population size, Lekan Fadolapo, director-general, Advertising Regulatory Council of Nigeria; Colette Otusheso, head,
natural resources and level event and public relations committee, LAIF Management Board; Jay Chukwuemeka, chairman, LAIF
of economic development,” Management Board; and Lanre Adisa, executive board member, Association of Advertising Agencies of
he said. Nigeria, during the 2023 LAIF Awards, in Lagos.
He further pointed out
that inflationary pressures,
as well as exchange rate fluc-
tuations, have been issues
the company continues to
deal with, adding that meas-
ures are in place to ensure
the company hedges against
such uncertainties as an
increased focus is now be-
ing given to non-asset-based
revenue options to create a
counterbalance for low asset
utilisation caused by shrink-
ing demand for the assets.
state under its corporate social
responsibility projects, would
continue to boost Nigeria’s food
security. L-R: Olusegun Dada, CEO/founder, ZojaPay; Olu Akanmu, CEO, Phillips and Samuel Ltd; Babatunde
In his remarks, Umar Fajemirokun, MD/CEO, AIICO Insurance and chairman of the occasion; and Dotun Adekunle of Flutter-
Abubakar, the deputy Gover- wave, during the launch of ZojaPay, a Digital Financial App, in Lagos.
nor of Kebbi State, reaffirmed
the commitment to forging
strategic partnerships with key
stakeholders in the fortification
value chain.
He said, “This stakeholder
partnership aims to enhance
the value of rice production
through micronutrient forti-
fication, resulting in multiple
victories for our state. Not only
does this endeavour boost local
production and economic de-
velopment, but it also promotes
the consumption of nutrition-
ally enriched food.”
Modern Workplace’.
The sessions brought L-R: Dalhatu Jumare, head, department of local government and development studies, Ahmadu Bello Uni-
together industry ex- versity (ABU), Zaria; Umar Yaya, MD, Ahmadu Bello University Consultancy Services, ABUCONS; Habiba
perts, thought leaders Suleiman, group head, strategic partnerships, TGI Group; and Krishna Yadav, head, procurement, West
and stakeholders to ex- African Soy Industries Limited, during the signing of a memorandum of understanding between TGI Group
plore innovative solu- and ABU, Zaria, on research and data development in Zaria, recently.
tions and address chal-
lenges in the pursuit
of sustainable energy
practices.
It also delved into key
insights from the 72nd
annual Statistical Re-
view of World Energy,
providing a comprehen-
sive analysis of global
energy data for 2022. This
session focused on the
repercussions of global
trends for Africa, offer-
ing insights into their
implications for the Af-
rican energy sector.
The event served as
a platform for robust
knowledge-sharing and
networking, and it at-
tracted a diverse array L-R: Tunde Babawale, provost, Anti-Corruption Academic of Nigeria; Tunde Adeoye, member, board of direc-
of attendees, including tors, Akin Fadeyi Foundation; Bolaji Owasanoye, former chairman, Independent Corrupt Practices and other
policymakers, industry Related Offences Commission; Kole Shettima, director, The MacArthur Foundation Africa; and Joe Abah,
leaders, scholars, and country director, Development Alternative Incorporated, during the 2023 behavioural change conference and
advocates. exhibition “Fostering a corruption free Nigeria” in Abuja. Pic by Tunde Adeniyi
WEDNESDAY 22 NOVEMBER 2023 www.businessday.ng 17
18 www.businessday.ng
BANKING
How banking sector performed in 2022 - Afrinvest
Stories by Hope Moses-Ashike
IN 2022, the world grappled with
high inflation and Central Banks’
responses through interest rate
hikes to tame consumer price
increases.
Notwithstanding, the global
economy was resilient with a
growth of 3.5 percent. However,
Nigeria experienced a slight slow-
down in GDP growth, reaching
only 3.1 percent compared to 3.4
percent in 2021. Meanwhile, the
financial services sector posted
a more robust 17.2 percent GDP
growth (10.5% in 2021).
In its 2023 banking sector re-
port, Afrinvest West Africa noted
that profitability was impacted
by rising operating expenses
(OPEX), which squeezed profit
margins. Consequently, the com-
bined gross earnings of banks
within Afrinvest’s coverage uni-
verse saw a 24.6 percent growth
in 2022, reaching N7.1 trillion.
However, pre-tax profit (PBT) and
profit after tax (PAT) increased
by only 20.6 percent and 9.1 per-
cent, respectively, a slower pace
compared to the prior year’s 25.6
percent and 22.0 percent growth.
“In terms of asset creation,
the loan books of our coverage
banks expanded 6.3 percent to
N30.0 trillion in 2022, reflecting
CBN’s efforts to increase credit
accessibility. This expansion
was supported by an 18.8 percent
growth in deposit bases, reach-
ing N63.2 trillion, as banks com-
peted fiercely to attract deposits.
Furthermore, aggregate credit
extended to the private sector
increased by 9.7 percent in 2022,
a decrease from the 19.7 percent
growth in the previous year,”
Afreximbank’s Oramah wins Zik prize in leadership Polaris Bank promotes financial inclusion
THE President of the African
Export-Import Bank (Afrexim-
bank), Benedict Oramah, was
on Sunday in Lagos awarded the
2021/22 Zik Prize in professional
leadership by the Public Policy
Research and Analysis Centre
(PPRAC).
In a citation, Pat Utomi, head
of the PPRAC Zik Prize selection
committee, said that Oramah is
being recognised for his remark-
able piloting of Africa’s premier
multilateral financial institution
to deliver on its mandate of boost-
ing economic expansion in Africa,
by financing and promoting in-
tra- and extra-African trade and
accelerating industrialisation.”
“A key promoter of the Af-
CFTA as Africa’s pathway to
industrialisation, he championed
the introduction of a Pan-African
Payment and Settlement System
that was adopted by the African
Union as the payment and settle-
ment platform to underpin the
implementation of the AfCFTA.
He has also led the onboarding
of 500 of the continent’s 600 regu-
lated commercial banks into its
Afreximbank Trade Finance Fa-
cility, placing it in the vortex of
the most extensive bank messag-
ing network on the continent,”
continued Utomi.
analysts at Afrinvest said.
Notably, the industry’s aver-
age non-performing loan (NPL)
ratio improved to 4.2 percent in
2022 from 4.9 percent, thanks to
more robust credit risk manage-
ment practices by banks. How-
ever, impairment charges rose
by 61.5 percent in 2022, partly due
to Nigerian banks’ exposure to
Ghana’s sovereign debt default.
Meanwhile, industry Capital Ad-
equacy Ratio (CAR) experienced a
slight decrease of 64bps to 20.8 per-
cent (ex. Ecobank Transnational
Incorporated & Unity Bank) due
to a faster increase in the risk-
weighted assets by 9.7 percent.
“The scale of the Bank’s in-
tervention in support of African
countries at times of global crisis
is unprecedented,” he said, add-
ing, “It introduced, in year 2020,
the Pandemic Trade Impact Miti-
gation Facility, with disbursed
funds at more than US$7 billion,
and, in year 2022, the Ukraine
Crisis Adjustment Trade Financ-
ing Programme for Africa, a
US$4 billion programme of credit
facilities to manage the impacts
of the Ukraine crisis on African
economies and businesses”.
Speaking after receiving the
award, Oramah said that he
cherished the honour bestowed
on him because he valued the
principles, philosophy and val-
ues of Azikiwe who lived an
extraordinarily exemplary life.
“Azikiwe and his colleagues
fought tirelessly, with courage,
intellect, and determination for
the independence and political
emancipation of our continent,”
said Oramah. “What they did was
just the beginning of the journey.
The true emancipation will occur
when we attain economic inde-
pendence. As a leader of one of
the continent’s key institutions
created to help deliver develop-
ment, I’m mindful of the role that
we play.”
“Although CAR remains above
the regulatory threshold, we
recommend industry recapitalisa-
tion to mitigate the impact of in-
flation and currency devaluation
on capital to enhance global com-
petitiveness,” the report stated.
For the non-interest Banking
segment, its growth potential
remains enormous and under-
pinned by factors, such as a large
population with an interest in
non-interest products and favour-
able regulatory support for the
industry. However, the negative
pass-through of elevated operat-
ing costs amidst high inflation
has seen the industry’s net profit
Also honoured at the cer-
emony were Zambian President
Hakainde Hichilema as win-
ner of the Zik Prize in Political
Leadership. Governor Godwin
Obaseki of Edo State, Nigeria,
who received the Zik Prize in
Good Governance; Taiwo Afo-
labi, Chairman of SIFAX Group,
awarded the Zik Prize in En-
trepreneurial Leadership; and
Hajiya Aisha Atiku Baguda, who
was honoured with the Zik Prize
in Humanitarian Leadership.
Past recipients have included
notable leaders like President
Jerry Rawlings of Ghana, Presi-
dent Nwalimu Julius Nyerere of
Zambia, former OAU Secretary
General Salim Ahmed Salim,
President Sam Nujoma of Na-
mibia, President Nelson Mandela
of South Africa and President
Yoweri Muzeveni of Uganda.
The Leadership Awards were
instituted in 1995 in honour of
late Nnamdi Azikiwe, first Presi-
dent of Nigeria, to recognise and
encourage outstanding leader-
ship on the African continent
and in the African Diaspora. It
was not held in 2022 as a mark
of respect to the passing of two
members of the Advisory Board,
Prince Emeka Obasi and George
Obiozor.
WEDNESDAY 22 NOVEMBER 2023
margin moderate to 27.1 percent
in the fourth quarter (Q4) of 2022.
“All in all, the performance
of the banking sector failed to
inspire a solid outing on the do-
mestic bourse owing to regulatory
policies and the global trend of
rising benchmark interest rates.
Resultantly, the NGX Banking-10
index rose 2.8 percent in 2022 un-
derperforming the broader mar-
ket’s 20.0 percent appreciation for
the year,” the report noted.
Speaking at the official un-
veiling of the report in Lagos,
recently, Ike Chioke, Group man-
aging director of Afrinvest (West
Africa) Limited, said, “The out-
through customer rewards scheme
POLARIS Bank Limited has intensi-
fied its drive in promoting financial
inclusion by rewarding its loyal
customers who participated in the
bank’s savings scheme.
Consequently, five lucky Nigeri-
ans recently hit a fortune when they
emerged millionaires in the ongoing
Polaris Bank Save & Win Promo.
The live quarterly draw of the
promo which took place in Lagos,
further underscored the bank’s
dedication to fairness in all its pro-
motions and activities.
The development is in line with
the bank’s commitment to reward-
ing its loyal customers across the
nation.
The winners emerged through a
draw exercise which was witnessed
by its representatives and relevant
Agencies of government; Federal
Competition & Consumer Protec-
tion Commission (FCCPC), National
Lottery Commission (NLRC) and
Advertising Regulatory Council of
Nigeria (ARCON) who confirmed
that the 5 lucky winners were
selected across Nigeria’s various
regions spanning the geo-zones
Each winner received a cash
prize of N1,000,000. During the draw,
the lucky winners were called at
random using a hybrid media tech-
nology which enabled in-premises
look is quite positive. You can see
from the numbers, the banking
sector has continued to grow quite
aggressively, despite a more sort
of tepid growth from the general
economy.”
He said whereas Nigeria has
averaged about 2 to 3 percent
growth over the last few years,
the banking sector is averaging
about 19 percent growth in terms
of assets, and that profits have
been quite impressive.
“You can see the numbers as
they report. Look at UBA num-
bers recently. So the banks are
able to ride on the momentum
of potential and particularly in a
situation where the government
continues to borrow, the banks
can also use the liquidity to take
advantage of those opportuni-
ties,” he said.
In his presentation, Abiodun
Keripe, managing director, Afr-
invest Research and Consulting,
noted that the monetary policy
strategy under the Central Bank
of Nigeria (CBN) era failed to
preserve the institution’s primary
objectives, and the outcome of
this hampered banks from fully
optimising their potential.
He highlighted the five policy
metrics under which banking
sector operated in the last era to
include price stability, exchange
rate management, monetary poli-
cy anchor strategy, government’s
banker, and banking regulation.
According to him, the banking
sector’s total asset grew by 16.1
percet to N85.1 trillion in 2022
from N25.8 trillion in 2014.
The sector posted N1.2 trillion
profit after tax in 2022, represent-
ing an increase of 10.8 percent
over N0.5 trillion recorded in 2014.
event; as well as participation of
over 1221 customers through the
bank’s virtual network and social
media handles.
One of the lucky millionaires
commended the bank for putting in
place the promo at this time which
he said was relevant saying “Thank
you to Polaris Bank for making me
a millionaire. I never expected this
surprise. This money definitely
came in at the right time, I will tell
my friends to open accounts with
Polaris Bank and participate in the
promo so we can all become mil-
lionaires.”
Speaking at the live draw event,
the representative from FCCPC;
Susie Onwuka said, “We’ve been
monitoring Polaris Bank since
the promo started and it has been
fair, they comply with rules and
guidelines. Customers should feel
free and confident to participate in
the promo”.
During the unveiling of the lucky
millionaires, Polaris Bank’s Chief
Digital Officer (CDO), ‘Dele Adey-
inka also expressed the bank’s com-
mitment to encouraging a culture of
savings among its customers. “The
Polaris Bank Save & Win promo is
not just about rewarding custom-
ers; it’s also about encouraging our
customers to save for the rainy day”.
WEDNESDAY 22 NOVEMBER 2023
INSURANCE TODAY
Tope Smart, chairman, NEM Insurance Plc (Front) leading the staff in the company’s fitness exercise along Ikorodu-Road Lagos recently
Why you need health insurance
for critical illness
By Modestus Anaesoronye
TAKING out insurance for
critical health conditions
have been identified as
key in improving general
health and freeing oneself
from the shackles of de-
pendency and debt.
Experts who spoke in a
recent live webinar hosted
by Coronation Life Assur-
ance pointed out the criti-
cal role of prevention in
managing health costs and
outcomes.
According to them, lack
of knowledge was the big-
gest challenge many Nigeri-
ans face, since N10 million
critical illness cover could
actually be secured with as-
low-as N10, 000.00 premium.
Abdul-Rasheed Akolade,
assistant director of Un-
derwriting and Marketing
at Africa Re who was the
keynote speaker described
health insurance as a key
Ahmed Salawudeen, SICL lead the pack
at Business Day BAFI Awards
By Modestus Anaesoronye
THE eagerly anticipated
11th annual Banks and
Financial Institutions
(BAFI) Awards organised
by Business Day held at the
high-end Lagos Continen-
tal Hotel has recognised
Standard Insurance Con-
sultants Limited (SICL) as
Insurance Broker of the
Year and its founder, Pro-
fessor Ahmed Salawudeen
for Lifetime Achievement
Award in Insurance
The BAFI Awards are
the industry standard for
business excellence and cli-
ent service in financial ser-
vices in Nigeria.
As has been the tra-
dition, the glamourous
awards ceremony attracted
top executives from the
financial services sector,
who were joined by high-
enabler of wealth. Health
insurance covering named
illnesses, injuries, or condi-
tions provided funds for the
treatment or management
of conditions that might
otherwise destroy a person
financially.
Even where people
were able to make a plan
to deal with illnesses as
they arose, over a lifetime,
money spent on managing
ill health was money that
could be better be invested
elsewhere, such as in edu-
cation, housing, building
businesses, or saving for
retirement, Akolade said.
Akolade believed that
critical illness insurance
was a powerful tool for pre-
serving and building wealth.
“Covering named dread dis-
eases, such as heart attack,
stroke, cancer, coronary
bypass, major organ trans-
plants, or kidney failure,
critical illness cover was
profile guests such as sen-
ior executives from lead-
ing companies in the real
sector of the economy and
advisors in professional
services.
At the event held in La-
gos, Standard Insurance
Consultants Limited (SICL)
dusted its competition to
win the coveted Insurance
Broker of the Year Award.
It recognizes a broker that
has demonstrated sus-
tained business expansion,
successful implementation
of transformative business
strategies, and notable im-
provements in client ser-
vice as well as retention
over the coverage period.
The award represents a
hat trick for SICL, which
won it in 2021, and 2022.
This feat has never been
achieved by any other com-
pany in any of the insur-
effective in managing large,
ongoing, and expensive
treatments that most people
would struggle to afford.”
“Similarly, permanent
health insurance, or PHI,
was a fantastic tool. Ensur-
ing that disability didn’t
wipe out one’s income or
render people dependent on
their employers, relatives,
or friends, was possible
with PHI as it makes provi-
sion for the payment of an
agreed income in the event
of permanent disability
through accident, ill-health,
or sickness.”
Other discussants at the
event includs Yomi Sule,
founder and MD of Tillit
MSME Microservices; Ade-
kanla Desalu, aka ‘Deza
the Great’, nollywood actor
and producer, professional
banker and financial advi-
sor; and Kehinde Grillo,
head of Partnership at Coro-
nation Life Assurance Ltd.,
ance categories since the
first edition of the awards
held in 2013.
In naming SICL as the
Insurance Broker of the
Year, the Judges Commit-
tee noted that the company
“has sustained a client
retention rate of over 95
per cent, while clawing
greater market share in a
highly competitive market
and sagging economy. Its
investments in technology
and aggressive pursuit of
large corporates are ena-
bling it to capture both re-
tail and institutional client
layers.”
Icing was added on the
cake by a Lifetime Achieve-
ment Award in Insurance
conferred on its founder,
Professor Ahmed bin
Salawudeen.
Salawudeen is an indus-
try veteran widely acknowl-
discussed the critical role of
health insurance in trans-
forming Nigeria’s economy
by building more resilient
lives. Wole Famurewa,
CNBC Africa Anchor, mod-
erated the panel and Ade-
bowole Adesona, executive
director of Coronation Life
Assurance Ltd set the tone
of the discussion.
Opening the discussion
to all panelists, including
questions from the webinar
audience, highlighted the
dire need for education on
medical health insurance in
Nigeria. Participants also
pointed out that the absence
of any formal government-
managed health insurance
scheme in Nigeria placed
an even larger burden on
the country’s insurance
sector as it sought to de-
velop affordable products
to help ordinary people
shoulder their healthcare
responsibilities.
edged as the Dean of Insur-
ance Brokers in Nigeria.
He is carrying forward
the torch of excellence lit
decades ago by pioneers
such as Talabi Adebayo
“TA” Braithwaite, Femi
Johnson, J.A. Thomas,
John Akinwunmi George
and Sonny Iwedike Odog-
wu, who wrote their names
in gold.
According to Business-
Day, “a Lifetime Achieve-
ment Award is conferred
on an individual who has
made outstanding con-
tributions to a sector’s
progress, impact and up-
liftment of professional
standards.”
This year marked the
first time that Business-
Day conferred a Lifetime
Achievement award on a
personality in the Insur-
ance industry.
ARM Pension secures
residential mortgage funding
for 24 contributors
By Modestus Anaesoronye
ARM Pension Managers, a
leading Pension Fund Ad-
ministrator (PFA) in Nige-
ria has secured funding for
over 24 contributors to ac-
quire residential mortgage.
In this vein, the com-
pany has disbursed a total
of N258, 162,261.56 in pension
funds to the 24 esteemed
clients.
In what the PFA de-
scribed as ground breaking
development within the fi-
nancial sector, it noted that
this strategic move empow-
ers customers to utilize their
pension assets as valuable
resource towards securing
residential mortgages.
Aligned with the 2022 di-
rectives of the National Pen-
sion Commission (PenCom),
ARM Pension Managers
enables Retirement Savings
Account (RSA) holders to
allocate 25 percent of their
accumulated pension bal-
ances for residential mort-
gage equity.
The RSA-Backed Mort-
gage initiative exemplifies
ARM Pensions’ commit-
ment to innovative financial
solutions and homeown-
ership empowerment, ad-
dressing Nigeria’s housing
deficit.
By facilitating access to
25 percent of pension sav-
ings for residential mort-
gage equity, ARM Pension
NEM Insurance sees healthy
workforce driving productivity
By Modestus Anaesoronye
NEM Insurance Plc over the
last six year developed the
culture of holding fitness
walk two times in a year
as part of the company’s
efforts to promote healthy
workforce as critical for in-
creased productivity.
According to the com-
pany, that is also part of its
contribution to promoting
insurance education and
awareness, which helps to
increase penetration and up-
take of insurance in Nigeria.
The event, which held
Saturday and second for
the year started from its
corporate headquarters
on Ikorodu Road through
Maryland and back to the
Ikorodu road office.
Tope Smart, chairman
of the company said this is
part of the company’s tra-
dition aimed at building a
healthy workforce, which is
expected to impact positive-
ly on out productivity.
He said “Is our tradition
to promote healthy work-
force and we believe our
workers must not only be
intelligent and profession-
als alone, but they must be
www.businessday.ng 19
Managers significantly con-
tributes to socio-economic
development by increasing
homeownership opportuni-
ties and improving housing
affordability.
This milestone, the com-
pany said underscores ARM
Pensions’ dedication to se-
curing members’ financial
futures and enhancing their
overall well-being.
Wale Odutola, managing
director of ARM Pensions,
commended the team’s dedi-
cation and efficiency in
implementing this trans-
formative initiative.
He emphasized ARM Pen-
sions’ unwavering commit-
ment to supporting eligible
members in realising their
homeownership dreams by
granting access to a portion
of their pension savings.
With a history of excel-
lence, ARM Pension Man-
agers consistently ranks
among the top performers in
Nigeria’s pension industry.
The organization remains
dedicated to providing su-
perior service, value, and
upholding professionalism.
ARM Pension Managers,
operating as a licensed Pen-
sion Fund Administrator
(PFA) in Nigeria since 2005,
has gained a reputation for
its unwavering commitment
to innovative pension solu-
tions tailored to meet the
ever-evolving needs of its
customers.
very healthy.
He said, “We are quite
intentional about this fit-
ness work and that was why
when we were constructing
this building, we deliberate-
ly included a Gym-Center so
that our staff can take time
to walk-out and refresh dur-
ing the week. We believe
this will go a long way to im-
pact positively in the health
of our workforce.
“Our fitness work is
held twice, the first one is
in March while the last one
for the year is held between
October and November. We
use this avenue to keep fit
and promote insurance edu-
cation and more awareness
for the industry in general.”
NEM Insurance was in-
corporated in 1970 as a Ni-
gerian company in compli-
ance with the Companies
Decree of 1968; the company
became quoted on the Nige-
rian Stock Exchange in 1989
following the privatization
by the Federal Government
of Nigeria. The company,
which has contributed im-
mensely towards the growth
of Insurance Industry in
Nigeria, was into Life and
Non- Life business.
20 www.businessday.ng
FINANCIAL INCLUSION
& INNOVATION
Keystone Bank: Promoting financial
inclusion through empowerment of SMEs
By Bunmi Bailey
GLOBALLY, access to finance
is a critical success factor in
the growth and development
of micro, small and medium
enterprises (MSMEs).
Financial inclusion on the
other hand is the availability
and equality of opportunities
to access financial services.
It helps individuals and busi-
nesses to access useful and af-
fordable financial products and
services that meet their needs.
Available statistics show
that in developed countries,
MSMEs are the major drivers of
growth in their economies. The
existence of an environment
that is conducive to doing busi-
ness is very important in this
regard and partly responsible
for this development in devel-
oped countries.
In Nigeria, Africa’s most
populous nation, the MSME
sector contributes 50 percent of
the GDP and has provided over
48 percent of all employment
opportunities in the country,
according to the United Na-
tions Industrial Development
Organisation.
However, many of the 39.6
million businesses have been
struggling to survive in recent
years owing to the fallout of
the COVID-19 pandemic, the
Russia-Ukraine war, petrol
subsidy removal and the naira
devaluation.
Small business operators
have been grappling with a com-
bination of issues, including
poor power supply, rising bor-
rowing costs, soaring inflation,
restrictive economic policies,
foreign exchange volatility and
tax multiplicity.
According to the Small and
Medium Scale Enterprises De-
velopment Agency of Nigeria,
80 percent of SMEs in Nigeria
fail before their fifth anniver-
sary due to harsh economic
environments, lack of access
to capital, and poor business
practices, which have stunted
the growth and transition of
micro-businesses.
“There are obstacles in the
business environment that act
as constraints to the survival of
business in the nation, despite
the economic expansion and
the possibility for economic
prospects,” it said.
Another recent report
showed that over 75 percent of
small firms in the country were
affected by rising cost of inputs,
while half of them faced fluctua-
tions in demand.
In examining small busi-
nesses in low-income neighbor-
hoods of developing countries,
the report found that, among
firms tackling increased input
costs, the majority, 48 percent
Olaniran Olayinka, MD/CEO, Keystone Bank Limited
utilized savings, while only
three percent opted for loans.
That is why in order to chart
a course towards analysing the
barriers that MSME face in the
country, Keystone Bank Lim-
ited, one of Nigeria’s leading
lenders has continued to expand
its support for MSMEs across
the country.
The bank has embarked
on several initiatives to train
SMEs on financial literacy and
bookkeeping to enable them
take control of their financial
future and tap into the opportu-
nities in the financial industry.
Keystone Bank’s SME fi-
nancing strategy is delivered
through a multi-faceted ap-
proach that includes robust
business advisory, practical
handholding and guidance of
aspiring and existing entrepre-
neurs to building sustainable
businesses.
The bank’s SME package
leverages partnerships, value
add offerings, and cost saving
banking services to support its
customer’s business growth.
For instance, the employees
of the bank in June through
its initiative tagged, ‘The Key-
stone Women Empowerment
Programme’ donated grinding
machines to over 600 women
across Nigeria alongside a cash
token to tackle unemployment.
The first set of the women
who received the support were
drawn across four cities in the
country, namely Abuja, Cala-
bar, Asaba, and Port Harcourt.
According to the technology
driven bank, the grinding ma-
chines will enable the benefi-
ciaries to improve productivity,
build their customer bases, and
increase their income levels
while the cash will help them to
support their businesses.
“We are thrilled to witness
the transformative impact of
the Employee Volunteering
Scheme initiative. By provid-
ing women with the necessary
tools and support, we are not
only empowering them but also
contributing to the economic
growth of the communities we
serve,” Izore Bamawo, group
head, marketing & Corporate
Communications at Keystone
Bank, said.
She added that the scheme
is an integral part of the bank’s
corporate social responsibility
strategy which encourages the
employees of the bank to be
involved in voluntary socially
impactful activities.
Again, the bank’s Women
Economic Empowerment Com-
mittee recently partnered with
Whispering Hope Africa Ini-
tiative (WHAIafrica), a capacity
building organization to im-
The young
entrepreneurs are
thinking outside
the box to provide
innovative
solutions to
prevalent issues
in the country
WEDNESDAY 22 NOVEMBER 2023
prove the lives of female owned
Micro, Small, and Medium En-
terprises in Mbaise, Imo state.
“The programme is aimed
at providing practical support
to hard-working women in
the community by enhancing
their entrepreneurial skills
and economic prospects,” Helen
Maiyegun, directorate head,
Lagos and West at Keystone
Bank, said.
She said the collaboration
between the Bank and WHAIa-
frica exemplified the dedication
of the bank to promote sustain-
able economic growth and es-
tablish a favorable atmosphere
for women to flourish in their
individual businesses through
the integration of financial
literacy and entrepreneurial
expertise.
“As the women embark on
their entrepreneurial journey,
armed with newfound knowl-
edge, skills, and financial sup-
port, their success will serve as
a testament to the transforma-
tive power of partnerships and
community-driven initiatives.”
The women were equipped
with interactive and practical
comprehensive training on
financial literacy and insights
to effectively manage their
finances and foster sustainable
business growth. They were
also given money to upscale
their businesses.
Last year, Keystone Bank
awarded three business owners
with N9 million in its Startup
Advantage programme to tackle
unemployment and encourage
entrepreneurs in the country.
The programme which was
in partnership with Kleos Ad-
visory, a consulting firm in
Nigeria, created an opportunity
for innovative SMEs and tech
start-ups to connect with po-
tential investors, tech thought
leaders and hear their success
stories first-hand, vis-a-vis the
knowledge and skills needed to
fast-track their businesses to
the next growth phase.
The Bank kept 30 MSMEs and
startups through a three-month
investor readiness programme
designed to have groups as well
as one-on-one mentoring and
coaching sessions.
The three successful partici-
pants who won N3 million grant
each to support their business
operations were Oluwatobi Oy-
etimein (XDCManufacturing),
Uche Udekwe (Natal Cares)
and Chioma Ukpabi (Kahdsole
Designs).
“The young entrepreneurs
were thinking outside the box
to provide innovative solu-
tions to prevalent issues in the
country,” Anayo Nwosu, Group
Head, Retail, SME, and value
chain at Keystone Bank said.
He said all the participants
were winners as they all had in-
novative products and services
for the market. He added that
the vision of the bank was to
impact 200 startups annually
and up to 1,000 startups in the
next five years through the
programme.
“As you know, capacity
building remains key for the
growth and development of
SMEs, because SMEs in eve-
ry part of the world are the
livewire of the economy.
“That is why as a bank, we
shall continue to lend our sup-
port towards the growth of the
sector,” he said.
The bank has also empow-
ered 40 Nigerian youths by en-
rolling them on a digital skills
training programme.
The programme tagged ‘The
Keystone Bank Digital Skills
Training Programme’ was
hinged on the bank’s Corpo-
rate Social Responsibility pillar
which is youth empowerment to
address the current need for job
creation and the acquisition of
the skills of the future.
The beneficiaries who are
university undergraduates,
National Youth Service Corps
members and fresh graduates
were impacted with digital
skills consisting of web devel-
opment, designs and digital
marketing.
Apart from empowering
women and businesses, employ-
ees of the Bank trained over
1,600 students across 37 schools
in financial literacy.
The students were imparted
with knowledge and skills to
improve and manage their fi-
nances at an early stage. They
were also taught the importance
of earning money and also the
guidelines to adopt a saving
culture.
The bank believes that finan-
cial literacy is important at an
early stage and that the initia-
tive will help children imbibe
a saving culture while making
responsible financial choices
and decisions thereby affecting
their future positively.
In 2012, Nigeria developed its
first financial inclusion strat-
egy with the target of bringing
up to 80 percent of its population
into the financial system by
2020, according to Enhancing
Financial Innovation and Ac-
cess (EFInA), a financial sector
development organisation.
But the country failed to
meet the target as financial
inclusion grew to 64.1 percent
in 2020 from 63.2 percent in 2018.
The World Bank’s 2021 Glob-
al Findex report also showed
that Nigeria’s banked popula-
tion increased by 15.6 percent-
age points to 45.3 percent. This
implies that almost 56 percent of
Nigerians are unbanked.
WEDNESDAY 22 NOVEMBER 2023
MARITIME BUSINESS
NPA warns truckers over illegal container
stripping along Tin-Can road
By Amaka Anagor-Ewuzie
DETERMINED to sustain
traffic orderliness along
the port corridor, the Ni-
gerian Ports Authority
(NPA), has issued a stern
warning against illegal
stripping of containers
along the port access road.
The Ports Authority
threatened that truckers
caught in the act stand the
risk of being delisted from
the Electronic Call-up Sys-
tem (eto) platform man-
aged by the Truck Transit
Park (TTP) Limited.
Container stripping
is the unloading or un-
packing of cargo from the
container.
Mohammed Bello-Ko-
ko, managing director
of the NPA, issued the
above warning in Lagos
at the weekend when he
paid an unscheduled visit
to Tin-Can Island Port to
inspect designated con-
tainer stripping yards
and the port access roads
to ensure trucks are not
loitering.
Bello-Koko said ille-
gal container stripping
constitutes a menace and
adds to traffic conges-
tion along the port access
when undertaken outside
designated yards.
Ac c or d i n g t o h i m ,
it also creates room for
trucks to park indiscrimi-
nately along the port ac-
Examining Shippers Council’s performance under Jime as Executive Secretary
By Amaka Anagor-Ewuzie
WHEN ex-President Mu-
hammadu Buhari appoint-
ed Emmanuel Jime as the
Nigerian Shippers Council
(NSC) executive secretary
in June 2021, industry close
watchers were skeptical
of his ability to maintain
the standards already set
by Hassan Bello, his pre-
decessor.
Jime assumed office and
started studying his envi-
ronment before lunching
out his initiatives, which
was made easier by the
experience garnered from
being a former managing
director of the Nigerian
Export Processing Zones
Authority.
Two years on the saddle,
the primary assignments
of the NSC as the port eco-
nomic regulator and the
driver of the shipping busi-
ness have, to the surprise
of many, gained enviable
traction in all indices of
performance.
While most stakehold-
ers are of the view that
Jime was able to under-
cess roads which results
in traffic disruptions and
attendant chaos.
He said the NPA will
intensify its vigilance
and monitoring to nip the
negative trend in the bud.
He said that such un-
announced on-the-spot
visits would become more
frequent and would be
followed by regular stake-
holder engagements to
continuously improve the
seamless operations of the
eto platform.
He also warned that
stripping yards that vio-
late the operational rules
will face temporal shut-
downs for first-time of-
fenders and the possibil-
L-R: Yewande Abiose, head of Strategic Partnerships at Energy Institute UK; Osten Olorunsola,
chairman of Energy Institute Nigeria; Olu Arowolo Verheijen, special adviser to the President on
Energy, and Tony Attah, immediate past MD/CEO of Nigeria NLNG, at the Energy Institute’s an-
nual Energy Sustainability Conference (ESC 2023) held in Lagos recently
stand the mandate of the
Council and was seen run-
ning with it, a few were of
the opinion that the Coun-
cil would have fared better
if he had allowed more
time to finish some of his
good initiatives.
Assessing NSC in the
last two years, Mark
Walsh, managing director
of ENL Consortium, said
the Shippers’ Council has
done well.
“The Council has been
working directly with ter-
minal operators and ship-
ping companies to move
the industry forward. I
think they have been in-
volved with the terminal
operators, they monitor
the terminal operators,
and they need to be com-
mended,” he said.
Olayiwola Shittu, a for-
mer national president
of the Association of Ni-
geria Licensed Customs
Agents (ANLCA) said the
Council started reaching
out to stakeholders in the
industry for consultation
and cooperation under his
administration.
ity of non-renewal of land
leases for recalcitrant of-
fenders.
Bello-Koko said that
these stringent measures
are geared towards main-
taining orderliness and
safety within the port
environment.
Addressing the scar-
city in some of the strip-
ping yards, he attributed
the low volume to the im-
pact of global economic
upheavals on cargo flow
and reiterated that a busi-
ness downturn cannot be
justification for illegality.
He however disclosed
that proposals for well-
equipped stripping yards,
referred to as ‘devanning
He expressed worry
that the Council has no
power to enforce because
it was not given any teeth
to bite as it should be as the
port economic regulator.
On his part, Eugene
Nweke, former national
president of the National
Association of Govern-
ment Approved Freight
Forwarders, said the
Council is not a revenue-
driven agency, which is
why people would not of-
ten see what it is doing.
“The mandate of the
Council is to protect ship-
pers’ interest. They create
a friendly environment for
shippers and other port
users to do their business
by promoting quality ser-
vices,” he said.
As the port economic
regulator, the Council un-
der the leadership of Jime,
achieved a certain level of
interventions that gave it
a fair sense of control even
though not in absolute
terms.
For instance, the Ship-
pers’ Council was bullish
on promoting efficient
yards’ are receiving accel-
erated attention, signaling
a shift from illegal road-
side stripping.
On the sustainability of
the measures put in place
by the NPA to stop contain-
er stripping, he said, the
NPA has collaborated with
other government agen-
cies and the Lagos State
Government to ensure that
such unhealthy practices
no longer take place along
the port access road.
Similarly, the NPA boss
also announced that the
NPA has rolled out a Stan-
dard Operating Procedure
(SOP) for barge operators,
adding the SOP will serve as
a guideline to all operators.
port services by monitor-
ing and deepening engage-
ments in the area of dis-
pute resolution between
shippers and service pro-
viders including shipping
companies and terminal
operators.
The Council was able
to stand its ground on the
provision of cost-effective
services at the port by
controlling the charges
imposed on shippers by
service providers with an
aim to avert incidences
of arbitrary charges or
overpricing.
It challenged the in-
volvement of the Maritime
Command of the Nigerian
Police Force in cargo clear-
ance at the port, which
according to port users is
contributing to delays in
cargo delivery to import-
ers’ warehouses.
It also joined forces
with the Nigerian Ports
Authority to ensure the
development of the Port
Community System to
harmonise and bring all
stakeholders at the port
under a single platform
PTML to receive largest container-
RORO ship in West Africa
By Amaka Anagor-Ewuzie
THE Port Terminal
Multipurpose Limited
(PTML), Nigeria’s largest
multipurpose roll-on-roll-
off (RORO) terminal, said
it is perfecting plans to
receive the largest Con-
tainer-RORO (CONRO)
ship ever to visit the sub-
region on November 30,
2023.
The mega ship named
MV GREAT LAGOS,
owned by the Grimaldi
Group and launched in
April this year, is a mar-
vel of modern engineer-
ing and environmental
consciousness, stretching
250 meters in length with
a beam of 38 meters and
deadweight of over 45,000
tonnes.
The ship has the capac-
ity to transport 4.7 kilo-
metres of rolling freight,
2,500 Car Equivalent
Units (CEUs), and 2,000
Twenty-foot Equivalent
Units (TEUs).
MV GREAT LAGOS
is the second of the G5-
class of ships recently
launched by the Grimaldi
Group and named after
Nigeria’s commercial
capital, which it has
served for many decades.
“The vessel sets a new
benchmark in the ship-
ping industry,” Ascanio
Russo, managing director
of PTML, said.
He commended the
Nigerian Ports Authority
(NPA) for the support it
gave towards receiving
the vessel.
Russo said the visit
is a landmark event for
to ensure efficiency, and
the development is at its
conclusive stage.
The Council, has in
recent times, taken the
implementation of the
Nigerian Ports Process
Manual (NPPM), one of
the frameworks through
which the NSC has been
able to maintain its over-
sight as a port economic
regulator, to an enviable
height.
NPPM was established
as a Standard Operating
Procedure for the port and
it enabled the establish-
ment of the Port Standing
Task Team (PSTT) to drive
compliance with the provi-
sion of the NPPM.
Under Jime, PSTT,
a sub-organ of the NSC,
heightened port efficien-
cy. It has improved the
turnaround time of vessels
and reduced corruption
through joint boarding of
vessels and joint examina-
tion of cargo.
Soji Apampa, the CEO of
the Maritime Anti-corrup-
tion Network (MACN), said
in a recent forum that since
www.businessday.ng 21
Nigeria’s maritime sec-
tor and for PTML, as it
showcases the terminal’s
advanced capabilities
and its role as a leading
multipurpose logistics
hub in the region.
“The arrival of
‘GREAT LAGOS’ at
PTML is not just a rou-
tine port call; it is a tes-
tament to the terminal’s
cutting-edge facilities and
its readiness to handle
the new generation of
mega-vessels. It’s also a
testament to the port’s
capability to handle ves-
sels of such magnitude,
further positioning Nige-
ria as a key player in the
global shipping industry.
“The ‘GREAT LA-
GOS’ leads the way in
eco-friendly maritime
transport. Its advanced
design and technology
significantly reduce envi-
ronmental impact, align-
ing with global efforts to
combat climate change
and protect marine eco-
systems,” Russo said.
He said to receive the
GREAT LAGOS, PTML
has invested over $20 mil-
lion to extend its Berth 11,
equipping it with deeper
berths, expanded storage
areas, and acquired state-
of-the-art cargo handling
equipment.
“This transformation
positions PTML as one
of the most advanced
logistics terminals in
West Africa, capable of
handling a diverse range
of cargo types including
bulk, break-bulk, con-
tainerised, and Roll-on/
Roll-off (RoRo) cargoes.
the introduction of SOP,
there had been a signifi-
cant reduction in demand
for bribes at the land side
of port operations.
According to him, a lot
has also changed in terms
of cargo clearance at the
port.
Through the operation
to clear the port corridor,
the PSTT under Jime’s
leadership was able to re-
store sanity to the port
access road, which has
further reduced the rate
of extortion and made it
easier for truckers to do
their daily business.
Another area in which
the Council recorded
success is in the area of
improved export system
hitherto impaired by the
unwarranted bottleneck
that encourages extortion.
In 2022, Nigeria made
progress with the volume
of exports due to the PSTT
activities which helped
clear the port access roads,
especially the Apapa-Ijora
end of the Lagos port axis
to enable seamless export
movement into the port.
22 www.businessday.ng WEDNESDAY 22 NOVEMBER 2023

GOVERNANCE MARKERS
IN THE AFTERMATH OF
#BayelsaImoKogiDecide
Every electoral season is an opportunity to put the performance of the incumbent administration under critical lenses to identify
the gaps and concerns related to the delivery of good governance.
With the announcement of the controversial results of the November 11th guber elections, the winners have daunting tasks
ahead of them with their respective states grappling with the challenges of government failure.

CRITICAL ISSUES THAT NEED TO BE ADDRESSED BY THE INCOMING ADMINISTRATION

Flooding Insecurity IGR Poverty Rate Unemployment

( NBS, 2022) Rate
( AS OF 2020 )

BAYELSA
Over 71% of the
people in Yenagoa
experienced
Pipeline vandalism,
cultism, illicit oil
refining, and
Internally
Generated
Revenue (IGR)
89% 37%
flooding in 2022. kidnapping are contributed a an indictment for
among the criminal meager 8% to a state with the
activities that take the state potential to create
place in Bayelsa revenue between jobs for its
State. Some 2020 to Q3 2022. citizens.
suspected cultists
Duoye Diri use the Oloibiri oil
field as a shelter.
Re-elected

IMO
Flood and erosion
impacted 33
communities In
Rising crime rates,
with Okigwe,
Oguta, and Orlu
IGR contributed a
meager 15% of
the state's
41% 57%
Ohaji-Egbema local governments revenue between
LGA in 2022. as epicenters of 2019 to Q3 2022.
kidnappings.

Hope Uzodinma
Re-elected

KOGI
In 2022,
12 out of 21 local
governments
Rising security
concerns such
as armed banditry,
IGR contributed a
meager 23% of
the state’s
16% 39%
in the state were kidnapping, and revenue between
flooded. conflicts between 2015 to 2022.
farmers and
herders most
especially in
Dekina LGA.
Ahmed Usman
Ododo
Newly Elected

! It is important that beyond the ballot box, citizens protect their votes and hold elected
representatives accountable to good governance by every necessary and legal means.

#RSVP #OfficeOfTheCitizen
Source: EiE Research, National Bureau of Statistics (NBS)
WEDNESDAY 22 NOVEMBER 2023 www.businessday.ng 23

FEATURE

Closing Nigeria’s metering

gap - A decade of progress
By Chantelle Abdul enie focuses on smaller
communities, such as
IN the face of current
estates, introducing in-
global energy challeng-
novative vending sys-
es, with demands on
tems for efficient energy
the rise and the urgent
management.
need for sustainable so-
Empowering the Na-
lutions, the role of smart
tion for Growth
metering has emerged
Beyond the provision
as a critical piece in
of smart meters and sus-
the puzzle. As countries
tainable energy options,
work to improve their
Mojec’s vision extends
electricity services
to catalysing a profound
while reducing carbon
ripple effect across the
emissions, they require
business, social, and
innovative solutions to
holistic landscape of
tackle current issues
the nation. By ensuring
and create a sustainable
widespread access to
and efficient future.
smart meters, Mojec is
Smart metering, with
not just revolutionising
its potential to revolu-
energy consumption; it
tionise the way energy
is sowing the seeds for
is monitored, consumed,
economic growth.
and managed, has
Accurate and trans-
emerged as a linchpin in
parent energy transac-
this quest for a resilient
tions, made possible
energy infrastructure.
through smart metering,
With their ability to
foster a conducive envi-
provide real-time data,
ronment for businesses
enhance grid efficiency,
to thrive. This empow-
and empower consum-
erment is not confined
ers, Smart meters are
to the corporate realm;
positioned as key tools
has increased from ap- Mojec seeks to not only cent milestone achieve- Mojec’s commitment it permeates society, of-
in achieving a more sus-
proximately 3,000 MW address the immediate ment of installing over to driving sustainable fering individuals and
tainable and responsive
to just over 4,000 MW, challenges in the Nige- 2,000,000 meters across energy practices ex- communities the tools
energy ecosystem.
it remains far below the rian Electricity Supply Nigeria. This accom- tends beyond its flagship to make informed energy
At the fore of this
Federal government’s Industry (NESI) but also plishment holds more achievements in smart decisions. The societal
transformative wave in
pre-privatisation target contribute to the global significance than just metering. The company impact is evident in im-
Nigeria is Mojec Power
for NESI in 2020, which conversation on sustain- numbers; it represents has strategically diversi- proved living standards,
Group, which offers a
was 40,000 MW. able energy practices. a concrete step towards fied its presence in the as transparent billing re-
vision that extends be-
But it is not all gloom The Milestone of closing the metering power industry, show- duces financial burdens
yond borders and of-
and doom, as the country over 2,000,000 Instal- gap and ushering in an casing a forward-think- on households.
fers a transformative
has made some com- lations era of efficient energy ing approach towards Moreover, by embrac-
approach to the global
mendable strides in the Mojec’s unwavering consumption. As the eco-friendliness and ing innovation in the
energy landscape.
smart metering drive dedication to this vision world grapples with the sustainability. Among energy sector, Mojec
The year 2013 marked
— catalysing positive is evident through its re- necessity for accurate its notable initiatives is contributing to the
a new beginning in Ni-
changes in the nation’s and transparent ener- is Virtutis Solaris, a nation’s technological
geria’s energy sector,
energy sector. gy measurement, this renewable energy sub- advancement, position-
transitioning it from the
Smart metering, achievement serves as sidiary that stands at the ing Nigeria on the global
era of the Power Hold-
championed by Mojec, a beacon of hope, dem- forefront of combating map as a leader in smart
ing Company of Nigeria
plays a crucial role in onstrating the potential energy poverty and pro- and sustainable energy
(PHCN) to a system of
reshaping the relation- of smart metering on a moting environmentally solutions. Mojec’s holis-
private investor owner-
ship between consumers significant scale. conscious power solu- tic approach to empow-
ship and participation.
However, the progress in and utilities. These in- Powergenie While Nigeria pos- tions. Through Virtutis erment transcends the
confines of the energy
the Nigerian Electricity telligent devices enable focuses sesses the capacity to Solaris, Mojec is actively
sector but is a vital con-
Supply Industry (NESI) seamless communica- generate more electric- contributing to a greener
post-privatisation has tion, allowing Distribu- on smaller ity, persistent issues like future by harnessing the tribution to a brighter
and more empowered
not fully met the high tion Companies (Discos) communities, chronic underinvest- potential of renewable
future for the nation.
expectations outlined to monitor activities and ment in transmission resources.
in the National Elec- enabling consumers to such as estates, and distribution still Mojec Plastics, with a
tricity Power Policy, purchase energy tokens introducing exist. Mojec’s vision is daily production capac-
2001 (NEPP), the Electric conveniently. crystal clear—aiming to ity of 200,000 units, spe-
Power Sector Reform The outcome is the innovative ensure that between 80 cialises in manufactur-
Act, 2005 (EPSRA), now elimination of estimated vending to 95 percent of Nigeri- ing meter boxes and ac-
the Electricity Act 2023, billing, ensuring that ans gain access to meters cessories, serving both
and the Road Map for consumers are billed systems for in the coming years. local and pan-African
Power Sector Reform, only for the energy they efficient energy This ambitious goal markets. Meter Service
2010. actually use. Utilities, on aligns with the creation Hub (MSH) addresses
A decade after privati- the other hand, benefit management of comprehensive cus- technical challenges in
sation, Nigeria faces the from increased revenue, tomer profiles and the the Nigerian Electric-
formidable task of en- reduced energy theft, delivery of personalised, ity Supply Industry,
suring electricity access and a more efficient value-added services to contributing to market-
for more than 90 million approach to customer meet individual needs. ing, sales, and partner-
citizens. There’s still a interactions. Through Diversification for ships with Distribution Chantelle Abdul is Group
lot of work to be done. its leadership in smart a Sustainable Tomor- Companies and other Managing Director/CEO
Although grid capacity metering solutions, row stakeholders. Powerg- of MOJEC International
24 www.businessday.ng WEDNESDAY 22 NOVEMBER 2023

GOVERNANCE

Managing elections in Nigeria

By Mike Umogun

ELECTION period in many

countries are usually tense
not for the electorate but for
the politicians and associates
who may lose or retain their
position after the exercise. The
electorate play the jury as the
politicians submit themselves
for appraisal.
On election day. No ambu-
lances, no visit to intensive
care unit , no fighting but a
true atmosphere of carnival and
expectations.
Since the first republic (post
independence) until now elec-
tion weekends in Nigeria are
tense , violence prone , people
relocate to safely , some people
would actually grab their green
passport and go anywhere in
Europe and watch proceedings
from afar and the economy is
awash with money that politi-
cians have claimed is in short
supply prior to the election.
Elections are generally not well
mànaged in Nigeria. Experts
have concluded that there is
a disconnect in our election
system as a whole. Our big-
gest problem is that of election
rigging and voter apathy. Our
military are kitted for elections
as if they are the Israeli Defense
Forces on the hunt for Hamas.
Citizens are discouraged from
participating in a militarised
civil exercise.
Election Rigging:
Election rigging refers to
the manipulation of electoral
processes to favour a particular
candidate or party, geo political
zone , religion and undermining
the principles of democracy
and fair competition. In Nige-
ria, election rigging has been
a persistent issue that hinders
the credibility and legitimacy of
elections for over five decades
and getting worse.
Some common forms of elec-
tion rigging in Nigeria include
ballot box stuffing, ballot box
snatching , voter intimidation,
voter suppression, tampering
with election results, harass-
ment and intimidation of elec-
toral officials and bribery of
electoral officials. These prac-
tices undermine the will of the
people and can lead to political
instability and conflict.
These problems have un-
dermined the credibility of
governments in Nigeria and
have tarnished the legitimacy
of such government overseas. It
has also given room for the mili-
tary to forcefully encroach in
civil matters and governance.
Diverting their focus from their
defensive duties in the service
of the country.
It has been suggested that
INEC is usually overwhelmed
by the general elections but the
same can be said of the off cycle
elections that have just been
concluded in Bayelsa , Kogi and
Imo state(s)
To address the problem of
election mismanagement es-
pecially rigging, various solu-
tions have been proposed and
implemented in Nigeria but the
results have not been encourag-
ing. These include:
1. Electoral Reforms: One
of the key solutions is to imple-
ment comprehensive electoral
reforms that aim to enhance
the transparency, credibility,
and fairness of the electoral
process. These reforms may
include updating electoral
laws, strengthening institu-
tions responsible for organiz-
ing elections, and introducing
electronic voting systems. It
has been suggested that a mix
of both digital and analogue
system be used as some part
of the country are not digital
election ready and should not
be dragged into what they are
not ready for. This is an option
that must be considered mov-
ing forward.
2. Voter Education and
Awareness: Educating voters
about their rights, the impor-
tance of free and fair elections,
and the consequences of election
rigging can help empower them
to resist manipulation attempts.
Voter education programmes
can also promote civic participa-
tion and encourage citizens to
report any irregularities they
witness during the electoral pro-
cess. However the involvement
of armed gangs and groups have
discouraged robust discussion
and participation. For instance,
citizens would not like to con-
front IPOB should they nudge
the people to stay away from the
election because the government
have severally failed to provide
security cover needed during
such periods.
3. Voter Registration and
Identification: Implement-
ing robust voter registration
mechanisms and using proper
identification methods can
help prevent voter impersona-
tion and ensure that only eli-
gible voters participate in the
electoral process. Our system
obviously need a blend of digital
and analogue options to get our
elections right.
4. Security Presences: De-
ploying adequate security per-
sonnel to polling stations can
help deter acts of violence,
intimidation, and coercion
during elections. This can cre-
ate a conducive atmosphere for
citizens to exercise their voting
rights without fear.
5. Independent Election
Monitoring: Allowing inde-
pendent domestic and inter-
national election observers to
monitor the entire electoral pro-
cess can help detect and report
any irregularities or instances
of rigging. Their presence can
also serve as a deterrent to
those intending to manipulate
the elections.
6. Legal Accountability:
Ensuring that there are conse-
quences for those found guilty
of election rigging is crucial.
Establishing and enforcing
strict penalties for electoral of-
fenses can discourage potential
perpetrators and contribute to
the integrity of the electoral
process.Persons involved in
election malpractices walk free
once results are published this
must change to deter future
episodes.
Final Word: It is worth not-
ing that addressing the problem
of election rigging requires
a multi-faceted approach, in-
volving political will, strong
institutions at the national and
state level, and active citizen
engagement. Implementing
these solutions can help foster a
democratic culture and ensure
that the will of the people is
respected in Nigeria’s electoral
processes. May we not be tod-
dlers at this subject forever.
Michael Umogun is a Chartered
Marketer with interest in public
policy matters.
WEDNESDAY 22 NOVEMBER 2023 www.businessday.ng 25

Harvard
Business MANAGEMENT DIGEST
Review

Research: Firms with diverse boards

achieve higher esg ratings
By Ethan Moon

While the environmen-

tal, social and governance
(ESG) concept has gained
traction among businesses
and regulators, the focus
often leans heavily toward
the environmental and
social elements. The rela-
tive lack of attention given
to governance issues is
paradoxical since effective
governance is paramount
to ensuring responsible
business practices and ac-
countability.
I examined 15 years of
data from the S&P 1500 to
determine if the diversity
of a firm’s board of direc-
tors influences its envi-
ronmental rating from
MSCI, one of the leading
ESG data providers in the
United States. After con-
trolling for a host of fac-
tors including firm perfor-
mance and the size of the
board, I found that a 10 per-
centage point increase in
the proportion of females
on a board — roughly
equivalent to 1 additional
female director — is cor-
related to a 17.5% increase
in a firm’s environmental
rating. I also found that
a similar increase in the
proportion of Black direc-
tors is associated with an
18.4% boost in MSCI envi-
ronmental scores.
Acknowledging that
no single ESG metric
can fully encapsulate the
complexities of sustain-
able business practices,
these results suggest that
board diversity tangibly
and positively affects a
firm’s environmental sus-
tainability. Although this
relationship has been sug-
gested before, no one has
been able to nail down
empirical estimates with
such a large dataset. To
get a better understanding
of my findings, I showed
my results to several busi-
ness leaders from a social
minority background and
asked them to share their
thoughts on what was
causing them. Interesting-
ly, few were surprised by
what they saw. She went on to tell me
One of the themes that that “people are impacted
came up again and again by their environment and
in interviews was the the cumulative experi-
idea that diverse directors ence they’ve had. Being
bring their lived experi- female or being nonwhite,
ences to the board room. you’ve had a different
One female director talk- experience, so you will
ed about how her experi- process things different-
ence as a mother made ly.” Another respondent
her acutely aware of her echoed a similar point:
company’s messaging to “You do see women and so-
families with children. cial minorities with a very
strong voice because they
themselves understand
the issues, and they them-
selves are the product of
“you can’t bring in working through corpo-
one person onto rate structures that are
a board to change not as supportive as they
needed to be.” Overall,
everything. ...
my interviewees seemed
Being a change to believe that the results
agent amongst were driven by the fact
embedded that minority directors
are more likely to bring up
leadership doesn’t
ESG issues, a consequence
work. You’ll lose. of gender and racial struc-
You need at least tures in the United States.
three. Otherwise, My findings hold impli-
cations for various stake-
your voice
holders navigating ESG
gets drowned and diversity, equity and
out. … You get inclusion (DEI) today:
marginalized
SHAREHOLDERS.
Shareholders should un-
derstand that DEI is not
just about improving di-
versity, but embracing the
host of benefits that come
along with it. Leadership
diversity may bring broad-
based benefits to society
by promoting sustainable
business practices. Thus,
shareholders interested
in improving their compa-
ny’s ESG positions should
also focus on promoting
diversity of its leadership
teams.
BUSINESS LEADERS.
Business leaders ought
to bolster minority direc-
tors and give them the
space to champion issues
they care about. One per-
son told me that in her ca-
reer, white men had been
her strongest advocates
and were a major reason
for her success. Minor-
ity business leaders can
be overshadowed in small
numbers, so ensuring that
they have collegial sup-
port to express their opin-
ions may strengthen the
results I find even more.
REGULATORS.
Regulators might consider
ways to promote board
diversity similar to man-
dates used outside the
United States. Such man-
dates may allow legisla-
tors to influence overall
sustainability in the pri-
vate sector. One respon-
dent told me that “you
can’t bring in one person
onto a board to change ev-
erything. ... Being a change
agent amongst embedded
leadership doesn’t work.
You’ll lose. You need at
least three. Otherwise,
your voice gets drowned
out. … You get marginal-
ized.” Taken as a whole,
the implementation of
diversity rules would ac-
celerate levels of diver-
sity, bring positive envi-
ronmental benefits and
ensure minority directors
have a strong voice in the
boardroom.
Overall, there is a big
opportunity for stakehold-
ers to improve both lead-
ership diversity and envi-
ronmental performance.
The spillover benefits that
come with improved di-
versity make a strong case
for placing DEI at the front
of any business agenda.
Ethan Moon is an associate
consultant at Bain & Company.
26 www.businessday.ng
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
Israel battles Hamas near another Gaza
hospital sheltering thousands
ISRAELI forces pressed their
offensive against Hamas in
northern Gaza on Monday,
battling militants around a
hospital where thousands of
patients and displaced peo-
ple have been sheltering for
weeks, raising Palestinian
fears of another painful stand-
off and evacuation of a medical
facility.
A medical worker inside
the facility and the Health
Ministry in Hamas-run Gaza
said a shell struck the second
floor of the Indonesian Hos-
pital, killing 12 people. Both
blamed Israel, which denied
firing a shell at the hospital,
saying its troops returned fire
on militants who had fired on
them from inside the 3.5-acre
compound.
The advance came a day
after the World Health Organi-
zation evacuated 31 premature
babies from Shifa Hospital in
Gaza City. At least 28 were
transported to Egypt on Mon-
day. More than 250 critically ill
or wounded patients remain
stranded at the compound
that Israeli forces stormed
days ago.
Gaza’s hospitals play a
prominent role in the battle
of narratives over the war’s
brutal toll on Palestinian civil-
ians, thousands of whom have
been killed or buried in rubble
since the conflict was sparked
by Hamas’ Oct. 7 rampage into
southern Israel. In the wake
of the assault, Israeli leaders
vowed to eradicate Hamas,
destroy its ability to rule Gaza
and uproot its militant infra-
structure.
Israel says Hamas uses
civilians as human shields and
that it operated a major com-
mand hub inside and beneath
Shifa. Critics say Israel’s siege
and relentless bombardment
UN report says world is racing to well past warming
limit as carbon emissions rise instead of plunge
THE globe is speeding to 2.5
to 2.9 degrees Celsius (4.5
to 5.2 degrees Fahrenheit)
of global warming since
pre-industrial times, set to
blow well past the agreed-
upon international climate
threshold, a United Nations
report calculated.
To have an even money
shot at keeping warming
to the 1.5-degree Celsius
(2.7 degrees Fahrenheit)
limit adopted by the 2015
Paris climate agreement,
countries have to slash
their emissions by 42%
by the end of the decade,
said the U.N. Environment
Programme’s Emissions
Gap report issued Monday.
Carbon emissions from
the burning of coal, oil and
gas rose 1.2% last year, the
report said.
Through the end of Sep-
amount to collective punish-
ment of the territory’s 2.3 mil-
lion Palestinians.
Marwan Abdallah, the
medical worker at the Indo-
nesian Hospital, said Israeli
tanks were operating less than
200 meters (yards) from the
hospital, and that Israeli snip-
ers could be seen on the roofs of
nearby buildings. As he spoke
over the phone, the sound of
gunfire could be heard in the
background.
Abdallah said the hospital
had received dozens of dead
and wounded in airstrikes and
shelling overnight.
In a separate development
that could relieve some of the
pressure on Gaza’s collaps-
ing health system, dozens of
trucks entered from Egypt
tember, the daily global
average temperature ex-
ceeded 1.5 degrees Celsius
above mid-19th century
levels on 86 days this year,
the report said. But that
increased to 127 days be-
cause nearly all of the first
two weeks of November
and all of October reached
or exceeded 1.5 degrees,
according to the European
climate service Copernicus.
That’s 40% of the days so far
this year.
On Friday, the globe hit
2 degrees Celsius (3.6 de-
grees) above pre-industrial
levels for the first time in
recorded history, according
to Copernicus Deputy Di-
rector Samantha Burgess.
“It’s really an indication
that we are already seeing
a change, an acceleration,”
said report lead author
on Monday with equipment
from Jordan to set up a field
hospital. Jordan’s state-run
media said the hospital in the
southern town of Khan You-
nis would be up and running
within 48 hours.
Claims about Shifa
Babies evacuated from Shi-
fa hospital arrived in Egypt,
according to the country’s
state-run media, after the Pal-
estinian Red Crescent rescue
service said it was transport-
ing 28 premature babies across
the border. It was not imme-
diately clear where the other
three babies who were evacu-
ated from Shifa were.
Following that evacuation,
over 250 patients with severely
infected wounds and other
urgent conditions remained
Anne Olhoff of Denmark’s
climate think tank Concito.
“Based on what science
tells us, this is just like a
whisper. What will be in
the future will be more like
in Shifa, which can no longer
provide most treatment after it
ran out of water, medical sup-
plies and fuel for emergency
generators.
Israeli forces battled Pal-
estinian militants outside its
gates for days before entering
the facility on Wednesday.
Four babies died in the two
days before the evacuation,
according to Mohamed Za-
qout, the director of Gaza
hospitals.
Israel’s army said it has
evidence that Hamas main-
tained a sprawling command
post inside and under the
hospital’s 20-acre (8-hectare)
complex, which includes sev-
eral buildings.
On Sunday, the military
released a video showing what
a roar.”
The 1.5-degree goal is
based on a time period
measured over many years,
not days, scientists said.
Earlier reports put Earth
WEDNESDAY 22 NOVEMBER 2023
it said was a tunnel discov-
ered at the hospital, 55 meters
(60 yards) long and about 10
meters (33 feet) below ground.
It said the tunnel ended at a
blast-proof door with a hole
in it for gunmen to fire out of.
Troops have not opened the
door yet, it said.
Israeli forces also released
security camera video show-
ing what they said were two
foreign hostages, one Thai
and one Nepalese, who were
captured by Hamas in the
Oct. 7 attack and taken to
the hospital. Hamas said its
fighters brought them in for
medical care.
The army also said an
investigation had determined
that Israeli army Cpl. Noa
Marciano, another captive
reaching that longer term
limit in early 2029 without
dramatic emission changes.
To keep that from hap-
pening, the countries of the
world have to come up with
more stringent goals to cut
emissions of carbon dioxide
and implement policies to
act on those goals, Olhoff
said.
In the past two years
only nine countries have
come up with new goals,
so that hasn’t moved the
needle, but some countries,
including the United States
and those in Europe, have
put policies in place that
slightly improved the out-
look, she said.
The United States’ Infla-
tion Reduction Act, which
has $375 billion in spending
on clean energy, by 2030
would reduce yearly emis-
sions of carbon dioxide by
whose body was recovered
in Gaza, had been wounded
in an Israeli strike on Nov.
9 that killed her captor, but
was then killed by a Hamas
militant in Shifa.
The military has previous-
ly released images of several
guns it said were found inside
an MRI lab and said that the
bodies of two hostages were
found near the complex.
The Associated Press was
not able to independently con-
firm the military’s findings.
Hamas and hospital staff
have denied the allegations
of a command post under
Shifa. Senior Hamas official
Osama Hamdan dismissed the
latest announcement, saying
“the Israelis said there was a
command and control center,
which means that the matter
is greater than just a tunnel.”
Three in four people
displaced
Israel has repeatedly or-
dered Palestinians to leave
northern Gaza and seek ref-
uge in the south, which has
also been under aerial bom-
bardment since the start of
the war. Some 1.7 million
people, nearly three quarters
of Gaza’s population, have
been displaced, with 900,000
packing into crowded U.N.-
run shelters, according to
the U.N.
Strikes in the Nuseirat
and Bureij refugee camps
Monday killed at least 40
people, according to hospital
officials, and residents said
dozens more were buried in
the rubble. Bundled against
a chilly wind from Gaza’s
approaching winter, a line of
men prayed over more than a
dozen bodies on the grounds
of the nearby morgue in Deir
al-Balah before loading them
onto a truck. (AP)
about 1 billion metric tons,
Olhoff said.
That sounds like a
lot, but the world in 2022
spewed 57.4 billion metric
tons of greenhouse gases
and to limit warming to the
1.5 degree mark emissions
in 2030 have to be down to 33
billion metric tons. That’s
an “emissions gap” of 24
billion metric tons.
United Nations Sec -
retary-General Antonio
Guterres said “the emis-
sions gap is more like an
emissions canyon — a can-
yon littered with broken
promises, broken lives and
broken records.”
That’s why the report
said the chance of keeping
warming at or under 1.5
degrees is about one-in-
seven or about 14%, “very,
very slim indeed,” Olhoff
said. (AP)
WEDNESDAY 22 NOVEMBER 2023
A Montana farmer with a flattop and ample lobbyist
cash stands between the GOP and Senate control
AFTER 17 years in the U.S.
Senate, Democrat Jon Tester
is a well-known commodity
in Montana — a plain-spoken
grain farmer with a flattop
and a carefully cultivated
reputation as a moderate.
The 67-year-old lawmaker
smiled and laughed his way
through the crowd at a Vet-
erans Day event in Bigfork,
a small town on Flathead
Lake where the population
has surged in recent years.
He chatted with veterans
who supported him and some
who didn’t, then stood be-
hind a lectern in the Bigfork
High School gymnasium to
promote his biggest recent ac-
complishment: expanded fed-
eral health care for millions
of veterans exposed to toxic
smoke at military “burn pits.”
Tester has survived three
close elections and a changed
national political landscape to
emerge as the lone Democrat
still holding high office in
Montana. The 2024 election
brings possibly his stiffest
challenge yet: Republicans,
just two seats short of Senate
control, are expected to spend
tens of millions on attack ads
painting him as a Washington
insider tainted by lobbyist
cash.
Ousting Tester also would
cement a Republican lock on
a state that voted overwhelm-
ingly for Republican Donald
Trump in the 2020 presiden-
Microsoft hires Sam Altman, and OpenAI’s new
CEO vows to investigate his firing
MICROSOFT on Monday
hired two leading executives
from the company that cre-
ated ChatGPT after one of
them was abruptly fired by
OpenAI, the startup whose
chatbot kicked off the era of
generative artificial intel-
ligence.
The developments fol-
lowed a weekend of drama
that shocked the AI field
and fueled speculation about
how the changes would
shake out at OpenAI, which
named a new chief executive
on Friday and then replaced
her on Sunday. The newest
CEO vowed to investigate
the firing of co-founder and
CEO Sam Altman, one of the
world’s most sought-after
experts on AI.
Former OpenAI Presi-
dent Greg Brockman, also
a co-founder, quit in protest
after Altman was fired.
Microsoft, which has
been a close partner of the
company and invested bil-
lions of dollars in it, an-
nounced that Altman and
Brockman would lead its
new advanced AI research
team.
Microsoft CEO Satya
Nadella wrote on X, former-
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
tial election.
Tester entered the Sen-
ate after selling Montana
voters on his authenticity,
and the former high school
band teacher’s message hasn’t
changed much. He still min-
gles comfortably with union
members, ranchers and vet-
erans, has a record of work-
ing on their behalf, and says
his heart remains firmly in
his sparsely populated state,
a vast expanse that spans
from the arid Great Plains to
the lush forests of the Pacific
ly known as Twitter, that he
was “extremely excited” to
bring on the pair and looked
“forward to getting to know”
the new management team
at OpenAI.
In a reply on X, Altman
said “the mission contin-
ues.” Brockman posted: “We
are going to build something
new & it will be incredible.”
OpenAI said Friday that
Altman was pushed out after
a review found he was “not
consistently candid in his
communications” with the
board of directors, which
had lost confidence in his
ability to lead the company.
In an X post Monday,
OpenAI’s new interim chief
executive, Emmett Shear,
said he would hire an in-
dependent investigator to
look into Altman’s ouster
and write a report within
30 days.
“It’s clear that the pro-
cess and communications
around Sam’s removal”
were handled “very bad-
ly,” wrote Shear, who co-
founded Twitch, an Ama-
zon-owned livestreaming
service popular with video
gamers.
He said he also plans in
Northwest.
Still, authenticity is hard-
er to sell when you’ve become
a top Washington fundraiser.
He’s taken in almost $20 mil-
lion for next year’s election,
ranking Tester sixth among
Senate candidates nation-
wide, according to Federal
Election Commission data
through September. Tester
insisted that the money hasn’t
changed him, that he doesn’t
even know where it all comes
from.
“I can’t tell you who’s
the next month to “reform
the management and leader-
ship team in light of recent
departures into an effec-
tive force” and speak with
employees, investors and
customers.
After that, Shear said
he would “drive changes in
donating to me. Even from
within the state of Montana,
I can’t tell you who donates to
me because I don’t look at that
list,” he said in an interview.
“It’s not important. I trust that
those people believe in me and
I’m going to continue to do the
same job.”
His campaign reports re-
veal abundant lobbyist cash,
the kind that rarely comes
from people who don’t want
something, and yet the law-
maker’s journey from out-
sider to fundraising behemoth
the organization,” includ-
ing “significant governance
changes if necessary.”
He noted that the reason
behind the board removing
Altman was not a “specific
disagreement on safety.” It
was likely a reference to the
debates that have swirled
has largely been one of ne-
cessity. With West Virginia
Democratic Sen. Joe Man-
chin’s decision against seek-
ing another term, Tester has
become a top target for Senate
Minority Leader Mitch McCo-
nnell, R-Ky., and his massive
fundraising operation.
McConnell’s aspirations
to again be majority leader
could get bogged down if a
primary fight develops be-
tween his anointed candidate
in Montana, U.S. Navy SEAL
Tim Sheehy, and U.S. Rep.
Matt Rosendale, one of the
far-right House members
who ousted fellow Republican
Kevin McCarthy of California
as House speaker. Dozens of
state lawmakers have encour-
aged Rosendale to enter. He
ran against Tester in 2018 and
lost despite a huge push from
then-President Trump.
Republican unity next
November would narrow
Tester’s path to victory, es-
pecially if he’s branded as a
Washington insider. As he’s
gained seniority and influ-
ence — and as election spend-
ing nationwide has exploded
— the flood of campaign cash
that’s flowed toward Tester
has left him vulnerable to
attack.
The potency of the au-
thenticity issue even within
his own party was on display
during a recent town hall
hosted by Tester in the Demo-
around OpenAI’s mission
to safely build AI that is
“generally smarter than
humans.”
OpenAI last week de-
clined to answer questions
about Altman’s alleged lack
of candor. Its statement said
his behavior was hindering
the board’s ability to exer-
cise its responsibilities.
A key driver of the shake-
up, OpenAI’s co-founder,
chief scientist and board
member Ilya Sutskever,
expressed regrets for his
participation in the ouster.
“I never intended to
harm OpenAI. I love every-
thing we’ve built together
and I will do everything
I can to reunite the com-
pany,” he said Monday on X.
Hundreds of OpenAI
employees signed a letter
that began circulating ear-
ly Monday calling for the
board’s resignation and Alt-
man’s return, according to
a copy of the letter obtained
by The Associated Press.
The copy showed that
the number of signatures
amounted to a majority of
the company’s 770 employ-
ees. The AP was not able to
independently confirm that
www.businessday.ng 27
cratic stronghold of Butte,
where a group of activists
pressed him repeatedly to call
for a cease-fire in the Israel-
Hamas war. The lawmaker,
who heads the Senate Appro-
priations subcommittee on
defense, rebuffed their pleas,
saying Israel had a right to
defend itself against the Oct.
7 attack by Hamas.
That rankled Noah Sohl
of Missoula, who said he
twice voted for Tester and
supported the Democrat’s last
reelection by making phone
calls and registering voters.
The nursing student drew a
straight line between dona-
tions to Tester’s campaign
by defense industry lobbyists
and Tester’s opposition to a
cease-fire.
After becoming the pan-
el’s chairman in 2021, Tester
received more than $160,000
in contributions from em-
ployees and committees rep-
resenting the defense indus-
try. The donations came at a
crucial juncture for both the
defense budget and Lockheed
Martin, which benefited from
$1.8 billion for the F-35 fighter
jet that Tester’s subcommit-
tee pushed as part of a mili-
tary spending package.
Sohl pledged not to help
Tester this election if he
won’t change his stance on
a cease-fire. Sohl acknowl-
edged that could benefit Re-
publicans. (AP)
all of the signatures were
from OpenAI employees.
A company spokesperson
confirmed that the board
received the letter.
A Microsoft representa-
tive said the company would
not comment beyond its
CEO’s statement.
After Altman was pushed
out, he stirred speculation
about coming back into the
fold in a series of tweets.
He posted a selfie with an
OpenAI guest pass Sunday,
saying this is “first and
last time i ever wear one of
these.”
Hours earlier, he tweet-
ed, “i love the openai team
so much,” which drew heart
replies from Brockman and
Mira Murati, OpenAI’s chief
technology officer who was
initially named as interim
CEO.
It’s not clear what
transpired between the an-
nouncement of Murati’s
interim role Friday and
Shear’s hiring, though she
was among several employ-
ees Monday who tweeted,
“OpenAI is nothing without
its people.” Altman replied
to many with heart emojis.
(AP)
28 www.businessday.ng WEDNESDAY 22 NOVEMBER 2023

9 DECEMBER 2 023 | 6PM

LAGOS CONTINENTAL HOTEL

OVERVIEW
The BusinessDay Nigerian Business Leadership Awards recognises remarkable business leaders and
outstanding organizations in Nigeria’s real sector for their sustained commitment to excellence in
enterprise.
The Awards honour private sector leaders who have:
• Made significant contributions to the Nigerian economy through jobs creation, national development
and fostering of international trade
• Shaped the Nigerian economy through major strides in home-grown innovation and opening new vistas
of opportunity.
• Demonstrated visionary capacity and nationalism through their inward investments, thereby pushing
Nigeria’s rise in global competitiveness rankings.

Sponsorship and partnership inquiries

Dozie 0814 481 2193 chidozie.okere@businessday.ng
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WEDNESDAY 22 NOVEMBER 2023 www.businessday.ng 29
30 www.businessday.ng
Delayed bill deprives insurers of risk-based...
Continued from page 1
their capital.
The Consolidated In-
surance Bill, which has
been in the pipeline for
over 13 years, seeks to
create the regulatory en-
vironment that allows the
regulator, the National
Insurance Commission
(NAICOM), to implement
risk-based capital among
other critical market re-
forms.
Rasaaq Salami, head
of corporate communica-
tions and market develop-
ment at NAICOM, said the
industry is at the finalisa-
tion stage of risk-based
supervision (RBS), after
which it will advance to
RBC and other critical
reforms that have been
incorporated in the insur-
ance industry’s 10-year
strategic growth plan.
Salami said: “For the
risk-based supervision,
we are progressing, em-
phasising the exhaustive
nature of the exercise
which is leading to the
commission’s RBS team
engaging each of the in-
surance companies and
evaluating their position
as foundation for kick-off
of the reform.”
He said the commence-
ment of RBC depends on
the completion of RBS,
expressing the hope that
this stage would be com-
Will investment return on FG’s olive...
Continued from page 1
past officers in regard to
rights for the field known
as Oil Prospecting Li-
cence (OPL) 245.
Operations at the oil-
rich block have been halted
for more than a decade by a
series of trials and competing
legal claims. The area is con-
sidered to be potentially one of
the richest concessions in the
country, with recoverable re-
serves of 560 million barrels,
according to Eni’s estimates.
In 2011, Shell and Ital-
ian oil giant Eni paid $1.1
billion for OPL 245, an oil
block located on the southern
edge of the Niger Delta alleg-
edly knowing that the money
would go to a front company
secretly owned by a former
Nigerian oil minister, Dan
Etete, who had been con-
victed for money-laundering.
Etete was accused of
awarding himself the block
while in office under the
former military dictator Sani
Abacha, through Malabu
Oil and Gas, a company he
owned.
Eni, Shell and some of
their former and current
managers had already been
definitively acquitted last
year in a criminal case in
Milan, in which they were ac-
cused of knowing that much
of the $1.1 billion they paid
to acquire OPL 245 would be
distributed as bribes.
Even after that verdict,
a civil suit continued, with
Nigeria seeking combined
compensation of $3.5 billion
from Eni and Shell, claim-
ing the amount reflected
the real value of the licence
purchased in 2011 by the two
companies.
Nigeria is betting that the
withdrawal of the lawsuit
pleted by the end of 2024.
Ebelechukwu Nwa-
chukwu, chairman of the
sub-publicity committee
of the Insurers Commit-
tee, said after a meeting
in Lagos that RBS was
ongoing.
She said: “As you
know, the regulators had
visited a lot of offices and
we noticed some excep-
tions from the visit, for
example the use of unli-
censed agents, and the
regulator has spoken to
us very strongly about en-
suring that all the agents
or brokers we use are
licensed.
“The regulator said
we should make sure
that their licenses are up
to date and renewed as
against doing business
with brokers who are not
registered or operating
with expired licence, call-
ing for self-regulation as
foundation for risk-based
supervision.”
She also noted that the
Consolidated Insurance
Bill is important to the
industry, saying efforts
were being made by the
regulator to ensure that
the bill is passed as soon
as possible.
She said: “We took
some conversations on
the Insurance Bill and how
important it is to be passed
and the regulator assured
its continued engagement
would spur oil majors to re-
sume operations in both the
OPL 245 and several other
fields that have been aban-
doned by international oil
companies (IOCs).
But analysts say the issue
is more nuanced. Ending the
civil action “is a very good
step, especially when you
consider that the asset is
very prolific,” Ayodele Oni,
energy lawyer and partner
at Bloomfield Law firm, said.
“No one was going to invest
with the dispute until the
same was resolved.”
He said: “However, that
alone is not sufficient to drive
the sort of activities we expect
in the industry. Investors want
to be sure there is certainty
and clarity. They want to be
clear that they can monetise
their investments and enforce
their investment rights.
“If all these elements are
not clearly and unequivo-
cally present in the country,
then we won’t see the sort
of volume of activities we
want in the industry. With
the PIA (Petroleum Industry
Act), we now have a measure
of certainty but still require
more regulatory certainty,
especially around the Com-
mission and the Authority.”
Experts who spoke to Busi-
nessDay said the projected
gains expected from Nigeria’s
oil and gas sector following
the passage of the PIA have
remained a mirage as poor
implementation leaves prin-
cipal actors in a battle for
supremacy and revenue.
“Officials at both regu-
latory agencies and other
agencies still demand bribes
to attend to licences and ap-
provals, and the delay in the
process and bureaucratic
obstacles did not change,” a
senior industry source said.
Wumi Iledare, a profes-
NEWS
Abiola Arogundade (l), senior special assistant to the President on technical, vocational and entrepreneurship education;
and Sharmini Devi Gopal, Malaysian Charge d’Affaires to Nigeria, during a meeting to explore new partnerships and open
doors for international collaboration in vocational training, in Abuja, recently.
with the National Assem-
bly to make sure we have
that bill passed.
“There are lots of is-
sues we discussed, but the
strongest part is how im-
portant RBS and RBC are
to our operations. Those
two concepts are recom-
mended very strongly as
part of the 10-year Nigeria
Insurance Industry Stra-
tegic Growth Plan.”
The Nigerian Insurers
sor of petroleum economics,
said the implementation of
the PIA has been so slow and
short-circuited, adding that
the committee implementing
the law was sidetracked in
resource mapping, especially
for the PIA institutions.
“The suboptimality of
PIA is majorly because the
new institutions were indi-
rectly handed over the task
of human resources mapping
to the defunct institutions;
the old Petroleum Products
Pricing Regulatory Agency
became the driver of the
Authority and the defunct
Department of Petroleum
Resources indirectly drives
the Commission,” he said.
Most stakeholders ap-
peared to also be voting in the
direction of a single regulator
as they canvassed for a merg-
er following the loopholes
and battle for supremacy be-
ing witnessed between the Ni-
gerian Upstream Petroleum
Regulatory Commission and
the Nigerian Midstream
Downstream Petroleum Reg-
ulatory Authority.
This comes as the Nigerian
Extractive Industry Trans-
parency Initiative (NEITI)
insisted that the provision in
section 64 (m) of the PIA that
makes the Nigerian National
Petroleum Company Limited
(NNPCL) the supplier of last
resort and that all associ-
ated costs to be borne by the
federation is capable of being
misinterpreted as it was in the
old practice of deducting from
revenue source.
NEITI noted that section
64 (C) and 9 (4) of the PIA
provides for a 30 percent
deduction from profit oil
and profit gas by NNPCL for
frontier exploration fund and
NNPCL management fee, but
does not provide clarification
as to what percentage goes
for frontier exploration fund
(FEF) and NNPCL manage-
Association (NIA) had in
a presentation at a public
hearing on the bill during
the 9th National Assem-
bly said that in adopting
risk-based capital ade-
quacy template, it took
cognisance of the need to
consider insurance risk,
market risk, credit risk
and operational risk as
well as the need to apply
such capital charges on
assets and liabilities.
ment fee.
“The federal government
should consider reviewing
the deductions from oil profit
to ensure they are clearly
delineated. If the intention
is to have one 30 percent re-
tention that covers both the
management fee and the FEF,
the wording should be re-
phrased to reflect this clearly.
Alternatively, if separate 30
percent retention is required,
the language should be re-
vised accordingly,” it said.
Beyond the regulatory
uncertainties, experts said
the country’s oil production
has been blighted by large-
scale theft and vandalism,
as well as decades of under-
investment in infrastructure.
To change the narrative,
they advocated for indig-
enous Nigerian oil producers
who currently pump about
10 percent of national output
and have invested billions of
dollars in the past 10 years,
to play a bigger role in the
sector dominated by IOCs.
Meanwhile, as Nigeria
struggles to attract invest-
ment into its energy sector,
Namibia, a country of less
than three million people, is
emerging as a global explo-
ration hotspot over the past
two years, primarily due to
deepwater discoveries by
industry giants such as Shell
and TotalEnergies.
Additionally, major oil
companies like Chevron,
ExxonMobil, and Galp Ener-
gia have initiated exploration
and appraisal activities in
the region.
Nambia’s state-owned oil
company believes that this
series of discoveries could
position the country among
the world’s top 15 oil pro-
ducers by 2035, offering the
nation a unique opportunity
to double its gross domestic
product per capita in less
than a decade.
WEDNESDAY 22 NOVEMBER 2023
The association hinged has been a major point of
its position on a 2013 re- the association’s engage-
port by the International ments with the commission
Monetary Fund (IMF) that during the last recapitalisa-
prescribed the risk-based tion exercise.
capital model as the most “We are convinced that
suitable for the Nigerian the risk-based capital ad-
insurance market. equacy template is the
It said at the time: “When best fit for the insurance
the bill is eventually signed industry in Nigeria, espe-
into law in line with this cially given the fact that
proposal, it will lay to rest the 2013 IMF Report has
the contentious issue of the prescribed it and the com-
definition of capital which mission agreed with it.”
Nigeria wants to borrow less but ignores...
tive, in 2021, 12 of the PSC
Continued from page 2
oil blocks made production,
“In the maritime sector,
while 17 blocks did not pro-
Apapa port has the poten-
duce.
tial to generate N20 billion
The report showed that
a day, but achieving this
there were also six inactive
would require a program to
blocks, bringing the total
revitalise Apapa and its en-
number of both inactive oil
virons. This would involve
blocks and those that did not
an investment of $6-8 billion
produce crude during the
for road improvements, con-
review period to 23.
sidering Ajegunle, originally
Owowo oil field discov-
reserved for a port, is now
ered in October 2012 by Unit-
a thriving city. However,
ed States oil giant, ExxonMo-
some opportunities can be
bil Corporation, with about
explored.”
one billion barrels of oil in
According to him, in the
the Owowo field, offshore
financial services sector,
Nigeria, is still idle.
there are significant finan-
Other experts pinpoint
cial opportunities, but it re-
the importance of Nigeria
quires thoughtful planning
upping its game in a bid
and strategic thinking.
to unlock the N180 trillion
“There are numerous
trapped in dead or idle gov-
avenues for funding that we
ernment assets.
can explore,” Agbakoba said.
Nigeria has as much as
Experts said inactivity
N180 trillion trapped in dead
in untapped oil fields pres-
assets mostly in real estate,
ents another opportunity for
according to PwC’s esti-
Nigeria to tap into its huge
mates. Unlocking that capi-
potential and cement its
tal could be a game changer
place as the largest producer
for a cash-strapped govern-
and exporter of petroleum in
ment whose debt service
Africa and one of the 10 larg-
cost is forecast by KPMG, a
est producers in the world.
consulting firm, to gulp 100
BusinessDay’s findings
per cent of its revenues this
showed no fewer than 23
year, up from 96 per cent
oil blocks managed by both
in 2022.
international and local oil
“A list of corporate as-
companies, which are under
sets (just over 70 entities)
Production Sharing Con-
have been identified and pre-
tracts (PSC) with the Nige-
liminary data captured for
rian National Petroleum
them,” Armstrong Takang,
Company Limited, failed
managing director of MOFI,
to produce crude or were
which has set a target of
inactive.
raising N100 trillion from
According to a report by
the country’s idle assets,
Nigeria Extractive Indus-
said in an emailed response
tries Transparency Initia-
to BusinessDay.
WEDNESDAY 22 NOVEMBER 2023
Millions of Nigerian girls at risk over cervical cancer vaccine pushback
•76% see vaccine as a threat to health – Report
By Godsgift Onyedinefu, Abuja
MILLIONS of young Nigerian
girls could be risking contract-
ing the deadly cervical cancer
as many of them refuse to take
the potentially life-saving Hu-
man Papillomavirus (HPV)
vaccine, BusinessDay has
learnt.
HPV infection has been
identified as a high-risk fac-
tor implicated in 95 percent
of cervical cancer cases, by
infecting cells in the cervix,
changing, and causing them
to replicate and multiply in an
uncontrolled manner.
The Nigerian government
integrated the HPV vaccine
L-R: Victoria Engels, investment manager; Michael Hoelter, head, Universal Green Energy Access Programme; Chuka
Emerole, treasurer and head, Wholesale Bank; and Farouk Gumel, chairman, Union Bank of Nigeria, after signing a
partnership agreement on renewable energy with Universal Green Energy Access Programme (UGEAP), at the 10th
Nigerian-German Business Forum held in Berlin, Germany, yesterday.
Nigerian firms raise N807bn as
commercial paper up 200%
By Dipo Oladehinde
IN a bid to meet their working
capital requirements and fund
future expansion plans, many
more firms have tapped the
debt market as the issuance of
commercial papers in Nigeria
surged by 200 percent as of
November 17, 2023.
Data from FMDQ Group
showed there were 124 com-
mercial paper issuances 124
valued at N807 billion, com-
pared to 73 issuances with a
total value of N251 billion in the
full year 2022.
“The short-dated nature
of CPs provided comfort for
issuers to refinance and raise
new capital while navigating
uncertainty in the period,” said
analysts at Afrinvest Securities
Limited.
Commercial papers (CPs)
are money-market securities
issued by large corporations to
obtain funds to meet short-term
debt obligations like payroll
and are backed only by an issu-
ing bank or company’s promise
to pay the face amount on the
maturity date, which is usually
in 270 days or less.
Analysts say some compa-
into national routine immuni-
sation in October, but findings
show that most parents in local
communities are preventing
their daughters from taking
the vaccine.
HPV vaccine, according to
experts, offers protection for
young girls against the second
most common cancer in Nige-
ria, which has killed thousands
of women.
With the immunisation
programme, the government
is targeting over seven million
girls aged nine to 14, the largest
number in a single round of
HPV vaccination in the Afri-
can region.
nies would rather opt for CPs
because they can be cleared
from their balance sheets in
a year whereas issuing stocks
would require reducing the
ownership proportion of the
current shareholders.
“The commercial paper
market experienced a surge in
activities as companies sought
to address their working capi-
tal and financing needs,” ana-
lysts at Meristem said.
Ambrose Omordion, chief
operating officer of InvestData
Consulting Limited, said the
issuance of CPs has become the
new trend in the Nigerian capi-
tal market used by companies
to finance their operations.
“It is cheaper for companies
to raise capital through the
commercial paper markets
than borrowing from com-
mercial banks because bank
lending comes with higher
interest rates,” Omordion said.
“In addition, interest on the
debt is normally tax-exempt
and can be deducted from the
company’s tax return, lower-
ing the actual cost of the loan
to the company. Thus, com-
mercial papers impact the
ability of companies to remain
NEWS
Despite efforts by health-
care workers deployed across
states, reluctance remains
a significant hurdle. False
and misinformation have cre-
ated doubts and safety con-
cerns around the vaccine. Low
awareness among Nigeria’s
rural poor is also a major chal-
lenge.
The International Agency
for Research on Cancer 2023
factsheet estimates that 60.9
million Nigerian women aged
15 to 19 are at risk of developing
cervical cancer in the absence
of cost-effective strategies to
scale up prevention and early
detection, such as vaccination.
competitive and sustainable,”
he added.
According to Wole Adey-
eye, a financial analyst, most
companies see CPs as one of
the cheapest ways to increase
their capital since yields on
short-term instruments are
relatively low compared to
other instruments.
“Commercial papers typi-
cally do not create a lien on
the company’s assets, and this
creates room for enhanced
operational flexibility,” Adey-
eye said.
The top 10 CP issuers in
the first nine months of this
year were MTN Nigeria Com-
munications Plc, Flour Mills of
Nigeria Plc, Dangote Cement,
Sterling Bank Plc, Stanbic
IBTC Bank, Dufil Prima Foods
Plc, Nigerian Breweries Plc,
Rand Merchant Bank of Nige-
ria, CardinalStone Partners
and Coleman Technical Indus-
tries Limited.
MTN Nigeria, which car-
ried out three transactions at
an issue yield of 13 percent,
recorded an outstanding value
of N197 billion, leading the pack
for Nigerian companies as of
November 17, 2023.
According to the National
Primary Healthcare Develop-
ment Agency, cervical cancer
kills 22 women in Nigeria every
day out of 33 reported cases.
The country contributes an
estimated 12,075 new cases of
global cervical cancer, with
8,000 deaths annually.
Sharing her concerns with
BusinessDay, Ucheoma Uden-
si, a petty trader in the Bwari
area of Abuja, said she is not
sure about the safety of the
vaccine and will not let her
daughters take it. “We don’t
know what the vaccine is all
about or the origin. They said
it was brought into Nigeria, but
Flour Mills of Nigeria suc-
cessfully completed two deals
at different issue yields of
14 percent and 11.2 percent,
recording a total outstanding
value of N106 billion, while
Dangote Cement rounded out
the top three firms recording
an outstanding value of N40.3
billion at an issue yield of 12.5
percent.
Sterling Bank recorded an
outstanding value of N33.82
billion at an issue yield of
13.5 percent as at March 2023;
Stanbic IBTC Holdings raised
N37.10 billion at an issue yield
of 12.1 percent and 5 percent
respectively.
Dufil Prima Foods recorded
an outstanding value of N28.85
billion at an issue yield of 15
percent, while Nigerian Brew-
eries raised N27.13 billion in
CPs at a rate of 14 percent.
Rand Merchant Bank is-
sued N28.13 billion in CPs in
two issuances at the rate of
12.3 percent and 13.3 percent
respectively.
Coleman Technical Indus-
tries and Cardinal Stone Part-
ners recorded outstanding
values of N21 billion and N20
billion respectively.
nobody knows the side effects
of this vaccine. So we can’t
invite more problems.”
At the Bakin Ado Primary
School in Nasarawa State, nine-
year-old Nasiba Ahmed (not
real name) refused to take the
vaccine when public health of-
ficials visited her school to ad-
minister it. “My mother asked
me not to take any vaccine,”
she said without providing any
reasons.
Recently, Adefesoye Akin-
pelu, director of disease control
and immunisation at the Ondo
State Primary Healthcare De-
velopment Agency, said that
ahead of rollout in the state,
there were already myths and
misconceptions circulating
around the vaccine.
“There is a rumour going
on in the state that the federal
government and some presi-
dents in the world want to use
the vaccine to cause a drastic
reduction in the population
of the world and that whoever
takes the vaccine is going to
die,” he told journalists.
A particular school in the
local community in the state
reported that up to 90 percent
of parents during the recent
Parents Teachers Association
refused to authorise that the
vaccine be administered to
their daughters.
BusinessDay gathered that
many parents, especially those
living in rural areas and the
most vulnerable ones, lack
awareness of the vaccine and
its benefits, while others worry
about possible side effects and
safety concerns.
A recent HPV vaccine
awareness and willingness poll
conducted by Sydani Institute
for Research and Innovation
of Sydani Group showed that
76 percent of respondents be-
lieve that HPV is a threat to
girls’ health. A total of 4,074
caregivers were asked across
eight states in the country
including Abia, Adamawa,
Bayelsa, Enugu, FCT, Jugawa,
Adamawa, and Taraba.
According to the survey,
13 percent of respondents lack
awareness, 15 percent are wor-
ried about the side effects, 15
percent cited safety concerns
and 12 percent say they don’t
trust the vaccine.
A key concern cited by par-
ents is about the safety of the
vaccine as misinformation and
rumours regarding potential
side effects have fuelled doubts.
Oyewale Tomori, a re-
nowned virologist and former
vice chancellor of Redeemer’s
University, saidnNigeria needs
to actively counter false infor-
Petrol prices up 164.8%, further drains...
Continued from page 2
outlined the right steps to
the transformation of the
country’s economy.
He said that the govern-
ment is not oblivious to the
untold hardships faced by Ni-
gerians following the removal
of petroleum subsidy and har-
monisation of the exchange
rate, affirming that “all the
sacrifices will not be in vain
as the government is bent on
ensuring that the economy
bounces back to normal as
we continue to consolidate the
recovery efforts on achieving
inclusive economic growth
and development”.
In addition, the govern-
ment has acknowledged
the challenges posed by the
rising petrol prices and has
taken steps to mitigate the
www.businessday.ng 31
mation and misconceptions
about the HPV vaccine.
He said the government has
not done enough to raise aware-
ness about the vaccine, which
has created gaps for misinfor-
mation and false information
to spread.
He said the introduction of
information on HPV vaccina-
tion should have started at least
six or seven months ago.
Tomori expressed worry
that the government’s current
efforts are coming too little
and late.
Health experts warned that
the consequences of not tak-
ing the HPV vaccine extend
beyond individual health. Po-
tential surge in cervical cancer
cases could strain an already
burdened local healthcare
system, leading to increased
treatment costs and a higher
demand for limited healthcare
resources, they said.
A 2023 journal by the
American Society of Clinical
Oncology shows that an alarm-
ing 90 percent of the global
cervical cancer incidence and
mortality occur in low- and
middle-income countries such
as Nigeria, with women of low
socioeconomic status bearing
the greatest burden.
Adaobi Onyechi, a public
health expert, emphasised
the significance of addressing
these concerns. “The HPV
vaccine is the most critical
tool in preventing cancer, and
we need to work collectively
to overcome these challenges.
Educating parents, dispelling
myths, and ensuring equitable
access to the vaccine are essen-
tial steps.”
Emily Kobayashi, head of
the HPV program at GAVI,
said in an interview with Busi-
nessDay that there are hard-
to-reach areas in Nigeria that
could impede vaccine uptake.
She highlighted myths and
misconceptions that make
people hesitant and suggested
that the Nigerian government
must proactively act to over-
come these obstacles.
She said there have been
no serious reported adverse
effects associated with the vac-
cine following rollouts in other
countries.
Meanwhile, in response to
the low awareness and hesi-
tancy throughout the nation,
the wives of Nigeria governors
have pledged to work with pri-
mary health workers and the
Ministry of Health and Social
Welfare on a comprehensive
awareness campaign to address
the resistance being encoun-
tered at the grassroots level.
impact. These measures
include providing financial
assistance to vulnerable
households and implement-
ing policies to promote the
use of alternative fuels.
Meanwhile, Zamfara
State had the highest av-
erage retail price for the
product at N659.38; Gombe
and Borno states were next
with N658.33 and N657.27,
respectively.
According to the report,
Lagos, Oyo and Delta states
had the lowest average
retail prices for petrol, at
N590.95, N592.19 and N599.38
respectively.
“Lastly, on the Zonal pro-
file, the North-East Zone had
the highest average retail
price of N644.16, while the
South West Zone had the
lowest price of N616.81.”
WEDNESDAY 22 NOVEMBER 2023 www.businessday.ng A1
A2 www.businessday.ng
BUSINESSDAY’S CONFERENCE
Logistics firms mine gold
from data to optimise cost
By Eniola Olatunji and
Anthony Udugba
DESPITE the soaring cost
of doing business, logistics
businesses are leveraging
data to grow sales.
“Data has been very in-
strumental in navigating
the troubled waters. It has
helped us to better optimise
pricing, earnings, and even
visibility; so our drivers
earn better,” said Joseph
Omosebi, fleet operations
manager, Bolt Nigeria.
Omosebi spoke at Busi-
nessDay’s Technological
Disruption in Logistics Con-
ference on Tuesday in a
panel session titled ‘The role
of technology in the logistics
business’.
The logistics sector has
had to navigate several
economic challenges. The
announcement of the pet-
rol subsidy removal by the
president led to a significant
surge in fuel prices across
the country, with an average
increase of 174.6 percent.
The rise in fuel prices
resulted in higher transpor-
tation costs for both private
and public individuals. Ride-
hailing services were not left
out as most of their drivers
demanded a 200 percent in-
crease in fare price.
“Data helped us under-
MARITIME
Nigeria projects $10bn revenue
from national shipping line
By Favour Okpale, Abuja
THE Nigerian government
is projecting to earn over
$10 billion annually from
the National Shipping Line
it is planning to re-establish.
It says the shipping will also
engender growth and fur-
ther unleash the potential of
the country’s marine sector.
Adegboyega Oyetola,
minister of marine and
blue economy, said this at
a maritime stakeholders’
roundtable in Abuja, where
he unveiled the Federal
Government’s plan to re-
establish the national ship-
ping line.
Oyetola, in a statement
signed by Olujimi Oyetomi,
director of press and public
relations in the ministry,
said the shipping line would
operate on a public-private
partnership (PPP) model to
fashion out strategies and
policies that will drive de-
velopment in the maritime
sector.
CHANGE OF NAME
I, formerly known and
addressed as Mr Nwaegbu
Magnus Ugonna, now wish
to be known and addressed
as Dominic Magnus
Ugochukwu. All former
documents remain valid.
General public should please
take note.
NEWS
stand that it is better to have
various classes of offerings
to different riders hence
why we launch the economy
category which helps our
riders that cannot afford the
price increase, to now afford
our services,” Omosebi said.
He mentioned that data-
driven insights have enabled
the company to optimise
pricing. According to him,
recognising the impact of
fuel costs on profitability,
Bolt introduced vehicles run-
ning on Compressed Natural
Gas (CNG) and Liquefied Pe-
troleum Gas (LPG) in Abuja,
offering drivers significant
savings of up to N60,000-
N70,000 weekly
Ope Onaboye, co-founder
of Renda Africa, a firm that
handles storage, inventory,
and track delivery for e-
commerce businesses, said
that it has been able to offer
more value to its customers
through data.
Onaboye said for their cus-
tomers, using data to identify
new market trends, customer
preferences, and product de-
velopment strategies is impor-
tant to enable them to make
better decisions.
“Has a logistics company
trading for over two years
to over 50,000 customers his-
torical data allows us to help
our customers with insights
The minister said that
the sector could be trans-
formed through the PPP
models of synergy between
the private sector’s efficien-
cy and the public sector’s
oversight which will spur
growth and open opportuni-
ties for local players in the
sector.
According to him, the
additional value for local
players particularly, in-
cludes ship construction,
maintenance, and repairs
as this would enable local
businesses to better lever-
age the Cabotage Act, which
gives Nigerians the exclu-
sive right to control locally
CHANGE OF NAME
I, formerly known and addressed
as Miss Onyemaechi
Chinyere Miracle, now wish
to be known and addressed as
Mrs Nlebem Uchechukwu
Chinyere Miracle. All former
documents remain valid.
General public should please
take note.
CHANGE OF NAME
I, formerly known and
addressed as Emeka
Ohiaeri, now wish to be
known and addressed as
Nnaemeka Ohiaeri. All
former documents remain
valid. General public should
please take note.
WEDNESDAY 22 NOVEMBER 2023
on areas with high demands
of their goods, and customers
with the most demand for
their goods all this informa-
tion helps small business
optimisation, so they can
focus on key areas to channel
their product too,” he said.
A research BARC BI-sur-
vey, one of Europe’s leading
analyst firms for business
software, focusing on the ar-
eas of data, business intelli-
gence showed that 58 percent
of organisations base at least
half of their regular business
decisions on gut feel rather
than on data and informa-
tion. ‘Laggard’ companies
base 70 percent of their deci-
sions on gut feel, while ‘best-
in-class’ companies base 60
percent of their decisions on
relevant information.
It said this illustrated a
clear link between using data
and information for decision-
making and being able to
achieve a strategic advan-
tage over the competition.
The experts at the event
agreed that to improve Ni-
geria’s logistics sector and
match its Western counter-
parts, technology must be
adopted more widely. They
also emphasised the need for
a stronger regulatory frame-
work, consistent policies,
and better infrastructure to
boost the sector’s growth.
generated seaborne trade.
“The ministry’s decision
to consider the re-establish-
ment of a National Shipping
Line, through a strategic
PPP arrangement, is borne
out of our desire to capture
a substantial share of the
estimated $10 billion annual
ship charter market within
the country. Let me hasten
to say that this initiative
will not seek to impede the
growth of local players but
rather provide an avenue
for them to create and ex-
tract more value from the
sector, especially through
ship construction, mainte-
nance, and repairs.”
CORRECTION OF NAME
I, formerly known and
addressed as Kekeh
Chibunna David, now wish
to be known and addressed
as Kekeh Chibunna. All
former documents remain
valid. General public should
please take note.
CHANGE OF NAME
I, formerly known and
addressed as Fatima
Ahmed, now wish to be
known and addressed as
Tijjani Fatima Ahmed. All
former documents remain
valid. General public should
please take note.
WEDNESDAY 22 NOVEMBER 2023
MINING
FG revokes 1,633 mining licences
over non-payment of service dues
By Cynthia Egboboh, Abuja
THE Federal Government
has revoked the operating
licences of 1,633 mining
title holders, for failure to
pay annual service dues.
Dele Alake, the minister
of solid minerals, disclosed
this during a press confer-
ence in Abuja on Tuesday.
Alake said the move was
aimed at sanitising the sec-
tor and freeing up space for
new investors who will live
up to expectations.
According to him, hold-
ers of exploration titles are
expected to pay N1,500 per
cadastral unit not exceed-
ing 200 units, while those
holding titles covering
more than 200 units pay
N2,000 per unit.
He decried the failure
of companies to pay as at
when due, noting that, “It
is indeed very unconscio-
nable for corporate bodies
making huge profits from
mining to refuse to give
L-R: Victor Olannye, registrar/chief executive, Chartered Risk Management Institute of Nigeria (CRMI); Ezekiel Oseni, president; Abraham
Adewale Osinubi, dean, School of Postgraduate Studies, University of Lagos (UNILAG); Gboyega Ehinmowo, sub-dean, School of
Postgraduate Studies; and Magnus Nnoka, former president, CRMI, during CRMI executives’ visit to UNILAG in Lagos, yesterday.
POLITICS
LP senators kick as Akpabio names new minority leaders
By Godsgift Onyedinefu, Abuja
THERE was uproar dur-
ing plenary at the Senate
on Tuesday after Godswill
Akpabio, the president,
announced Abba Morro
of the Peoples Democratic
Party (PDP), represent-
ing Benue South as the
minority leader, and Osita
Ngwu, also a PDP senator,
representing Enugu West,
as minority whip.
Morro takes over from
Simon Mwadkwon, while
Ngwu replaces Darlington
Nwokocha of the Labour
Party. Both senators were
the government its due by
failing to pay their annual
service fee. It is indeed
a reasonable conjecture
that such a company will
even be more unwilling to
pay royalties and honour
its tax obligations to the
government.
“The amount the com-
panies are being asked to
pay is peanut compared to
their revenue projections.”
The minister stated that
in compliance with the Ni-
gerian Minerals and Min-
ing Act 2007, the Mining
Cadastre Office on October
4, 2023, began the process
of revoking 2,213 titles,
including 795 exploration
titles, 956 small-scale min-
ing licences, 364 quarry
licences and 98 mining
leases.
Thes e , acco rdin g t o
him, were published in
the Federal Government
Gazette No. 178, Volume
110 of October 10, 2023, with
the notice of revocation for
sacked by the Appeal Court.
Immediately after the
announcement, lawmakers
from the minority caucus
raised objections to the an-
nouncement.
Okechukwu Ezea, a sen-
ator representing Enugu
North said, “It is unfair
and against the spirit of
Nigerian constitution”. He
was not happy that PDP
senators had dominated the
minority leadership.
He also noted that the
process for choosing mi-
nority leaders has not been
completed among the mi-
nority caucus.
NEWS
defaulting in the payment
of the annual service fee.
“The mandatory 30 days
expired on November 10,
2023. Only 580 titlehold-
ers responded by settling
their indebtedness. With
this development, the MCO
recommended the revoca-
tion of 1, 633 mineral titles,
including 536 exploration
licences; 279 quarry licenc-
es; 787 small-scale min-
ing licences, and mining
leases, 31.
“In line with the pow-
ers conferred on me by the
NMMA 2007, Section 5 (a),
I have approved the revo-
cation of the 1,633 titles. I
hereby warn the previous
holders of these titles to
leave the relevant cadaster
with immediate effect as
security agencies shall
work with the mines in-
spectorate of the ministry
to apprehend any defaulter
found on any of the areas
where titles have been
revoked,” he said.
Tony Nwoye, a sena-
tor representing Anambra
North, said it was unfair
for Akpabuo to determine
their leaders.
“It is unfair. Are we your
slaves? Why will the Senate
president be picking leaders
for us? You have done your
worst. You have pushed us
to the wall”, he yelled.
Afterwards, Akapbio
asked the minority to put
their house in order first,
saying he was only working
with what he was given.
‘In my front, I have two
papers, the majority of the
senators have signed for
Alake further stated
that the philosophy of the
Nigerian Minerals and
Mining Act 2007 was to
establish a rational sys-
tem of administering titles
transparently and com-
prehensively to ensure a
seamless transition from
reconnaissance to explora-
tion and from exploration
to mineral extraction.
He warned all illegal
miners to deviate from the
Act or face the wrath of
the law.
He also explained that
sites revoked may not be
granted back to the former
holder as their chances
of owning mining sites in
the country may be jeop-
ardised.
“Those that fall into the
category of illegal miners
are always found wanting,
and they are not licensed.
We warn all illegal miners
to deviate from such acts or
face the wrath of the law,”
he said.
Senator Abba Morro, it will
be unfair for me to ignore the
majority signatures. At the
same time, it would be unfair
to see someone who has the
majority and I wouldn’t an-
nounce him, it doesn’t matter
your personal reservations,
I just want to plead with my
colleagues to understand
that my job is not to take in-
dividual opinion, but to work
on the basis of truth.
So, this issue of minority
leader or minority whip
is for now rested until we
produce an alternative pa-
per in the future”, Akpabio
declared.
POLITICS
Why I approved ‘controversial’ naira
redesign policy - Buhari opens up
…admits his govt may have been hijacked
By Tony Ailemen, Abuja
FORMER President Mu-
hammadu Buhari has
opened up on why he en-
dorsed the controversial
naira redesign policy intro-
duced by the Central Bank
of Nigeria (CBN) under the
now-sacked Godwin Eme-
fiele as governor.
Buhari, in his first in-
terview since he left office
on May 29 this year, said
he endorsed the naira re-
design in the twilight of his
administration in order to
“protect his integrity and
to show Nigerians there was
no shortcut to success.”
In the interview aired
on the NTA on Monday, the
former president also admit-
ted that his administration
must have been hijacked
along the line. He, however,
noted that his eight-year ad-
ministration was able to sta-
bilise the nation’s security.
Asked if he missed any-
thing since he left office,
about six months ago, he
said that he “missed noth-
ing” adding that he now has
firm control over his time.
“I looked for the position,
I was lucky I got it. I now
can wake up when I like and
come out when I like, I go to
my farm and also do some
exercise”
Reflecting on his achieve-
ments while in office, he re-
called that he may not have
achieved all his goals, but
added that Nigerians must
reflect on the conditions
the nation was in when he
assumed office in 2015.
“I would like Nigerians
to reflect. What was the con-
dition of the country when
AWARD
X3M Ideas wins ‘Agency of
the Year’ at LAIF Award
By Folake Balogun
X3M Ideas, a creative agen-
cy, has emerged overall
winner at the 2023 Lagos
Advertising and Ideas Festi-
val (LAIF) Awards with 276
points ahead of its closest
agency, Noah’s Ark which
secured 255 points.
Insight Publicis Limit-
ed garnered 234 points to
take the 3rd position in the
highly competitive awards
ceremony.
In the breakdown of the
award, X3M Ideas clinched
15 Gold, 20 Silver and 7
Bronze while Noah’s Ark
won 12 Gold, 16 Silver and 17
Bronze. Insight went home
with 9 Gold, 16 Silver and
15 Bronze. 19 other creative
agencies participated in the
competition, including Leo
Burnet Limited, which took
the 4th position with 9 Gold,
4 Silver and 4 Bronze which
gave the agency a total of 117
points.
In the final analysis, X3M
Ideas’ Glo “School teacher”
www.businessday.ng A3
we came in, especially in the
Northeast? Most parts of the
Northeast were in the hands
of what they called Boko
Haram; whatever way they
may want to interpret it.”
He recalled that the goals
were to fight insecurity, re-
vive the economy and fight
corruption. “These were the
goals I set for myself.” He re-
called how Boko Haram had
infiltrated several states,
including Lagos, Kaduna,
Abuja and other strategic
places in the country. They
were causing a lot of havoc.
If there is no security, there
will be no economy”
Buhari insisted that due
to the success recorded in
the areas of security, Nige-
rians have developed more
interest in their country and
are now investing more. He
added that Nigerians were a
difficult set of people to gov-
ern, maintaining that they
knew the right thing to do,
but would mostly refuse to
do so because they thought
they knew better than the
person on the saddle.
The former president
in his assessment of his
cabinet and the integrity
of many of the people who
worked with him for the
eight-year administration,
said “It was their problem”,
querying what the persons
who criticised him fiercely
had done at their individual
levels to fight corruption.
When asked if he agreed
that there was a cabal that
hijacked his government,
he said “It must have been”,
but added that he wasn’t
sure anybody flouted the
rules and was allowed to
‘walk away’.
got a silver, Showmax “No
one tells a story like we do”
got 4 silvers and a gold. The
agency creative work for
Nirvana’s “Lyrics of Inno-
cence” - got a Gold, a silver
and a Bronze while FNM’s
“My Kitchen” got a silver,
Migo got a gold and a Bronze.
Other X3M Ideas work
that gave it the victory in-
clude Jameson in Design for
its Independence Day pack,
which got two silvers. LPM’s
“Voices in my Air” got a gold
and two silvers in radio and
New media. Then the rest
of the Golds 11, silvers 9,
and Bronze 5 were shared
between The Extra Step
Initiative’s “Soot Life Expec-
tancy”, Loritem’s “Wasteful
Culture” and Newsrooms
vote to predict.
Steve Babaeko, CEO at
X3M Ideas, reacting to the
various awards won by the
victory, described it as an-
other wake-up call to his
team to continue giving their
best to any brief that comes
before them.
A4 www.businessday.ng
LIVE @ THE EXCHANGES
Stock market fails
to stay on loss path
NIGERIA’s equities mar-
ket failed to sustain previ-
ous day’s loss after rising
by 0.08 percent or N32bil-
lion at the close of trading
Tuesday.
Insurance, banking and
industrial stocks helped
market to reroute north
after the negative take off
this week.
FG sees Caverton becoming hub for
aircraft maintenance in Africa
CAVERTON can become
the hub for aircraft main-
tenance in Africa looking
at the facility it has on
ground, said Nigeria’s
Defence Minister, Mo-
hammed Badaru Abuba-
kar.
The Minister noted
this on Tuesday dur-
ing the facility tour of
Caverton Helicopters’
Maintenance, Repair and
Overhaul (MRO) situ-
ated inside the expansive
premises of Murtala Mu-
hammed lnternational
Airport, lkeja Lagos.
He also during the fa-
cility tour commended
Caverton Helicopters
management for their vi-
sionary and foresight in
bringing the state of the
art facility to the country,
thereby promoting the
economic growth and de-
veloping human capital.
Badaru, who was the
second Minister to visit
Caverton within a month,
said he was impressed by
achievements of the com-
pany.
He said, “Our dream
in the Ministry of De-
fence is to produce all the
equipment that we need
for Defence in Nigeria
and, here at Caverton, I
have seen proofs of assur-
ance that we can partner
to do it.
“I assure you that you
have what it takes to pro-
duce what we need and
we will partner.
“We are working tire-
lessly to make sure that
in the next four years,
most of these equipment
Seplat CEO wants Africa to reposition energy industry for future
ROGER Brown, Chief
Executive Officer, Seplat
Energy Plc has said that
Africa should reposition
the energy industry for
the future and become
much more efficient with
its energy resources.
The Seplat Energy
CEO said this at the 41st
The Nigerian Exchange
Limited (NGX) All-Share
Index (ASI) and its market
capitalisation increased
from preceding day’s
lows of 71,008.7 points and
N39.050trillion respective-
ly to 71,066.64 points and
N39.082trillion. This year’s
return increased to 38.66
percent.
L-R: Chief Operating Officer, Caverton Offshore Support Group, Rotimi Makanjuola; Chairman, Caverton
Helicopters Ltd, Bello Gwandu, Minister of Defense, Mohammed Badaru Abubakar; Permanent Secretary
Ministry of Defence, Ibrahim Kana and Chief Executive Officer, Caverton Offshore Support Group, Olabode
Makanjuola during Minister’s Visit to the Caverton Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul Facility (MRO)
at Murtala lnternational Airport, Ikeja on Tuesday, November 21.
we go abroad to buy will
be produced locally. And
from what I have seen
with you, we can partner
in areas of air assets,”
the Minister appreciated
Caverton Helicopters.
On ground to receive
the minister on Tues-
day were the Chairman
Caverton Helicopters,
Mallam Bello Gwandu,
Chairman of Caverton
Marine, Akin Kekere
Ekun, Chief Executive Of-
ficer, Caverton Offshore
Support Group (COSG),
Olabode Makanjuola, and
Chief Operating Officer,
Rotimi Makanjuola and
other top management
staff.
In his remarks, the
Permanent Secretary,
Ministry of Defence, Ibra-
Nigerian Association of
Petroleum Exploration-
ists (NAPE) Internation-
al Conference and Exhi-
bition. Brown delivered
a stakeholder contribu-
tion to the theme “Repo-
sitioning the Oil & Gas
Industry for Future En-
ergy Dynamics”.
Learn Africa rallied
most from N2.80 to N3.08,
adding 28kobo or 10 per-
cent. It was followed by
Mecure which rose from
N6.30 to N6.93, adding
63kobo or 10percent.
Also, NNFM went up
from N26.25 to N28.85, add-
ing N2.60 or 9.90percent,
while Cadbury increased
him Kana said “While we
were on the tour of the
facility, my Honourable
Minister said to me in
Hausa: ‘Seeing is believ-
ing’. He came to Lagos
to see what is on ground
especially at Caverton” in
his getting set for the mil-
itary industrial complex
take off.
“He came, he saw and
he is impressed by what
he saw. He is a talk-and-
do minister and will be
ready to work especially
with you,” he said.
In his welcome ad-
dress, the CEO, Olabode
Makanjuola described
the day of visit as special
because for the honour
of “hosting a very dis-
tinguished guest in the
person of the Honour-
He urged African
countries to accept the
fact that energy has a key
role to play in the future
of the continent, and the
integration of the energy
value chain is essential
for the continent’s an-
ticipated progress.
Brown said: “Reposi-
from N13.80 to N15.15, up
by N1.35 or 9.78 percent.
Unity Bank, Univer-
sal Insurance, Mutual
Benefit, Japaul Gold and
Veritas Kapital Assur-
ance were actively traded
stocks on Tuesday.
In 6,549 deals, inves-
tors exchanged 491,397,660
shares valued at
N3.221billion.
able Minister of Defence
for the Federal Republic
of Nigeria, His Excel-
lency Mohammed Ba-
daru Abubakar (MON),
Sardauna Ringim and
Walin Jahun.”
Makanjuola told
his guest about Caver-
ton Offshore Support
Group, which he said to
be a listed company on
the Nigeria Stock Ex-
change.
According to him,
the Group “takes great
pride in being the lead-
ing offshore support
logistics company in
Nigeria” with its sub-
sidiaries, Caverton
Marine and Caverton
Helicopters, equally
positioned as leaders in
their respective fields.
tioning the oil and gas
sector for the future re-
quires the understand-
ing of certain fundamen-
tals including accepting
the fact that the sector
will have a key role to
play well into the future
– particularly in Africa.
WEDNESDAY 22 NOVEMBER 2023
Nigeria’s financial market: FX, local
investor capacity weigh down progress
Continued from back page
the millennia. Balance
of payments imbalances
continue to plague na-
tional treasuries, and
reserve holdings are
usually limited consid-
ering the continent’s ap-
petite for foreign goods.
Access to foreign
exchange is a major
challenge to economic
actors in Nigeria and be-
yond in general, and to
the development of the
financial market in par-
ticular. Historically, the
supply side has not been
able to keep up with de-
mand. The most recent
episode was in part occa-
sioned by the nosedive
of commodity prices be-
tween 2012 and 2016. Oil-
dependent Nigeria lost
much-needed foreign ex-
change and had to draw
on foreign reserves to
defend the naira. In fact,
Nigeria’s reserves fell
by $7 billion between
2012 and 2017. Notice-
ably, foreign exchange
liquidity, gauged by
foreign exchange trades
in the interbank mar-
ket, improved from $5.6
billion in 2018 to $7.8
billion in 2019, with a
rebound in oil prices.
However, such modest
improvements in mar-
ket liquidity dwarf the
active foreign exchange
markets of South Africa
($1.7 trillion), Kenya
($34 billion), and Ghana
($29 billion) for the same
period. Although capital
control policies subdue
FX volatility and there-
by keep reserves stable
temporarily, volatility
always lurks nearby in
the shadow of disequi-
librium. In their bid to
curtail foreign exchange
volatility, central banks
are prone to the imposi-
tion of administrative
controls over goods sub-
ject to import restric-
tions and export repatri-
ation rules. The Central
Bank of Nigeria picked a
leaf from this playbook,
as did the Bank of Ghana
(BoG) in 1971 and 2014.
As it became known,
additional issues were
brought on by the un-
stable foreign exchange
market and the hold-ups
in the repatriation of
foreign currency out of
Nigeria. External dis-
ruptions—results from
the Russia-Ukraine
conflict and global mon-
etary tightening—have
further complicated this
predicament. Capital
outflows have impacted
a significant portion of
Africa and Nigeria as
a result of flight safety.
Thus, a less desirable
score of 44.1% was re-
corded in terms of ac-
cess to foreign exchange
over the review period.
At an average score
of 37.7%, the capacity of
local investors stands
out as Nigeria’s worst
scoring pillar and there-
fore requires policy-
makers’ attention. The
score is suggestive of the
lower ability of institu-
tional investors such as
pension funds to drive
Nigeria’s capital market
growth. Per capita as-
sets under management
(AUM) and assets under
management as a ratio
of domestic financial
market assets are the
key indicators of this
pillar. During the de-
cline in commodity pric-
es, as aforementioned,
currency depreciation
brought about by deteri-
orating current account
deficits had a negative
impact on asset valua-
tion. This development
did not bode well for this
metric. Thus, there is a
correlation between this
pillar and that of access
to foreign exchange.
Notably, diversification
into new products is
not allowed for pension
funds in Nigeria. Addi-
tionally, the maximum
amount of AUM that
can be allocated to un-
secured securities and
stocks is 25%. As protec-
tive as these provisions
are of AUM, they appear
to be retarding market
growth.
Conclusion
The ability to com-
mand, attract, and ef-
fectively deploy interna-
tional capital is essential
to the prosperity of any
nation. The influx of for-
eign direct investment
(FDI) into Africa contin-
ues to be confined to a
small number of nations
that work diligently to
create an environment
conducive to attracting
such investments. That
said, this year has seen
actions taken by the
CBN to enhance foreign
exchange accessibility.
It brought the various
foreign exchange mar-
ket segments together
under the investor and
exporter window. More
so, a bilateral agreement
with a multilateral insti-
tution like Afreximbank
for billions of dollars to
shore up reserves has
been reported. It might
also help to relieve pres-
sure on the naira to in-
centivize multinational
corporations that aren’t
listed on the Nigerian
Stock Exchange (NGX)
to do so. More so, policy
initiatives and direction
must be deliberate, tar-
geted, and not myopic
because the universe is
governed by laws, the
least of which is the in-
visible hand.
Adjei is a banker with
Aztec Microfinance
Bank Limited (FCT-
Abuja) and an alum-
nus of Commonwealth
Scholars and Fellows,
UK.
www.businessday.ng sign up for https://bit.ly/bdnewsletters
INSIGHT
Nigeria’s financial market: FX, local investor
capacity weigh down progress
By Samuel Koranteng Adjei
FINANCIAL market infra-
structure and private capital
from Africa and beyond are
crucial to Africa’s progress.
The growth of financial mar-
kets enables both domestic
and international investors to
gain entry into rapidly devel-
oping African nations.
The Absa Financial Mar-
kets Index (AFMI) monitors
the progress of indexed Afri-
can nations and highlights
the influence of policymakers,
regulators, and market par-
ticipants on the sustainable
development of their respec-
tive financial markets. The
index employs both quantita-
tive and qualitative analysis to
rank financial markets based
on the following six pillars:
market depth, access to for-
eign exchange, market trans-
parency, tax and regulatory
environment, capacity of local
investors, macroeconomic
environment and transpar-
ency, and legal standards and
enforceability. The index has
become an important tool for
institutional investors and
African countries at large in
assessing their performance
relative to their counterparts.
A review of the continent’s
financial markets through the
index’s lens shows the dynam-
ics of policy initiatives at play
in each financial jurisdiction.
Notably, South Africa has
been the dominant financial
market over the seven-year
period, with all scoring factors
influencing her position posi-
tively. Mauritius, Namibia,
Botswana, and Kenya con-
sistently jostle for a place in
the top five. Nigeria, Africa’s
biggest economy, on the other
hand, has been ranked third
on the continent since the
COVID-19 pandemic crisis. A
bronze medallion is fine, but
why settle for it when gold
is more desirable? Bringing
to the fore the factors deny-
ing Nigeria a pole position is
the spirit of this brief. After
all, after rebounding from a
sixth-place finish in 2017, Ni-
geria’s financial market has
stagnated at third place for the
past four years.
Nigeria’s scorecard (2017-
2023)
Nigeria’s financial market
ranked sixth in the inaugural
edition of AFMI with a score
of 53%. An improved score of
61% positioned the country
at fifth in 2018. The country
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Fig 1. Nigeria’s 7-Yr Historical Score
traded one place down in 2019
to sixth. The drop in place was
attributed largely to its mul-
tiple exchange rate reporting.
The ranking rallied up to third
in 2020 with a score of 65%,
buoyed by an enhanced con-
tractual and legal framework
(close-out netting) in its repo
and derivative markets. Even
though the country averaged
65.8% between 2021 and 2023, it
held on to its third-place spot.
This was made possible by
its attractive regulatory and
market environment and the
adoption of standard master
agreements, which encourage
investor confidence. Nigeria’s
overall scores over the seven-
year review period average
62.8%. The policy initiatives
and conditions that have con-
tributed to Nigeria’s financial
market performance since the
maiden edition of AFMI are
discussed below within the
framework of the index.
Nigeria, Africa’s
biggest economy,
on the other
hand, has
been ranked
third on the
continent since
the COVID-19
pandemic
crisis. A bronze
medallion is fine,
but why settle for
it when gold is
more desirable?
Editor: Tayo Fagbule. All correspondence to BusinessDAY Media Ltd., Box 1002, Festac Lagos. ISSN 1595 - 8590.
Sustained development
Generally, Nigeria’s financial
market performed well in
four out of the six scoring pil-
lars of AFMI. Market depth,
market transparency, tax
Table 1. Nigeria’s Pillar specific rankings (2017-2023)
and regulatory environment,
macroeconomic environment
and transparency, and legal
standards and enforcement
constitute the golden geese of
Nigeria. The country consis-
tently scored 50% and above
and averaged 61.3% for the
depth of its financial market
except in 2017. The depth of the
financial market is measured
in terms of the equity and
bond market sizes as well as
liquidity. The small but highly
active equity market, the
development of sukuk bonds,
and the plethora of products
such as equities, corporate
bonds, government bonds, FX
swaps, currency futures, and
ETFs on the market position
Nigeria well with respect to
market depth. The existence
of a functioning primary and
secondary market for gov-
ernment instruments also
contributes positively to the
market’s development.
The transparency of Nige-
ria’s financial market along-
side the tax and regulatory
environment fosters local and
WEDNESDAY 22 NOVEMBER 2023
foreign investor confidence.
This pillar moderated the
country’s financial market
performance for two consecu-
tive years whilst the others
struggled. The pillar averaged
88.9% between 2017 and 2023.
This pillar is the highest scor-
er for Nigeria and highlights
a transparent and regulated
investing environment. The
adoption of international ac-
counting conventions such
as International Financial Re-
porting Standards (IFRS), the
move by regulators to phase
in Basel III capital framework
in bank capital adequacy
requirement equally con-
tributed to the higher scores.
Policy moves that helped the
market included extending
the exemption from withhold-
ing taxes on capital market
transactions and modifying
the tax system to increase the
revenue base while enhanc-
ing the effectiveness of ad-
ministration and regulation.
Tax treaties and double taxa-
tion agreements with over
a dozen nations and rising
company ratings also boost
market growth. Incentives
for Environmental, Social and
Governance (ESG) asset issu-
ance and ESG integration into
financial market standards
are further initiatives.
Incremental scores over
the seven-year period were re-
corded for the macroeconomic
environment and transparen-
cy factors. It is one of two pil-
lars in which Nigeria scores
50% and above for the indica-
tors measured in three key ar-
eas of economic performance
(GDP growth and export com-
petitiveness), financial risks
(debt profile and health of the
banking sector), and macro
transparency (transparency
in monetary and fiscal policy
communications). Negative
economic growth (recession)
coupled with a subdued oil
price were major pain points
for Nigeria over the review
period. Nonetheless, a sustain-
able public debt profile and a
sound banking sector made
up for poor economic growth.
Equally contributing to the
average score of 68.4% for this
pillar is the periodic provision
of macroeconomic data and
monetary policy communique
by the regulatory authorities.
Nigeria’s alignment with
international legal and con-
tractual standards, leading to
the use of master agreements
developed by the Interna-
tional Swaps and Derivatives
Association (ISDA), as well as
the Global Master Repurchase
Agreement (GMRA) and Glob-
al Master Securities Lending
Agreement (GMSLA), serves
to strengthen the legality and
enforceability of rules in its
financial market. Netting-
off provisions made by the
Companies and Allied Mat-
ters Act of 2020 and the Banks
and Other Financial Institu-
tions Act of 2020 boosted the
score for the legal standard
and enforceability pillar. The
score catapulted from 42% in
2018 to 87% in 2020, signifying
the importance of investor
confidence in standardized
and enforceable contractual
obligations. The strides made
by the Central Bank of Nigeria
(CBN) in recognizing netting
arrangements for transac-
tions using the aforemen-
tioned global standard agree-
ments culminated in Nigeria
averaging a score of 92.8%
post-2018. However, a much
higher score would not have
been out of reach except for
the lack of a well-established
insolvency framework.
Emerging market challeng-
es
Most, if not all, governance
mechanisms in Sub-Saharan
Africa have failed at the eco-
nomic structural retooling re-
quired post-independence for
sustained economic growth.
The commodity-led (less-val-
ue) export-led economies in-
herited in the 1950s and 1960s
have not changed much. De-
pendency on revenue accruing
from such commodities as co-
coa, gold, and oil to implement
the many post-independent
development plans without
strategic risk management
cost the continent a decade of
economic retrogression. The
rampant military takeovers of
the 1970s, usually with a rheto-
ric to fix the economy, were
a dire result of such failures.
Not much has changed since
Continues on page A4