The Nation Newspaper

Author: The Nation

  • Can we also have a ‘Heroes’ Day’?

    Sir: On January 15, 2020, Nigeria will celebrate another Armed Forces Remembrance Day. It is the date set aside to salute Nigeria’s fallen heroes – soldiers who died in the two world wars of 1914 to 1918 and 1939 to 1945 and those who died during the 30 month-long Nigerian civil war.

    Emphasis here is on members of the armed forces, not the millions of non-combatant casualties, especially civilians who died during needless Nigerian civil war. The civilian victims will have to wait for an imaginative government in the future to carve out a date to remember them. It is okay for Nigeria to continue to mark important dates on its calendar for as long as millions of Naira is not appropriated for the purpose as was the case before 2015. Credit must go to the Buhari/Osinbajo for effectively taking care of that!

    But there is a misnomer in celebrating Armed Forces Remembrance Day on January 15 and this takes a lot of shine off the annual ritual. Celebrating an Armed Forces Remembrance Day on the anniversary of the needless murder of some of Nigeria’s finest political leaders by some over-pampered members of the Armed Forces is simply insensitive. Similarly, it does very little to heal the wounds of the avoidable and better-forgotten war civil war to fix an Armed Forces Remembrance Day on the date the war ended.

    Let us recall, for education, some of mind-bending events in the wee hours of January 15, 1966. In Kaduna, death came to Sir Ahmadu Bello, premier of the old Northern Region through Major Patrick Chukwuma Nzeogwu who invaded the premier’s lodge and killed the main tenant and his wife in cold blood.

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    In Lagos, soldiers invaded the official residence of Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, the nation’s first and only prime minister, took him away and killed him near Otta. The murderers are some of the members of the Armed Forces that the nation ironically salutes every January 15. Also executed, Gestapo-like, were Chief Samuel Ladoke Akintola, premier of the defunct Western Region and Festus Okotie-Eboh, the nation’s finance minister.

    Aside killing these political leaders, the soldiers effectively ended the nation’s bourgeoning democracy and set the stage for a long military interregnum. The immediate effect of the actions of the bloody coup was the suspicion it introduced into the Armed Forces which effectively set the pace for the needless and avoidable 30-month civil war. Nzeogwu and most of his fellow conspirators are dead, but they continue to be presented to Nigerians, alongside deserving members of the Armed Forces, as the best things to happen to Nigeria! This is for the simple reason that they were members of the Armed Forces whose fallen members are remembered every January 15.

    What makes the deaths of January 15 even more painful is that the victims were innocent of the cooked-up charges of treasury-looting levelled against them. None of the men stole public funds, none was accused of owning foreign bank accounts and, except for the flamboyant Chief Okotie-Eboh, the murdered politicians maintained Spartan life styles. Even in the case of Okotie-Eboh, his killers never substantiated claims that he amassed public funds to drive his flamboyant life style.

    What, exactly, do we celebrate on January 15? End of the civil war? Aside the estimated two million Nigerians lost to the war, the scars of the war are still there for all to see. If we still do not deem it fit to offer a public apology for the misdemeanour of some members of the Armed Forces, at least, we should be decent enough not to celebrate them on a date that sticks out like a sore thumb.

    There is absolutely nothing wrong with an Armed Forces Remembrance Day. By all means, the event should continue to be celebrated but let another date be chosen for this purpose.  For the sake of decency, there is also an urgent need to set aside a day to celebrate and salute outstanding Nigerian heroes and heroines. And, for all intent and purposes, January 15 fits the bill.

    If, however, January 15 is too appealing to be retained as Armed Forces Remembrance Day, then it is not out of place to set another date aside as Heroes Day.

     

    • Abdulrazaq Magaji,

    Abuja.

     

  • Re: My Ordeal with Oduduwa University

    SIR: Our attention has been drawn to a write-up under the above caption in which the writer; Akinyinka Omoniyi, parent of one of our students, Oluwatoitan Christie Omoniyi (U/18/BA/0279) of Business Administration Department, where he painted our institution blue and black as operating below international standards over the issue of non-release of his ward’s transcript of academic records to enable her transfer to another institution.

    We hereby humbly submit that while it is the exclusive right of a student to transfer to another institution; and indeed many of our students have done so, just as we have also admitted many transfer students from other institutions both public and private, each institution has in place its official processes which must be followed and adhered to either before releasing the transcript of academic records of a non-graduating student or before accepting a transfer student from another school.

    Oduduwa University, Ipetumodu, is no exception as we also have a process in place. For clarifications, part of this process includes obtaining clearances from the various departments and units which the students might have passed through during the course of his /her studentship. These departments and units include: Financial Services Department, University Library, Management Information System, Academic Records Unit, Student’s Affairs Department, University Health Centre and the Registry.

    Read Also: My ordeal with Oduduwa University, Ipetumodu

    While our methods may not measure up to your “international standards”, even you will agree with us that all these clearances are necessary processes for any student leaving any institution either as a graduating student or non-graduating student.

    Even in the civil service, those transferring their services from one agency or ministry to another need to collect clean bill of health from various quarters before leaving or being accepted.

    All these checks are what maintain a level of sanity, prevent fraud and ensure continuity in the system.

    We therefore wish to invite your daughter to complete the necessary clearance processes with the relevant departments and units after which she can request for the release of her transcript of academic records to any institution she wishes to transfer to.

    Oduduwa University, Ipetumodu though a young institution, today stands neck to neck with the best universities in Nigeria because of its believe in academic excellence in line with the visions of the founder to provide qualitative education in line with best teaching practice as observed all over the world.

     

    • Damilola Olaniyi Fadare,

    Oduduwa University, Ipetumodu.

  • Get them

     

    Policemen said to be driving against traffic on the Long Bridge end of the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway on November 18 must have forgotten that the law is no respecter of persons. But now that their action has claimed two lives, they would realise that their uniform is not a licence to commit illegality; it is actually a symbol of law and authority. Apparently they would have got away with the crime if they had not killed in the process because many of their colleagues who should have called them to order or got them arrested would merely have looked the other way.

    The vehicle in which the policemen were travelling, a Toyota Hilux van with number plate GGE 960 DD crushed two motorcyclists on a Bajaj motorcycle with number plate MEK 418 VH to death on the Long Bridge end of the expressway at about 10.05 a.m. The policemen immediately took to their heels even as other motorcyclists mourning the dead threatened to burn their van while emergency responders moved in and took the injured to the hospital. The remains of the deceased were deposited at the Lagos State Emergency Centre at the old tollgate area.

    According to the Sector Commander, Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Ogun State, Clement Oladele, “Three people were involved in the accident, one died and the two injured victims were rescued to the Lagos State Emergency Centre, Ojota, Lagos. The body of the dead was deposited in the hospital’s mortuary.

    Read Also: Three feared killed, policemen injured in Lagos clash

     

    “The suspected cause of the accident was route violation as the driver of the vehicle was speeding, while driving against the traffic. The vehicles involved were a white Toyota Hilux pickup van with number plate GGE 960 DD and a Bajaj motorcycle with number plate MEK 418 VH.”

    However, the spokesperson for the police in Ogun State, Abimbola Oyeyemi, said two passengers died, while the motorcyclist sustained injuries and was rushed to hospital, where he was responding to treatment.

    Here, the number of fatalities is not really important. Even if the accident recorded only one fatality, it was bad enough. What is paramount is why the policemen should be driving against traffic in the first place.

    While it might be too early to be judgmental on the matter, especially as we are not sure whether the policemen involved have turned themselves in or they’ve been arrested, it is not out of place to say that driving against traffic is common among all our security agents. As a matter of fact, virtually every person in one uniform or the other sees himself or herself as above the law. This impunity is common among the military men, policemen, and even in some instances, traffic officials. Yet, there are rules of engagement, even when these officials are on emergency assignments.

    As Oyeyemi noted, driving against the traffic is a serious offence and not even security agents or ambulances could do this except when on emergency. Even then, the vehicles must be security vehicles or ambulances that must carry a sign that they are on emergency assignment. In this particular instance, there was no such evidence; at least none yet has been presented to the public.

    This is why the police authorities must get the suspects arrested. This should not be difficult, especially since the vehicle was registered and branded, as Oyeyemi said. We align with the Ogun State Commissioner of Police’s order that everything must be done to get those involved. It is not enough to seize the vehicle. The owner/driver must be traced and made to face justice to serve as a deterrent to other law enforcement agents who take the laws into their hands. Policemen are law enforcers; they should therefore not be the very people breaking the law.

  • Before 2023

    Off-year elections, as polls detached from the General Elections are called, are supposed to afford the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, and other stakeholders the opportunity to perfect their act. They have more time to plan, hold a series of meetings; they are also able to deploy more personnel, among other advantages, because the elections are not nationwide. So, the question of being stretched thin does not arise.

    However, the Kogi and Bayelsa states’ governorship elections only brought out the worst in our electoral system. Those declared winners will, for long, have to battle for legitimacy. Guns boomed everywhere, ballot boxes were carted away to be stuffed only for them to resurface at collation centres, officials were abducted from polling units, results were allegedly falsified, lives were terminated. All because politicians wanted power at all cost.

    All those who were directly involved in conducting the polls have queries to respond to as all monitors, observers, the media, opposition parties and the international community were unanimous in concluding they were a sham. The INEC chairman, Prof. Mahmoud Yakubu, Inspector-General of Police, Mr. Adamu Mohammed, INEC national and resident electoral commissioners and professors brought in as returning officers should be made to explain the roles they played in making the country a laughing stock among the comity of nations.

    Just when the 2015 elections gave us the building blocks to lay the foundation for a solid, credible electoral system, the off-year elections in Ekiti and Osun states, last year, the 2019 General Elections, and now the Kogi and Bayelsa polls have pulled the nation back.

    Read Also: Kogi West poll: APC urges INEC, others to be transparent

     

    It is not enough for President Muhammadu Buhari to call for a thorough investigation into how Mrs. Salome Abuh was cruelly set ablaze by gun-toting thugs in Ofu Local Government Area of Kogi State in broad daylight. The President should, like the late President Umaru Yar’Adua, call for a security report on the two governorship elections. This is a time when the presidential duties as Head of State and Father of the Nation should prevail against his partisan role as leader of one of the contending parties; in fact the major beneficiary of the brigandage. He should demonstrate his love for the Nigerian state and her people by seeking to leave an enduring legacy.

    How did the heist in the two states take place given the deployment of 66,000 police officers and men? How did the thugs move about unhindered? Are the police conducting an internal inquiry into what happened? Has the IGP queried the senior officers deployed for the purpose? When would political actors live up to their assumed positions as leaders? When would they become responsible to the Nigerian state? It is a shame that the flaws that marred the 1964 federal elections, the 1965 Western Parliamentary Election, 1983 general elections and the Professor Maurice Iwu-supervised 2007 General Elections are still repeating themselves in 2019.

    We lost the chance of improving on the electoral architecture when President Buhari frustrated attempts to amend the Electoral Act prior to the last General Elections. This is the time for all well-meaning Nigerians to rise up to compel both the executive and legislative arms of government to conduct a wholesale review of the electoral process before partisanship gets in the way again. It is obvious that the Nigerian political actors are mere gain seekers. It therefore behooves all citizens – the academia, media, civil society organisations, religious bodies, Nigerian Bar Association, retired diplomats and professional bodies to rise up in defence of democracy because the conduct of credible periodic elections is at the heart of a viable democratic order.

    Failure of Nigeria to develop politically and economically could be traced to inability to sanitise the electoral system. Unless the needed steps are taken now, the violence that rocked Kogi and Bayelsa polls would be a child’s play during the 2023 General Elections. 

     

  • FBNInsurance settles N5.4b claims in nine months

    FBNInsurance Limited, one of the leading life insurance companies in Nigeria, has paid N5.4 billion claims settlements to its clients at the end of the third quarter of 2019, the Managing Director, Mr. Val Ojumah, has said.

    Ojumah, in a statement, stated that the company also paid N4.8 billion claims in 2018, despite the unpredictable economic situation in the country occasioned by the preparation for the general election at that time.

    He said the focus of the company was to maintain the indisputable leadership position in the life insurance sub-sector by paying claims promptly and at the same time protect the interest of its various corporate and individual clients.

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    According to him: “Ours is a business of trust and as part of our efforts geared towards maintaining irrefutable leadership in the life insurance sub-sector, we have built a solid foundation where our clients can insure their trust by promptly paying their claims. We have also deepened our footprints across Nigeria in our quest to serving our customers and shareholders even better than we have done in previous years.

    “Customer satisfaction is the fulcrum of insurance business and this inevitably builds customer loyalty and we will not fail to ensure this. We believe once FBNInsurance is able to pay customers’ claims as they arise, numerous customers and the general public will have faith to take up more life policies because they are convinced that should a claim/loss arise, FBNInsurance will be able to meet its financial obligations to them”.

    FBNInsurance is an FBNHoldings company associated with the Sanlam Group SA and was incorporated in 2010 to transact life insurance business in Nigeria and currently operates from over 40 outlets and two branches nationwide.

     

     

  • World’s best pension system pushed to the brink

    Record low interest rates are forcing the world’s best pension system to take drastic action aimed at staving off cuts to payouts that were once unthinkable.

    An extended period of negative or record low interest rates has put huge pressure on pension funds in the Netherlands, forcing them to alert retirees that their incomes could be cut. The Dutch government is working urgently to resolve the immediate problem, but the emergency is fueling concern in a country where an increase in the number of retiring workers means pension changes are inevitable.

    Dutch workers have typically been able to retire on a pension equivalent to roughly 80 per cent of their average pay. But stress on pensions from low interest rates has led to talk of reduced payouts to retirees, or increased premiums for those still in work, shocking a nation that has come to rely on a system known for its strict accounting and reliability. Nearly everyone has access to pensions from both the government and through their employer, and the Netherlands was ranked first in investment adviser Mercer’s 2019 annual review of global pensions.

    For global pension funds, low interest rates couldn’t have come at a worse time. Returns on their investments are poised to drop just as a seismic demographic shift takes hold. People are living longer, and populations are aging, which means there are fewer younger workers to pay into the system, keeping it afloat.

    A report last week estimated that the world’s top economies will face a shortfall of $15.8 trillion in 2050 — up from $1.1 trillion in 2017 — in providing financial security for their citizens in retirement. And that’s using optimistic assumptions on economic growth, wages and returns on pension investments.

    “It’s an extraordinary situation,” said Shaktie Rambaran Mishre, Chair of The Dutch Pension Federation, which represents about 200 pension funds. The Dutch government was forced to propose an intervention, which Mishre said “creates peace for now.”

    But for the Netherlands, these are uncharted waters. Mishre said such actions haven’t been necessary “as long as I’ve read the news.”

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    On the brink

    These developments have roots not in The Hague, the Netherlands’ seat of government, but in the cities that host the world’s most powerful central banks: Washington, Frankfurt and Tokyo.

    Central bankers have conducted an unprecedented experiment since the 2008 financial crisis. To juice a sluggish global economic recovery, they’ve pushed interest rates to their lowest points in history; in Europe and Japan, rates have been in negative territory since 2014 and 2016, respectively. Meanwhile, central banks have gobbled up bonds via massive asset purchase programmes with the aim of lowering long-term borrowing costs.

    Years later, the worrisome side effects of such policies face growing scrutiny. One consequence of negative rates has been the impact on banks, which have to pay to park their money with central banks instead of collecting interest. Savers have also been penalised.

    Now the impact on pension funds is coming into focus. These entities count on bonds for stable returns to fund payouts to pensioners. Yields on bonds from countries such as Germany are negative, forcing them to chase returns elsewhere. In the Netherlands, stringent accounting rules for calculating future costs – generally seen as a positive – mean that funds face higher liabilities when interest rates are low. If they can’t meet their obligations, they’re forced to cut benefits.

    “In all likelihood, we will have to reduce pensions next year, and it does not look good for the coming years either,” Corien Wortmann-Kool, the chair of ABP, one of the Netherlands’ largest funds, warned last month.

     

    • Culled from CNN Business

     

  • Pension fund ‘rose by N140b in September’

    Pension fund assets under the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) have continued to be one of the fastest growing savings accounts in the country as it grew by N140 billion in September.

    This is according to a table on pension monthly summary for September, released by the National Pension Commission (PenCom) this month, a copy of which was obtained by The Nation.

    The fund’s growth is majorly from a pool of monies in Retirement Savings Account (RSA), Retiree Fund and Return on Investment.

    Total fund assets as at the period under review increased to N9.58 trillion from N9.44 trillion recorded at the end of August, 2019.

    The N140 billion increment was achieved in September, representing 1.48 percentage growth in the period of one month.

    The pension industry regulator stated that the Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs) as usual invested 71 per cent of the total pension fund in Federal Government Securities, amounting to N6.8 trillion.

    Further breakdown showed that the pension managers invested N621 billion in Corporate Debt Securities, representing 6.4 per cent; Local Money Market N916 billion representing 11.2 per cent; and Mutual Funds N10 billion representing 0.2 per cent.

    Under Federal Government Securities, FGN Bonds got N4.4 trillion; Treasury Bills N2.2 trillion; Agency Bonds (NMRC & FMBN) N10 billion; Sukuk N80 billion; Green bonds N13 billion and State Government Securities N125 billion.

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    A further breakdown showed that N492 billion was invested in Domestic Ordinary Shares, representing 5.1 per cent; while N65 billion was invested in foreign ordinary shares representing 0.68 per cent.

    Under Corporate Debt Securities, Corporate bonds got N572 billion (5.97 per cent); Corporate Infrastructure bonds N17.79 billion, (0.19 per cent); Corporate Green Bonds, N31 billion, (0.33 per cent); Supra-National Bonds got N4 billion (0.04 per cent); Commercial Papers, N123 billion (1.29 per cent); and Banks, N951 (9.93 per cent).

    Under Mutual Funds – investments in Open/Close-End Funds was N9 billion representing 0.10 per cent); Reits was N11 billion representing 0.12 per cent; Real Estate Properties, N231 billion (2.42 per cent); Private Equity Fund, N32 billion (0.33 per cent), Infrastructure Funds, N34 billion (0.36 per cent); and Cash & Other Assets, N26 billion, (0.28 per cent).

    The commission noted that in line with the Multi-Fund Structure, Retirement Saving Account (RSA) Fund 1, N19.3 billion was invested; RSA Fund 11, N4.22 trillion; RSA Fund 111, N2.37 trillion and RSA Fund IV, N768.3 billion.

    PenCom’s Acting Director-General, Aisha Dahir-Umar, attributed the accumulation of N9.58 trillion and other successes achieved since inception of implementation of the CPS to contributors. She called on employers and contributors to continue to contribute positively towards the success of the pension reform.

  • Pension complaints and solutions

    ELETU: Dear Ma, this is the third appeal letter I have written to you without any reply either to me personally or published in The Nation newspaper. And I don’t miss any Wednesday newspaper. Therefore, consider me and help me out before I die. My name is ELETU from Ilorin. I was born on June 10, 1950. I joined Nigeria Customs Service on September 25, 1975. I retired on October 25, 2017. I am on Level 09/Step 10. I was verified on December 6, 2017 at PTAD headquarters Maitama, Abuja. Up till today, I have never received a kobo either pension, gratuity or any retirement benefit, both 33% arrears and other backlog retirement arrears since then. I have travelled to PTAD headquarters more than 100 times. All I was told was wait small,  but till when? I have written appeal letters to President, Vice President and even to the former Executive Secretary of PTAD, Mrs. Sharon Ikeazor. I have sold all my properties I acquired during my working time to treat myself and my aged, sick mother. Even my family is now going about begging. After serving my country for many years, is this how government will pay me back?  Save me and my family from suffering. I am on my sick bed now. Please appeal to PTAD to pay me.

    THE NATION: The Nation will intervene by sending your complaint to PTAD. Do watch out for the newspaper publication next Wednesday for a response from the commission and subsequently every week for pension news.

    MBA: Dear Omobola, my name is Mba, I am a state pensioner with federal share. I retired from service in September 2009, on Grade Level 15, Step 9. I have done my verification and have done that which is expected of me, yet nothing is forth coming. I have not been paid gratuity or pension. Kindly help me to get my little entitlement. From Owerri, Imo State.

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    THE NATION: The Nation will intervene by sending your complaint to PTAD. Do watch out for the newspaper publication next Wednesday for a response from the commission and subsequently every week for pension news.

    MRS. FLORENCE: I am Mrs. Florence from Akwa Ibom State. I am the pensioner whom you helped get PTAD to pay her pension that was skipped last year. I am still grateful to The Nation newspaper. But my second request is payment of my federal share of gratuity pending since May 2005 when I retired. Please, help me to get them to pay me as you did last year.

    THE NATION: The Nation will intervene by sending your complaint to PTAD. Do watch out for the newspaper publication next Wednesday for a response from the commission and subsequently every week for pension news.

    JOEL: Please will you kindly differentiate or explain the difference among these three pension terms: Lump Sum, Programmed Withdrawal and Annuity? I can’t comprehend how each works. Your assistance on this is highly needed. Thank you so much.

    THE NATION: The Nation will intervene by sending your complaint to PENCOM. Do watch out for the newspaper publication next Wednesday for a response from the commission and subsequently every week for pension news.

  • Boost for green entrepreneurship

    With unemployment rate standing at about 25 per cent, Lagos’ Apex Lion Club President Mrs. Cynthia Saka fears it could spell disaster for the economy. Consequently, she is taking steps to teach youths and others about recycling and green initiatives and how they can make a living, DANIEL ESSIET reports.

     

    From used oil recycling to upcycling old toys, there is a campaign to get young Nigerians to develop an eco-aware attitude. This is done in a number of ways; from explaining the basics of selective recycling to teaching them various ways to reduce waste. A major reason for this is to address the growing youth unemployment put at about 25 per cent.

    One of those in this campaign is Lagos Apex Lion Club President Deaconess Cynthia Saka, who fears the rate of unemployment could go higher with the economy in short supply of white-collar and low skilled- jobs. It is in line with the Lions’ Club’s objectives.

    Mrs. Saka is determined to support the government in scaling up responses to youth unemployment and underemployment crisis. She spoke after her investiture as president of Lagos Apex Lion Club.

    Nigeria has a serious waste problem and produces thousands of tonnes of solid waste every day, but inadequate laws and lack of resources mean that only a few are collected. The rest ends up on the streets, where it blocks drains, encourages vermin, and spreads diseases.

    She sees plastic littering the streets, clogging the sewers and encroaching into homes. She believes waste is a resource because it is churned out in abundance and it can be harnessed to build up into a thriving business in the process.

    Her plan is to help youths turn trash into products and build sustainable businesses that address waste issues – while also providing skilled green jobs.

    She said waste plastics have detrimental impact on the community, environment and human health and even on agricultural land, hence the need to recycle them and help Nigerians transform them into money.

    According to her, green entrepreneurship is going to form an integral part in her fight against youth unemployment due to the low entry-level requirements.

    She said promoting youth self-entrepreneurship and creativity in the field of waste re-use and management is definitely an indispensable investment, not only to pave way for new ideas and service improvements, but also to rethink future resource management in a perspective increasingly sustainable.

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    Mrs. Saka is already training youths on waste plastics recycling. She wants to train many Nigerians on it to reduce unemployment, fight poverty and reduce idleness, saying this will be achieved through practical, high-impact solutions aimed at creating opportunities via education and training.

    According to her, the club understands that partnerships and collaborations are the bedrock of success and the drivers of sustainable impact. To this end, she said the club will work to facilitate the partnerships necessary to solve the youth unemployment problem. She promised to take the club to greater heights, even as she gave assurance that all club projects for the less privileged in the society, would be completed.

    The District Governor 404-2 (2019-2020),Lion Wesley Kafidiya, stressed that the Lions Clubs worldwide is charged to be at the forefront of transformational change in their communities, despite economic, social and political challenges.

    Lions Club International is an International secular, non-political service organisation founded by Melvin Jones in 1917. As of April 2015, it had over 46,000 local clubs and more than 1.4 million members in over 200 countries around the world.

  • ‘Tackling macroeconomic concerns will attract foreign investors’

    Founder and Managing Partner of Imperial Law Office Afolake Lawal is one of Nigeria’s leading corporate governance experts. She sits on the board of many companies, including Eterna Plc, Champion Breweries Plc and Morison Industries Plc. With nearly three decades advising and growing companies with significant scale and complexity, Lawal, an alumnus of Harvard Business School, comes with a fine blend of vast legal knowledge, practical capital market know-how and cross-discipline knowledge. In this interview with Capital Market Editor, Taofik Salako, she speaks on Nigerian economic environment, corporate governance, legal imperative of economic development and capital market development, among others.

     

    WHAT is your assessment of the corporate governance environment in Nigeria, especially in the capital market?

    Our corporate governance environment can be described as one of steady implementation. You know that elements of corporate governance have always been a part of our corporate culture, and for as long as we have had companies. However, its recognition as a distinct and core element of institution building only became mainstream with the enactment of the Companies and Allied Matters Act 1990 (“Act”). Provisions like how and when you conduct meetings, quorum for meetings, the appointment of auditors, filing of corporate actions, powers of the board and appointment of independent directors, amongst others, are all features of any mature corporate governance system, and when you study the Act, you find that the drafters intended companies to have in place minimum governance framework and processes.

    So while a number of companies have a semblance of the basic structure required by the Act, far more are attempting to attain greater maturity levels. In the case of companies which tapped the public markets to raise capital, they have mainly adopted the corporate governance requirements essential to foster trust between companies and the investing public. To a very large extent, the activities of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) have been instrumental to this trust, such that the level of trust in our public companies is simply a reflection of their compliance with the various governance obligations. So, we are seeing transparency, accountability, risk management, internal controls, disclosures and reporting across board, notwithstanding varying levels of execution. And that’s a good thing for us.

    The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) recently issued a new Code of Corporate Governance. Do you think this will sufficiently address the challenges of corporate governance?

    It is often assumed that more laws or regulations necessarily translate to compliance and achievement of a mature corporate governance environment. However, if the incentives are not uniquely aligned, then the discussion of whether challenges have been sufficiently addressed becomes moot. Put it this way, what the FRC Code is trying to accomplish can be achieved within existing governance regulations, so it is more of a harmonisation attempt, rather than a substantive improvement on existing regulations.

    The main challenges remain those of implementation, enforceability, uniformity of application and key-man risk. Since the FRC Code is a principles-based instrument, with the expectation that companies will simply comply before complaining or explaining their concerns, it provides guidance in dealing with these challenges. But in reality, its true test is yet to come. For example, how do you enforce or mitigate the effect of key-man risk when it comes to board decision-making? If in a board of five members, three are consistently voting in the same pattern, is that a violation of Rule 2.6 of the FRC Code? So, this and a few other areas simply indicate that the FRC Code may not have harmonised the incentives for all stakeholders, even if it has harmonised the various existing governance codes.

    The Companies and Allied Matters Act has been undergoing review, in the light of current operating realities and economic needs. What are those major elements you think need to be reviewed to facilitate corporate development and ease of doing business?

    I think any review of the Act must take into consideration the need for technology and digital transformation of existing processes and functions – be it those that are performed by the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) or those that will be performed by companies regulated by the Act. The time expended on operations like business registration, filings, document and information retrieval can be considerably lowered. At  the moment, the CAC has deployed an online service platform, which should hopefully achieve the objectives of reducing bureaucracy, optimising time management, and the fast retrieval or access to information.

    An important aspect of our law involves the distinction between a private and public company, and that distinction centres on the constitution of both types of companies. My view is that one reason why smaller businesses don’t take off stems from the limitation imposed on membership of a private company. The maximum number of shareholders a private company can have is 50 persons. What that does is inhibit how much equity capital company promoters can raise, especially if they intend to go into capital-intensive businesses. Removing that limit would facilitate the ease of doing business for companies since they are then likely to have greater runway by raising capital from a broader shareholder base. When you think about it, the average number of subscribers to initial public offers is in  thousands. These two areas would readily bring about improvement in the ease of doing business.

    As a capital market and corporate governance expert, will you say the legal and enforcement framework is sufficient for investors’ protection?

    Yes, I believe the existing legal and enforcement framework has enough provisions to ensure investors’ protection. Let’s start with some of the provisions of the Act. The Act establishes that every company must hold an Annual General Meeting (AGM) once a year, except for the year of incorporation and at least not more than 16 months from the date of the last AGM. The AGM affords investors an opportunity to review the operations and financial performance of the company. The law also guarantees and protects the right of every shareholder to vote at general meetings, and shareholders typically do  exercise those rights. In the event of an unlawful and oppressive conduct perpetuated by the directors of a company, the Act allows shareholders to bring an action against the company or its directors, and even minority shareholders enjoy similar rights of action.

    In protecting investors, the SEC is empowered to investigate any complaint filed by an aggrieved investor either against a capital market operator (CMO) or a company. On various occasions, the courts and SEC have revoked licenses of CMOs, recommended and taken over control of others, sacked directors of companies, and have imposed other punitive sanctions to discourage unethical practices. Don’t forget that the Investment and Securities Tribunal (IST) also plays a role in checkmating transgressions relating to securities, such as insider trading. There are also various rules in place that are actively enforced by SEC to protect investors, such as the requirement to file quarterly returns. Also, the Investors Protection Fund (IPF) exists to compensate aggrieved investors for certain pecuniary losses.

    There is this perception in some quarters that Nigerian companies are bogged down by many conflicting and duplicated laws. Are we really being over regulated?

    It is safe to assume so. Our problem is not a paucity of laws, but that of weak institutions that don’t always enforce legislations. There is a plethora of laws that seek to regulate the capital market alone: you have the Act, the Investments and Securities Act (ISA) and extant SEC Rules, and more recently, the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Act (FCCPA) amongst others. This should not be the case, as sometimes these laws duplicate themselves. The FCCPA now regulates mergers and acquisitions; however you still have to refer to the ISA for the mere fact that the former does not specify thresholds for the types of mergers, unlike the latter. So you will find that those planning merger and acquisition would still have to refer to two laws and two bodies, even though the FCCPA is now supposed to regulate mergers. It can actually be argued that merger and acquisition under the ISA only applies to public companies, so that the FCCPA applies broadly to public and private companies. Notwithstanding, this makes for cumbersome legal work.

    In the United Kingdom, the Financial Securities Act solely regulates their capital market. Consequently, it might be helpful to harmonise most of these legislations to remove this element of overregulation.

    What are the remedies available to investors in the case of market abuse or corporate governance failure?

    If they suspect insider trading and other instances of market abuse, investors can inform the regulators who are bound to investigate such complaints. Also, where CMOs are found liable, there are heavy sanctions for various forms of offences, including revocation of licenses, fines, and SEC can also mandate an operator to refund funds that have been lost. The Investor Protection Fund (IPF) also allows investors to be compensated for pecuniary losses arising from the insolvency or negligence of a CMO.

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    In the case of the companies in which these investors are shareholders, there are provisions to remedy abuse of corporate power. You can institute an action to restrain a company from further carrying on unlawful acts or to perform certain lawful acts which have been omitted by the company. They can sue for damages or for compensation; and obviously, investors can always vote to remove members of the board of directors. Between the provisions of the Act and the ISA, I would argue that investors are well protected.

    In the global competition for foreign investments, what could be done to make Nigeria an investment destination of choice?

    This is a challenge that should be addressed at the macroeconomic level. Reduce taxes, increase productivity by improving the ease of doing business, fix insecurity and infrastructural issues in the country.

    Respect for the rule of law is absolutely essential as investors are reluctant where they feel that Nigerian entities can disregard the law in their dealings with them. Easy and quick dispensation of justice against investment disputes will also foster the confidence of investors that their interests are protected.

    Admittedly, there are laws that encourage investors such as tax incentives, pioneer status, export tariffs, concessions and waivers but these are offset by political instability and policy confusion. Legal and political certainties are incredibly crucial. Insecurity and an atmosphere of uncertainty hamper foreign investments.Government needs to understand the key role of having clear cut and consistent economic policies to convince investors about the direction of the economy.

    Given the role as the chief executive for the reform of the Nigerian capital market, what will be your priorities?

    My reforms would be geared towards improving the ease of participation in the capital markets by reducing the costs and time involved in some of its processes. For example, processes for registration of shares and floating of shares on the exchange can be greatly improved upon. Another major priority of mine would be to increase the financial awareness and financial literacy of the public through financial literacy programmes. We need a lot more of our populace to be part of the investor base in our market. Also, there is need to encourage the introduction of products that can deepen the level of activity in the market, for example, risk-sharing transactions. At any rate, this sort of transactions requires a certain level of sophistication that comes through financial literacy.

    Low domestic investment base has been one of the causes of extreme volatility in the Nigerian investment market, how do we address this?

    As said earlier, I think educating the populace on the investment possibilities in the markets can help in this regard. Fundamentally, there is a lack of trust in the system that is repellent to the average Nigerian when it comes to investing in the stock market, and also because we are relatively a consumption economy and a larger bracket of people fall into the lower earning class, most people are not thinking of investing in that sense, they are primarily saving to spend. I think the only way out is to grow the economy. There has to be a manifest commitment from the government to implement policies that encourage both business activities as well as private wealth increase. That way, you create economic opportunities for all, so that where the average investor witnesses favourable economic conditions, both personally and systemically, they become keen on participating in the market.

    In terms of cost and accessibility, how accessible and affordable are specialised investment services like yours to the ordinary minority retail investors?

    There is still a misconception that investing is only for the “rich” who have lots of disposable income to play with. The fact is that, there are different products and services for different financial capacities. Our firm’s wealth management and trust service for example is one of the most affordable when you compare it with those of other top firms. Our legal and financial advisory are tailored to enable our clients obtain the best advisory service on a plan suitable to their present status. And we are constantly building partnerships with other institutions that typically serve our clients, in order to have leverage and bring our services closer to retail investors. Investment is a mindset and you can always start from where you are if you are determined to.