Author: The Nation

By Okwy Iroegbu-Chikezie

Dangote Fertiliser is to train farmers in the Southeast on the use of the product, a representative of the company, Ekene Obiefuna, has said.

Obiefuna, who spoke at the  Enugu International Trade Fair, said with the training on the best ways of applying fertiliser, farming would become very lucrative and attract more people to embrace it as a means of livelihood.

He explained that the fertiliser company, which has commenced operations, has the capacity to meet and exceed the domestic demand for fertiliser across the country.

According to Obiefuna, farmers, especially in the Southeast, are to benefit from the company as there would be soil tests to determine the appropriate fertiliser type and quantity to be applied as to produce a bumper harvest.

In his welcome address, President of ECCIMA, Mr. Emeka Nwandu, said Alhaji Dangote, had through his company, Dangote Group, added a lot value to the  economy, operating in almost every sector.

Nwandu, represented by a council member Mr. Nonye Osakwe, said the company had showed “great level and high degree of vision, creative thinking, research, innovation, doggedness, handwork and industry”.

“Today, Dangote business and entrepreneurship indulgence has spread to many parts of African continent, employing thousands of people across the world of which not less than 85 per cent are Nigerians.

“As we look forward to Dangote Refinery coming on stream, we believe it will go a long way in addressing the challenges and problems associated with availability and cost of refined petroleum products in Nigeria.

“I have no doubt that in the years to come, Dangote Group will become not just a big industrial player in Nigeria and Africa, but also the entire globe, deepening the creation of wealth and employment generation”, he added.

The ECCIMA President then gave the assurance that the council would continue to partner with the industry to be endearing as well as grow from strength to strength.

Representative of Dangote Industries Limited, Bankole George, in his remarks, promised to maintain the partnership with ECCIMA to stimulate economic activities in the South East.

Bankole described the Enugu Trade Fair as an avenue for the company to connect with their numerous customers in the South East. “It is a home coming as the region is known for innovation and industry. We at Dangote Group and people of the South East share the trait of continuously pushing beyond limits and discovering new levels of success, he added.

Bankole who is also the Regional Sales Director, South East, Dangote Cement, said “Despite our dominance position, we are innovative and always thinking of strategies that will drive business and create value for our customers.

“This we achieve partly by increasing the number and quality of products in our portfolio as increased range of products provide more options, alternatives and businesses for our customers.

“Our target is to ensure that Nigeria becomes self-sufficient in all the sectors where we play, cement, agriculture, mining and petroleum”, Bankole said.

 

 

By Muyiwa Lucas

The Federal Government has set up an inter-ministerial committee to access the Kaztec fabrication yard  in Snake Island, Lagos and make recommendations on how to get facility back into operation.

Chairman of the committee, Senator Magnus Abe, stated this when the committee embarked on an assessment visit to the fabrication yard.

Abe said work stopped at the yard in 2015 when  Addax Petroleum had tax and audit problems with the Federal Government.

As a result, the government declared force majeure and suspended activities at the fabrication yard.

Addax was the main contractor to Kaztec Engineering Limited, owner of the fabrication yard.

“This is the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Assistance to Kaztec Engineering, set up by President Muhammadu Buhari  to look at ways and means by which the Federal  Government can legally assist this company to come back to life.

This facility we are here to inspect is called the Antan facility established by Kaztec Engineering sometime in 2012 as part of contracts that were awarded to them by Addax Petroleum. Addax Petroleum awarded this contract to Kaztec Engineering to establish this fabrication yard as part of the exploration activities of Addax. Later, sometime in 2015, Addax ran into some tax and audit issues with the Federal Government and so, they called a force majeure on the contract that they were no longer going ahead with them. By that time, Kaztec Engineering had already spent more than $600 million and built this yard, imported a lot of equipment and materials and was employing over 3,000 direct workers and with over 10,000 ancillary dependents on this contract. But when a force majeure was declared, all those people lost their jobs,” Abe explained.

The Director of Engineering, Kaztec, Mike Simpson, said the company has the expertise and capacity to revamp the fabrication yard. “Kaztec Engineering Limited is anxious to resume operations, implement further planned investment, and remobilize our labor force. Support from your good offices in the form of activation of previously committed projects that were suspended and new projects that will ensure a steady workflow is necessary for our return to the market. Expertise accumulated during our years of operation is completely retained in our internal practices and procedures and ready to be put back into use. KEL is capable of restarting with little or no learning curve – we are still in continuous touch with our released personnel,” Simpson said.

By Lucas Ajanaku

Data and collaboration are vital tools to improving credit access to small businesses across the country, experts said at a virtual media interaction on Government Enterprise and Empowerment Programme (GEEP).

Founder of Bankly, Tomi Adejana, a secure digital savings platform for the informal sector  who joined other professionals working closely with the informal sector on ‘Securing the informal economy’ described the method used by most business owners in the informal sector as limiting, given the lack of credit history or data.

She said the importance data plays in helping to show a pattern for people in the informal sector who might want to use that historic insight as proof of their worthiness for more credit.

She explained why financial inclusion has remained a major topic in the country for more than a decade, as the  practices available to this large productive sector of the economy almost certainly ensure that they can’t escape the cycle of poverty and start to create sustainable wealth.

While education is a core factor in financial exclusion, the lack of knowledge about credit facilities and how to access it prevents people within the informal sector from having that as an option; the lack of data remains a huge setback.

In 2016, the Federal Government GEEP started tackling this lack of data by supporting undocumented farmers and traders with micro-credit for their businesses. This move proved instrumental during the peak of the pandemic, as Executive Director, Micro Enterprises at the Bank of Industry (BoI), Toyin Adeniji, a co-panelist said COVID interventions should go using over 40 data points collected over the period the programme has run.

Founder of Rendra Foundation, Onyeka Akpadia, said there is a huge household dependency on the incomes of people, many of whom are women, running most of Nigeria’s informal businesses. This meant that every support they receive directly and indirectly affects the quality of life of families and wider communities. She stressed the need to work with more people who understand how the informal sector functions, to see that resources get to the right people and impact the right beneficiaries.

Managing Director of LAPO Microfinance Bank, Godwin Ehigiamusoe, said there are broader benefits that could be available to people within the informal sector if health and education interventions worked with grass root organisations to use their data in allocating micro-insurance to people in the informal sector to help them reduce heavy expenses made on those two line items. This, he said, would gradually move the process away from an intervention mode and make it institutional where all parties work seamlessly to create a pathway for everyone to benefit from such opportunities and escape poverty.

As it stands, different processes in Nigeria such as the current drive for citizen identification, private businesses in the financial space deploying agent networks to even the most remote areas to move people from unbanked to banked and help them save their money in more secure forms, as well as other financial illiteracy programs all point to a coming improvement in how the informal sector of the economy will be catered for.

Prof. Olawale Ajai of the Lagos Business School highlighted a shift in focus from people just looking for handouts to more sustainable financing for people eager to create real value.

Lagos State Internal Revenue Service (LIRS) has extended filing on Individual Annual Tax Returns by an additional two weeks starting from today.

In accordance with the provisions of Section 41 of the Personal Income Tax Act LFN 2004 as amended,  taxable persons, including self-employed, employees, professionals, in the state are to file their tax returns for 2020 Year of Assessment.

According to the Executive Chairman, LIRS, Mr. Ayodele Subair, “Statutorily, the filing of Individual Annual Tax Returns expires on March 31st of every fiscal year, and attracts penalties for defaulters. Taxpayers are, thereby, urged to take advantage of this extension to perform their civic obligation.

The extension of the deadline is in response to appeals made by taxpayers as well as an attempt to assuage the effect of the pandemic on the taxpayers and residents of Lagos State.”

LIRS implores taxpayers with difficulties in filing of their annual return to seek assistance with specially designated staff at our tax stations statewide or call our Customer Care representatives on 0700CALLLIRS (0700-2255-5477).

Further updates on LIRS business operations and alternative payment platforms of the service can be obtained by visiting the LIRS website (www.lirs.gov.ng), and its various social media platforms @lirsgovng.

Lagos State Internal Revenue Service (LIRS) appeal to residents of Lagos State to support the efforts of the Lagos State Government ably led by Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu by adhering strictly to the safety guidelines as issued by relevant health authorities.

By Oluwakemi Dauda

The Association of Motor Dealers Of Nigeria(AMDON) have expressed dismay over plans by the Federal Government to ban the importation of vehicles that are older than seven years, saying the planned policy is already dead on arrival.

The Comptroller-General of Customs, Col. Hameed Ali (rtd),  revealed plans by the government to ban the importation, while appearing before the House of Representatives Committee on Customs and Excise, on Tuesday, during the agency’s budget defence.

But many importers and the National President of AMDON, Mr Ajibola Adedoyin, have condemned the move and urged the government to consider the poor.

According to Adedoyin, “To us, I can tell you authoritatively that such policy cannot work. I can also tell you that the Comptroller-General of Customs knows that such a policy cannot work. I can say this to his face.

“From what the CG of Customs said yesterday, it means they are trying to work on a policy that will ban the importation of vehicles not made before 2014/2015 because we are now in 2021.

How many Nigerians can afford such vehicles? Are we not going back to the reasons the National Automotive Policy did not work?

“When I read the news of the CG of Customs comment, I didn’t believe it.’’

He could say such a thing knowing full well how things work here in Nigeria. How many Nigerians can buy those vehicles made in 2014/2015?

“Ensuring local production of vehicles does not mean you will then stop people from accessing a necessity such as vehicles. If you want to make local production thrive, you will design the kind of vehicle that will be accessible and affordable to the people. Not that you will be assembling expensive vehicles that sell around N7million locally and you will be claiming to want to improve local production of vehicles. How many Nigerians can afford N7million vehicles?

“When India started, they started with very affordable vehicles that their citizens could afford. Go and read about Indian automobile history, they started with vehicles that were within the range of all its citizenry. We should stop deceiving ourselves in this country.

“How many people in Nigeria that is not in government or stealing government funds can afford a car of N4million comfortably? How come it is those kinds of car’s that Nigerians cannot afford that our own government now wants to restrict the importation of vehicles on?

“I am just surprised that this is coming from the Customs CG because we have made several presentations to him, trying to let him understand how these things work.

“Why do you think the government reduced the duty on vehicles and trucks that can carry more than ten persons?

“The government reduced the duty on these types of vehicles because we have a transportation lacuna which of cause has to be sorted out. Now, if the same government is now coming up with a policy that will ban not more than seven years old manufactured vehicles, tell me, who is fooling who?

“We are the ones bringing in the vehicles, and the Customs CG has no control over the rise of Dollar or other statistics attached to vehicle importation. Except maybe, if government wants to delve into vehicle importation and also reduce the Dollar rate for itself.

“If Government wants Nigeria to be producing vehicles, tell me, of what use is the National Automotive Design and Development Council? Is the Council not supposed to sit down and design a vehicle that will be affordable to all Nigerians,” he said.

Another importer, Mr Lekan Adebayo said, many Nigerians, cannot afford very expensive vehicles.

“Even if the duty is reduced and government decides to give out loans to everybody, how many can comfortably use such a loan to buy a vehicle of N5million or even N4million? Therefore, the policy is not a good policy and it would fail. It is high time we stopped fooling ourselves in this country,” he said.

 

By Daniel Essiet

Nigeria’s gross domestic product (GDP) is projected to expand by 1.5 per cent this year, after a contraction of 3.5 per cent in 2020, the United Nations (UN) said yesterday.

In the latest World Economic Situation and Prospects report, the UN noted, however, that tighter foreign exchange (forex) liquidity, mounting inflationary pressures and subdued domestic demand clouded the medium-term outlook.

The World Economic Situation and Prospects 2021 is a report produced by the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA), in partnership with the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), and the five UN regional commissions.

In the report, the global body warned that the devastating socio-economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic will be felt for years to come unless smart investments in economic, societal and climate resilience ensure a robust and sustainable recovery of the global economy.

Specifically, the UN observed that African countries are experiencing an unprecedented economic downturn with major adverse impacts on development.

Commenting on the report, UN Secretary-General António Guterres, said: “We are facing the worst health and economic crisis in 90 years. As we mourn the growing death toll, we must remember that the choices we make now will determine our collective future. Let’s invest in an inclusive and sustainable future driven by smart policies, impactful investments, and a strong and effective multilateral system that places people at the heart of all socio-economic efforts.”

The report underscored that sustained recovery from the pandemic will depend not only on the size of the stimulus measures, and the quick rollout of vaccines, but also on the quality and efficacy of these measures to build resilience against future shocks.

Despite the relatively few numbers of cases compared to other continents, the report, posited that the COVID-19 pandemic will continue to strongly impact living conditions and development progress in Africa.

“The crisis is already increasing unemployment, poverty and inequality. Most countries are facing enormous challenges to keep the pandemic under control and mobilise financial resources to support health systems, protect vulnerable groups, and support the recovery. “After a contraction of 3.4 per cent in 2020, Africa is projected to achieve a modest recovery, with regional GDP expanding by 3.4 per cent in 2021. This recovery is predicated on the rise of domestic demand and the pick-up of exports and commodity prices,” the report said.

Last year, the global economy shrank by 4.3 per cent, over two and half times more than during the global crisis of 2009. The modest recovery of 4.7 per cent expected in 2021 would barely offset the losses of 2020, according to the report.

By Okwy Iroegbu-Chikezie

A 23-acre estate christened Sapphire Courts has berthed in Mowe,  Ogun State.

General Manager MeritAbode  Properties, Owners of the estate, Ofure Oseni, said the bungalows, which are two and three-bedrooms, are dubbed affordable luxury as they come with full complements – a global Certificate of Occcupancy (Cof O), paved walk-in ways, solar light system, pipe borne  water, recreation area and security.

Oseni said every buyer would get a contract of sale, deed of assignment upon completion of payment.

On the challenges facing developers, Oseni said: ” There are too many bottlenecks in documentation with the government, access to funding is a major issue, as banks and financial institutions seem to have developed thick skin to funding real estate development. We appeal to the government to make the process of land acquisition easier and less cumbersome.”

The firm’s Sales Manager, Victor lgbenoba said it was developing the estate to target the influx of people as a result of the envisaged  massive Federal Government presence in no distant time.

He said: “The government alone cannot provide all the housing need of the population with a gap of over 20 million. With our intervention in this important sector through our various schemes after nine years in the sector, we want to help the government to take off this important need in every man’s life”.

Igbenoba said the estate is about 20 minutes’ drive to Ikeja, the capital of Lagos State. He added that the first 50 subscribers would get a bonus of free plot in their estate of choice  in either Shimawa in Ogun State or Agbara in Lagos State.

The firm also unveiled its brand ambassadors. Nollywood star, Jide Kosoko, who spoke on behalf of the ambassadors, said if the company was not real and it’s not known to deliver on promise, he and other artists wouldn’t have agreed to be signed on.

He said: “For nine years, the firm has been meeting the housing need of Nigerians, incorporating the right ethics in business. The government alone cannot provide the needed house for the public that is why they have our full support.If the organisation is not real we will not be here today.”

Calls to give Lagos State a special status to, among other things, arrest the infrastructural decay in some parts of the city seem to be receiving attention with the visit by of some government’s officials led by the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Works and Housing, Alhaji Babangida Hussaini, to Lagos to inspect some infrastructure, OKWY IROEGBU-­CHIKEZIE reports.

The statistics makes the mind  boggle. No fewer than 123,000 people  migrate to Lagos State daily at the rate of 86 immigrants per minute. This is, probably, the highest in any city in the world.

The rate of migration into the state has, however, not been commesurate with the rate of infrastructural development in the mega city; hence, the  infrastructure have come under intense pressure, leading to the collapse of some of these facilities in a state whose population is estimated at over 23 million.

Consequently, the Lagos State government has unveiled its plans to increase spending on infrastructure in this fiscal year, while also doubling its efforts to repair the damage inflicted on the commercial hub by protests last October, following the violence that climaxed the  #ENDSARS protest.

According to the state’s year’s spending plan, capital projects will get 60 per cent of its proposed budget of N1.164 trillion, which is targeted at “massive infrastructure renewal and development’’.

Permanent Secretary,  Federal Ministry of Works and Housing,  Alhaji Babangida Hussaini, while lamenting the state of infrastructure in Lagos,   when he led officials of the ministry on an inspection of roads and housing projects in the state, decried the parlous state of some of the national assets  in Lagos and pledged the Federal Government ‘s commitment to maintaining them.

He said: “The decay has accumulated over the past 40 years, but with the commitment of the present administration they are being addressed.”

He said the government has created opportunities such as the SUKUK projects, the presidential intervention funding and, the tax credit scheme to  fix these  decayed infrastructure.

He also said the government’s plan to resuscitate the moribund Onikan artisan’s training school using The Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP) to retrain the youth so that they could support professionals on site.

The permanent secretary, who said the  visit was in continuation of the ministry‘s technical inspection of  projects that took him to Kaduna, Zaria and Funtua last weekend,  commended the speed at which renovation works was completed on the Third mainland bridge,  assuring that the ministry will continue to monitor and improve the integrity of the  facility .

“The ministry’s headquarters is here (Lagos) and most of our facilities are still here and we need to maintain them. This is in tune with the Federal Government’s policy to set up the asset management of the facilities. It is always important to look at the assets, maintain and keep them.

“A lot need to be done, it’s quite unfortunate that it costs a lot to maintain these edifices and financial factors have impeded the ability of the ministry to keep them in good shape but we are doing our best,” he added.

Hussaini also promised that the government would repair the Airport link Bridge. The bridge, which runs over Toyota Bus Stop on the Apapa-Oshodi-Ojota-Oworosoki Expressway, was engulfed by fire when a tanker conveying 44,000 litres of diesel,  burst into flames in January.  Assessment of the burnt portion had shown that 200 metres of the rigid pavement of the expressway reconstruction being carried out by the Dangote Group was burnt.

Also, the deck of the flyover was burnt and its pier badly damaged, raising fears of the structural instability of the bridge. The bridge had since being closed to vehicular movements, making motorists face daunting difficulties along the route.

The PS, who said the rehabilitation  would begin before the end of this month, added: “The procurement process is already ongoing.”

“The fund meant for this project is already in the budget; it is part of the emergency provisions. Technical evaluation and integrity tests have been concluded on the project. We are in the procurement process. So, by the end of March, the contractor will move to site,’’ he said.

He described the bridge as the international link, saying that the Federal Government was aware of the difficulties being faced by the public due to its closure.

“There is a need for us to display good maintenance culture in using public facilities. We also need to regulate the activities of tankers carrying petroleum products. I think we need to be more cautious; we can all see the extent of damage on this bridge; we can also see the impact on the people. The Federal Government is committed to the upgrading of infrastructure in Lagos State,’’ he stated.

On the return to the ‘right of way’, by artisans, traders and others, he responded that the government has taken cognizance of that fact but insisted that they would be permanently removed.

He added that the long-term plan to include beautification and lighting on the ongoing Apapa-Oshodi-Ojota-Oworonshoki reconstruction and rehabilitation project would eliminate encroachment on the right of way soonest.

On the drag on the completion of Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, he said  compensation and relocation of utilities were challenges slowing down  the Lagos-Ibadan road’s project.

It would be recalled that the Lagos–Ibadan Expressway is a 127.6-kilometre road connecting Ibadan, the nation’s largest  city and capital of Oyo State and Lagos, Nigeria’s   commercial capital.

Describing the progress of work on the road as “impressive”, he added: “Actually this year,  part of the challenges we are having are compensation issue  and issue of  relocation of existing utilities.

“These are what is slowing down the project, and that is why I’m here and I can see we have to really work fast to match the progress of work.  The date for completion of the highway is almost sacrosanct.”

On the payment of compensation to affected property owners , the permanent secretary said: “Most of the houses affected (uncompleted structures and property) were behind the wall of the proposed interchange bridge at Lotto Bus Stop, which is under construction,  near the Redemption Camp on the expressway.

He assured that compensation would be paid as soon as the committee in-charge completed its work, adding that about 40 buildings would have to give way. A lot of demolition and, of course, you have to work with the state government to address this kind of issue.  Overall, we are working fast, Hussain said.

On whether the issues would not affect the delivery of the project in 2022 as scheduled, he said: “We have made provisions for the challenges so that we can be able to meet up.”

“We have just concluded the technical evaluation. We have done the integrity test. What we are doing now  is the procurement process. I can assure you that the contractor will start work on the bridge by the end of the month because it is an important link road to the airport.

“The bridge issue is an emergency work. Procurement will be concluded at the end of the month and the repair work will commence immediately,” he added.

He lamented that the problem caused by tankers carrying combustible materials andthat there was the need for their drivers to be cautious.

“You can see the extent of damage on the bridge, and it is not the first time that the government would be providing money to repair damaged piers  of  such burnt bridges,” he said.

On the on-going works on Apapa- Oshodi Expressway, the permanent secretary said the Federal Government decided to opt for concrete payment because of the volume of traffic and cargo that are normally evacuated from the port down to the hinterland and is always important to have a good road.

He said the Federal Government was working with Dangote Group to introduce the new technology as it would be in place for many years because the concrete paving and road network have been on focus for sometimes.

On the postponement of Falomo Bridge repairs, the Federal Controller of Works, Lagos, Olukayode Popola said the decision to suspend the rehabilitation of the bridge was reached after a meeting with relevant stakeholders.

He said the decision to suspend the rehabilitation of the bridge was reached after a meeting with stakeholders.

“After consultations with relevant stakeholders, we decided to postpone the rehabilitation. A new date would be announced for the partial closure and commencement of repair works soon,” he said.

He apologised to road users and the public for the inconveniences caused by the shift in date for the repairs.