The Nation Newspaper

Category: Industry

  • NACCIMA restates commitment to ERGP

    The Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA) has said it is committed to the Federal Government’s Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP).

    The chamber, which made this known at its Annual Conference in Kano, during the week, to address pertinent  issues  confronting the Organised Private Sector (OPS), also called for an inclusive growth that would positively impact on the lives of the masses.

    President Muhammadu Buhari was represented at the conference by the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr. Okechukwu Enelamah. It was also attended by  Kano State Governor Alhaji Umar Ganduje.

    Buhari praised NACCIMA’s role on the development of the economy. He called on the OPS to take advantage of the enabling environment created by his administration for the private sector to thrive.

    The Senior Special Assistant to the President on ERGP, Dr. Effiong Essien, pointed out that the various policies under the ERGP were impacting positively on Nigerians.

    He said the government’s focus  was on attracting investments in agriculture, transportation, manufacturing and processing, as well as power and gas.

    He said the ERGP FOCUS Lab was created to help achieve the goals and advised members of the OPS to embrace the ERGP.

    In the communiqué after the conference, the association recommended that the ERGP Focus Lab be replicated in the six geo-political zones of the country to encourage better participation by businesses especially Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs).

    The Association also reiterated the need for government to continue to create the enabling environment through the provision of infrastructure, implementing consistent monetary and fiscal policies in order to provide the real sector with an enabling environment and

    opportunities to thrive.

    The Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi 11, commended the leadership position of NACCIMA and its role in ensuring that all its affiliate chambers are actively involved in the development of the economy in their respective states and the nation as a whole.

    He said this when the NACCIMA President, Iyalode Alaba Lawson and her team visited his palace.

  • RMRDC to rescue textile sector

    The Raw Material Research and Development Council (RMRDC) has listed some measures to revive the ailing textile sector.

    The council said there is  need to strengthen the competitiveness of the cotton value chain through enhanced capacities of stakeholders, develop and improve market infrastructure.

    Others are the provision of additional support for cotton value chain development in terms of provision of jute bags to prevent polypropylene contamination, improvement and upgrading of ginneries; extension services/training of farmers and farmers’ empowerment.

    Its Director-General (DG), Dr. Hussaini Dikko Ibrahim, who made this known in Katsina State, said other imperatives for the sustainable development of the sector include patronage of made-in-Nigeria wears, and foreign exchange restrictions from Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

    The DG also said there was the need to improve the investment climate and the fiscal regime, while also removing tax on equipment and inputs as well as application of industry wide tax holiday.

    Others, he said, are incentives to fast track the development of the sector across the entire value chain; capacity building and skills development; trade strategy, export promotion and provision of input funds as obtained in Burkina Faso.

    As part of efforts to revive the sector, the RMRDC boss announced the release of over 20 tonnes of certified cotton seeds as well as 1.5 tonnes of foundation seeds to cotton farmers in the country for the farming season.

    The seeds, which were sourced from the Institute of Agricultural Research, Zaria and Dangote Ginneries, Kankara, Katsina State, were released to the farmers under the auspices of the National Cotton Association of Nigeria in Katsina State.

    The DG said the gesture was to further the Council’s efforts at promoting the development of improved raw materials for industrial utilisation in the country.

    “Concerned by the declining performance of the Cotton, Textiles and Garment (CTG) sector, the Raw Materials Research and Development Council (RMRDC) is motivated to continue boosting cotton production, so that the idle ginneries starved of seed cotton to gin can come back to operation,” he said.

    Ibrahim, whose speech was delivered by a director in the Council, Dr. Abimbola A. Ogunwusi, said it was disheartening to know that out of the 54 ginneries in Nigeria, only 22 were functioning, and at very low capacity.

    He noted that apart from provision of raw materials for use in the sector, the Council also supports Research and Development (R&D) in research institutes, mostly for the development of new and improved varieties of cotton, dyes, colourants and development of processing equipment and machinery.

    “Recently, the Council conducted impact assessment, which revealed that the yield of cotton cultivation is still very low. This challenge prompted the Council to collaborate with Dangote Ginneries, which has the capability for the production of certified cotton seeds that can yield up to 2700Kg per hectare,’’ Ibrahim added.

    He listed the challenges of the Cotton, Textile and Garment (CTG) sector to include wrong investment patterns, massive dumping/importation/smuggling of all kinds of second hand textiles, and purchase and utilisation of obsolete machinery.

    Others are importation of machinery, fibres, raw materials and other auxiliary requirements and zero monitoring of the industry by successive administrations.

    The representative of Dangote Ginning Company canvassed the need to identify and punish adulterators of cotton seed.

    The representative of the Institute for Agricultural Research, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, while commending RMRDC for being at the vanguard of cotton revitalisation, reminded the stakeholders that cotton production could only be boosted if the end users, i.e. the textile industries, were brought in place.

    Katsina State Agric Commissioner, represented by Alhaji Umar Nasri, assured RMRDC that the state would collaborate with relevant stakeholders for the development of the cotton value chain in the country.

    The Minister of State for Industry, Trade and Investment, Hajia Aisha Abubakar, said the ministry was  committed to the Presidential Committee on Cotton, Textile and Garment sector towards ensuring that the textile and garment industries are in full operation.

    RMRDC board member Prof. Sani M. Gumel assured that the administration would ensure that closed textile firms become operational, the ginneries functioning and farmers happy because of ready competitive market for their produce.

    Receiving the seeds, Mr. Samuel Oloruntoba, the representative of the national president of the cotton farmers, urged farmers to judiciously make use of the seeds presented to them. He thanked the RMRDC and other stakeholders for their determination to revive the cotton sector.

  • Minister hails firm’s off-grid power solution for MSMEs

    Minister of State for Industry, Trade and Investment Hajiya Aisha Abubakar has praised Tellco Europe Nigeria for its support for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) through clean energy.

    Speaking at the launch of a Swiss technology known as TellcoSol, an off-grid solar power solution introduced by the firm, she said MSMEs were critical to the economy and contribute 48.47 per cent to the GDP and 7.27 per cent to exports.

    Abubakar, represented by a top ministry official, Dr. Francis Alami, said there was the need to address the power supply deficit, noting that with TellcoSol, the challenge of affordable energy for small businesses would be reduced.

    “I heartily commend Tellco Europe and SolarLed Solutions for the efforts they have made in trying to provide clean energy for MSMEs in the country. This is in tandem with the sustainable development goals (SDG) considered as a pathway towards sustainable economic growth,” she said.

    The product, launched in Lagos, includes the 1200 watts TellcoSol model known as Lugano, which comes with a three-year warranty, two-year insurance, and can provide solar-powered electricity for over 24 hours daily, with fixed options of two AC standing fans, a 32-inch television and a refrigerator.

    According to the minister of state, the Federal Government has improved the regulatory environment, eased access to finance, and provided business support and market access in a bid to help business thrive and boost the economy.

    She said the government has introduced the nationwide MSME clinics and launched the economic and recovery and growth plan, adding that ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) are expected to have at least 40 per cent local content in their procurement.

    “We believe that supporting small businesses by promoting green energy for MSMEs is essential for increasing productivity, creating jobs and boosting our economy by mitigating the effect of climate change and epileptic power supply in the country.

    “The Federal Government is committed to diversifying the economy and creating a favourable climate for both local and foreign investors. I urge spirited private sector organisations to partner with government in ensuring that our dear country actualises the economic growth we all hope for,” the minister of state said.

    Co-Founder of TellcoSol Switzerland said there was room for a pay-as-you-go installment option for the units.

    “We have the required tools to give you 24hour power. Our systems include solar panels, refrigerator, TVS, light bulbs, etc. Our TellCoSol systems are competitively priced compared to our competitors and is pocket friendly.

    “Tellco is a trusted name in renewable and sustainable technology and we offer maintenance free batteries for solar applications,” he said.

  • Honeywell assures customers of better service

    Managing Director, Honeywell Flour Mills Plc, Mr. Lanre Jaiyeola, has assured customers of better service and performance, saying the company has put in place processes to ensure that it meets and even surpasses their expectations.

    Jaiyeola said at the company’s annual customers’ forum in Lagos, that the new  pasta plant at Honeywell Food and Agro Allied Industrial Complex in Sagamu, Ogun State, which hosts two spaghetti lines and two macaroni lines with yearly capacity of about 140,000 metric tonnes, is to to meet customers’ demand.

    According to him, the plant, the largest in sub-Saharan Africa, will produce pasta using both wheat and local grains.

    Besides, he said the site would accommodate over 10 factories producing quality food items using local grains and tubers. They will also create thousands of jobs and boost food security.

    At the ceremony where Managing Director, Opeyemi Bakery, Mrs Opeyemi Raji, won in Business to Commercial Category, with all-expense-paid trip to Dubai, Jaiyeola said: “The complete satisfaction of our customers remains our priority and we are very cognizant of the roles that our dealers and distributors play as critical stakeholders and actors in the value chain.”

    He assured that they would further experience improved customer service, saying: “We are upgrading our technology platform to make transactions with customers pain-free and seamless, we are expanding our fleet cover to make sure that your orders are fulfilled in good time and most importantly, we are improving product quality to ensure that customers demand more and more of Honeywell’s products rather than competing brands.”

    Despite challenges, he assured that the economy would continue on the path of growth. “We expect that the economy will continue on the path of growth, despite the challenge of delay in the passage of the 2018 fiscal budget”.

  • Hero Lager Beer wears new cork

    Hero, a premium lager on the stable of International Breweries Plc, now has a new crown cork -a red cork and the title of “Mmanya ejiri mara Igbo” (a symbol of inspiration)

    The Obi of Onitsha, Igwe Nnaemeka Alfred Ugochukwu Achebe, represented by Okey Ononye, Onowu Iyase of Onitsha, gave his blessing to start the Red Cap ceremony in Onitsha, Anambra State.

    This was amid applause and excitement by hundreds of Nigerians who thronged the venue of the event, the King’s Courtyard, Ikpeazu Stadium, Onitsha.

    The red cap ideology is of high importance to the Southeastern people as it represents the peak of achievement, societal status and recognition for any individual or brand.

    Launched into the market in August 2012 without much fanfare, Hero lager beer warmed its way into the hearts of consumers in the Southeast region and became a symbol of inspiration.

    The success of the brand draws from its strategic cultural resonance with the people and has catapulted Hero Lager from zero to a market leader in the region. Furthermore, consumers have christened Hero, ‘Oh Mpa’, in reverence and as a mark of respect (Mpa means father in Igbo language).

    Speaking when he received the International Breweries Plc team in his palace, Igwe Achebe commended the management of the company for the honour of commemorating the milestone in Onitsha, the commercial nerve-centre of Anambra State and home to one of its plants.

    The event, he said, speaks to the fact that International Breweries values the community wherein it operates, adding that since the inception of the brewery in Onitsha, the comapny has not only created jobs for the people, but also supported activities in the area.

    “I must commend the company’s efforts. This is surely worthy of emulation. Today, as we knight Hero lager beer and award it the title of “Mmanya ejiri mara Igbo” (a symbol of inspiration), our prayer is that the brand continues to do well,” he said.

    Igwe Achebe added that Hero lager beer is a premium brew crafted by the people and for the people, a beer that is a rallying point to all Igbo men and others who need that new strong center of hope and strength to accomplish great things. Hero is also the first beer brand to be awarded a symbolic title in Nigeria.

    International Breweries Marketing Director, Arne Rust, said: “Through this ceremony, we hope to inspire consumers to be heroes every day and in every way. We have great plans for our consumers in Nigeria, part of which includes strategically launching several beer brands to suit specific geography and cultures.

    “Hero is a well-established brand in the eastern part of the country. International Breweries Plc genuinely cares for the culture and tradition of the people, and we will consistently seek ways to showcase our culture and positively impact the society,” he said.

    Hero Lager Marketing Manager Obumneke Okoli, said: “We want to use this opportunity to show our appreciation to our eastern brothers who have received the Hero lager beer as one of their own.

    “Since we introduced this beer to the Nigerian market, it has clearly found its way into the taste buds of beer drinkers first in South East Nigeria and beyond. The people are happy, excited with a burning flare in them all because of this beer. For this, we say thank you.”

    The red capping of Hero will run as an integrated marketing campaign during which people and Nigerian men would be rewarded in recognition of their efforts and mission to “Go! Be the Hero.”

    As sponsors of World Cup 2018, Hero will bid the Eagles farewell  with the unveiling of the world’s biggest football message written with people-”Eagles Be Fearless, Go Be The Hero.”

     

  • How group is grooming budding women entrepreneurs

    Through its yearly business summit, the Thriving Business Women Fellowship, an arm of the Victorious Praying Women Ministry, has been bridging the gap in business management skills in enterprise development for aspiring women entrepreneurs for 10 years. This year’s edition, tagged “Opportunity”, will hold next month. Assistant Editor CHIKODI OKEREOCHA looks at how the summit, through experience sharing and networking, has been raising budding women entrepreneurs by teaching them how to start, run and grow their businesses.

    When she came up with a programme tagged “Inspirational Tuesdays,” the founder of Victorious Praying Women Ministry (VPWM), Pastor Mayokun Oreofe, probably never thought that it would later transform into what is today, arguably, the most sought-after yearly business summit for start-ups and aspiring women entrepreneurs, including sit-at-home mothers, fresh graduates as well as people in paid employment.

    Through the Inspirational Tuesdays, the Thriving Business Women Fellowship (TWBF), the business fellowship arm of VPWM, gathered successful business people to share their stories and experiences, talk about their challenges and how they were able to overcome them so that other women will learn from them. Ten years ago, it metamorphosed into the TWBF’s annual business summit, which holds all through the month of June.

    This year’s edition of the summit, which is the 10th in the series, is themed “Opportunity” and is scheduled for June next month. The Team Lead for the “TWBF Business Summit 2018,” Dr. Bukola Adewakun, explained that the summit was an offshoot of TBWF’s Inspirational Tuesdays, which later blossomed into a proper and immensely impactful annual business summit, with Pastor Oreofe as the Convener.

    Adewakun said this year’s edition will, as usual, bring together ardent and successful entrepreneurs from all works of life to come and share their ‘grass to grace’ exploits with other aspiring business women so as to motivate and encourage them. He assured that the summit, which will hold next month in four cities of Lagos, Abuja, Ibadan and Abeokuta, will be “fabulous and loaded” .

    Adewakun, who is also the General Manager of Thriving Enterprise Development Center (TEDC), a business school that trains on how to start, run and grow a business to a world-class business, said the summit will take place every Tuesday in Lagos at Victory Place, No 15, Nurudeen Olowopopo Road, by Marwa Gardens Traffic Light, CBD Area, Alausa Ikeja.

    Other summit venues are Ibadan, which holds every Thursday at Victory House, Old Bodija Estate; Abuja, every Thursday at Bible Guest House, Wuze Zone 5; Abeokuta, Amazing Grace Hall, Kuforuji Olubi Estate. She said admission to the summit is free.

    Adewakun said as part of efforts to ensure that existing and prospective women entrepreneurs who will attend the summit get value for their participation, TWBF has lined up seven successful, top-notch speakers who will speak across the four summit centres.

    They include culinary expert/CEO, Martha’s Kitchen, Adesola Ige; CEO, Multi Dreams International, Chinyere Anokwuru; Executive Director, Konz Consulting Limited, Gozie Udemezue; Convener of Smart Stewards Initiative, a platform for teaching sound principles on personal finance management especially for women, Sola Adesakin.

    Others are CEO of Zaron Group of Companies, comprising Zaron International Limited, Zaron Cosmetics Limited and Zaron Hair International Limited, Ms Oke Maduewesi; CEO, JusteLunch Catering Services Ltd, a professional catering service company, Sharon Akinroye; Md/CEO, De-vine Plus Hotel & Suite, Jibike Ifidon.

    Adewakun said: “The speakers’ stories will challenge people; they will motivate others to do something. And even the ones that are doing something will pick tips on how to better run their businesses and organisations.”

    She explained that although TBWF does not provide participants with seed capital to start off their businesses, it partners with banks and other financial institutions to use the platform of the summit to explain what their organisations are about and how they can help with seed capital.

    “We don’t have a pool of funds anywhere to give to people, but from the information they get from the summit, they are able to know where next to turn and we bring organisations that are into that,” Adewakun said, adding that the experience sharing harmers on many people who started small and grew big.

     

    Impacts of the summit

     

    The last 10 years of the business summit has been very impactful. Adewakun said, for instance, that based on testimonies by attendees, a large number of people, including women entrepreneurs, sit at home mothers, fresh graduates and people in paid employment started their business based on the prompting from speakers at the summits.

    “Maybe they (attendees) heard something from what the resource persons spoke about, which gave them the push, the courage or the boldness to start off a business. And their businesses are now running and they are doing fine,” she told The Nation.

    She also said that through the summit, many start-ups have benefited from networking opportunities. “People come from all works of life so, there is the opportunity to make new friends, have new business contacts, which you know has led to several other bigger businesses for people,” she said.

    The large turnout of participants to the annual summit attests to its huge success over the years. For instance, from about 100 women participants when it started 10 years ago, attendance at last year’s summit was an average of 1, 000 women per Tuesday.

    “Now, we attract over 1, 000 women in Lagos. In Abeokuta, where we started last year, we attracted about 400 women. Also, about 400-500 women participated in Ibadan. In Abuja we had about 100 people,” Adewakun said.

    The scope of the summit has also expanded in the last 10 years. The summit, which used to be a two-day conference when it started, now holds four times in a month. “In Lagos, it is every Tuesday; Abeokuta, every Wednesday; Ibadan and Abuja, every Thursday of June,” the Team Leader said.

    Though a business women fellowship, TWBF is however, not extreme gender biased. As Adewakun explained, “We’ve never been extreme gender biased. We don’t say it’s strictly for women and men should not come. At any of our programmes and summits, you will always find between five to 10 per cent men in our mist.”

    She said each time the forum gathers 1, 000 participants, it has between 20 and 30 men show up. “They (men) also learn a lot from the summit. And then, also for our speakers, we don’t restrict it to women, men also come as part of our speakers, but we have a higher population of women,” she said

    Although Pastor Oreofe is the President of the TEDC- an initiative that seeks to bridge the gap of business management skills in enterprise development, Adewakun, who oversees the centre as General Manager, said TEDC do not just train, but also follow up to ensure that trainees actually get the success that they are looking for.

    According to her, the centre has a mentoring programme, which follows up every candidate that attends its programme.

  • African food, products exhibition holds May 25

    THE Second African Food and Products Conference and Exhibition (AFPE) will hold between May 25 and 26, its organisers, the Nigerian-American Chamber of Commerce (NACC), has said.

    The theme of this year’s conference is: “Non-oil exports: Scaling up productivity to meet global demands’’.

    The venue is the Inter-continental Hotel, Victoria Island, Lagos.

    NACC President Chief Olabintan Famutimi said the exhibition would promote trade, commerce, investment and industrial and technological relationships between the public and private sectors.

    In a statement, he said the forum would witness experts, market leaders, business professionals, analysts and research professionals across the non-oil export value chain.

    He said the conference would be attended by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, ministers, governors, United States Ambassador to Nigeria, and CEOs of leading multinational firms.

    Also expected are captains of industries, private sector investors, U.S. Diplomatic Corp, and Commercial and Economic Service Department of the United States Mission to Nigeria, among others.

    The AFPE 2018, Famutimi added, would attract the Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), start-up business owners, international and local suppliers and distributors of food and beverage products.

    Others are chain stores, independent sellers, key decision and policy makers from leading Nigerian, African and American companies showcasing their products/services to visitors

    This, he said, would further project brands and increase export sales by maximising the benefits of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA).

    About 2, 500 exhibitors are expected from across Nigeria, Africa and the United States, up from about 1,500 who attended last year.

  • Manufacturers canvass protection for products

    Despite the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) trade liberalisation policy and other conventions to ensure free trade in the sub-region, there is a need for Nigeria to protect products.

    Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) President Dr. Frank Udemba Jacobs canvassed this position at the unveiling of Oxytocin injection manufactured by an indigenous pharmaceutical firm, Juhel Nigeria Limited, which he described as the first of its kind in Africa.

    He said the country owed it to itself to protect exclusive industries producing products that have intrinsic quality, irrespective of ECOWAS conventions, such as the Common External Tariff (CET) and the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement. He said this was necessary to protect jobs and grow the economy.

    Noting the high rate of maternal mortality in the country, which the World Health Organisation (WHO) said was the fourth-highest globally, Jacobs said the drug Oxytocin and magnesium sulphate were to deal with it. He called on policymakers, regulatory bodies and financial institutions to support the company to preserve lives.

    Juhel Nigeria Limited Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Dr. Ifeanyi Okoye regretted that Nigeria has assumed the unenviable position of fourth highest maternal death rate in the world, accounting for 19 per cent of 830 global maternal deaths daily.

    He said Oxytocin was a safe and potent drug to treat Post-Partum Hemorrhage (PPH). He regretted that despite the availability of imported varieties, the rate and frequency of PPH and, consequently,  maternal deaths were still very high.

    Okoye said a study by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), United States Pharmacopeia (USP), and National Agency for Food, Drugs Administration and Control (NAFDAC), carried out in 2016, indicated that 74.2 per cent of Oxytocin in circulation failed quality laboratory evaluation.

    Of every four imported brands, Okoye said three were fake. He said the high rate of sub-standardisation was as a result of the imported brands not having the right or stated amount of Active Pharmaceutical ingredient (API) or transported and distributed under unfavorable conditions.

    He said: “Some of the imported brands, overtime, cannot have their quality sustained because Oxytocin injection, which must be stored between two and eight degrees Celsius, may be exposed to negative conditions at the point of entry.

    “Furthermore, lack of manpower by exporting companies to monitor post sales activities can only ensue gradual loss of potency and degradation.”

    He pledged his company’s preparedness to check the cloning of its products. Also, the company, he said, has in place criteria for supplying to teaching hospitals and distributors. One of the criteria is that there must be storage facility and chillers that meet international standards. He said the company has the capacity to produce for the sub-region.

    NAtional Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) Director-General Prof Moji Christiana Adeyeye said the agency had carried out market surveys to ensure that there was no fake Oxytocin in the market. He noted that whenever there was infringement, NAFDAC would evacuate and destroy such to protect the lives.

    MAN Pharmaceutical Group Chairman, Dr. Okechukwu Akpa, called for medicine security, warning on the dangers of unbridled importation especially of pharmaceutical products into the country.

    He said that a lot of challenges are encountered in product handling and storage and called on the government to come out with a protectionist policy and financing for indigenous manufacturing.

    A renowned gynaecologist and obstetrician, Professor Osato F. Giwa-Osagie, commended the company for the feat in reducing maternal mortality through their novel product.

    He urged NAFDAC and other relevant government agencies, including pharmacists, to protect indigenous pharmaceutical manufacturers from merchants of fake and adulterated pharmaceuticals.

    Giwa-Osagie said: NAFDAC and pharmacists should go round and pick the fake alternatives from chemists by evaluation and supervision including on the spot check of  the products.”

  • Push for increased non-oil export to UK, US intensifies

    To stimulate non-oil export and diversify the economy, the Nigerian-British Chamber of Commerce and the Nigerian-American Chamber of Commerce are leading a campaign to further open up United Kingdom’s and United States’ markets to Nigerian non-oil exports. They are exploring opportunities in increased intra-Commonwealth trade and the African Growth and Opportunity Act. Experts say these can be the much-needed tonic to reposition the non-oil sector, fast-track industrialisation and create jobs. Assistant Editor CHIKODI OKEREOCHA reports.

    Nigeria’s transition to a non-oil economy is on course. The snag, however, is that the process being pushed by export-promoting agencies and regulatory authorities in the sector appears not to be moving as fast as exporters and other key stakeholders want.

    Many of them, who hold this position, expect that for an economy still evidently bearing the scars of recession, efforts by the public and private sectors to put it back on track through diversification should have been more compelling and fast-tracked.

    It was against this backdrop that the Nigerian-British Chamber of Commerce (NBCC) and the Nigerian-American Chamber of Commerce (NACC), in collaboration with trade groups, export-promoting agencies and regulatory authorities are leading a renewed campaign to stimulate the non-oil export sector.

    The chambers, with their partners, are essentially seeking to further open up the advanced markets of the United Kingdom (UK) and the United States of America (USA) to Nigerian non-oil exports.

    The NBCC is seeking to drive trade volume between Nigeria and the UK by promoting made-in-Nigeria products, particularly non-oil goods. The chamber believes that by encouraging increased intra-Commonwealth trades, particularly between Nigeria and the UK, both countries could achieve the projected trade volume of about £20 billion by 2020.

    For the British High-Commissioner, Mr. Paul Arkwright, the Nigerian Government and, indeed, other developing Commonwealth countries can achieve increased non-oil export trade volumes if they engage in what he called “competitive exports.”

    “The fact is if you talk to any economist who understands the way developing counties emerge from poverty into a state where they are no longer developing but developed countries, the one key thing that turns them from developing to developed countries is competitive exports,” Arkwright said.

    That was when he appeared on a special television programme to review the 2018 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) held in London recently. He noted that CHOGM was about increasing intra-commonwealth trade by facilitating trade among member-countries.

    The British Envoy added that there has been a massive trade among the 53 Commonwealth member-countries, pointing out that the trade between the UK and Nigeria is huge. He added that the Commonwealth is not just about the UK, but it is a family of nations and every member-nation stands the chance of equal benefit.

    He stated that developing nations have no other option than to trade in a global world. According to him, the world trade has increased enormously and the trade between two Commonwealth countries is 20 per cent cheaper, compared with the trade with non-Commonwealth countries.

    The British High-Commissioner, however, clarified that while the Commonwealth tries to reduce the barriers faced by developing countries in the area of trade, it does not mean that they would be flooded with cheap goods from other countries.

    Indeed, before Arkwright’s call for competitive exports, the NBCC has been making efforts to ensure that Nigeria meets global export criteria in order to ensure goods from the country are accepted, particularly in the UK. The Chamber has been partnering with the private sector to see how it can provide facilities that will enable exporters meet standards.

    Its President, Akinola Olawore, also said recently that NBCC plans to attract foreign direct investment into Nigeria, particularly from Britain and also promote efforts to build the country’s capacity to meet global export standards that could boost trade and investment portfolio.

    The NBCC is also said to have earlier led a delegation of Nigerian exporters to London to explore partnership opportunities and showcase Nigerian non-oil exports. The UK trade mission, The Nation learnt, included private and public sector operators.

    There were also discussions between the NBCC and London Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) and other stakeholders on how to smoothen the process of Nigerian non-oil exports to UK.

    The NACC, on the other hand, is pushing to encourage Nigeria to take advantage of the US’ duty-free trade policy, the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), to grow her non-oil export.

    AGOA is the cornerstone of US trade and investment policy in Africa. The programme, which was signed into law by the US Congress in 2000, is a preferential trade agreement between the US and some eligible sub-Saharan African countries that allows the exportation of certain products into the US market tariff and quota-free.

    The free-duty export programme essentially seeks to increase market access to Nigeria and 38 other eligible Sub-Saharan African countries to export about 7, 000 product lines to the US market.

    The programme’s ultimate aim was to give Nigeria and other qualified African countries opportunity to build capacity in the global markets and also create jobs. Although, the Act initially covered eight years (October 2000 to September 2008), amendments signed in July 2004 extended it to September 30, 2015.

    The US Congress later extended it for additional 10 years, which means that it now expires on September 30, 2025. And encouraged by the 10-year extension, NACC has stepped up efforts at promoting the expansion of US trade and investment in Nigeria through support of business partnerships between American and Nigerian companies.

    In doing so, it’s National President, Chief Olabintan Famutimi, said that AGOA has proven a powerful tool for the promotion of export of goods from Nigeria and other African countries into the US. He, however, regretted that despite Nigeria’s enormous material and human resources, she remains Africa’s least beneficiary of AGOA.

    Indeed, through AGOA, Nigeria can export 6,500 products duty free into the US market. This, according to development experts, is an opportunity unprecedented considering the huge market under consideration.

    According to them, some of the products Nigeria can leverage on are garlic, natural honey, potato, onion, tomato, cucumber, vegetables, cabbage, chicken, goats, and milk. Others include fish, eggs, peas, beans, corn, okra, kola nuts, guava, mango, oranges, lemons, grapefruits, papayas, rice, and wheat.

    Famutimi said the Chamber remained committed to promoting AGOA in Nigeria to help give fillip to the Federal Government’s on-going non-oil export drive aimed at diversifying the economy. Speaking at the Chamber’s Breakfast Meeting held in Lagos, recently, he said Nigeria could take advantage of the renewal of AGOA for another 10 years to earn huge foreign exchange and create jobs.

    The NACC chief added that this was why the Chamber was partnering with strategic agencies to champion the cause for the effective implementation of AGOA in Nigeria through public sensitisation, access to finance and access to off-takers in the US.

    The agencies include US Agency for International Development (USAID) and its various projects, such as Nigeria Expanded Trade and Transport (NEXTT) and West Africa Trade and Investment Hub (WATIH); Nigeria Export Promotions Council (NEPC), Bank of Industry (BoI).

    Other strategic agencies involved in NACC’s renewed campaign to galvanise activities in the non-oil sector by riding on the back of AGOA include the Nigeria Export-Import (NEXIM) Bank, commercial banks; Nigerian regulatory agencies, such as Standard Organisation of Nigeria (SON) and National Agency for Food, Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC).

    Already, the Chamber, according to Famutimi, had done a lot of training, workshops, sensitisations, and had participated in international ventures and had worked effectively with USAID.

    “We are moving and we are showing results already,” he stated, adding that with AGOA, Nigeria’s export to the US had increased far more than before.

    He also said arrangements are being made for small producers to be part of the programme so as to increase their capacity, as America offers a huge market.

    “We are opening the market; we are getting stakeholders and showing them the quality and packaging requirements to enter the US market,” Famutimi added.

    In carrying out their campaigns, both chambers emphasised the need for Nigeria to boost non-oil export by diversifying into agricultural products, noting that exporting more of agricultural products will brighten the country’s chances of claiming a significant share of the world trade.

    They also argued that stimulating the non-oil export sector will enhance the Federal Government’s revenue generation drive and also create jobs.

    To the trade groups, an increased and competitive non-oil export is a sure-footed way to drive the on-going economic diversification campaign and ultimately, fast-track Nigeria’s industrialisation.

    The Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) and the NEPC could not agree less.  And to demonstrate their belief in driving the non-oil export sector, LCCI and NEPC recently inaugurated an implementation committee with the primary mandate to grow the exportation of Nigerian products to the West African market.

    The committee comprising regulatory agencies in the export sector such as SON, Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), and NAFDAC, was also tasked with the responsibility of driving the actualisation of a project tagged “Nigeria ECOWAS Export Development (NEED)”.

    The committee Chairman, Mr. Bamidele Ayemibo, described the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) market as largely untapped potential for Nigeria’s non-oil exports.

    He said the NEED project would see more agricultural products in Nigeria such as cereals, snacks, plastic products, pharmaceuticals, fish and sea foods easily produced in the country and exported to the regional market.

    “The effective implementation of NEED programme is key to conquering the West Africa and indeed, the African markets, especially for the medium scale businesses, and this can only be possible if this public-private partnership works,” Ayemibo said, at the inauguration of the committee.

     

  • SON raids Computer Village, seizes products

    The Surveillance, Investigative and Monitoring (SIM) Unit of the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) has stormed the Computer/GSM Village in Ikeja, Lagos, where it raided shops that stocked  phones, computer products and accessories that had not been registered to ascertain their quality and ensure traceability.

    In the operation carried out with the aid of security agents, during the week, 21 shops were shut and products put on hold by SON SIM unit officials for infractions on non-registration and fake import documents.

    The affected business owners, according to the team leader, Azeez Tijani, were given a grace period to conform and register their products during a raid last year. They, however, neglected the overture, hence, the sting operation to seal off their shops and put the sale of the products on hold.

    Mr. Tijani advised the business owners to visit the SON Operational Headquarters in Lekki, Lagos, for corrective actions before their shops would be unsealed.

    He explained that the raid  was as result of the unyielding attitude of some of the business owners to comply with SON’s product registration.

    According to him, importers were required to register computers, phones and accessories to ensure that their products meet the Conformity Assessment Programme (SONCAP) for imports.

    Also, the SON’s SIM Unit raided a suspected firm, which specialises in the re-bagging and re-branding  imported super quality plaster, a foreign brand of white cement, into five kilogramme (kg) and one kg bags with the brand name Joy White Cement and Joy Super Cement.

    The team leader said the company importing a foreign brand of cement only to re-bag and sell under a different brand name was committing an illegal act that does not conform to quality assurance procedures in Nigeria.

    He advised importers and manufacturers to adhere to check with the SON in import and manufacturing to avoid doing illegal things.