The Nation Newspaper

Category: Business

  • ‘National ID’ll curb frauds in banks’

    The Director-General, National Identity Management Commission, Mr Chris Onyemenan, has said fraud and related activities in banks would reduce when the country has a national identity database.

    Speaking at a stakeholders’ forum in Lagos, Onyemenan said fraud persisted in the financial system because there was no national identity database in place.

    He said: “By the time Nigeria has a centralised identity management system in place, it would be difficult for people to commit fraud and escape. When there is national identity base on ground, people would have all their details in one place. Their names, pictures, signatures, next of kin, among other information are going to be recorded. It would be easier for banks to get an update information on their customers among other stakeholders in the financial chain.”

    Onyemenan said the cash-less economy programme would succeed with time, noting that countries that have implemented it experienced difficulties at the initial stage.

    “Rome was not built in a day. The Cash-less economic scheme would take some time before it enjoys wide acceptability. Continuous awareness programme is key to the acceptability of the cashless programme in Nigeria,” he said.

     

  • NNPC denies $8.3b debt to Fed Govt

    NNPC denies $8.3b debt to Fed Govt

    The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has described the report of the Nigerian Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI), which accused it of owing the federation N1.3 trillion as misleading.

    In a statement, it explained that the N928billion ‘debt’, has been paid since the first quarter of last year. This can be verified with the relevant authorities, the corporation said.

    The Manager, Group Public Affairs, Umar Mohammed, said: “The report contains fundamental inaccuracies, which are misleading and constitutes misinformation to the public.

    “One would have expected NEITI to take cognisance of this process in the report to avoidmisrepresenting NNPC’s debt profile.

    “The N377 billion purported debt was a carry-over of 2004-2005 when NNPC was directed to buy crude oil for domestic consumption at the international market price, while the sale of petroleum products was at subsidised prices without appropriate instrument to recover the shortfall.”

    On subsidy, Mohammed explained that NNPC’s subsidy claims were verified and approved for payment by the relevant agencies, adding that the claims due to NNPC were not “cash payments as amounts duly approved are backed out from the Gross Domestic Oil revenue due to the Federation Account in any given month”. This is the extant process for this transaction, he added.

    On the N1.4 trillion, he said: “The report deliberately ignored, and or omitted the factors responsible for the increasing amounts paid, especially the price of crude oil which accounts for 82 per cent of the price build-up for petroleum products.

    “It should be noted that as a fall out of the subsidy crisis of 2012, other players that constitute over 50 per cent of the market share in the downstream, refused to import petroleum products from their supply obligation. NNPC being the supplier of last resort under the NNPC Act, continued to supply the nation at huge cost while still maintaining the strategic reserve obligation”. He added that NNPC should be commended on the matter.

    The corporation said its response to the NEITI 2009-2011 became imperative to clear its name.

    “From the foregoing, NEITI without taking cognizance of the extant laws and regulations, guidelines and terms of relevant contracts in NNPC’s operations, has continued to portray the corporation to the public in bad light. The report contains fundamental inaccuracies, which are misleading and constitutes misinformation to the generality of the public, the statement, he said.

    The corporation said it is awaiting a formal engagement with NEITI to close the report.

  • Loan dispute: Ubah seeks amicable settlement

    Loan dispute: Ubah seeks amicable settlement

    An end to the dispute between Capital Oil and Gas Limited, its promoter, Ifeanyi Ubah and Access Bank Plc is in sight as the former is exploring an out-of-court settlement option.

    Also, Justice Okon Abang of the Federal High Court, Lagos, before who the disputants are locked in litigation, warned yesterday that he would not hesitate to sanction any party who scandalised the court in the media.

    The information about settlement was made public by Wole Olanipekun (SAN), lawyer to Capital Oil and Ubah, Paul Usoro (lawyer to Access Bank) and Osita Mbamalu (representing Coscharis Limited, one of the defendants).

    They spoke at the resumed hearing of the suit brought against Access Bank and Coscharis by Ubah and his company.

    “I am happy to inform the court that parties have virtually reconciled and if all things were equal, term of settlement would have been submitted to your Loardship this morning. And parties would have gone home fully reconciled,” Olanipekun told the court.

    “As far as the dispute between the parties is concerned, parties are having settlement meetings and negotiations, which I am hopeful, could resolve the dispute today,” Usoro said.

    Mbamalu agreed with Olanipekun and Usoro on moves to settle.

    He said though  he had filed application for stay of execution of the court’s order of January 28 directing Access Bank to discontinue its case against the plaintiffs in London, he has refrained from serving the application on the other parties because of the on-going reconciliation efforts.

    Earlier, Usoro told the court that his client had filed two applications before the Court of Appeal; one appealing the court’s January 28 ruling and another seeking stay of execution of the order.

    He said the applications were attached to a letter written to the court, intimating it about the development.

    Usoro urged the court to adjourn the case indefinitely pending the determination of his client’s applications before the Court of Appeal.

    Olanipekun opposed Usoro’s application for indefinite adjournment. He also faulted the applications he filed before the Appeal Court, arguing that an application for stay of execution and proceedings ought to be filed first before the trial court.

    He told the court that his client had reconciled with Coscharis. Olanipekun argued that it did not lie with Access Bank to seek the court’s indulgence or assistance, having allegedly ignored to obey its subsisting order.

    Olanipekun, who told the court that Access Bank has refused to discontinue the London suit as ordered by the court, prayed the court to make an order compelling principal officers of the bank to appear before the court to explain why they have chosen to hold the court in contempt.

    Usoro could not respond immediately. He sought a stand-down to enable him to consult the authorities cited by Olanipekun and respond appropriately, a request that Olanipekun objected to.

    Access Bank had petitioned the Chief Justice of Nigerian (CJN), Justice Mariam Aloma Mukhtar, over the ruling of Justice Abang.

    The bank in the petition dated February 2013 and signed by its Secretary, Sunday Ekwochi, accused the judge of bias in the matter.

    The lender urged the CJN to probe the conduct of Justice Abang in the matter and promised to supply her with the necessary documents to support the bias of the judge in the case.

  • Nigeria, Indonesia trade volume hits $2b

    Nigeria, Indonesia trade volume hits $2b

    The trade volume between Nigeria and Indonesia stands at $2billion, the Indonesia Minister of Trade, Gita Wirjamwan, has said.

    Wirjamwan made this known during the Nigeria –Indonesia Bilateral Trade Meeting and Business Luncheon in Abuja. He assured that a preferential trade agreement between Nigeria and Indonesia would soon be concluded as part of efforts to increase trade and investment between the two countries.

    The Minister of Trade and Investment, Olusegun Aganga also assured that both countries would work to double the trade volume by 2015.

    He said: “Both countries will come up with strategic and implementable action plans where they can leverage the cordial bilateral trade relationship to boost trade and increase Foreign Direct Investment.”

    “It is good to have country-to country discussions and Bilateral Agreements but at the end of the day, most of these things come down to the people and how they put discussions and agreements into action.

    “The Indonesian Minister of Trade and I have agreed that our technical teams will come together and put together a strategic plan for Nigeria and Indonesian which we will implement going forward.

    “In terms of trade, we have already set targets for ourselves in terms of where we want to be and what we want to achieve. One of our major objectives is to double the bilateral trade between the two countries by 2015, particularly, when we have met and had bilateral discussions and agreements. We will work together to make sure that this happens.

    “I see this meeting as symbiotic relationship between the two countries. Indonesia is about a trillion dollar economy. They have some similarities with Nigerian in terms of natural resources in agro- commodities and oil and gas. One of the  major decisions taken by the Indonesian Trade Minister and I is that we will create a vehicle that will make it easier for the private sector of both countries to flourish and co-invest in the different sectors of the economy.

    “In line with our Industrial Revolution Plan, one of the things that we want to do in terms of growing the value chain, is to identify areas where we have competitive and comparative advantage so that we can attract more investment into these areas in order to create jobs, generate wealth and transform our economy”.

    Wirjawan said Nigeria has been recognised globally as the biggest market for Foreign Direct Investment in Africa. This is very important for us, especially giving the huge human and natural resource base in Nigeria. There are over 15 Indonesian companies currently operating and doing well in Nigeria.

  • Ship owners flay Cabotage Act

    The Indigenous Ship Owners Association of Nigeria (ISAN) has berated the inability of the Federal Government for not enforcing the Coastal and Inland Shipping Act 2003 (Cabotage Act) to enable them to participate in crude oil lifting.

    Speaking with The Nation in Lagos, its General Secretary, Capt. Niyi Labinjo, urged the government to implement the law and give indigenous companies opportunity to participate in the oil business.

    The country, he said, exports about 2.5 million barrels of oil yearly, wondering why the indigenous ship owners are not empowered to lift about 1.5 million barrels.

    The banks, he said, were willing to give them loans if the government could give them some contracts to lift oil.

    He cited Brazil where the government approves about 700 agencies to issue certificate of compliance on local content.

    Labinjo said about five years ago, the government trained 200 cadets under the National Seafarers Development Programme and regretted that since there were not enough shipping companies to employ them, the cadets had been rendered jobless.

    He advised the government to provide enough funds for the Maritime Academy of Nigeria (MAN), Oron in Akwa Ibom, to enable the academy to produce more cadets for the nation.

    “We will continue to press the government. We’ll continue to make our views known about the need for proper compliance with cabotage; about the need for proper compliance with the Nigerian Content Act.

    “If I have a government that is insisting that this year out of the 2.5 million barrels of oil that Nigeria exports, 1.5 million barrels would be carried by Nigerian and they say, ‘ISAN take this 1.5 million barrels, go and carry it,’ we will gladly go to the bank. The bank will give us money and we will do it.”

     

     

     

     

  • NPA workers protest BPE’s planned concession of marine service

    Nigerian Port Authority (NPA) workers have risen against the planned concession of the firm marine services by the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE).

    The Senior Staff Association (SSA) said the service was the only thing left for NPA after its concession in 2006.

    Speaking with The Nation in Lagos, the association’s President, Comrade Umar Omeiza Jimoh, said the BPE’s decision as contained in a letter addressed to NPA Managing Director on Janaury 18, would amount to re-concessioning of concessioned services under public-private partnership (PPP).

    NPA, he said, was healthy and carrying out the services beneficially for the nation, adding that there is no need for BPE to concession the service.

    He said: “The move of BPE to snatch marine/harbours ancillary services from NPA has no legal backing and the port activities enable NPA to involve PPP in all its service. BPE should remember that the terminals concesioned by BPE, NPA and other government agencies was done under the Port Act of 1999. Based on the above premise, we believe BPE is suffering from reactive declining syndrome.

    “NPA is healthy and we are on top of maritime business. BPE should flash its touch light on areas it has not performed well like NITEL, PHCN and others not NPA,” he said.

    Jimoh described BPE as an agent of some cabal in the government working to take over NPA and give it to their children.

    He said the concession, carried out, would lead to security threat, loss of government revenue, high cost of services, mass sack and denial of common user facilities in the ports.

    Jimoh urged the National Assembly to stop BPE from going ahead with the plan

    He said: “The country has witnessed enough insecurity in the recent past. With her marine and harbours in the hand of private operators, one can imagine the chaos this will trigger security-wise.Gideon Okar’s coup issue should be remembered.

    “Today, the government is earning revenue in its totality from services of marine/harbours and its ancillary services to the port users, if given to private hands, revenue coming to government will reduce tremendously while the cabals will be smiling to the bank and government will be strangulated. NPA has been effectively performing her responsibility in rendering money to Federal Government account as when required,” he said.

     

  • Naval chief woos Customs

    The Chief of Naval Staff, Vice-Admiral Dele Ezeoba, has called for a joint patrol with the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) to secure the borders.

    He spoke when he visited the Comptroller-General of Customs, Alhaji Abdullahi Dikko, in Abuja.

    “It is my belief that in the nearest future we will be able to extend our level of partnership by exercising joint patrols as appropriate within a clearly defined operational command and control structure,” he said.

    Ezeoba said the Navy is constitutionally required to assist the Customs in the en-forcement of customs laws and regulations.

    He added that within the context of the emerging challenges, the two organisations needed to “strike a chord of strategic partnership’’ to help discharge their duties effectively.

    The naval chief said it was common knowledge that security agencies tend to exercise authority “within their comfort zone.”

    He, however, cautioned that such practice did not augur well for the required synergy between security agencies.

    He requested Customs to train naval officers on items on the import prohibition list.

    The training, he said, would enable naval officers on patrol on the high seas to “know what to look out for, in what quantum and what defines other law infringements.”

    Ezeoba, who commended Dikko for the ongoing reforms in the NCS, said the Navy has a lot to learn from his experience.

    Dikko pledged that the Customs would continue to work with the Navy, particularly in the area of operations and training.

    He said both security agencies had enjoyed very “cordial and good relationship.”

     

  • Nahco upgrades Kano warehouse

    The Nigerian Aviation Handling Company Plc (nahco Aviance) is modernising and expanding its Kano warehouse to enhance service delivery.

    According to a statement, the warehouse is situated at the company’s headquarters at the Murtala Muhammed Airport, Ikeja, Lagos. It is 17,068.5m² in size and can handle 230, 000 tonnes of import cargo and 60,000 tonnes of export cargo per year.

    It also has other highly automated facilities for effective operations.

    The Kano project is in line with the ongoing Federal Government’s airports modernisation and expansion programmes.

     

  • FAAN repairs six fire-fighting trucks

    The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) has taken delivery of six fire fighting trucks sent to Kronenburg in the Netherlands for repairs.

    In a statement, FAAN said the vehicles would boost its drive to have adequate fire cover for the certification of the Lagos and Abuja airports.

    The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) prescribes a minimum of three fire fighting trucks to qualify any airport for certification.

    The Director of Airport Operations, Capt Henry Omeogwu, explained that the vehicles would help in containing any fire incident at the airport.

  • Conoil’s drive to export lubricants gets boost

    Conoil’s drive to export its lubricant brands to the West African countries got a boost with the company’s admission into the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Trade Liberalisation Scheme (ETLS).

    Its admission into the scheme, a source from the company said, would afford it the opportunity to export its high grade, made in Nigeria motor engine oils to established markets in the sub-region duty free.

    The scheme was adopted by ECOWAS member states to eliminate trade barriers and facilitate trade integration, improve the foreign exchange earnings of companies of member states and create more jobs in their respective countries.

    The Nigeria Export Promotion Council (NEPC) had earlier certified the quality of Conoil lubricants as export compliant.

    A statement by the company proffered that the ETLS admission qualified Conoil to participate in ECOWAS Export Expansion Grant Scheme (EEG) and enjoy at least 30 per cent rebate on its yearly export earnings.

    Conoil’s foray into the export market came from an exhaustive business research, which revealed a viable market for the company’s brand of engine oils in the sub-region, the statement added.

    Its flagship lubricant brands, Quatro and Golden Super Motor Oil, hold top positions in the Nigerian market and are adjudged the brand of choice. Quatro, the company’s premium grade, which has the American Petroleum Institute’s (API) seal of excellence, has clinched the “Lubricant of the Year” award for several years in Nigeria, the statement said.

    Quatro contains highly refined paraffin base oils and hi-tech additives that ensure minimal fuel consumption and protect car engine from rust while the Golden Super Motor oil on the other hand, has anti-wear/high detergency and oxidation resistance additives that ensure a longer engine lifespan.

    Also available are wide range of industrial lubricants for applications in manufacturing, textile, cement, breweries, oil exploration and producing companies, and transmission oils for the gear system of vehicles.

    The company controls about 30 percent of the nation’s lubricant market and has also committed substantial investments to upgrade and expand its lubricant blending plants at its depots at Apapa, Lagos, Port Harcourt and Kano with a view to meeting and surpassing customers’ ever increasing demand for its quality engine oil.