The Nation Newspaper

Category: Business

  • Lagos applauds Red Star Express Cooperative

    Lagos applauds Red Star Express Cooperative

    The Lagos State Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperative has adjudged Red Star Express Cooperative Society as the most outstanding cooperative society in Lagos, applauding it for its numerous grassroot-oriented and impactful projects and schemes, including the Red Star Estate.

    Commenting on the development, Red Star Express, Marketing Manager, Ngozi Ochokwu expressed gratitude for the commendation from the state government.  She said, ‘over the years, the society has embarked on minor and major projects to benefit its members, such as the sale of electronics, bulk purchase of food items and the Magboro Estate Development named the “Red Star Express Estate.’

    Red Star Express Cooperative Multipurpose Society was founded in 1997 and was registered as FedEx Red Star Express Co-Operative Thrift and Credit Society (RSE CTCS). The cooperative society has 483 members and is still thriving to reach its goal by embarking on other housing projects.

    One of its flagship projects, Red Star Express Estate, was established in 2006, accommodating 40 houses and 20 occupants.  The estate has elicited commendation from notable organisations including the River State Co-operative Federation and Lagos State Government.

    Currently, Red Star Express Cooperative Multipurpose Society has membership strength of 483 and is still thriving to reach its goal by embarking on other housing projects. Red Star Express Cooperative Multipurpose Society was founded in 1997 and was registered as FedEx Red Star Express Co-Operative Thrift and Credit Society (RSE CTCS).

    Red Star Cooperative is an arm of Red Star Express Plc, licensee of the globally acclaimed Federal Express (FEDEX) and a foremost one-stop logistics firm in Nigeria.

     

  • MasterCard announces first retail collaboration with Flying Dove

    MasterCard announces first retail collaboration with Flying Dove

    MasterCard has announced its first collaborative relationship with a local Nigerian retailer, Flying Dove Limited, authorised distributors for Sony Corporation and owners and operators of Sony Centres in Nigeria.  Through the collaboration, MasterCard will incentivise its cardholders to make use of electronic payment solutions, thus supporting the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) move towards a cashless economy.

    The joint venture between MasterCard and Flying Dove Limited, signals the first cashless initiative of its nature in Nigeria for MasterCard.  The collaboration supports MasterCard’s vision to accelerate the move towards more convenient and safer payment methods for consumers, and to then showcase the success of the collaboration to the wider Nigerian business sector.

    Omokehinde Ojomuyide, country manager, West Africa, MasterCard Worldwide commented, “MasterCard cardholders will quality for a 5% discount on the purchase of any item at Sony Centers across Nigeria.  In addition, and as part of the alliance with MasterCard, Sony Centre staff will undergo card acceptance and fraud prevention training. We will also be supporting Flying Dove by marketing the discount offer, further showcasing the benefits of moving towards electronic payments to our cardholders.”

    Ashok Jain, Managing Director of Flying Dove Limited, added, “Working alongside MasterCard has allowed us, as a retail leader in Nigeria, to further solidify our position in the local market.Our vision is to help make payments in all of the Sony Centres more convenient, easierand safer for customers and the Sony Centre staff.”

    Ojomuyide commented that the key stakeholders in the success of the cashless initiative are the financial sector, consumers and businesses. “Strategic initiatives such as our collaboration with Flying Dove Limited will assist each stakeholder to better supportthe CBN, in its quest to drive the development and modernization of the Nigerian payment system.”

    Ojomuyide provided further insight: “The CBN’s cashless policy aims to curb the increasing cost of cash, including handling and production costs.  It was forecasted by the CBN in 2011 that the direct cost of cash management in Nigeria would increase substantially to N192billion by 2012, impacting economic efficiency and the efficiency of all financial systems in the country.  The CBN further noted that the reduction of cash will assist in curbing the impact of corruption and other criminal behaviour, which will have a positive impact on all Nigerian citizens.”

    “MasterCard will continue to work with Nigerian banks and retailers to facilitate the reduction of cash within their payment systems by offering innovative, safe and convenient payment alternatives to their customers.  We look forward to achieving our shared goal of a cashless Nigeria, where our dependency on cash transactions will be significantly reduced,” concluded Ojomuyide.

  • OUR Women… Now, You WIN

    OUR Women… Now, You WIN

    THIS week’s piece is a combination of news dissemination and informed analysis, structured to specifically connect with a special target audience – our young women for their information, awareness and call to action. To be more precise, we are talking to WOMEN (female) YOUTH with innovative ideas and entrepreneurial drive, ready to bring about progressive change for a better Nigeria, based on productivity, industry and employment generation, through their readiness to take advantage of a rare but once-in-a-lifetime opportunity offered by the Federal Government’s youth empowerment and employment generation program, known as YouWIN designed for women.

    SO, THE NEWS: the President, leading the Federal Government team, has just launched the second edition of the YouWIN (Youth Enterprise with Innovation in Nigeria) program for women.

    The first time we wrote an article on YouWIN was October 9, 2011. It was shortly after the Federal Government launched the YouWIN program for the first time. We did, in that writ-up, identify with the plusses of the program, driving home the benefits inherent for our youths and the nation. The attraction remains the strategic focus for which the program was designed: to enable aggressive growth in employment, by engaging and supporting the youths. It involves the Federal Government’s massive financial investment in form of grant, training and mentoring of participants. Specifically, however, the second edition of YouWIN is designed and focused for WOMEN.

    Essentially, YouWIN is an expression of the Federal Government’s determination to create employment for our youths, drawing on their creativity, industry, determination to excel, through constructive engagement. On the government’s part, it has committed to providing grants up to N10, 000, 000 per person for investment

    Specific Objectives of the Program include to:

    • Attract ideas and innovations from young entrepreneurial aspirants from Universities, Polytechnics, Technical colleges, and other post-Secondary institutions in Nigeria;

    • Provide a onetime Equity grant for 1,200 selected aspiring entrepreneurs to start or expand their business concepts and mitigate start up risks;

    • Generate 80,000 to 110,000 new jobs for currently unemployed Nigerian youth over the three years during which the three cycles will be implemented;

    • Provide business training for up to 6,000 aspiring youth entrepreneurs spread across all geo-political zones in Nigeria;

    • Encourage expansion, specialization and spin-offs of existing businesses in Nigeria; and,

    • Enable young entrepreneurs to access a wide business professional network and improve their visibility.

    PLEASE NOTE!!!

    • YouWiN is an equity contribution to your business. It is therefore NOT A LOAN but a grant.

    • Award recipients will be paid according to the needs of the business and specific mile-stones stated in the business plan.

    • Award recipients must be registered with CAC before disbursement of funds even though they do not need to be registered to apply. YouWIN will support the registration process.

    • Award recipients will operate accounts using their registered companies with any of the participating commercial banks prior to disbursement.

    • Award recipients must sign a grant agreement with the managers of YouWiN before disbursement of funds.

    Apply Now!

    Competition Timeline

    • Mon. Sep 3, 2012 Launch of 2012/2013 Edition of the YouWiN! Business Plan Competition tagged “YouWiN! Women”.

    • Mon. Sep 3, 2012 First stage business concept submission starts after launch by President Goodluck Jonathan.

    • Sun. Oct 14, 2012 First stage business concept submission closes. No entries accepted after this date.

    • Mon. Oct 15, 2012 Marking of first stage submission by an International Business School.

    • Fri. Nov 30, 2012Notification of successful first stage candidates and invitation for training in each state of the nation.

    • Mon. Dec 10, 2012Training of the 1st set of second stage candidate starts. Trainings will be held in sets on 10 – 21 December 2012 and 2 – 11 January 2013.

    • Mon. Dec 10, 2012 Submission of second stage business plan starts on 10 December 2012 and ends 8 February 2013. Please note that only entries from candidates who attended the training and had their biometrics information collected are eligible and will be reviewed.

    • Fri. Feb 8, 2013 Submission of second stage business plan entries closes. All qualifying candidates must submit their business plans by this date.

    • Mon. Feb 11, 2013 Business plan marking commences with an international business school providing quality assurance.

    To apply, please go www.youwin.org.ng

    To us at MC&A Digest, the exciting thing about this women-directed program is the challenge it brings to our teeming population of educated, creative, focused, entrepreneurial and industrial women. To us, it is great thinking on the part of government for the ingenuity in encouraging the women towards putting their entrepreneurial spirit to work. This program puts a grant (not a loan) of up to N10m at the disposal of at least 1,200 women with demonstrable skills, abilities and creativity to start and run their own businesses and conveniently create employment for many others.

    The roll-call of female-driven businesses comes to mind at this time, across various industries. For instance, we can readily recall the Lady Cobbler (an excellent and ingenious demonstration of artistry, creativity and purposeful engagement). That enterprise has expanded exponentially, giving employment and apprenticeship to a sizeable number of men and women. We also remember the size and scope of businesses in the food vending business such as Tasty Fried Chicken brand. That brand has excelled under the watch of a woman, who has demonstrated plenty of commitment to industry, providing jobs to many across the country.

    Aside from service businesses, we know of women that are excelling in architecture and building industry, landscaping, interior decoration, auto maintenance, manufacturing, beauty products and accessories sales and distribution. With the generous provision of grants by the Federal Government, all our women need to bring to bear is intelligence, creativity, intelligence and entrepreneurship. We should have that in abundance among our women. It is also important to underscore the fact that the primary beneficiary of this program is the individual woman who stands to improve on the basic success measure of personal wealth and income, investment drive and enhanced living standard.

    Our women youth with initiative should hurry to take advantage of this rare opportunity offered by YouWIN for women program to empower themselves. That is the focus of this program. The Federal Government’s determination to empower the nation’s youth (especially the women by this unique program), should be seen as a challenge our women youth should hurry to take advantage of. It is a clarion call for the women.

    Given that the scope of commitment and support for both editions is the same, underscores the efforts towards achieving a penetrable reach-level with this program. The world is changing on all fronts, with regard to nation-building. In a recent interview on the CNN news channel, the President of Chile did capture the changes in the global pillars of development. According to him, the traditional growth pillars, according to world standard, are democracy, growing economy and literacy level. Going by the new world economic order, however, all of that has changed. Today, the new and operating pillars of development are: TECHNOLOGY, INNOVATION, ENTREPRENEURSHIP and EQUALITY. It is also instructive to note that digital and knowledge-based economy is the new development frontier. In realization of this paradigm shift, Nations are structuring their development plans and pattern around the new insight, paying particular attention to the details of change.

    On a broader scale, YouWIN initiative strikes a connect with the ENTREPRENEURSHIP ingredient for growth and nation-building. As we noted in our first article on this program, this initiative by the Federal Government is a call to duty for the youths in this country. They should take advantage of the ample opportunities offered through this program, to actualize that productive personal ambition to work for a prosperous and better Nigeria.

    YouWIN for WOMEN presents our women-youths the opportunity to join hands in building a Nigeria of our dream. Our women are highly creative, patient, innovative and industrious. These are rare qualities we must take advantage of at this time. Between October 2011 and now, the first edition of the YouWIN program has thrown up 1,200 award winners scattered across Nigeria, actualizing the projection of the Federal Government.

    Women, the opportunities have been provided in large measure. If we do not optimize the opportunity inherent, we are to blame. The grants are ready, the entry is open and the process is on. Log on today and start the process of growing into a successful entrepreneur. Empower yourself, grow your wealth, become an employer of labor. Take advantage of YouWIN for women.

    This time, YouWIN is all about you our women!

  • Dangote sets to invest in Sudan

    Dangote sets to invest in Sudan

    Chairman, Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, has indicated his readiness to explore business opportunities in Sudan.

    The business mogul disclosed this while playing host to the new Sudanese Ambassador to Nigeria, Dr. Tagelsir Mahgoub Ali, who paid him a courtesy call at his Lagos office.

    Dangote commended the historic relationship between Nigeria and Sudan, which has spanned several decades, adding that the Dangote Group as part of its long term business strategy will, in the very near future, register its presence in Sudan as it has done in countries which include Senegal and Zambia.

    At the request of the ambassador, Dangote accepted the invitation of the Sudanese government to visit the country very soon, while wishing Ali a fruitful tenure in Nigeria.

    Earlier, the new ambassador commended Dangote for his giant strides in business and also believing in the African continent by establishing multi-million dollar cement manufacturing companies in Africa.

    He revealed that his mission in Nigeria is to foster the historic relationship between Nigeria and Sudan in the areas of business investments, culture, sports, amongst others.

    Ali further disclosed as part of moves to enhance bilateral relationship between both countries, a biennial commission to be headed by the vice-presidents of both countries, would soon be established to formulate a framework, which will guide prospective investors in both countries.

    Describing his country as one of the biggest producers of cotton in the world, Ali also stated that opportunities also exist for investors in oil and gas and products derivable from sugar, as Sudan boasts one of the biggest sugar plantations not only in Africa but the whole world.

  • Lifeline for the landline

    Lifeline for the landline

    After losing their pride of place in the nation’s telecommunications sector, fixed wireless operators using the Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) technology appear set for a rebound with the planned merger of three leading operators in the sector. Bukola afolabi reports

     

    Once upon a time they were the beautiful brides of the Nigerian telecommunications sector. This was when the now moribund Nigeria Telecommunications Limited, NITEL, was going through its death pangs. It was also when the cell phone companies using the GSM technology were trying to find their feet. But all that seems like ages ago.

    After seeming to prosper for a season, fixed wireless operators using the CDMA technology are now on the verge of extinction. Their precarious situation is not unconnected with the overwhelming dominance of GSM companies whose operations in the Nigerian market in the last 11 years have experienced phenomenal growth.

    Available statistics from the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), testifies to the diminished fortunes of landline companies. In the first six months of this year, firms in this segment lost a combined 868, 786 active lines.

    A breakdown shows that in January 2012, CDMA operators had 4.41 million lines, declining to 4.01 million by February. In April, May and June, the number of active lines declined steadily to 3.9 million, 3.7 million and 3.5 million respectively.

    The dire straits in which the fixed wireless operators find themselves did not happen overnight. The decline has been noticeable over the past few years, and prompted experts to recommend mergers, acquisitions or consolidation as some of the viable ways to save them from total extinction.

    Once such voice was Ernest Ndukwe, former Executive Vice Chairman of NCC, who long ago admonished them to come together as one. He recommended mergers for them to be able to compete favourably in the tough Nigerian telecoms industry.

    “I think the way forward and what I will recommend is the consolidation of those companies. I think some of them should merge and make a bigger cake rather than the segmented way they are today. And I think, as an industry, there is a move towards that direction. Some call it consolidation in the industry. When that happens, I suspect you will see better days for CDMA in the country,” he said.

    Now, three operators in the segment- Multilinks, Starcomms and MTS, are set to merge. The merger, if consummated, would result in a new entity to be known as CAPCOM – making it the largest CDMA network operator in the country.

    Helios Investment Partners will hold 11 percent, while MBC will have 53 percent and Middle East Capital Group 25 percent in the new entity. Other shareholders in the new company include Oldonyo Laro Estate, five per cent; Bridgehouse Capital Limited, three per cent; Asset Management Company of Nigeria, AMCON, two per cent; and private equity investors, one per cent.

    The deal would see the new core investors injecting about $200 million, and a further N31.1 billion into CAPCOM. This is expected to spark a turnaround in the fortunes of the company and, to a reasonable extent, tackle the challenge of perennial lack of access to local and offshore funding identified as one of the fundamental hurdles holding back CDMA operators.

    Before now, CDMA operators had always complained about lack of funding which hindered their expansion capabilities even with the unified license granted them by the NCC. This development is causing stakeholders to be upbeat.

    One of those excited by the development is Titi Omo-Ettu, Managing Partner, Telecom Answers Associates. According to him, the merger arrangement is an indication that the problem of the sub-sector is not technology as earlier identified by some people because if it were so, then the new investors would not even come near CDMA.

    The national president, National Association of Telecommunications Subscribers, NATCOMS, Deolu Ogunbanjo, sees the merger as an indication that the battle to return fixed wireless operators to the path of profitability has begun. Besides, he believes it is an opportunity for more competition in the telecoms industry, in which the customers would be the eventual beneficiaries in terms of better quality of service and cheaper call tariff.

    Indeed, if the merger sails through, it would provide second wind for Starcomms, which has been struggling with its operations after losing significant market share to Visafone.

    In spite of being the pioneer of the CDMA regime in the country back in 1996, and commencing operation on July 8, 1997, the inability of Multilinks to make profit, even after it was acquired by South Africa’s Telkom, at a cost of $410 million in 2009, led to its sale to Starcomms. Sources say the South African firm was tired of injecting funds constantly into the business.

    In March 2010, Telkom had to underwrite a $1.2 billion loss for Multilinks. Though Multilinks made efforts to re-strategise for profitability – including reducing its call rate – it was unable to break even as it still had the problem of an underutilisation. It had 2.6 million subscribers, whereas its network had capacity for 10 million subscribers.

    The Telkom Group had acquired 75percent of Multi-links Nigeria first in 2007 for $276 million, before taking over the remaining 25 percent in 2009 for $125 million, giving it 100 percent ownership of the firm.

    While the nascent CAPCOM initiative has been lauded, Starcomms, one of the parties in the arrangement, has also not been healthy. For instance, in September 2010, an earlier proposal for the merger of Multi-Links with Starcomms did not see the light of the day as the Telkom board rejected it on the premise that the merger, at that time, would not reduce Telkom’s exposure in Nigeria but increase it as Starcomms was about $130 million in debt. MTS is also virtually dead, as many of its subscribers have since abandoned their lines.

    For now, industry watchers say that a minimum of $200 million investment is required to make the merger efficient when finally consummated. Seun Ogundero, a telecommunication expert, explains that the amount would just be sufficient for the acquisition of Multi-Links and MTS, recapitalise Starcomms and provide it with sufficient capital and liquidity to finance its existing creditors and working capital.

    It would also enable it to expand its existing network through the introduction of 4G/LTE technology to become a major provider of broadband services to Nigeria’s increasingly sophisticated market.

    That said, several factors continue to hobble the growth of the fixed wireless sector, one of which is the global economic meltdown that has reduced the inflow of foreign investment to a trickle. The impact is especially noticeable in the case of NITEL which has slid completely into oblivion after several unsuccessful efforts to revive it through privatisation. It has been unable to attract fresh investment from within and without Nigeria.

    Also, the aggressiveness of GSM operators has negatively impacted on the fortunes of CDMA companies. In spite of coming into the market earlier, the CDMA sector now has less than 10 percent share of the telecoms market which is dominated by GSM operators, who hold more than 90 percent of market share.

    These brutal facts have forced many CDMA firms to shut down their operations. With the exception of Visafone, which can be said to be providing services on a competitive scale, virtually all the other operators in this segment have either disappeared or are struggling to survive.

    Operators like Intercellular, ZOOMmobile, and NITEL, are either dead or struggling. Several years after the acquisition of Intercellular by Sudatel, which paid $50 million for 70 percent equity in the firm, the Sudanese national telecoms service provider is yet to restore life to the company.

    This is, however, not surprising considering that only $10 million of the acquisition money has been paid. Sudatel also reneged on its promise to invest $500 million over five years to enable Intercellular finance its network expansion, improve its services nationwide as well as compete effectively in the post-unified license era.

    The implication of all of this is that with the big GSM operators as the only dominant players, the growth of the sector in terms of investments, competition and more choice for consumers has been hampered. This is a sharp contrast to what obtains in other countries where fixed wireless services complement GSM.

    Omo-Ettu says notwithstanding the mergers of the CDMA firms, the trend of GSM leadership may not be reversed, basically due to funding. “Those who have big money own the business. The GSM operators started big while the CDMA operators started small. The Nigerian market does not favour the ‘start-small’ model,” he says.

    Would this planned merger signal the return of good fortune for the fixed wireless operators in the competitive Nigerian market? How well the segment gets funded, and how it is able to inject more modern technology, would determine whether this is a turning point or a one-off phenomenon.

  • Australian tycoon makes waves mining iron ore in Nigeria

    Australian tycoon makes waves mining iron ore in Nigeria

    At 77, Ian Burston is pursuing ambitious iron ore projects in Nigeria that might make others nervous. Andrew Burrell reports

    IAN Burston was almost killed when his parachute failed to open during national service in 1956. He walked away unharmed when taken hostage by gunmen in Istanbul in 2001. And he emerged from a prostate cancer scare two years ago with renewed verve.

    Now the great survivor of the Australian mining industry is pioneering a bold push into iron ore mining in Nigeria at a time when many are jittery about the volatile price of the commodity and the hazards of doing business in Africa.

    While many of his peers are content to stroll around the golf course, 77-year-old Burston is embarking on one final corporate play that will easily see him through to his 80th birthday.

    “I’m having a bloody marvellous time — I might stick around doing this until I’m 85,” he laughs over lunch at his favourite Perth restaurant next to the glistening Swan River.

    Burston isn’t overly concerned about the dramatic fall in the iron ore price — to below $US90 at one particularly nervy moment last month — that has forced some big miners in Australia to scale back their expansion plans.

    He predicts the price will stabilise at around $US120 a tonne, though he admits this could take some time. And even if it drops to $US80 a tonne, as some predict, he insists he won’t be worried because his planned Agbaja iron ore mine in Nigeria will still make a very handy profit at that price.

    Last week, Burston’s new listed vehicle, Energio, announced a maiden Joint Ore Reserves Committee (JORC) resource of 448 million tonnes at Agbaja after drilling about 15 per cent of its tenements over the past year.

    It was the first JORC iron ore resource ever reported in Nigeria, which has long been dominated by the oil industry.

    In a career spanning several decades, Burston has run Rio Tinto’s Hamersley Iron division and held senior executive roles at Portman Mining, Aurora Gold, Aztec Mining and Kalgoorlie Consolidated Gold Mines. He also served as a non-executive director of Fortescue Metals Group and Cape Lambert.

    His most recent company, African Iron, which was focused on iron ore in the West African nation of Congo, was this year taken over by South Africa’s Exxaro Resources for $338 million, just 12 months after it listed in Australia.

    Burston says he feels more comfortable these days doing business in West Africa, despite the risks of bribery and corruption there, than in the high-cost environment of Australia.

    “It’s getting bloody hard to compete in Western Australia now for two reasons — your infrastructure is so tight, you haven’t got enough ports to get it out, and we are doing some queer things about what we expect operators to cough up to establish their business,” he says.

    “I think we’re being very clumsy. And I think by the time we find out how clumsy we’ve been, these other places will be up and going.”

    Foster Stockbroking analyst Mark Hinsley wrote in a research note this week that Energio’s Agbaja project was shaping up as a “multibillion-tonne iron ore play” given its higher than expected maiden resource estimate.

    He cites the project’s proximity to rail and port infrastructure and Nigeria’s stable government and Western-friendly mining laws as reasons for confidence.

    Burston says China has actively encouraged the development of a West African iron ore industry as it seeks to bring more balance to the market after years of paying what Beijing considers to be exorbitant prices for the steelmaking ingredient.

    But he is not worried that China’s bid to import 400 million tonnes of iron ore a year from West Africa will drive down prices so much that it will damage the viabilty of Energio’s project, which is aiming to start producing 20 million tonnes a year by 2014.

    “I’ve done my figures on (the cost of) getting it onto the ship and it’s less than $US50 a tonne,” he says. “If the iron ore price goes down to $US80 a tonne, that’s not going to worry me.

    “Twenty million tonnes a year at $US30 a tonne is a profit of $US600m a year.

    “The biggest problem we’ve got is every bastard who doesn’t know how to spell iron ore is telling us how to do it.

    “Once we are successful, then the floodgates (in Nigeria) will open, because there’s so much iron there you can’t ignore it.”

    Burston says that unlike in Australia, miners are being welcomed into West Africa through lower taxes and stable royalty rates.

    “The Nigerian government is backing us to the hilt,” he says. “We sit within 70km of an established heavy-haul railway line which has never been used and which goes straight down to the port — what a break that is.

     

    “And the local community can see jobs — everybody wants to work. We advertised for a couple of field hands and at 4am we had a couple of hundred guys out the front, all with their own shovels and all trying to be first interviewed. We nearly had to get the police in to send them home.”

    Burston entered the mining industry after what he terms his Sliding Doors moment while training as a paratrooper in 1956.

     

    Source: The Australian

     

  • Okonjo-Iweala, Alison-Madueke stall $1.092bn OPL 245 probe

    Okonjo-Iweala, Alison-Madueke stall $1.092bn OPL 245 probe

    Attempts by the House of Representatives to probe alleged shady transaction involving the Federal Government, Shell/Agip and Malabu Oil and Gas Limited on OPL 245, was truncated yesterday.

    The inquisition involving about $1.092billion was stalled by the non-submission of relevant documents by the Minister for Petroleum Resources, Mrs Diezani Alison-Madueke and the Finance Minister, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala

    The Deputy Leader and Chairman of the ad hoc committee investigating the transaction, Leo Ogor, said the investigation could not continue because the two ministries, which are central to the investigation, made no presentations.

    The House had on May 31 mandated the committee to investigate the allegation of fraudulent payments.

    The lawmakers described the payment of $1.1billion out of court settlement between the Federal Government and two multinationals, Agip and Shell, concerning OPL 245 to Malabu Oil and Gas Limited, as “shady”. The committee flayed the Minister of State for Finance, Yerima Ngama, who represented Mrs. Okonjo-Iweala, the Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke and the Accountant General of the Federation, Jonah Otunla, for not living up to their responsibilities.

    Mrs. Alison-Madueke, said she was not aware of the demands of the committee as she did not get any letter demanding for specific information from her ministry. She urged the committee to deal with the Department of Petroleum Resources.

    “We have a Department of Petroleum Resources that holds all the licences, and they can make the documents available to the committee,” she said.

    But committee members were not happy with her response.

    Ogor said a letter dated 1st of July was dispatched to her office.

    He said: “We need a clear position from the ministry on this issue; we need to hear from you on this transaction.”

    He asked a clerk to give the letter to the Minister. Mrs Alison-Madueke went through the letter and said: “The letter I have was dated September 19th. I apologise. I would ensure that the documents get to you by next week at the latest. We have the documents.”

    Ogor said the Ministry of Finance and and the Perroleum Resources Ministry are “the engine room of the investigation”, adding that the Minister of Finance, was also sent a letter.

    He said the Accountant General’s Office has not responded to “our letter on Signature Bonuses. The Accountant General should wake up to his responsibilities.”

    On his part, Ngama said the details the ministry was to present to the ad hoc committee just came in yesterday (Wednesday) morning and hence they would require more time to prepare a proper document to present to the committee.

    A member of the committee, Jagaba Adams Jagaba, suggested that in the absence of the documents, the committee should adjourn.

    He said: “The Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Petroleum Resources are key and it’s obvious we can’t continue with this investigation.”

    Ogor read a letter from the Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Mohammed Adoke, which stated that he would not attend the hearing because he was attending to the issues concerning the review of the ICJ judgement on the Bakassi Peninsula. Speaker Aminu Tambuwal said the investigation was necessitated because the House had “been inundated with petitions and reports” on the transaction. He was represented by the Deputy Speaker, Emeka Ihedioha.

  • Nigeria’s oil may last for 41 years, says World Bank

    Nigeria’s oil may last for 41 years, says World Bank

    Nigeria, the largest regional oil producer, could keep supplying at the 2011 levels for another 41 years, the World Bank predicted yesterday.

    The country, as at last year, had an average daily production of 2.4million barrels per day, which has now increased to 2.5million barrels per day.

    The Bank also expects about $31 billion in Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in-flows into Africa this year, noting that there had been strong investor-interest in the region in recent times.

    According to the World Bank’s new Africa’s Pulse, a bi- annual analysis of the issues shaping Africa’s economic prospects, Angola, the second largest producer in the region had about 21 years remaining at current production levels before its known reserves were depleted.

    The World Bank also predicted a 4.8 per cent growth rate for Sub-Saharan Africa in 2012 but cautioned countries to be frugal in spending their resources.

    The Bank, which had forecast a 4.9 per cent growth rate in 2011, said the region remained on track despite setbacks in the global economy.

    Growth in Sub-Saharan Africa, apart from South Africa, according to the Bank was forecast to rise to 6 per cent.

    The report noted that African exports had rebounded in the first quarter of 2012, at an annualised pace of 32 per cent, up from 11 per cent 2011.

    It, however, noted that African countries were not immune to the recent cases of market volatility occasioned by crisis from the Euro Area as well as growth slowdown that is occurring particularly in China, which had remained an important market for Africa’s mineral exporters.

    World Bank Vice-President for Africa, Makhtar Diop said: “A third of African countries will grow at or above 6 per cent with some of the fastest growing ones buoyed by new mineral exports such as iron ore in Sierra Leone and uranium and oil in Niger, and by factors such as the return to peace in Cote d’Ivoire, as well as strong growth in countries such as Ethiopia.”

  • Fed Govt boosts trade, investment with attractive tax

    Fed Govt boosts trade, investment with attractive tax

    Anew scheme of tax credit aimed at encouraging an increase in the flow of foreign investment into the country is underway.

    Minister of Trade and Investment, Mr. Olusegun Aganga dropped the hint yesterday at the ongoing, second edition of the Nigerian International Investment Forum (NIIF) organised by the ministry in collaboration with the Commonwealth Business Council (CBC), Nigeria Investment Promotion Council (NIPC) and Image Affairs Nigeria.

    Explaining the new incentives packaged in the form of tax credits, Aganga said going forward, companies that had invested in the development infrastructural facilities such as the construction of access roads, power plants and water plants in the course of setting up their businesses were now entitled to tax credit of up to 30 per cent of the cost of generating the infrastructure.

    In a statement, he said the initiative was a temporary relief measure introduced by the Federal Government to help cushion the debilitating effects of the challenges posed by the lack of infrastructural amenities in the country, which is a major setback to the inflow of investments into the country.

    Another phase of the tax incentives according to the minister, which is targeted at employment generation, provides tax reliefs for any employer that hires above 10 staff.

    The minister noted that for any 10 people employed by any company on a particular year, the employer gets tax credit for additional employments with more credits guaranteed if the employees are kept in the organisation further than two years.

    “The federal ministry of works is currently working hard on the development of trade related infrastructure with a target time of completion of 2014. But before then, we have introduced measures to cushion the effect of infrastructure deficiency, one of which provides that any company that has invested in infrastructure will have tax credit of up to 30 per cent of the cost of generating the infrastructure,” he said.

  • NEPC to review product categorisation

    The Executive Director,Chief Executive Officer Nigerian Export Promotion Council, (NEPC) David Adulugba has said the council is out to review current product categorisation and adopt new and mutually accepted categories for export products registered on the scheme.

    He said only few multinational companies can survive exporting from Nigeria without government support through incentive such as the Export Expansion Grant (EEG).

    He said this is why the NEPC and the Export Expansion Grant (EEG) implementation committee in its quest to achieve greater efficiency in the administration of the scheme, has provided the opportunity to dialogue with all stakeholders.

    The ED/CEO disclosed this at the formal submission of the resort of the technical committee on product categorisation on EEG in Abuja. He said that the government has put in place several export incentives as veritable tools for providing some compensatory bailout to exporters, who are more often made to face high cost of production, due to inadequate and undeveloped export infrastructure.