The Nation Newspaper

Category: Special Report

  • Buhari: Killing the virus of tenure elongation

    The controversy over the elongation of the tenure of the All Progressives Congress (APC) National Executive Committee (NEC) and the National Working Committee (NWC) was resolved yesterday, following President Muhammadu Buhari’s insistence that tenure renewal and party leadership recruitment must be in accordance with the provisions of the 1999 Constitution and the APC Constitution. Group Political Editor Emmanuel Oladesu writes on the significance of abiding by the rule of law and due process.

    President Muhammadu Buhari rose to the occasion yesterday. He lived to the billing of a leader that he is. The Commander-in-Chief saved his party from a looming disaster. He averted the doom, which the violation of the 1999 Constitution and the All Progressives Congress (APC) constitution would have heralded. To observers, it was a singular act of courage; very rare in the history of his presidency.

    Unlike before, the President was firm. If he has been firm and decisive like yesterday, his government would have been much more effective. President Buhari jettisoned the Ahithophelian counsels of party self-serving party members trying to misinterpret the law, perhaps to suit a hidden agenda.

    The crux of the matter was the decision to elongate the tenure of the party’s National Executive Committee (NEC) and the National Working Committee (NWC), contrary to the law. The intended chief beneficiary is the National Chairman, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, who has presided over the crisis-ridden ruling party for almost four years. Crisis had hit the APC, following the purported tenure elongation for the NEC and the NWC during their Abuja meeting of January 26 and 27.

    The decision is a bone of contention in the APC Governors’ Forum. While Kogi State Governor Yahaya Bello told reporters that the NEC had granted one-year tenure elongation to the Odigie-Oyegun-led NWC, his Zamfara State counterpart and Chairman of the Nigerian Governors’ Forum (NGF), Abdulaziz Yari, said the NEC lacked the power to extend the tenure, adding that the power of the Convention to extend the tenure can only be exercised only by  constitutional amendment.

    Yari stressed: “The power of the NEC of our party cannot go beyond doing so by constitution amendment. Article 30 of the APC Constitution and the schedules hereto, can be amended only by the National Convention of the party.

    “The process of amending the constitution is also expressly provided in Article 30 Sub-Section 2. This states: “Notice of any proposed amendment by any member or organ of the party shall be given to the national secretary, at least, 14 days before the date of the national convention. The notice shall be in writing, and contain a clear statement of the proposed amendment and reasons for the amendment.” These procedures were sidelined deliberately.

    The tenure of the embattled chairman and his team expires in June. Odigie-Oyegun was elected in 2014. Since the expiration of his tenure is imminent, the chairman ought to have put in motion the machinery for the conduct of congresses at the wards, local governments and states. The climax should be the national convention, which provides an opportunity for him to either test his popularity by re-contesting or bow out honourably to allow a fresh blood to take over.

    The unconstitutional tenure elongation opened a new fiesta of conflict. The move polarised the platform. Aggrieved chieftains who protested the setting aside of the constitution have gone to court to challenge the unpopular decision. Thus, fears were expressed that the multiple crises assailing the party may weaken it ahead of next year’s poll.

    Those seeking judicial redress to the tenure elongation said the chairman and other NEC members were given illegal anticipatory tenure elongation to enable them put the national convention in abeyance, without due consideration for the APC constitution and 1999 Constitution.

    Also, a dangerous precedent may have been set by the gross violation of the extant laws on tenure renewal. The APC ceased to be a model to other parties doing an incalculable damage to the constitution meant to regulate its affairs. It was the height of impunity.

    According to the Section 223 (1a) and (2a), of the 1999 Constitution, “the constitution and rules of a political party shall provide for the periodic election on a democratic basis of the principal officer and members of the executive committee or other governing body of the political party.”

    Also, “the election of the officers or members of the executive committee of a political party shall be deemed to be periodical only if it is made at regular intervals not exceeding four years.”

    According to the APC Constitution (2014 as amended), “all officers of the party elected or appointed into the party’s organs shall serve in such organs for a period of four years and shall be eligible for re-election or re-appointment for another period of four years only, provided that an officer elected or appointed to fill a vacancy arising from death, resignation or otherwise shall notwithstanding be eligible for election to the same office for two terms.”

    In the suit No. FHC/L/CS/364/18 before the Federal High Court, Lagos Division, the plaintiff, Dr. Wale Ahmed, urged the court to restrain the Deputy National Chairman (South), Chief Segun Oni, Deputy National Chairman (North), Senator Lawal Shuaibu, National Secretary Alhaji Maimala Buni, National Vice Chairman (Southwest) Chief Pius Akinyelure, the APC and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from carrying out the illegal extension. Instead of engaging in sober reflection, a section of the party leadership even threatened the aggrieved members with suspension.

    Ahmed, a former Lagos State House of Assembly member and a one-time Commissioner for Special Duties said he went to court to protect the image of the ruling party and the sanctity of the constitution. He said the APC should, through its convention, create a level playing field for all qualified members of the party who may wish to contest for any party office at the convention when the tenure of the executive committee expires in June.

    President Buhari was also right when he pointed out that tenure elongation may further deepen the clear division in the fold as party members may feel that they are being denied of their right to aspire to party positions.

    His fatherly advice is a soothing balm. It is gratifying that the President even ruled out the prospect of a caretaker committee. Aggrieved chieftains will now have to withdraw the suits arising from the illegal decision and return to the table of brotherhood.

    The presidential intervention has  cleared the coast for a new elective convention. The annulment of tenure elongation is a positive step. The party constitution is reaffirmed and defended. The APC will now be perceived as a party treading the path of rule of law and due process. There is also the widening of the opportunities for the democratic scrutiny of the party leadership. The convention will provide the opportunity for the affirmation or rejection of the party leadership, based on its score card.

    Time is running out for the ruling party. Elections are fast approaching.

    The questions begging for answers are: When will the party leadership release the time table for the congresses? Also, when will the Convention Planning Committee be set up by Odigie-Oyegun? Will he seek re-election or bow out?

    The preparation for congresses and convention will also come with its challenges. Can the party conduct the exercise before the Ekiti and Osun governorship polls?

    How prepared is the ruling party for the resolution of post-congress and post-convention crises?

     

  • Our grouse about free trade pacts, by OPS, NLC, others

    Nigeria is the beneficiary in the trade liberalisation pacts involving it, and the partnering countries and the economic blocs. From the European Union (EU)-sponsored Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) to Morocco’s push to join the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS);  and now, African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement, some developed countries and neo-liberal institutions appear determined to open Nigeria to free trade. But, members of the Organised Private Sector (OPS), labour movement and investment experts are apprehensive. They warn that the agreements, if signed, will jeopardise the local industrial sector, Assistant Editor CHIKODI OKEREOCHA reports.

    BUT for the sustained agitation by members of the Organised Private Sector (OPS), labour movement, academia, international relations experts and various stakeholders in the economy, President Muhammadu Buhari, would have been in Kigali, the Rwandan capital, to sign the framework agreement for the establishment of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).

    As adopted by the 18th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the African Union (AU) in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, in January 2012, AfCFTA was designed to create a continental trade bloc of 1.2 billion people, with a combined Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of about $3 trillion.

    The agreement, seen as an important milestone in promoting Africa’s regional integration and helping to increase intra-African trade, commits countries to removing tariffs on 90 per cent of goods and to liberalise services. It has its main objective as the creation of a single continental market for goods and services, with free movement of business persons and investments.

    But, before Buhari’s scheduled visit to Rwanda for the Extra-Ordinary Summit of the AU on March 21, during which he was to sign the AfCFTA, a groundswell of opposition by OPS members, labour and other critical stakeholders in the economy, had trailed the proposed agreement.

    The OPS, which included Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), Nigeria Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMMA), labour movement, particularly the Nigeria labour Congress (NLC), as well as international relations experts, unanimously warned the President against signing the agreement. They insisted that it will hurt Nigeria’s productive sector and the economy generally.

    Those pushing for AfCFTA argue that the supposed benefits of the trade pact are too good for Nigeria to ignore. Apart from its inherent capacity to promote economic growth and development, reduce poverty in the partnering countries (Nigeria inclusive), the promoters believe it would expand and diversify trade and increase domestic and foreign investment.

    Africa, according to experts, is not trading within itself, despite its potential in terms of population and rich agricultural and mineral endowments. Trade among African countries accounts for a meagre 10 per cent of their total external trade, the lowest of any world region, according to United Nations (UN) Economic Commission for Africa (ECA).

    The continent’s share in world trade is also not impressive, standing at less than three per cent. That informed the move to stimulate intra-African trade by at least 25-30 per cent to raise the continent’s share in global trade and competitiveness, African leaders came up with the idea of establishing AfCFTA.

    Essentially, their hope was that AfCFTA would lead to a significant growth of intra-Africa trade and also assist Africa use trade more effectively as an engine of growth and sustainable development. It was expected to help Africa participate in global trade as an effective and respected partner.

    Other expected deliverables by the agreement include, enhancing competitiveness at the industry and enterprise level, through exploitation of opportunities for scale production; continental market access and better re-allocation of resources; provision of a comprehensive framework to pursue a developmental regionalism strategy for the continent.

     

    MAN, labour, others kick

     

    But the private sector has refused to be swayed, insisting that the likely negative impacts of the agreement on private businesses and the economy far outweigh its supposed benefits.

    Before Buhari’s had a rethink on the trip, the labour movement, led by the NLC, raised the alarm that the AfCFTA, if signed, will turn Nigeria into a dumping ground for repackaged and re-bagged foreign goods from Europe and other developed countries.

    The NLC specifically warned the Federal Government not to sign the policy document, warning that it will cripple the economy and leave more Nigerians unemployed.

    Besides, it expressed fears that the agreement will expose the economy to foreign intervention, which will allow foreign firms to operate in the local market without employing Nigerians.

    NLC President Ayuba Wabba aligned with MAN’s President Frank Udemba Jacobs argument that the proposed agreement lacked the inputs of relevant stakeholders, including the organised labour.

    He said ordinarily, proponents of the trade document ought to consult all relevant stakeholders, because of its likely implication on the economy.

    Wabba said: “We find it confounding that at a time nations, including the United States (U.S) are resorting to protectionism in defence of their local businesses and protection of jobs, we have the audacity to want to fling open our doors, windows and roof tops.

    “We have no doubt that this policy initiative will spell the death knell of the Nigerian economy. Accordingly, we urge Mr. President not to sign this agreement either in Kigali or anywhere.”

    According to him, the national interest takes precedent and nothing should be allowed to compromise it.

    He said: “The AfCFTA, rather than unite Africa will only divide it the more.  Rather than enrich Africa, it will only pauperise it the more.

    “Those pulling the strings of this radioactive agreement are somewhere, well concealed and protected in the metropolis of the world. They have had this all thought-out and profits computed well ahead.”

    The United Labour Congress (ULC) faction of the NLC commended Buhari for putting a halt to its hurried signing of the trade deal.

    In a statement by its General Secretary, Didi Adodo, ULC said: “Nigeria is not only an importer nation, but also an economy with weak infrastructural base thereby increasing the cost of the products produced in Nigeria.

    “If signed, the AfCFTA will only encourage industrialised countries to use other African nations to push their products to the Nigerian market thereby killing locally produced goods. We reject it in its entirety.”

    To the Vice President, IndustriAll Global Union, Issa Aremu, the agreement could undermine the country’s development aspirations. He lauded what he described “the vigilance of all stakeholders such as manufacturers, NLC and business in calling for caution on international trade agreements.”

    According to him, while intra-African trade could bring economic benefits to member states, there should be broad consultations and participations in the AfCFTA negotiations.

    He said it was necessary to avoid “pitfalls of past trade agreements, which have turned to be more devastating and negative.”

    Aremu recalled that Nigeria’s membership of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) in the 1990s, with its attendant lowering of tariffs led to the collapse of labour intensive industries, like textile and automobile.

     

    Manufacturers fret

     

    Dr. Jacobs also expressed worries that the agreement will open the floodgate for the influx of the European Union (EU) and other foreign goods into the local market and turn the country into a dumping ground.

    According to him, the Rules of Origin (ROO) in the AfCFTA cannot be adequately enforced to guard against the influx of goods into the Nigerian market.

    The ROO are used to determine the country of origin of a product for the purpose of international trade. But, Jacobs expressed fears that the ROO cannot be adequately enforced because goods from the EU can find their way into one of the African countries that have bilateral agreement with the EU.

    The MAN chief said: “When the goods get into the African country, they can repackage them, change the label from made in Europe to that of the African country. Those same goods will surely find their way to Nigeria, which is the main target market for the EU.”

    He explained that the agreement’s market access was a concern to manufacturers as it leaves low protection to locally produced goods.

    “The agreement says that 90 per cent of the tariff plan would be liberalised, leaving only 10 per cent to protect manufacturers. That 10 per cent is too low,” Jacobs said.

    Adding that the 90 per cent will remain open and duty-free because people can import, he said: “What we are saying is that the 10 per cent is too small. Even at the current Common External Tariff (CET) regime, we enjoy more than 10 per cent.”

    Jacobs noted that although, he and other MAN members were not oblivious of the benefits inherent in the establishing the AfCFTA could improve intra-African trade and enhance economic growth and sustainable development, Nigeria must be cautious before rushing into a free trade agreement with other African countries.

    He, therefore, urged the government to renegotiate trade conditions that could impede economic growth in its review of the (AfCFTA) agreement.

    Jacobs, who spoke in Lagos, last week, said the trade pact will result in job losses, as most manufacturing companies in the country will close shop.

    He explained that the private sector’s agitation was because of the lack of consultation and inclusion of inputs of key stakeholders before Nigeria’s position was presented at the meetings of the AU-Technical Working Group on CFTA in the build-up to AfCFTA negotiation by Nigeria.

    Jacobs urged the government to set in motion a process that will enable all stakeholders on the international trade value chain in Nigeria to quickly review the text of the draft AfCFTA agreement and come up with comments on areas that are not in the best interest of the economy and sectors.

    He said: “The government should, as matter of urgency, convene a special meeting of the relevant stakeholders, including experts on trade policy, to consider tariff lines rates along the line of efficiency, sectoral and sub-sectoral preferences that would be most beneficial to Nigerian businesses under the AfCFTA dispensation.

    “It will also reconsider the national position on EPA vis-a-vis the AfCFTA, especially on tariff lines of products on the sensitive/exclusion list, with a view to ensuring that the EU-EPA is not reintroduced through the AfCFTA’s back door.

    “Review presentations and prepare a detailed submission for the Government on ways and means of participating in the AfCFTA in a manner that our national interest and that of the budding manufacturing sector are effectively protected.”

    Commending Buhari for refusing to sign the trade deal, Jocobs reiterated that MAN will not support the government’s adoption and ratification of the agreement establishing the AfCFTA until the issues of market access and enforcement of ROO are addressed.

    Some of these arguments and opposition by the private sector are believed to have forced President Buhari’s hand to withhold consent to the controversial agreement.

    The President, however, explained that his administration will not be in a hurry to enter into any agreement that will make the country a dumping ground and jeopardise its security.

    The Nation learnt that at the AU meeting in Rwanda, 44 African countries signed the AfCFTA framework agreement. The continent’s two biggest economies, Nigeria and South Africa, refused to sign.

    South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa reportedly said his country will join the agreement when the necessary legal processes are concluded. He said he will sign once the legal and other instruments associated with the trade bloc are processed and ratified by South African stakeholders and parliament.

    Morocco’s membership of ECOWAS, EPA also sore points

    Although, Buhari said his administration has set up a committee to review the controversial AfCFTA, there are other trade liberalisation schemes being forced down Nigeria’s throat allegedly by some developed countries and neo-liberal institutions bent on opening the country to free trade for which critical stakeholders have been up in arms.

    Since June last year, when the ECOWAS leaders were said to have agreed in principle to consider a request by Morocco to become a member of the regional trade bloc, the OPS, especially MAN, has been mounting intense pressure on the government to forestall the North African to join ECOWAS.

    Jacobs, who has been the most vociferous in the OPS campaign to halt Morocco’s membership of ECOWAS, noted that by reason of its geographical location, Morocco does not qualify to be admitted into the ECOWAS. Besides, its trade agreement with the European Union (EU) makes it harmful to allow her join the regional body.

    Relying on the information that shows an exixting trade agreement between Morocco and the EU, the MAN chief warned that Morocco, if allowed into the ECOWAS, will encourage the infiltration of EU-made products into the local market.

    He said: “This is so because Nigeria is the biggest market amongst the 15-menber countries in ECOWAS.

    He noted that by extension, admitting Morocco into ECOWAS will be equivalent to signing the controversial Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) between ECOWAS and the EU through the back door. “This, he said, will negatively affect the Nigerian economy as locally manufactured goods will find it extremely difficult to compete with imported products from the EU.”

    OPS members and other stakeholders have been warning Nigeria to resist the EU to sign the EPA, which, according to them, will be counter-productive as it will leave Nigeria, especially industrial sector operators, with the short end of the stick. They argue that endorsing the EPA deal will hurt Nigeria’s industrialisation and job creation drive.

    Under the EPA terms, which triggered the suspicions of OPS members, the EU will immediately offer ECOWAS 15-member countries full access to its markets. In return, ECOWAS will gradually open up 75 per cent of its markets, with its 300 million consumers, to the EU over a 20-year period.

    That was not all. The EU will also offer a package valued at about Euros 6.5 billion (about $8.94 billion) over the next five years to help ECOWAS countries cushion the effects and costs of integrating into the global economy.

    The proverbial carrot notwithstanding, the OPS insisted that the proposed agreement was a union of unequal partners.

    They have consistently warned that signing such a pact will undermine the local industrial sector. They, specifically, argued that it will impact negatively on local manufacturing and result in shutdown of industries with heavy job losses, because of the imbalance competition that will follow.

    To Jacobs and other real sector operators, Morocco’s alleged surreptitious move to join ECOWAS and the EU’s push to get Nigeria endorse the EPA, are two sides of the same coin.

    They believe that admitting Morocco into ECOWAS will give the EU, which already enjoys unfettered access into the North African region, unfettered access to the Nigerian market and probably make it a dumping ground.

    Despite the agitation against Morocco’s admittance into ECOWAS, the government said it has not made up its mind on the knotty issue.

    The Minister of State for Commerce, Industry, Trade & Investment, Hajia Aisha Abubakar, recently said that the government will in due course, make its position known on it, pledging that government remained poised towards protecting indigenous manufacturers.

    Weak industrial base, infrastructure

    The weak industrial base and inadequate infrastructure justified the apprehension of stakeholders and operators in various sectors of the local economy. According to experts, the key elements of trade liberalisation within the ambits of most Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) are trade in goods and services as well as investments.

    The FTAs also open new export markets and facilitates speedy movement of investment and people. Africa is one of the fastest-expanding economic regions in the world. With a population of 1.2 billion people, Africa is a huge market. And evidently, big market is good for every economy, including Nigeria. Besides being growth drivers, big markets have capacity to foster inclusive economic growth.

    The odds against Nigeria

    While these portend bright prospects for Africa, the snag, however, is that Nigeria appears to hold the short end of the stick, due to the current structure of her economy. At present, Nigeria is mainly a commodity goods producing country with very limited capability to produce and export industrial goods.

    Most of the industries in the country are undeveloped and are plagued by lack of supportive infrastructure. The production plans of industry players are constantly distorted by the interplay of macroeconomic variables such as inflation, exchange rate and interest rate variations.

    To manufacturers, AfCFTA, EPA and indeed, other trade pacts may appear to be a good course in their document proposals, they, however, fear that they may be catastrophic if implemented as they will stifle the slowly recovering manufacturing sector in the country. Their implementation could worsen the unemployment situation and the standard of living of the people.

    Putting the fears in perspective, Jacobs said that MAN has nothing against free trade, as it could be better done in a situation of equal economic development as any attempt to coerce the country into a free trade arrangement would only succeed in killing the fledging manufacturing sector.

    To him, the government’s industrialisation goal, through the Nigerian Industrial Revolution Plan (NIRP) would be a mirage if EPA, for instance, is embraced. Besides, he said it would increase social unrest and insecurity, due to surge in unemployment.

    Rather than EPA or any other free trade arrangement, the Director-General of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce & Industry (LCCI), Mr. Muda Yusuf, said real sector operators have been concentrating on promoting competitiveness on a sustainable basis.

    He spoke of the need to put in place the right policies and infrastructure either in the context of EPA or ECOWAS to achieve this.

    The belief is that with the prevailing state of the economy, the free trade pacts may not mean much to the country. Already, many manufacturing companies have left Nigeria to other neigbouring West African countries such as Ghana where the business environment is considered friendly.

    What these mean is that for Nigeria to significantly benefit from the avalanche of international trade agreements being dangled before her, there is urgent need to improve the ease of doing business, for instance, why efforts must be made to address the nation’s dearth of infrastructure particularly electricity supply.

    Beyond addressing poor infrastructure and the import-dependent nature of the economy, Aremu said: “It’s time for Industry, Trade & Investment Minister Okechukwu Enelamah to do ‘first thing first’ – prepare to engage all stakeholders on the trade pacts, answer critical questions on the implications of the AfCFTA, for ECOWAS treaty and Common External tariff (CET) and the contentious EPA.”

    He said whatever the outcome of the deliberations, AfCFTA should allow Nigeria the domestic policy space so that the policy objectives of job creation and industrialisation, as contained in the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (EPRG) and Nigeria Industrial Revolution Plan (NIRP), are not jeopardised.

     

  • What Tillerson said as U.S. Secretary of State before sack

    • Says transparent, credible, fair, peaceful elections expected next year

    Rex Tillerson, until yesterday the United States Secretary of State had to cut short his trip to Africa because of developments at home. He had been fired by President Donald Trump. Tillerson, whose replacement has been named, will bow out of office on March 31. Below is excerpts of what Tillerson said in Abuja, Nigeria’s political capital on Monday before his sack.

    Well, good afternoon, and I am so pleased to be back in Nigeria, a place that I have visited many, many times.  And I particularly appreciate the time that President Muhammadu Buhari and Foreign Affairs Minister Geoffrey Onyeama have given me to discuss our countries’ relationship, and importantly the commitments we have and make to one another.

    We collaborate to create a number of opportunities to increase trade and investment and to expand access to electricity, an essential component of both human and economic development.  We also take on a number of challenges across this continent together, from corruption to disease to terrorism.  As Africa’s largest economy, Nigeria is America’s second-largest trading partner on the continent with over $9 billion in Nigerian-U.S. total goods traded last year.

    Later this year, we will inaugurate the U.S. – Nigeria Commercial and Investment Dialogue and a Trade and Investment Framework Council, both very positive steps to develop stronger business networks and address barriers to increasing trade and investment from the U.S.

    We also look forward to the finalisation of the Continental Free Trade Agreement through the African Union (AU) as an important mechanism to accelerate intra-African trade, a step which we believe is going to bring even greater foreign direct investment and I know a greater U.S. business investment and involvement in Africa, and most particularly Nigeria with Nigeria’s large population and growing economy.

    We thank Nigeria for the leadership role it is playing in the Lake Chad Basin Multinational Joint Task Force (MJTF) with Chad, Cameroon, Niger, and Benin.  Boko Haram and ISIS-West Africa have caused the displacement of millions and stolen the future from so many.  The recent kidnapping of more than 100 school girls is heartbreaking. Nigeria has the U.S. full support, and we are actively working with our partners here on other ways we can assist you in this fight.

    Finally, I shared with the President the U.S. optimism about the future of democratic governance here and throughout the continent.  Nigeria’s elections and peaceful transfer of power in 2015 demonstrated for the rest of Africa and the world that diverse societies can conduct peaceful, democratic transitions of leadership.  The U.S. looks forward to joining with government and civil society groups in support of transparent, credible, fair, and peaceful elections once again here in Nigeria.

    The U.S. also commends Nigeria’s anti-corruption efforts.  President Buhari’s work has resonated across the continent with his recent recognition as the AU’s anti-corruption champion.  We continue to encourage the Nigerian government to work with civic and community leaders to create a durable social, economic, and political infrastructure that supports lasting peace and development for the decades to come.

    This is essential to deepening the people’s trust in their government, strengthening security efforts in the Northeast, and improving the U.S. ability to partner with Nigeria in the future.  We see nothing but a very bright future ahead for Nigeria and for U.S. – Nigerian relations.

     

    Africa and Trump administration

     

    Africa’s been really important for the administration, and that’s what I’ve been focused on for the past week, as you know.  I think, with respect to Mr. Kushner’s portfolio of assignments that the President has given him, I think it’s best to leave any comment on that to himself or the White House.

     

    Consequences of the Boko Haram insurgency

     

    Well, first, we respect the responsibilities of the Government of Nigeria.  This is sovereign territory of Nigeria.  But the way we support is in providing them capability, capacity, whether it’s equipment, but also training personnel for special operations, and sharing certain intelligence to ensure that they have all the information available to plan and carry out a recovery effort.

    But I think it’s also important to put this in the broader regional context as well.  Boko Haram is a threat to others regionally, and this has been a subject in my meetings elsewhere while in Africa as well.  And in my discussions, in fact, with President Idriss Deby in Chad earlier today (Monday) we spoke about the threat of Boko Haram.  And I think what’s important and has really been powerful is the collaboration of the joint task force that – of which Nigeria is a part and Chad is a part, to respond to this threat of terrorism, of which Boko Haram is one organisation.  There are other threats that the leadership in this part of the country has to deal with and this part of the continent has to deal with.

    So the U.S. is very engaged in that coordinated effort as well, both in supporting, equipping, training, and where we can advise and provide information.  I think that’s the best way we can help the Government of Nigeria secure the release of these girls, which we hope will be done in a peaceful manner.  We hope that something that can be worked out and they will be persuaded to release these girls quickly.  That’s what we’re pray, anyway.

     

    Trump and Jong-un

     

    With respect to the ongoing discussions about a potential meeting between President Trump and Kim Jong-un, as you know, it’s a very recent development.  There will be – several steps will be necessary to agree on a location, agree on a scope of those discussions.  It’s very early stages.  We’ve not heard anything directly back from North Korea, although we expect to hear something directly from them.  So, I would – I know those are all questions that people are anxious to have answers to.  I would say just remain patient and we’ll see what happens.

     

    How about a location?

     

    That as well…  Nothing – nothing’s been agreed, and I don’t want to start floating ideas out through the media.  I think it’s going to be very important that those kind of conversations are held quietly between the two parties.

     

    Chinese debts

     

    Well, I’ve commented on this question a couple of other times, and I think it’s important that our view be clearly understood.  We do not seek to keep Chinese dollar investments from flowing to countries that need those investment dollars.  What we are cautioning countries is to look carefully at the implications of the level of debt, the terms of the debt; whether the arrangements around that financing are in fact creating local jobs, local capacity, or are the projects being carried out by foreign labour being brought to your country?  Is the structure of the financing such that you will always be in control of your infrastructure?  Are there mechanisms to deal with default in a way that you do not lose the ownership of your own assets?  These are national assets, whether they’re ports or railroads or major highways.

    And we have seen this occur in other countries where countries were not so careful, and as a result, they got themselves in a situation where they ultimately lost control of their infrastructure, they lost the ownership of it, they lost the operatorship of it.  And that’s the caution we have.  There are very well-known international rules and norms, well-known financing structures to deal with unforeseen circumstances, and I think we’re just – we’re cautioning countries to look carefully.

    And there are other alternatives.  There are other alternative financing mechanisms available, and I think in particular, if governments create the right conditions around those infrastructure investments, there are also great potential for public-private sector co-investing in infrastructure.  And we are developing mechanisms and the President has charged some of his executive staff back home to begin to develop alternative financing mechanisms that will also create alternative opportunities to what China is offering.  And again, it may be that China is fine, but we have seen many, many examples around the world where it didn’t work out so well for the host country.  And as friends of all countries, we’re just asking:  Be careful.

     

    Former secretary unaware of reason for sack

    FORMER Rex Tillerson is unaware of why President Donald Trump asked him to resign AS United States (U.S.) Secretary of State, Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs, Steve Goldstein, said in a statement on yesterday.

    Goldstein also said the former Secretary of the State and did not speak to Trump about the development.

    “The Secretary did not speak to the President and is unaware of the reason, but he is grateful for the opportunity to serve, and still believes strongly that public service is a noble calling,” Goldstein said.

    Trump, however, said that he and Tillerson disagreed on many things, including the Iran nuclear deal, following the announcement of the top diplomat’s departure from the high-ranking position.

    The U.S. President said: “We got along actually quite well, but we disagreed on things. When you look at the Iran deal, I think it’s terrible, I guess he thinks it was okay.

    “We wanted to either break it or do something and he felt a little bit differently. So, we were not really thinking the same.”

    Trump added that he made the decision to fire Tillerson by himself, announcing that the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) Director, Mike Pompeo, will replace Tillerson.

    “Mike Pompeo, Director of the CIA, will become our new Secretary of State. He will do a fantastic job! Thank you to Rex Tillerson for his service!” Trump wrote in a Twitter message.

    A White House official said Trump wanted to make the change at the State Department ahead of expected talks with North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un and trade negotiations.

    Trump reportedly asked Tillerson to resign on Friday while the secretary was in the middle of a diplomatic trip to Africa.

    Tillerson, who was in Abuja, on Monday cut his trip short by a day and returned to Washington, DC.

    Trump plans to nominate Gina Haspel, the CIA’s Deputy Director, to take over for Pompeo.

    Haspel would become the first female director in the history of the intelligence agency.

    Haspel served as a clandestine officer with the CIA in 2002 in Thailand and oversaw the torture of two terrorism suspects and destruction of videotapes documenting that torture, according to a Senate Intelligence Committee report on CIA torture.

    Both Pompeo and Haspel will need Senate confirmation before starting their new positions.

  • Lagos State land use charge: The true story

    Those kicking against the implementation of the revised LUC Act are living with the fear of the harmless, experts have said. To them, the outrage over the law reviewed by the administration of Governor Akinwunmi Ambode to bridge infrastructural deficit in Lagos State, is uncalled for, reports BUNMI OGUNMODEDE.

    What the LUC Law 2018 is all about

    In simple term, the law repeals an earlier one of 2001, therefore, it is not new.
    It also consolidated ground rent, tenement rate and neighbourhood improvement levy, therefore, Lagosians would not be victims of multiple taxations under the new law.
    The law went through the required legislative processes before it was passed which included a public hearing where those now crying could have ventilated their apprehensions; this process brought a number of reliefs that were embedded in the law.

    Who pays what?

    • If you are a landlord and you are the only one living in your house with your family (no tenant). Your annual fee is 60 per cent of the value of the house × 0.076. For instance, if your house is valued at N20 million. Your fee is 0.076 per cent of (60 per cent of N20 million) is 0.076 per cent x N12 million which is N9, 120.00 per annum.
    • If you rented out the house to tenants only and you don’t live there and the house is worth N20 million. You will pay 0.76 per cent of (60 per cent of N20 million) is 0.76 per cent of N12 million is N91, 200.00
    • If you are a landlord living with your tenant in the same building of the above value. You will pay 0.256 per cent of (60 per cent of N20 million) is 0.256 per cent × N12 million is N30,720.00

    IF the computations of the revised Lagos State Land Use Charge (LUC) Act 2018 are anything to go by, the controversy trailing it may not be unwarranted. The law, which was enacted in 2001, with a provision for review every five years, was not reviewed until 2017, 15 years after its introduction.

    According to the government, the upward review of the LUC Law was to increase the state’s internally generated revenue and expand its tax base. But the ambitious intention was the government drew flaks from a section of the society.

    Critics of the revised law, especially property owners, want the government to roll back the review over fears that its implementation would adversely affect their businesses.

    But, the government said there was no cause for alarm as the augmentation on owner-occupier property was marginal.  It explained that the review was done in line with the prevailing economic realities and in the overriding interests of the future of Lagos as a mega city.

    At a parley with business executives last week, Governor Akinwunmi Ambode, explained to property owners what informed the review, adding that his doors were opened to dialogue.

    Not a few stakeholders blame the misgiving of some residents on the dearth of communication and education of tax payers before the government unveiled its plan to commence the implementation of the revised law.

    One of the captains of industry at the governor’s parley with business executives, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, the Group President of Dangote Group, said the business environment in the Centre of Excellence was friendlier than what obtained in others states.

    Speaking at the forum tagged: “Lagos means business”, Dangote described Ambode’s explanation as a demonstration of his passion to take the state to loftier heights.

    He said the economic drive by the government was one that required the support of all and sundry by performing their civic responsibility of paying their taxes as and at when due.

    Dangote said: “I am more convinced now and I think people should really be voluntarily paying taxes in Lagos. I think for the people who are doing business here, Lagos is the most-friendly states in Nigeria. If you really want to know, try other states and you will see…

    “I am not advertising for Lagos but there is not a single time you go with a problem and the governor will ask you to go and come back tomorrow because in most cases, he will call everybody and say let us sit down and sort out the issues. So, your Excellency, we congratulate you and assure that we will continue to support you.”

    A tax expert, Taiwo Oyedele, appealed to the government to improve its communication and engagement with stakeholders on the revised LUC Law. He spoke of the need for the government to do more explanation on how it worked and computed the new rates to prevent misinterpretation and controversy.

    Oyedele, the Head of Tax & Regulatory Services, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) Nigeria, spoke with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos at the weekend.

    He said: “Government needs to communicate better and engage people more. May be the implementation from when the law was announced was too quick and people did not have enough time to digest it.

    “It is important for government to clarify and simplify the computation so that an average property owner can compute it without any external assistance.

    “There are lots of miscalculations and misinformation on the social media because people do not understand how to calculate it.

    “On a N100 million worth of an owner-occupied property, you would pay less than N50, 000 per annum.

    “If the N100 million property was for commercial purpose, that is you are renting it out, you would pay about N200, 000.

    “Effective communication for development is necessary to amplify voice, facilitate meaningful participation and foster social change,” the tax expert said.

    Also yesterday, the Centre for Public Accountability (CPA) threw its weight behind the government, saying the outrage over the new law was uncalled for.

    In a statement by its Executive Director Olufemi Lawson, the CPA said the Ikeja Branch of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) erred by issuing the Ambode-led administration  a seven-day ultimatum to reverse itself on the LUC Act.

    It said the professional body threw etiquettes into the wind by offering itself as mouthpiece for those it classified as “tax evaders”.

    The statement reads: We, at the Centre for Public Accountability (CPA) as well as our civil allies across the nooks and crannies of Lagos State are concerned at the implications of recent outcry and what we observe, as the crocodile tears being shed by a seemingly privileged, social segment of the Lagos State populace on the implementation of Land Use Charges Law, 2018.

    “The most comical of these groups, is the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Ikeja Branch, that has thrown professional etiquettes to the winds, abandon its well-cherished traditions as the defender of the less privileged and socially alienated to become the mercenary megaphone of some over pampered, higher middle class perpetual public tax evaders.”

    The CPA described as condemnable the purported threat by the Ikeja branch of the NBA to call its members out on the streets should the government refuse to roll back the law by this week.

    It said:  “Our take up point in this brief intervention would be to condemn in unmistaken terms, reports in the news media, particularly that of The PUNCH newspaper of Thursday, 8th, 2018 where a purported seven-days ultimatum was issued to the Lagos State Government by one, Mr. Adeshina Ogunlana, the Chairman, NBA, Ikeja branch to reverse the Land Use Charge Law, 2018. An act that was never a product of arbitrary proclamation of the state governor!

    “It is a great wonder that learned men of the legal profession cannot simply take the civilised means of rectifying of perceived social injustice by approaching the competent court of law to seek judicial pronouncement on the law, but rather gentlemen of the legal profession are threatening fire and brimstone to take laws into their own hands by disrupting law and other in the state.

    “We unequivocally condemn the plan of Ikeja NBA to cause public riot in the state if the law is not reversed. Need we remind the NBA, Ikeja Branch, that other well-meaning Lagos civil society organisations like ours are at liberty to rally round our members to equally protest the attempt of the Bar to instigate chaos in the state.

    “We recall that the NBA, under the late Alao Aka-Bahorun and Olisa Agbakoba played progressive roles while lawyers like the late Kanmi Ishola-Osobu and Chief Gani Fawehinmi always tilt towards the majority poor and not a minority, few privileged cabals.”

    “It is trite in law to re-emphasise that equity does not aid the indolent who sleep on their rights. It also put in place a defined, scientific and progressive tax system that weighs heavily on the upper class of the society who do not always want to pay tax. Since over 15 years that the law was first enacted, despite astronomical inflationary index, the minimum charge in 2001 was N1,200 (One Thousand and Two Hundred Naira) and in 2018, it is N5,000 ( Five Thousand Naira), it is only the super-rich with exotic properties in choice locations like Lekki Peninsula, Ajah, Victoria Garden City, most of whom are rentier owners with suspicious means of income yet that are paying more because of the progressive nature of the charges.

    “The proceeds accruing from these charges are statutorily bound to be shared between the Lagos State Government and the 57 Local Government Areas and Local Council Development Areas to finance the infrastructural deficit of the fast-growing mega city.

    “The law set out self-assessment criteria for property owners and established a Land Use Charges Assessment and Appeal Tribunal (LUCAAT). The charge rate’ self-evaluation process is as simple as contextualised below:

    “Clearly, this fact speaks for itself that the aim of the law is to ensure that properties are properly and progressively valued with a lesser burden on the less-privileged. It should be added that the value of properties also varies from one location to the other.

    LUC Act with a human face

     

    • A general 40 per cent relief for all property liable to LUC payment, a 10 per cent relief for owners and occupiers with persons with disabilities.
    • A 10 per cent relief for owners and occupiers of 70 years and above.
    • A 10 per cent relief for properties above 25 years, a five per cent relief for properties occupied by their owners for over 12 years,
    • A 20 per cent relief for non-revenue generating federal and state government property
    • 20 per cent partial relief for non-profit making organisations.
    • Pensioners, churches, mosques, palaces, public places are exempted.

     

    Why the fuss

    To the CPA, the super-rich and the elite have been crying Wolf where there was none.

    It said: “CPA notes that it has become a norm in our country that most privileged individuals in our country only want to benefit maximally from the society without giving anything back as a birthright.

    “Most elected politicians usually run to procure tax certificates when they are vying for elections which means they don’t pay taxes unless when it becomes highly imperatives.

    “In the same manner, even private companies deduct taxes from and other statutory deductions like pensions, health and housing schemes from employees but don’t remit same.

    “The public sector is even worse, they make the deductions and loot them into private accounts, the cases of the alleged scandals in the pension funds and the National Health Insurance Scheme (NIHS) are still very fresh in our minds.

    “It is in the character of Nigerian upper-middle class to illegally corner wealth and store same in tax haven as has been revealed with the Panama Papers and other mind-boggling revelations of Nigerians try to evade paying appropriate taxes.

    “The Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun, is presently leading a Federal Government campaign on Voluntary Assets and Income Declaration Schemes (VAIDS) to encourage notorious tax evaders to pay within a clemency period or face stiff penalties and prosecution.

    “Every rational person knows that tax is a fundamental means for government to raise resources to meet up with the provision of social amenities that make life more amenable to the citizens.

    “The LUC Law is only unique to the extent that it aspires to progressively tax the more privileged citizens to help in providing humane living environment for the less privileged. This is however not accidental, the government has over the years provided good ultra-modern environments for people living in areas like the Lekki Peninsula, Ajah, Ikoyi and Victoria Garden City, now the same government is asking people who have properties in these places to pay quality and commensurate land use charges so that other areas of the State like Ajangbadi, Ikorodu, Ajegunle can be upgraded.

    “We call on all Lagosians to join hands at ensuring that even when there is en-even development in various areas of the state, that there is also a combined development whereby, those areas that are more socio-economically advanced give a helping hand to bring up areas that are still crawling.

    “This is the main social kernel of this LUC Act; it is a tip of social redistribution of growth and social equity to all. The super-rich should stop crying wolf and pay up.”

  • IMF raises hope on Nigeria’s economy

    IMF raises hope on Nigeria’s economy

    •Seeks confirmation of MPC members 

    At the conclusion of its 2018 Article IV Consultation with Nigeria on Monday, the Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) says the economy is on track.  Its directors, however, call for the confirmation of Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) members and Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) directors. They also seek better implementation of the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP) agenda for a more inclusive growth, reports COLLINS NWEZE.

    NEW foreign exchange measures, rising oil prices, attractive yields on government securities and a tighter monetary policy have contributed to better foreign exchange availability, increased reserves to a four-year high and contained inflationary pressures in Nigeria, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said at the conclusion of its Article IV Consultation with Nigeria on Monday.

    The Fund said economic growth, driven mainly by recovering oil production reached 0.8 per cent last year and that inflation declined to 15.4 percent year-on-year by end-December, from 18.5 per cent at end-2016.

    According to the IMF, reforms under the government’s Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP) have resulted in significant strides in strengthening the business environment and steps to improve governance.

    It, however, said that all the factors have not boosted non-oil non-agricultural activity, brought inflation close to the target range, contained banking sector vulnerabilities, or reduced unemployment.

    A higher fiscal deficit, driven by weak revenue mobilisation amidst tight domestic financing conditions, has raised bond yields and crowded out private sector credit.

    The Fund insisted that higher oil prices have been  supporting the near-term projections, but medium-term projections indicate that growth would remain relatively flat, with continuing declines in per capita real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) under unchanged policies. Also, the improved outlook for oil prices is expected to provide relief from pressures on external and fiscal accounts. Growth, the fund said, would rise to 2.1 per cent this year, in in view of the full year impact of greater foreign exchange availability and recovering oil production.

    It said renewed import growth would reduce gross reserves despite continued access to international markets. After arrears clearance, the fiscal deficit would narrow and public debt levels would remain relatively low, but the interest payments to the Federal Government revenue ratio would remain high.

    It said: “Risks are balanced. Lower oil prices and tighter external market conditions are the main downside risks. Domestic risks include heightened security tensions, delayed fiscal policy response, and weak implementation of structural reforms.

    “Stress scenarios highlight sensitivity of external and public debt, particularly to oil exports and naira depreciation. Faster than expected implementation of infrastructure projects are an upside risk. A further uptick in international oil prices would provide positive spillovers into the non-oil economy.”

    The Fund’s executive directors agreed with the thrust of the staff appraisal. They welcomed Nigeria’s exit from recession and the strong recovery in foreign exchange reserves, helped by rising oil prices and new foreign exchange measures.

    They commended the progress in implementing the ERGP, including the start of a convergence in foreign exchange windows, tight monetary policy, improvements in tax administration and significant strides in improving the business environment.

    The directors noted, however, that important challenges remain, as growth in the non-oil, non-agricultural sectors, has not picked up; inflation remains high and sticky; unemployment is rising; and poverty is high.

    To address these vulnerabilities, they stressed the urgency in comprehensive and coherent policy actions.

    The directors emphasised the need for a growth-friendly fiscal adjustment, which frontloads non-oil revenue mobilisation and rationalises current expenditure to reduce the ratio of interest payments to revenue to a more sustainable level and create space for priority social and infrastructure spending.

    They said: “In addition to ongoing efforts to improve tax administration, directors underlined the need for more ambitious tax policy measures, including through reforming the value added tax (VAT), increasing excises, and rationalising tax incentives.

    “The implementation of an automatic fuel price-setting mechanism, sound cash and debt management, improved transparency in the oil sector, increased monitoring of the fiscal position of state and local governments, and substantially scaled-up social safety nets should support the adjustment.”

    The directors also commended the central bank’s tightening bias in 2017, which should continue until inflation is within the single digit target range. They recommended continued strengthening of the monetary policy framework and its transparency, with a number of directors urging consideration of a higher monetary policy rate, a symmetric application of reserve requirements, and no direct central bank financing of the economy. A few directors urged confirmation of the appointments of the central bank’s board of directors and members of the monetary policy committee.

    The directors praised the foreign exchange measures and recent efforts to strengthen external buffers to mitigate risks from capital flow reversals.

    They welcomed the authorities’ commitment to unify the exchange rate and urged additional actions to remove the remaining restrictions and multiple exchange rate practices.

    Besides, they urged concerned to contain rising banking sector risks. They welcomed the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) commitment to increase capital buffers by stopping dividend payments by weak banks.

    The IFM directors called for an asset quality review to identify any potential capital need. They noted that an enhanced risk-based banking supervision, strict enforcement of prudential requirements, and a revamped resolution framework would help contain risks.

    They emphasized that structural reform implementation should continue to lay the foundation for a diversified private sector-led economy.

    Other essential measures that must be taken, according to them, include: building on recent improvements in the business environment, implementing the power sector recovery plan, investing in infrastructure, accelerating efforts to strengthen anti corruption and transparency initiatives, and updating and implementing the financial inclusion and gender strategies.

    They also welcomed the continued improvement in the quality and availability of economic statistics and encouraged further efforts to address remaining gaps. It is expected that the next Article IV consultation with Nigeria will take place on the standard 12-month cycle.

    Experts react to IMF’s verdict

    Speaking on the report, Managing Director of  Rockview Financial Enterprises, a bureau de change firm, Kingsley Moses, said the IMF is yet to inform Nigerians the basis of their judgment on further naira devaluation.

    He said: “Their judgment is not correct. The IMF and their group have since 1980s been insisting that the naira be-devalued further. But, we have continued to devalue to where it is today. The value of the currency cannot be taken singularly. There are many things that determine how the country runs its exchange.”

    According to Moses, Nigeria has inflationary economy and cannot devalue its currency more because such measure will help a country that has been struggling to encourage local production. “They are not in a position to give us a comprehensive economy plan, but they are not the ones running our economy,” he said.

     

    Economic Recovery

    and Growth Plan

     

    The Federal Government unfolded the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP), which outlined how the country will get out of recession and attain stability and growth.

    The economic blueprint, itemised the potentials in the economy and how they can be harnessed for economic growth, development and good of all.

    The ERGP recognised that Nigeria has the potential to become a major player in the global economy by virtue of its human and natural resource endowments. However, this potential, it said, has remained relatively untapped over the years.

    Analysts said the content of the ERGP shows that government is already approaching the solution to the nation’s economic challenges with the same will and commitment it had demonstrated in the fight against corruption and economic development.

    They believed the ERGP brought together all the sectoral plans for agriculture and food security, energy and transport infrastructure, industrialisation and among others means  it can actually be used to revive the economy.

    Besides, after a shift from agriculture to crude oil and gas in the late 1960s, Nigeria’s growth has continued to be driven by consumption and high oil prices.

    “Previous economic policies left the country ill-prepared for the recent collapse of crude oil prices and production. The structure of the economy remains highly import dependent, consumption driven and undiversified,” it said.

    The ERGP, a Medium-term Plan for 2017–2020, builds on the Strategic Implementation Plan (SIP) and has been developed to restore economic growth while leveraging the ingenuity and resilience of the Nigerian people – the nation’s most priceless assets.

    It is also articulated with the understanding that the role of government in the 21st century must evolve from that of being an omnibus provider of citizens’ needs into a force for eliminating the bottlenecks that impede innovation and market-based solutions.

    The plan recognises the need to leverage Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) and build a knowledge-based economy.

    Besides, the ERGP is consistent with the aspirations of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), given that the initiatives address its three dimensions of economic, social and environmental sustainability issues.

    A report by the global research and consultancy firm Oxford Business Group (OBG) sheds a spotlight on ERGP 2017 to 2020, which is leading national efforts to ease the impact of lower oil prices.

    The OBG’s publication also looks in detail at the areas of the economy that have remained resilient in difficult times, such as agriculture, which has become a major employer and is benefiting from an ease in lending constraints.

    The report also analyses the government’s far-reaching plans to modernise the country’s long-neglected public transport system. It considers both the opportunities that the project in the pipeline will attract investors and show the difficulties in bringing private sector operators on board.

    OBG’s Editor-in-Chief, Oliver Cornock, said that while lower oil prices have weighed heavily on the local economy, the government’s ambitious, medium-term strategy for recovery was already beginning to yield results.

    Cornock said: “Nigeria remains an appealing destination for investors and the fact that growth has begun to pick up following a slower period for the economy will provide the country with a welcome boost, as its efforts to develop and diversify the economy gain pace.”

    OBG’s Managing Editor for Africa Robert Tashima agreed that while Nigeria had experienced a challenging couple of years, it appeared to have made some progress, emerging from recession with a floating currency and more bullish expectations for the coming 12 months.

    “There are still a number of hurdles that need to be cleared – ranging from issues such as power shortages and underemployment to limited foreign exchange revenues – but the economy is clearly gathering momentum,” he said.

    The IMF’s Mission Chief for Nigeria, African Department, Amine Mati, said the commercial lenders need recapitalisation to enable them secure fresh funds to boost the government’s chances of achieving the ERGP target.

    He described the ERGP as an important step for the economy and important policies step taken but requiring urgent action to achieve its objectives.

    Also, Stanbic IBTC Holdings Plc said that with diligent execution and policy consistency, the ERGP has the capacity to steer the country towards full economic recovery and sustainable growth and development.

    The key goals of the ERGP, which was unveiled in April last year as a short-to-long term (2017 to 2020) blueprint to lift the country out of recession and return it to the path of inclusive growth and development, include macroeconomic stability, and incremental improvements in national productivity.

    Thy goal include sustainable diversification of production in such areas as agriculture, energy and medium and small enterprises, as well as manufacturing and services.

    Speaking on the sidelines of the 23rd Nigerian Economic Summit in Abuja, the Chief Executive of Stanbic IBTC Holdings Plc, Yinka Sanni, stated that practically, every sector of the economy is endowed with huge potential, which, when adequately harnessed would trigger exponential development of the country.

    By empowering enterprises, big and small, opportunities are unlocked that leads to enhanced productivity levels and subsequent creation of employment for the people, he added.

    Sanni said that though Nigerian enterprises are buffeted by myriad of challenges, with a conducive operating environment, the banks can reverse the trend by providing critical support across the SME value chain, which would enable the sector play its foundational role in economic development.

    SMEs in Nigeria, he added, are constrained in three main areas which he identified as management, finance and business environment.

    “In the area of management are issues such as skills shortage, management expertise, financial management, business support and access to markets, while in the area of finance, they are confronted by cost of capital, lack of collateral, information requirements, regulation impact and culture clash,” Sanni said.

     

  • Cost of unending executive, legislature stand-off

    Cost of unending executive, legislature stand-off

    The relationship between the executive and the legislature is everything but smooth. Assistant Editor ONYEDI OJIABOR writes that the cat and mouse game between the two arms has neither been beneficial to the parties nor to the electorate who voted for change.

    RATHER than be to its advantage, the domination of the National Assembly by the All Progressives Congress (APC) is not in any way helping the ruling party.

    The admission of the frosty relationship between the executive and the legislature by President Muhammadu Buhari at the party’s National Executive Committee (NEC) underscores his frustrations.

    He told the party’s apex organ that the frequent friction between the Presidency and the lawmakers has slowed down the delivery of his campaign promises to Nigerians.

    The President’s confession, which confirmed the existence of the gulf between the two arms of government, has triggered more altercations in the past one week.

    Firing back in a veiled response, the National Assembly told Nigerians to blame the delayed passage of the 2018 Appropriation Bill on the refusal of Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) to furnish its committees with relevant information on their votes.

    But the Director-General of the Budget Office, Ben Akabueze, said the details of votes allocated to each MDA were clearly spelt out in the budget proposal presented to the joint session of the National Assembly on November 17, last year.

    Akabueze said: “Given the seriousness the presidency attaches to getting the 2018 budget passed so it could earnestly focus on achieving the goals set out in the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan 2017-20 (ERGP), which formed the basis of the budget, it had directed heads of ministries and extra-ministerial agencies to attend to any requests for meetings/information by the national assembly (NASS) with dispatch.

    “To the best of our knowledge, this directive has been complied with.”

    Many have warned that the festering executive/legislative feud, blowing open barely one year to the next general elections, could have dire consequences for the Buhari administration.

    Although they said that such friction is not alien to Nigeria’s political landscape, especially, when the ruling party has no comfortable majority in the National Assembly, “this is perhaps the first time it is being admitted that frequent clashes between the two arms of government have grown so large to slow down governance.”

    They urged the dramatis personae to smoothen all the rough edges to enable the electorate read the dividends of democracy.

    It is an open secret that since the inauguration of the Eight National Assembly on June 9, 2015, the arms of government have been locked in a cat and mouse game. The presidency and the lawmakers are rarely on the same page on issues of national importance.

    The crisis of trust stemmed from the contentious emergence of the leadership of the upper and lower chambers of the National Assembly. Contrary to the wish of the ruling party’s leadership, Dr. Bukola Saraki emerged Senate President and Ike Ekweremadu, a Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) lawmaker was elected Deputy Senate President.

    At the Green Chamber, Yakubu Dogara and Lasun Yusuff were elected as Speaker and Deputy Speaker.

     

    Budget impasse

     

    The non-passage of this year’s budget, three clear months after its presentation, has become worrisome to the government and the people.

    When the budget was presented in November last year, the assurance from the National Assembly leadership was that the proposal would be speedily passed so that its implementation could begin on January 1, 2018.

    That has not come to past. Three months into the year, the buck-passing and blame games continue.

    As the National Assembly accuses heads of MDAs of refusing to its committee’s invitations for budget defence, the agencies complain of frivolous invitations by the lawmakers.

    According to the lawmakers, the heads of the MDAs would rather prefer engagement outside the country than to honour the annual budget defence invitation. Some of the MDAs’ heads describe as frustrating the call for”unending budget defence sessions”.

    About 63 MDAs are yet to appear before relevant committees in the Seante.

    The Vice Chairman of the Senate Committee on Appropriations, Sunny Ogbuoji, alleged that the heads of the MDAs would rather  travel overseas than honour the lawmakers invitations to make clarifications.

    Ogbuoji said: “Since January, the Appropriations Committee’s doors have been opened to receiving reports from the sub-committees.

    “However, most of the sub-committees have a huge challenge with the MDAS because majority of the MDAS are not coming forward to interface with them.

    “Some of the ministers will tell you that they are travelling out of the country; because of that, the MDAs are not fully ready. So, we don’t have the reports yet.”

    A frustrated minister lamented that “budget defence sessions have been turned into more or less sessions of witch hunt.”

    Asked how MDAs are being witch-hunted, the minister declined to go into details “to avoid controversy.”

    It is difficult to say when the budget will be passed as the Senate has vowed never to pass the document without input from “recalcitrant” MDAs.

    Last year, the allegation of missing budget and budget padding almost ruined the implementation of the fiscal estimate. When the dust raised by the weighty allegations subsided, the budget was passed in May and signed into law in June. The implementation of last year’s budget was not more than 15 per cent in most MDAs. Governance was the worse for it.

    Will the 2018 Budget fare any better? Only time will tell, some observers said.

     

    The EFCC logjam

     

    The controversy trailing the nomination and confirmation of the Acting Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ibrahim Magu, has become intractable.

    President Buhari nominated and forwarded Magu’s name to the Senate for confirmation twice. The senators rejected the request on both instances, latching on to a negative report submitted to it by the Department of State Services (DSS).

    For more than two years, Magu has been working on an acting capacity, following the insistence of the presidency that Magu remained its best man for the anti-graft job, contrary to the Senate’s recommendation for his sack and request for a fresh nomination.

    Perhaps, compounding the standoff was the presidency’s claim that it discovered that it was an error on its part to have forwarded Magu’s nomination to the Red Chamber for confirmation ab initio.

    The Senate demanded clarification from Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, who was credited to have said that Magu’s nomination did not need it confirmation.

    The Senate went further to pass another resolution not consider any presidential nomination that is not expressly listed in the constitution if the vice president failed to recant the statement credited to him.

    The upper chamber promptly suspended the screening, consideration and approval of a number of nominations for appointment already before it.

     

    Endless wait by boards’ appointees

     

    The faceoff is putting on hold the inauguration of not a few nominees into boards of federal agencies. Those that attempted to resume without confirmation were reprimanded and threatened with severe sanctions.

    Some of the nominations pending in the senate include that of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Deputy Governor Aisha Ahmad.

    The four members of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the CBN Prof Adeola Festus Adenikinju, Dr. Aliyu Rafindadi Sanusi, Dr. Robert Chikwendu Asogwa and Dr. Asheikh A. Maidugu have also not been cleared by the Senate.

    There must be quorum before the MPC can meet.

    Among the nominees who have been on the Senate’s waiting list for approval are: the Chairman of Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB), Mohammed Isa and nine members of the CCB board.

    The members include: Murtala Kankia (Katsina, Northwest); Emmanuel Attah (Cross River, Southsouth); Danjuma Sado (Edo, Southsouth); Obolo Opanachi (Kogi, Northcentral); Ken Madaki Alkali (Nasarawa, Northcentral); S.F. Ogundare (Oyo, Southwest), Ganiyu Hamzat (Ogun Southwest), Sahad Abubakar (Gombe, Northeast) and Vincent Nwanne (Ebonyi Southeast).

    The Director-General, National Pension Commission (NPC), Alhaji Ali Usman, the Chairman, Independent Corrupt Practices and other Offences Commission (ICPC) Prof Bolaji Owasanoye, are also awaiting Senate clearance and confirmation.

     

    Open bickering

     

    To show the depth of the mistrust between the two arms of government, the House of Representatives on March 1 took on the Minister of Solid Minerals & Steel Development, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, when it adopted a no confidence vote against him. What was at stake was a matter that should have been resolved without the show of strength.

    Many wonder why a Federal Government with comfortable control of the two chambers of the National Assembly cannot get anything done without muzzle-flexing.

     

    Elections timetable

     

    The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has fixed presidential and National Assembly elections for Saturday, February 16, 2019 and governorship and State Assembly elections for Saturday, March 2, 2019.

    But, the National Assembly changed the arrangement, demanding that the National Assembly elections come first and the presidential poll last.

    Adopting the reordered sequence as contained in the House of Representatives version of the amended Electoral Act, the Chairman of the joint committee, Senator Suleiman Nazif (Bauchi North), put it to a voice vote.

    The 12-member committee unanimously answered in the affirmative to pave the way for the report to be presented to the two chambers for final ratification.

    Envisaging that the President may refuse to sign the amendment into law, the National Assembly is weighing the option of veto.

    The electoral umpired has vowed to apply its own timetable in its preparation for the forthcoming general elections, even as controversy continued to trail the reordering of the timetable by the National Assembly.

    Every previous step taken to patch the fractured relationship ended up creating more cracks, raising fears that creating a seamless relationship between the two arms may be a mission impossible.

    But, for how long will the executive and the legislature work at cross purposes? The unwholesome bickering between the two arms has benefitted neither of the arms, and those who voted for change, are collateral victims. There should be a limit to political fight.

     

  • FBNInsurance: Fastest growing firm

    FBNInsurance: Fastest growing firm

    • Pays claims promptly

    That FBNInsurance is the fastest-growing insurance company in Nigeria is not in doubt. This much has been confirmed by available indices in the industry.

    Established in September 2010 with 14 staff members, many expected it to do well. Despite of the prevalent apathy towards insurance, industry watchers felt that as a scion of the country’s hugely successful financial services powerhouse, FBNHoldings, they would benefit from the parent company’s time- tested formula for success.

    For over a century, FBNHoldings, through FirstBank, has been a major player in the financial services industry. With investments in banking, asset management, pension funds, among others, FBNHoldings bestrides the financial landscape.

    However, no sooner had it started business than the management of FBNInsurance realised that success does not come on the basis of a great heritage. Getting business was a challenge. The famed apathy of the insuring public apart, the pioneer teams at the company were entering a territory angels feared to tread.

    To endear itself to the target audience, the management of the company had to dig in really deep and carve a niche for itself. The pioneer staff members worked days on end to ensure the business survived infancy. Today, their hardwork has paid off.

    While many have praised Val Ojumah, the company’s Managing Director since inception, for his glowing leadership qualities, the man himself is quick to put the adulations at the feet of those who he believes deserves it: the Board, Management and staff. “We have been able to achieve so much in so short a period because we have been blessed with visionary and relentless Boards at various times, and a selfless members of staff since inception,” he says.

    Indeed, Ojumah has overseen a management team that has steered the ship of the young company to heights established players can only dream of.

    Within its first three years of operation, the company bought over a general insurance firm, Oasis Insurance, and rebranded it FBN General Insurance, a subsidiary of FBNInsurance, and overturned the acquired company’s loss position in the first year of operation and has subsequently maintained FBN General Insurance’s growth momentum.

    With regards to its financial performance, FBNInsurance has continued on an upward swing that impresses even the most cynical financial analysts. In 2016, the company made N9.9billion and declared a profit after tax of N2.23bilion while total assets stood at a whooping N29.5billion. In a country gradually easing out of a recession and with a low insurance penetration, the figures are a wonder.

    It is easy to see the basis of this success: a strong retail presence. With over 2,000 financial advisors combing the nooks and crannies of the country selling insurance, little wonder that an approximate 70 per cent of the company’s total income in the past year comes from the retail team. This is a solid endorsement of the trust the people have in the brand.

    Indeed, the company has not only won the peoples’ trust, it has also garnered many accolades from other stakeholders along the way. In 2013, the company won Sanlam Emerging Markets (SEM) Cup of Nations award in the Rising Star category based on high premium posted.

    According to the competition rules, “the SEM Cup of Nations is designed to motivate the staff members of the various country operations to overachieve and exceed the set targets/budgets, to deliver sustainable growth over the previous year’s results, and to foster a spirit of competition between the various businesses in the Sanlam Emerging Markets (SEM) cluster.”

    The company would repeat the feat in 2016, making it a double in three years. Also, thrice over the past four years, FBNInsurance has been awarded the best life insurance company in Nigeria by the prestigious World Finance Awards.

    But is FBNInsurance all about growing her customer base, making profits and delivering on set targets? Elizabeth Agugoh, Head of the company’s Marketing and Corporate Communications department, disagrees.

    “We are a peoples’ company committed to doing business by all ethical means while also impacting on our host communities through our corporate responsibility and sustainability exertions,” she said.

    Over the years, she revealed, the company has made significant impacts in education, health and community development. Some of these include the donation of a brand new dialysis machine to a Lagos General Hospital in 2015; providing screening and  immunisation for Breast and Cervical cancer for 750 girls and women in collaboration with a local Rotary Club; supporting Jakins NGO in providing back-to-school kits for vulnerable and disadvantaged students; providing scholarships to 250 indigent students of a rural community in Southsouth Nigeria so they could enjoy uninterrupted education; sinking of a borehole at Umuahia amongst others.

    For a company that has grown its own reputation away from its founders, it is delightful to note that FBNInsurance is not resting on its oars. With 136 permanent staff, 74 temporary officers and over 2000 retail agents across 42 sales outlets pan Nigeria on its books, the company has truly come of age. “We will continue to deepen our retail footprints until every insurable Nigerian has an FBNInsurance policy,” Ojumah added.

  • Executive, legislature, judiciary join forces against graft

    Executive, legislature, judiciary join forces against graft

    The executive, the legislature and the judiciary held a dialogue in Abuja last week on the justice sector’s reform and the anti-corruption campaign. The event, which had three sessions, featured no fewer than 22 speakers, including lawmakers, academics, judges, legal experts, technocrats and journalists. JOSEPH JIBUEZE highlights the key recommendations at the one-day event at the State House Abuja.

    The plan of the President Muhammadu Buhari administration when it took the saddle about three years ago was to use the instrumentality of government to fight corruption. But the battle is far from being won.

    Reason! The three arms of government, expected to unite against graft have not flown in the same direction

    Making the battle more herculean is the fact that the organs of government are not only undermining themselves but working at cross purposes and the trend has become worrisome to the Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption (PACAC), which last week, organised a one-day “dialogue of organs of government on reform of justice sector and campaign against corruption.”

    The dialogue, organised in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Justice, was staged at the State House Banquet Hall in Abuja and was. It drew

    Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, Senate President Bukola Saraki, House of Representatives Speaker Yakubu Dogara, Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) Walter Onnoghen and Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) Abubakar Malami, SAN.

    Represented by the Deputy Chief of Staff to the President, Mr. Ade Ipaye, Osinbajo, called for a harmonious relationship between the legislative, judiciary and executive arms of government, without which he foreclosed development.

    The vice president said: “Conflicts could arise from misunderstanding of constitutional responsibilities; inordinate foray or venture by one organ into the territory of another organ, inordinate ambition or domineering attitude by one over others, power struggle, greed or self-interest, hypocrisy; lack of patriotism and corruption.”

    According to him, unresolved conflicts slows down the pace of governance, creates suspicion and hostility, encourages bad governance, creates distraction and tension, encourages the culture of impunity and disregard for the rule of law among the political class, with attendant political instability that divides the populace.

    “In order to avoid these consequences and for a government to deliver development to the people, it is imperative for the three arms of government to constantly bury the hatchet and focus on collaborative efforts within their constitutional responsibilities to formulate and implement effective governance laws and policies,” he said.

    Dr. Saraki, who was represented by Senator David Omoru, spoke of the need to strengthen institutions and processes “so that we can fight the good fight without let or hindrance, and without any bias whatsoever.”

    Pledging the lawmakers’ commitment to the anti-graft war, the Senate President said: “Let me assure you that we as lawmakers in the Eighth National Assembly take very seriously the fight against corruption to sanitise our polity and instill greater probity, openness and accountability in the system.

    “That way, we would be better able to power the economic development of this country, rather than having up to 25 per cent of our annual GDP (Gross Domestic Product) disappear into private pockets,” he said.

    The AGF said the campaign against corruption can only succeed if it actively involves all stakeholders and enjoys ownership by all the arms of government.

    Malami said: “It is also significant to posit that the efficiency of the justice sector is critical to the speed at which the results of our collective efforts can become available to the public.

    “No matter our best intentions, no matter the urgency in our methods as an executive branch, the application of the rule of law by the judiciary and the expeditious consideration of supporting laws by the legislature are equally critical to the overall success we hope to achieve in order to promote greater prosperity and stability in our country.”

    Dogara, represented by Jide Akinloye, said the House would “go the whole hog to support any attempt to fight corruption”.

     

    Sagay: Corrupt judges rubbishing judiciary

    The PACAC Chairman, Prof Itse Sagay (SAN) said it was corrupt judges have been doing more damage to the judiciary, not those who point out its failing.

    According to him, judges must not be afraid to bring the full weight of the law on their corrupt colleagues.

    To the constitutional lawyer, all organs of government must be harsher in dealing with corrupt persons within their fold.

    He said judges must have zero tolerance for lawyers who try to compromise them, but should expose such lawyers and have them struck off the rolls.

    Sagay said: “Judges must be prepared to bring to justice any of their colleagues who accept or demand bribes.

    “These are the ones who rubbish the image of the judiciary, not the legitimate critics of such gross misconduct.

    “It takes only one apple to contaminate and make all the other apples in the barrel rotten also. So, self-criticism and firm punishment for culprits within a sector by colleagues is mandatory in order to establish zero tolerance for corruption in that sector.”

    He urged judges to strictly apply provisions of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA) 2015 in order to enhance speedy and fair justice.

    “Some judges are currently carrying on as if the ACJA does not exist,” he noted.

    According to him, there must be no espiri de corp between a clean member and a corrupt member in any arm of government.

    Sagay said those who are known to be corrupt have no moral right to pontificate on the fight.

    The PACAC chief said: “There is a lot of lip service by various high profile public servants in the anti-corruption war.

    “When a person who is known by the Nigerian public as an irredeemably corrupt person begins to wax lyrical about the devastating effects of corruption, it sounds very ill in his mouth and it ridicules and belittles the fight against corruption.

    “Public figures that are already notorious for their penchant for corruption are doing disservice to the anti-corruption struggle by pretending to hate corruption. Let such people remain silent rather than ridiculing the war against corruption.”

    Urging lawmakers to fight budget padding and unjust remuneration and to pass pending anti-corruption bills, Sagay advised agencies of the executive, such as Customs, not to demand bribes to do their jobs.

    He said: “If they deserve higher remuneration, they should demand it. In fact, we should allow Customs, Inland Revenue Department, EFCC and ICPC to retain a small portion of the assets recovered or collected by them in order to promote internal integrity in those services.

    “We must tackle the following matters with all seriousness: prevention of corruption; speedy, effective and efficient trials; recovery of looted assets, and discouragement and deterrence of bribery, corruption and economic financial crimes in the public and private sectors.”

     

    Falana, others speak

    The event had three sessions, with the sub-themes: Campaign against corruption and justice sector reform: Journey so far; strengthening justice sector institutions/law enforcement agencies for improved sanctions and enforcement; and preventing corruption and sustaining justice sector reforms.

    Speakers and contributors include: Justice A. D. Yahaya of the Court of Appeal, Senator Chukwuka Utazi, Prof Larry Chukwu, a lawmaker Jimi Benson, Justice T. Akomolafe Benson, Justice E. Agim, Justice Chinyere Ani, activist-lawyer Femi Falana (SAN), a professor of law Ayo Atsenuwa, a journalist Mr. Lanre Arogundade, former Nigerian Law School Director-General Lanre Onadeko (SAN), The Nation’s Managing Editor, Northern Operations Yusuf Alli, Executive Director at the Access to Justice (A2J) Mr. Joseph Otteh and Dr. Fatima Waziri-Azi of PACAC, among others.

    Falana urged Attorneys-General to do more in the fight against corruption under their jurisdiction. The activist-lawyer noted that impunity has continued because some of them abuse the power of nolle-prosequi.

    “The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) cannot go to a state to prosecute without the fiat of the Attorney-General in many of the cases. What are they doing in pursuing cases of corruption in their state?” he asked.

    On sentencing, Falana wondered why someone who stole billions of naira would be jailed for a mere 10 years or less. To him, it was a class issue that must be addressed.

    He said an armed robbery suspect who robbed only one person may be sentenced to death, and no one would raise an eyebrow.

    Falana said: “But, the man who has stolen money meant for building a road – and because that road is not built, people are dying, or the one who diverted money meant for building a hospital – are only asked to plea bargain.

    “The worst case of fraud that has been recorded was that of a bank executive who was alleged to have returned through plea bargain N191.4 billion in money and other assets. He was sentenced for six months in a highbrow hospital in Lagos. Whereas, in Osun State, a young man was sentenced to 50 years for stealing a handset worth N7, 000.

    “For us not to expose the law to ridicule, there would be the need on the part of PACAC perhaps to organise a seminar on sentencing, because people out there are laughing.”

    Falana accused anti-corruption agencies of not applying Section 10 of the Recovery of Public Property Special Provisions Act.

    The section, the lawyer noted, provides that if a person fails to declare assets worth over N1 million, the person is liable to life imprisonment.

    “That law is there, but nobody applies it,” Falana said.

    The SAN said workers emoluments, health insurance and other benefits are given high priority in countries where corruption is genuinely fought.

    According to him, people are likely to be tempted to steal if they know they would retire into penury.

    “How do we create an enabling environment for us to live good lives so that we’ll not be tempted to want to loot the treasury?” Falana wondered.

    Justice Ani said corruption results in poverty, high level of unemployment, infrastructural deficit and lack of foreign investments, among other ills.

    She regretted that some high profile cases were badly investigated, which makes it difficult to prove the essential ingredients of a crime.

    On the part of judges, she said there was “entrenched” lack of know-how by some of them, adding that lack of enough budgetary provisions also hampers the anti-graft war.

    Justice Ani recommended the equipment of courts for efficiency, as most of the court use manual recording systems; improvement in inter-agency collaboration, as well as an amendment of the section of the ACJA on video recording of suspects during interrogation to replace the word “May” with “Shall.’

    Alli said there was too much political interference in the anti-graft war, even as there was lack of manpower among anti-graft agencies.

    According to him, investigators must have insurance policy and very good welfare package to keep them motivated.

    On the way forward, Alli said there should be less politics in the anti-graft war, adding that it should not been seen as a political tool.

    To him, the office of the AGF should be separated from the Minister of Justice, while anti-graft agencies need to be sanitised.

    Alli said: “Anti-graft agencies must operate within the ambit of the law, and merit should take preeminence over any other thing,” he said.

    On the issue of media trial, Alli said the press does not go beyond filtered information given to them by anti-graft agencies.

    EFCC’s Head of Legal Department Gbolahan Latona said it was a miracle that anti-graft agencies were doing the much they do considering the low budget they operate with compared to their counterparts abroad.

    Onadeko decried the fact that corruption cases were lasting too long in courts. To him, corruption cannot be fought conventionally. New approaches must be adopted, he said.

    Prof Atsenuwa said the ACJA would not work unless it was properly funded.

    “I’m not aware of who has mapped the budgetary implication of ACJA’s implementation. There has to be an implementation framework for the ACJA,” she said.

    She added that in the investigation of cases, lawyers need to guide investigators on what to look out for.

    Justice Yahaya, who chaired one of the sessions, said there were enough laws; the problem was with their implementation.

    “The problem is the indiscipline that is in us. Without a committed and disciplined people, I don’t see us succeeding. Something is going to collapse unless we all address the challenges and face them,” he said.

    Otteh called for the introduction of a Financial Disclosures Rule which would limit the amount of physical cash that judicial officers can hold at any time.

    He said the rule that “he who alleges must prove” should be revised so that those founds with suspicious amounts of money could be called upon to explain how they came about them.

    Besides, he said the war against corruption would not be won when the courts are shut down on flimsy excuses, such as when all judges of a court are attending a burial or seminar.

    PACAC member Prof Femi Odekunle cited the example of South Korea where the elite got together and fought corruption to save the country. He said the elite must agree to kill corruption if the fight must be won.

    “Like the President said, if we don’t kill corruption, it will kill us. He appears to be the only one saying so. It has not been bought by the elite collectively. If the elite in the three major organs of government get together and fight corruption, it will filter down the other agencies,” he said.

    Prof Odekunle said the three arms of government have more to do. For instance, he said the National Assembly had punished its members who tried to expose corruption by suspending them, and has not been transparent about lawmakers’ allowances. According to him, “any of them who breaks out of the code of silence” gets punished.

    He faulted the executive for recalling a man who was suspended over allegations of corruption, adding that the judiciary appears to condone corruption among its members.

    Odekunle said: “I said about two years ago that you have to sacrifice the blood of two judges and two SANs to cleanse and do libation to be able to liberate the legal profession from corruption.

    “If the executive had gone along, there’d be no Maina case, no Babachir case and the NIA case.

    “I agree there should be separation of powers, but there should be no separation of the core values, the ethos, the philosophy of social organisation.

    “I think the elite must get together and say: ‘Corruption will kill us if we don’t kill it’. They must lead the way.

    “To me, it’s a matter of a visionary leadership, but all the elites must agree; otherwise I don’t think we’ll make progress.”

  • CHI Rights Issue hits 100.09% success

    CHI Rights Issue hits 100.09% success

    Shareholders of foremost insurer, Consolidated Hallmark Insurance (CHI Plc), have affirmed their support for, and confidence in the operations of the organisation with a 100.09 per cent subscription of the last Rights Issue that set out to raise N500 million for business expansion.

    The company, in the first phase of its capital raise exercise, offered one new share to every six held by its existing shareholders in the 1,000,000,000 units’ rights issue, which opened on October 16 closed on November 22, last year.

    With the very successful rights issue and the resultant increase in its working capital, plans are already afoot to further expand operations and broaden its income streams. This is evidenced by the recent establishment of a Health Maintenance Organisation subsidiary (Hallmark HMO), and the deployment of a new user-friendly transaction-based website in a bid to deepen its retail footprints.

    The Basis of Allotment of the rights issue subscription, as approved by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), shows that there were no traded rights on the floor of the Nigerian Stock Exchange during the offer period as 100 per cent of applications complied with the terms of the offer.

    In his reaction to the success of the offer, Managing Director/CEO of the company, Mr. Eddie Efekoha,  also the Chairman of the Nigerian Insurers Association, called on members of staff to see the expression of confidence in the activities of the organisation by shareholders as a call for even greater dedication to duties.

    This, he said, would ensure expectations of clients were continually met through quality service delivery. He acknowledged that even greater efforts were required as the organisation grows bigger and strives to attain its vision of emerging as the first choice provider of insurance and other financial services in Nigeria.

    The CHI boss said as a company, they were able to fulfill their claim payment obligations as at when due, having successfully settled claims to the tune of over N1.7 billion which is a 29 per cent increase over the N1.3 billion paid in 2015.

    He said the company has also moved to ensure that its seamless service offerings are within the reach of our rapidly-growing clientele and potential customers by unveiling a new website – www.chiplc.com.

    “The new website has been designed to present an utmost user-friendly experience alongside hassle-free navigation and improved functionalities. It enables users, with a click, access to information on various classes of general insurance business to take decisions based on available options and forms of protection desired. With a very easy and friendly onboarding process, the website enhances the purchase of insurance products online through the aid of premium calculators. It also facilitates payments with Bank Debit Cards and online payments via specified bank accounts with several tier one and two banks.

    “Also, through a Unique Customer Dashboard available for new and existing customers of the foremost insurance firm, they can view online real-time the status of their policies, and transactions. The functionality of the new website is further evident in the provision for clients to report and lodge in their claims, send supporting claims documents by uploading pictures and relevant forms as well as track the status of their claims.

    “Built for the digital age, the website is easy to navigate and very suitable for the multi-device social networking customer. We believe that the closer insurance services are to the end users, particularly via desktops and mobile devices, the better for higher insurance penetration with the attendant positive effects on revenue growth.

    ‘’Deployment of latest technology is an integral part of the strategic plan of CHI Plc in our quest to emerge as a leader in the insurance industry,” he noted.

  • Law Union & Rock Insurance

    Law Union & Rock Insurance

    …Solid as ever

    Of the 46 Non-Life Insurance Companies in Nigeria, Law Union & Rock (LUR) Plc certainly stands out as one of the strongest, most reliable and most customer-centric insurance companies.

    As one of the first generation insurance companies to open in Nigeria more than six decades ago, Law Union & Rock Plc has maintained its excellence in risk underwriting. With a rating of A- from Global Credit Rating of South Africa Plc., this implies that Law Union has high claims paying ability relative to other insurers in Nigeria.

    This rating from GCR also means that the company’s Capitalisation is likely to remain within a strong range over the rating horizon, supported by sound internal capital generation, strong liquidity profile and adequate claims cash coverage.

    Despite the harsh economic operating environment of 2017, Law Union & Rock Insurance Plc. against all odds recorded a premium of N4.25 billion for the year ended 31st December 2017.  The risk manager has maintained its consistent improvement since the new strategic plan of the company which was unveiled in 2016.

    The Managing Director, Mr Jide Orimolade said that through efficient underwriting practices yielding an Underwriting Profit of N1.06 billion, Law Union has been able to streamline operations to ensure prompt claims settlement and unpredicted customer service delivery.

    He disclosed that the company has Total Assets in excess of N10 billion and Shareholders’ Fund in excess of N6 billion, Cash at hand of about N4 billion, Investment Securities of approximately N2.4billion and Investment properties of roughly N1.4billion.

    In 2017, the company achieved a profit after tax of N848 million. This shows that the company is in strong financial position to meet any and all future financial obligations, he added.

     

    Our Products

    At LUR, the Customer always comes first. We are constantly looking for innovative ways to improve our service delivery and value propositions to our customers.

    Through our continuous product innovation Law Union & Rock has designed a bouquet of retail products which are tailored to meet the needs of the public and cut across all classes of Nigerians ranging from low to high income earners.

    Apart from the traditional insurance we have special e-products which are Home Guard and I-Care, Travel Card Insurance, Doctor-on-cover Insurance, i-Salute insurance and GPA-4-Schools Insurance. These products can be assessed through any of the company’s agency network and its website for ease of accessibility.

    The organisation has also developed various E-payment platforms to enable clients pay easily and avoid the rigors previously associated with premium payments. Customers can either pay in any bank of their choice, through Quickteller, POS terminals or Webpay. In 2018, Law Union & Rock will become a major player in the Digital Marketing space by creating content to sensitise the public about the importance of Insurance. This is the Company’s way of giving back to the Insurance Industry to help improve the low penetration rate prevalent within the Insurance Industry.

    All this in line with the company’s strategic initiative to create value for stakeholders, improve customer intimacy and achieve operational excellence.