The Nation Newspaper

Tag: achievements

  • Cataloguing NEXIM Bank’s achievements

    Cataloguing NEXIM Bank’s achievements

    Prior to the reconstitution of the Board of Directors of the Nigerian Export-Import Bank on14th August, 2009, the bank was at its lowest ebb. It experienced a decline in risk assets.

    The bank’s total loan portfolio as at 20th August, 2009 was N14.6b out of which 72% was non-performing. Within that category, N10.03b or 69.05% was classified lost. This led to the bank’s income decline with the called-up capital standing at N32.74b, depletion of its shareholders’ funds, significant decrease in income and tolerance of excess and escalating overheads, worsening assets quality and poor record keeping, lack of strategic focus, ineffective risk  management framework, non-adherence to corporate governance tenets, and over-bloated staff  strength.

    The new board under Mr. Roberts Orya initiated plans to enable the bank to contribute significantly to Nigeria’s economy. The board, in 2010, undertook a corporate transformation exercise on strategy, risk management and corporate governance, financial performance, operations, organisation and people, with assistance from KPMG Professional Services. The corporate transformation project tagged Project Spring led to the re-definition of the bank’s mission, vision and objectives, to channel its resources into the development of manufacturing, agro-processing, solid minerals and services which have high employment and foreign exchange earning potential aimed at becoming a major contributor to non-oil exports, build a world-class institution which imbibes best-in-class corporate governance and risk management practices, become a relevant player in the export market, build a profitable institution with a robust balance sheet size, and improved workforce.

    There were also a five-year strategic plan with clearly defined market penetration action plans, robust corporate governance and risk management architecture/frameworks to improve visibility and project the bank’s image.

    They encompassed organising action-wide key performance indices and scorecards to enhance monitoring of the bank’s operations and its shareholders; redesign policies to ensure efficiency; initiate IT-transformation project; reduce redundancies and ensure adequate controls.

    The bank currently complements commercial banks and other development financial institutions by focusing on unserved markets globally. It also adopted an optimal operating model with a robust structure and structured market-facing departments along the key target sectors of manufacturing, agro-processing, solid minerals and services.

    NEXIM also adopted a performance-driven organisational culture which has led to strong shareholders’ support through fresh capital injection, as well as institutional support through supervisory and regulatory oversight and guidance from the CBN and Federal Ministry of Finance. This increased the bank’s capacity to support the growth of the non-oil exports and complement the export credit support of commercial banks.

    Within sixteen months, the bank became profit-making with an impressive performance in 2010, with an audited profit of N189.00m as against the loss of N5.460b incurred in 2009.

    Since the inception of the bank in 1991, this is the first time it made profit consistently from 2010 to 2013 and declared dividends for the CBN and Federal Ministry of Finance Incorporated.

    Nexim, via its operational interventions, generated direct jobs of 24,139 as at May 2014, plus indirect jobs. It has also, between August 2009 and May 2014, generated foreign exchange earnings of US$325.25m annually. The management has maintained appreciable returns on equity investment of its shareholders. A dividend for the 2010 financial year performance was declared and paid, which was the first time since 2003. Dividend for 2011 has also been declared and paid, while that of 2012 is in the process.

    The bank also achieved a cumulative loan recovery of N1.96b. To sustain it, a remedial management department was created.

    The ratio of NPL as reduced from 72% in August 2009 to 14.95% as at April 2014. The management also initiated Enterprise Risk Management Framework to take care of all risk-related issues. It includes all aspects of the risk buckets, including environmental and social risk. A loan monitoring unit was also created to maintain a healthy loan book.  The success story abound. Awareness has been created on the bank’s objectives, products and services. The improvement in corporate performance and market standing globally led to its being adjudged as one of the leading development finance institutions in Africa in 2013 by the Association of African Development Finance Institutions based in Abidjan.

    In human resources, the bank engaged skilled and motivated personnel such as chief risk officer, internal auditor, head remedial management, head strategic planning and head, corporate communications.

    To ensure sustainability of its success, the bank re-established partnerships with other export credit agencies and multilateral financial institutions towards attracting/availing concessionary lines of credits. Thus, over $80m has been attracted as investment by way of commercial lines of credit from the African Export-Import Bank (Afrexim), Exim India and ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development (EBID).

    To enhance access to credit by the SMEs, Nexim obtained an approval for a loan of US$200m from the African Development Bank, backed by the sovereign guarantee of the federal government. The bank also has strong transactional relationships with the United States Export-Import Bank (US EXIM), the Guarantee Fund for Private Investments in West Africa (GARI Fund) and the Africa Biofuels and Renewable Energy Company (ABREC), while it has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Industrial Development Corporation of South Africa.

    NEXIM also has credit insurance agency collaboration with the Islamic Corporation for Insurance of Investment and Export Credits, a division of the Islamic Development Bank.

    Sequel to an application by the Federal Ministry of Finance on behalf of the federal government, and subsequent presentation by NEXIM in November, 2013, the bank was admitted into OECD in observer status. OECD is a multilateral development organisation based in Paris.

    Membership of the organisation integrates Nigeria’s financial sector into the global financial system. The bank also partners the Borderless Alliance, a private sector-led partnership in collaboration with USAID/West African Trade Hub and other stakeholders, to promote regional integration and seamless trade in West Africa by addressing the problem of non-tariff barriers through policy advocacy. The alliance operates a border information centre, which provides pertinent information to assist exporters and also acts as a collation centre for trade data to support evidence-based research and policy advocacy.

    It has continued to support the transformation agenda of the federal government such as the production of the ECOWAS Trade Support Facility to improve the current trade level of less than 12% and deepening the volume of recorded/formal trade within the sub-region, and to foster the implementation of the government’s trade policy and regional integration policies like the ECOWAS Trade Liberalisation Scheme. Other goals of the ETSF are to facilitate formal trade within the ECOWAS sub-region, deepen intra-regional payment system, increase Nigeria’s trade flows within ECOWAS, broaden trade and market access for Nigerian goods and services.

    Nexim supported the entertainment industry through funding intervention with lending commitments of about N1b in the industry’s various value chains in the last three years.

    The intervention is to address issues regarding the establishment of credible structures, attract investment in the development of content and facilitate improvement in production standards, distribution, marketing and exhibition standards.  In the built industry, the bank commissioned EXIM India to undertake a study to review the industry and recommend best financing programmes in line with global best practices. It also sponsored capacity building programmes and film festivals such as Zuma Film Festival, BOBTV African Film and TV Programmes Expo, Eko International Film Festival, Nigeria Music Video Awards, Nigerian Copyright Commission’s Stakeholders’ Forum on Review of the Copyright Law.

    It also sponsored the Nigerian Pavilions at Cannes International Film Festival, France, in partnership with the Nigerian Film Corporation and DISCOP Africa, South Africa to showcase Nigeria’s creative talent and attract investment capital and partnerships.

    Nexim also collaborated with the Federal Ministry of Culture and National Orientation on the first National Policy Dialogue on the Development of the Creative/Entertainment Industries in Nigeria, British Council on Creative Industry Expo and Mapping of the Industry and also engaged in policy dialogues with development partners, relevant regulatory and statutory institutions in the entertainment value-chain on ways of improving industry structures on issues relating to access to finance, monetising intellectual property/copyrights and risk mitigating instruments.

    It also initiated the establishment of a transnational shipping company in collaboration with the organised private sector associations in West and Central Africa in partnership with the Federation of West African Chambers of Commerce and Industries and Transimex S. A Cameroun to mitigate current non-tariff barriers and high logistical costs that hinder intra-regional trade and competitiveness of Nigerian manufactured exports regionally.

    The Sealink Project is essentially a public private partnership initiative and the private placement for the raising of US$60million is currently going, with application list closing on 30th June, 2014, while the shipping company is expected to commence operations within the fourth quarter of this year. The offer is being handled by FBN Capital, Nigeria (Issuing House) and SGI, Benin Republic. The initiative is endorsed by the ECOWAS Commission with technical support by the African Development Bank, the Directorate of Technical Cooperation in Africa, Maritime Organisation of West and Central Africa (MOWCA) and the Nigerian Shippers’ Council, amongst others.

    The bank’s transformation has led to increase in the demand for its products and services, leading to huge amount of pipeline projects under processing. The bank, therefore, requires significant increase in its capital to perform more, considering the recent rebasing, which placed Nigeria as the largest economy in Africa with a GDP of $510bn. There is also need to provide the Seed Funds to enhance some of the bank’s activities viz the Political Risk Fund to support its export credit insurance service; the Interstate Road Transit Scheme to mitigate non-tariff barriers in cargo movement by road transport within the ECOWAS region, and rediscounting and refinancing facility designed as an interbank window to liquefy the books of commercial banks, lower the cost of credit to exporters and boost the intervention of commercial banks to the export sector.

    • Uju, a public affairs analyst, wrote from Abuja

  • Presidency flaunts Jonathan’s achievements

    Presidency flaunts Jonathan’s achievements

    THE Presidency at the weekend flaunted the achievements of President Goodluck Jonathan.

    It was at the presentation of the second volume of Sure & Steady Transformation: Progress Report of President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration, which details Jonathan’s achievements in various ministries in Lagos.

    The Special Adviser to the President on Research, Documentation and Strategy, Oronto Douglas, urged a shift from politics to performance as the basis of assessment of the administration.

    Douglas said politicking in the country has blinded the people to the progress being made by the President and his team, adding that a lot of transformation is on-going.

    He said: “When it is time for politics, we should play politics. But there is no need to play politics with development. It is wrong for anybody to say this administration has done nothing. In this publication, you will see evidence that this administration has performed more than any other in record time. Pictures can’t lie and pictures tell stories better than a thousand words.

    “I challenge us to go and verify the facts in this publication and then report back to the public. What this administration has done is unprecedented. We must give credit when due and not allow politics to cover facts about development.”

    He added that Jonathan would not play politics with the Transformation Agenda.

    “This administration is serious about development and will not play politics with development,” he said.

    The Volume I of the publication was presented in 2012. It covered achievements in all ministries.

    The Volume II, however, focuses on the major strides in agriculture, aviation, health, petroleum resources and works. Other ministries, Douglas said, will be featured in subsequent volumes.

    In agriculture, the administration listed its achievements to include: ending four decades of corruption in fertiliser and seed distribution, there by saving government N25 billion in 2012 alone; raising combined production of dry season and main season paddy rice to 1.76 million metric tonnes; reducing food import bill from N1.1 trillion in 2011 to N648 billion in 2012; increasing silo capacity by over 300 per cent; and kick-starting dry season production through irrigation in 10 Northern states, among others.

    Some of the 23 achievements of the Ministry of Works are: reconstruction of Apapa-Oshodi Expressway, Benin-Ore Shagamu Highway and Enugu Port Harcourt dual carriage way; ongoing reconstruction and expansion of Lagos-Ibadan Expressway; construction or rehablitation of a total of 200 kilometres of road as the end of 2013; and increasing length of safe and motorable Federal roads from 17.72km to 28,320km.

    The publication listed 25 key projects done by the Ministry of Aviation. They include: installation of cutting-edge navigation aids and Instruments Landing Systems (ILS); remodeling of all 22 federally-owned aiports; replacement and upgrading of obsolete power infrastructure in major airports; and simultaneous construction of five modern international passenger terminals, among others.

    In health, 19 key achievements were highlighted and 18 were highlighted for the Ministry of Petroleum Resources.

  • ESUT VC lists achievements

    •Shops for N10b infrastructural fund

    The Vice-Chancellor of the Enugu State University of Science and Technology (ESUT), Prof. Cyprian Onyeji, yesterday listed his achievements.

    Onyeji, who spoke at the unveiling of the ESUT Trust Fund, identified corruption among the workers and students as the major problem he addressed.

    He said the university is shopping for N10 billion for infrastructural development.

    The VC also identified cultism, admission racketeering, examination malpractices and strikes as some of the ills that have been tackled.

    He said during his tenure, research and scholarship have increased, adding that the university now sponsors national and international conferences.

    Onyeji said: “The morale in the institution is high because we pay salaries promptly.

    “When I was appointed the vice-chancellor, we established an administrative machinery of committee systems capacitated to sanitise all sectors of our university system. This process has not been without problems. We have, however, managed these problems and achieved success.”

    The ESUT VC said the measures were not enough if the university was to be repositioned and re-engineered to become one of the best in Africa.

    “That was why the ESUT governing council established the trust fund and constituted a committee to drive it by appealing and attracting funds from individuals, alumni, governments, politicians, corporate organisations and donor agencies,” he said.

    The Pro-Chancellor, Dr. Chilo Offiah, said ESUT has witnessed a strategic renaissance of its administrative and academic systems and processes in the last two years.

    While lamenting that the task was still enormous, he said it was regrettable that the government could not fully respond to the university’s infrastructural needs.

    Offiah said: “The governing council established the ESUT Trust Fund to be managed by a board of trustees and serviced by a committee that will look into the alternative sources of funding and seek partnerships with individuals, public and private sectors, donor agencies and alumni.”

    The Chairman of the ESUT Trust Fund, Prof. Ike Ndolo, said ESUT would continue in its quest of becoming exceptional, both in the learning experience and quality of graduates.

    The unveiling ceremony was chaired by Senator Ayogu Eze, the Chairman, Senate Committee on Works.

     

  • Sagnol: I’m proud of France’s achievements

    Sagnol: I’m proud of France’s achievements

    History was made at 8km Stadium in Baku on Tuesday when France became the first European

    team to book a place in a FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup final. It was a landmark moment and just reward for Les Bleuettes, a group of talented and likeable players who for the last three weeks have impressed with the quality of their tidy, expansive attacking football.

    That pleasing style of play has much to do with Willy Sagnol, the general manager of

    France’s youth teams. Having made the trip to Azerbaijan to congratulate players and staff alike, the 58-times capped French international agreed to speak with FIFA.com.

     

    FIFA.com: Willy Sagnol, what brings you to Baku?

    Willy Sagnol: I came to tell the France team’s players and staff how proud I am of what

    they’ve done over the last three weeks, not just in terms of results but also their attitude and the image they’ve presented of themselves. The players are getting on very well together and they’ve played some very good matches. It’s clear to see that they’re a real squad, a real team. That’s reassuring with regard to various decisions that have been made, whether

    they relate to the general philosophy of how the team plays or the make-up of the backroom staff. I’m delighted.

    Are you a fan of women’s football?

    I follow women’s football as part of my job, and in a way I’m also just discovering it. I’ve noticed that the approach the girls tend to have to football is completely different to that of the boys. It’s healthier with the girls. They ask themselves fewer questions, and France’s U-17 women’s side are the best example of that. They’re at a World Cup and they take the time to appreciate what they’re experiencing. They have their eyes wide open and they’re happy to take the whole spectacle in. But they don’t forget that they have to play when they’re on the pitch. They know how to make the very most of the experience.

    I’ve noticed that the approach the girls tend to have to football is completely different to that of the boys. It’s healthier with the girls. They know how to make the very most of the experience.

    General manager of France’s youth teams, Willy Sagnol

    What is your take on the state of women’s football in France at the moment?

    It’s a sport that’s constantly growing in France. We have around 60,000 licensed players and we hope that figure will increase. The infrastructure is there and is still being developed.

    We have our youth-development programme which is working very well. That’s produced a huge

    amount of quality female players, such as the ones participating in this tournament. As the women’s senior team is currently on the rise, that has a knock-on effect. In France, when the women’s senior team play, we manage to get a million television viewers. That’s

    something new and fresh and football in general is feeling the benefits of that.

    You have FIFA World Cup™ experience yourself, having played at Korea/Japan 2002 and Germany 2006 as well as the FIFA U-20 World Cup Malaysia 1997. What does that represent in the life of a player?

    There’s nothing better than a World Cup. We all have memories of watching World Cups on TV when we were young. You always dream of being there as a player. When you get to take part in the tournament, it’s kind of like fulfilling a dream. Beyond that, the competitive angle is also important, because when you start a competition you want to go all the way. As far as France’s girls go, I don’t know if they hoped to go as far as they have at the start of the competition. They were in a difficult group but they coped very well by playing good football and keeping their discipline. Since then, they’ve carried on with the same attitude and the same way of working behind the scenes. It’s going well for them – all the better.

    In France, when the women’s senior team play, we manage to get a million television viewers.

    That’s something new and fresh and football in general is feeling the benefits of that.

    Willy Sagnol

    Have you been following the tournament?

    I’ve seen all of France’s matches as well as some others, especially Germany’s games.

    Overall, I think the level of the teams is very close, except for two or three countries where women’s football is still too new for them to hope to do something in a competition like this. The four or five strongest nations at this level are very evenly matched, though.

    It seems that a lot of players who shine at youth level do not manage to breakthrough in the

    professional game afterwards. What pitfalls do they need to avoid?

    The difficulty for the boys is when they join a professional side. They have to adapt.

    They’re up against experienced players who don’t have the same lifestyle that an 18-year-old might have. For the girls, women’s football at the moment doesn’t make it possible for them to base a career on their passion, so they have to have a professional job on the side. It’s important for them to focus on both areas, the sporting and the professional. And, above all, to come into their own as women.