The Nation Newspaper

Tag: canvass

  • Abdulsalami, Tambuwal, Mark, others canvass unity, love

    Abdulsalami, Tambuwal, Mark, others canvass unity, love

    EMINENT Nigerians, including former Head of State General Abdulsalami Abubakar, Sokoto State Governor Aminu Tambuwal and former Senate President David Mark have emphasised that the country’s peace, unity and security must not be compromised.

    The former Head of State,  Tambuwal , Mark, Chief of Defence Staff (CDS),  General Gabriel  Olonisakin, Chief of Army Staff (COAS) , General Tukur Bruratai and  former COAS , General Alwali Kazir, at the weekend  in Kaduna, said every strategic step must be taken to protect and preserve Nigeria’s corporate entity.

    A statement by the Media Assistant to Mark, Paul Mumeh, said the leaders spoke separately at the 50th anniversary of Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA ) 3rd Regular Course of 1967.

    It said General Abubakar, who was the special guest of honour at the golden jubilee dinner, told the military officers that in or out of office, they must make the security, unity and peace of Nigeria the cornerstone of their endeavours.

    The former head of state was quoted to have said the country has made enough sacrifice in the past to keep the nation one.

    He said: “Whatever needs to be done to ensure peace, good neighbourliness, unity, equity and justice to all must be done.”

    Mark noted their conviction on entering into the military institution in September 1967 as including patriotism to defend and protect the territorial integrity of Nigeria.

    That conviction, Mark stated, still binds them even after their retirement.

    Tambuwal, the statement said, expressed appreciation to members of the armed forces for their war against insurgents, especially in the Northeast.

    He urged them to remain steadfast and a shining example of patriotism and unity in diversity.

    General Olonisakin thanked the retired officers for making their professional experiences available to the younger generation in the noble task of safeguarding the nation’s territorial integrity and in responding to contemporary threats to national security .

  • Professionals in Ondo canvass diversification

    A socio-cultural group of professionals, Noble Leadership Initiatives (NLI), has urged the Ondo State government to diversify the economy to enable it boost its income generation drive.

    In a communique issued after its meeting in Akure, the state capital, NLI advised the commissioners and special advisers to bring out plans to enable them render selfless service to residents.

    The communique was signed by NLI Facilitator, Adeyemi Adeyonu, and Secretary Osunkiyesi Akinwale.

    Congratulating Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu (SAN) and his State Executive Council (Exco), NLI advised them to use their positions to serve humanity.

    It urged the Exco to focus on diversification of the economy and other issues affecting welfare.

    NLI added that security, job creation, industrialisation and re-positioning of the state’s collapsed infrastructure required urgent attention.

    It expressed confidence in the ability of the government to deliver on its election promises.

    NLI said: “We are hopeful that we can rely on your commitments and assurances to carry out the most anticipated reforms so that the state can recover from its challenges occasioned by bad governance.”

  • Experts canvass accurate housing data

    Given the need to diversify the economy, experts have urged the government and  the citizenry to take advantage of opportunities in the real estate market.

    Last week at the Didi Museum, Victoria Island, Lagos, stakeholders  stressed the need to create a localised supply chain and accessible data to bridge housing deficits.

    President of the Roland Igninoba Real Foundation for Housing and Development, Mr Roland Igbinoba said his organisation was making effort to provide accurate analysis of the Nigerian real estate market to attract foreign and local investors, among other benefits.

    He said: “We thought about how we could provide data to the market, so we dimensioned the market, using Lagos as our case study. Our research covers mass housing, low income housing, medium, luxury and residential housing. Lagos was divided into clusters and analysed in terms of real estate, including their economic power. We broke the analysis down for easy read and with many pictures to break the barrier of too much text.”

    Igninoba said the report, the second edition since the first in 2009, provides easy access to all facts, data, statistics and analysis on the key players in the real estate market, as well as closing the gap between investors and housing deficits. He noted that Lagos, with growing housing deficit of about 2.4 million, needs to provide housing in areas where it is needed like on the Mainland.

    Chairman of the foundation, Mr. Newton Jibunnoh, said the report would help Nigeria ascertain her housing progress and predict same as far as 30 years from now. This, he said, is important to combat housing deficits in states with immigration explosion like Lagos, Port Harcourt and Abuja, which would benefit the economy at large.

    Said he: “The report is not just good for developers, but the entire housing market, including the academia. It is good for lecturers to teach and students to study, because everything is referenced. The country is hungry for investors but lacks data. Data gathering is a step in the right direction. Real estate sector is very vibrant in Nigeria, but when investors can’t acquire information, they go to their country’s embassies in Nigeria to ask for the information. It’s time for us to do this ourselves.”

    Chairman, Eko Atlantic, Mr. Ronald Chagaoury expressed the minds of foreign investors concerning Nigeria’s housing market.

  • Experts canvass accurate housing data

    Given the need to diversify the economy, experts have urged the government and  the citizenry to take advantage of opportunities in the real estate market.

    Last week at the Didi Museum, Victoria Island, Lagos, stakeholders  stressed the need to create a localised supply chain and accessible data to bridge housing deficits.

    President of the Roland Igninoba Real Foundation for Housing and Development, Mr Roland Igbinoba said his organisation was making effort to provide accurate analysis of the Nigerian real estate market to attract foreign and local investors, among other benefits.

    He said: “We thought about how we could provide data to the market, so we dimensioned the market, using Lagos as our case study. Our research covers mass housing, low income housing, medium, luxury and residential housing. Lagos was divided into clusters and analysed in terms of real estate, including their economic power. We broke the analysis down for easy read and with many pictures to break the barrier of too much text.”

    Igninoba said the report, the second edition since the first in 2009, provides easy access to all facts, data, statistics and analysis on the key players in the real estate market, as well as closing the gap between investors and housing deficits. He noted that Lagos, with growing housing deficit of about 2.4 million, needs to provide housing in areas where it is needed like on the Mainland.

    Chairman of the foundation, Mr. Newton Jibunnoh, said the report would help Nigeria ascertain her housing progress and predict same as far as 30 years from now. This, he said, is important to combat housing deficits in states with immigration explosion like Lagos, Port Harcourt and Abuja, which would benefit the economy at large.

    Said he: “The report is not just good for developers, but the entire housing market, including the academia. It is good for lecturers to teach and students to study, because everything is referenced. The country is hungry for investors but lacks data. Data gathering is a step in the right direction. Real estate sector is very vibrant in Nigeria, but when investors can’t acquire information, they go to their country’s embassies in Nigeria to ask for the information. It’s time for us to do this ourselves.”

    Chairman, Eko Atlantic, Mr. Ronald Chagaoury expressed the minds of foreign investors concerning Nigeria’s housing market.

    “A lot has changed from 2009 till now. Before, Nigeria used to be a mysterious place with hardly any information or place on its real estate statistics, coupled with all the negative media reports. So many investors shied away from Africa. But Nigeria is beating these challenges with information gradually circulating with facts, figures, statistics, Google now has some statistics and these are really good for investment.”

    A sponsor of the report, Mr. Tayo Odunsi, Team Lead at Northcourt real estate said:”The first report in 2009 covered every developer in Lagos. So, this revised edition with being in a lot of interest and activities. Real estate in Nigeria has grown big. There are now hospitality industries, formal retail spaces, facilities managers, among others. All these have to be locally documented through this report. Google will get access to it and that makes for easy reach.”

    Another sponsor, Mr. Olusesan Olaoye of Alpha Mead Development Company urged facilities managers to key into the project because of the several inherent advantages such as its ability to attract foreign investors which would naturally lead to partnership with local facilities managers.

     

  • Pharmacists canvass govt’s support

    For the nation’s pharmaceutical companies to maintain the lead in the production of quality drugs in West Africa and be competitive globally, the Pharmaceuticals Manufacturing Group of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (PMG-MAN) has called on the Federal Government to earmark a N200 billion intervention fund for the sector, coupled with other initiatives.

    The manufacturers and other stakeholders, who met at the opening of the 3rd Nigeria Pharma Manufactures’ exhibition 2015 in Lagos, said the call was in line with relevant industrial policies to help the sector maximise its potentials.

    The exhibition, whose theme was: “The Nigerian pharmaceutical manufacturing industry and international competitiveness”, was an initiative to draw global attexntion to the nation’s pharma sector, which is now vibrant. The sector is currently estimated to be in excess of $3B (N500b) and is serving Nigerians and about 100 million citizens in the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) region. The pharm industry, according to PMG-MAN secretariat, has the potential to remain a pharmaceutical power house in the continent with capacity to supply regional needs, and participate in international tenders.

    According to the Chairman of the PMG-MAN, Okey Akpa, with the recent milestones recorded by companies in the sector, the Nigerian pharmaceutical industry was already positioned to operate at the global level, should government assent to these demands. “Nigeria is currently the biggest pharmaceutical manufacturing country in West Africa, accounting for more than 65 per cent of local manufacturing of medicines that are relevant to the region,” he said.

    Akpa said among the drugs are anti-malarial medicines, anti-retrovirals, herbal medicines and medicines for sickle cell diseases.   To make impact on the global stage, he said, several manufacturers had processed Expression of Interest (EoI) with the World Health Organisation (WHO) for pre-qualification of products, with cummulative investment worth of over $50 million in the last five years for facility upgrading.

    The chairman said four companies had been certified by the WHO, and at least 10 local companies had complied with the requirements of International Standards Organisation and were already supplying drugs to the United Nations Commission on Life-Saving Commodities for Women’s Children’s Health (UNCoLs).

    Others who made a case for the sector are the Lagos State governor, Akinwunmi Ambode; Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Health, Linus Awute; National Agency for Food, Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) Director-General, Dr. Paul Orhii; President, Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN), Olumide Akintayo and President of West African Manufacturers Organisation, Bunmi Olaopa and representatives of India and Chinese companies.

    He said the achievements in the sector had been by individual manufacturers’ investment and years of hard work, and that the government and other stakeholders have to do more. “Without doubt, patronage of Nigerian pharmaceutical manufacturers by government, donors and international procuring agencies is critical and must be backed by political will. We are, therefore, calling on the Federal Government to implement the Domestic Preference Policy of the Public Procurement Act 2007 as well as the implementation of the Presidential Directive on Patronage of Nigerian Manufacturers,” he said.

    To ensure success of the policy, the chairman recommended “an import adjustment tax of 20 per cent on imported finished pharmaceutical products; HS Codes 3003 and 3004 should be imposed immediately as applied to other sectors where Nigeria has capacity as allowed by the Common External Tariff of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).”

    “Input into pharmaceutical manufacturing and packaging should be allowed to be imported at zero per cent by bonafide pharmaceutical manufacturers,” he said.

    Orhii, who chaired the event praised the manufacturers for the feat so far achieved, saying NAFDAC would continue to collaborate with them and rid the Nigerian market of fake products.

    He appealed to the government and Bank of Industry to revisit an earlier proposal for N200 billion intervention trust fund for the pharma manufacturer. He recalled that the proposal was considered by the last administration, but nothing was heard of it.

    The NAFDAC DG was happy that the National Drug Distribution Policy, which regulates drug distribution national wide, is due to take effect, but expressed concerns that stakeholders have not done enough to put the necessary infrastructure in place.

  • ‘Why I canvass support for Buhari’

    ‘Why I canvass support for Buhari’

    In this interview, Oyo State Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chieftain Hon. Femi Babalola speaks with Correspondent  OSEHEYE OKWUOFU in Ibadan, the state capital, on the reconciliation in the party and why he is supporting Governor Abiola Ajimobi. 

    The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has been decimated in Oyo State by the gale of defections. Do you still see the PDP as a viable party?

    The PDP, by its intrinsic characteristics, will remain a viable political party in the country. In fact, it has greater capacity for viability than the APC, notwithstanding the outcome of the last general elections. You have to understand the makeup of the party to appreciate its strength. The components that constituted the PDP  were generic and quite tangent to the nation. The PDP is built on a very strong foundation and it will be very difficult to break the sinew. It will be simplistic to doubt the party’s resilience or write it off. But, this is not so with the APC. We cannot forget the fact that the APC is a marriage of convenience. Throughout our political history, we have seen that mergers of political parties have never really worked. Though we have seen the APC apparently breaking that jinx by winning the federal election, it is not certain how long that amalgam would work. That fabric is not neatly knitted and anything can happen anytime. The PDP will be more capable of intrinsic rejuvenation than any other political party in the country and it will definitely bounce back. The party’s loss generates interest because nobody expected it to lose because of its size as the second largest party in Africa, but the loss of elections by a big party is not new in history. India’s biggest political party, the Congress Party, has severally lost elections and it is presently out of power. In the US, the Democratic Party and the Republican Party have variously lost elections. At a time, the serial victories of the Republicans almost pushed the Democrats to the background. But, that has not undermined the viability of these political parties. Inspite of the panic exit, the PDP will remain the largest party in Nigeria.

    Are you saying that the PDP will not be affected by the defections?

    It will take years of exit of members for the party to plummet, but we will not allow that. Recently, those in the APC admitted that there are still many good people in the PDP. That is very true. Efforts of these good people will save the party.

    I do not only expect the rebounce of the PDP, I expect it sooner than later. That optimism is premised on the recent resolution by elected members of the party and some other bigwigs not to defect.

    Are you also defecting from the PDP tothe APC?

    I do not need to leave the PDP to offer selfless service to Nigeria. Those leaving the PDP have not considered the dialectical implication. A politician would have been most insulted, if he is considered to be unprincipled. Politics is principle-driven and I remember Senator Bola Tinubu mentioned that recently. So, I don’t envy those going to the APC. Besides, political parties should not be reduced to shifting coalitions. But then, the Nigerian polity is ripe for bi-partisanship and the polity will benefit immensely from across party collaboration. As Nigerian political parties embrace bipartisanship, the political environment will become less acrimonious and defection will be discouraged because you are able to contribute to national development. A clear proof of my point was the President Buhari’s endorsement of Dr. Adewumi Adesina for the presidency of the African Development Bank (AfDB), when Adesina was essentially in the PDP as minister in the Jonathan Administration. This should be the new attitude among politicians in the interest of the country. If you recall the stalemate in the US that led to the shutdown, matters were resolved through resort to bipartisanship. If party rigidity had been sustained;,the shutdown would have lingered with adverse effect on that country.

    Why are you supporting the Ajimobi Administration?

    In Oyo State here, I have advocated all-party support for Governor Ajimobi to move the state forward and allow it attain its full potential. Politicians across parties must be willing to collaborate with the incumbent, notwithstanding how they feel about the governor or the ruling APC. It is high time politicians came to synergise in the interest of the masses that look up to the political class for the gains of democracy. The political class has a duty to ensure that democracy works. Democracy must meet the yearnings of the people. That is why I call for aggregate support for the present administration in the state and, by extension, the Buhari administration. It is not enough for the opposition to criticise; it must proffer solutions too. The incumbent occupies the driver’s seat and those of us in the passenger seat should be there to guide him by pointing out potholes, sharp bends among other hazards.

  • Stakeholders canvass support for retail bond market

    Stakeholders in the capital market have called for collaborative efforts aimed at further deepening and developing the bond market, especially the retail segment.

    Capital market chiefs, including private operators and regulators, brainstormed on the strategies to harness the huge benefits from retail bonds at a workshop organised by Stanbic IBTC Stockbrokers Limited in collaboration with the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE).

    The event also attracted key players in the capital market including stockbrokers, dealers, investors, economic analysts and the Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc.

    Stakeholders agreed that the development of the bond market, like other segments of the capital market, requires contributions of the operators, governments and other interested parties.

    Chief Executive Officer, Stanbic IBTC Stockbrokers Limited, Mr. Oladele Sotubo, said the positioning and transformation of  the  bond market into a vibrant investment window requires the collaboration of all stakeholders.

    He reiterated his firm’s commitment to facilitating stability and growth of the capital market through confidence-building initiatives and leveraging investment opportunities in the market.

    According to him, a major objective in organising the workshop was to enlighten investors and stakeholders on the workings of the bond market and the numerous benefits in investing in retail bonds in particular.

    He added that investors and stakeholders’ education would help in boosting retail investors’ participation in both the primary and secondary markets, and ultimately, help to deepen the bond market.

    Sotubo said as Nigeria’s largest stockbroking firm in both volume and value of total transactions, and stockbroker to the Federal Government, Stanbic IBTC Stockbrokers Ltd will continuously put in the public domain initiatives and strategies that could help all stakeholders, especially investors, to be better informed about developments in the capital market, which will help them in making the right decisions.

    He assured that Stanbic IBTC Stockbrokers Ltd would organize more of training workshops for investors and stakeholders with a view to increasing domestic participation in the capital market.

    Head, Product Management, Nigerian Stock Exchange, Mr. Dipo Omotoso, who represented NSE’s chief executive, outlined some of the measures that have been taken to strengthen the capital market, which includes its derivatives.

    He described the investment opportunities in the capital market and Nigeria’s economy as huge, and urged investors to become more active in the retail bonds segment.

     

  • Lawyers canvass laws to regulate cash-less regime

    Lawyers canvass laws to regulate cash-less regime

    Lawyers have called for strong legal regimes and frameworks to regulate the operation of the cash-less policy of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

    They made the call at the two-day conference on Nigeria transiting to a cash-less society: Possibilities and challenges organised by the CBN in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Justice, Federal Ministry of Communication Technology, Lagos State Government, Globacom Nigeria Plc, MTN Nigeria and Ecobank.

    Speaking on The legal framework: Creating an appropriate regulatory environment for electronic and mobile commerce, Henrietta E. Abraham, a United Kingdom-based lawyer, considered how to develop effective and evidence-based regulatory oversight and what an appropriate regulatory framework should consist of.

    Participants said consumer protection was one of the reasons for a strong legal framework and legislation to guide the policy. They said the rules of the industry needed to be certain, ascertainable and predictable, and there was also the need for consumer due diligence. These, they said, can only be balanced by legislations.

    Such legislations should be flexible enough to allow stakeholders and new entrants into the marked to innovate and also allow the market to grow.

    They agreed that though the CBN Act enables it to make rules for the regulation of the process, infrastructure providers, stakeholder and consumer participation need to be protected by legal regimes, which should also provide a level playing field for all. The law, they said, must be flexible enough to allow competition and growth in the industry. The laws must be tailored to the local environment, they said.

    They emphasised the need for laws to guide and regulate internet trading and online transactions.

    ”There is the need to know at what point a contract comes in, when does a contract really come in in online transactions.

    “This will enable us to address liability issues; we need to know who is liable for what and at what point the liability arises.”

    The participants said such laws would clear the coast on data acquisition, collection, storage, management, verification and protection.

    “There has to be a regulation to guide the sale of personal information and the use and transfer of same. Such issues as bulk SMS needs to be guided and regulated by law. Evidential issues need to be clear. For instance, if a matter is going to court, which evidence is admissible, which ones are not admissible.”

    They noted that we need to know which courts have jurisdiction over such matters. Is it the Federal High Court or the state high courts? Which state high courts will exercise such jurisdiction?

    They noted that the United Kingdom has a Data Protection Act, but there was not such laws in Nigeria which leaves us with the Common Law provisions to protect our rights and privacy.

    The participants stated that lack of data protection laws was a big handicap and hindrance to economic development.

    They noted that though the CBN Act, Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) Act and other laws setting up various institutions are good because they empower such institutions to make regulations, but the regulations are only enforceable by the regulators. So, we need new laws to deal with issues that criss-cross the regulatory bodies.

    Said they: “We need to be able to situate problems, challenges, industry by industry, so that we can set standards. If the standard is breached, somebody somewhere would be held liable.

    “There is a need for stakeholders to sit down, identify and situate challenges and proffer the appropriate standards. Each industry can then look inwards and make rules for its own industry will situate where the liabilities will lie,” they noted.

    The need for a financial ombudsman whom the consumers can easily run to in the event of rights breach was canvassed at forum.