The Nation Newspaper

Tag: cause

  • Cause for concern

    •FG must smash syndicates putting banned substances in travellers’ luggage at airports

    It is disturbing that 23 Nigerians convicted of drug trafficking are said to be on death row in Saudi Arabia. The news followed the shocking April 1 execution of a Nigerian woman, Kudirat Adeshola Afolabi, in the kingdom, for drug smuggling. Two Pakistani men and a Yemeni man were also put to death for drug trafficking on the same day, according to the kingdom’s authorities. Convicted drug traffickers are sentenced to death in Saudi Arabia.  It is noteworthy that 53 people were executed in the kingdom between January and April.

    In a memo to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama,  the Nigerian Consul-General in Saudi Arabia, Amb. M. S. Yunusa, said: “There are 24 Nigerians who were condemned to death between 2016 and 2018 for drug trafficking in contravention of the Kingdom’s Narcotic and Psychotropic Substances Control Law.” He added that 12 Nigerian women were currently serving various jail terms at Dhahban prison for drug smuggling.

    It is a cause for concern that these Nigerians were caught trafficking in drugs.   The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Foreign Relations and the Diaspora, Abike Dabiri-Erewa, said of the executed woman and those on death row: “drugs were found in their bodies, including their private parts.”

    Ironically, innocent Nigerians are not safe. The envoy also drew attention to “a frightening development that portends grave danger to passengers travelling to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia through Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport (MAKIA), Kano.” According to him, “Some criminally minded individuals working in cahoots with greedy airline officials at MAKIA, have perfected the art of checking in extra bags containing prohibited drugs, particularly Tramadol, using the particulars of innocent passengers and baggage tags presumably assigned to such passengers travelling to the Kingdom.”

    This information is alarming. The consul’s corroboration of the information is equally alarming. Yunusa highlighted the case of one Ms. Zainab Habibu Aliyu, whose father had petitioned the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) and the Nigeria Police.  An investigation led to the arraignment of six suspects in Kano. The accused persons were “charged with conspiring to export Tramadol to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and for illegally checking in additional baggage containing the banned substance and linking same to Ms. Zainab Aliyu and Ibrahim Abubakar, passengers on board Ethiopian Airline flight ET 941/ET 402 to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia on 24th December, 2018.”

    Also, seven other suspects were arraigned for “tagging additional drug-laden baggage and falsely linking same to Messrs Bashir Usman Sani and Amdani Salisu Maikasuwa.”  In yet another case, some suspects were charged with “fraudulently tagging and exporting a bag containing psychotropic drugs suspected to be Tramadol using the passport details of Ibrahim Abubakar Ibrahim.”

    The envoy said Bashir Usman Sani, Amadani Salisu Maikasuwa and Ibrahim Abubakar Ibrahim were released on “25th October, 2018 and 25/1/2019 respectively.” This suggests that innocent Nigerians may be criminalised and penalised for drug trafficking in Saudi Arabia. This must not be allowed to happen.  The Federal Government should ensure that innocent Nigerians awaiting trial for drug smuggling in the kingdom are released.

    Based on the findings, it is necessary to improve security surveillance at the checking-in counters at airports in the country. It is commendable that the Federal Government is treating the issue with seriousness. The Chairman of the Presidential Advisory Committee on Elimination of Drug Abuse, Brig. Gen. Buba Marwa (retd), said airlines involved in instances of wrong baggage tagging would be penalised.  In addition, the trials of those accused of checking in extra baggage using the identities of innocent passengers should be treated seriously, and the guilty should be punished.

    Innocents shouldn’t suffer for a crime they didn’t commit. However, the authorities should improve socio-economic conditions in the country to discourage drug traffickers whose activities give the country a bad name.

  • Cause of petrol crisis, by marketers

    Cause of petrol crisis, by marketers

    •IPMAN: modular refinery is solution

    Many reasons have been adduced for the lingering fuel crisis. There have been blames and counter-blames between the Federal Government and marketers. But the parties are resuming their talks today to resolve the problem,
    AUGUSTINE EHIKIOYA reports

    Marketers yesterday gave reasons for the petrol crisis that marred the Chrismas celebrations across the country.

    Also yesterday, the Independent Petroleum Marketers of Nigeria (IPMAN), said the major solution to the petrol crisis is the building of modular refineries.

    It was at a meeting of all stakeholders convened at the Presidential Villa in Abuja. It was chaired by the Chief of Staff to the President, Mallam Abba Kyari.

    Minister of State for Petroleum Resources Ibe Kachikwu, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) Group Managing Director Maikanti Baru and marketers attended.

    A committee, raised at yesterday’s meeting and chaired by the minister of state, will meet today to fine-tune the decisions.

    Chairman of the Depot and Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (DAPMAN) Mr. Dapo Abiodun, said the meeting was to find out what went wrong and to proffer solution.

    “A lot of issues were raised and a committee was constituted that will meet tomorrow (today)  under the chairmanship of the Minister of State for Petroleum to further go into the nitty gritty and to ensure that these problems do not reoccur again,” he said

    He explained that the marketers at the meeting made their submissions known to government and emphasized that the scarcity was not a marketer-induced problem.

    Abiodun said: “There was no hoarding on the part of any marketer. Marketers are your brothers, they are Nigerian citizens, they are businessmen, no marketer makes money from hoarding petroleum products, our business is to take petrol and sell.

    “We explained that the problem that you saw is not willful on the part of anyone, either NNPC or marketers. The situation from our point of view is that from January to December, the price of crude remained relatively stable, following the hurricane Katrina in the month of September/October, crude prices went up and marketers lost the ability to import and sell at N145 per liter.

    “Since the price of crude is directly proportional to refined product, we could not import petrol and sell at N145 any more. And this business is a partnership between marketers and the NNPC. Marketers bring in a certain volume and NNPC also brings in a certain volume.

    “In the past, marketers bring in about 60 per cent while the NNPC brings about 35 to 40 per cent. But, by October, marketers completely stopped importing because there was no more subsidy. So, we can’t sell for profit so we had to stop importing.

    “So, the burden of importing 100 percent then fell on the NNPC. So you can imagine a situation where NNPC was importing in part, and marketers were importing in part and then suddenly NNPC begins to import 100 per cent .

    “Coupled with the fact that in the months we called the ‘ember months’ from October to December, the consumption of petrol is highest in the country. So, you now have what we called a double warning. NNPC is suddenly finding it difficult importing what they probably didn’t expect in terms of volume and the fact that Nigerians themselves are consuming more volume than they will normally consume in the earlier months.

    “Coupled with the fact that the countries that are surrounding us as a nation are all selling fuel at more than $1 per liter. $1 today is about N360. If you go to Cotonou, Ghana, Niger, so, it is not unlikely that some of our petrol is finding itself across to these countries.

    “All these are issues we believe amounted to what we saw in December. But thankfully, the NNPC rose to the occasion, they stepped up import, stepped up supplies that situation has since normalised.

    “Today’s (yesterday) meeting is to ensure that this does not happen again and this we are going to continue tomorrow in the committee that was set up under the chairmanship of the minister of state for petroleum to ensure that we find a long-lasting and enduring solutions to this problem so that Nigerians will not have to go through this situation again.

    Asked if the issue of subsidy was discussed at the meeting, he said “Well, like I told you, there is no subsidy at the moment. The government in its wisdom has decided that the N145 cap will remain because of what they consider will be consequences on Nigerians. This is a government of the people and they believe Nigerians should not be made to buy fuel for more than N145.

    “So, if that is to remain, then we have to find other ways to manage the situation so that we will continue to sell fuel at N145. As far as we are concern, there is no subsidy in the budget, as far as we are concern, marketers cannot import and sell at N145. So, the government has to find a way and ensure that marketers themselves importing alongside NNPC and still sell at N145.

    “So, when we meet with the minister tomorrow, we will find solution to see how that can be sustained.

    The National President of Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), Chinedu Okoronkwo, said: “We are glad with the promise of the Chief of Staff at the meeting. With what we have heard today from the meeting, Nigerians should go home and be glad because the issues of constant fuel supply has been resolved.

    “The issue apparently, by tomorrow (today) will be resolved as a committee will be set up to ensure that the Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria (MOMAN), the IPMAN and all those that are supposed to be bringing in the products will contribute.

    “This will solve this problem once and for all. They have also assured that the refineries are coming on stream to the installed capacity. This is a cherry news,” he said.

    IPMAN’s Board of Trustees Chairman Aminu Abdulkadir said: “On subsidy, I think there is a meeting that is coming up tomorrow (today) at the minister’s office. I think full disclosure will be made on plans and ways of augmenting marketers’ shortfall so that marketers can come back to business.

    “Because if marketers are in the business, the NNPC will be augmented. Because what has happened today is that because the NNPC was left alone and it will not be easy for them to manage all the depots, the trucks, the stations.

    “So, its a business for all. Before this time, the NNPC was doing 60 and marketers were doing 40 per cent. In fact there was a time NNPC was doing 40 and marketers  60 percent. But today, marketers is zero,” he added.

    Kachikwu said: “The whole idea was to do a centric analysis of what really went wrong. Like you know, for over two years, we have been out of this petroleum, it’s been working well. The NNPC has been managing it properly, and suddenly, there was this gap.

    “So, they wanted us to put heads together to find out what went wrong; it’s not a fault-finding meeting; how do we take corrective measures to avoid that and what are the things that are creating the difficulties in the system.

    “Because fuel scarcity has been ever lingering. It is a 30/40-year-old thing and I think it is to the credit of Mr. President and his government over the last two years that we haven’t had any of this through his policy that he has enunciated.

    “So, that was the objective of today’s meeting. Everybody gave ideas, everybody was collaboratively finding solutions,” he said

    According to him, another meeting will be held with the oil marketers today  in his office.

    He said: “The GMD started by presenting what the scenario was. At least for now, it has taken away the fuel queues that you see. Then dig into the long term solutions and everybody contributed.

    “We set up a committee which I will head, the members included, the GMD, most of the parastatals in the Ministry, DAPMAN, IPMAN, MOMAN, labour unions, and we are to meet in my office tomorrow and dig deeper into this thing and find a long term solution.

    “This is a major concern that Nigerians should not be made to suffer; that Nigerians do not get through this kind of things they went through last December. We want to find lasting solution and that is what the committee will come out with in the resolutions tomorrow.

    On whether the erring oil marketers will be sanctioned, he said: “The thing is, even Nigerians who have suffered will want to be sure that we find a lasting solution and find evidential basis upon which to punish people. This is a democratic government.

    Asked if the government got all the evidence it needed with what Nigerians went through, he said: “I don’t have one yet. If you have one, I will like to have it.”

    When reminded that the President labelled some people as blackmailers in his New Year speech, he said: “I feel your pain, we share in those pains. But, we are going to find lasting solution. They are people who are culprits they will be identified. In fact, the chief of staff instructed that specific names should be put on the table, those who have gone against the rule, done certain things that are against the book should be punished.

    “But, the greatest difficulty in Nigeria is that people make allegations, when you then ask for evidence, even one, everybody now goes back into the safety nets. You cannot prosecute, except you have evidence, I’m 30 years old as a lawyer. So, we will need to find that evidence, we will definitely punish those who did things that were wrong.

    “But more fundamental and more importantly is that we want to find lasting solutions and we all want to work more collaboratively.”

    “We are going to sit down and find lasting solution. Let’s face it we have had this lasting solution for two years,” he stated.

    Modular refineries‘ll end fuel scarcity, says IPMAN

    The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) yesterday urged the Federal Government to invest more in modular refineries as a way to end fuel scarcity.

    Alhaji Debo Ahmed, the Chairman, South-west zone of IPMAN, gave the advice in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos.

    Vice President Yemi Osinbajo two days ago in Lagos, confirmed that 10 modular refineries were at advanced stages of development in the Niger Delta.

    The 10 modular refineries are located in five out of the nine states in the Niger Delta.

    The states include: Akwa Ibom, Cross River, Delta, Edo and Imo.

    Osinbajo said two of the refineries, Amakpe Refinery (Akwa Ibom), and OPAC Refinery (Delta State), have had their mini-refinery modules already fabricated, assembled and containerised overseas and ready for shipment to Nigeria for installation.

    The total proposed refining capacities of the 10 licensed refineries stands at 300,000 barrels.

    Ahmed said the modular refineries could help address any shortfall in fuel supply, pending when additional refineries would be built.

    He said: “It will also boost the country’s revenue generation and address frequent fuel capacity experienced during the Yuletide seasons.

    “Our expectation in 2018 is for the government to invest more on modular refineries to be able to have more petrol locally to address scarcity.’’

    Ahmed said that government performed creditably well in the downstream sector last year, adding that it should crown it by building more modular refineries.

    According to him, a modular refinery is cheaper to build and it can move from one place to another.

    “A modular refinery is capable of refining between 10,000 and 35,000 barrels of crude oil per day,’’ he noted.

    He also urged the government to provide incentives that would attract investors to the oil and gas sector.

  • Bindow working for a cause, not applause

    SIR: I wish to state that the Adamawa state Governor, Senator Muhammed Umaru Jibrilla (Bindow) is not working for the applause but for a cause. Bindow is consumed with a passion to reposition Adamawa as one of the best states in Nigeria and he believes it is possible. The capacity to harness the potentials that abound is inherent. How else would you describe a governor who after listening to the request of a listener in a live radio talk-show, responded immediately with a promise and in less than 24 hours visited the community to assess the need for a road construction?

    With over 40 roads constructed (some are completed while some are ongoing) in less than nine months, one needs no prophet to tell the Adamawa people that God has finally answered their prayers for a governor with the right mindset and attitude.

    For the few aggrieved bent on finding fault with every policy and act of government, I urge them to channel their energies towards rebuilding the state, join hands with the governor instead of fighting the will of God.

    Amidst scarce resources and the dwindling economy coupled with Adamawa’s low revenue generation, one cannot help but to give credit to Governor Bindow for harnessing his experience and business acumen to attract resources for developmental projects in the state. It takes only a man of purpose and vision to achieve these.

    The limited resources of the state are being channeled towards the areas of great need, excess baggage has been cut down, loopholes are being blocked and efficient methods employed to increase the state’s revenue. Governor Bindow is blazing the trail in this era of change. Adamawa state is getting it right after all. Leadership is been redefined and governance given a new face.

    The challenges are enormous but the determination of the governor is unequaled in a new drive to ensure that the lost glory of the state is restored. A legacy is being set, standards are been established to ensure that performance by state governors in Adamawa will now be a yardstick for vying into office. Performance measured by no other but the masses of Adamawa who hold in their hands the voters card and hence the power to make or undo a leader.

    The change desired and prayed for by Adamawa people is already here. Bindow means business. Let our collective commitment to this change be unquestionable. We are all stakeholders in this effort to rebuild Adamawa, the Land of Beauty.

     

    • Martins Dickson,

    Yola, Adamawa State.

  • Bad construction practises cause building collapse

    Bad construction practises cause building collapse

    The former Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Lafarge Africa Plc, Mr. Guillaume Roux, has said the company will hit 16 million metric tonnes of cement production by 2020.

    The company produces 11 million metric tonnes.

    Roux spoke at the farewell party organised for him at the Intercontinental Hotel, Victoria Island, Lagos, on Saturday.

    He said the company  grew under his leadership, making inroad into South Africa and other parts of the world.

    Roux said efforts were being made to resuscitate its ailing plants, stressing that the blue chip company was working hard to ensure that building collapse is reduced.

    He said: We are working on our cement plants in Calabar, Ashaka, with their turnout; Lafarge is expected to hit 14 million metric tonnes. I am sure that by 2017/2018, we will hit the 14 million metric tonnes. I believe by the end of 2020, we would have doubled our capacity and I think we would reach 16 million metric tonnes by the level of progress we are making.

    “We are present here in the Southwest, the Southeast and northern Nigeria, working to meet up with the demands of the market.”

    The former CEO of Lafarge explained that West Africa Portland Cement Company (WAPCO) transformed to Lafarge Africa Plc under his leadership.

    “During my tenure, we transformed WAPCO and transferred it to South Africa. We put together all our resources and with our resource in South Africa, we would reach the 16 million metric tonnes in 2020.

    “With the combination of Lafarge South Africa, we are No. 6 on the Nigeria Stock Exchange. This is really a blue chip for Nigeria. This combination, transformation had been hailed. We are one of the major actors in the corporate world in 2015.

    He added that Lafarge was not relenting in its effort to build a safe and better society, noting that it was imperative to checkmate the activities of incompetent builders all over the world.

    “I have had much experience in countries, which have suffered earthquakes and where questions were raised about building collapse around the world.

    “The cause of building collapse is because of bad practises in the construction itself. This is why we are coming up with civil engineers and all the actors who can manage the situation properly.

    “We want to put them in place to guarantee good work through proper supervision. There must be proper supervision of the work site. We are promoting good working ethic for civil engineers, to educate the population and anybody on the street who want to have a house.

    “They must understand that they have to work with qualified engineers, building contractors and if they do that the house will stand.

    “We have arrays of product in the country; we have products for tall buildings, high rise edifice and for individual homes. We want to develop already-made concrete, the more people use already-made concrete, the quality of building will be guaranteed,” he said.

    Roux said he had a good team, which assisted him to accomplish the objectives of the company.

    “The most important thing for me is to make sure that we continue to make Lafarge one of the best in the world. I am proud to say that I have a fantastic team here.”

  • Cause marketing: Taking social issues a notch higher

    Cause marketing: Taking social issues a notch higher

    ‘Hope Rising’, a cause marketing by FirstBank Nigeria Plc, aimed at helping people living with Down Sydrome, has ended. More firms are embracing the initiative to give back to society, reports ADEDEJI ADEMIGBUJI.

    Cause marketing is becoming a trend among top brands to help address some social problems. It is an initiative under which corporate brands spend part of their marketing budget on a campaign with a theme of social relevance. The aim is to raise awareness about social issues.

    It is often deployed by the fast- moving consumer goods sector but banks are now also embracing it to build their goodwill. “Unlike corporate giving or philanthropy that involves a specific donation that is tax deductible, cause marketing is a marketing effort that sustains relationship that is not necessarily based on a donation. It’s an investment on social causes in the market where you operate and enjoy great marketing deals. It is becoming a fad among private companies in Nigeria,” says Boye Omotoye, a brand communication/Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) expert.

    Last year, FirstBank kicked off a cause marketing campaign tagged Hope Rising. Its Head, Marketing and Corporate Communications, Folake Alli-Mumuney, explained why the bank invested on this  campaign. She said it was created to sensitise the public on the plight of people living with with Down Syndrome and engender positive social transformation.

    Though it is relatively new in Nigeria, it has enjoyed acceptability globally for four decades. The first known case of cause marketing in the United States was in March 1974 when Carr & Associates International, a United States (US)-based tax and financial consulting firm, was formed by John T. Carr to “give back” to society by engaging in charitable causes and businesses to support each other.

    The organisation was promoted by Carr; it focused on enlisting businesses to give back referral fees on what they should have spent on marketing; and direct those funds toward the charitable cause of the buyer.

    FirstBank kicked off its Hope Rising campaign on radio with 13 episodes. The programme, which took off on September 2, last year, aired on Rhythm 93.7 Lagos on Tuesdays ( 9 – 9.15am) with repeat broadcast on Fridays (9- 9.15am). It ended in November.

    According to Alli-Mumuney, it was designed to give hope and add value to its diverse stakeholders. She said the campaign highlights the challenges of Down Syndrome and explores efforts at combating the disorder, through advocacy and public enlightenment.

    She explained that the disease was selected by the bank, based on its enduring deal with the Down Syndrome Foundation, which began in 2009.

    She said the Foundation was established in 2001 to champion the cause of people living with the disorder but have not been able to  tackle the misconceptions associated with it, due to its little knowledge by the public.

    Some of the objectives of the campaign, Alli-Mumuney explained, include engaging stakeholders, such as the government in promoting awareness, advocacy and education on the Down Syndrome disorder, developing and nurturing a culture that promotes the employment of preventive measures, as well as the importance of treating the down syndrome.

    For instance, all the episodes educate the listeners on the disorder through the various characters used in the drama series.Greg and Maryam, the major characters in the first episode of the series, typify the average couple through which most of the information about the disorder is disseminated. Through the couple, the listener is informed that contrary to the notion about down syndrome being a disease, it is actually a genetic condition that causes delays in the way the child develops both mentally and physically.

    With an attempt to demystify the disorder, the radio campaign explores education as one of the pivot on which Hope Rising delivered the campaign message to enhance impact. “Hope Rising educates on the disorder and called them to action on the need to go for regular checkups to ascertain the health status of the unborn child on time,” she said.

    Also, GTBank has been investing in campaigns to educate people on autism – a neural development disorder that impairs social interaction and leads to repetitive behaviours. Autism, like other challenges, arises from insufficient development of a child’s physical, emotional or intellectual capacity.

    GTBank, however, launched a yearly Autism Support Initiative tagged GTBank Orange Ribbon,  aimed at creating awareness for this condition using various foundations who have expertise in autism to drive the campaign.

    The recent interest in cause-related marketing may have stemmed from American Express, which coined the phrase in 1983. Following various pilot schemes in 1981, American Express developed a campaign, which donated funds to some non-profit organisations as part of the San Francisco Arts Festival.

    Essentially, every time someone used an American Express Card in the area, a two cent donation was triggered and each time new members applied for a card, a larger contribution was made. The marketing goals that American Express had for this programme were exceeded. Card use was reported as having increased significantly and relationships between American Express and their merchants also improved as a result of the promotion.

    Citing an IEG, Inc. study, $1.11 billion was spent in 2005, an estimated $1.34 billion in 2006, $1.44 billion in 2007 and $1.52 billion in 2008 and $1.57 billion in 2009 as total marketing budget for cause marketing across the globe.

    Experts believe that this is so because “cause-related marketing is a useful marketing tool that business and non-profit organisations are increasingly leveraging.”

    Also, according to the Cone Millennial Cause Study in 2006, 89 percent of people (between ages 13 and 25) would switch from one brand to another brand of a comparable product (and price) if the latter brand was associated with “good cause”.

    The same study also indicated that a significant percentage surveyed would prefer to work for a company that was considered socially responsible.

  • Cause for alarm?

    Cause for alarm?

    •Result of CBN’s liquidity stress test on banks is not encouraging

    Nigerians have every reason to be worried at the outcome of the recent liquidity stress test conducted by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on 21 deposit money banks and 14 foreign subsidiaries, published in the CBN Financial Stability Report released last week.

    Based on findings from a 30-day shock test to assess banks’ resilience to liquidity and funding shocks, the report summarises, to wit: three banks – two of them large – recorded negative liquidity ratio; most banks’ liquidity ratio was found to be below 30 percent threshold based on the same parameters. Overall, the finding was of an industry “resilient to liquidity stress although the test results indicated deterioration in the banks’ resilience compared with the position in the preceding period”.

    As usual, the report would acknowledge the twin challenges of corporate governance and risk management practices as subsisting.

    No doubt, the result says a lot about the vast ground still left to be covered before the banking sector can claim to have achieved a reasonable measure of stability. But, as a whole, the findings raise the larger question of whether therapies applied in the last 10 years can be said to have delivered the expected outcome in terms of financial sector stability, given the energy and resources pumped into it.

    We say this because the challenges facing the sector have remained largely the same as it was when the nation began the restructuring odyssey 10 years ago. We recall that in July 2004, the then Central Bank Governor Chukwuma Soludo had described the Nigerian banking system as “fragile” and “marginal”. He had specifically diagnosed the sector as suffering persistent illiquidity, weak corporate governance, poor assets quality, insider abuses, weak capital base, and over-dependency on public sector funds, etc. If his 18-month long recapitalisation therapy under which 84 deposit money banks were collapsed to 25 by the end of December 2005 was meant to address these multifarious problems, the fact that variants of the same malignancies requiring even more drastic therapies would manifest barely three years after, obviously says a lot about its efficacy.

    We refer here to the free-for-all era of banking which followed the consolidation exercise during which operators simply went on to plunder the system. To clean the Augean stable, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, Soludo’s successor would sack a generation of top bankers in what is now famously described as sanitisation. Even at that, the challenge has remained one of delivering a banking system that is sound and stable.

    What the latest findings suggest is that the nation is a long way from that. However, while the suggestion that the sector is far from being out of the woods would seem troubling enough, the grim possibility of the sector being plunged into another round of crisis in the face of continuing deterioration in asset quality and in the atmosphere of weak corporate governance must be seen as portending grave danger for the Nigerian economy.

    We expect the CBN to treat the report as a wakeup call, and with all the seriousness that it deserves. It goes without saying that the apex bank’s authorities must put necessary strategies in place to avert a systemic distress that the nation can ill-afford; not at this time or even in some distant future.

    Moreover, if it’s not too late in the day to ask: what has happened to the so-called proactive, risk-based regulatory framework the CBN claimed to have put in place – the early warning signs which it claims to place so much store in? Perhaps the time to activate that is now.

  • PDP’s size cause of conflicts, say Tukur, Dickson

    Bayelsa State Governor Seriake Dickson has said that crises in political parties are normal, especially in a big political party like the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

    Speaking at the party’s inauguration of a reconciliation committee which he chairs, Dickson said clashes in the ruling party were about conflict of interests and ambitions.

    These, he said, are normal and legitimate in political associations the world over, adding that his committee would fashion out the best approach aimed at bringing together the various factions thrown up by conflicting interests among members.

    Dickson, however, expressed concern over what he described as attempts by conflicting interests to denigrate or destroy institutions of the office of the president, the judiciary, the legislature, the military and the security agencies.

    The Bayelsa Governor noted that his 31- man committee has a daunting task of reconciling the various aggrieved persons and groups within the party, stressing that reports of past reconciliatory efforts by top party chieftains should be implemented.

    He cited the reports of the Alex Ekwueme and Chief Tony Anenih reconciliation committees as documents that should be implemented by the leadership of the party.

    He said: “A large platform like the PDP cannot be devoid of several tendencies, conflict of interests and all manners of crisis. But as democrats, we must evolve ways of appreciating them and resolving crisis within the party without stifling people.

    “We must play the game within the ambit of national interest and not denigrate or destroy our institutions whether it is the office of the President, judiciary, legislature, military and security services, professional bodies, media, traditional and religious instructions”.

    In his remarks during the inauguration, National Chairman Alhaji Bamanga Tukur noted that the size of the party was responsible for its numerous crises.

    He challenged the committee to focus attention on the states that are not under the control of the party.

  • Board failure cause of banks’collapse, says Dozie

    Board failure cause of banks’collapse, says Dozie

    THE founder of Diamond Bank, Dr Pascal Dozie, has said the spate of banking failures in the country in the past was a reflection of the failure of the board of the banks.

    Dozie, who is Chairman of MTN Nigeria, spoke at a Stakeholders’ consultative forum on guidelines for corporate governance in the telecommunications industry organised by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC).

    It has as theme Board leadership and governance.

    He said people who take board’s appointment should see such opportunity as a “sacred call to service.”

    He stressed that being a director is not a tea party.

    According to him, directors must see themselves as playing pivotal roles in the success of the company, arguing that should things go wrong, the board should be held responsible. This, he said, is because the board performs oversight functions in the company.

    He said the Company and Allied Matters Act (CAMA) states how a board should be constituted, adding that it is the duty of the board to appoint one among its members to serve as its chairman.

    Dozie said the chairman has a great role to play as he has the onerous task of motivating the board and ensuring that decisions are implemented because time is a scarce resource.

    He said the leadership of the board of any company is a sine qua non to its success as it determines whether the company swims or sinks.

    He added that if a chairman becomes too “autocratic to the chagrin of the directors,” voting him out becomes an open option.

    He said for effective communication, it is imperative that the chief executive officer of companies remain part of the board, adding that the helmsman would not have an excuse not to implement policies agreed upon at the management level.

    On the level of compliance with corporate governance in the country, he said it would be difficult to assess, adding that the big firms were complying.

    He, however, said it does not necessarily have to be corporate governance, insisting that all that is needed to be done is to follow the provisions of CAMA by managing the companies well and avoiding promoting people through looking ethnicity or nepotism.

  • Oil thieves cause multiple spills in Bayelsa

    Activities of oil thieves have left Kalaba community in Yenagoa Local Government Area of Bayelsa State flooded with crude oil.

    Residents yesterday reported five oil spill points on Agip’s oil pipeline in the area.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) gathered that three of the spill points were discharging oil into the environment; the remaining two were discharging a mixture of crude and gas.

    Residents attributed the frequent spills in the area to the activities of oil thieves, who often burst pipelines to steal oil.

    A community leader in Kalaba, Mr Roman Olukali, told NAN yesterday that the community had particularly experienced frequent oil spills caused by oil thieves in the last two years.

    He said the menace could have been checked if Agip had taken the community into confidence and collaborated with the people in efforts to safeguard the oil pipelines.

    Olukali alleged that the company failed to relate with the community, adding that this led to the people’s failure to report strange movements around the pipelines.

    “We are really disturbed about the effect of these spills and on our own; we want to cooperate with Agip to solve the problem but Agip does not want to come here and reason with us.

    “Sometimes, when they come here to fix the leaks, they do not even tell us, and they often leave the area before we know that they have been around,’’ he added.

    The Youth President of Kalaba community, Mr Joel Joel, bemoaned the incessant oil spills in the neighbourhood.

    “‘These incessant oil spills in our environment is affecting us negatively, both in terms of the impact on the environment and our means of livelihood and the kind of negative publicity it attracts for our community.

    “We are not happy at all; and I have warned at a meeting we held sometime ago that we will not spare anyone in the community, caught or found to be responsible for any oil spill in this environment,’’ Joel said.

    Mr Adeyinka Adewumi, the Head of the National Oil Spills Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA) in Port Harcourt, confirmed that Agip had shut down operations in the area since March due to oil theft.

    Agip, in a statement, said it authorised the suspension of its operations in the area on March 22 and subsequently declared a “Force Majeure’’ on its oil output from the facilities on March 23.

    “Force Majeure’’ is a legal notice that absolves an oil firm of liabilities for failure to meet supply obligations to crude buyers due to circumstances beyond the firm’s control.

    “Agip confirms that during the night between March 21 and 22, the company had declared ‘Force Majeure’ and ordered the closure of its onshore activities in the swamp area located in Bayelsa.

    “The decision was made due to the intensified illegal bunkering, consisting in the sabotage of pipelines and the theft of crude oil, which recently reached unsustainable levels regarding personal safety and damage to the environment,’’ the statement said.

    It said the firm produced about 40,000 barrels of crude oil daily from the shut facilities.

  • I’ve no cause to hide, says Ojikutu

    Former Lagos State Deputy Governor Alhaja Sinatu Aderoju Ojikutu yesterday restated her innocence on the allegation by the police Special Fraud Unit (SFU) that she obtained by false representation, saying: “I have no reason to hide because I did not commit any fraud.”

    The SFU, on Wednesday, declared Mrs Ojikutu wanted for allegedly defaulting in repaying N130 million she collected from Mr Cajetan Okekearu on the sale of a land that “did not belong to her”.

    She expressed dismay at the manner the police was handling the matter. She told The Nation: “I have sent you what my lawyers released. It is interesting how this issue has been blown up. I did not run away; I had to attend to issues here and I was in constant touch with the office of the CP in writing and by phone up till Tuesday. I informed his secretary because he refused to speak to me that I was out of the country in the United States of America. How could he be asking for my whereabouts and declaring me wanted on Wednesday?

    “He (the CP) needs to keep an open mind on this issue of the ownership of my husband’s plot. He has shown bias. I was the one who requested him to investigate the occupiers of my late husband’s land because they refused to show us the original documents. There is a reason for everything and God will bring it to light and vindicate me. I have never defrauded any one in my life and I will not now. I abhor corruption. God is the only friend of the truthful.”

    Earlier on Wednesday, Mrs Ojikutu first spoke through her lawyer, Adenrele Adegborioye, stating that at the death of her husband in 2008, she became the administrator of her husband’s estate, including the land in dispute. She recalled that in 2010, the Probate Registry of the Lagos State High Court granted a Letter of Administration (without a will) in respect of her late husband’s estate.

    She said she dealt with Okekearu based on the letter, stating that the Contract of Sale executed between her, her son and Okekearu shows the land in contemplation as Block 4 Plot 24, Lekki Peninsula Residential Scheme, adding that the receipt dated October 6, 2011 also shows that they only received money from Okekearu in respect of the said land based on their capacity as administrators of the estate of her late husband, Sampson Adebisi Ojikutu, which includes the said land.

    She maintained that directly or indirectly, they never at anytime showed Okekearu any other land. “Subsequently, Mr. Cajetan Okekearu commenced construction on Block 4 Plot 23 Lekki Residential Scheme Phase1, the land adjoining Block 4 Plot 24, whereupon one Afolabi A. A. Coker successfully challenged Mr. Cajetan Okekearu’s entry onto Block 4 Plot 23 Lekki Residential Scheme Phase 1,” her lawyer also said.

    She said it was then that she and her son first discovered that Okekearu had built on Block 4 Plot 23 instead Block 4 Plot 24, and based on that, she volunteered to refund to Okekearu, the N130 million through a ‘Terms of Settlement’ dated July 25, 2013, which she had begun to execute. Mrs Ojikutu restated her commitment to seeing to its conclusion, the terms of settlement.