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Tag: deadline

  • Will BDCs beat recapitalisation deadline?

    Will BDCs beat recapitalisation deadline?

    The deadline for Bureaux De Change (BDCs) to raise their capital from N10 million to N35 million expires tomorrow. The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is insisting on the BDCs’ compliance. Will they scale the hurdle? COLLINS NWEZE reports.

    All his efforts came to nought after hours of trying to get the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) leadership to change its stand in the recapitalisation of Bureaux De Change (BDCs)

    President, Association of Bureau De Change of Nigeria (ABCON) Alhaji Aminu Gwadabe spent over two hours with CBN Governor Godwin Emefiele trying to convince him on how vital BDCs are to the economy.

    He told the CBN boss that allegations that BDC operators are involved in money laundering and terrorism financing were not correct. He urged the CBN to rescind the June 23 guidelines on the raising of the capital base of BDCs from N10 million to N35 million, a caution fee of N35 million and another N1 million registration fee, bringing the total cost of operations to N71 million. Gwadabe said the recapitalisation policy was an indirect attempt to empower few operators and force many others out of business.

     

    The guidelines

    On June 23, the CBN, among other things, raised the minimum capital requirement of BDCs to N35 million from N10million. It  raised the mandatory caution deposit to N35 million from $10,000.

    Again, on July 7, the apex bank extended the deadline from July 15 to July 31, in response to appeals and intervention of ABCON and both chambers of the National Assembly.

    In a circular, CBN’s Director, Financial Policy and Regulation, Kelvin Amugo, said interest would be paid on the mandatory caution deposit of N35 million, based on the savings account rate. The CBN, Amugo said, would on expiration of the deadline, cease to fund any BDC that failed to comply with the fresh requirements.

    But Gwadabe said the amendments were far from the recommendations made by the association at a meeting with the CBN Governor on July 1.

    “We recommended that deadline for compliance should not be less than one year as it is the tradition of the CBN in the recapitalisation exercise for other regulated entities. This is because no organisation can meet the statutory requirements for recapitalisation, either by raising fresh capital or through mergers/acquisition, within the period stipulated as deadline by the CBN for BDCs to meet the new minimum capital requirements. By asking BDCs to recapitalise within one month, the CBN is probably asking them to disregard these statutory requirements, and hence commit illegality.”

    ABCON, he said, also rejected the CBN decision to limit the weekly dollar sale to BDCs that meet the new requirements by July 31. This, he said, would bring back the activities of black market and fake currency operation, which the BDCs were able to abolish following their emergence as a monetary tool of the CBN in 2006.

    The policy, Gwadabe said, would give banks the opportunity to hijack the weekly dollar sales to BDCs. “Before CBN started selling dollars to BDCs in 2006, banks were not interested in BDC business. But as soon as the dollar sale started, they saw it as an avenue to make cheap profit, and pressurised the CBN to categorise the sub-sector into Class “A” and Class “B” BDCs.

    He said the minimum capital requirement for Class “A” BDCs, mostly owned by banks and money bags,  was set at N500 million, adding that they were allowed to buy $1 million weekly, while Class “B” BDCs  with N10 million minimum capital requirement, were allowed to buy just $50,000 per week. That was how the CBN allowed the banks and money bags to hijack the dollar sales to BDCs in 2009, he added.

    “This, we believe is what will happen once the CBN limits dollar sales to BDCs that meet the N35 million minimum capital requirement, and mandatory caution deposit.  It is an indirect way of handing over the weekly dollar sales to banks and money bags, which had no interest in BDC business until CBN started selling dollars to BDCs.”

    “The savings interest rate on caution deposit should also be reviewed to reflect market reality as the chunk of deposits to be realised by the CBN would be placed in treasury bills that attract between nine and 10 per cent per annum presently,” Gwadabe said.

    He said the CBN regulation should be in line with standard practice. “For instance, during the time of recapitalisation of banks and microfinance banks, a deadline of 102 days were extended to them. I was surprised that only 21 working days were extended to the BDCs. If this is allowed to go, it will be vindictive and will be seen as if the policy was designed to favour a kind of selected few,” he said.

    The ABCON chief said there was the need for categorisation of BDC operators and also promoting constructive engagement with the regulator. He said ABCON has met with the CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, to make its position known to him.

    “Some of our recommendations is extension of time. Also, N35 million should be a percentage of funding. During Prof Charles Soludo’s tenure as CBN Governor, he told us to put $200,000 in cautionary deposit, I will give you $1 million weekly. If Godwin Emefiele is saying, give us N35 million caution deposit, we expect the money to be a 20 per cent of the dollar he is going to sale to us,” he said.

     

    Way out

    ABCON has, therefore, proposed a 40-week timetable for operators to meet the new minimum capital requirements. He added that the proposal has been sent to the CBN Governor for consideration.

    He said though the apex bank has extended the deadline by three weeks to July 31st, the time was still too short to enable BDCs comply with the statutory and legal requirements of the new policy. The timetable, he said, contained actions needed to be taken to enhance the successful implementation of the policy for the subsector.

    Gwadabe said: “The timetable starts with sensitisation seminars to educate members on various options to consider in meeting the minimum capital requirement. We plan to hold these seminars in each geopolitical zone of the federation. Moreover, we would assist members scout for consultants to guide them on issues of valuation of existing companies in order to accommodate new members and or achieve harmonious merger. This is in line with what the CBN did for banks during the recapitalisation exercise of 2004”.

    The group has appealed to the CBN to allow the minimum capital base to be N35 million and the caution deposit N5 million so as to source the caution deposit from the capital base of the company and the balance of N30 million be used as working capital of the BDCs.

     

    Dollar sales to BDCs slashed

    The CBN has cut dollar sales to BDCs by 70 per cent from $50,000 per week to $15,000. This is coming ahead of tomorrow’s deadline for operators to comply with new requirements for their operation.

    The N35 million caution raused from $20,000 represents a 1000 per cent hike among other conditions set by the apex bank in its June 23 guidelines for the subsector.

    Managing Director, Kayewd Bureau De Change (BDC) Limited, Rotimi Dada, who confirmed the new dollar sales to BDCs, said the action has cut down dollar supply to the market, and reduced profit margins for operators while the overhead costs remain the same.

    On the sideline of the ABCON public hearing in Lagos, he said operators had rents to pay, adding that they are not able to meet market demands for the dollar which is bad for the market. He said there is a multiplier effect of the policy, which makes it difficult for operators to buy dollar from commercial banks.

    Dada said the CBN was acting a bit hasty by cutting the dollar sales to BDCs and that the regulator should consult with stakeholders on what needed to be done. He said the CBN should see the BDCs as macroeconomic factors that favour the economy.

     

    Alleged terrorism financing

    BDC operators have denied sponsoring terrorism. Gwadabe said this when he led members of the association to meet the Committees on Finance of both chambers of the National Assembly in Abuja.

    Gwadade urged the National Assembly to intervene in the N35 million capital base for BDCs imposed by the CBN. “Money laundering and terrorism are aspects of specialised relevant agencies. The National Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU), the police and Customs will checkmate the activities of money launderers and terrorism financiers and bring the culprits to book. It should not be the CBN’s primary concern. Our members too have been trained by the relevant agencies and are helping them understand the consequences and implications of money laundering and terrorism financing,” he said.

     

    Foreign reserves soar

    The foreign reserves have been on the rise since the CBN cut dollar sales to BDCs from $50,000 per week to $15,000.

    CBN said the BDCs’ guidelines were modified to, among others, conserve the foreign reserves. Analyses of the reserves, based on data from the CBN, showed that they have risen by over $1.2 billion since June 24, when the CBN unfolded new requirements for BDCs operations, which also led to cut in dollar sales.

    The reserves which were $37.2 billion on June 24 rose to $38.94 billion on July 24. The rate of accretions to the reserves has been marginal but consistent since the dollar cut.

    The reserves were $37.23 billion, on June 25; $37.26 billion, June 26 and $37.31 billion, June 27. The reserves also rose to $37.54 billion on July 1 and continued the upbeat till current position.

     

    CBN’s position

    The CBN has reiterated that its modifications to the guidelines on the regulation of BDCs are aimed at conserving the country’s foreign reserves, among other objectives.

    Emefiele, who spoke during an interactive session with the House of Representatives Committee on Banking and Currency, explained that modifications had to be made on the guidelines following observations that the operations of BDCs in the country had deviated from the objectives for which they were lisensed in the first place.

    He observed that many operators were only interested in widening margins and profits from the foreign exchange market, regardless of the prevailing official and interbank rates.

    He said a cross-country survey of BDCS done by the CBN revealed that 93 per cent of them were in breach of the objectives and provisions of the guidelines. He also said many BDCs had no good accounting records, many had no adequate sales document and lacked audit trail.

     

  • MAS deadline: NAFDAC begins enforcement

    MAS deadline: NAFDAC begins enforcement

    In a decisive move to achieve President Goodluck Jonathan’s declarative statement on zero tolerance to counterfeit drugs, the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has commenced enforcement of the deadline for implementation of the Mobile Authentication Service (MAS) by pharmaceutical companies nationwide.

    The enforcement operation, which started in Abuja on Wednesday, July 2 under the auspices of the Pharmacovigilance and Post Marketing Surveillance Directorate of NAFDAC, was geared towards mopping up from circulation all anti-malarial and anti-biotic medicines that do not carry on their labels the MAS scratch and text authentication codes which were introduced since 2010 by the NAFDAC’s Director-General, Dr. Paul Orhii, to save consumers from the menace of fake drugs.

    Dr. Orhii, who is currently celebrated worldwide for introducing multi-layered anti-counterfeiting technology, said there is no going back on enforcement of compliance with the MAS deadline which has previously been shifted twice in the last three years due to plea for more time by a segment of the pharmaceutical the industry.

    Dr. Orhii said NAFDAC has the full support of the President and the Minister of Health, Professor Onyebuchi Chukwu, to enforce implementation of the service in a bid to eradicate counterfeit drugs in the country.

    He disclosed that firm instructions have been given to all NAFDAC offices across the country to go round various pharmaceutical outlets to enforce compliance as deadline is irreversible and sacrosanct.

    According to him, the scratch and text service (MAS) has put the power of detecting counterfeit drugs in the hands of over 100million mobile phone users in the country.

    The Director-General stated that the international community is full of commendation for Nigeria for pioneering the use of cutting-edge technologies in combating counterfeit medicines.

    Meanwhile, the enforcement team led by Director of PVG/BMS, Mrs. Adeline Osakwe, cracked down on over 50 pharmacies in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, which were found to have stocked anti-malarial and anti-biotic drugs without the scratch and text codes.

    A consultative /sensitization forum was organized last week by the NAFDAC to iron out the grey areas preparatory to enforcement of the MAS deadline.

  • SACKED NFF BOARD: Nigeria gets FIFA’s July 8 deadline

    SACKED NFF BOARD: Nigeria gets FIFA’s July 8 deadline

    • Blatter-led body threatens to ban Eagles, others
    • SSS operatives in hunt for other NFF members

    The Federation of International Football Associations (FIFA) has ordered the ‘relevant authorities’ in Nigeria to reinstate Aminu Maigari as the president of the Nigerian Football Federation (NFF), as well as to restore to office – not later than Tuesday, July 8 – all of the Executive Committee members of the NFF Board who were temporarily unseated on Thursday, by a court order.

    On Thursday, an order of interlocutory injunction obtained by Mrs. Ebiakpo Rumson Baribote from the Hon. Justice P.L. Lot of the Plateau State High Court, restrained Maigari, all the members of the NFF’s Executive Committee and the NFF Congress from running the affairs of Nigerian football forthwith, pending the determination of the Motion on Notice before the court.

    In compliance with this order as well as a separate mandatory injunction, Nigeria’s Sports Minister, Tammy Danagogo appointed a senior member of the civil service in the NFF, Lawrence Katiken as Acting Secretary-General of the NFF, to command, control and manage the affairs of Nigerian football.

    However, in a swift reaction to this development, the Sepp Blatter-led world football governing body has declared that its laws do not permit ‘undue interference by third parties in the NFF’s affairs, which prevent a FIFA member association such as the NFF from managing its affairs independently.

    Such third parties would include governments, civil courts, etc.

    In a letter made available to SportingLife, FIFA stated that it will neither recognise any person or organ not elected in compliance with NFF statutes nor consider the appointment of Katiken as Acting Secretary-General made by minister Danagogo.

    FIFA’s letter, signed by its Secretary-General, Jerome Valcke, further warned that if Maigari and co were ‘not fully reinstated by Tuesday,  July 8, 2014, we would have no choice but to refer the case to the appropriate FIFA organs for sanctions…’

    The world’s football governing body further cautioned that unless the matter is resolved, the country stands the risk of international football isolation.

    This, among other things, would mean that ‘no team from Nigeria of any sort (including clubs) could have any international sporting contact.’

    SportingLife understands that in the early hours of yesterday, Nigeria’s official Brazil 2014 World Cup delegation comprising the Super Eagles, their coaches and officials were led into the country by Aminu Maigari and other NFF officials. But as they got off the plane at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, Maigari was identified and whisked away for questioning by operatives of the State Security Service (SSS). He was, however, allowed to leave after an hour. FIFA’s letter, however, alleges that operatives of the SSS are in the hunt for other members of the NFF.

  • MDAs get deadline to switch to NIMC’s infrastructure

    All ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) involved in data capturing have been given up to the end of this year to switch over to the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) infrastructure. They have also been directed to revert to NIMC should they require identity verification and authentication.

    To effect a seamless transition, NIMC said a Harmonisation and Integration Committee with membership drawn from the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Federal Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Communication Technology had been set up.

    NIMC urged the MDAs that the commission have the primary responsibility to deliver the processes and procedures for achieving an integration of its National Identity Management System (NIMS) infrastructure with the infrastructure of other agencies within the time set by the government.

    Director, Corporate Communication, Anthony Okwudiafor, said: ”This shall include without exception, all data capture related activities, development of database, identity authentication and verification, card issuance activities and related infrastructure.

    “Also, all identity database-related projects and procurements, data capture, development of databases, identity authentication and verification and related identity management infrastructure/issues shall be validated against the harmonisation and integration programme in view of the set deadline to ensure seamless and timely compliance with the directive in this transition period.”

    According to NIMC, the Office of the SGF through the Governing Board of NIMC will ensure periodic evaluation of progress report and convene review meetings as appropriate; and that the government will monitor the implementation of this harmonisation and integration programme at the appropriate time.

    In addition, the government will publish the commencement date for the mandatory use of the National Identification Number (NIN) in line with Section 27 of the NIMC Act No. 23 of 2007, it added.

  • Banks get November deadline on data security standards

    The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) yesterday extended banks’ compliance with the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) till November 30.

    The PCI DSS is a proprietary information security standard for organisations that handle cardholder information for the major debit, credit, prepaid, e-purse, Automated Teller Machines, and Point of Sale (PoS) cards. The standard was created to increase controls around cardholder data to reduce credit card fraud via its exposure.

    In a circular to banks, switches and processors, signed by CBN Director, Banking Payment System, ‘Dipo Fatokun, said the circular supersedes the one of December 31, 2012. He said the need to extend the deadline followed requests by many banks seeking for more time to enable them complete the certification process.

    He said that to determine the readiness of various operators, the CBN engaged the services of three Qualified Security Assessors to conduct pre-certification assessment of the banks.

    The result, he said, showed that while many banks had complied with the certification, many are still at different stages of compliance.

    He said with this extension, banks, processors and switches are expected to comply before the end of the November 30 deadline.

    The validation of PCI DSS compliance is performed annually, either by an external Qualified Security Assessor (QSA) that creates a Report on Compliance (ROC) for organizations handling large volumes of transactions, or by Self-Assessment Questionnaire (SAQ) for companies handling smaller volumes.

    The CBN had earlier released card issuance and usage guidelines for the financial services sector. Fatokun said the power to issue the guideline was derived from Section 47 (3) of the CBN Act 2007, adding that all industry stakeholders who process, transmit, and or store cardholder information should ensure that their terminals, applications and processing infrastructure comply with the minimum requirements for the sector.

    He said all terminals, applications and processing infrastructure, should also comply with the standards specified by the various card schemes.

    Fatokun said only banks licenced by the CBN with clearing capacity shall issue payment cards to consumers and corporations, explaining that banks without clearing capacity can issue in conjunction with those with clearing capacity. Also, all banks should seek approval from the CBN for each card brand they wish to issue.

    The guidelines also stipulated that the cards issued can be ‘pay now’ such as debit and prepaid or ‘pay later’ such as credit.

     

     

     

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  • Digital TV: Nigeria will meet 2015 deadline, say NCC, NBC

    The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) have primised that Nigeria will meet the 2015 deadline set by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) for countries to migrate from analogue to digital broadcasting.

    NCC Executive Vice Chairman, Dr Eugene Juwah said all hands were on deck to meet the deadline.

    According to him, “The transition is going on well. There is a team called Digitex in charge of the transition.” He added that the broadcast industry was also restructuring in line with the transition process.

    He said: “I can assure you that the transition is going on well. The broadcasting industry has also restructured. The restructuring permits only two broadcasting signal distributors in the first phase. The others will provide content for the broadcast industry. The broadcasting industry is gradually being restructured. The first is NTA while the second while the second will be competed for.”

    Director-General of NBC, Emeka Mba, said a lot has been done at the back end on the transition, adding however that much still needed to be done.

    He expressed satisfaction with the level of enthusiasm displayed by Nigerians who want the transition to happen.

    According to Mba, digital means convergence arguing therefore that there is need for synergy among all the stakeholders involved in the transition.

    The requisite frequency to implement the transition is still largely being held by the NBC but the NCC said it is working closely with the broadcasting sector regulator to free the spectrum.

    Under the analogue broadcast regime, there is absence of high definition (HD) picture and sound from this technology.

    Another challenge with the technology is poor coverage. Analogue transmission covers only some few hundreds of kilometre around the transmission base.

  • PDP crisis talks: Governors to give Jonathan deadline

    PDP crisis talks: Governors to give Jonathan deadline

    Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) factional Chair Kawu Baraje yesterday said the aggrieved leaders of the party and the G-7 governors would give President Goodluck Jonathan a deadline on Sunday, if he fails to meet their demands.

    He said contrary to insinuations, Jonathan and the G-7 governors were not moving towards any accord.

    For peace to reign in PDP, the aggrieved governors and the Baraje faction tabled five demands before Jonathan and a seven-man Peace Panel headed by ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo.

    The conditions are:

    •the sack of National Chairman Bamanga Tukur,

    •return of party structure to governors in Adamawa, Rivers, Kano, and other states,

    •sticking to one term tenure by the President by foregoing re-election in 2015,

    •resolution of the Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF) and Rivers State crises, including the lifting of Governor Rotimi Amaechi’s suspension; and

    •stopping “harassment” of governors by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission(EFCC).

    Of the five demands, Jonathan met only one on Monday night. He conceded to party’s structure in the G-7 states and restoration of the structures to governors in Adamawa and Kano.

    There was deadlock on the NGF row because Amaechi rejected the proposal to step down as NGF chairman.

    Apart from being evasive on the Rivers crisis, Jonathan also agreed with the governors to shift talks on 2015 poll and the fate of Tukur to Sunday.

    Ahead of the resumption of talks on Sunday, Baraje spoke exclusively with our correspondent yesterday in Abuja.

    He said: “We are not inching towards any accord with Jonathan on the PDP crisis. There is nothing like settlement.

    “I can tell you that we are only discussing, but the main thing is not being discussed yet.

    “So, as far as we are concerned, the struggle still continues; no retreat, no surrender. Our demands are clear and we will not give up, until our demands are met.”

    Responding to a question, Baraje said: “We will go back; we will partake in the talk on Sunday because we have been part of it all along.

    “However, it is at the Sunday meeting that we are going to give them a deadline within which they should tell us their responses to our demands.

    “Our struggle is for Nigerians and in the interest of Nigeria; it is a liberation struggle for Nigeria’s democracy.

    “I want to assure our members that we will not give up on this struggle; we are not a let-down or a stooge for anybody.”

    Senator Bukola Saraki yesterday dismissed insinuations that the political battle between members of the new PDP and President Goodluck Jonathan is due to a “personal grouse” by members of the factional group. He said the action is an effort to save Nigeria.

    Speaking in Ilorin, he said: “it is wrong for people to say or think that what we are doing is a personal grouse and it is because the president is weak unlike former president Olusegun Obasanjo. No, even if it were Obasanjo today, things would be different because the environment is different.”

    On his invitation by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Saraki said that he might still be brought under more scrutiny by security agencies as long as the PDP crisis continues.

    The former governor was recently quizzed by the anti graft agency over how he used the N17 billion bond obtained by his administration in 2010.

    He said he had given sufficient answers to all issues raised by EFCC on the bond issue.

    He added that he would however not be surprised, given the current scenario in the national polity if another agency “wakes up tomorrow” to say it had discovered some other issues he must answer for.

    He gave details of how his administration utilized the bond and praised the EFCC team that interrogated him for being “professional.”

    He added, “yes I was with EFCC on Monday and Tuesday to answer queries on the bond issue. I made it clear that bond is not money available to any government just like that; that to access it you must go through a rigorous process; that we had to submit ourselves to international evaluation before we could be given. I gave them details of how we spent the bond because if any government wants to be reckless it won’t be with a bond that has stringent conditions before you can access it. I listed the projects we used the money for and they are all verifiable.

    “It is unfortunate that we all know what is happening today in Nigeria so I won’t be surprised if another agency wakes up tomorrow to say they have a new thing about me.”

    “The projects include Aviation College, Irrigation project, Ilorin water reticulation, Township stadium, Rural electrification, KWASU, loan refunding and Kwara Mall.”

  • e-dividend: Shareholders, operators flay June deadline

    e-dividend: Shareholders, operators flay June deadline

    Shareholders and capital market operators have kicked against the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC’s) June 3, 2013 deadline for investors to provide bank accounts for electronic payment of dividend or risk forfeiture of such dividend.

    SEC had issued a circular directing shareholders of quoted companies to forward bank account details to their registrars and stockbrokers on or before June 3, 2013 to facilitate the electronic payment of future dividends.

    According to SEC, shareholders that fail to comply with the June 3, 2013 deadline may automatically forfeit future dividends as warrants would cease to exist as from the deadline except in the case where a shareholder specifically request in writing for continued issuance of dividend warrants.

    Shareholders and market operators expressed dismay at the directive, describing at ill-timed and draconic. Shareholders said they would resist the deadline and mobilise against any company that fails to pay dividend as enshrined in the Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA).

    They said SEC had been foot-dragging on several issues that could have assisted investors to promptly claim their dividends and also encourage electronic dividends including the Commission’s inability to persuade the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Bankers, Committee to allow shareholders to pay dividends into their savings account.

    They said SEC failed in its cardinal objective of investors’ education by not channeling adequate resources to educate and galvanise all stakeholders into forming a collective front for key market initiatives.

    General Secretary, Independent Shareholders Association of Nigeria (ISAN), Mr Adebayo Adeleke, said SEC demonstrated poor judgement with the directive as it placed the horse of enforcement before the cart of public enlightenment.

    He described the directive as unfortunate, saying it is capable of heating up the market as shareholders would resist attempt to frustrate their legal rights to receive returns on their investments.

    “Our position is that the extant law of the capital market, especially the Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA), has not been amended and any directive that is inconsistent with the law is null and void,” Adebayo said.

    He warned companies from taking any action that will jeopardise their interests as shareholders would not sue SEC but the companies, which are statutorily required to issue dividend warrants.

    A shareholders’ leader and activist, Alhaji Gbadebo Olatokunbo, said SEC has no powers to direct forfeiture of dividends or cancellation of dividend warrants.

    He said SEC should have worked on the efficiency of share registration operations to remove several hurdles being faced by shareholders, which have been the underlying causes for rising unclaimed dividends.

    Olatokunbo said Sec should have engaged in serious enlightenment to encourage shareholders on the benefits of going electronic by completing the e-dividend form.

    He noted that in spite of several appeals in the past, banks have not allowed shareholders to deposit dividend warrants in savings accounts, which most of the small investors have.

    SEC had recently put the value of unclaimed dividend by investors at N60 billion by December 31, 2012; representing N19 billion or 46 per cent rise over the N41 billion recorded at the end of 2011.

     

  • NCAA gives domestic operators deadline

    NCAA gives domestic operators deadline

    omestic airline operators have been given a two-week deadline to automate their operations to ensure data capture for billing in the authority’s revenue collection.

    The Acting Director-General of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Joyce Daniel Nkemakolam, gave the directive at a meeting in Lagos last week. He warned charter operators against non-compliance.

    Nkemakolam has also read the riot act to foreign airlines, for their inability to comply with the new revenue automation regime of the regulatory authority.

    According to NCAA’s regulations on revenue collection, the operating airlines are to forward data at the end of every flight to the regulatory authority at the shortest possible time.

    These data are forwarded using NCAA’s AVITECH, Aviation Technology, the contracting firm handling the automation Portal, for easy and transparent transaction to facilitate appropriate billing for the Ticket Sales Charge and Cargo Sales Charge (TSC and CSC).

    The data required by NCAA/AVITECH for billing covers the following: Flight number, flight date, ticket number, ticket class, flight route, originating country, currency of sale, basic fare, security tax, airport tax, total fare and rate of exchange.

     

     

     

  • Undeveloped oil block owners get March 2015 deadline

    Undeveloped oil block owners get March 2015 deadline

    OWNERS of marginal fields or oil blocks that are not yet fully operational risk takeover by the Federal Government, it was learnt by The Nation.

    They have until March 2015 to make them operational or forfeit them.

    Some of these affected oil blocks located along the Niger Delta creeks and environs have been lying idle for years since they were awarded as a result of lack of funds to commence operation.

    A document obtained exclusively by The Nation from the Public Affairs Unit of the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) showed that operators of the oil blocks have delayed take-off due to their inability to access funds, difficulty in agreeing to operational synergies with International Oil Companies (IOCs), the increasing cost of labour, goods and service, technology limitations and community problems.

    The DPR however noted that “At present, there is no marginal field that is yet to be developed. Apart from the producing fields, all other marginal fields are at various stages of field development aimed at bringing the fields to production. These fields have witnessed one form of field developmental activity or the other since the time of award, so they are still being developed.”

    The developing marginal fields and their owners include: Atala, being managed by the Bayelsa Oil & Gas Ltd; Ogedeh, owned by Bicta Energy System; Ke, by Del Sigma Ltd; Dawes Island owned by Euroafric Energy Ltd; Ororo owned by Guarantee Petroleum & Owena and Gas Ltd.

    Others are Omerelu, being managed by Niger Delta Pet. Resources; Ofa, owned by Independent Energy Ltd; Eremor, by Excel Expl. & Prod. Ltd; Amoji/Matsogo/Igbolo, by Chorus Energy; Assaramatoru, by Prime Energy; Tom Shot Bank, jointly owned by Associated Oil & Gas and Dansaki Pet. Ltd; Tsekelewu, both owned by Sahara Energy Ltd and African Oil & Gas and Qua Ibo, owned by Network E & P.

    Marginal fields still nearing production operation are: Akepo, owned by Sogenal Ltd; Stubb Creek, by Universal Energy Res. Ltd; Oza, by Millennium Oil & Gas and Ekeh, being managed by Movido E & P respectively.

    The DPR is however optimistic that the March 2015 deadline is enough time for those companies yet to bring their marginal oil fields into production to do so.

    Spokesperson for the DPR, Mrs Selema Osibodun said: “The deadline for the companies to bring the fields to production is March 2015. There is still enough time within this period for the companies to bring the fields to production.”

    As to whether the DPR will grant further extension to the deadline, Osibodu said that could only be decided by the Federal Government.

    “Extension of marginal field period is done by the Federal Government of Nigeria and not DPR. Therefore the DPR is not in a position to comment on extension at this time,” she stressed.

    Investigation by The Nation revealed that there are 200 marginal oil fields in the Niger Delta Basin with a maximum reserve base of about five billion barrels of oil.

    There were 26 companies involved in marginal oil fields, many of which partnered international companies to provide technical expertise and finance. They are Associated Oil & Gas Limited; Bayelsa Oil Company Limited; Bicta Energy Management Services Limited; Brittania U-Nig Chorus Energy Dansaki Petroleum; Unlimited Del Sigma Energie Eurafric Energy Limited; Excel Frontier Oil Limited and Goland Petroleum Development Co. Limited.

    Others are Guarantee Petroleum Limited; Independent Energy Limited; Midwestern Oil & Gas; Millenium Oil & Gas Limited; Movido Exploration & Production Limited; Network Exploration & Production Limited; Niger Delta Petroleum Resources Limited; Pillar Oil Limited; Platform Petroleum Limited; Prime Exploration & Production; Sahara Sogenal Limited; Universal Energy Resources Limited and Waltersmith Petroman.

    Besides, only a few of the 77 oil blocks awarded to oil firms in 2005 have even started production.

    It is estimated that a marginal field in the Niger Delta Basin will cost about $50 to $80 million as development cost for a few years. Foreign technical or financial partners will in most cases contribute 40 per cent of this amount.

    Already, the Federal Government has extended the farm-out date of the non-producing marginal fields by four years with effect from 2011 to enable the companies to address their challenges and bring the fields into production.