The Nation Newspaper

Tag: deadline

  • 2013 Confederations Cup: FIFA deadline looms for match tickets, hospitality packages

    2013 Confederations Cup: FIFA deadline looms for match tickets, hospitality packages

    The Nigeria Football Federation at the weekend called on Nigeria football family, government officials, NFF partners and other stakeholders to quickly indicate interest in match tickets and hospitality packages for the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup tournament, ahead of this Thursday’s deadline.

    “We had since written to members of the Nigeria football family, government institutions, our partners and other football stakeholders to indicate interest in these packages, and we are now calling on those that have not responded before now to do so immediately, as the deadline given by FIFA is Thursday, 28th March,” NFF’s Director of Marketing, Idris Adama, said.

    Adama said the packages actually closed in February, but the NFF had to open negotiations with the world football-governing body due to the circumstances that made Nigeria the last team to qualify for the showpiece event.

    “We approached FIFA to re-open the service, and we are collaborating on all details with FIFA MATCH and Pamodzi Sports Marketing, the official Hospitality Agent of FIFA in Nigeria, concerning match

    tickets, accommodation, hospitality suites, local transportation, airport reception and official Nigeria T-shirts. This is to ensure smoothness of operations and excellent service delivery.

    “We are really appealing to those individuals and institutions that have not responded to do so within the next few days, otherwise we stand the risk of losing our allocation. It is after we have received indication of interest that we will now forward the cost implication to those individuals and institutions that have so indicated interest.”

    Nigeria qualified for the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup tournament by virtue of winning the Africa Cup of Nations in South Africa, with a 1-0 defeat of Burkina Faso in Johannesburg’s Soccercity on February 10.

    In Brazil, the Super Eagles will play Oceania champions Tahiti in Belo Horizonte on June 17, tackle South American champions Uruguay in Salvador three days later and clash with World and European champions Spain in Fortaleza on June 23.

  • CBN extends recapitalisation deadline for MfBs till Dec 31

    CBN extends recapitalisation deadline for MfBs till Dec 31

    The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has extended the recapitalisation deadline for microfinance banks (MfBs) to December 31, 2013. The deadline expired in December, last year.

    Director, Corporate Communication, CBN, Mr Ugochukwu Okoroafor, told The Nation that the deadline was extended following the MfBs’ plea.

    Under the proposed recapitalisation, MfBs are required to have N20 million for a unit license, N100 million, state license, and N200 million, national license.

    Following the deadline’s expiration last year, the banks asked for more time to shop for funds to recapitalise.

    Okoroafor said: “We have agreed to shift the deadline given to the banks to raise their capital. I do not want to give a date that is not correct. I need to check the new date from the office next week. But the new date is this year.”

    The National Association of Microfinance Banks (NAMBs) has said it is awaiting CBN’s formal announcement of the extension. The association’s Chairman, Southwest Region, Mr Olufemi Babajide, said MfBs had received feelers that the deadline has been extended till December 31, 2013.

    He said: “Though the apex bank has not issued a circular to that effect, there is hope that the banks would get another date to recapitalise their businesses. Having realised that the banks have failed to meet the 2012 deadline, we made some recommendations to CBN.

    “Top on the list is the issue of extension of the capital base deadline. Other issues are funding of the bad debts of the banks, extension of branches, and how to ensure smooth running of the banks. We have presented our positions, they promised to review them and get back to us.”

    The formal announcement of the extension, he said, was not something the CBN could do hastily, stressing that the regulator believe in due process. He said: “We strongly believe that the shift in recapitalisation deadline would be formalised soon. He added that discussions are on-going on the release of the N220 billion Microfinance Development Fund and the N75 billion approved for the take-off of the National Incentive-Based Risk Sharing in Agricultural Lending (NIRSAL).

    Babajide said the government was interested in developing the agricultural sector, stressing that the fund would be given to the banks for distribution to farmers in the 36 states, including the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

    He said CBN has not told the banks when the funds would be released to the beneficiaries, but MfBs are trying to make the funds available to the operators as soon as the cash is available.

    The Managing Director, LAPO Microfinance Bank Limited, Mr Godwin Ehigiamusoe, said though many banks have the capacity to raise the requisite capital, there is the need to extend the deadline in the interest of the sub-sector.

    Ehigiamouse said operators were optimistic that the deadline would be extended, advising banks to try and make funds available to the operators to enable them to develop the economy.

    He said the CBN’s reforms have engendered growth in the industry, arguing that banks are now better placed to conduct transactions hitherto beyond their reach.

    He urged operators to work harder by trying to meet standards stipulated by the CBN.

     

  • Companies scurry to meet earnings reports’deadline

    Companies scurry to meet earnings reports’deadline

    Companies are stepping up arrangements for final board meetings for the approval of their audited report and accounts for year 2012, as the deadline for the submission ticks closer.

    The tempo of board meetings would increase as from tomorrow with at two firms scheduled to have their final board meetings on the earnings report and dividend recommendation for the 2012 business year.

    Market sources indicated that several companies are rounding off arrangements for final board meeting early next week to enable them meet the April 1, 2013 deadline for submission of audited report and accounts for the year ended December 31, 2012.

    The boards of Lafarge Cement Wapco Nigeria and Skye Bank Plc are scheduled to meet tomorrow to deliberate on the audited report and accounts for the year under review.

    Directors would at the meeting, consider probable dividend that would be paid to shareholders. Though the shareholders at the general meeting have the overriding power to approve or reject board’s dividend recommendation, the general meeting hardly overrides the board.

    Already, the board of Total Nigeria Plc has scheduled a meeting for Wednesday March 27, during which directors would deliberate on earnings and dividends.

    Market sources indicated that they expected the latter part of the month to witness influx of annual reports and dividend recommendations, given that compliance within deadline is a measure of good corporate governance.

    Post-listing rules at the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) require that quoted companies should submit their reports, not later than three months after the expiration of the period.

    Most quoted companies including all banks, major manufacturers, oil and gas companies, breweries and cement companies use the 12-month Gregorian calendar year as their business year. The business year thus terminates on December 31.

    NSE’s regulatory filing calendar indicates that the deadline for submission of annual report for companies with Gregorian calendar business year is March 31.

    However, the NSE provides that where a filing due date falls on a weekend or holiday, the filing will fall due on the next business day. March 31 falls on Sunday, thus the due date for the deadline will be April 1, 2013.

    Market analysts have attributed the seeming pause on market direction to the apprehensions over the earnings reports, noting that investors had expected that most large-capitalised companies would have reported their earnings and dividends by now.

    Only two companies- Nestle Nigeria and Nigerian Breweries; have so far reported their full-year earnings out of the hundreds of companies with Gregorian calendar business year.

    Managing director, GTI Securities, said investors had been valuing dividend expectations into their bid and sale orders.

    According to him, the marked improvement in the momentum of activities on stocks indicated investors’ perceptions of corporate potential for relatively high dividend yields and headroom for capital appreciation.

  • IFRS: CBN sets 2014 deadline for SMEs’ compliance

    IFRS: CBN sets 2014 deadline for SMEs’ compliance

    The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has set up a roadmap On International Financial Reporting Standard (IFRS) stipulating compliance by all Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMEs) by January 31, 2014.

    The roadmap, The Nation learnt, requires that the entire business community in the country would implement and converge in phases, while the phases are submerged within a general implementation framework. The general plan would therefore ensure that appropriate changes and restructuring are made to processes, systems and the personel in terms of training and capacity building.

    The IFRS is a globally-accepted set of accounting standards, framework and interpretations, adopted by the International Accounting Standard Board (IASB and its interpretative body, the International Financial Reporting Interpretations Committee (IFRIC).

    The IFRS was issued by the IASB. It was issued to serve as the global accounting language for the purpose of meeting the information needs of global business investors, shareholders and financial services providers.

    The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) had earlier announced its decision to converge to IFRS in the last quarter of 2010, but the commencement date was later shifted to January 1, 2012 to ensure legal and capacity building in the project.

    There has been mixed reactions to the IFRS, especially among the organisations in the first phase. The banking and discount houses sub-sectors had the greatest momentum, while most other corporations waited on their external auditors to drive implementation and compliance.

    Risk Expert and Chairman, IFRS Interpretations Committee, at the IASB, Bob Garnett, had explained that harmonising the IFRS and Basel Accords will give Nigerian companies’ financials better credibility.

    He explained also that the global knowledge and expertise reduces the risks of getting things wrong, adding that the adoption of the model will further enhance transparency and facilitate the restoration of investors’ confidence in the on-going efforts to sanitise and rebuild the financial services sector.

    He said businesses would, therefore, be required to identify and understand the similarities and differences between the Nigeria General Accepted Accounting Practice (Nigeria GAAP), including changes that would occur within the transition period up to its full adoption and implementation.

    He explained that for a truly global economy, where companies and accounts issuers interrelate around the globe, to be efficient, it is appropriate to have a common standard in business and financial reporting. IFRS therefore, became the set of high quality, transparent and globally renowned accounting standards and framework that provide for international comparison.

    At the global level, such standards, he said are regarded as a major component of a good financial system that reduces cost of capital, allowing for transparency and disclosure, as well as facilitating increase in capital formation.

    The world-wide adoption of IFRS is expected to facilitate presentation of financial information in a manner that allows and helps evaluators and users to determine the financial status and liquidity position of a company.

    According to CBN, the number of countries that have either moved, or are in the process of moving, to IFRS increased to 117 involving more than 12,000 companies at end of December 2011 from 100 at end-December 2009. At end-December 2012, nearly 20 African countries, including Nigeria, had either adopted, converged to or made a commitment to implement IFRS.

    It explained that in Nigeria, the bodies responsible for the regulation of accounting information are statutory agencies such as the FRC, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) and the CBN. The NASB, established in September 1982, under the sponsorship of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN), is a government agency statutorily responsible for issuing Statements of Accounting Standards (SAS) in Nigeria on various accounting matters, after taking into account all peculiarities of the business environment, customs, laws and level of development.

    The banking watchdog explained that convergence to IFRS would promote uniformity in operations and auditing of companies. This is expected to have a significant impact on firms’ financial performance and ultimately on their financial position.

     

    It said that implementation of the IFRS (Uniform Global Accounting Language) would, among other things, allow for easy access to efficient global capital; increase demand for, and enhance practice of public accountability and transparency; enhance understanding and ability to generate value from strategic activities and synergies; facilitate comparison between entities as well as enhance attraction and encouragement of foreign investors.

     

  • CONFEDERATION CUP: Physically challenged fans get April 15 deadline

    CONFEDERATION CUP: Physically challenged fans get April 15 deadline

    Physically challenged soccer fans interested in attending one of the 16 confederation cup matches which kicks off on June 15 in Brazil, have been given till April 15 to order for their tickets.

    FIFA while giving an update on the sale of tickets, said the ticket alloted to the physically challlenged will be released to the public. The submission is coming on the heels of sale of additional 40,000 tickets Wednesday bring the number sold so far to 475,389

    FIFA Marketing Director Thierry Weil expressed satisfaction with sales adding that it is important that each venue records full capacity.

    “For FIFA, it is most important to have full stadiums at the FIFA Confederations Cup. We want to ensure that all football fans get a chance of watching some of the best football teams in the world and to be able to say ‘I was there’. Therefore, we have given our contractual partners a tight deadline to return any ticket they do not want to buy so that we can make them available to the public. Moreover, all parties are asked to ensure that any unwanted tickets will be returned to us at least 72 hours before the respective match,” explained Thierry Weil. “We are extremely pleased with the take-up of tickets so far and are convinced that Brazilians will give all eight teams an incredible reception with full stands in June.”

    Nigeria will be campaigning in group B of the Confederation Cup against World Cup champions Spain, first world Cup hosts Uruguay and Tahiti

  • Ogun truck owners get Feb 28 deadline

    The Ogun State Government has ordered owners of 2,000 trucks abandoned at Gateway Trailers Parks in Ogere on the Lagos/Ibadan expressway to remove them on or before February 28.

    It said failure to comply with the directive would attract stiff sanctions.

    The government said it is losing a lot of money daily to truck owners and drivers, who did not only dump their trucks at the park, but also deny others space in the facility.

    It said the park’s operations would soon be restructured.

    Speaking with reporters at the end of a stakeholders’ meeting in Abeokuta, the state capital, General Manager of the Parks and Garages Development Board (PAGADEB) Ayo Ogunsolu said over 2,000 trucks were abandoned in the parks.

    At the meeting were operatives of the Department State Service (DSS), Police, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), the traffic unit of the state government – TRACE and representatives of transport unions, as well as the Hausa and Igbo communities.

    Ogunsolu said the government collects N500 per vehicle for 24 hours parking space, adding that the state may be losing about N1 million daily because of the abandoned trucks.

  • Operators get new deadline on N1t target

    INSURANCE operators have up to 2017 to realise the N1 trillion target set for them, the Commissioner for Insurance, Fola Daniel, has said.

    He spoke at a briefing in Lagos.

    Daniel said: “Our people don’t trust insurance. We’ve done a considerable amount of housekeeping to make sure the companies respect the rules,” adding that the value of insurance contracts would rise from N300billion to about N1 trillion ($6.4 billion) in four years

    He said the industry would contribute about three per cent to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), while insurance penetration would increase to 22.5 per cent from 10 per cent.

    He said compulsory motor-vehicle insurance, which makes up most contracts, would hit about 10 per cent by 2017; life insurance would constitute seven per cent, general business insurance, three per cent and petroleum companies’ insurance, 2.5 per cent.

    Daniel said oil and gas businesses would continue to contract international companies to insure their Nigerian operations as the capacity of local insurers is still limited.

    But Managing Director, Riskguard Africa Nigeria Limited Yemi Soladoye, said the industry failed to realise the target because of its inability to start the implementation of the Market Development and Restructuring Initiative (MDRI) in 2009, which was designed to prop up the projection.

    He told The Nation that the projection was part of the industry’s four-year strategic plan, adding that there was no way the target would have been achieved with the take-off of the implementation.

    On the expection from the insurance industry in the new financial year, the Riskguard chief said Nigerians need protection from insurers, adding that it is the duty of insurance companies.

    He said insurance companies are not living up to expectations as they have not been able to provide adequate protection to the public.

    He said: ”To me, it is a national duty that insurance companies should give us financial protection in this country, but that is lacking.”

    He said the industry has not been able to meet the needs of the public. He frowned at the performance of the industry, adding that what the industry records is minimal.

    He said: “We do not have what I would call real insurance companies in Nigeria. What we have are small firms. What the industry writes as annual premium income is not up to a premium that a branch or agency of a company writes in a normal insurance setting.

    ‘’For example, look out the results of Fortune 500, American Insurance Group (AIG) and more. These are companies that are generating about $250 billion premium each year. Convert that to naira, it is about N4 trillion.

    “Two years ago, an analysis was done on the 500 biggest companies in Africa; looking at the insurance companies on the report, there were 20, and none is from Nigeria. So, we are not there.

    ‘’A small country like Mauritius, with a population of 1.2 million generates 60 per cent of the premium income of Nigeria.”

    He said when the right things are done and operators have the vision to create a big customers service-oriented company, the industry would take its rightful place.

  • ‘Stay action on Dec 31 deadline on patent medicine’

    Rights activist and Executive Director of Human Rights Monitor, Mr Festus Okoye, yesterday urged Kano State Governor Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, to halt the plan to sack patent medicine dealers on December 31.

    The activist noted that the implementation of the deadline would have adverse effect on the fragile security in the state and violate the decision of a Federal High Court.

    In a statement In Kaduna, Okoye recalled that a Federal High Court, sitting in Kaduna, had ruled that the decision of the government be put on hold pending the determination of the substantive suit which will begin on February 18, 2013.

    The lawyer noted that the “decision of …Governor Kwankwaso and the Kano State Government to close down the Abubakar Rimi Market, Sabon Gari, Kano, on December 31, despite the subsistence of a valid order of the Federal High Court, Kano, restraining them from doing so portends grave danger to the rule of law, due process and the maintenance of peace and security in the state”.

    He added: “There is a subsisting Order of the Federal High Court, Kano restraining the Kano State Government, and the Kano State Task Force on Counterfeit and Fake Drugs and Unwholesome Processed Foods, the Pharmacists Council of Nigeria, the Commissioner of Police Kano State, the Attorney General of the Federation and the Minister of Health from carrying out their threat to close down the Abubakar Rimi Market Sabon Gari, Kano State or eject the Dealers from their stalls.

    “The Governor of Kano State, the Attorney General of Kano State, the Commissioner of Police, Kano State, the Pharmacists Council of Nigeria; the Minister of Health and the Attorney General of the Federation are all parties to the suit and were duly served with the Court Order and all the processes filed in the suit and they have responded to the said processes and entered appearance.

  • Yabatech: Dec 28 remains registration deadline

    Yabatech: Dec 28 remains registration deadline

    The December 28 deadline for registration for the new academic year at the Yaba College of Technology, Lagos will not be extended despite complaints by students.

    The Rector of the institution, Dr M. K. Ladipo who stated this in an interview with CampusLife said the current registration period was three weeks instead of the normal two weeks.

    Mr Ladipo who spoke through the Public Relations Officer, Mr. Adekunle Adams said the college was committed to giving quality education and would not tamper with the academic calendar by extending the registration period.

    Following the resumption of the new academic session of the college on December 10, December 28 was fixed as deadline for registration. Some students however complained that the time allowed for registration was too short to raise the required fees.

    Consequently, the Students Union Government President, Babalola Afeez and VOTESA President, Kunle Taiwo have urged the tudents to comply with the deadline while urging the school authorities to extend the deadline.

    “All students should comply with the deadline and avoid extra fees that may be imposed by the college for late registration. Education is expensive but it is a valuable asset,” Babalola stated

  • 10-year deadline

    10-year deadline

    • Ruling party is just waking up to the shame that we are importing petroleum products

     

    Thirteen years after, the understanding of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Federal Government is being opened to the anomaly of a major crude oil producer importing refined petroleum products. Indication to this effect emerged when President Goodluck Jonathan received the reports of the three task forces that were set up by the government to look into various areas of the petroleum industry and recommend ways by which Nigeria could benefit optimally from the resource.

    Hear President Jonathan: “On the Task Force on Refineries, people make jest of us that we import what we have and export what we don’t have. We have crude oil yet we are busy importing kerosene, diesel, aviation fuel, petrol and these are products of crude oil, why do we have crude oil and still be importing the derivatives of crude oil? If we place our focus right, we should be having retail filling stations all over Africa and the world and generate revenue for Nigerians”.

    Ordinarily one should commend the initiative even if belated; but for the government’s antecedents. The Jonathan administration, like the Obasanjo administration is long in talk but short in action. We have not forgotten the many broken promises that the government has to its discredit. Perhaps the one that readily comes to mind is its promise to end Boko Haram insurgency by June this year. This is November, more than four months after that presidential proclamation, and Boko Haram is still very much around and alive. What of the many promises the party and government had made on electricity generation, with the goal post incessantly shifted when the target became unrealisable?

    The PDP-led government does not seem to appreciate that the President is like an oracle and whatever he says is sacrosanct. When a leader has a track record of not living up to his words, whatever he says is likely to be taken with a pinch of salt.

    Even beyond all these, why must it take us a whole 10 years from now to end fuel importation? When we add the 10 years to the already wasted 13 (from 1999 to date), then we are talking of a whole 23 years wasted simply because the ruling party has not been able to get its focus and priorities right.Nigeria’s refineries at Port Harcourt, Warri and Kaduna have a combined capacity of 445,000 barrels per day but have, unfortunately, not operated at full capacity because of lack of maintenance and corruption. In the best of times, they never attained 70 per cent capacity utilisation.

    All said, in the interim, we have to find a way to make them work since government has been unable to sell them to private investors. Whatever shortfall we have can be bridged by importation until we gradually attain self-sufficiency in refining the products. It is shameful that it took the PDP government this long to realise the need to get more functional refineries in the country. And, having wasted so much time, all the president could say if the 10-year target is not met is for Nigerians to “…write something against us saying we did not rule the country well”. The matter is not that simplistic; as that is already assured. A more serious government would have said something beyond the pedestrian.

    We must caution however that no matter how long it takes to end fuel importation, the government must not at any time within the period contemplate withdrawing the so-called fuel subsidy. Nigerians are not responsible for the ineptitude, corruption and policy flip-flops that have put us in the quagmire of fuel importation; they therefore should not be the beasts of its burden.

    If we had started from somewhere in the last 13 years, we would have made some progress and we would have avoided becoming the laughing stock that even President Jonathan acknowledged we have become in the comity of nations.