The Nation Newspaper

Tag: drive

  • NCC ‘ll partner stakeholders to drive broadband development

    In spite of the enormous contribution of the telecoms sector to the nation’s gross domestic product (GDP), it is still conatrained by a myriad of challenges which could derail the Federal Government’s target of 30 per cent broadband penetration. But the Executive Commissioner, Stakeholder Management, Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Mr. Sunday Dare says the regulator is partnering stakeholders in the industry to address these challenges, LUCAS AJANAKU met him in Lagos.

    What is your assessment of the industry and why is NCC convening this forum?

    The situation across the country is dire in terms of non-approvals of Right of Way (RoW) and multiple taxation. In some cases, we have more than 25 applications for permits unapproved for two years or more. Thus, in terms of deployment of telecom infrastructure, the major telcos suffer great setbacks and these translate into declining quality of service (QoS) to millions of subscribers. The non-approval and heavy taxation of telecom infrastructure have led to service gaps in FCT in particular and across the country. Nigeria has slightly over 250 service gaps where there is no telecom service or penetration.  Connectivity is not yet 100 per cent and we said without this approvals, we cannot have improvement in the QoS. The Commission has received assurances particularly from the FCT minister and some state governors that approvals will be granted speedily and taxes reviewed. Even as I speak, I think certain approvals have taken place.  Presently, given the situation which is staring us in the face, with the expiration of the NEC document soon, NCC is speeding up consultations. We are leveraging the results of the state-to-state interventions we have had, the feedback we’ve had across the stakeholder matrix, the experiences of the operators and numerous other engagements at the highest levels to review the document and present an acceptable standardised RoW and taxation document with regard to the telecoms industry. The Commission, in October last year, made a presentation to the office of the Vice President.NCC, through the Industry Working Group (IWG) is now looking at how it can bring all of these together- by identifying different interests, challenges of the economy and revenue and other relevant matters in the document review process.  What do we hope to achieve? To come up with a reasonable and acceptable document -a standardised regime of charges and taxation. One that pays attention to the peculiarity of a strategic state like Lagos and a developing telecom state like, perhaps Jigawa for instance, because it might be difficult to charge in Jigawa the same amount Lagos is charging. In some instances, charge per linear meter in Lagos can be N500 while in Jigawa, it may be slightly higher due to low volume of telecom activity and the need to generate some revenue. Importantly, beyond the charges, we hope to shorten the times for approvals, improve the engagement between the state governments who need tax revenue and the operators who want to deploy to expand their networks. Now, the NCC is caught between these two giants and the Commission’s overriding interest is to ensure that Nigeria’s goal of attaining a broadband penetration of over 60 per cent across the country is not impeded. The interests of the parties do not collide but are reinforcing. They complement each other.  If for instance, the telcos deploy their infrastructure, their revenue base increases by the same token the taxable revenue that will come to the state also increases. So if one of the operators makes N10billion because it is able to improve and increase the volume of its business and then it has problems with certain deployment and the revenue dips to N5billion, what is going to go to the federal and state as taxable revenue also decreases. So we hope that this document that we are trying to review now will look at this critically. NCC has other critical stakeholders. It is not just the state governments. We have the federal ministries, departments and agencies and everybody is coming with charges. It’s a whole galaxy to say but we are trying to bring that whole galaxy under one regime and then have something that can be looked at. There might be a range for Row charges with a ceiling.  We hope that the IWG will do that difficult task so that by April, we could have a draft resolution that will be presented to NEC and then NEC can discuss this towards reaching an agreement. NCC hopes to do a presentation there, answer their questions and then see how we can get this done.

    What are the implications of these charges on government and telecoms end users?

    Well, I think the implications are tripartite. There are implications for the telecom industry especially and the key stakeholders, implications for the government in terms of the revenue accruing to it, in terms of the investment that comes into telecom and then that dovetails in terms of the number of people employed in the telecom industry and then we have implications for the subscriber. Let me start from the subscriber, the quality of service (customer satisfaction)  suffers because a subscriber expects that if he gets a registered line, puts credit on it, he expects to enjoy some level of satisfaction in terms of quality of service. Your call is going through, your text message is not delivered on time, and your connectivity to the internet is slow and lots more. These will persist if the operator for instance continues to have problems in deploying additional infrastructure or expanding his network because of multiple charges and right of way issue. What it means is that the operator has to or will put a lot of pressure on the system and equipment it has such that if you have a duct that only 500 calls can go through every hour and you want to expand and you cannot expand, you will now start piling 2000 calls through that duct. That leads to congestion and of course dropped calls.  You know what happens when 2000 people are trying to get into a door that was made for 500 people and of course the only reason might not be that they don’t have the permit but it is part of it, we will say we want to deploy but we cannot deploy because we’ve not been given permit but there is also something called the capital expenditure (capex). The dollar component of their commercial agreement and the rest is a major concern for operators. Some of them took loans from the banks at the rate of N195-196 to a dollar and it went to N500, N450 it’s at N360 now but we are still looking at almost twice the amount and have not been able to get out of that debt trap. It’s going to take a while so they are cutting down, they are not getting enough forex which will bring in equipment from outside. On the part of government, it affects the revenue (annual operating level) because if they are not making enough revenue, we’ll only tax them based on the volume of business they do that’s one. Two, one of the core mandates of NCC through the NCC Act 2003 is to encourage investment we have seen between 2015, 2016, 2017, we’ve seen an almost 10 per cent contribution to GDP but as the telecom industry is facing  some challenges the GDP contribution has dropped slightly. All of these affect the taxable revenue that comes to government, impact on quality of service and employment is at risk.  So, you see, it’s tripartite. It is so connected and let’s say, unless we face these challenges and solve them, it will affect the foreign direct investment (FDI) coming into the country, it will affect QoS and consumer satisfaction, it will also affect the revenue base of the operators and the taxable revenue accruable to government at different levels.

    Three years ago, Association of Licensed Telecoms Company of Nigeria (ALTON) signed an agreement with Lagos State government over the harmonisation of these charges. What is the situation? Has it become a stumbling block?

    It will not be right to say Lagos is a stumbling block and this is the narrative.  Lagos State is a bellwether for this country in several aspects. When it comes to the telecoms industry, the telecom headquarters of this country is Lagos; when it comes to population, the one single biggest population is Lagos; when it comes to the centre of business, it is Lagos; when it comes to the pace of development, it is Lagos. So Lagos does matter and like other big cities in the world, you expect that a state like Lagos in any economic engagement will like to maximise the benefit for the sake of the state. So that is what you are seeing in Lagos and rightly so.  Lagos is trying to make sure that even in engaging with the telecom industry and other similar industries as you have seen, the state wants to renegotiate the basis of agreements or review this and that. Is there a way Lagos can get more value for this engagement? That is what is happening. Now, the worry for us is that while the legitimacy of that position cannot be challenged, time is of essence. Lagos has the right to do it, but we are worried about the timeline, the pace at which it is happening. If it is not fast enough, if it is delayed willingly or unwillingly, the effect on the telecom industry and particularly the effect on the achievement of the roll out obligations in the National Broadband Plan (NBP) 2018 suffers. And there will be ripple effects. Our role is to ensure amicability and help facilitate collaboration between states like Lagos and NCC licence holders.  So what we want to see on the part of Lagos and we know that once Lagos gets it right, other states will take a cue from it, is harmonisation of positions and a partnership that works both ways.

    For the benefit of all the states of the federation let’s have this review; let us have this understanding and agreements and make sure that we hit it on an accelerated pace such that every party wins. For instance,  Lagos and any other state as the case may be, gets more value, the operators can deploy the infrastructure needed and ultimately the man on the last mile which is the consumer also gets better services. Let me give you an example, Lagos is clearly the number state in the country and its Smart City project tis on course. There is greater value in working with all the elements in the industry especially the regulator.  The smart city thing is also within the new ecosystem and  you have to ride on the back of telecom infrastructure. What is this telecom infrastructure? It’s not independent of the infrastructure of any of the operators, it’s not independent of the NCC as a regulator; it’s not independent of the quick deployment of the huge submarine cables lying at the shores in Lagos needed to create the backbone infrastructure for broadband penetration. We have Main One, SAT 1, GLO 1 just lying there at the shores. We know about six other states who have started their Smart City projects in Nigeria and are working with NCC.

    The engagement spectrum is wide; government to government, some is government to private but we are all connected. NCC will work with Lagos as with others to achieve smart city, e-government and a digital economy. So like I said, Lagos is not a stumbling block. Lagos provides that critical passage to the success of the Infraco or NBP of the Federal Government.

    Against all these odds, is the 30 per cent broadband penetration target is  still achievable?

    Well, I think as at the end of last year, we were at 23.1 per cent and we have a 2018 target. We are not where we exactly want to be. We believe that the fact that we are at 23.1 per cent now realistically has to do with some of the challenges I mentioned earlier. One of these challenges has to do with the economic environment and the steep rise in forex pricing.  Nothing indicates that more than what happened to Etisalat. Beyond the fact they took a loan of $1.2billion, dollar component was massive and taken at the rate of N195 and have to pay back at almost N400. Etisalat almost collapsed. The fact that the other big telcos were able to survive also shows the resilience of the telecom industry and its operators.  But also with that comes the fact that the rate of network expansion and the rate of deployment we expected to see has slowed down. The industry has not been able to move that fast enough with the development of backbone infrastructure for broadband penetration. Ironically, you look at our shores, we have Main One, we have Glo 1, we have Sat 1, and they are there at our shores untapped.  Other countries are saying if you are not using them give us, they are sitting there because we don’t have the backbone infrastructure to distribute.  It is a question of the backbone infrastructure. Once you have the backbone infrastructure, the broadband penetration we are talking about is going to happen. Right now, we have 270 access gaps across the country and you know what I mean by access gaps, places where you don’t have connectivity at all either internet or telephone connectivity.

  • How states drive IGRs with consumption taxes

    Many states are improving their Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) through collection of consumption taxes paid by consumers of goods and services. The taxes, which come as sales taxes, tariffs, excise, among others, are deployed in funding development projects. Governments are expected to explore innovative ways to make collection easier and remittance faster, writes COLLINS NWEZE.

    ANY country that wants to achieve  development must take a second look at how much revenue it generates from taxes, especially consumption taxes. Such taxes are charged on the purchase of goods or services, with rates varying from one country to the other.

    Statistics showed that in Canada, consumption tax rates range from zero to 10 per cent along with the federally applied goods and services tax of five per cent just like Nigeria’s Value Added Tax (VAT).

    Japan charges a consumption tax of eight per cent, Singapore seven per cent while in Australia it is a national goods and services tax rate of 10 per cent.

    In Nigeria, a Lagos-based tax expert and entrepreneur, Ndubuisi Adaba, said Kano State passed a law last year that imposed a consumption charge of five per cent on goods and services purchased in any hotel, restaurant, fast food outlet, bakery, takeaway, suya spot, shopping mall, store, event centre and other similar businesses within the state. Ogun State also promulgated a consumption tax law in 2017.

    According to him, Lagos State equally has a consumption tax. “The Lagos State Hotel Occupancy and Restaurant Consumption Tax Law, which was signed into law on June 22, 2009, imposes a tax on goods and services consumed in hotels, restaurants and event centres within the territory of Lagos State. It is charged as five per cent of the value of the goods or services consumed,” he said.

    According to this law, the term hotel is defined as including motels, guest houses and apartments for short time letting, while a restaurant is defined to include any food sale outlet, bar tavern, inn or café, whether or not located within a hotel. Event centres include halls, auditoriums, fields, and places designated for public use for a fee. They will charge it along with but separately from the VAT.

    The tax expert disclosed that as regular consumption of goods and services (from shopping malls, supermarkets, stores markets boutiques, sundry traders and service providers) are not included, the Lagos State Consumption Tax is thus asymmetrical on its effects on citizens. This means that the not-so-wealthy that use hotels, restaurants and events centres sparingly pay a lot less than the rich who frequent these facilities. Furthermore, the tax is also on what is consumed.

    Although the Lagos State consumption tax is in force, enforcement has so far not been very efficient. The tax is actually charged to the consumers of goods and services, meaning that the operators of hotels, restaurants and events centres act merely as collecting agents for the government and do not bear the cost of this tax.

    Inefficient enforcement has resulted in situations where several operators have not been brought into this tax net or are not collecting the tax. And where some operators are collecting the tax, they fail to remit same to the government. Therefore, only a small proportion of operators are actually making remittances to the state’s coffers, thereby denying Lagos state the wherewithal to actualise its growth plans.

    Lagos, with over 20 million inhabitants is, particularly, short-changed in this regard. At this time of dire need of funds to bridge the huge infrastructure deficit in Lagos, the state can least afford such leakages. This is coupled with a rising population and reduced funding from the federation account.

    To check this, and ensure an efficient consumption tax regime, Lagos must pursue its administration differently from the way it has been done thus far. A new approach would be to engage in massive and repeated sensitisation of operators as well as all citizens on the imperative of taxation in general and consumption tax specifically. The relevant agencies of the government must also ensure identification, enumeration and registration of all operators in a continuous process.

    The government must also explore innovative ways that will make the due tax easier for operators to collect, separate and remit to the government. This will entail the installation of new technology at the operators’ pay points as being proposed. The installed software will in turn enable government monitor and track remittances more efficiently.

    It is incumbent on the government to ensure timely remittances by operators. Conversely, it is easier on operators when they make timely remittances of collected taxes. A situation where unremitted taxes cumulate to hundreds of millions and government agents resort to the sealing of operators’ premises is counter-productive or inefficient at best.

    Since the government will be employing moral suasion along with strict enforcement, it is critical for it to demonstrate enhanced efficiency and transparency in spending. For instance, by outlining projects under consideration or execution and dedicating proceeds from taxation to execute such projects will help in stemming the belief that government is not accountable to anyone. In a nutshell, the government must show increased transparency in matters relating to spending.

    “It is in recognition of its huge potential to enhance the state’s revenue base that I welcome the recent passage of the Hotel Occupancy and Restaurant Consumption (Fiscalisation) bill by the Lagos State House of Assembly. The inclusion of such provisions as registration of electronic fiscal devices, installation of software and hardware, as well as the power to enter and inspect points of sale in the hotels and restaurant, among other requirements, would definitely reduce evasion of taxes by these business concerns,” Adaba said.

    ‘’It is instructive to note that the infrastructural development and improvement initiatives of Lagos also aim at exploiting and advancing her tourism potential. Governor Akinwunmi Ambode proclaimed at the One Lagos Fiesta last December, that his administration is committed to making Lagos “a must-visit and Africa’s best tourism destination”.

    Tourism opens up a place further to foreign investments while local businesses and service providers are able to attract offshore funds through the influx of tourists.

  • Dickson to drive on new road today

    Dickson to drive on new road today

    Bayelsa State Governor Seriake Dickson is set to give a unique Christmas gift to the people of Aleibiri, Ofoni, Ayamasa Angalabiri and other neighbouring communities on Sagbama-Ekeremor road.

    He will today drive in a convoy of small cars to Aleibiri, Ofoni, Ayamasa Angalabiri and other neighbouring communities on  Sagbama-Ekeremor road.

    During the ride to Ofoni community in October, he promised that he will drive in a convoy of small cars to Aleibiri in Ekeremor Local Government on December 25  to celebrate Christmas with members of the communities.

    Dickson said the visit to Aleibiri and neighbouring communities was in fulfilment of a promise he made  on October 14 that cars would be driven for the first time in over 40 years to Aleibiri in December.

    He broke a 40-year-old jinx on October 14 when he drove to Aleibiri and neighbouring communities in a convoy of Sport Utility Vehicles (SUVs).

    The governor promised during the visit that his administration will ensure that smaller cars are driven to Aleibiri in December.

  • Ugwuanyi: Fruits of investment drive

    Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi’s administration in a recent business engagement with a Chinese Investment Company, Lion Business Park Limited, recorded a major breakthrough in its spirited efforts to attract direct foreign investments to the state for economic recovery and diversification.

    The company, is partnering the state government under a Public Private Partnership (PPA) initiative to build an industrial market on a 2000 hectares of land located in the proximity of the Enugu Industrial Park – FTZ ( ENPOWER  Free Trade Zone) at the 9th Mile Corner, Enugu, to be known as Lion Business Park, modelled after the Dragon Market in Dubai.

    It is interesting to note that the new business investment was a fallout of the first ever Enugu State Investment Summit, tagged “Oganiru Enugu”, organized by the Ugwuanyi administration in April 2016, to showcase the economic potentials of the state in line with its promise to vigorously promote investment and pursue the diversification of the state’s economy.

    The Lion Business Park project is, therefore, a bold initiative of the present administration designed to establish an integrated manufacturing industrial hub that will facilitate Chinese manufacturers’ entry into the state to feed the Nigerian and African market through the existing sales channels in Nigeria and the West African Sub-region in partnership with Nigerian business organizations.

    It was strategically initiated to leverage on the thriving trade cooperation between Nigerian Business structures and their foreign counterparts, especially from China, for the purpose of furthering their mutual interests in a more profitable, affordable and convenient setting.

    Displaying maximum commitment to the course of the business initiative, the Enugu State government recently facilitated the formal presentation of N300 million worth of cheque to three communities of Ogwofia Owa, Enugu Eke and Akama Oghe by the company as agreed compensation for the economic items, on the acquired land for the development of the project. The cheque presentation was not only a pivotal step towards the commencement and actualization of the project, but also gave credence to the governor’s  promise to proactively promote and attract private investment to the state through policies and programmes that would generate employment as well as boost the state’s economy for sustainable development.

    It would be recalled that Governor Ugwuanyi had in his inaugural address promised that his administration “will drive with full force investment promotion…” and “provide the necessary legal and policy framework to make investment thrive” in the state.  The governor also promised to give attention to the 9th Mile Corner, “a long overlooked economic hub” to harness its potentials to enjoy the full benefits of its newly acquired status as a Free Trade Zone. He noted that the initiatives will speed up urban development, generate employment, create fresh economic opportunities and reduce pressure on Enugu metropolis.

    It is pertinent to note that during the cheque presentation ceremony, the governor, who was represented by his deputy, Cecilia Ezeilo, highlighted the massive benefits the project will bring to the economy of the state. He stated that such an enduring business venture was apt and will “stimulate investment inflow in diverse sectors of the economy and create a huge economic value chain that would engender employment as well as production and availability of much needed goods and services”.

    Declaring that “Enugu State is ready and open for business”, Governor Ugwuanyi reassured all foreign partners and potential investors of his administration’s resolve to sustain the business-friendly environment that exists in the state. In the Memorandum of Understanding for the Lion Business Park, it was agreed that “the investors shall among other benefits, pay compensation for economic items on the land to the host communities through the state government”.

    While appreciating the state’s Ministry of Commerce and Industry, indigenes of the three host communities, members of the land acquisition steering committee and others who contributed to the successful acquisition of the land, the governor equally commended the company for the prompt fulfilment of “this very important term of the MOU”.

    Expressing gratitude, the Commissioner for Commerce and Industry, Sam Ogbu-Nwobodo, applauded Governor Ugwuanyi for his dexterity, vision, innovation, fiscal discipline, transparency, good governance and other structural and institutional initiatives aimed at driving massive investment inflow into the state’s economy.  The visibly elated commissioner noted that the event was a major breakthrough geared towards the full actualization of the investment vision of the present administration in Enugu State, disclosing that the state has “witnessed a sustained high level of investment inflow”, as a consequence of the governor’s tenacious commitment to investment promotion.

    The commissioner stated that the state government’s vision “is to create a conducive and profitable environment for Chinese companies to produce in Nigeria ahead of other countries and to enhance strong and enduring bi-lateral ties between the Peoples Republic of China and the Federal Republic of Nigeria”.

    While presenting the cheque to the host communities, the chairman of Lion Business Park Limited, Dr. Okechukwu Mbonu also commended Governor Ugwuanyi for his “great vision in making Enugu State a West African industrial hub”, saying that the company is only complementing what his administration has already started in the state.

    Appreciating how committed and desirous the governor was to have the project come to fruition, Mbonu assured him of the foreign partners’ determination to actualize their mandate in a record time and went further to thank the host communities for their support, sacrifices and understanding.

    Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Air Peace Limited, Chief Allen Onyema, had during a recent meeting with Governor Ugwuanyi  on the economic development of the South East region, described the governor as “a visionary and forward thinking governor who has assembled technocrats to think about what to do for his people”. The Air Peace boss, who disclosed the company’s vision to use the Akanu Ibiam International Airport, Enugu, as the economic hub of Africa, to enable the nation play its leading role in the continent, also affirmed that the decision to establish businesses in Enugu was based on his company’s assessment of the governor’s leadership qualities, positive impacts in governance and commitment to investment promotion.

    “We have in Governor Ugwuanyi, the best governor in the South-east. He is very visionary; he has brought many technocrats together to think about what he will do for his people. So, we want to align ourselves with his dreams and that is why we decided to choose Enugu International Airport among all the airports in Nigeria for our business investment”, Onyema said.

    As Governor Ugwuanyi has taken the lead to make the coal city state the ultimate destination for tourism and business investments, the onus is, therefore, on the public to support this brave initiative as well as the concerted effort of his administration towards improving the living standard of the people of the state – the true heroes of democracy, for Enugu State is truly in the hands of God.

     

    • Amoke writes from Enugu State.
  • Ooni to govts: let your policies, programmes drive job creation

    Ooni to govts: let your policies, programmes drive job creation

    The Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi, has urged governments to let their policies and programmes drive employment for youths.

    The monarch, who advised governments to ensure small scale businesses survive through their policies, spoke at his palace at Ile-Ife in Osun State during the launch of this year’s Aso Ofi Festival, which will take place in Iseyin, a town in Oyo State.

    According to Oba Ogunwusi, several vocations synonymous with the Yoruba race are big enough to provide jobs for people.

    The Ooni noted that Oduduwa, the progenitor of the Yoruba race, first discovered the cotton plant and transformed it to wool thread to make aso ofi at ancient Ife.

    He said: “Oduduwa got the inspiration from spider cobwebs and grew a large cotton plantation. The fittings of aso ofi were later perfected by the children of Ogun (the first blacksmith) – Abere (needle) and Obe (knife).

    “Olokun, who is also known as ‘Oluofi’, started the venture with the loom thread weaving along with Segi beads. The remnants of the production site were recently discovered at Ile-Ife and a scientific dating said they are over 4,000 years old.

    “Their descendants migrated to settle at Iseyin and later taught their other descendants – Anu (Ethiopia) and Nubia (Sudan) – all the way to present India (Orissa region, now called Odisha in India) and now all over the world. Iseyin people still practise aso ofi venture till date. If we don’t tell our stories by ourselves, nobody will.”

    The Aseyin of Iseyin, Oba Abdul-Ganiyu Salawudeen, who led weavers from his town to Ife for the launch, said Olu Ofi, who he said was of the founders of Iseyin, left Ile-Ife several years earlier and settled at Iseyin.

    The Aseyin, who noted that weaving is a major vocation in Iseyin, said residents, especially youths, engaged in weaving and reduce crime rate in the ancient town.

    The monarch urged trade, culture enthusiasts and promoters to participate in the festival.

  • Drive and speed

    Drive and speed

    As the World marks the 4th United Nations GLOBAL ROAD SAFETY WEEK from May 8 to 14 with the theme: Speed Management, I decided to write this article to deeply analyse what over-speeding is and the likely consequences of over-speeding. I used our common language in Nigeria (over-speeding) to express the combination of excessive speed(moving beyond the stipulated speed limit) and unsafe speed(moving beyond what the condition of the road, weather or traffic permits).
    Driving is the most complex activity globally which involves the near simultaneous use of several organs of the body (Eyes, Nose, Ears, Neck, Brain, Hands and Legs) in a continuously changing environment, to gather, and interpret information for decision making to ensure effective and safe vehicle control.
    What is over-speeding ?
    Over-Speeding/Unsafe, inappropriate or excessive speed is a speed beyond what is considered to be normal, ideal or safe for a road or road environment. It also means a speed above the speed limit specified for various classes of vehicles or road environment.
    Examples of over-speeding
    •Driving above the specified speed limit for your class of vehicle (Car, Bus, Trucks, etc).
    •Driving above the speed limit displayed at specific locations on the road (through appropriate traffic signs).
    •Speeding beyond the rate which the condition of your vehicle can cope with even though the speed is below the specified speed limit.
    •Driving faster than what your knowledge, skills, age or vision can carry.
    •Driving faster than the rate considered safe for the road environment (speeding at bus stops, market area, school environment, road bends, roundabout, junction or intersections, on the bridge, residential area, on road bumps, near pedestrian or zebra crossing points, and in bad weather among others).
    •Driving too fast in heavy traffic.
    •Driving too fast on wet or slippery roads.
    Statistics on speed
    Over-speeding is one of the leading causes of death. It has been “identified as a key risk factor in road traffic injuries, influencing both the risk of a road crash as well as the severity of the injuries that result from crashes”.
    According to the World Health Organisation, “Over-speeding is responsible for about 50 percent of the causes of road accidents and deaths in the developing countries like Nigeria.
    The higher the speed of a vehicle, the shorter the time a driver has to stop and avoid a crash.

    A car traveling at 50km/h will typically require 13 meters in which to stop, while a car traveling at 40km/h will stop in less than 8.5 meters (The higher the speed, the longer the stopping distance and time required to stop).
    An increase in average speed of 1km/h typically results in 3 percent higher risk of a crash involving injury, with a 4-5 percent increase for crashes that result in fatalities.
    Speed also contributes to the severity of the impact when a collision does occur. For car Occupants in a crash with an impact speed of 80km/h, the likelihood of death is 20 times what it would have been at an impact speed of 30km/h”, etc.

    EFFECTS OF OVER-SPEEDING
    1. It reduces your visual acuity when driving.
    2. It reduces your hazard perception ability (reduces the timeliness or promptness of your information gathering, interpretation and application needed for effective and safe vehicle control).
    3. It reduces your decision-making time.
    4. It increases the stopping distance of the vehicle. Also, the more the weight of the vehicle the longer the stopping distance. It increases the stopping time.
    5. It makes vehicle control more difficult.
    6. It increases the rate of smoke emission from the exhaust of the vehicle.
    7. It increases fuel or gas consumption.
    8. It wears down the vehicle engine at a faster rate.
    9. It increases the heat in tyres thereby increasing the risk of tyre blowout particularly if under-inflated.
    10. It increases the rate of vehicle roll-over at bends according to the law of centrifugal force.
    11. It increases the rate of wearing of tyre treads particularly if over-inflated.
    12. It increases the rate of vehicle wear and tear especially on bad road surface.
    13. It increases the kinetic energy (force) in the vehicle.
    14. It increases the impacts of accidents on the vehicle and occupants.
    15. It increases the rate of accidents during the day and at higher rate in the night.
    16. It takes a huge toll on the economy, insurance companies and others.
    17. It increases the rate of hydroplaning on water-logged roads.
    18. It fuels loss of control for vehicles that moves on the edge of roads.
    19. It increases the possibility of musculoskeletal disorder for drivers and occupants through vibration especially on rough or uneven roads.
    20. It makes vehicle control much more difficult in times of emergency (tyre blowout, brake failure, etc).
    CAUTION
    Over-speeding is as dangerous as drunk or drugged driving. Always drive at a safe speed by adjusting your speed according to the condition of the road, vehicle, traffic and road environment among other factors.
    OVER-SPEEDING IS DANGEROUS AND KILLS !
    WATCH YOUR SPEED.
    SPEED THRILLS BUT KILLS
    KILL SPEED BEFORE IT KILLS YOU!
    SAVE LIVES: #SLOW DOWN.

  • Enugu’s investment drive

    If there is a time any government at any level in Nigeria should wear a thinking cap, it is now. This is due to the current economic situation following the crash in the price of crude oil, which Nigeria has over depended on for years.

    People have often said that this is not best time to be a governor in Nigeria especially in the eastern states reputed to be civil service states. The present government in Enugu State was not oblivious of these stark realities. It was for this reason that Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi on assumption office set out a clear agenda and vision on how to govern the state with its little resources for the benefits of the people. Knowing that his government cannot do it alone, Ugwuanyi and his team recently honoured an investment summit invitation to Dublin, Ireland.

    The summit was organized by Metro Eireann which is run by Metro Publishing Consultancy Limited, the primary source of news and information on Ireland’s growing immigrant and ethnic communities.

    The governor’s first port of call was a visit to the Dublin Bus, Ireland’s gigantic and very successful transport company with a view to learning first hand, how the company is run so that the state government could replicate its success story in the Enugu State Transport Company.

    The visit also offered the governor and his team the opportunity to visit the headquarters of Guinness in Dublin. The visit needs to be put in context: Heineken, a Guinesss subsidiary has about the largest of its plants in Enugu. Yet, the large expanse of land acquired by the company in the state has been left unutilized for several years.

    For the two days that the investors gathered at Dublin City’s Westin Hotels venue of the event to brainstorm on investment opportunities, the Enugu State delegation laid bare the vast investment opportunities abounding in the state. As would be expected, the vist opened up a lot of vistas for Enugu government to enter into concrete and temporary agreements on mutual cooperation in the areas of agriculture, education, commerce and industry.

    Notable among the agreements was the Memorandum of Understanding signed with the authorities of the Dublin City University Ireland to promote mutual relations for the purposes of developing education in the state in a manner that would also offer value to the university. In the document text, ‘the Dublin City Unversity (DCU) and the Enugu agencies will enter into reciprocal relationship where the university would have to examine opportunities to broker relationships with funding agencies and other higher education institutes in conjunction with the Enugu government and other parties both nationally and internationally’.

    In the same vein, the former president of Ireland, Berie Ahern has pledged to assist the Enugu State government shore up its economy through the expansion of its revenue base, shop for investors and donor agencies just as scores of prospective investors have also held talks with state government officials.

    Furtherance to the successes recorded in the series of negotiations during the visit,  the President of the Dublin City University, Brian MacCraith and other officials of the university are billed to attend the Enugu State Economic Summit scheduled to take place in March this year in Enugu, the state capital.

    At the summit, the governor Ugwanyi was honoured for his outstanding leadership as governor of the state in the past months and as one time chairman of Nigeria’s House of Representatives committee on Marine Transport for eight years. He was honoured alongside the Irish professor and women rights activist, Fionnuala Waldron, former Charge d’Affaires of Nigerian Embassy in Ireland and a former Nigerian Ambassador, Mrs Benedict Onochie Amobi.

    Speaking at the award night, Governor Ugwuanyi told the gathering made of diplomats and serving and former Irish government officials as well as members of the Nigerian community that his 11-man delegation was in that foreign country specifically on investment drive in view of the scary situation in the global oil market which is currently making Nigeria’s economy sit on the edge. On the award, he told the gathering that he was dedicating it to the good people of Enugu State whom he described as true heroes of democracy in view of their support to his administration in a current stoic philosophy of belt-tightening to shore up the economy of the state.

    Nigerian Embassy’s Charge d’Affaires in Ireland, Olusola Iginla who witnessed the investment summit and the award night, commended the exemplary drive of the governor and other government officials during the three-day working visit, saying it is the needed disposition for all political office holders in Nigeria in view of the current economic gridlock staring the nation in the face.

    While Terence Modebe, a Nigerian-Irish is already working on a range of investments on agriculture in Adani, Enugu State as well as on other economic ventures in the state, the Enugu delegation held very crucial talks with other prospective investors who look good to storm Enugu shortly.

    On the government delegation to Ireland are three commissioners, that of Education, Prof. Uche Eze, commerce and industry, Sam Ogbu Nwobodo and Agriculture, Engr. Mike Ene who took samples of pineapples from Enugu’s Sna carlos farms to Dublin for the summit. Also on the trip was the governor’s special adviser on Diaspora Matters, Mrs. Olangwa Ezekwu and deputy speaker of the state House of Assembly, Donatus Uzogbado, majority leader of the House, Ikechukwu Ezeugwu, chairman of the economic advisory committee, Monsgnr Obiora Ike, among others.

    Overall, the governor and his team were not only business-like, they were focused and determined with eagerness to get result. With their disposition, it will not take long for the result of the visit to start manifesting in various sectors of the state’s economy.

    As would be expected, some mischievous online bloggers have already gone hay-wire with manipulated photographs alleging that Governor Ugwuanyi and his team visited Dublin for a jamboree. Considering the nature of Nigerian politics, such mudslinging and armchair criticism are to be expected. The governor and his team should not be deterred or disturbed; likewise the foreign investors billed to attend the Enugu Economic Summit in March.

     

    • Engr. Okezie wrote from Dublin, Ireland   

     

  • Lawmaker seeks selfless leaders to drive national growth

    A member of the House of Representatives, Mike Omogbehin has urged the country’s leaders to be selfless in order to drive national growth.

    Omogbehin, who spoke with reporters in Akure, the Ondo State capital, said what Nigeria needed was selfless leadership.

    According to him, this time calls for a sober reflection and at the same time, a stock-taking to examine where we were in the past and where we are now in order to chart a new course for the future.

    The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) lawmaker said the development of the nation must be a collective agenda by all and sundry, irrespective of our political inclination and background. He also said Nigerians must continue to put Nigeria ahead of other agenda in our daily activities.

    He said:”It is only through our beliefs and determination to fast-track the

    development of Nigeria that we can achieve a reasonable and even

    development of our dream as a nation; hence the need for all hands to be on deck to build a virile society.”

    Omogbehin praised the ex-Nigerian leaders who had contributed their own

    quota to the development and unity of the nation, especially President Goodluck Jonathan for handing over power freely to the present administration after the last general elections.

    The lawmaker said ex-President Jonathan’s sacrifice in this regard needed to be appreciated at all times and the development also worthy of emulation by the present and future Nigerian leaders for a continued existence of the nation.

    Omogbehin urged Nigerians to always pray for their leaders to lead aright.

    He commended various religious leaders across the country for their fervent prayers for the peace and unity in the country.

     

  • NNPC’s recovery drive

    • Every dime owed the country must be recovered

    The news that the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has begun the process of recovering billions of dollars in outstanding obligations by its Joint Venture partners and other players in the industry should ordinarily gladden the hearts of every Nigerian. A report submitted to the President detailing activities since the new management took over says that the corporation has begun the process of recovering over $7 billion in over-deducted tax benefits from JV Partners (JVP) on major capital projects.

    Among other highlights, the report also referred to the on-going work by a reputable international accounting firm to ascertain the exact amount due to the federation from the Strategic Alliance Contracts entered by the Nigerian Petroleum Development Company (NPDC) involving an outstanding $2.46bn; the reconciliation of the crude oil for refined products swap contracts said to have yielded an outstanding $420 million in favour of NNPC, of which only $277m has been recovered in lieu of products although recovery effort is said to be on-going.

    In all, NNPC’s Group Managing Director (GMD) Dr. Ibe Kachikwu touched on the performance measurement and value-for-money review embarked on by the corporation covering the period between 2008 and 2013 as raising great prospects of raising more cash into the national kitty.

    These initial steps are certainly important, both from the point of view of the on-going efforts to reposition the national oil corporation and the need to boost the accruals into the treasury. The reality however is that the report – largely statements of intentions – is not nearly enough if the outcomes of similar findings in the past are anything to go by. Nigerians expect to see the Federal Government move swiftly to recover every dime. If merely by the current state of the national treasury, any form of dithering by any of the debtors to promptly remit those funds already established as accruing to the NNPC, and by extension the federation account, would not just be intolerable but smack of acts bordering on economic sabotage. In the circumstance, it would not be out of place for the Federal Government to consider all possible options to ensure that the funds are paid without further delay.

    Howbeit, we recognise that these activities are merely a tip of the iceberg, given what is required to clean up the corporation’s Augean stables. They are in fact tangential to the main layers of investigations going on. Here we have in mind the investigations being undertaken at the behest of the ad hoc committee of the National Economic Council (NEC), the forensic audit ordered by the NNPC itself, and other sundry investigations being undertaken by the National Assembly. The issue really is that nothing stops the Federal Government from collecting its dues from either the JV partners or those found to have reneged on their primary obligations under the nebulous Strategic Alliance Agreements even as these investigations go on.

    It bears stressing that the efforts, far from being a closure,  are only the beginning of the long process to unravel the mystery accounting that has surrounded the operations of the NNPC; we see it as part of the wider efforts to check impunity in the nation’s public life and to ensure that proven cases of crime are deservedly punished. At the end of the exercise, Nigerians expect not only to see a re-branded NNPC but also a transformed and truly sanitised oil industry in which actors not only play and are seen to play by the rules, but one in which grave infractions are visited with serious consequences.

    The NNPC obviously still has a long way to go in this regard just as all eyes are on the Kachikwu-led management to see how well it would deliver on its current mission to clean up the rot in the industry.

  • ‘How to drive customer loyalty’

    ‘How to drive customer loyalty’

    The success of many global brands has been traced to creating attractive partner and customer value propositions using effective communication.

    The publicity and goodwill generated around the recent partnership between Chivita 100 per cent and Manchester United Football Club is a testimonial to how effective communication strategies have not only endeared consumers to the fruit juice, but also helped increase its sales.

    Brand observers said the deal has boosted Chivita’s growth, especially with the level of deployment of online, television, print and outdoor campaigns.

    From reviews of the partnership in the media and on prominent billboards and Rapid transport buses, expert said the strategy has been effective in creating and sustaining brand loyalty.

    This is also being measured social media; for example, the Facebook. “Communication of the partnership has ensured that the number of likes on the page crossed the 200,000 threshold and is approaching 250,000,” Chivita brand handlers said.

    According to its Head of Marketing, Probal Bhattacharya, the company developed a communication strategy for publicising the partnership which has been effective.

    “For us at Chi Limited, our style of placing premium on our consumers cannot be compromised and it drives the way we engage with them through advertising strategies that are informative, exciting and rewarding.

    ‘’We embarked on the journey to adopt a 360 degree marketing philosophy and engagement platforms that are veritable and accessible to our consumers. We are happy that through the communication mix deployed in the campaign, the consumer response has been very encouraging,” added Bhattacharya.