The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Heritage Bank

  • Heritage Bank, U.S, others seek alternative revenue sources

    WITH a mandate to promote the diversification of the  economy and develop the external sector through the provision of services in support of non-oil exports, Heritage Bank Plc is pooling resources to better the lot of the creative industry and its practitioners, its Managing Director, Ifie Sekibo, has said.

    Sekibo stated this yesterday at the Exhibition Gallery of National Museum Benin by the National Commission for Museums and Monuments (NCMM) in collaboration with the Edo State government, and the Smithsonian Institute, United States (U.S.), which Heritage Bank was the lead sponsors.

    The bank’s role in the creative arts and entertainment industry consists in funding intervention and capacity building.

    Sekibo said funding the industry represents a significant commitment by the bank  to boost  the creative segment of the economy.

    According to him, the bank supports  efforts aimed at the country’s creative industries in a drive to end a period of financial neglect for the sector.

    Represented by the bank’s Executive Director, Jude Monye, affirmed, “the art and culture industry has become one of the major contributors to so many countries gross domestic products (GDP) and Heritage Bank is committed to supporting it because it is part of Nigeria’s heritage.”

    According to him, Heritage Bank has continued to make efforts in supporting ideologies like this, using arts as a tool to promote cultural awareness and to help younger Nigerians form a strong sense of national identity.

    He assured that the bank would always be driven by cultural heritage in delivering distinctive financial services to create, preserve and transfer wealth.

    In his presentation, the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, urged states to emulate Edo in collaborating with the federal government to promote culture, tourism and the arts.

    Represented by the Director-General, National Commission for Museums and Monuments, Yusuf Usman, he said synergy among corporate bodies, states and the federal government would guarantee diversification of Nigeria’s economy while showcasing its rich culture.

    He commended Heritage Bank, Smithsonian Institute, U.S. Embassy and others for the exceptional supports in making a huge success of the Exhibition Gallery at the National Museum Benin by the NCMM.

    Edo State Governor Godwin Obaseki, while appreciating the Smithsonian Institution, said the exhibition would add to  the state’s quest to develop tourism as it makes a connection between past and present.

    The governor said art was assuming a wider national importance and the possibility of it being developed as a self-sustaining alternative to oil revenue was now being appreciated across the country.

    Earlier, U.S. Ambassador to Nigeria Mr. Stuart Symington described the occasion as historic to both Nigeria and America.

    The Director Emerita, Smithsonian’s National Museum of African Art, USA, Dr. Johnnetta Cole, said that the exhibition was first in Africa and to showcase the rich culture of Benin kingdom.

    The Oba of Benin, Omo N’ Oba N’ Edo Uku Akpolokpolo, Ewure II, said Benin artworks are largely rituals, some are used for recording history, to place on record events that happened in different periods in Benin history.

    A representative of the Oba, the Iyase of Benin Kingdom, Chief Sam Igbe, said the Benin artworks gained prominence in Europe in 1897 after the kingdom was attacked by the British soldiers, who later took the artworks to Europe.

    The exhibition focused on photographic works of Chief Solomon Alonge, photographer to Royal Court of Benin kingdom during the reign of Oba Akenzua II.

    The high point of the event was the launching of the book “Fragile Legacies,” the photographs of Solomon Osagie Alonge, and a tour of the exhibition area by governor Obaseki.

  • Heritage Bank partners Fed Govt

    Heritage Bank partners Fed Govt

    Heritage Bank Plc has partnered with the Federal Government on the  2017 edition of Diaspora Festival Badagry.

    The festival, which held in Badagry, symbolises the emancipation of the black race.

    It was also an advocacy programme that raised awareness about the continuous fight against oppression, neo-colonialism and enslavement.  The two-day event featured carnival procession, boat regatta, fishing competition, dark era procession, diaspora dinner, beauty pageant, fashion show, cultural displays, heritage site visits, heritage night, the festival market, international music, concert and talent hunt.

    Speaking on Heritage Bank’s involvement in the programme, Mrs. Ozena Utulu, a member of the bank’s Brand Management & Compliance Unit said Heritage Bank,said the lendersupported the event  because it promotes  African heritage and culture.

    Also speaking during the event,  the Senior Special Adviser to the President on Diaspora and Foreign Affairs,Mrs. Abike Dabiri-Erewa, said  the ‘Door- of- No-Return made popular during the transatlantic slave trade in Africa has now become the Door of Return to Africans in the Diaspora through Badagry. She noted that the development would showcase the African continent to the world in good light and on a positive note.

    The marketing consultant to the project, Rufai Ladipo, CEO of Agile Communications Limited said the Diaspora Festival Badagry is an iconic and symbolic festival with a long tradition of celebrating the best in diversity in a rich African culture and heritage.

  • Heritage Bank eyes 1, 000 agent banking partners

    Heritage Bank Plc, has taken steps to support the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN’s) initiative to curb the unbanked Nigerians in the rural areas by 20 per cent by 2020, thereby offering financial services to the nooks and crannies of Nigerian communities; providing access to underserved markets.

    The policy was sequel to a research conducted by an international agency, Enhancing Financial Innovation & Access (EFINA) in 2008 which showed that about 74 per cent of Nigeria’s rural community was un-banked. Against this backdrop, the CBN therefore initiated the policy with the aim of reducing the figure by 20 per cent by 2020 to ensure greater participation in the nation’s financial sector.

    Heritage Bank which launched the programme about two years ago, revealed, during the signing up of two agents’ corner shops, that it would bring onboard 1, 000 agent partners by the end of this year.

    The two corner shops opened over the weekend High Rise Business Centre in Simawa community behind Redeemed Convention Camp and Layeni Folayemi Enterprises in Omu Ijebu, both in Ogun State.

    As at June this year, the agent base had grown at an average rate of 50 new agent sign ups monthly bringing the total number of active agents to about 450 and growing. This lends credibility to the consistency of the service and how it is changing lives and empowering Nigerians across the country.

    At this steady growth rate of approximately 17.5 per cent new agent per month, it  can be said that hitting the long term vision of 100, 000 active agents in five years is well within reach.

    However, to this effect, the MD/CEO of Heritage Bank, Ifie Sekibo, explained that the bank has continued to set standard in the launching of ‘Corner Shop’ to cater for the need of traders and artisans at different locations across the country.

  • Heritage Bank, Biase Plantations seal N232m deal

    Heritage Bank Plc has signed N232million pilot phase of out-growers agreement with Biase Plantations Limited (BPL) and its joint venture partner, PZ Wilmar Limited.

    The pact was sealed at the bank’s Headquarters, saw the Managing Director/CEO of Heritage Bank, Ifie Sekibo, represented by Jude Monye, Executive Director, Business Banking and Mrs. Adaeze Udensi, Executive Director, Retail & SME Bank signing on behalf of the bank while General Manager with BPL, Ahmad Mustaffa Goh signed on behalf of his company.

    Speaking at the occasion, Sekibo said the need for the partnership became imperative in view of the importance of agriculture to the sustainable development of Nigeria. He said that the initiative was taken to support the effort by the government towards diversifying the aggregate economy.

    He assured the management of Biase Plantations Limited that Heritage Bank would not relent in giving the necessary financial and investment advisory support the latter required for the success of the agricultural scheme in different parts of the country, adding that the policy thrust of the present Federal Government is about economic development and diversification.

    On Behalf Biase Plantations Limited, Goh said, “Today marks a milestone in the actualization of a long dream by Biase Plantations Limited.  It has always been our priority to improve the socio-economic status of our landlord communities by developing an out-growers scheme that will build the resilience of local farmers to changing agricultural trend. “He added that the agreement between BPL and Heritage Bank Plc was first of its kind in Nigeria, remarking that they see this as readiness on the part of the bank to partner and grow with the vision of the Company.

  • ‘Heritage Bank committed to agribusiness’

    ‘Heritage Bank committed to agribusiness’

    Heritage Bank  has restated its commitment to further deepen its support to the agribusiness value chain so as to ensure food security in the country.

    Its Managing Director/CEO, Ifie Sekibo, who made the plrdge said the bank would not relent in its efforts to boost the agric base of the nation and make farming profitable to stakeholders and attractive to the youth.

    He said the bank would focus on supporting the agric space via financing farmers to acquire the needed technology that will bring about transformative development in the sector.

    He said the bank will support the drive for increased cash crop production that will boost Nigeria’s foreign exchange earnings, which the President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration is pationate about, given the dangers the continuous reliance on imported food poses to its efforts aimed at job creation, as well as developing and diversifying the economy.

    The bank’s Group Head, Agriculture Finance,  Olugbenga Awe, also said that Heritage Bank was committed to the development of agribusiness and Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs).

    “Our support cuts across the entire value chain with focus on large corporates and small holder farmers.  We encourage value addition and ultimately export,” he said.

    He, however, noted that the bank’s support goes beyond food sufficiency to increasing cash crop commodities that would boost Nigeria’s foreign exchange earnings.

  • Heritage Bank, Triton Aqua plan more jobs with N2b facility

    The N2 billion long-term facility Heritage Bank Plc and Central Bank of Nigeria under the Commercial Agriculture Credit Scheme (CACS) gave to Triton Aqua Africa Limited (TAAL) has continued to boost job creation.

    The Managing Director of Heritage Bank Plc, Ifie Sekibo, who made this known at the weekend, led a team of the bank’s senior management on fact-finding mission to the company’s facilities.

    He said the fund was disbursed to enable TAAL expand its aquaculture businesses- nursery/hatchery for the production of fingerlings and brood stock in Ikeja; and earthen ponds for catfish and tilapia in Asejire, Iwo and Gambari towns in Oyo.

    According to him, the disbursement of the N2 billion loan and the readiness of Heritage Bank to treat Triton’s application for another credit facility for the third phase expansion is part of the bank’s support to one of the cardinal programmes of the federal government’s administration, which is job creation and diversification.

    Speaking after the facility assessment, Sekibo said his team embarked on the visit to the company’s facility in Ikeja to ascertain the progress of work and ensure the credit facility was appropriately channeled. “I want to be sure whatever facility Heritage Bank is giving will add value in terms of cash flow of TAAL. If I have your cash flow as part of your production plan it would make it easy for me to treat your application for credit”, he stated.

    Based on the bilateral agreement reached by the two parties when the credit was given, TAAL is expected to increase the production capacity of one of its nursery/hatchery unit to 15,000 tonnes at the end of the second phase of the expansion process. The third phase is expected to start in the next three months.

    Meanwhile, Sekibo expressed satisfaction with the pace at which the project was going; as he assured the company’s team that Heritage Bank would always strive to support the genuine cause by TAAL to boost the agricultural base of the nation as long as the business relationship between the bank and Triton Aqua is mutually beneficial.

    The Chief Executive Officer of Aqua Group, Raju Samtani, who led the Heritage Bank delegate round the TAAL’s facilities, assured Sekibo and his team that the project would be complete as initially agreed.

  • Monitors say FG’s school feeding programme in Ebonyi in danger

    Monitors say FG’s school feeding programme in Ebonyi in danger

    The Ebonyi Commissioner for Education, Prof. John Eke, says the Federal Government’s Home-Grown School Feeding Programme in the state has been “a massive success” contrary to the view of monitors of the programme, who warned that the programme is being derailed and will collapse.

    Eke, who is also the chairman of state implementation committee of the Home-Grown School Feeding Programme, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Tuesday in Abakaliki that the initial challenges encountered by the cooks in the programme have been overcome.

    According to him, the cooks were initially unable to access their money deposited in Heritage Bank which he said had only one branch in the state.

    The professor said the state government’s intervention made Federal Government to use First Bank which eased the problem of cooks accessing fund deposited in the bank for the programme because the bank has many branches.

    He said that government and its agents have no direct access to the fund meant for the programme.

    Eke, however said the N70.00 allotted for the meal of each pupil is not enough to provide a pupil a balanced meal because an egg cost N40.00 in view of the rising costs of food items in the market.

    But, some concerned citizens monitoring the implementation of the Federal Government’s initiative have decried the way and manner in which the programme is being run in the state.

    They spoke in separate interviews emphasising the need for the operators of the programme to follow the guidelines as stipulated by the Federal Government.

    They noted that primary school pupils were not being served quality food for the five school days as stipulated by the FG’s guidelines.

    NAN recalls that Ebonyi was one of the five states that received N400 million for the continuation of its Home-Grown School Feeding Programme in January, 2017.

    Under the free Home-Grown School Feeding Programme, an estimated 5.5 million pupils in the five states including Ebonyi would be fed for 200 school days and  N93.1billion has  been appropriated for the feeding scheme in the 2016 budget.

    Mr Jerome Nwoba,   a concerned citizen keen at monitoring the programme, told NAN that government’s intention was being thwarted due to the manner the programme was executed in the state.

    According to him, primary school pupils were fed with less than N30 for a meal as against N70 approved by FG.

    He said that the vendors claimed that they were only managing with little resources made available to them by their handlers.

    “The programme is a total failure in Ebonyi and an urgent review of the programme is needed including investigation into how money is being released to fund the programme in the state; this is necessary to salvage the appalling situation.

    “Vendors are provided with about N20, 500 to feed 43 pupils for five days in some schools while the amount is less in some other schools.

    “If you breakdown the amount, it’s less than N30 a day per a meal while FG provided N70 for a meal per a day.

    “I guess some persons are somewhere allegedly sabotaging the efforts of the Federal Government and an urgent probe will unmask the elements undermining the programme.

    “In all the three primary schools visited in Izzi Local Government Area including Achara Unuhu, Akpurata and Amanato community primary schools, the story is the same,” Nwoba said.

    He said that the food vendors were threatening to quit the programme unless the FG intervened and addressed the noticeable lapses.

    Another concerned citizen, Mr Ikechukwu Ogbonna, said he monitored the implementation of the programme in three schools and interacted with cooks in the different schools.

    He said that the cooks complained of underfunding, making it impossible to serve the pupils with decent meals.

    He further claimed that the affected cooks have threatened to quit the programme unless there was proper funding of the programme.

    “In Adangene community primary school, Effium in Ohaukwu Local Government Area with 115 pupils only N21, 000 was released to feed them for five days.

    “In Akpe-Amanachi community primary school in Abakaliki Local Government Area, the story is not different; N6, 000 was released to feed a school population of 134 pupils for five days, and no feeding has taken place for two weeks now in the school.

    “In Amandim community primary school in Mgbom, Ugwulangwu, Ohaozara with 85 pupils, N21, 000 was released to feed the pupils for five days.

    “In most cases, pupils are served food on their palms and in a most unhygienic manner,” Ogbonna said.

    Mrs Queen-Juliet Ijezie said only one out of five schools she monitored in Izzi local government area fed the pupils once since the school feeding programme began in the state.

     

  • NYSC – Banks ready to give corps members loans

    The National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) has assured corps members passing out from the one year national service that loan facilities would still be available to them to start their businesses.

    Mr Abdulrazak Salawu, the NYSC FCT Coordinator, said this while addressing the 3,468 corps members of the 2016 Batch `A’ Stream I during their passing out in Abuja on Friday.

    Salawu, who noted that there were no white-collar jobs lined up, said financial institutions were still ready to grant loans to corps members who were interested in starting up and running their own businesses even after the service year.

    “Financial institutions are still ready to give you loans even after your service year.

    “The Bank of Industry, Heritage bank, even the NYSC Foundation is still ready to give you loans to start up your businesses.

    “Some of you do not know what it means to pass out from national service until next month when the alert will not sound again; that is when you will remember that certainly you are no longer corps members and there is no N19,800 again.

    “Because of that, we have prepared you through the Skills Acquisition and Entrepreneurship Development Programme (SAED); some of you, I am sure, are already making money.

    “And if you need money to continue, the banks are still open to you.

    “Try to be employers of labour, do not be job seekers; it is not easy to live in this present day Nigeria if you are not earning anything,” he said.

    Salawu also urged the corps members to remain good citizens of Nigeria as the scheme had tried to imbue them with the spirit of selflessness, discipline, humility and self-reliance.

    He said that out of the 3,468 corps members passing out, about 25 were given letters of commendation and awards.

    Salawu said that the 25 corps members embarked on projects and participated fully in the community development service and programmes that impacted positively on the lives of people in their host communities.

    He also said that the scheme did not hold its usual closing ceremony due to economic and security problems in the country.

    “We did not hold a closing ceremony because we are looking at the security situation in the country; right now the economic situation is also not giving us the opportunity to go into serious ceremonies.

    “These corps members are coming from different parts of the country and so we cannot give room for any unforeseen circumstances.

    “That is why we gathered them here today so we can disperse them within the shortest possible time,” Salawu said.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports Mr Salawu Akanni, a graduate of the Federal University of Agriculture, Ogun, was one of the recipients of the award.

    Akanni had, during his service year, constructed three water piping systems for the Aghayapho Community and provided a directional signpost for the LEA primary school in the community.

    He also rehabilitated the community water borehole, donated 10 wooden chairs to the LEA primary school and trained 40 students in Government Secondary School (GSS) Jabi on Sustainable Development Goals, among other projects.

  • Heritage Bank clears Executive Director

    Heritage Bank clears Executive Director

    Heritage Bank yesterday said its Executive Director, Mrs. Mary Akpobome, remains an employee of the bank.

    This is contrary to an online report that she had been relieved of her appointment.

    A statement by the bank yesterday said Mrs. Akpobome remained “a valued Executive Director” of Heritage Bank and had “not been found wanting in any form or shape.”

    Heritage bank accused the online news platform of engaging in de-marketing Heritage Bank as its major occupation.

    The statement said: “Financial institutions have credit policies governing its processes and management. These policies are designed and enforced by regulatory agencies to ensure efficiency and effectiveness in the entire credit chain. But above all, Heritage Bank like all other banks in Nigeria are under the strict supervision of the Central Bank of Nigeria.

    “Contrary to the picture the online platform keeps painting to the public, the law governing banking in Nigeria does not allow a ‘few powerful’ management team members to control any bank.

    “Heritage Bank has never been controlled by any one individual or ‘powerful’ individual(s) as deceitfully stated by this online news platform.

    “Heritage bank is a legal entity, and like any other public liability company, is managed by an efficient Management and Board accountable to all its stakeholders and the Central Bank of Nigeria”

  • Heritage Bank promotes reading culture in schools

    Heritage Bank promotes reading culture in schools

    Heritage Bank Plc joined in celebrating the “World Book Day” by means of implementing one of its literacy initiatives and donation of books to schools.

    The bank has decided to lend its support to the biggest celebration of its kind, designated by UNESCO as a worldwide celebration of books and reading in its 20th year, and marked in over 100 countries all over the world for children of all ages to come together to appreciate reading.

    However, as part of effort to inculcate the culture of reading books amongst children, Heritage Bank donated a total of 16,340 comic books, dispatched to 84 schools via Experience Centers, while investing in exciting edutainment activities for school communities.

    The bank recently launched, “The protector’s” a comic series book to commemorate Children’s day. The super-heroes of the series, HK-1 and HK-2 will be touring schools this year to win allies to fight against the evil Gus D Ville.

    Also, other activities involve the first inter school quiz commenced in last year December, with 20 winners emerging from various schools.

    The Financial Literacy Holiday Workshop, as the highlights of the workshop to mark the maiden edition, which include financial literacy coaching presentation skills, creative writing, practical sessions, movie outing and other exciting treats.