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Tag: June

  • Whither Eko Project after June?

    Whither Eko Project after June?

    The World Bank loan for the Eko Secondary Education Project wraps up in June. The Lagos State government may not have announced how it plans to continue funding the project, which has helped develop its 671 secondary schools in the past six years, but stakeholders are already working ahead, reports KOFOWOROLA BELO-OSAGIE.

    Back in 2007, Sango Senior Secondary School in Agege, Lagos State, had an ill-furnished room that served as a multipurpose science laboratory for teaching Chemistry, Physics and Biology.

    Its sinks were not fitted with taps, a testament that there was no water source for the laboratory, neither did it have electricity nor gas burners for heat (the smallest-size kerosene stove was used to provide heat). A few racks meant for chemical reagents held only one or two plastic water bottles of chemicals for practical experiments.  The other little equipment the laboratory could boast of – an oven and some rusted retort stands, were not in order.

    A chemistry teacher (names withheld) told The Nation in a story published on August 16, 2007, that what came to the school in terms of equipment was grossly inadequate.

    “You hear that government spends so-so- on equipment but they give you one or two test tubes that are not even enough for the pupils a few days to the examination yet they quote millions,” he said.

    That was an era when government funding of its public secondary schools was channeled solely through the ministry of education.  Many public secondary schools were like Sango – lacking facilities needed for teaching and learning.

    It was no surprise then that Dr Ibilola Amao, Principal Consultant, Lonadek Oil and Gas, discovered many of the 30 SS2 pupils from both public and private secondary school pupils selected for a weeklong camp on oil and gas careers that year, knew so little of chemistry.  Majority of them confessed to facilitators that their schools did not have functional laboratories and so, they did not have regular practical sessions except a few when preparing for the West African Senior School Certificate Examinations (WASSCE).

    However things changed when the Lagos State Government introduced the Lagos Eko Secondary Education Project on June 16, 2009.  The initiative, a long-term loan from the World Bank, made available $90 million of funds disbursed directly to 637 (now 671) junior and senior secondary schools and five technical colleges to provide laboratory/ICT equipment, purchase books, train teachers, repair facilities, and coordinate co-curricular activities.  It focused on Mathematics, English and Biology/Basic Science, core subjects. Each school got between N1.5 and N4 million a year for school development projects.   The project also provided funds for over 7,000 volunteer teachers who filled in the gaps where needed in schools across the state.

    Under the last administration, schools that performed well in the implementation of the School Improvement Programme (SIP) got extra grants disbursed during an annual programme tagged the Governor’s Award, which they could use for extra projects.

    In 2009, before the impact of the Eko Project began to be felt, the pass rate in the May/June WASSCE was about 18.6 per cent.  Following project implementation and rigorous monitoring and mentoring, performance improved to about 45.74 per cent in 2015, the year the funding was meant to wound down.

    However, following its success, the Lagos State government got approval from the World Bank to extend the loan to June 2016.

    The $42.3 million released for the six-month period is however not being disbursed to schools.  Dr Idiat Adebule, Deputy Governor of Lagos State, said in an interview that the money would be used to fund the construction of IBILE (an acronym for Ikeja, Badagry, Ikorodu, Lagos-Island and Epe) schools in various parts of Lagos.  The 10 state-of-the-art schools, she said would go to “areas crying for need.”

    Part of the funds is also being planned to provide tablets that would be disbursed to senior secondary pupils in 324 schools.

    Already, teachers, pupils and other stakeholders are beginning to ask about the Eko Project and the future of schools after the World Bank largesse ends in June.

    On Monday, the Lagos State Senior Model College, Kankon in Badagry clinched the third place trophy for Education District V at the 2016 Commonwealth programme organised by the Ministry.   A teacher from the school, Mr Mathew Fagboyinbo, said the costumes used for the atilogwu dance that won the trophy was bought with funds from the Eko Project.

    If it stops, and is not replaced with a veritable programme of a similar magnitude, Fagboyinbo fears for the worst.

    He said: “Eko project has enabled us to purchase equipment and get students involved in research.  We now have groupings in my school that we give research work to utilise the materials on ground and it has been very wonderful.  Through Eko Project, we built toilets, and equipped our library.  We also developed a four-star sports ground that has basketball, handball, volleyball and tennis courts.

    “If it is stopped, sincerely it going to affect the standard of education in Lagos State, because it is through it schools have been able to do something.”

    Mrs Aderonke Odunsi-Titus, was a Zonal Project Administrator (ZOPA), coordinating some schools in Education District III.

    Speaking on the gains of the project, she said: “We benefited in virtually all aspects.  You walk into any Lagos State school today and you find out that there have been a lot of developments. Before, some schools were using old toilets but now they have modern toilets.  In the area of academics too, the Eko Project has been able to re-organise some faulty aspects of education.  The fact that Eko Project brought about the government award made academics more competitive.  You find many schools competing for the awards.  The award was not just about excellence in academics alone but all round, academics, culture, curriculum activities, including hygiene. ”

    With an end point in sight, Mrs Odunsi-Titus, now Director, Co-Curricular, Science and Technology of District III, called for a sustainability model that would integrate public-private partnership in the disbursement of grants to schools.

    “We must hammer on the sustainability of what the World Bank has done. I wouldn’t advise that it should be extended; I will only advice that our school principals sustain it.  For example I sat down all my principals and told them that we need companies that would key into what Eko Project is doing and are ready to take over.  One company cannot take over all aspects of Eko Project,” she said.

    It was for concerns about sustainability that made Dr Amao converge a roundtable of stakeholders to discuss the future of the Eko Project in Lagos State last Friday.  This is because since 2007 she has noticed a reversal in the performance of pupils that participate in her annual retreat camp.  Private school pupils no longer led the pack.  For instance, last year, 44 of the 46 participants were from public schools, a departure from the past when public school pupils were included as a social responsibility because they could not compete in the entrance examination favourably with their private school counterparts in the entry tests for selecting participants for the camp.

    “The public schools are outperforming the private school pupils,” she said.  “They perform well in academics and even behave better.”

    She found out the secret of the better performance was in the Eko Project.  Learning of its expiry date, she raised alarm through a write up she posted on LinkedIn, which resulted in the roundtable held at the Lonadek Cedar Centre in Jibowu, Lagos last Friday.

    “The Lagos EKO project has built a critical pathway for students from low-income background to gain access to good-quality secondary education, showing that where there is a will, there is a way.

    “We recommend that the Eko Project is sustained and seek urgently to encourage further partnerships that would ensure STEM entrepreneurs are developed from these crop of potential leaders created by the Fashola Project lest they convert their potential to destructive or wasted energies,” she wrote in the piece titled: “The Double Twist that Must Not Happen.”

    Participants at the roundtable, all echoed the call for collaborations between the government and the private sector to sustain the project.

    Mrs Joke Akinlade, a mentor for the Eko Project, suggested the participants form a Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) to help sustain the project as it may be too capital intensive for the government.

    “You and I can also take up an initiative. You can start up an NGO. So apart from giving back idea to government, we can also build up an NGO and look for private funding to sustain this project, because government cannot continuously fund it,” she said.

    Beyond funding, Mr Kayode Adeleye, Project Procurment Specialist for Eko Project, who represented the Deputy Governor, said the government must continue to be an active participant if the institutions already in place within the project must survive.

    “When Eko project was in place, we tried as much as possible to institutionalise some of the ideas created. We have government staff within the education districts, mentors who some are retired school principals, experienced teachers still in the system, policy officers from the ministries that have been used for data capturing. We have teachers who were trained in Germany in systems analysis and process information in mechatronics,” he said.

    Mrs Belinda Odeh, Principal, Government Technical College, Agidingbi, said the PPP model was the way to go as it has worked for technical colleges.

    “In the technical colleges, with the public private partnership, for example, in the government technical college at Agidingbi, we have Samsung engineering academy and Festo Germany with the instrumentation. Samsung has the equipment replaced as at when due.  They do training for our students.  They use the academy to train their sales representatives and engineering when new technology products are being introduced.  As a result, our students gain from the latest training,” she said.

    Mr Akinwunmi Briathwaite, CEO of Ajapa World, advised the introduction of levies to generate some funding for the project on the part of government.

    “There could be some kind of special levy like it is done in Oyo state. Parents who see value in this would be able to pay because the equipments have to be maintained,” he said.

    Mr Tunji Adepetun of Rockbridge Alliance Partners, said the volunteer teachers’ scheme of the project could be developed such that it supplies a crop of people passionate about teaching who can leave their jobs for some time to give value in the classrooms and return to it without hassles.

    On his part, a volunteer teacher advised the government to absorb them into the state civil service because of their experience and passion.

    Summarising the discussions, Dr Amao noted the following, which the group intends to forward to the state government: “If the project must end in June, it needs to evolve into an all-encompassing programme that maximises the use of all available resources and stakeholders (volunteer teachers and mentors inclusive) in a value creating manner; there is a need to set up a working committee that would fashion out strategies to ensure the sustainability of the EKO Project/programme; to achieve a holistic development, synergy is required in the activities of the Ministry of Education and the Eko programmes; and the best performers of the EKO programme on an annual basis must be encouraged to take  advantage of the best available opportunities as professionals, vocationals, entrepreneurs and leaders.”

  • Contractor: Baruwa Road for completion in June

    Pako Road in Baruwa, Ayobo-Ipaja Local Council Development Area of Lagos State may be ready by June 30 as against the August deadline given by the government.

    This was revealed by the builder in-charge, Joseph Odugbemi of Lopek Construction Company.

    Odugbemi said with the pace of work and good weather, the road may be completed two months earlier.

    He added that the company was working to beat the odds that could work against the project.

    Odugbemi praised the residents for their cooperation.

     

     

  • May/June massacre

    •Yet again, Nigerian students fare poorly in WAEC examination.  It’s time to go back to the basics

    Only 38.68 per cent of the 1.593 million students, who sat the 2015 West African Senior Schools Certificate Examination (WASSCE), passed with credits in five subjects including English Language and Mathematics.  That is another sobering reminder of the deep-rooted nature of the educational challenges currently facing Nigeria.

    Most of the statistics released by the Nigerian National Office of the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) make for depressing reading: 118,101 candidates had their results withheld because of alleged involvement in examination malpractices; 47.62 per cent obtained six credits and above; 59.61 per cent obtained five credits and above; 86.40 per cent obtained one credit and above.

    In spite of the seemingly encouraging nature of these other figures, the five-credit including English Language and Mathematics benchmark is an appropriate measure of general performance because it represents the minimum standard for entry into the nation’s universities.

    Over the years, the performance of senior secondary school students in a major public examination has given administrators, educators, parents and other concerned stakeholders much cause for worry. Marginal improvements do nothing to hide the harsh fact that the country is turning out an increasing number of students who will clearly be unable to hold their own in a world distinguished by the global knowledge economy.

    The implications of this predicament are dire. As Africa’s largest economy, Nigeria is in desperate need of the artisans and professionals who will continue to drive its growth. If the country cannot be guaranteed a steady supply of intelligent and trainable youths who can become a formidable corps of skilled manpower, its future will be in jeopardy. As hundreds of thousands of unemployable young people pour into the labour market, it is certain that the social problems confronting the country will only continue to become more widespread and intractable.

    Ironically, successive governments have been only too aware of these facts. Education traditionally receives the largest share of the budget after defence. In the 2015 Appropriation Bill, it actually displaced defence to get the biggest cut: N392.36 billion, compared to the latter’s N388.80 billion.

    Part of the problem is that these huge funds are not often properly targetted. In states across the federation, primary, secondary and tertiary educational institutions are characterized by decrepit infrastructure, poorly-motivated staff, and widespread shortages of educational consumables, textbooks and equipment.

    At a more fundamental level, however, it appears that the perennially poor performances in WASSCE stem from the shallow educational foundations being laid in many of the nation’s primary schools. Primary school education is the responsibility of states and local governments, and far too many of them restrict themselves to the payment of salaries as opposed to pursuing policies aimed at their overall development.

    Although states like Akwa Ibom, Anambra, Edo, Ekiti, Lagos, Kano and Ondo have achieved relatively good results in strengthening primary school education, there are still many obstacles to overcome. Funding is one, seen in the mystifying reluctance of many states to access grants available under the Universal Basic Education Scheme (UBES). As at January 2014, some N47 billion had not been utilized by the states because of their inability to provide counterpart funding.

    Another problem is the intransigence of teachers’ unions whose adamant opposition to proficiency testing of teachers has made it difficult to raise standards in the teaching profession and thereby improve the quality of teaching.

    In essence, Nigeria has created for itself a vicious cycle: badly-taught primary school pupils go to poorly-managed secondary schools where they are processed through the various classes until they get to WASSCE, where their cumulative inadequacies are brutally exposed.

     

    If the country is truly determined to achieve better overall performances in WASSCE and similar public examinations, it will have to return to the basics – the primary schools, where excellence can either be carefully nurtured, or strangled at birth.

  • Aregbesola to workers: I share your pains

    •Govt to pay before June 30

    Osun State Governor Rauf Aregbesola has appealed to workers to be calm, saying the salaries will be paid before June 30. He said his government was not immune to their pains.

    He spoke when the Australian High Commissioner to Nigeria, Jonathan Richardson, visited him at the Government House in Osogbo.

    Aregbesola said: “I want to appeal to workers to be calm as their period of hardship caused by the delay in the payment of salaries will be solved very soon. We are with them in their pains, we are not immune to any of their pains.

    “I have not received any salary ever since I became governor. I urge workers to take heart, in no distant time, at least, before the end of this month, we will all put this terrible experience behind us.”

    The governor said the state is eager to partner with Australia for the benefit that will come to the state and the country.

    He noted that apart from gold and other resources, the state has a large deposit of gemstones.

    Aregbesola added that the mining licence that the state gave to an Australian company was small compared to the mineral deposit that the state is blessed with.

    He said: “We have a lot of potentials in mining, agriculture and technology. As important as mining and agriculture are, acquisition of knowledge is quite important to development.

    “We look forward to the contribution of countries like yours. Whether we like it or not, a society without skilled people will soon fizzle out. We are eager to partner with Australia for the benefits that will both come to us. We are struggling hard to develop our state on every facet.”

    The high commissioner said his country is ready to offer necessary assistance to develop the economy.

    Richardson commended the people for the peaceful transition, saying the negative view of Nigeria to foreigners is due to lack of information.

    He stressed that Australia is ready to partner with Osun because of the state potentials in tourism, agriculture, mining, among other areas.

    “We think we have a lot to offer in mining, agriculture, tourism. We are happy to inform your government on how we can help in some of the areas.”

  • Superstar hits cinemas in June

    Superstar hits cinemas in June

    From the stable of U.S.- based filmmaker, Tony Abulu’s Black Ivory Limited comes a new movie offering titled Superstar. Set to hit the Nigerian cinemas June 5, Abulu stated that Superstar is out to introduce the Nigerian music industry to the global market, thereby ushering in the much-needed foreign exchange to further develop the vibrant music industry.

    Speaking further from his New York base, Abulu explained why he is fusing music and Nollywood in Superstar. The Nigerian music industry, he said, has amazing potential, just like Nollywood.

    “The young folks against all odds have followed in the giant musical strides of the late icon, Fela Anikulapo Kuti, and emerged with a vibrant, pulsating, polyrhythmic and explosive brand of music that has the infectious potential to take the world by storm. All they need now is a coordinated effort and support to package and present them as a solid Afrobeat brand and Nigeria will have yet another veritable foreign exchange earner like Nollywood,” Abulu stated.

    Superstar tells the story of a talented and aspiring young Nigerian musician from the ghetto who seeks stardom in a competitive industry

    The movie stars the likes of Iyanya, AY, Angel Ufuoma and rising hip hop act, Tekno acting alongside veterans; Jide Kosoko, Tina Amuziam and Rachael Oniga. Comedy sensations Funnybone, Pencil, ex Mister Nigeria, Bryan Okwara, Lilian Esoro and several others also wowed in the suspense-filled creative work of art.

    Black Ivory Limited is an entertainment company with over 30 years’ experience in filmmaking, international distribution, marketing and African cultural exposition

    Superstar is powered by MNET/DStv, Sovereign Trust Plc and Blaze Channel, USA.

    Abulu’s other works as a director, include: Doctor Bello, Back to Africa and Crazy Like a Fox.

  • A date with June 17, 2015

    For a world integration project like the much-talked-about switch-over from analogue to digital broadcasting, sensitive governments have evolved proactive and systematic line of actions to ensure that they are not caught napping when possible interference from neighbouring countries hit them. They have also ensured that the citizens enjoy the choice of clearer picture, ample channels and the succour of subsidy on the Set Top Box (STB); the conservative device that will provide signal to the existing television sets after the June 17, 2015 switch-over date.

    The leapfrogging tendencies of a country like Nigeria become worrisome considering the fact that a global agenda of this nature is not just a complex transition, but one which seeks common understanding, diplomacy and cooperation of neighbouring countries within the continent.

    Suffice it to say that in Europe and Africa, a timeline has been agreed within the framework of an International Telecommunications Union (ITU) treaty. The consensus is such that after June 17, 2015; analogue television transmissions will no longer be protected from harmful interference caused by digital TV transmissions. In the same vein, analogue TV transmissions will not be permitted to interfere with digital TV transmissions.

    Evidently, migration to digital broadcast transmission technology has begun, with countries like France, United States, United Kingdom, Sweden and New Zealand already advanced in their migration programmes, even as Finland and Mauritius have already switched off from analogue.

    While South Africa, which began the process years back, may not have overcome the complexity of the transition, the fear for Nigeria’s readiness is ominous. It is because indeed, while other countries are already engaging their regulators, policy makers and digital analysts to unlock the migration process, Nigeria, it appears, will exert its usual magic when the reality of 2015 comes to it in a flash.

    Analysts have reasoned that for a smooth transition, the government of a country must consider the fact that the STB will take a long while to be manufactured. And although the price of the decoder has dropped to about $40 ever since a higher version dubbed DT2 entered the market, there is the need for each country to subsidise its production. And while it is also pertinent to consider the eligibility for a subsidized decoder based on the number of TV Households (as it is the thought in some countries), this may be a challenge in a country like Nigeria that is still struggling with population data and, to justify government’s cliam, where TV licences are not paid for.

    But wherein the various governments in Africa do not seem to have engaged the stakeholders well enough on this digital revolution that is set to herald more channel choices and value to television viewers, Multichoice, a big private sector stakeholder in the scheme, and the largest pay TV conglomerate in Africa has set an enviable agenda based on its Social Responsibility objective. Not only did the company begin a test-run of the digital TV innovation in Nelson Mandela’s town of Soweto, recently, it gathered African journalists from the IT, Entertainment and Business beats to interact with experts for two days in Johannesburg, South Africa.

    That Digital Dialogue Conference, more than anything, has enabled a deeper understanding of the digital migration process through topic of discourse ranging from ‘Entertainment and Media Outlook from 2012-2016’; ‘Preparing for the Transition of TV Broadcast Services to Digital’; ‘How TV and the Internet are Meeting’ and ‘Effective Public Education for Digital Migration’. The conference which took place at the Sandton Convention Centre, ended with a session specifically on the STB and government obligation, presided over by Mnet Technical Director, David Hagen at the MultiChoice Headquarters. This was followed with a tour of the households in Soweto where Digital Terrestrial Transmission (DTT) is already being tested. Testimonies abound in Soweto that indeed, the new innovation renders sharper picture, and better sound quality; such difference as it is between an old video cassette and a DVD.

    The households visited in Soweto agreed that they have a choice of more channels on the new device. Reason for this is not far-fetched. Experts have explained that digital signals take up much less bandwidth than analogue signals. The result is that we can broadcast up to 10 television channels in the same bandwidth – giving you the potential of many more channels to choose from. Another benefit that this gives the people of Soweto is that they are for the first time, able to access many free-to-air TV channels.

    Back at home, all that we hear is the Federal Government’s plans to have 20 million STBs manufactured locally by 2015. If that is the case, then 2015 for Nigeria will be the beginning of migration plan for the country, but not its own switchover year; unless the country’s leapfrogging magic happens, will it enjoy the technology without the risk of initial interference. I guess also that for a population of 160 million Nigerians, 20 million STBs is an average way to plan for one citizen who has television sets in abundance and for his neighbour who has none. And in the spirit of the current transformation agenda of the Federal Government, the claim that the government is currently wooing foreign and local companies to invest in the digital TV STBs production, and its wish for the country to start manufacturing digital devices locally is supposedly laudable.

    However, prior to the Johannesburg conference, a digital communication expert, Jenkins Alumona convened what could be called Nigeria’s first open conference on the all important issue of digital transition. Tagged Digital Dialogue Nigeria, the list of facilitators was exhaustive, so were the delegates at the two-day event which took place at the Southern Sun, Ikoyi, Lagos.

    The concern by all was to ensure that unpleasant scenarios do not rear their ugly faces upon- set deadline. The situation is better imagined than experienced if transition is not done with all the awareness that is required. Picture quality on television will get blurred. Signals will be lost. Electronic repairers will feed fat on TV owners, thinking their gadgets are faulty. Set Top Boxes will experience panic buying. Artificial scarcity may follow. Most likely too, the security network in the country will be compromised if Nigeria fails to meet the deadline.

  • Skye Bank to complete Mainstreet Bank integration by June

    Skye Bank to complete Mainstreet Bank integration by June

    Skye Bank Plc will absorb Mainstreet Bank Limited in June as it concludes the final round of integration of the operations of Mainstreet Bank.

    Group Managing Director, Skye Bank Plc, Mr. Timothy Oguntayo, who confirmed this at the weekend, said the integration and merger with the attendant brand name change, workforce and operations convergence were expected to be completed in June.

    According to him, a stronger Skye Bank should emerge in June, following the conclusion of the consolidation of the operations of Mainstreet Bank with that of the parent company.

    “We are in the process of merging the two institutions; that should happen in June. Then, you will have a stronger Skye Bank,” Oguntayo said.

    The Nation had reported exclusively in December 2014 that Skye Bank will merge the operations of Mainstreet Bank Limited and absorbed the bank under its brand name.

    The Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) had on December 19 transferred full ownership of Mainstreet Bank to Skye Bank Plc, giving the latter the control to begin the post-acquisition integration for the acquired bank. The transfer of full ownership took place after a completion meeting where AMCON divested its interest and transferred full ownership of the bridge bank to Skye Bank. Skye Bank had successfully paid 100 per cent of the acquisition value and received regulatory clearance as the new owner.

    A reliable source had told The Nation that the board of Skye Bank had decided to pursue full integration and merger of the operations of the acquired bank with that of Skye Bank, rather than operating the acquired bank as a stand-alone commercial bank and a subsidiary.

    In deciding on the integration and merger, the source said the directors and top management executives of Skye Bank considered the low-profile brand status of Mainstreet Bank; a name that was adopted after the AMCON acquired the then Afribank Nigeria Plc. The board also sought to optimise efficiency by reducing operating costs, which would be higher in the event of running the acquired bank as a subsidiary.

    Full integration and merger has been a favourite option for mergers and acquisitions in the banking industry. Access Bank had adopted the same option in the acquisition of Intercontinental Bank while Ecobank Transnational Incorporated had adopted similar approach in the acquisition of Oceanic Bank International.

    The board of Skye Bank had then appointed an interim management for Mainstreet Bank, with a dual mandate to run the bank within the immediate period and lead the full integration and merger.

    The interim management board comprised Mrs. Amaka Onwughalu, the deputy managing director of Skye Bank and Mr. Dotun Adeniyi, an executive director and chief risk officer of Skye Bank.

    Between October 3 and October 31, Skye Bank paid both the initial 20 percent mandatory deposit and completed the 80 percent balance well ahead of the November 3 deadline for the 100 per cent acquisition of Mainstreet Bank which has been described by several analysts and financial commentators as a ground breaking acquisition in Nigeria’s financial sector.

    Analysts have been unanimous in that the acquisition, operationally, is a game-changer for Skye Bank, given possible synergies and the impact on the balance sheet and profitability of the bank, while it would also increase the bank’s market position in the banking industry and at the stock market.

    Analysts have said the potential impact will be big on Skye Bank’s reach and asset size. Mainstreet Bank has nine subsidiaries and a large distribution network comprising of 201 branches across 35 out of 36 states in Nigeria and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. It equally has nine cash centers and 205 Automated Teller Machines (ATMs).

    Skye Bank, with dominant operations in the Southwest, is also banking on Mainstreet Bank to deepen its penetration of the South-East and South-South regions where it is less represented. Some 26 percent or 54 branches of Mainstreet Bank’s network are located in the two regions. These two regions also accounted for 28 percent of Mainstreet Bank’s over 1.9 million customers, second only to Lagos with 37 per cent.

    With smooth integration, Skye Bank will make valuable in-roads into these two regions without the need to incur huge expenditure, while the acquisition would bring valuable concurrence and synergies from the mutual focus areas of commercial and retail banking of the two entities. Skye Bank focuses on retail and commercial banking which is also the main focus areas of Mainstreet Bank.

    The last audited report and accounts of Mainstreet Bank for the year ended December 31, 2013 showed that retail and commercial banking contributed 78 percent, 36 percent, and 18 percent of total deposits, total loans and profit before tax.

    Also, Mainstreet Bank’s savings and demand deposits accounted for 21 percent and 43 percent of the deposit mix, which also demonstrated its focus on these two segments. A second generation leader, Mainstreet Bank has a large pool of loyal institutional and corporate customers, which in spite of its status as an AMCON-owned bank, ensures that the bank retained almost its two million customers after the takeover.

    Also, Mainstreet Bank has managed agricultural loans, which accounted for 12.6 percent and 16.9 percent of its loan portfolio in 2012 and 2013, second only to ‘general’ sector. Analysts have said Mainstreet Bank’s expertise in managing agric loans made its non-performing loan ratio very negligible at 0.01 per cent, where Skye Bank saw a significant opportunity to improve its expertise in this area, and therefore raise its market share in the agriculture sector. This will position Skye Bank very strategically to partner with and participate in the Federal Government’s short and medium term planned strategic investments and budgetary allocation to the agriculture sector.

    Oguntayo has said the synergies between the two institutions had given Skye Bank the competitive edge, which it would leverage to deliver quality customer service and high returns to shareholders.

    He said the acquisition has provided the bank the opportunity to optimise cost, assuring that the bank would leverage its superior information technology to block leakage as well as pursuing aggressive expense control.

    According to him, as the bank assumes the status of a mega bank following the acquisition, it will place strong emphasis and focus on retail and commercial banking as a way of bringing about a healthy deposit mix to cut its cost of funding.

    He highlighted that the new business strategy will also allow the bank to reduce the volume of public sector deposit and term deposit at its disposal for enhanced profitability and business sustainability.

    He outlined that the bank would continue to upgrade its information technology continually, while also promoting the usage of point of sales terminals and automatic teller machines to serve its teeming customers.

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

  • 10 power plants may get gas by June, says NNPC chief

    10 power plants may get gas by June, says NNPC chief

    The 10 power plants built under the National Integrated Power Plant (NIPP) initiative  will be connected to gas pipelines either by June or the end of the year, Group Executive Director, Gas and Power, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) Dr. David Ige has said.

    Speaking on the sidelines of the 12th Aret Adams Memorial Lecture in Lagos, at the weekend, Ige said the connection would enable the plants to access gas for improved electricity generation and distribution.

    Aret Adams was former Group Managing Director of NNPC.

    Ige said the plants would add 5,000 megawatts (Mw) of electricity to the national grid upon completion.

    The plants are Geregu 11 (334Mw); Calabar (630Mw); Egbema (378Mw); and Ihonvbor (504 MW). Others are Gbarain (252Mw); Sapele( 504Mw); Omoku (252Mw); Alaoji (1030Mw); Olorunsogo II (750Mw) and Omotosho ( 500Mw).

    He said: “Plans are underway to connect gas pipelines to the 10 power plants constructed by the Federal Government to ease electricity problems and further encourage economic growth. Gas is critical to the growth of the power sector and the government is working to ensure that enough gas is channelled to the power generation plants.”

    Ige also stated that the government has made arrangement to  provide gas to the privatised power generation plants formerly owned by the defunct Power Holding Company of Nigeria.

    He said there is enough gas waiting for Omoku power plant but noted that pipeline vandalism is a major problem in the industry even as the government plans to reduce or stop it.

    “A lot has been done to bring huge volumes of gas to the power plants. But each time, we try to breach the shortfall in gas supply; our efforts are frustrated by vandals who break the pipes at will. Since the beginning of this year, we have not had one week of respite. There have been consistent attacks of pipelines. When we have these attacks, the pipeline pressure drops immediately because of the off-take. If we shut down to repair the pipelines, it takes about 10 days to repair. Thereafter, you need some days to build up the pressure. By the time you are building up the pressure, people are attacking the pipelines again,” he added.

    The Acting Head, Public Communication, Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE), Alex Okoh, said the government is working hard to provide gas to the plants.

    The spokesman, Niger Delta Power Holding Company of Nigeria, Yakubu Lawal, said the company was not delaying the sale of the plants which investors bid for in 2014. He said the firm has completed the building of the plants, with Olorunsogo being the latest one commissioned a fortnight ago in Ogun State.

    “The goal of the company is to build the 10 power plants, which we have done in line with the mandates given to us by the government. It is the responsibility of NNPC to provide the gas. So, how did we cause the delay in the sale of the plants as rumoured in some quarters? he asked. Yakubu said gas supply was not part of the mandate given to the company and would not concern itself with that. He said the court would determine the fate of three of the plants that are under litigation.

  • CBN: Fed Govt earned N938b in June

    CBN: Fed Govt earned N938b in June

    The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) at the weekend said Federal Government retained revenue was N938.29 billion in the second quarter ended June. The CBN said in its Economic Report for the second quarter that total expenditure was N1.2 trillion.

    The report said the fiscal operations of the Federal Government resulted in an estimated deficit of 4.8 per cent of estimated nominal Gross Domestic Product for second quarter 2013, compared with the quarterly budget deficit of 3.1 per cent of estimated GDP.

    It said Nigeria’s crude oil production, including condensates and natural gas liquids, was estimated at an average of 1.93 million barrels per day (mbd) or 175.63 million barrels for the quarter. Crude oil export stood at 1.48 mbd or 134.68 million barrels for the quarter, while deliveries to the refineries for domestic consumption remained at 0.45 mbd or 40.95 million barrels.

    Also, the average price of Nigeria’s reference crude, the Bonny Light(370 API) fell by 8.8 per cent below the level in the preceding quarter.

    Foreign exchange inflow and outflow through the CBN amounted to $9.44 billion and $12.45 billion, respectively, resulting in a net outflow of $3.01 billion during the quarter. Foreign exchange sales by the CBN to the authorised dealers amounted to $10.77 billion, compared with $4.65 billion in the preceding quarter.

    The average exchange rate of the Naira against the dollar at the Wholesale Dutch Auction System (WDAS) window remained unchanged at N157.30 per dollar, but appreciated marginally by 0.03 when compared with the level in the corresponding period of 2012.

    Available data indicated mixed developments in banks’ deposit and lending rates. The spread between the weighted average term deposit and maximum lending rates widened by 1.34 percent in the preceding quarter. Also, the margin between the average savings deposit and the maximum lending rates, also widened by 0.43 percentage point. The weighted average inter-bank call rate rose by 0.34 percentage point in the second quarter of 2013, reflecting the liquidity condition in the inter-bank funds market.

    The report said provisional data indicated that the value of money market assets outstanding for the second quarter of 2013 increased by 5.9 per cent, in contrast to the decline of 0.6 per cent at the end of the preceding quarter. The development was attributed, largely, to the 5.6 per cent rise in FGN Bonds outstanding.

     

     

     

     

     

  • June 18 date for Russians

    Fifteen Russians, who were held over alleged unlawful importation of arms and ammunition will, on June 18, be re-arraigned before Justice James Tsoho of the Federal High Court, Lagos.

    They were first arraigned before Justice Okechukwu Okeke, but he transferred the case to the new judge because he will retire this week.

    When the case came up yesterday, Mrs Hajara Yusuf, who represented the Federal Government, asked for more time to enable the prosecution amend the charge.

    She said the amendment was necessary because there were new developments and that the prosecution would also need time to serve the charge on the defendants.

    A Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) in the Federal Ministry of Justice, Mrs Olufemi Fatunde, told the court on April 30 that some of the accused may have been wrongly charged.

    Mrs Fatunde said she needed some time to sort out the names of those liable so the court can strike them out.

    She said: “There are some among the 15 who ought not to have been charged. I want to sort out their names so they can be struck out form the charge.”

    The defendants are: Zhelyazkov Andrey (the vessel’s captain), Savchenko Sergrey, Chichikanov Vasily, Varlygin Igor, Komilov Alexandr, Lopatin Alexey, and Baranovskly Nikolay.