The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Nigeria News

  • Standard Alliance crisis deepens

    Standard Alliance Insurance Plc is unable to fulfill its obligation of claims payment, The Nation can authoritatively report.

    This is going by the company’s 2017 Financial Auditor’s Report which drew the attention of the public to the shortfall of N1.477 billion in assets cover in the financial statements.

    The auditor’s report indicated that the company was not able to generate adequate liquid assets to cover the policy holders’ funds.

    The  auditors, BDO Professional Services (Chartered Accountants) with offices at ADOL House, Plot 15, CIPM Avenue, Central Business District, Alausa, Ikeja, Lagos, said the implication of the company not being able to generate adequate liquid assets to cover the policy holders’ funds, is that the company will not be able to pay claims to policy holders who are the insured, or the public.

    The Nation gathered that  presently, the company is unable to pay claims to many of its policyholders, neither is it able to payback both principal and interest of matured savings’ polices.

    It was also learnt that the embattled company is still marketing products to unsuspecting Nigerians, despite not being able to pay backlog of claims.

    One of the clients of the company, with policy number (withheld)  said: “I contributed N354,000 with N5900 monthly contribution. I am meant to receive N404,823.93. This means that I have just N50823.94 as interest.

    “After several months that the policy matured and I didn’t hear from them, I went to their headquarters in Lekki and asked them to pay me, but they refused to up till date.”

    Investigation also showed that the company is not able to pay brokers, nor for reinsurance and has been owing its staff many months of salaries.

    The Nation learnt that the company has been struggling with financial losses, huge management expenses, over-bloated share structure and huge fines for infractions, among others.

    The auditor in the 2017 financials said: “Without qualifying our opinion, we draw attention to the shortfall of N1.477 billion in assets cover in note 53 to the financial statements indicating that the company was not able to generate adequate liquid assets to cover the policy holders’ funds.

    “Interpretation: Policy holders are the insured (the public). It means the company has less financial assets to cover the premium received from policy holders”.

    The underwriter has for four years, that is, 2012; 2013; 2014 and 2016 recorded losses, while its management expenses soared. Last year, some staff of the firm who were not comfortable with the management decisions resigned, thereafter, the firm retrenched some more staff.

    The danger signal is the 2017 financials where their assets cover fall short of policy holders funds.

    According to the auditor, the company is also yet to get approval for its 2018 account.

    The crisis of the company which started in 2014 has snowballed into a major dilema leading the regulatory authority, National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) to conduct a forensic audit on the company to determine its status.

    Following the intervention of the NAICOM, the Managing Director was asked to resign. While the commission is yet to disclose its findings, observers have however called on the commission to reveal the forensic result.

    Few days ago, the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) placed cautionary red alert on the company, having failed to comply fully with the comprehensive listing and corporate governance standards at the stock market.

    A regulatory report obtained at the weekend flagged the company with warning codes.

    A review of the report showed that the deficient companies, including Standard Alliance were generally in three broad categories; companies with recurring multiple deficiencies, companies that failed to submit their financial statements within stipulated timeline and companies with unhealthy concentration of shares in the hands of major investors.

    Under the rules of the NSE and global stock market practices, all the infractions are regarded as fundamental infractions as they impede market’s key concepts of full disclosure, liquidity and efficient price discovery. All the infractions could lead to compulsory delisting of the stocks, if not remedied.

    The Exchange said the flagging of the company was in line with the commitment of the Exchange to global best practices and investor’ protection.

    An observer who spoke under the condition of anonymity faulted NAICOM, saying the Commission should not allow companies that are unable to meet their contractual obligations to continue insurance business.

    Some Chief Executive Officers in the industry have also complained that companies that are unable to meet their obligations to pay claims should not be allowed to remain in business.

    They said that such few bad eggs among them are destroying the image of the industry, thereby making it difficult for insurance business to grow in the country.

    The Managing Director, Richard  Ododo did not return The Nation inquisitions on the issues and has not made efforts to pay the aggrieved client.  Efforts to reach NAICOM spokesperson,  Rasaaq Salami as at press time also proved abortive.

  • ATOPCON ex-chief to members: prepare for urban challenges

    The immediate past President, Association of Town Planning Consultants of Nigeria (ATOPCON), Dr Idris Salako, has asked his colleagues to prepare for urban planning challenges as the nation’s population continues to grow.

    Salako, who is also the Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development in Lagos State, said the challenges were not insurmountable.

    “As professionals in the built environment, we must brace for the urban challenges facing Nigerian cities today,” Salako said at the ATOPCON’s annual general meeting in Lagos. He said the government still had a lot of roles to play, hence the need to key into the “THEMES” project of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, to make Lagos a 21st Century economy.

    According to Salako, the profession has made progress, as the professionals have raised the bar in the sector.

    “What you get by achieving your goal is not as important as what you become by achieving your goal,” he added. The new  ATOPCON President, Mr Niyi Odetoye, who was elected at the AGM, said the association would continue to promote the development of an enabling environment aimed at the advancement of the town planning practice.

  • Developer advocates inclusive innovation

    Chief Executive Officer Dradrock Estate Company Oladipo Idowu-Agida has advocated an all inclusive innovation in tackling the housing deficits in the country, by deployment cutting-edge innovation and technology to accelerate quality service delivery through  customer experience solutions to achieve robust real estate sector.

    He spoke on the sidelines of the just-concluded African Real Estate Conference and Awards (AFRECA’19) in Lagos.

    In his presentation titled: “Future of the Nigerian real estate sector – harnessing new innovations”,  Idowu–Agida noted the huge housing gap that needed to be filled to forestall an impending housing crisis in the country.

    According to him, “statistics point to the fact that by year 2025 Nigeria will need about 20 million new homes compared to what it needed in 2012”.

    He called for innovations that would include deploying the right people, effective cost management, specialist skills and entrepreneurship, government partnership and global network to tackle the deficit

    He added that his firm was largely established to tackle the housing deficit in the country, noting that the core of its services was in real estate development.

    The developer stressed the need to deliver unique master-planned lifestyle with affordable options, through its various products, such as Annapolis courts, Annapolis Gardens, Annapolis Residence, and Pacific Manor, among others.

    He added that in a short while, the company has been able to provide accessible real estate solutions in the country with the highest possible standards and yet it was still spurred to do more.

    He urged other stakeholders in  industry to seek more ways of engendering sustainable economic development through the provision of affordable and qualitative housing for the people.

  • Need a house? Try cooperative societies

    Housing is one of the essential needs of man. But because the mortgage sub-sector is not virile, building a house can take a decade or two for some while for others, it could be longer. OKWY IROEGBU-CHIKEZIE writes on how a coperative society can assist not only individuals but also organisations to build their homes or estates.

    A cooperative is an association of people to achieve a common goal through contributions.

    One strategy deployed by the average Nigerian in becoming a landlord is through joining a credible cooperative socity – thrift and credit.

    The purposes of cooperatives are diverse. However, generally, they  tend to serve their members better.

    Organisations have found it  convenient to encourage their members to form cooperative societies. Blue chip companies, such as Shell, Chevron, and Nigerian National Petroleum Corportation (NNPC), have cooperative societies.

    Others are professionals groups, such as Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), and their counterparts in insurance, banks, higher institutions. They have thriving cooperatives, which own upscale estates, which in most cases, participants wouldn’t have been able to build individually and these dot the cities, especially new areas.

    Prime Assets Housing Cooperative Society Managing Director  Mr. Gbadebo Adejana  said  cooperatives  create an umbrella for people.

    He said it is more prominent in the informal sector where artisans and others join one for the sake of necessity, knowing that it  is the only way they can muster strength to  access credit to buy land.

    After passing the hurdle of purchase and ownership of land  through the cooperative,  a member wil,l thereafter, access more funds to start its development and pay at by instalments, he explained.

    According to him, cooperative associations have the advantage of accessing loans and can bulk purchase building materials, such as cement, iron rods, paints, roofing sheets and locks and keys.

    He added that manufacturers prefer to deal with cooperatives when the issue of credit arises.

    On the objectives of his cooperative, he said it assists people to access funds to build their houses. Others are providing people the opportunity to buy properties and reconstruct them for their use, providing a 10-20 year’micro-mortgage scheme for members, including real estate and other investment opportunities, for members.

    Adejana continued: “For Prime Assets Housing Cooperative Society to deliver on their promises and better serve members,  we partner reputable individuals and organisations, particularly, micro-finance banks, developers, mortgage institutions, building material manufacturers, suppliers, professionals in the building industry and related government establishments and agencies.”

    For   Festus Onibanjo, chairman, Fesdap  Properties, owners of  “Be a landlord today’  Cooperative Society, the core mandate of his cooperative is to provide a well-researched and negotiated clusters of landed properties  for his members can buy.

    He said: “We also assist in developing them into mini-estates and providing other services as may be required. For example, access to mortgage facilities below the market  rate building materials, etc. We provide opportunities for members to borrow for growth in their business operations through their well-structured and professional managed thrift in association with participating micro-finance banks.”

    A cooperative expert, Mr Salako Idris said companies should encourage their workers to form cooperative societies, adding that it not only remove financial burdens from them, but that it also enable the companies to concentrate on their mandate.

    He said virile cooperative cooperatives provide members the platform to borrow money.

    According to him, the country’s  housing gap cannot be bridged by the government only and that there was the need for private sector support, especially from the cooperative societies.

  • ‘Africans in Diaspora remit $40b yearly’

    There are over 32 million Africans in the Diaspora, accounting for $40 billion remittances yearly, and savings of about $53 billion – most of it outside Africa, the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) has said.

    Its Senior Manager, Intra-African Trade Initiative, Gainmore Zanamwe, said the economic size of Africans in the Diaspora was staggering.

    According to him, should the collective African Diaspora be regarded as the 56th African state, it would rank top in terms of “Gross Domestic Product (GDP),” with its GDP estimated at over $500 billion and GDP per capita higher than Africa’s average.

    Zanamwe, who spoke on the sidelines of the 47th Annual General Meeting (AGM) of Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) in Lagos, said the number of Africans in the Diaspora would likely reach 50 million, if second and third generations are included.

    Nigeria accounts for over a third of Diaspora remittance flows to sub-Saharan Africa, with Diaspora remittances to the country projected to reach $25.5 billion this year, up from $23 million last year,  PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) Nigeria, also said.

    Its latest report, “Strength from Abroad: The Economic Power of Nigeria’s Diaspora,” PwC also estimated that the size of the country’s Diaspora remittances will grow by $29.9billion and $34.8billion in 2021 and 2023.

    Zanamwe, however, said Afreximbank has a Diaspora strategy, which provides various ways in which their resources (both financial and expertise) can be mobilised for the promotion of intra-African trade and the development of Africa through investments, trade links, skills, and technology transfer.

    He said: “The key pillars of the bank’s Diaspora strategy include trade and investment promotion, remittances and savings mobilisation, knowledge and skills transfer, research and advocacy, and Diaspora outreach.

    “These are to be achieved through financing and facilitating the production and distribution of ethnic goods and products of interest to Africans in the Diaspora into Diaspora markets,” Zanamwe said.

    He listed some of the key growth areas of interest to the Diaspora to include ethnic foods, textiles, creative industry (music, film), tourism, manufactures, among others.

    “It is estimated, for instance, that Nigeria’s trade in ethnic foods with the United States (U.S) is estimated between $500 million and $1 billion,” he said

    On the creative industry space, Zanamwe said the bank was working with partners in Africa and the Diaspora by providing financing products and trade facilitation services to boost export of African movies, music, fashion and other creative works.

    He said the bank was developing a technology platform for high-quality African content – music, video, movies and opportunities, among others.

    Zanamwe said for instance, the Nollywood movies, an industry which employs about 300, 000 people directly and indirectly, more than one million, generating between $500 million and $1 billion yearly in revenues, is patronised across the continent and outside the continent by the Diaspora.

  • Dissent and national interest

    Recent tides in the Nigerian polity indexed some hypersensitivity against criticism and dissent – in the present circumstance, as much by supporters of the power elite as by members of the elite themselves cutting across partisan diversity of the political spectrum.

    Last week, Seun Onigbinde, a co-founder of civil society group, BudgIT, ducked out of his recent enlistment as Technical Adviser to Budget and National Planning Minister of State Clem Agba, in the face of intense lashback by supporters of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) who held him damnable for hitherto being a critic of President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration.

    Onigbinde’s organisation is reputed for serially exposing duplicities in national budgets – to be sure, not just that of the federal government but also the state governments. But he, in particular, is also accused of taking criticisms of Mr. Buhari quite personal, having previously posted acerbic comments about the president on his social media platforms.

    Ordinarily, we should consider it an indication of broadmindedness on the minister’s part (and by extension, that of the Buhari government) that Onigbinde got invited to serve. Dispassion would show it was a unique challenge for the activist to come walk his talk, so that the country might benefit from the fiscal transparency skills and insights that undergirded  his organisation’s past exposes on governments’ budgetary documents. Among other cautious observers, ace campaigner and technocrat, Oby Ezekwesili, openly pointed out to Onigbinde that it was a test, which located him on a historic perch to prove his mettle.

    But supporters of government thought differently as they rose in fierce rebuff of the activist’s enlistment for national service. Some saw egregious double standard in his past criticisms and his new acceptance to serve in a government that he had been critical of. Others wagered higher, describing Onigbinde as a foreign agent being embedded in government and alleging that the civil society group he co-founded was funded by a local organisation fronting for the United States Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). Perhaps the crudest blowback was from cheerleading Buhari Media Organisation (BMO), which said Onigbinde’s appointment was a travesty that desecrated the integrity of the Buhari administration.

    In flinging the job amidst that storm, Onigbinde said media reports about the appointment had “created a complex narrative” likely to engender an atmosphere of mistrust in his performance of the role. He explained: “My sincere interest is to see a Nigeria that grows and optimises resources for the benefits of all Nigerians. My loyalty to the good cause of our nation, Nigeria, compelled me to accept the call to provide technical skills, and this experience has more than strengthened it.”

    Onigbinde isn’t the only person forced out of call to national service because of their critical posture in the past towards the government or suspicion of diluted loyalty, if at all, towards the ruling party. In June, reputed columnist Festus Adedayo got the boot soon after he was appointed Special Adviser on Media and Publicity by Senate President Ahmed Lawan. Even though the legislature is an independent arm of government, the Senate helmsman backed down on Adedayo’s appointment within a week of handing him the job following a furore by Buharists who dug up past writings of the journalist that were critical of the present administration and the ruling party. The apparent logic being peddled by the supporters is: you can’t have pissed in a well and turn round to come drink from that same well. And really, there may be some sense to make of that logic at least on the face of it.

    But if you thought aversion to criticism is a syndrome peculiar to supporters of the ruling party, you need look at Cross River State where retributive stakes are even far higher: a journalist has been held in detention since late August for taking issues with Governor Ben Ayade of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). Agba Jalingo, publisher of online CrossRiverWatch, was arrested in Lagos by the police on August 22 and dragged down to Calabar where he’s been under lock allegedly at the state governor’s behest.

    Before his arrest, Jalingo had been having brushes with the Ayade administration over his journalism that was critical of the state government. The last straw was a July 17 story in which he alleged diversion of N500million meant for the establishment of Cross River State Micro-Finance Bank. Following his arrest and detention, the journalist filed a suit for enforcement of his fundamental rights. But while that case awaits court hearing, the police have slammed Jalingo with a counter suit. And rather than charge him with the standard felony of libel, they have put up a four-count charge of treasonable felony, terrorism, cultism and disturbance of public peace against the journalist. It is apparently the severity of the charges that explains his being held without bail. Jalingo is also accused of working in cahoots with #RevolutionNow campaigner, Omoyele Sowore, who himself has been kept in detention since August 3 by the Department of State Security (DSS).

    The seeming counter-productivity of open dissent in our clime was theatrically highlighted recently by maverick artiste and convener of ‘OurMumuDonDo’ Movement, Charles Oputa better known as Charly Boy, when he said he was cutting out of street protests as a mode of venting displeasure over nationhood challenges because that option had proven ineffective to impact the power elite at all levels. Speaking with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), Charly Boy argued that successive political leaderships in Nigeria have been insensitive to the plights of ordinary citizens and were unfazed by protests to hold them accountable. Lamenting that in almost six decades of Nigeria’s independence, citizens were yet to experience “freedom from bad leadership,” he added: “I have spent over 40 years of my life leading protests for a better society, and I can tell you that street protests will not change our leaders.”

    The 68-year-old self styled ‘president of frustrated Nigerians’ recalled personal discomfiture he had suffered for dissent: “My father (the late Justice Chukwudifu Oputa) always told me back then that whenever I see injustice, I should fight it because it may come to affect me someday, and that is my motivation for fighting injustice over these years. On several occasions, I have been tortured by the Nigerian police and the military for standing up to authorities to ask questions. However, on some occasions I have been regarded as their friend, depending on the sensibility of those in power. I am not a professional protester, so now I have decided to use other means to hold leaders accountable,’’ he said.

    Are dissenters or critics essentially enemies of the prevailing orders they take on? The respective experience of Onigbinde and Jalingo, among the others, suggests they are so regarded by some, if not all in the power elite and their supporters. Besides, there is a pervasive notion across partisan divide that only members of a political party or its cheerleaders qualify to participate in a government formed by that party. Thus ‘governments of national unity,’ as they are often called, have become sheer anachronism.

    But by keeping critics , dissenters or opponents at bay, we lose so much that synergy of our rich diversity could offer. Also, not only is this tendency at odds with provisions of our national code, it is the bane of our development as a nation. Chapter II, Section 14(2)(c) of the Nigerian 1999 Constitution provides that “participation by the people in their government shall be ensured in accordance with the provisions of this Constitution.” And such provisions include Chapter IV, Section 39 (1) stipulating that “every person shall be entitled to freedom of expression, including freedom to hold opinions and to receive and impart ideas without interference.”

    The power elite and their supporters must learn to rise above cronyism and parochialism of vision by allowing the best available hands to participate in the drive for national development.

     

    • Please join me on kayodeidowu.blogspot.be for conversation.

  • The flip side of anchor tenants

    Shop owners and entrepreneurs desirous of brand visibility and increased patronage usually prefer to locate their business premises in malls of anchor tenants. Their expectation is that the footfall generated by anchor tenants will boost their businesses.This explains why malls housing Shoprite and other big brands are most sought after . But the looting of Shoprite, in retaliation to the xenophobic attacks on Nigerians and their businesses in South Africa is a flip side to this business strategy, as stores owned by Nigerians were also affected. Assistant Editor OKWY IROEGBU-CHIKEZIE writes

    THE allure to share same trading space with big time brands, especially in merchandising can sometimes be too intimidating to be ignored. Many entrepreneurs looking to shoring up their market equity often times look beyind the cost and go for such spaces, even if it is a small space.

    Their interest is to fight for the footfall that throng such malls. And They have often hit the bull’s eye on such decision as such outlets become hugely profitable.

    Leveraging on the crowd pulled by global brand’s popularity is what is called anchor tenancy and has gained traction since big multi-national brands such as Shoprite, Spar, PEP Stores, hit the Nigerian market space.

    They are mainly departmental stores that trade consumer goods in various product categories, such as groceries, electronics, clothes, household appliances, food and drinks, among others.

    Also quite common are the retailers in the entertainment and leisure category such as cinemas and game arcades. The upsurge in the development of shopping malls and centres in the past decade is a welcome development and has changed the shopping experience from what it used to be.

    In addition, the product offering invariably defines the class of customers  coming to the mall.

    The former National Secretary of the Nigerian Institution of Estate Surveyors & Valuers (NIESV) and former Chairman, NIESV Lagos, Offiong Samuel Ukpong, said anchor tenant are drivers of business anywhere they are.

    He said they are usually prominent, visible and huge advertisers.

    Ukpong said this is because of the footfalls and the bargain of varied and superior products, even though it may be intrinsic.

    This true of Shoprite, a South African food and grocery retailer, which made its first entry in Lagos in December 2005. It now has 25 outlets in eight states.

    No doubt, Shoprite brand has continued to draw huge traffic and mall developers are taking advantage of the anchor tenant to sell business spaces as other businesses in the mall usually record huge profit as a result of the traffic.

    But all that may be in the past. Office space seekers are more likely to count the cost today, no thanks to the loss recorded as counter attacks by Nigerians on South Africans business interests as a result of the mindless killings and Xenophobic attacks in South Africa.

    The blurred line between Shoprite outlets and many malls that house them across the country appeared to have contributed to the misunderstanding. Many Nigerians use Shoprite interchangeably with the mall that houses them.

    Most shops looted and destroyed, including two in Lagos, were a product of such mistaken identity. Shoprite and other South African businesses, including MTN, have Nigerian investors and most of their employees are Nigerians.

    However, the looters couldn’t care.

    Ukpong, however, insisted that despite the recent attacks on some foreign-owned businesses, hosting one’s business with a brand anchor tenant remains a good business strategy.

    He said: “Shoprite drives business, but it’s possible that as a business entity, its occupancy rate may not be more than 10 per cent in Ikeja Mall.  But it towers almost above every other business there, despite the fact that there are banks, telecom giants, cinemas, boutiques etc. It is unfortunate that the attacks happened because the Shoprite shops are franchise and owned by Nigerians”.

    Ukpong, who expressed regrets over the incident, noted that most of the people involved did not  fully understand what xenophobic attacks meant; they participated in the episode out of frustration, hunger and anger.

    According to him, the protests began among Nigerians on social media after many foreign-owned properties and businesses were touched in anti-foreigners rage in South Africa.

    Ukpong said the peaceful complaints among Nigerians turned into sporadic violence and looting of South African-affiliated businesses across Nigeria.

    The attacks angered many Nigerians who have called for a boycott of South African businesses, like Shoprite.

    He said a similar scenario played out at the Adeniran Ogunsanya Shopping Mall in Surulere, where police officers struggled to control a mob that vandalised locked stores and stole valuables.

    He insisted that no matter the odds against the concept, anchor tenants, makes good business sense for increased patronage and market visibility.

    The Chairman, Lagos chapter, NIESV, Adedotun Bamigbola, said the key advantage for shop owners to locate their business in malls is for footfall, which is expectedly generated by anchor tenants.

    He stated that the combined footfall generated by all similar shop outlets creates a multiplier effect on the traffic generated and business opportunities for each shop.

    Bamigbola said: “The advantage of associating with an anchor tenant is that it generates a boom in business particularly if there is a good tenant mix.

    “Similarly, when the anchor tenants have lower business patronage, it may adversely affect other businesses in the area.”

  • Brexit uncertainty triggers first September fall in house prices since 2010

    House prices have fallen in the month for the first time since 2010 as Brexit uncertainty continues to cast a long shadow over the United Kingdom (UK) housing market, according to the estate agent Rightmove.

    The UK’s biggest property website said the traditional “autumn bounce” in the market was simply not happening this year. Instead, the average price of newly listed homes fell by 0.2 per cent, or £730, compared with August.

    September is usually the start of an upturn in housing market activity, with price rises recorded every year for the past eight years. However, this year there is growing evidence that sellers are waiting to see how Brexit plays out before deciding whether to move.

    Rightmove said the number of properties coming to market was down by 7.8 per cent this month compared with the same period a year ago. The number of sales agreed is down 5.5% in all regions.

    “In August, The Guardian, UK reported a pre-Brexit buying spree with the number of sales agreed up by over 6 per cent  compared with the prior year, as buyers and sellers decided to get deals secured well before the next Brexit deadline,” Miles Shipside, Rightmove director and housing market analyst, said.

    “But a month later, as the deadline gets closer and tensions heighten, there has been a big swing the other way with sales agreed numbers now over five per cent below those of a year ago.”

    He said the political uncertainty was particularly affecting London, where the number of new properties coming on to the market was 20 per cent down on last year.

    While Brexit uncertainty is holding the market back now, it has been predicted that prices could crash if the UK departs Europe without a deal. Last Monday, the accountancy firm KPMG warned that UK house prices could fall by as much as 20 per cent if Boris Johnson pursues a no-deal Brexit. The biggest falls would be in London and Northern Ireland, it said.

    A no-deal exit could trigger a nationwide decline of about 6 per cent in 2020, and a drop of between 10 per cent and 20 per cent was “not out of the question” if the market reacted more strongly than expected, KPMG predicted.

  • Mixed outlook for agro commodities

    Programme Co-ordinator, Farmers Development Union (FADU) Elder Victor  Olowe has said a positive outlook for agriculture this year would be underpinned by good chances of weather conditions during the summer season.

    This, he noted, would be possible if the country continues to receive above-normal rainfall, which would be good for agricultural activity.

    Meanwhile, the Northcentral and western parts of the country received very little rainfall, and they have also had a drier start in the year.

    This led to delays in crop planting activity. Farmers were unable to meet their planting deadlines due to persistent dryness.

    He said the picture is now mixed as Southwest and Southsouth received good rainfall and crops are generally in a fair condition.

    Olowe said there were chances for farmers to cultivate kitchen crops such as okro although the optimal planting window has already passed.

    He said if the farms continue to receive widespread showers, there would be minimal improvement in planting activity in some areas.

    The  outlook on food inflation may not change significantly in the near to medium term due to increasing security challenges hindering farmers in the North from increasing buffer of  stocks from the previous season.

  • NAIC advises farmers on new flood alert

    The Management of Nigerian Agricultural Insurance Corporation (NAIC), has drawn the attention of Nigerian farmers to the ‘Red Flood Alert’ issued by the Nigerian Hydrological Services Agency (NHISA) with respect to some states of the Federation.

    In a statement by Mrs. Folashade Joseph, the Managing Director of the Corporation, said she underscored the need for farmers to keep abreast of the impact of the heavy rains which is expected to peak between the months of August and October, 2019.

    She advised all farmers, especially those covered by the NAIC Insurance to strictly adhere to best agricultural practices, as they have already been educated by the Corporation during various farmer’s sensitisation programmes on how to maintain sound house-keeping on their insured projects, thereby closing gaps of risk occurrence.

    Mrs. Joseph reminded the farmers that NAIC was specifically set up to indemnify farmers that insured their farms with the Corporation and that given the nationwide spread of NAIC branches which are located in the 36 states of the Federation including the FCT, it is wise for every investor across the agricultural value chain to take a NAIC cover.  NAIC ploughs farmers back to prosperity.