The Nation Newspaper

Tag: products

  • GlaxoSmithKline focuses on consumer healthcare products

    Nigeria’s healthcare  consumer company,GlaxoSmithKline, said it will concentrate its efforts in broadening its range of health-care products. It also said it will widen the distribution of its products to boost sales.

    The company said it is taking the step to cushion the impact of its depleted revenue arising from the challenging economy last year and the disposal of its drinks business which also resulted in a cut of its intake.

    GlaxoSmithKline said in a statement that it will now focus on its Over The Counter (OTC), Oral Health care and pharmaceutical business with the aim of driving improved margins and sustainable growth in Nigeria. Profit after tax for the year 2016 of N4.2billion represented a 335 per cent growth compared to 2015 on the back of profits from the divested drinks business of N1.8billion and N2.4billion  (including the effect of tax credit) from continuing operations,  although turnover was 21 per cent lower than 2015, the company said in a statement.

     

  • New IPMAN boss promises equitable distribution of products

    The Independent Petroleum Marketers of Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) has unveiled its new National President, Alhaji Sanusi Abdu Fari, who vowed to ensure equitable distribution of petroleum products.

    He also pledged to unify the aggrieved factions of the association.

    Addressing journalists after his inauguration in Abuja, he said: “IPMAN shall return to its status quo ante where petroleum products are distributed equitably with promptness.”

    Fari submitted that “today as we speak that court of Appeal has become an academic venture with no substance.”

    On why he was inaugurated National President, he said the constitution of the association stipulates that National President’s tenure expires after three year, and upon expiration the National Vice President  automatically becomes the National President.

    He promised that the association, under his watch would return to its status quo, where petroleum products are promptly distributed equitably.

    He added that “under my administration, petroleum products shall not be distributed on the basis of man-know-man. It shall be done without fear or favour. I am that equilibrium point of IPMAN, I therefore undertake not to murder equitable distribution of petroleum products at the altar of sentiment, favoritism, nepotism and ethnicism.”

    Also speaking, a member from the South West Zone, Chief Adewonyi Kola noted that the he was at the inauguration to avoid a vacuum in the association as he believes in the rule of law.

    Chief Shaguolo James, who spoke on behalf of the Midwest zone, commended the new IPMAN boss, while Chief Lawrence Kanu, who spoke who behalf of the South East, said that it is now up to the association to seek strategies for unification and achievement of enduring peace.

     

  • Skin therapist to women: stay away from products that promise to bleach within a week

    In 2006, business woman Modupe Gladys Mills found the need to re-locate to the United States of America to sojourn for some years. It was not what she had planned. According to her, “I suddenly had a major reason for going to America when I did. When my daughter gained admission to study in America, it was obvious to me, that I will have to go and live there for a while. That is because I had to be close to her. I needed to be around her when she was there in a foreign land.” And when she got there, restless Modupe had too many empty hours  when her daughter was in school. So, she decided to make good use of the time by returning to school. Today, that singular decision has paid off. She is presently one of the most sought-after estheticians (skin therapists) in town. We met her at home in Maryland, Lagos, where she has built a laboratory and factory for production of beauty soaps that are making impact in the beauty and fashion industry. She tells more about her new soap making business, in this interview with Paul Ukpabio.

    You were recently at the Fashion and Beauty Seminar organised by the Fashion Designers Association of Nigeria held in Lagos, where you gave a well applauded lecture on skin care and soaps. Tell us about your work.

    I am an esthetician by profession, that is, a skin therapist

    How did you get to become a skin therapist?

    I went to the USA in 2006. While I was there, I thought of what I could do that was different from what other people were doing in the USA, which was nursing. I wanted something that I could also do, when I return to Nigeria; something that will be unique, something that I could start a business with. I had in time past done a lot of things. So, at that point, I decided that skin care will be it. I enrolled at the International School for Skin and Nails in Georgia, Atlanta, and I did a course there that lasted for a year plus.

    What was your attraction to skin care? why was it different from other things that Nigerians were doing over there?

    I wanted to enhance people’s beauty. Not just people, but women. I wanted to correct beauty fallacies and easily enable women to take care of themselves. Like I said, I had done other things in time past, even here in Nigeria. At a time, I ventured into restaurant business here in Lagos. then again, I was once into sewing of clothes. I owned a popular boutique on Adeniran Ogunsanya in Surulere, and I ventured into cosmetics too.

    So at that point in the US, I wanted something that I could retire into; something that I would be doing later and would enjoy it because it would be fulfilling and satisfying; Something whereby people could come to me and get solutions. That was when the idea of beauty as a product came to me.

    Now, can you tell us about your work?

    I’m the CEO of Momil Essentials, an organisation that specialises in handmade gourmet soaps. Our soaps are formulated using 100% exotic nature finest oils, exotic butters; clays, herbal infusions and botanicals. We formulate from scratch using the old fashioned cold process method.

    Our soaps are scented using premium essential oils. The result is amazingly luxurious bars of soaps that have a creamy, foamy lather with wonderful and gentle cleansing properties, unlike many commercial bars.

    Our handmade soaps retain all its naturally occurring glycerine and contains no artificial detergents or harsh chemicals. Our gentle soaps are safe to use from face to toes. We have formulated every batch to help the skin feeling clean without being stripped of its natural and beneficial oil.

    Where do you shop for your materials, especially the essential oils?

    I shop for materials for the soaps in France or United States of America And some in Morocco.

    What future do you hope for?

    I hope to help restore Nigerian woman’s lost ‘glowing skin.’

    How relevant is skin care to today’s woman?

    Skin care is extremely very relevant to both women and men because your skin is the mirror to your inside. The moment I see a person, from her skin, I can tell if the person is clean or not. Whatever you put inside will definitely come out to the skin. So I advise you to have a skin regiment every day.

    If you are to advise Nigerian women on how to take care of their skin, what would you say?

    I will advise Nigerian women to stop using soaps with harsh chemicals on their skin because, it takes away age from them. It also destroys the epidermis of their skin. Any product that promises to change you from black to fair in seven days must be stayed away from. Our products help you tone but not bleach and we use toning ingredients that are mild and are not abrasive to the skin.

    Before now, you were into other businesses…

    Yes, I was, but that was when I was much younger. I did restaurant, children’s shop, I had a boutique called ‘Temptations’ in Surulere, it was popular for society women and other fashion loving people. I catered to ladies’ clothing. I called my boutique ‘Temptation’ because my clothes were very tempting to wear (laughs); all my dresses then were synthetic. There was no where you would have passed by my shop and see my mannequins and not be tempted to come into the boutique to buy something. Then before I travelled out to America, I went into supermarket, and even later opened a spa. The spa was called ‘Extreme Beauty’ and was located on Koforowola Street in Ikeja, Lagos.

    Why were you moving from one business to another like that?

    (Laughs) Well, I am a struggler! I told you earlier on that I come from a home of strugglers (laughs), a home of business people.

    You have lived in the Lagos social circuit, you have seen it all. What can you say about the fashion of yester-years and that of today?

    The fashion of yester years is different from today’s fashion. In those days, women wore clothes to cover their nakedness. But today, everything is exposed!

    My daughter is a professional fashion designer. She studied that in Georgia Atlanta before returning to Nigeria. Before I left the country in 2006, I was into fashion business too. When my daughter returned, she went straight into the business. She started sewing. She has a gift for sewing, which also complements the fact that she is a professional designer. But there is this same common problem that every woman who goes into the tailoring, fashion business faces. My daughter later faced that same problem, the same challenges that I faced. She didn’t think she should continue like that.

    So what’s the problem common in the fashion scene now?

    With a degree in fashion designing, my daughter decided that being a fashion designer doesn’t mean she has to sit down there to sew all day. She decided to specialise. So what she does now is do the sketches and then give to tailors to sew. So you can see the problem that most fashion designers have. They have issues with tailors, with electricity, there is no week you are not spending a huge amount of money on diesel. Even when I was sewing, these were the same challenges that I faced. And the bad aspect is that, everybody calls themselves fashion designers; it’s really difficult knowing the difference. Everybody wants to sell dresses. These days, you see girls pick sketches on papers and magazines, go to Tejuoso market to meet tailors to sew them and then take photos and go to Instagram and call themselves fashion designers. So those are the major challenges that the fashion designing scene is facing presently.

    How did you and your daughter overcome some of these challenges?

    Well, I stopped sewing. I wouldn’t even want to go back into it. I am fully concentrated on the soap business, which has now taken most of my time. But my daughter decided to specialise in bridal dresses, but not that of the bride, but that which the bridal train wears. So most times she sews for them. She brings her fabrics into the country to do that. She is actually well known for her good end products.

    Tell us about your style and fashion sense

    I don’t wear most of what today’s ladies wear. Perhaps that is because of my age. My style for clothes I wear is rather different from what is easily seen on the street. Again, what I wear is mostly determined by the occasion I’m attending.

    Do you have any fashion accessory that you cannot do without?

    (Laughs) No way, there are no fashion accessories that I cannot do without. When it comes to the use of accessories, moderation is the key word for me.

    If you were not what you are now, what else would you have loved to be?

    I will never want to be anything or person else than me. No regrets. I am happy the way I am.

    Tell us about a normal day with you; and how about weekends?

    In my normal day I work. And at weekends I relax and unwind.

    If you were to describe yourself, what would you say?

    Oh, I am a serious-minded person.

    What does success mean to you?

    Success means a lot to me, I’m a hard working woman. Naturally, without success, a person is likely to be depressed in life. As you probably know, no success means no friends and relatives. Success to me is like watching a plant blossom.

    What advice would you give to women generally?

    My advice will be that they take good care of their environment and don’t wish to be other women because, most other women envy your independence. Make your money and stay close to your God. Create time to date yourself, pamper yourself and be what makes you happy.

    What other things do you enjoy doing, especially when you are not making soaps?

    Yes, I find time to cook food and I make sure that I eat right.

    What do you value most?

    I value worshipping God most and I get inspiration from praise worship of God.

    Who influenced you most?

    Both of my parents influenced me in their different ways. My mother is from Akwa Ibom. She is still alive but retired from business. I am a typical Nigerian. I have lived around different parts of Nigeria, and at the same time, I have always been living permanently in Lagos.

    Which of the languages do you speak?

    For Nigerian languages, I speak, Ibo, Oron, Ibibio, Efik and a passable Yoruba. I did my primary school in Port Harcourt, while secondary school was at Oron, Mary Ann Girls High School. I studied Mass Communication at the Lagos State University before getting the Diploma from America. So business had always been in my blood.

    You have lived in America and you have lived in Nigeria. Where do you prefer most?

    (Laughs) I wouldn’t stay in America permanently even if I’m given a million dollars. I will always prefer my home country Nigeria. No matter how long I stay in America or anywhere else, I will always return to Nigeria. There is no place like home, no place like Nigeria. There is no place that you will be outside, where you will get the same feeling as being at home. It can never be the same as being in your fatherland. There is no where around the world that you can feel totally free like when you are at home. So no matter what our country may be going through right now, it is definitely a phase. We will overcome it and Nigeria will be better again. I don’t believe in staying outside; Nigeria is more or less a barren land that needs to be cultivated. If you come to the country and you strive hard, you definitely will make money.

    I stayed there for about four years, just the time it took my daughter to get her degree. I am a typical Nigerian. I love Nigeria. If it is not edikankong then it is not. If it is not ewedu, no matter how you use spinach to cook it, it cannot be ewedu. So I am deeply in love with my country Nigeria.

    What do you like about Nigeria?

    I love the wahala (laughs) that is associated with the country generally. I guess it keeps me going. I miss the Nigerian thing when I am abroad. When I go to another man’s country and stay in a big house, without people to talk to, it doesn’t make sense to me. I just have to have people to talk to. So, I come back home. When I was in America, everything was there to ensure my happiness. I had a big home to live in, but a typical Nigerian that I am, I was home homesick. I had to return home.

    Your most memorable holiday, or travel?

    My most memorable holiday was at Disney World in Florida. I boldly entered a boat with other people inside and mid-way it was very rough. I feared I was going to drown. I started crying, that I would like to turn back but people were excited and they kept going. That was not funny for me, and I swore never to repeat that experience.

  • Packaged poison

    Packaged poison

    • Nigeria must do more to combat re-packaging of expired products

     

    The discovery of a large amount of expired consumer goods being repackaged for sale in two four-storey blocks of flats in Kirikiri, Lagos, points to how extensive the despicable trade in products unfit for human consumption is in Nigeria.

    The discovery was made by the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON), which was acting on a tip-off from concerned Nigerians. The eight apartments were filled to overflowing with a huge variety of consumer products, including personal hygiene products, beauty creams and baby products.

    The apartments were, in effect, warehouses where wrappings and packages bearing old expiry dates were replaced with new ones set well into the future. The alleged culprit is a well-known wholesaler and distributor of consumer products, and is likely to have exploited his extensive network to shops and supermarkets across the nation to perpetuate his nefarious activities.

    It is difficult to over-estimate the inhumanity of the trade in expired products. Many goods become harmful if not downright toxic when they reach their statutory expiry dates; selling them to an unsuspecting public amounts to virtual mass-poisoning. Since most of these goods are sold in heavily-patronised markets and shops all over the country, it is difficult for customers to suspect that anything is amiss.

    The extensive planning which goes into repackaging expired goods for resale is a grim testimony to the cold-blooded cruelty of those who perpetrate it. Careful attempts are made to ensure that the wrapping and packaging used is very similar to the original; efficient logistics and distribution processes are established in order to ensure that the expired products reach every nook and cranny of the nation without being traceable to their original source; deliberate efforts are made to suborn officials of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), the Nigeria Police Force and regulatory bodies in order to guarantee the safe passage of such goods into and across the country.

    Indeed, what is most shocking about this particular case is the way in which the alleged culprit has apparently been able to get away with his activities for years without detection. He was able to convert several residential apartments into virtual warehouses without attracting any suspicion. Dozens of trucks were able to deliver expired goods to the houses and take them away over time without challenge. In spite of the police, military and customs checkpoints which litter the country’s roads and expressways, the repackaged goods were never apprehended in transit.

    None of the established procedures for identifying, isolating and destroying expired goods appear to have been adhered to. As goods approach their expiry date, they are normally withdrawn from shop shelves and sent to bodies like SON, where they are destroyed in controlled environments. In this case, there was a clear failure to track the distribution and sale of these goods in order to ensure that they could be promptly recalled and destroyed upon expiry. The collusion of retail outlets in achieving this dubious end cannot be ruled out.

    SON must transcend the ritual of self-congratulation that it often indulges itself in when it makes seizures like these. Far from demonstrating its vaunted effectiveness, these incidents actually underline a troubling lack of institutional capacity. The trade in expired products is profitable only because SON and sister organisations like the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) are not making it more difficult for criminal entrepreneurs to get away with it.

    SON must improve its capacity to monitor consumer goods and ensure that expired products undergo the statutory process of withdrawal, recall and destruction. Routine checks of all importers, wholesalers and distributors must become standard practice. A reporting system must be developed to enable retailers to update SON on the status of their goods. Nigeria can no longer be a country in which poisonous profits are easily amassed.

  • Senate and made-in-Nigeria products

    Senate and made-in-Nigeria products

    When it started four years ago, the Made in Aba Trade Fair in Abuja was more or less a one man show. Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe promoted the fair as part of his constituency project. Four years after, like the mustard seed, the fair has grown in size and organisation. The Senate has bought into it as a veritable avenue to promote Made in Nigeria goods.

    The 2017 edition of the fair was particularly impressive. It pulled the high and mighty in the Senate to the Arts and Craft Villa Abuja venue of the fair. Some members of the House of Representatives who shared the ‘buy Made in Nigeria vision’ were not left out.

    The opening ceremony of the five day event on Monday was also spectacular. It was brisk and business-like. It was not a speech making day but a day to showcase ingenuity, resourcefulness and can do spirit of Nigerians.

    Perhaps Abaribe, the Abia South Senator, realised that looking inwards was the way to go. For him, Nigerians do not really have to look outside the shores of the country for anything. Why waste scarce resources on foreign goods when you can get them at relatively cheap prices in Nigeria, Abaribe would always ask.

    “When we started in 2013, it was not fashionable to promote made in Aba or made in Nigeria goods. I thank the Senate President and my colleagues who supported us to stage last year’s edition after which we passed a motion to encourage local manufacturing and then we also passed an amendment to the Procurement Act,” he said.

    Senate President, Abubakar Bukola Saraki, renewed his sing-song of the Senate working in synergy with the executive arm of government to smoothen rough edges of the business environment in the country.

    Saraki recalled that last year, when he visited the made in Aba fair with his colleagues from the 8th Senate, he promised that the Senate would continue to do everything in its power to ensure that Nigerian businesses and manufacturers begin to enjoy more patronage from the Federal Government.

    “This is precisely what we have done with the amendment of the Public Procurement Act, which has passed final reading in the Senate and making its way through the House of Representatives.

    “We are in the process of making it easier for manufacturers and entrepreneurs around the country to benefit from the over N2 trillion in government procurement contracts,” Saraki declared

    Represented by the Deputy Senate Leader, Senator Bala Ibn Na’ Allah at the fair, Saraki said his office has launched the Made in Nigeria Challenge, aimed at showcasing the innovative ideas of Nigerian businesses.

    “Through this challenge, which is still ongoing, we hope to identify goods, services and other products that can be matched with investors and government agencies, to lessen the plight of our homegrown businessmen and women.

    “Today, as I see the various goods on display, I stand here reassured that ‘Made in Nigeria’ can truly and fully drive us towards the path of economic sustainability and prosperity.

    “On our part, we in the Nigerian Senate, and the National Assembly as a whole, will continue to do everything within our mandate and powers to ensure that our domestic manufacturers and service providers have the enabling environment that they need to thrive.

    “Working with the Federal Government, we will push for improved infrastructure, financial investment and technology to boost our domestic manufacturing value chain.

    “We are partners in this process; we will continue to be partners. I believe in Made in Nigeria, I believe in Made in Aba. The possibilities ahead of us are endless,” Saraki said.

    Director-General of Small, Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN), Dr. Dikko Umar Radda, who was also at the fair said the Made in Aba Trade Fair has not only become the flagship trade facilitator project of their annual zonal intervention programme, in partnership with the National Assembly, it has notably also become an important fixture in the Federal Capital’s annual business promotion calendar.

    Radda noted that the entrepreneurial cycle is only complete when products of industry reach the final consumer.

    Abia State Governor, Okezie Ikpeazu, who was also at the event, told participants that the local manufacturers of shoes and leather products in Aba, Abia State, export at least one million shoes to Europe on a weekly basis.

    He noted that there were over 15,000 shoe makers in Aba who produce over 300,000 shoes per day.

    At least one million of the shoes find their ways to Europe and other parts of the world on a weekly basis, he said. The exports, he said, are estimated at about N1billion weekly.

    He said that Abia people and the state is happy that Acting President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, has approved the garment making industry of the Made-in-Aba sector.

    It may be necessary to add that any platform that will encourage local manufacturers is worth it.

  • Curbing the menace of imported fake products

    Curbing the menace of imported fake products

    Unwholesome food and products get into the country with ease, provoking the question: what are agencies at the ports doing? It is believed that if the agencies are up and doing, such items would not pass through. Assistant Editor Okwy Iroegbu-Chikezie writes.

    Fake and substandard products keep streaming into the country despite the army of agencies at the ports. Such products include plastic rice from China, Indian gari, jollof rice, varieties of Nigerian local soups and substandard tyres from China. The substandard tyres estimated at over N5billion were found in a warehouse in Lagos. They have since been seized by the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON).

    These confiscated products are life- threatening. Observers are calling for the return of critical agencies hitherto removed from the ports in the heat of port reforms to go back to their duty posts to protect the lives of the citizenry.

    Following the outrage in the case of the Indian gari, the National Agency for Food Drug Administration Control (NAFDAC) raided the shop located on Cameron Road, Ikoyi, Lagos. The public wondered how it was allowed to enter the country. But NAFDAC came out strongly, stating that the product does not have their number.

    “The product has no NAFDAC number. It is said to come from Ghana but packaged in the United Kingdom. The management of the supermarket has been invited for further discussion in our Lagos office and investigation continues,” NAFDAC Acting Director-General, Mrs. Yetunde Oni, said in a message.

    Other agencies, such as the SON, have been calling on the government to allow them return to the ports, arguing that it is in the interest of the nation for them to return. They argued that as a result of their critical functions in preventing life-threatening imports, it might not be in the best interest of the nation to be asked to leave the ports with other not so critical agencies.

    In the height of Port Reforms of the previous administration, the government banned over 28 agencies, leaving only six to man the ports and ease the port clearance process. Affected in the shake-up, were SON, Directorate of Naval Intelligence, Nigerian Plant Quarantine Services, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency and the Federal Environmental Protection Agency.

    In an interview with The Nation, SON Director of Monitoring & Compliance, Mr. Bede Obayi, an engineer, said they have a mandate to ensure that whatever is imported complies with the nation’s standards requirements, stressing that it will be a mistake if their services are dispensed with in the name of port reforms.

    He said: “We look out for accountability and also ensure that we stop false declaration by importers. We are asking for placement of priority in government policies that will ensure that quality and standards take their pride of place. Our mandate is not to ascertain if an importer has paid duties on his imports but to ensure that what he has imported does not impair the lives of the citizenry.”

    Obayi called for efficiency at the ports by canvassing for a window for all regulators at the ports. According to him, the greatest challenge for SON is that of contending with fake bill of lading from importers on daily basis. He recalled how a businessman imported substandard cables which can ignite fire at homes and offices and wrongly labelled them as agriculture equipment. He said it was only when they did a scientific test that they discovered how dangerous the products were.

    Few weeks ago, SON also intercepted 60 containers of fake tryes worth N5 billion imported by two Chinese nationals and their collaborators after they had passed the checks at the port. This grave lapse, observers said, was a consequence of not having the right agencies at the point of entry.

    During a tour led by the SON’s Director-General, Osita Aboloma, to Alakija, about two million imported tyres were seen in a warehouse beside the popular Navy Town in the area.

    According to Aboloma, the Chinese importers, who gave their names as Tanlong Shen and Xu Jing Yao, were bust through inter-agency collaboration and intelligence received from “well-meaning Nigerians” after they had been cleared from the port.

    “We acted on the intelligence we received from well-meaning Nigerians. This was achieved as a result of inter-agency collaboration.You can see volume of tyres brought in and you can imagine the implication for our society if these tyres are let into the market,” he said.

    The SON chief said the sub-standard tyres which were shipped  from China, were post-dated to make them appear road-worthy. He criticised the way the tyres were packaged, noting that it is only SON that knows the implication of the worthiness of the tyres and should have been at the point of entry to disallow it from entering the country in the first place.

    “The fact that up to five of them were being tucked into one, with operators using rods to separate them from one another when they reached Nigeria, the tyres will naturally become substandard. This is because in the course of separating them from the squeeze, the wires and geometrics of the tyres will be affected,” he said.

    He wielded the big stick, assuring though that they might not be at the ports. The arrested persons would be prosecuted under the new SON Act,” he added.

    At a seminar on Port Reforms organised by the Lagos Chamber of Commerce & Industry (LCCI), former NBA president, Dr. Olisa Agbakoba, and discussants criticised the large number of regulatory agencies at the ports, corruption, poor infrastructure and the government’s indecision on implementing robust policies that will drive the sector.

    He called for the harmonisation of all regulatory bodies at the ports, stressing the need for one window to remove bottlenecks in ports operations.

    LCCI Director of Research and Advocacy, Dr. Vincent Nwani, in his paper titled: “Nigeria: Reforming the maritime sector,” said estimates from the Chamber’s research show that trillions of Naira in revenue is lost yearly within the port and business community as a result of inefficiencies and inherent shortcomings of the nation’s maritime ports.

    According to him, unfriendly business environment, such as the situation we have in the ports, continue to undermine the capacity of investors to maximise abundant trade and democratic opportunities in Nigeria.

    He noted that 48-hour target set by the government is still far from being achieved.

    He said: “Speedy processing of import and export documents by relevant agencies are important elements of trade facilitation process. It is also a major variable in the 2016 World Bank ease of Doing Business ranking in which Nigeria ranked very low at 169 out of 185 countries profiled. This has made it very difficult to achieve any of the port reform objectives set by the past political administration.”

    He called for technology and innovative solutions, the establishments of national trade data centre, implementation of a single window platform including the passage of the pending bills at the National Assembly to stimulate the maritime sector.

  • 128 firms jostle for NNPC’s crude, products swap

    •Oando, Asap, Delsama, MRS, others on the list

    The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) yesterday opened bids from 128 firms that jostled for this year’s  crude/product swap otherwise known as Direct Sale Direct Purchase (DSDP).

    The bids of MRS Oil, Sahara Energy Petroleum Ltd, Oando, Asap and Delsama and others were part of the bids opened as at press time yesterday.

    The exercise, according to its Group Managing Director (GMD), Maikanti Baru, who declared the bids opened in Abuja, would involve a maximum of 800,000 barrel per day (bpd).

    “The crude involved in this year’s DSDP is about 800,000 barrel at most,” he said.

    He said the primary consideration of the bid was to ensure that Nigerians are not left out of the exercise so long as  they form a consortium or made single entities but they must have physical presence in the country.

    He said: “The major drive here is to ensure that Nigerians are not left out. And we make sure by ensuring that those that emerge whether it is consortium or single must have physical presence in Nigeria.

    “That means that they must have some depots or retail outlets as a minimum or they must be involved with exploration and production of crude oil. So we ensure that most of the proceeds are domesticated in Nigeria.”

    He said the DSDP has since its inception helped greatly in the stabilisation of product supply to the nation.

    Analysing the benefits that the NNPC has recorded from the operation of the crude/products swap, he said the corporation has saved Nigeria $500million by cutting payments and cost of demurrage.

    According to him, the programme has ensured that products supply from the refineries  are augmented to meet national supply for the sustenance of 30 days sufficiency, especially in the case of petrol.

    “The DSDP is a major component of our petroleum product supply portfolio and since its inception, it has helped greatly in the stabilisation of product supply to the nation. The DSDP programme has also recorded significant cost savings of over half a billion dollars through major reduction in the amount we pay for both demurrage and the products themselves . It ensures that the supply from the refineries are fully augmented to meet the national supply as well as a sustained over 30 days sufficiency particularly for petrol,” Baru said.

    He said NNPC has been able to play its role by living up to its obligation as a supplier of last resort whenever the marketers fail to make their supply margin due to prices.

    Baru added that the DSDP has assisted the oil firm to intervene in the supply of deregulated products, especially Aviation Turbine Kerosene (ATK) for which there was anticipated scarcity. NNPC brought cargoes steadily on weekly basis to ensure that there was 30 -day sufficiency.

    The GMD recalled that the corporation got the nation wet despite the propaganda that there was shortage of aviation fuel, adding that the cause of the shortage was that the operators could not pay for tits cost.

    “The programme is very transparent and the major instrument for the partnership between NNPC and products suppliers both local and international. We have, as part of this programme, been able to live to our obligation as a supplier of last resort when products are not being supplied by the marketers on the basis of prices that will not give them sufficient margin,” he said.

    He noted that the corporation used DSDP to intervene in the area of making sufficient supply of diesel to the market.

    According to him, the programme has led to steady delivery of cargoes of diesel into the country on every four days basis.

    Speaking, the Group General Manager, Crude Oil Marketing, Mele Kyria said one basic concern of the DSDP was the availability of products .

    He explained that Nigeria is selling its crude in exchange for products but for equivalent of higher of value through the programme.

    He said  in the last one year, the process has ensured that the products that NNPC received has been of higher value than the value of crude it has given out.

  • SON seals firms over ‘sub-standard’ products

    SON seals firms over ‘sub-standard’ products

    Determined to rid the country of fake and sub-standard goods which cause health hazards to Nigerians, the Standard Organisation of Nigeria (SON) has raided some companies in the commercial city of Onitsha, Anambra State suspected to be dealing in fake products. Three companies at Awada and Arondizogu streets in 3-3 GRA belonging to two different persons were sealed by the organisation.

    Eight persons were also arrested  during the raid.

    Among those arrested included a Chinese, Ming Tiandong and the owner of Bendusco Industries Limited, Mr. Benjamin Nwizu.

    At 3-3 GRA at Nkwelle-Ezunaka, four of the workers of the company, all girls, were arrested along with the security man and the company’s driver.

    The company was alleged to be involved in producing fake shaving sticks and razor blades known as Tip-Up and Tigger respectively. However, the owner of the firm ran away with his family.

    The companies’ products and machines were confiscated by SON, even as one of the vehicles of one of the companies was also confiscated.

    Addressing reporters after the operation at Nkwelle-Ezunaka, the Deputy Director Operations (SON), Suleman Isah, said the firms were sealed because they were producing sub-standard products, adding that that informed the combined operation.

    He said SON would prosecute the suspects after full investigations had been carried out, adding that the companies had been under the organisation’s surveillance for years.

    The Director of Operations, who led another group to Awada, Mr. Felix Nyado, said DSK Goldings City Investment Limited and Bendusco International Limited were producing fake tooth paste, brush and shaving sticks.

    He also accused the companies of producing sub-standard products in a filthy environment.

    But the owner of the two companies, who hid inside the ceiling before he was dragged down by the security operatives, claimed that SON had visited the place before the current operation.

    He expressed dissatisfaction over the action of the organisation, adding that he had earlier taken them to the Federal High Court in Awka where, according to him, the court ruled that they should go back to the status quo.

    Nwizu further claimed that he had reported SON to the National Assembly where, he said, SON was warned not to disturb his company again.

    But briefing reporters, Nyado denied Nwizu’s claims, saying that the companies had engaged in unwholesome acts.

  • ‘How to get more certified agriculture products exported to EU’

    Executive Secretary/CEO, Institute of Export Operation and Management (IEOM), Mr. Ofonasaha Udofia,  has said improving food safety  standards would  ease the flow of agricultural products to Europe.

    Udofia  said the European Union( EU) has set stringent certification standards, but producers of Nigerian agricultural products should  be trained to  meet them.

    According to him, as Nigerian producers are successfully meeting the EU’s import standards, the import of Nigerian agricultural produce will be increasing.

    He explained that such produce will be well received by Europe’s large supermarkets as they would meet the international certification on good agricultural practices, Global GAP, while having an advantage in terms of quality.

    He said Nigerian  produce  have  big markets in the EU, including cocoa, cashew, palm oil and its derivatives, nutmeg and other agricultural commodities.

    According to him, Nigeria agriculture exports to the EU lag behind those of fellow African countries such as Kenya and Ghana because they   provided products with higher sanitary and phyto sanitary (SPS) standards and other international requirements.

  • ‘Food industry under pressure to develop clean products’

    Promasidor Nigeria Limited Chief Keith  Richard has said the food industry is under pressure to develop clean products.

    At the just-concluded CEO Roundtable in Lagos, Richard  said stakeholders across the value chain, including producers, primary and value-added processors, retailers and distributors, needed an enabling environment to impact on the market through sale of good food products and farming practices.

    According to him, the food industry’s productivity growth has declined relative to major competitors due to the regulatory regime and gaps that hinder operators from developing and using innovation and new technologies.

    Urgent measures, he stressed,  were needed to produce food not only for export, but also for domestic consumption.

    Richard said the food industry was resource intensive, which puts local supply chains under greater pressure  to create a sustainable food supply for Nigerians.

    He explained that there was   huge potential to attract more global investment and funding into the Nigeria markets but the government needs to build partnerships between industry to anticipate new challenges and model potential solutions.