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Tag: projects

  • Brewery, NGO unveil community water and sanitation projects

    Brewery, NGO unveil community water and sanitation projects

    Guinness Nigeria Plc, a subsidiary of Diageo, has partnered a non governmental organisation (NGO), Concern Universal, to pioneer sustainable method of integrating rural sanitation and hygiene promotion with access to safe water. This novel approach, which strengthens the 10 year-old Diageo Water of Life project, is being implemented by Concern Universal in 10 communities across three local government areas of Cross River State.

    Inadequate access to safe water and sanitation, coupled with poor hygiene practices, are responsible for the spread of deadly, but preventable, diseases such as diarrhoea, cholera, and typhoid.

    In Nigeria, where a quarter of the population defecates in the open, over 150,000 children under the age of five die yearly from diarrhoea alone. Together, improvements in water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) are responsible for preventing up to 90 per cent of diarrhoeal diseases.

    Guinness Nigeria Plc Corporate Relations Director,  Sesan Sobowale said: “Guinness Nigeria recognises that millions of people still do not have access to clean and safe water. One in five persons around the world cannot access safe drinking water; and in Nigeria, 63 million people do not have access to clean water. This is why Guinness Nigeria and the Diageo Foundation teamed up with Concern Universal to provide clean water for rural communities in Cross River State. Our partnership leverages our collective strengths to help beneficiary communities improve their water, sanitation, and hygiene, and ultimately, their health.”

    Guinness Nigeria’s partnership with Concern Universal supports the Rural Sanitation and Hygiene Promotion in Nigeria (RUSHPIN) programme by providing access to safe water in villages that have achieved open defecation-free status in Cross River State.

    Committee members are also facilitated to develop their own water management plans, including financing future repairs and conserving water during drier seasons.

    Concern Universal’s Country Director, Tim Kellow, explained how “this approach, which carefully sequences demand-led sanitation and hygiene behaviour change with participatory water management, is creating a model for the WASH sector, in Nigeria and beyond, to ensure that the introduction of water points works in tandem with sanitation and hygiene promotion to prevent killer diseases, such as diarrhoea”.

    Sustainable Development Manager, Guinness Nigeria, Osita Abana, while remarking on the project’s impact in Cross River State said: “During my visit to beneficiary communities, I was inspired to see first hand, the positive impact the Guinness/Concern Universal partnership is already making. Families, who used to fetch water from streams, now have easy access to clean water. Communities have also adopted proper hygiene habits that will limit the spread of preventable diseases like diarrhoea and cholera.”

    Through the partnership’s pilot project, Guinness Nigeria and Concern Universal have helped 6,000 people in 10 communities to access safe drinking water. In addition, 120 community members have been trained in basic borehole maintenance and water resource management.

  • Babalakin, others explain why govt can’t fund projects

    Experts yesterday advised the government to genuinely encourage Public Private Partnership (PPP) and the rule of law to increase the pace of the nation’s development.

    This submission was made at the Fourth Akindelano Legal Practitioners (ALP) seminar series, at the Oriental Hotel in Lagos.

    Participants at the event expressed fears that the country might remain impoverished and stagnated unless government’s regulatory bodies stop acting as competitors with private business concerns.

    Examining major commercial, legal and practical issues facing Nigerian businesses, the experts noted insecurity and inconsistent government policies as part of the problem.

    They urged government to look for alternative finance mechanism by partnering the private sector, rather than relying on banks for loans.

    Speakers at the gathering included Chairman, Bi-Courtney,  Dr. Wale Babalakin (SAN) as well as Director General, Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC), Aminu Diko.

    Babalakin, who spoke on the “Suitability of PPP in the Nigerian Terrain”, said the country’s total revenue in the last three years equalled its total expenditure.

    Reiterating that the Federal Government was bankrupt,  Babalakin stated that funds spent on capital projects were borrowed.

    According to him, the greatest challenges facing the country were ignorance and malicious refusal to understand, urging the government to uphold the rule of law.

    He said: “Nigeria is not a rich country. In the last three years, Nigeria’s total revenue has been equal to its total expenditure. So, money spent on capital projects is being borrowed. The government is bankrupt; so it will never be able to fund major projects.  No federal road has been completed in less than 10 years.

    “At the opening of the Murtala Muhammed Airport Two (MMA2) in May, 2007, I said the greatest challenges we faced were ignorance, malicious refusal to understand and malice. The government failed to honour the agreement on MMA2 from day one and started competing with us.

    “The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), a regulatory body, was also acting as an operator. Government closed the General Aviation Terminal, but a new minister opened it for competition, thereby reducing our revenue.

    “We went for arbitration and they ruled in our favour. We went to court, fighting about six parties, and won all the cases. The Federal High Court, Abuja, awarded damages of N132 billion to us, but the government is yet to pay or honour the agreement. We were stopped from building a hotel and conference centre at the airport for no reason, but the ban was raised two weeks ago. One of the things keeping us going at MMA2 is a set of lawyers who have been fighting passionately.

    “The case of the Lagos/Ibadan Expressway is worse. I had a meeting with the former President, Goodluck Jonathan, on a Friday and he told me to go ahead with the project. But the project was stopped on the following Tuesday.

    “It’s time to stop pretending and start upholding the rule of law. If PPPs are not encouraged, the country will remain impoverished and continue to move at a very slow pace.”

    For Diko, who spoke on “Attracting finance for PPP Projects in a globally competitive market,” insecurity, inconsistent government policies, disrespect for the rule of law and incapacity of supervising government agencies, were the four major challenges facing effective private sector participation in economic development.

    Blaming the government for myriads of litigations arising from PPPs, Diko said they emanated as a result of failure to honour concession agreements.

    In his keynote address,  Chairman, Altra Capital Ltd, United Kingdom,  John Davies explained why banks are not lending.

    He said the single most important thing that sponsors must do to be taken seriously by the financial world “is to prepare very high quality business plans which come from using experienced advisers”.

    At the event were the Managing Director, Investment Banking, United Capital Plc, Wale Shonibare; the Co-Head, Infrastructure Finance at Rand Merchant Bank, Nigeria, Ato Gyasi; Managing Director, Travant Capital Partners, Sanyade Okoli; Country Manager, International Finance Corporation (IFC), Nigeria Ms Eme Essien, and the Managing Director of Infrastructure Bank Plc, Adekunle Oyinloye and others.

     

  • Don’t play politics with projects, group warns Obiano

    Don’t play politics with projects, group warns Obiano

    A Human rights group in Anambra State, Intersociety, has warned parties, governments and individuals in Anambra State to stop playing politics with projects.

    The group was reacting to claims by Governor Willie Obiano that he completed 50 per cent of the Nkpor-Amawbia old road.

    A statement by Intersociety’s President, Comrade Emeka Umeagbalasi said former Governor Peter Obi started and completed the road before Obiano was inaugurated.

    The statement reads: “We at Intersociety observed the last asphalt of the road at Nawfia-Omuokpu-Amawbia section in early 2014 and that between Enugu-Ukwu and Nawfia in late December 2013, Peter ‘Okwute’ Obi fought hard to complete the road, particularly following APC and Ngige’s scornful use of it as one of their campaign weapons against him and his APGA party.

    “At Intersociety, we also fought for re-asphalting of the failed portions of the road with several letters and offline messages and information to Obi”.

    Intersociety expressed happiness that they were part of the group that monitored the progress of the reconstruction and had to bring routine progress of work to the government.

    They said Obi’s government had to re-asphalt some portions of the road, expand small drainages and submitted that the project was 100 per cent completed by Peter Obi’s administration.

    The group said: “Therefore, the present governor’s public pronouncement of completing most of the Nkpor old road project is statistically incorrect”.

  • ‘Why infrastructural projects are delayed in Nigeria’

    Nigeria recorded over $93 billion in infrastructure deficit over the years, and for government to attract additional infrastructure financing for increased delivery of projects, it needs to renew its focus on delivering financial instruments, Managing Director of Hortigraph Nigeria Limited, Murtala Abubakar, has said.

    Speaking at the unveiling of the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) Metrology Institute in Enugu, Abubakar said infrastructural projects in the country are often not delivered within the agreed timeline due to financing gap that often keeps contractors at sites beyond agreed period, while widening the budget of the project.

    Indeed, a recent report by PricewaterhouseCoopers Limited showed that Nigeria’s infrastructure projects are most times behind the scheduled date of delivery by at least two years, while budget estimates are double the original estimates.

    Abubakar noted that in addressing this key challenge of financing, cost of funds should be addressed, adding that financial instruments required to attract additional infrastructure financing to the country like, bridge equity, secured loans, refinancing/secondary transactions, as well as credit enhancement and other risk mitigation measures geared at attracting non-traditional funders such as institutional investors and international investment banks should be created.

    He explained that his company, with many years of experience in key mass housing and infrastructural projects, hopes to complete the metrology institute within the timeline of three years considering other major variables.  “As a civil engineering firm with at least 15 years experience in housing and government projects, the Nigerian Metrology Institute (NMI) is the first project that the firm would be executing for SON and we have commenced work to ensure that the timeline of three years is met while ensuring that the quality and standards of the project are not undermined.

    ”We are also working to ensure the sustainability and environmental friendliness of the project by ensuring that it complies with the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) requirements,” he added.

    Already, PwC in its report had stated that, “infrastructure plays a key role in economic growth and reducing poverty having a 5-25 per cent yearly return on investment as an economic multiplier.

    “Those countries that have been most successful in developing and maintaining infrastructure have established programmes of prioritised investment opportunities with a number of features, including clear political support, proper legal and regulatory structure, a procurement framework that can be understood by both procurers and bidders, and credible project timetables,” he said.

  • Dangote inaugurates projects for communities

    Dangote inaugurates projects for communities

    Indigenes of communities hosting Dangote Cement Plc, in Ibese, Yewa and Ewekoro in Ogun State are in for better times, as the cement company announced the inauguration of 19 various Corporate Social Service (CSR) projects for them.

    In what is regarded as a major boost to its CSR profile, projects by the cement company would cover various social sectors, including water, education, electricity, roads, IT etc.

    It would be recalled that the company had some years ago instituted scholarships for indigenes of any of its host communities in any higher institution and secondary schools. Over 90 of them have since benefited from the scholarships.

    The management said it was poised to making life more meaningful to all members of the over 16 communities bordering the cement plant and that it would ensure that all projects meet the specific needs of each community.

    Executive Director, Stakeholder Management and Corporate Communication, Mr. Mansur Ahmed, an engineer, explained that the projects were agreed upon after a careful deliberation and discussion with the Obas, Chiefs and the youth leaders of the communities so that the project could be relevant to their needs.

    He thanked the traditional rulers and other community leaders for their cooperation with the Dangote Cement management, noting that it was as a result of the collaboration that made possible the peace and tranquillity enjoyed in the host communities.

    Ahmed promised the community leaders that Dangote Cement would continue to be alive to its responsibilities and urged them to come forward to offer useful ideas and advice that could propel the company to do more for the development of the communities.

    He highlighted some of the projects to include: three domestic boreholes for Elere, Babalawo and Kajola Communities; 10 domestic boreholes for Afami, Ajibawo, Aga-Akinronbi, Aga-Owoyele, Aga-Ashade, Abule Oke, Abule Maria, Ijako-Orile, Wasimi-Imasayi and Balogun; four industrial boreholes for Ibese (2) and Imasayi (2); Construction of 10 classrooms for Ibese and construction of another five classrooms for Balogun communities.

    He listed others as the award of scholarship to 77 indigenes between 2013 and 2014 sessions for secondary pupils, Polytechnic and University students, who are native of the host communities.

    The company is also providing Community Information Technology Training at Ibese, Aga-Olowo, and Ijako-Orile, where two batches have already finished training, while the construction of Ibese/Ilaro road, and that of Ibese/Itori road for all the communities are on-going.

    He said these were aside the fact that the grading of community internal road network along Wasimi-Imasayi is under construction and the drain work at Olu of Ilaro/Paramount Ruler’s road, Ilaro, is nearing completion.

    The Dangote Group boss also informed that the electrification and transformer replacement at Afami and Ibese has been awarded while the construction of 10 bathrooms and toilets with overhead tanks is ongoing for Balogun community.

    He explained that the drilling of boreholes and the overhead tanks is completed, while standby 7.5 KV generators to complement the infrastructure are awaiting installation.

  • End culture of abandoned projects

    SIR: As May 29, gradually draws nearer, one hydra-headed monster bleeding this country since independence and which has prevented the masses from reaping maximum benefit from taxes and other sources of public revenue is the culture of abandoned projects. The level of abandoned projects in Nigeria today is not only alarming, it affects the economy in disastrous ways. Every new government considers the projects and programmes of its predecessor more as the legacies and ideas of the past administration rather than as programmes meant to benefit and add value to the well-being of the masses.

    The National Economic Empowerment and Development Strategy (NEEDS) of the Obasanjo administration was abandoned by the Yar’Adua administration not because the programme wasn’t good enough or people-oriented, but because it was seen as a legacy of Chief Olusegun Obasanjo. The Seven-Point Agenda of the Yar’Adua administration which replaced the NEEDS was also abandoned by the Jonathan government and replaced with the Transformation Agenda, even though President Goodluck Jonathan was part of the Yar’Adua government.

    We cannot continue this legacy of wastefully abandoning projects and programmes merely on the basis of prejudices and ego. Although some people have called for the creation of the project management office in all government establishments to develop and maintain projects standards and methods, there is need to put in place enabling legislations at the national and state assemblies as the case may be, to protect laudable projects, programmes and policies of government as this is the only way a new administration would not be able to abandon them.

    Moreover, if a people or a community is allowed participation in the choice of projects and programmes based on their needs, it would be difficult for an incoming administration to abandon such because the people would challenge the government. Abandoned projects have remained a conduit-pipe through which the resources of this country are allowed to waste away. It is no longer acceptable for any government to discontinue or abandon the projects of a proceeding administration after millions and billions of naira might have been spent on them. Time to put an end to the legacies of waste in the interest of the poor masses.

     

    • Hussain Obaro,

    Ilorin, Kwara State

     

  • Our projects don’t just beautify, they help local economy

    Our projects don’t just beautify, they help local economy

    Roundabouts, parks, road and road medians in Ibadan and Osogbo, capitals of Oyo and Osun states are wearing new looks, thanks to the urban renewal initiatives of  Governors Abiola Ajimobi and Rauf Aregbesola. The company behind the beautification projects is Ershaw, an indigenous firm. It’s Chairman, an Architect Olumide Eso, spoke with BISI OLADELE and gave an insight into the company’s world.

    The Nelson Mandela Freedom Park in Osogbo is a state-of-the art facility. What’s the idea behind the project?

    The Nelson Mandela Freedom Park primarily serves as a facility for the recreation and relaxation of the dwellers of the Osogbo city, the state capital as well as people from the State of Osun in general. The park would naturally provide the necessary and hitherto non-existent past-time recreational or entertainment opportunity which is required after the daily activities of the dwellers. On the other hand, the park is conceptualized to be a hub for such activities as tourism, hospitality and pleasure, art, visual art performances and so on.

    But isn’t it an example of what one could regard as a white-elephant project?

    I disagree with the view that the Freedom Park could be regarded by anyone as a white-elephant project. A white elephant project is one that is of no tangible value to the people but the Freedom Park has changed the story and face of Osogbo for good. Let us even not talk about the name, which makes it a memorial for someone that Africans and people from the world over should emulate, the late Nelson Mandela, that project helped in formalizing an otherwise disorderly and informal relaxation and recreational life of the Osogbo city dwellers. Apart from that, it has remarkably reduced and curtailed the inevitable spread of squalor, filth and slums noticeable in Nigerian major cities, which usually result from lack of plans for urban growth and disorganised living.

    The Freedom Park project is a bold and robust attempt by the Governor Rauf Aregbesola’s administration to ensure urban regeneration and renewal and you can see that it occupies a strategic point in his agenda and the evidences are there in the many number of roads and other urban renewal projects he is carrying out in the state. You will also agree with me that with the Nelson Mandela Park, the re-engineering of the total well-being of the state’s citizens through the remodeling of the environment has been carried out. This has been precipitated in the provision of visual, atmospheric, recreational and pleasure-enhancing structures and components in the park.

    With the Nelson Mandela Park, the status of Osogbo city has been repositioned and strengthened as a world-class art and culture destination. And, for your information, the park is designed to be a revenue-generating project; it has helped in creating revenue through the attraction of exhibitions, performances, culinary and visual art & cultural activities as well as hospitality & pleasure, trade, commerce and investments.

    Usually, at the beginning of projects like that, some people would have been affected either through displacement or other means. How did the people react at inception and what is their reaction after its completion?

    Well, the people’s reaction at the beginning of the project was mixed; while some were hostile, others were just indifferent. Yet, there were a few of them who saw sense in what was being done and encouraged us.

    However, when we completed the project and it was put to use, the reaction has been quite exciting and appreciative and you could see the joy and pride on the faces of anyone who has been to that place. It is world-class, and a project like this can only bring happiness to the people of Osogbo, which is why I disagree with you that some people will call it a white-elephant project.

    Maybe the people that see the park as needless considered the level of poverty in the land and the fact that a project such as this could only have contributed more to it through capital flight. Don’t you think so?

    As I said earlier, the Nelson Mandela Freedom Park is a revenue-generating project. There is no way anyone can say that a project that can generate funds for a state has contributed to poverty. On the contrary, it is contributing to wealth. Secondly, there is no such thing as capital flight with Ershaw; we are not only indigenous, we have been able to make other interventions through steady increase in the contribution to and participation in the city’s growing economy in the area of real estate,  employment generation, commerce and so on. For example, Ershaw Nigeria Limited has a staff strength of about 250 in the State of Osun alone and 175 of that number are indigenes of the state. As a matter of fact, the government of Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola deserves to be commended for using home-grown quality contractors in his urban renewal drive in the state and this government has, with fear of being immodest, reduced poverty greatly through different interventions across all sectors. The Freedom Park is one of such interventions.

    Your company is also handling the beautification projects in Ibadan. How has it been able to maintain the historical ambience in the projects carried out so far?

    A landscaper that knows his onions will tell you that Ibadan is a delight because it has great potentials. The hilly and undulating terrains and the natural embankments are good for the creation of an attractive sight but the deep historical connections and cultural heritage could be lost in such creations unless one makes a conscious effort to retain them. That is why you see our modern designs of roundabouts with symbols of talking drums and so on. But you have to give credit to the Oyo State Government under the leadership of Senator Abiola Ajimobi, a man who pays attention to aesthetics, for his urban renewal programme, which enabled us to carry out the beautification projects. And we have a robust, continuous and extensive maintenance of the various sites under our supervision to make sure that the ambience and beauty already created are not sabotaged.

  • Bouquet of projects for Lagos rural communities

    Bouquet of projects for Lagos rural communities

    No fewer than 18 riverside communities and four rural ones scattered along Epe and Ikorodu areas were last Wednesday presented with electrification and water projects in the bid by the Lagos State government to improve the standard of living of rural folks, writes ADEYINKA ADERIBIGBE.

    For generations, residents of Oriba a riverside community in Epe Local Government Area of Lagos State had lived without electricity. The only electricity enjoyed by a few, comes from the generating sets owned by the rich for whom it was an economic source rather than for domestic use.

    In a megacity state like Lagos, many of them grew up into adulthood not knowing how an electric switch looked like and only got to see an incandescent bulb in movies and on televisions or when they moved to the urban centre.

    Majority of them, for whom electricity was a luxury lived without it, resigning to fate that set them as indigenes of such backward settlements.

    But that helpless resignation gave way last Wednesday. Few minutes after mid day, with a switch of a button, their lives changed permanently and for the better. Gone perhaps forever, were the days of darkness.

    Electricity known to the locals as light seeped into the communities to the joy of the children, youths and elders of the affected areas. The babies jumped and pranced about, the adults danced, even the masquerades venerated by the locals as the spirit of the dead, were not left out in the jubilation.

    The electrification project was part of the better life activities of the Lagos State Ministry of Rural Development for the rural and riverside dwellers.

    And for the Baale of Oriba Chief Nurudeen Olowolayemo, the community would forever cherish the project.

    According to him, the community which has been in existence since the 17th century and without electricity, got its first ray of hope over 18years ago, through the Federal Rural Electrification Board (FREB), but the project was abandoned until the Lagos State Government came to its rescue last year.

    Handing over the eight kilometer rural electrification project to the people on behalf of the government, the Commissioner for Rural Development Pastor Cornelius Ojelabi described the project as part of its rural electrification activity, covering Elerangbe and Oriba, an area spanning 24 kilometres.

    Ojelabi who described the project as the ministry’s longest rural electrification project, said the electricity would serve over 18 communities. It was also accomplished in phases due to paucity of funds.

    Ojelabi noted that the first phase of the project from Elerangbe junction to Ajegbenwa in Ibeju-Lekki covering nine kilometres commenced in 2012, and was completed and inaugurated in November of the same year, while the second phase covering five kilometres was approved and executed in 2013 by direct labour from Ajegbenwa to Arapagi. The last phase of nine kilometres from Arapagi to Oribawais what the ministry handed over.

    Ojelabi maintained that the electrification project was the second project the ministry would be handing over in Oriba, having handed over a Modified Type A water scheme earlier.

    He said the ministry would begin the construction of the community’s jetty next month.

    The member of the State House of Assembly representing Epe Constituency 1, Abiodun Tobun, while thanking the state government for the gesture commended the commissioner for the great work he is doing in developing rural areas. He noted that if not for the conviction and commitment of the commissioner, the project will not see the light of day.

    Tobun however urged the ministry to assist with the only road that can link the community to the rest of the state to make for easy commuting to and from the area.

    Earlier the commissioner had been at Iba Oloja another riverside community in Ibeju Lekki Local Government Area, to hand over another rural electrification project where he charged members of the community to protect the project from vandalisation and theft.

    Present at the ceremonies were the Obas, Baales from the areas, the executive secretaries of Epe and Ibeju Lekki, Permanent Secretary in the ministry Mr. Jafar Sanuth and management staff of the ministry.

    Ojelabi also handed over four newly constructed Solar Powered Modified Type A Water Schemes to four communities: Ariya, Sapele Onovbo, Efunlaroja (Ajose Close) and Musade Idi-Orogbo (Ori field) in the newly emerging densely populated Oriokuta Community in Ikorodu West Area of the State.

    Handing over the water schemes to the community leaders, Baales, CDAs and Chiefs the Commissioner for Rural Development said the water projects were given to the communities in fulfillment of the Governor Babatunde Raji Fashola’s pledge to make life comfortable for the citizens of the State irrespective of the where they live, their religion or tribe.

    He noted that since they were the ones that asked for the water projects, they should constitute themselves into management committee and ensure that the projects are well managed and maintained for sustainability.

    The Head of Water and Sanitation Department in the Ministry, Mr. Adisa Yinusa said the ministry decided to give Oriokuta four water schemes because the place is densely populated and opted for Solar Powered Water Scheme because of the incessant and erratic power supply in the country so that the people can have water at all times.

    He noted that with solar power they don’t need to spend additional money on diesel to fuel generators for the water plants and even when it rains the solar power will still work with little lighting.

    Yinusa, an engineer, disclosed that the water is potable and very safe for consumption because they are treated to World Health Organisation (WHO) standard with treatment plants attached to each scheme.

    The member of the State House of Assembly representing the area, Hon. Sanni Agunbiade while thanking the State Government and his party, the All Progressives Congress (APC), for always responding promptly to the yearnings of the people, urged the community members to cooperate with the government in the implementation of other projects requested for.

    The Chairman of all the CDAs in Oriokuta, Mr.Tunde Gbewesa while appreciating the government said the four water schemes will go a long way in alleviating the sufferings of the people of the area.

    He praised the Fashola administration for being a listening one, adding that it set in motion machineries to address all the issues the community discussed with him when leaders within the communities met with him last year.

    “All the issues raised with the governor at our last meeting are already receiving attention among which is the water projects being handed over. Like Oliver Twist we however requested for more water projects to serve the over 2.5 million people living in Oriokuta,” Gbewesa said.

    He listed other challenges of the community that needed prompt attention to include dredging of the blocked canals, transformers to boost electricity supply and the early commencement of the school project for their children.

    Also around to give support and appreciate the good work of the government in the area was the Executive Secretary of the Ikorodu West LCDA, Princess Adunni Oyefusi who charged the people to guide jealously their PVC and come out en masse on the 28 of March and 11th of April and vote for the APC in other to continue to witness more of programmes and projects like the ones being handed over.

  • Ambode promises more projects

    Ambode promises more projects

    The All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate in Lagos State, Akinwumni Ambode, has promised to implement people-oriented projects, if voted into office.

    He made this promise at a rally in Lagos yesterday organised by Southsouth, Arewa and Ndigbo indigenes in the state.

    The APC candidate promised to provide an enabling environment for non-indigenes to do their businesses, adding that his administration would not discriminate against them.

    “I want to build a Lagos where people can realise their aspirations. My vision for Lagos is leadership and accountability, good governance and quality service.

    “I will build an educational trust fund to cater for the unemployed youth; I will finance artisans to establish cottage businesses.

    “There would be a revitalisation of vocational skill and education so people with vocational education don’t end up as roadside vulcanisers and welders.”

  • BoI, 10 banks to underwrite SMEs projects

    BoI, 10 banks to underwrite SMEs projects

    The Bank of Industry (BoI) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with 10 SME-friendly banks.

    This is coming on the heels of the success of the accreditation of 122 Business Development Service Providers (BDSPs) to assist the Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in the development of bankable business plans and proposals to facilitate their access to finance,

    Managing Director, BoI, Mr. Rasheed Olaoluwa, explained that 10 commercial banks that are renowned for their SME-centric activities were chosen to partner with them in the financing of their SME customers.

    He listed the banks as Access Bank, Diamond Bank, Ecobank, Fidelity Bank, First Bank, First City Monument Bank, Skye Bank, Stanbic IBTC Bank, Standard Chartered Bank, and United Bank  for Africa.

    He said the activities in which BoI and the SME-friendly banks would collaborate include the provision of long-term loans to qualified SMEs by BoI based on its Risk Acceptance Criteria (RAC) and the provision of working capital to the SMEs by the SME-friendly banks also based on their individual RAC.

    According to Olaoluwa, the MoU is geared towards the development of a virile SME sector in Nigeria, besides acting as a platform for the realisation of the economic transformation objectives of the Federal Government.

    He said with over 17 million Micro Small Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in Nigeria, according to the National Bureau of Statistics, accounting for over 90 per cent of all companies, employing over 30 million people and accounting for an estimated half of Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), the importance of SMEs to the nation’s economic development cannot be overemphasised.

    He said access to affordable finance is one of the major challenges inhibiting the growth and development of SMEs. He however, noted that investigations revealed that the main factor responsible for the current low level of financial support to SMEs by banks generally and BoI inclusive is the fact that their loan requests are poorly packaged and their business plans non-bankable.

    Pointing the way forward, he said: “BoI has decided on a multi-pronged approach to addressing the problem of poor loan packaging and access to finance.

    “Another strategy is to approach SME-friendly commercial banks to partner with BoI in co-financing the SMEs.”

    Sectors to be financed shall include agro-processing, solid minerals and metals, light manufacturing, logistics, etc. identified under the Nigeria Industrial Revolution Plan (NIRP) launched by the Federal Government recently.

    On the terms of the loans, he said it would be in accordance with BoI term loan with a tenor of three to five years. While the moratorium will be six-12 months, interest rate is between nine and 10 per cent per year. On the other hand, working capital facilities by SME-friendly banks will be on a tenor of 6-12 months; interest rate:  MPR + 6 per cent per annum. Moratorium:    As may be applicable.

    The BoI boss further said: “The synergy that has evolved between BoI and the SME-friendly banks  is unprecedented between a development finance institution and commercial banks, will undoubtedly foster greater access to finance for SMEs, financial inclusion for Nigerians and also engender wealth creation and accelerated job creation for Nigerians.

    ‘’It is also our expectation that the SMEs that will benefit from this partnership will be good corporate citizens and meet their financial obligations to the partnering banks. This will stand them in goodstead for consideration for larger loan amounts with the hope that they will in the near future metamorphose into large enterprises.”

    He commended the SME-friendly banks for exhibiting a developmental orientation, which the economy requires at this point in time.

    Responding, UBA Chief Risk Officer, Mr. Uche said the relationship offers huge opportunity and opens up a new vista for banks in this sector of the economy. He said the synergy with BoI will also address the problem of fund –mismatch, which has bedevilled the sector for a long time, leaving the SMEs to their fate.

    Also, Access Bank Plc Executive Director, Mrs.Titi Osuntoke, said SMEs contribute less than five per cent to the GDP and as a bank will wish to contribute their quota to drive the economy with their firm belief that it is the engine of growth of any economy.

    For the Deputy Managing Director of Diamond Plc, Mrs Caroline Anyanwu, her bank has been in the fore front of SMEs support in the last five years.

    She said the involvement of BoI brings a fresh vista and they were willing to run with vigour more than ever.

    Skye Bank Executive Director, Mrs Ibiye Ekong, pledged the support of the bank for the SMEs and their wish for the real sector to grow and contribute of the economy.