The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Stakeholders

  • Stakeholders call for immediate construction of second Abuja Runway

    While appreciating the success of the  Federal Government in reopening of the  Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport,  Abuja, following the reconstruction of the runway, some stakeholders have asked for the commencement of the second runway at the airport.

    While appreciating President  Muhammadu Buhari and the federal ministry of aviation for achieving what seemed a onerous task initially,  they, however,  asked the federal government to immediately commerce the construction of the proposed Abuja airport second runway,  saying this was necessary to not only check the lapses of the past but also boost the fortunes of the airport.

    An aviation expert,  Engr. Wissel Bademi  on the reopening of the Abuja airport,  said while it was proper to bask on the euphoria of the airport opening,  the federal government must not lose sight of the fact that there was need to immediately commence the second runway construction almost immediately.

    ” Lack of planning lead us to having the dilapidated nature of the Abuja runway for years at the risk of human lives.

  • Stakeholders urge banks to focus on customers’ needs

    Banking and commu-nications experts have called on commercial banks to understand and prioritise customers’ needs to promote entrepreneurship and economic development.
    Speaking at the maiden ‘BRANDish Meeting of Minds’ with the theme: ‘What Nigerian Banks Should do Differently’, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Proshare Nigeria Limited, Femi Awoyemi, said banks target their best services at the 25 per cent of Nigerians that have been empowered to be valuable to the lenders.
    He urged the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to allow disruption in the sector, using policies that will make banks development-oriented.
    He urged banks to be more customer-centric by investing in consumer insight, which would enable them know more about their customers, communicate better and be able to tailor their services to meet customers’ needs.
    Group CEO Prima Garnet Africa, Lolu Akinwunmi, advised banks to start optimising their retail delivery and simplify their business and operational models. According to him, the service gap between the banks and their customers was evident in bank advertisements, which portray and celebrate bank executives rather than communicate specific service offerings and benefits to customers.
    He predicted that with the current global trend and evolving technology, the brick and mortar banking model will not be relevant to the upcoming generation, as brick will cease and banking will become a game of clicks.
    President, Consumer Advocacy Foundation of Nigeria, Sola Salako, regretted that banks rarely lend to Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and only focus on big businesses and multinationals. “Banks look for their money in government circles. So, they care less about the other customers. They are concerned about the macro and don’t understand the micro economics. But when you finally grow the business, they start knocking on your door and you wonder where they were when you were struggling to build the business. Let’s say the bitter truth, our banks are not responsible corporate citizens,” she said.
    She suggested that it was the failure of the banks in their customer services and market understanding that prompted Ponzi schemes such as MMM to thrive.
    Analyst-in-Chief, BRANDish, Ikem Okuhu, said the company decided to look around the Nigerian marketing and economy space, identify areas where there are challenges and finding experts in that area to aggregate thoughts and ideas on how things can be done better.
    “We do not believe that our solutions are outside of this country because in our career, we have worked with brilliant, dedicated and exceptionally gifted Nigerians, passionate about this country and who are also willing to contribute towards a needed economic metamorphoses,” he said.
    He added: “This is our first Thought Leadership event and with the quality of people that attended and the kind of engagement and interrogation that followed their papers, I am convinced we have done quite well.”
    The event, according to him, will be quarterly, with the next parley slated for the last week of June, 2017 and will focus on Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP).
    “It is not just about banking. Nigeria is challenged on many fronts. But we chose the Banking Sector for the singular reason of the severe challenges it is facing now, especially at a time Nigeria needs serious economic salvation. At the end of today, there was consensus that this event should be repeated to ensure all senior players in banking and regulatory bodies attend,” he said.

  • Stakeholders meet for Anioma Cultural Festival

    The 2017 edition of Anioma Cultural Festival organised by Organisation for the Advancement of Anioma Culture (OFAAC), is set to take place on Friday and Saturday March 31 and April 1 with a crucial meeting of the board and stakeholders of the organization.

    Scheduled to hold in Asaba, Delta State capital, President of OFAAC, Arch. Kester Ifeadi revealed that attendees will take final decisions on the form and shape the festival will take.

    The festival, which is in its 11th year, is scheduled to hold in the open field of Anglican Girls’ Grammar School (AGGS), Asaba.

    The cultural showpiece features groups from the nine local government areas that make up Delta North popularly known as Anioma (good land).

    Aside the festival which holds every Easter Monday, OFAAC also reaches out to the people through its micro credit scheme, community service as well as an annual lecture that has featured personalities like former Head of Interim Government, Chief Ernest Shonekan, Phillip Asiodu, and Chief Fortune Ebie among others as guest speakers.

    OFAAC was set up with the primary objective of preserving and advancing the culture of the Anioma people, foster unity, promote the use of Akwa Ocha, the traditional attire of the Anioma people, create Anioma consciousness and identity in the people amongst others.

    This, Ifeadi said OFAAC has achieved in the last 15 years of its existence.

  • Stakeholders urged to immortalise educationists

    Chairman Lagos State Universal Basic Education Board Executive Dr Ganiyu  Sopeyin, has urged stakeholders to immortalise those who promoted the development of education.

    He said such gesture would enhance legacies of those who made sacrifices to ensure education was made available to the downtrodden.

    Sopeyin spoke at the official commissioning and handing over of Joshua and Juliana Olusanya Memorial Library, St. Peter Blessed Primary Schools Complex, Ibido Street,  Orile-Agege, Lagos.

    He added that education remained the undisputable legacy that parents could bequeath their children.

    He said: “The educated child is the live wire of the nation. The Lagos State government will continue to invest in the provision of quantitative and qualitative education which is accessible to the people of the state.

    “Any society that fails to invest in education is planning to fail. Lagos will continue to support education and create an enabling environment that will promote its development.”

    Former Permanent Secretary in the State Ministry of Education, Mrs Elizabeth Ariyo, said the library had 40 sections with air-conditioners, computers, books and generator to provide alternative power source.

    She said the reading facility is first of its kind, adding that it would enhance pupils’ reading culture.

    She urged teachers in the state to encourage pupils to read by patronising libraries in their different domains, noting that it would help in curbing idleness.

  • Judge seeks stakeholders’ collaboration to stem divorce rate

    Judge seeks stakeholders’ collaboration to stem divorce rate

    Mr Abolade Banigbe, an Area Court judge in Omu-Aran, Kwara, has called for stakeholders’ collaboration across the country to stem divorce rate especially at the grassroots.

    Banigbe told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Omu-Aran on Saturday that the menace of incessant marriage break-ups had constituted a stumbling block to government’s grassroots development plans.

    He said both traditional rulers and religious leaders should help to ensure a society that is devoid of violence, crime and acrimony.

    Banigbe noted that marriage break-ups had done more harm than good to the nation’s socio-economic and security.

    “The development has compounded the high number of awaiting trial inmates in most prisons leading to congestion.

    “The resultant effect is, of course, the reported cases of jail breaks across the country,” he said.

    The area court judge said since traditional rulers and religious leaders had in the past served in government both during colonial and post-colonial in Nigeria they had the requisite experience in handling divorces cases.

    “Active involvement in settling marriage disputes, communal clashes and other related issues are major preoccupation of our community leaders even before the country’s independence.

    “There were laid down measures and traditions being employed by leaders in different towns and villages to deal with such important issues.

    “We should stop playing lip service to the development of our community as government alone cannot shoulder the  responsibilities particularly provision of basic social amenities.

    “Channeling adequate energy and other resources toward curtailing the ugly trend of divorce should not be an exception,” he said.

    Banigbe suggested the constitution of a special committee or task force by the traditional councils at the grassroots on the development and proffer solutions.

    “Religious leaders should not relent in their duties to educate their followers, especially couples on the need to respect their marriage vows and the tenets of their religion in order to avoid unnecessary divorce.

    “Such interventions are needed to complement and replicate the functions of the Citizens Mediation and Conciliation Centres at the grassroots.”

    He cited the current economic situation, mass unemployment, poverty and hunger as some of the factors causing ruptured relationships and divorce.

    Banigbe said the phenomenon had given rise to increasing number of children from broken homes who were involved in housebreaking, rape, kidnapping and cultism.

    “Lower courts, especially Area Courts and Magistrates Courts are now overwhelmed with such cases.

    “This has become an added challenge and workload for already overstretched judges,” he said.

  • Shippers’ Council plans stakeholders’ summit to boost export

    Nigerian Shippers’ Council is to organise a Stakeholders’ Summit in the Southwest, to promote non-oil export potential of the six states.

    The council’s Zonal Coordinator for Southwest, Mr. Rotimi Anifowose, who spoke during a visit to Ekiti State Commissioner for Commerce, Industries and Cooperatives, Mr. Michael Ayodele, expressed the readiness to partner the government on export of crops, such as cocoa and cassava, where the state had comparative advantage.

    According to him, the ministry is an important stakeholder apart from trade associations, importers and exporters.

    Anifowose said the visit was to explore areas of collaboration to make stakeholders benefit from services rendered by the council.

    He said the Federal Government in 2014 made the council the economic regulator of ports and arbiter between providers and users of shipping services.

    The Shippers’ Council boss said the agency would soon come up with an Annual Stakeholders’ Summit in the Southwest to tap into non-oil export as a foreign exchange earner.

    Anifowose said: “As providers and users of shipping services, we must facilitate trade and we are coming up with an Annual Stakeholders’ Summit because Southwest is very key to the economy.

    “It will be a two-day summit that will focus on non-oil export and we are inviting Ekiti State. The summit will be an annual event. Trade groups, importers and exporters across the six states are involved.

    “We are also working hard to ensure rice, cassava and cocoa farmers have access to funds and ensure that businessmen who are into international trade in Ekiti State are not shortchanged.”

    Ayodele said recession is a challenge to look in the direction of non-oil resources to generate foreign exchange, adding that Ekiti would partner the Shippers’ Council to harness investment potential of the state.

    He said: “We have other resources that can lift the economy, but the problem is that we have abandoned them. We have to look into the enabling laws and regulations to implement them.

    “Ekiti State government is ready to partner the Nigerian Shippers’ Council and we want to key into your plan. We have been having an interface with trade associations in the state.

    “We are also having their data to facilitate our collaboration with them.”

  • Stakeholders applaud CLI

    Stakeholders applaud CLI

    A cross section of market lead ers, community leaders and a federal lawmaker, have lauded the Cleaner Lagos Initiative (CLI) of the state government, describing it as a revolutionary move that would go a long way in ensuring proper waste management in accordance with international best practice.

    A member of the House of Representatives representing Agege Federal Constituency, Taofeek Adaranijo, said there was no question about the good intention of government with the initiative, as it would help to checkmate the health challenges associated with filthy environment.

    Adaranijo, a former chairman of Orile-Agege Local Council Development Area (LCDA), said with the initiative, Governor Ambode has further demonstrated his genuine intention to transform the state and turn it into a mega city in the true sense of the word.

    “Everybody must key into this initiative because it is a good one aimed at ensuring that we have a clean environment. I want to particularly urge the market men and women, those at the Local Government, the Private Sector Participants (PSP) operators and all the people to support government to achieve the purpose of coming up with this very laudable policy. It is better for us to key into it and ensure that we support government because at the end of the day, the policy is for our greater good,” the lawmaker said.

    In  a  similar vein, the Baba Oja of Irepodun Market, Mr. Abolaji Ambaliu, said the initiative was necessary to  address the myriad of issues associated with the environment. He said it was now visible to everyone that the environment was becoming too dirty, and government should not fold its arms, hence the laudable initiative.

    “I think the Cleaner Lagos Initiative is a good one and Lagos will be better for it. All I just want to say is that government should strictly enforce the new law signed as part of the initiative,” Ambaliu said.

  • Stabilise economy, Osinbajo urges stakeholders

    Stabilise economy, Osinbajo urges stakeholders

    Acting President, Prof  Yemi Osinbajo, has urged stakeholders in the country to join hands with the government in promoting Micro,Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) to stabilise the economy, stressing that “Nigeria must grow what it eats and wear what it produces.”

    The country, he said needed such a commitment  as a driving force to stimulate the dream of realising a healthy economy for sustainable growth.

    Prof Osinbajo who spoke while declaring open, a two-day nationwide MSMEs Clinic in Sokoto, Sokoto State capital, re-assured that the country would soon get out of recession in view of her abundant resources such as  resources  gypsum, potassium.

    Osinbajo said: “There is no reason why this country should not be the most wealthiest country in the world. Being one of the cardinal points of the present administration, it is important to deepen all of our engagements into agriculture which is what the government is focusing on.’’

    The Acting President also enjoined all federal agencies such as the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) to partner with the small and medium business owners.

    He said it was aimed at ensuring that those making local products get to the formal market.

    “The small and medium business owners should partner with all the government agencies by registering their businesses, so as to get them to the formal market,” he said.

    Sokoto State Governor Waziri Tambuwal who commended the Federal Government, said the MSMEs Clinic would  galvanise the sector in the states.

    ’’This would improve the cardinal injection to the development of N2 billion MSME loan with the Bank of Industry,’’the governor said.

  • Stakeholders urge usage of bonds’ proceeds to fund infrastructure

    As the Federal Government continues to implement its domestic and international fund raising, capital market stakeholders have urged the government to use proceeds of its many debt issues to exclusively finance infrastructure projects to stimulate the economy and minimise the negative impact of such borrowings.

    The Federal Government had successfully floated a $1 billion Eurobond and plans to launch a supplementary $500 million Eurobond to accommodate part of the oversubscription for the initial offer.

    It also plans to launch a N20 billion Green Bond later this month while a monthly auction of newly introduced Federal Government of Nigeria Savings Bond (FGNSB) is expected to start next week. The Debt Management Office (DMO), which oversees national government debt issuance, has also continued its traditional quarterly bond issuance programme.

    Capital market stakeholders, who spoke against the background of a deficit financing of N2.36 trillion in the 2017 national budget, agreed that debt financing may not be a problem in itself but the utilisation of such funds.

    According to a communiqué at the end of a seminar on 2017 budget organised by Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the government should use the proceeds from bond issues to finance capital projects that could stimulate economic recovery.

    “Proceeds from borrowing should not be spent on recurrent expenditure. Such funds should be tied strictly to capital projects such as infrastructure with potential to stimulate economic recovery and sustainable growth,” the communiqué stated.

    They argued that in view of the fact that government deficit financing ultimately increases cost of funds to the private sector and influences asset reallocation in favour of government securities, the government should collaborate with capital market stakeholders to improve the financial performance of listed companies.

    They urged government to provide support and incentives to quoted companies and the general equities market through key interventions such as reduction in interest rate, addressing foreign exchange challenges and provision of relevant infrastructure.

    “Privatisation of government owned assets is a quick win, having strong potential to release funds from government handouts of ailing enterprises to funding badly needed capital projects such as infrastructure. The Federal Government should set specific timelines to identify the assets to be sold and ensure that the capital market is given a much more active role to play in the process of privatisation. This would create efficiency as scarce resources being committed to manage these assets can be freed up and channeled to critical sectors of the economy,” the communiqué noted.

    Stakeholders, drawn from the regulators, operators and self regulatory organisations, also pointed out that in order for the capital market to effectively meet the challenges of the time, there is the need to further deepen and develop the market by introducing products that provide hedging opportunities for domestic and foreign investors as well as alternative asset classes such as infrastructure bonds, retail bonds and interest derivatives that could maximise the value of the market to investors and market operators.

    They urged stakeholders in the capital market to be more actively involved in advocacy programmes to ensure that government policies do not adversely affect the development of the capital market, pointing out that the monetary stance of high inflation and interest rates has the tendency to adversely affect the market, with investors tending to prefer short-term money market instruments offering high rates of return.

    They advised the government to exploit public-private partnership (PPP) in developing infrastructure by providing proper legal and regulatory frameworks that ensure that each party in these partnerships is held accountable for their parts of the agreement.

    “An important way to help the economy grow and achieve inclusive development is for all stakeholders to contribute to the promotion of locally produced goods as alternatives to imports. Commendable progress has been noted in the promotion of agricultural activity as a veritable alternative to imports. A virile commodities exchange system should be promoted for price regulation and avoidance of post-harvest losses due to lack of markets,” the communiqué stated.

    They called for a more flexible pension investment rules that allow pension fund administrators and managers to invest pension assets in line with the risk appetites of the age groups within the pension bracket, noting that younger workers may be willing to have greater exposure to equities since they have a longer time horizon that suits equities investment.

  • Stakeholders seek indigenes’ involvement in Bayelsa economy

    It is an established fact in Bayelsa that whenever non-indigenes especially the Igbos sneeze, the local economy of the state will catch cold. In times of local celebrations like the annual Igbo Day, people in the state are always stranded because almost all business activities are shut down.

    Indeed, non-indigenes control almost all the local sectors of Bayelsa economy. They own almost all the stalls, shops, shopping malls, kiosks and they constitute about 80 per cent of artisans in the markets. They are everywhere even in the transport sector.

    Irked by the development, an Ijaw elder statesman and economic expert, Chief Thompson Okorotie is making frantic efforts to change the narrative. Okorotie who has also played key roles in the politics of the state wants the Ijaw and other indigenes to become more involved in the state’s economy.

    Recently, he assembled the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the Bank of Industry (BoI), Bayelsa State Institute of Entrepreneurship (BSIE), Izon-Ebe Micro-Finance, Bayelsa Micro-Finance Enterprise and Development Agency and Bank of Agriculture in Yenagoa.

    He brought them to meet with practising and aspiring entrepreneurs and to drive the Nigerian Association of Small and Medium Enterprises (NASME) in Bayelsa. Okorotie believed that establishing the state’s chapter of NASME with the support of pillars of the economy would help the indigenes play active role in the local economy.

    Addressing the stakeholders who attended NASME’s inauguration in Bayelsa, Okorotie said to be part of the micro, small and medium enterprises, creative ideas, turning the ideas into a well-organised ventures, international best practices and en enabling environment provided by the government were important factors.

    He asked the stakeholders to rise from their slumber to benefit from the strategic and steady steps taken so far by the Federal Government to encourage SMEs. He said NASME was established in 1996 as a Business Membership Organisation (BMO) to coordinate and foster the growth of SMEs in the country.

    Okorotie noted that a formidable chapter of NASME in Bayelsa would enjoy the limitless services provided by the national body. He lauded the SMEs clinic programmes coordinated by the Vice-President’s office which had conceded in Aba in January to end in November 2017. He said Bayelsa would join Rivers State to participate in the clinic scheduled in Port Harcourt in September.

    He lauded the state Governor, Mr. Seriake Dickson, for his encouragement of SMEs in the state. He said the governor recently launched N10bn Entrepreneurship Development Funds (EDF) to make loans available for SMEs.

    “With the establishment of a Bayelsa State NASME chapter, members who register now will be looking forward to a robust participation in the various state government programmes in this vital sub-sector”, he said.

    Okorotie who was inaugurated an interim chairman of the State NASME with Lambert Otiotio as Secretary, commended the NASME’s Zonal Vice-President, South-South, Dr. ED Oko-Jaja for working tirelessly to establish the Bayelsa chapter.

    He said: ” I urge great entrepreneurs present here and those to join us to seize this opportunity for us to benefit from the various programmes of NASME and become promoters of good companies, ready to occupy the commanding heights of our local economy and beyond”.

    The Commissioner for Trade, Investment and Industry, Mr. Kemela Okara, in his remarks thanked Okorotie for organising the event. He asked the participants to develop an enterprise culture. He told them the future of the state lied in their hands adding that the state government was committed to promoting entrepreneurship.

    Also, the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Izon-Ibe Micro-Finance, Nengi Rufus-Spiff asked the stakeholders to take advantage of the bank to grow their business. She said the state was expecting funds from CBN adding that Bayelsa was also involved in the apex bank’s Anchor Borrowers Prigramme.

    She asked the people of the state not depend solely on the government appealing to them to register their businesses to benefit fro funding. She, however, reminded them that any money collected from the bank was a loan that must be repaid.

    Representatives of other economic institutions showcased their roles in promoting business in the state and advised the participants to take advantage of their presence in the state.