The Nation Newspaper

Tag: standards

  • Wanted: Quality, standards to drive non-oil economy

    The Federal Government’s Zero Oil Plan seeks to liberate Nigeria from dependence on oil by stimulating the non-oil export sector. It targets non-oil export revenue of $100 billion annually. But, the implementation of the plan may have been off to a shaky start. No thanks to lack of laboratories for testing and certifying export-bound agro-allied products. Experts say there is a need for appropriate measures to guarantee the quality of export products, if the plan as well as other initiatives to drive the transition to a non-oil economy must succeed. Assistant Editor CHIKODI OKEREOCHA reports.

    If robust policy initiatives were to decide Nigeria’s productivity and competitiveness in international trade, her non-oil export sector would have been sufficiently stimulated to play its role of dislodging oil as a major foreign exchange earner. But, unfortunately, the implementation of most, if not all the initiatives, has continued to be undermined by the inability to meet the standards for export-bound agric products.

    Since 2015 when the present administration came on board, the non-oil sector has, indeed, been the focus for several initiatives designed to liberate Nigeria from her age-long dependence on crude oil for survival. The refocus on the sector came in the heat of the crisis in the international oil market where the price of Nigeria’s crude oil was crashing, requiring urgent rejuvenation of the non-oil export sector as a wedge.

    It was hardly unexpected. Nigeria depends on oil for 70 per cent of its revenue and 95 per cent of foreign exchange earnings, which was why the unprecedented fall in oil prices put her finances under pressure. But it also necessitated strident calls on government to speed up the development of the non-oil sector to mitigate impacts of falling oil prices.

    The Federal Government rose to the challenge, rolling out several initiatives aimed at pushing possibilities into the hands of operators in the non-oil export business and, ultimately, diversifying the economy and creating jobs. It put the right foot forward by the launch of two export financing programmes, known as Export Rediscounting and Refinancing Facility (RRF) and Non-oil Export Stimulation Facility (ESF).

    The N500 billion ESF and the N50 billion RRF were meant to support export-oriented companies with concessionary financing and boost the foreign exchange earnings of Africa’s largest economy. For instance, the purpose of the N50 billion RRF was to create a liquidity window in support of Deposit Money Banks (DMBs) to encourage them to provide more pre- and post-shipment finance to exporters.

    In other words, the ESF and RRF facilities were designed to redress the declining export credit and reposition the non-oil sector to increase its contribution to revenue generation and economic development. They were intended to help lower the costs of Nigerian exporters so that their products can be priced at a level where they can compete with other products around the world.

    The facilities were followed by the launch of the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise (MSME) Clinic, an initiative of the Office of the Vice President in partnership with the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, as well as 11 other federal agencies. The project brings together key agencies to a series of business forums organised in different cities across the country where MSMEs can interact easier with them.

    Other initiatives that raised hopes of a new dawn in the sector include the inauguration of the Nigerian Industrial Policy and Competitive Advisory Council, which, according to Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, “will rescue and save our country and give it a real chance to be competitive in global business and commerce.” There was also the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC).

    The PEBEC was established to further boost the performance of the real sector where many Nigerians are active in the non-oil export business. The vice president also signed three strategic Executive Orders to promote the patronage of made in Nigeria products, transparency and ease of doing business. The executive orders were aimed at eliminating the hurdles that stand in the way of a bigger and more productive private sector.

     

    ‘One-state-one-product’, zero to export training, also

    To grow the country’s non-oil export value, the Federal Government, through the Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC), also unveiled “One State One Product (OSOP) initiative

    The idea was to have all states of the federation identify at least one strategic export product based on their comparative advantage, from which Nigeria can earn foreign exchange.

    However, states are not limited to choosing only one item. For example, Enugu State continues to successfully export pineapples into the European market, despite choosing other products for OSOP.

    The thinking is Nigeria is richly endowed with agricultural resources so, there was the need to encourage state governments to ramp up production so as to meet export targets in areas where the states are naturally endowed.

    There was the “Zero to Export Training Programme.” The scheme was focused on creating a new generation of Nigerian exporters through practical and theoretical training of business executives, bankers, civil servants and unemployed graduates among others in the export business.

    The initiative is anchored on a Public Private Partnership (PPP) arrangement with support from Deposit Money Banks, the Bank of Industry (BoI) and the Nigerian Export-Import Bank (NEXIM).

    “The zero to export programme was aimed at achieving specific objectives, which include the development of new exporters from zero knowledge to a point of export readiness, equipping exporters using practical hand-holding approach, field training and mentorship to build a new crop of indigenous exporters,” the Executive Director/Chief Executive, NEPC, Mr. Olusegun Awolowo, said.

    Awolowo, who spoke at the recent graduation of participants of the zero to export training in Abuja, added that the council’s Zero Oil Plan (ZOP) was its flagship programme aimed at mobilising public and private resources towards replacing oil as the number one source of foreign exchange.

    “The programme (ZOP) equally has a vision of growing non-oil exports from $1.2 billion in 2016 to $8 billion in 2019 and eventually $25 billion by 2025,” Awolowo said.

     

    Zero oil plan takes centre stage

    However, the ZOP would go down as perhaps, the most ambitious, pragmatic and comprehensive initiative to fast-track Nigeria’s transition to a non-oil economy. At least, on paper, the initiative was the NEPC’s magic wand for replacing oil as a major national foreign exchange earner.

    Under the ZOP, Awolowo said the Federal Government was targeting annual non-oil export revenue of $100 billion, about N30.5 trillion. Through the implementation of ZOP, he said the council hoped to grow non-oil export to reach about 20 per cent of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

    A  document prepared by the council, showing how the plan is to be implemented, said while non-oil products are still exported to key destinations around the world from Nigeria, the priority of government was to concentrate on new export products to earn between 40 per cent and 50 per cent of what was earned from oil in the past.

    Consequently, the NEPC identified 22 countries as markets for the products. It also went a notch higher, identifying 11 products with high financial value to replace oil. The products are palm oil, cashew, cocoa, soya beans, rubber, rice, petrochemical, leather, ginger, cotton and shea butter.

    The ZOP document, which was accessed by The Nation read in part, “Nigeria’s trade has been largely driven by exports of petroleum products, which contribute about 17 per cent to the nation’s GDP, signifying about 90 per cent of total merchandise exports and more than 65 per cent of government’s income.

    “This revenue boom has been threatened by a sharp drop in the global price of oil particularly as a result of the United States’ introduction of the shale oil leading to severe economic stress. NEPC’s vision is to replace oil as a major national foreign exchange earner by growing non-oil export to $30bn in the next 10 years and eventually to $100bn annually based on its ZOP.”

    He was emphatic that if the country could key into the council’s plan by taking advantage of the opportunities in the agricultural sector, there would not be any need to depend on oil revenue for survival.

    He said the volatility in the oil market had made it imperative for the government to look inwards, adding that Nigeria could no longer depend solely on oil revenue for implementation of government’s programme. “We are targeting manufacturing and industry so that we can produce and export more,” Awolowo said.

    He was optimistic that the plan would be successful if stakeholders collaborated with the NEPC, noting that the council’s goal is for Nigeria to survive without selling oil.

     ZOP implementation begins

    The Federal Government about a fortnight ago, commenced the implementation of ZOP as set out in the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP). The Minister of Budget and National Planning, Udoma Udo Udoma, who made this known in Abuja, even gave Nigerians more reasons to be expectant.

    The minister said in order to achieve the objective, government has set up a committee that would be working in close collaboration with state governments to promote the establishment of Domestic Export Warehouses and Aggregation Centres in each of the six geo-political zones of the country.

    “The Committee is also promoting Project MINE. The acronym ‘MINE’ stands for Made-in-Nigeria for Export. Under Project MINE, Special Economic Zones (SEZs) will be used as the mechanism for making Nigeria a pre-eminent manufacturing hub in Sub-Saharan Africa and a major exporter of Made-in-Nigeria goods and services regionally and globally,” Udoma gleefully announced.

    He also said the project has received the Federal Executive Council (FEC’s) approval, and has secured early commitments from domestic and foreign investors in textiles and garments industry as well as agro-processing sub-sector.

    Perhaps, to underscore government’s commitment, the Minister of Trade, Industry and Investment, Dr. Okechukwu Enelamah, said the Federal Government planned to spend N250 billion for the development of the SEZs across the six geo-political zones of the country in pursuit of the country’s industrialisation agenda.

    Enelamah, who made this known to newsmen at the end of a recent FEC meeting in the State House, said that of the N250 billion earmarked for the projects, N40 billion was contained in the 2017 budget while another N40 billion was contained in the 2018 budget.

    According to the minister, Projects Made in Nigeria Exports, otherwise known as Project-MINE initiative, was aimed at developing what he described as world class export-oriented SEZs. He pointed out that one of the factors leading to industrialisation was the development of SEZs.

    While stating that the FEC approved N2.655 billion to be paid to some consultants preparatory to the implementation of the projects, Enelamah listed places where the economic zones would be sited to include Lekki, in Lagos, Aba in Abia State and Funtua in Katsina State.

    He also said existing economic zones in Calabar and Kano would be elevated to world class standard, adding that pre-development work meant to herald the development of green field SEZ will also commence in Akwa Ibom, Benue, Ebonyi, Edo, Gombe, Kwara and Sokoto states.

    “The total budget of developing these zones would be in excess of N250 billion and it will include partners. This is going to be done through something called The Nigerian Special Economic Zones Company Limited, which is a public private partnership.

    “The Federal Government is going to own 20 per cent of that company and Afrexim Bank is going to be a shareholder and other investors like the Nigerian Sovereign Investment Authority and other international investors.

    “It is going to be developed in such a way that it will be world class. We are going to see rapid implementation now that Council approval has been obtained,” Enelamah explained.

    The SEZs will be coming on the heels of government’s plan to reactivate the Export Expansion Grant (EEG) Scheme and the Export Development Fund (EDF) Scheme, with the sum of N13.28 billion provided in the 2018 Budget.

     

    Many policies, little emphasis on quality and standards

    While the afore-mentioned policies are no doubt, laudable, forward-looking and are capable of turning around the fortunes of the non-oil export sector, Nigeria’s lack of a clear and coordinated approach to quality and standardisation for export-bound agric products is said to be the missing link.

    At present, export-bound products manufactured in Nigeria lack global quality certification. They are denied access to markets in developed economies. And the situation has continued to a pain in the neck of manufacturers, as their productivity and competitiveness continue to suffer.

    According to experts, standardisation will boost the competitiveness of locally made products at the international market and ensure the global acceptance of products and services from Nigeria. But unfortunately, Nigeria has no functional laboratories for testing and certifying products before export.

    For instance, a Quality Management Practitioner, Mazi Colman Obasi, told The Nation that lack of standardisation remains one of the greatest hurdles before Nigeria’s current efforts at growing the non-oil economy. He lamented that lack of a national quality infrastructure was damaging the nation’s economy and brand reputation.

    According to him, a national quality infrastructure is a system of institutions, which jointly ensure that products and services produced in the country meet predefined specifications. It also provides technical support to companies so they can improve their production processes and ensure compliance with regulations or international requirements.

    The lack of it, Obasi said, was not only partly responsible for Nigeria’s rising unemployment, but also why Nigeria is not globally competitive. “Until we have many companies that are accredited with ISO 9000 management systems certification, we are not going anywhere; we cannot export anything. Nigeria should work towards having a quality management plan,” he said.

    Former Acting Director-General of Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON), Dr. Paul Angya, could not agree less. “A quality infrastructure for export trade is vital and a laboratory is the way to go. If we do not have the laboratory to test those products and to verify their standard conformity to the standards obtainable abroad, they cannot be exported overseas,” he said.

    Angya, who expressed concern over the lack of capacity to test and certify products in the country, lamented that Nigeria still depended on neighbouring countries, particularly Ghana, to verify compliance of suspected seized goods.

    “… Because our laboratory is yet to be completed, some seized goods have to go for testing in Ghana,” he said.

    He said the laboratory, located at Ogba, Ikeja, Lagos, would, when completed, ensure that locally-made products become exportable and acceptable anywhere in the world.

    Angya also said the facility, when completed, would aid the Federal Government’s drive for alternatives to oil export by more than 50 per cent. According to him, the facility will house about four different laboratories.

    “This laboratory is going to house about four different kinds of laboratories, which include the chemical, food and engineering laboratories and it is only when these laboratories are tested and accredited that we will stop taking our products to Ghana for testing,” he added.

     

    A catalogue of export rejections

    Nothing, perhaps, underscored Nigeria’s seeming helplessness in riding on the back of a vibrant non-oil sector to diversify the economy and create jobs than the recent use of sniper to preserve beans. The development, which went viral on social media, caught various standards regulatory agencies unawares. Save for moral suasion by the agencies, there has not been any concerted effort to trace and recall the batch of beans 2,2-dichlorovinyl dimethyl phosphate, otherwise marketed and known as Sniper, was used on.

    For instance, the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Chief Audu Ogbeh, expressed displeasure at the use of chemicals for food preservation and fruit ripening, warning that it was detrimental to human health and the environment. Rather, he appealed to foodstuff and fruit sellers and other Nigerians to adopt natural means of preservation.

    Ogbeh, however, said his ministry would collaborate with the National Orientation Agency (NOA) and state ministries of agriculture to create more awareness on the need for citizens not to use chemicals for food preservation and fruit ripening.

    SON, National Agency for Food, Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Consumer Protection Council (CPC), also condemned the practice, warning Nigerians against eating and buying foodstuffs and fruits preserved or ripened with chemicals.

    SON Director-General Osita Aboloma hailed the consumer, who reported a beans vendor for using a pesticide to preserve the produce on sale to the public.

    A statement signed by his Special Adviser and Head, Public Relations, Mr. Bola Fashina, said such individual and collective awareness by consumers was essential for standards implementation and enforcement.

    Aboloma urged Nigerians to take greater interest in their welfare by reporting to regulatory and security agencies any suspected unwholesome or life endangering products or practices.

    While NAFDAC advised that sale of grains or beans suspected to be preserved with chemicals be reported to the agency, the CPC, on its part, advised consumers to extensively parboil beans before consumption.

    CPC’s Director-General Mr. Babatunde Irukera added that consumers should make sufficient enquiries before buying beans. He said consumers should also sufficiently wash their food items before cooking.

    “Thorough washing of food items before consumption or preparation for consumption is a generally accepted method of protecting and promoting safety,” Irukera said, CPC recently confirmed by credible information that retailers, mostly in the open market, were using a pesticide to preserve beans.

    But a Lagos-based cashew exporter regretted that the nation’s standards regulatory authorities were caught napping. The exporter, who declined to have his name in print, said he expected the agencies to mobilise and move into some major markets across the country to take samples of beans, test them and possibly mop up any batch suspected to have been preserved with dangerous chemicals.

    He said although, it was not clear whether the beans said to be preserved with Sniper was meant for local consumption or for export, what was clear, however, was that no one knew how long the practice has been going on undetected and the exact quality of the product suspected to be preserved with chemicals that has gone into the market and consumed by unsuspecting Nigerians.

    The exporter lamented that despite the renewed focus on non-oil export to prepare Nigeria for life without oil, following the crisis in the oil market, the standards regulatory agencies are ill-prepared to help drive the process. He, however, said the agencies are grossly under-staffed and lack adequate funding to effectively monitor, test and certify products before export.

    According to the exporter, the failure to adequately fund the agencies and support them with enough trained personnel was responsible for the embarrassing setback Nigeria’s renewed push for non-oil export has continued to falter. He recalled, for instance, the European Union (EU) ban on the importation of Nigeria’s dried beans in June 2015.

    The EU had slammed a ban on Nigeria’s dried beans, citing the presence of high level of pesticides considered dangerous to human health. In June 2016, the EU extended the ban by another three years, citing the continued presence of dichlorvos (pesticide) in dried beans imported from Nigeria.

    This came after the Republic of Ireland returned five containers of beans exported from Nigeria. The products were said to have heaps of weevils.

    As if these were not enough to hurt Nigeria still struggling to boost non-oil export, the United States (US) banned Nigeria’s cocoa from its market. This was because the cocoa did not meet the US standard.

    Incidentally, beans and cocoa are among the 11 products the NEPC identified as having high financial value to replace oil. “The government is not serious,” the Founder, Centre for Cocoa Development Initiative, a Non-governmental Organisation (NGO), Mr. Robo Adhuze, charged.

    He said, for instance, that lack of seriousness by the Federal Produce Inspection Service (FPIS), the agency responsible for checking and certifying agro-allied products leaving the country, was robbing Nigeria of the benefits of a vibrant non-oil export-based economy.

    “Quality standards have moved from physical standards to biological standards, but FPIS appears not to be up to speed with this reality,” Adhuze said, recalling, for instance, that for some years, Ghana suffered the same fate as Nigeria’s when over 2, 000 metric tonnes of her cocoa beans were rejected by Japan.

    He said Japan’s Chocolate and Cocoa Association appealed to the Ghanaian authorities to take immediate steps to reverse the excessive agro-chemical residues found in cocoa beans exported to the Asian country.

    Adhuze said Ghana, a country famous for its very high quality cocoa beans, rose to the challenge by putting in place appropriate and adequate measures to guarantee the quality of her cocoa products for export.

    The expert expressed disappointment that while Ghana’s standards regulatory authorities took steps to reverse the excessive agro-chemical residues found in their cocoa beans, Nigeria was unable to do so. The result, he said, was the harvest of import ban now threatening the non-oil sector, especially in agro-allied products.

  • Comply with global standards, group urges exporters

    The Institute of Export Operations and Management Nigeria (IEOM) has advised agro   exporters to comply with global norms for quality and standards or lose their export market share to other countries.

    It said it was important to adopt best standards for goods and services because it is critical to promote agro exports and enhance participation of domestic industry into global value chains.

    Its Executive Secretary/CEO, Mr. Ofon Udofia, said situations are now prevalent in United States and Europe, where Nigerian producers are unable to meet mandatory obligations for standards, including the sanitary and phyto-sanitary.

    Also, agro exports suffer high rejection on account of pesticide residues, stating that there was need to fix processes.

    While there is a strong commitment from the government to promote exports of fresh and processed food products, and a strong willingness on part of the exporters and farmers to export, of late, he noted that Nigeria exports of food products are facing rejections and bans in key markets on grounds of lack of compliance with food safety and health standards.

    Produce such as beans have faced rejections and even bans in markets such as EU, due to issues such as presence of higher than approved levels of chemical residues, and pest and bacterial infestation.

    He said formulation of sanitary and phyto-sanitary (SPS) measures are very important as Nigeria seeks more markets, adding that importing countries are increasing food safety standards which they expect exporters to respond more appropriately and efficiently to them.

    He insisted on a wide range of policy directions such as standard settings, conformity assessment, accreditation, SPS and technical regulations as well as awareness building, training and education.

    According to him, agric value chains should be drivers of standards, and participation in activities which requires uniform standards worldwide.

    He added that Nigeria needed to strengthen institutions and procedures to meet safety standards for exports to the EU, one of its main trading partners.

    Further, with growing consciousness about food safety and health standards even in the domestic market, he  stressed  that Nigeria  needs to focus on food safety and nutritious diet for its own consumers and this will enable to upgrade food safety and health standards from farm to the market.

  • SON tasks lubricant dealers on standards

    SON tasks lubricant dealers on standards

    The Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) has impressed on stakeholders in the lubricant industry the need to leverage on the opportunities the industry offers while also producing to international best practices.

    The Director General, SON, Osita Aboloma, who gave the charge at a meeting with Lubricant Producers Association of Nigeria (LUPAN) in Lagos, explained that this became necessary on the heels of the federal government’s quest to diversify the economy.

    “Lubricants and allied products are critical to boost Nigeria’s industrialisation drive,” the DG stressed.

    It may be recalled that the Nigerian government introduced the Nigerian Automotive Industry Development Plan (NAIDP) in 2003 to revitalise the auto industry. Nigeria, having being identified as a future automotive hub for the sub region courtesy of its large economy, it is expected that resuscitating this sector would open fresh investment opportunities in the automobile value chain while also creating employment opportunities for the nation’s teeming unemployed youth.

    While assuring LUPAN of required support as much as possible, the DG also read riot acts to unscrupulous dealers who indulge in the act of faking and adulterating established and successful brands to cheat the Nigerian consumer, stressing that the new SON Act has given the agency prosecutorial powers.

    “SON will not sit back and watch some unscrupulous people threaten the lives of the industry. We will not sit down and watch these people pull down the investment of genuine manufacturers or importers. As long as you are law abiding, we will be there to protect you.”

    Also speaking at the event, the Chairman/Chief Executive Officer, Ammasco International Limited, Alhaji Mustapha Ado, expressed the association’s commitment to work with SON to sanitise the industry.

    He said the industry is faced with some challenges ranging from adulteration and faking of established brands in the country, adding the stakeholders are ready to collaborate with SON to address the issues headlong.

    “We want you to come in to support us so that we can invest more and even attract foreign direct investment into the industry. We currently employ more than 2000 people in my company imagine if we can have 10 of such factories in the country, it would go a long way to reduce youth unemployment in the country.”

  • Stakeholders hail underwriting standards for informal sector

    Stakeholders hail underwriting standards for informal sector

    •Document targets 58% of sector

    Stakeholders have hailed the new underwriting standards for mortgage in the informal sector.

    The standards, launched in Lagos, is a key component of the National Housing Finance Programme (NHFP) of the Federal Government aimed at empowering Nigerians in the sector to own a house. It comes under the My Own Home scheme.

    The scheme, stakeholders agreed, would create a uniform standard for disbursement of mortgage loans to intending house owners in the informal sector.

    With this programme, the mortgage market would be positioned to capture 58 per cent of those in the informal sector.

    After the launch at the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Lagos office, the Executive Director, Business Development and Portfolio Management of the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN), Umar Abdulahi, said the initiative was timely and has the capacity of bringing in the largely-uncaptured population in the informal sector of the housing market. He praised the document for being “all encompassing”.

    “The informal sector constitutes a large market that had not been explored. We have a large market in the sector but we need social inclusiveness in the area of housing. The law is that anyone who earns up to N3,000 and above is entitled to mortgage loan but a lot of people, especially outside the formal sector, are not benefiting. Now this underwriting standard will ensure they benefit,” he said.

    Nigeria Mortgage Refinance Company (NMRC) Managing Director Prof. Charles Inyangete, represented by NMRC’s Head of Business Development Mrs Dorothy Obata, said about 70 per cent of home seekers in the informal sector are not captured in the mortgage market. She described them as “middle income earners who did not have structures”.

    “This is a welcomed development in comparison to what we had before which was the formal sector uniform underwriting standard. The uniform writing standard for the informal sector will be a big catalyst for intending house owners,” she said.

    Similarly, Mortgage Banking Association of Nigeria (MBAN) President Mr. Niyi Akinlusi sees the initiative as a game-changer in housing.

    He regretted that the informal sector, which was contributing  about 60 per cent to the national gross domestic product (GDP), has been neglected for long, especially in housing.

    “It is time for us to start working and bring into the housing market, the mortgage market, to serve as a bridge for many people to  own their  house.

    According to him, Nigerians desirous of owning homes can now be assured of having a shoulder to lean on to make their dreams come true. MBAN, he emphasised, has put in place strategies for the 34 mortgage institutions across the country to capture a larger percentage of the informal sector in the home ownership net. This, ultimately, would reduce the housing deficit in the nation.

    Akinlusi said the launch represented a new dawn for players in the informal sector who hitherto had no access to mortgage. Besides, he is particularly pleased that stringent collateral like certificate of occupancy has been removed from the conditions of getting a mortgage.

    Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) Special Insured Institutions Director Mr. Joshua Etupidiok said the corporation, ahead of the initiative, developed an insurance product for the non-interest primary mortgage institutions (PMIs). This is, because, the informal sector has a huge market for mortgage, he said.

    NHFP Head of the CBN Mr. Adedeji Adesemoye said the  document would give those without  salaries access to mortgage loan for their housing needs. He said this would nip in the bud problems affecting access to mortgage by the informal sector.

    He assured that in the next six months, the CBN would evaluate the number of mortgages in the sector.

    Adesemoye said stakeholders were also developing underwriting standards for the non-interest primary mortgage banks and groups, adding that this would be launched between next month and April.

    Stakeholders were convinced that the mortgage law would capture the self-employed and business owners in the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME).

    Some of the issues in the standards are property and borrower eligibility, credit worthiness, loan tenor, repayment structure, property title, required security, insurance, and mortgage counseling, among others.

    The underwriting standard is an initiative of the CBN, MBAN, the Nigeria Mortgage Refinance Company, FMBN, and the NDIC.

    NHFP Consultant on Housing and Mortgage, Mrs Adenike Fasanya-Osilaja, said the event was important because there was the need for a policy to drive the initiative.

    She said the underwriters had been trained to use “common sense” to determine good borrowers.

    “We are also going to be telling the populace that you must not work in an office to have access to home ownership,” she said.

    She said measures were in place to ensure borrowers in the informal sector met their loan obligations.

  • Moral and ethical standards in society

    There is a moral gale sweeping through the Anglo-Saxon world.. The whole thing started with revelations about how the movie mogul, Harvey Weinstein has used, over the years, his power and influence to sexually molest young girls looking for breakthrough in the movie industry in Hollywood in the United States.  Close  to 20 ladies have come out to accuse the same man of either rape or improper sexual conduct. The list of abusers is growing every day and it now includes Kevin Spacey; Dustin Hoffman, Brett Rather and James Tobback. The 80-year old radical film star,  Jane Fonda even testified that demanding sexual favours from young stars has been going on in Hollywood for as long as one can remember. These accusations have come on the heel of the sexual misdemeanors allegedly committed by Bill Cosby who in his famous Bill Cosby Show for decades presented himself as the ideal father and husband that both white and black audiences could associate with. He is now derided as someone who was drugging women before sexually assaulting them.

    The  distinction must however be made between sexual harassment and sexual philandering or people having affairs. Sexual molestation is when one exploits his or her power to demand sexual favours from an unwilling person or even making sexually lurid and suggestive jokes to somebody of the opposite sex or somebody with a different sexual orientation especially homosexuals and lesbians. Kevin Spacey for example was accused by somebody who as a young 14-year  old,   found Spacey trying to make love to him.  This was a horrible situation because the poor boy was straight. In all these accusations those accused have denied the accusations or have said most of their sexual relations were consensual. The police in California and New York are looking into possible prosecution of those accused. Very few American politicians have been accused yet unlike the gale sweeping through Westminster. There is the funny accusations against  President George W. H. Bush who at 93 was said  to have touched the buttocks of the women taking care of him after telling them dirty jokes. The old man had to issue statements of regret and apology to his accusers. I personally feel the old man should never have been bothered. My son Seyi feels differently saying old age is not an excuse for inappropriate behaviour.

    The case in Britain is totally different from what is happening in America. The Deputy Prime Minister Damien Green  is under investigation for inappropriate behaviour dating back a decade ago when “extreme pornography” was found  in his computer  during investigation of inappropriate sexual conduct.  The Defence Minister Sir Michael Fallon has already resigned for touching the knees of a female journalist Julia Hartley-Brewer some 15 years ago and apparently for inappropriate proposition to a female cabinet colleague. Another Conservative member of parliament, Dan Pouter has been referred to an internal party disciplinary committee for proper investigation. The Labour Party has its own problem. Clive Lewis, a member of parliament has been accused of groping a woman at Labour’s 2017 conference. One or two members of parliament have been accused of raping young interns or junior members in their offices or of inappropriate behaviour such as a minister sending a secretary to buy him sex toys in a shop in notorious Soho area of London. Sexual scandals are not new in British politics dating back to the John Profumo scandals of 1961. The then Secretary for War was accused of sharing a prostitute with a Russian agent. He resigned in 1963 because he was found to have lied to parliament. Recently Sir Edward Heath a former Prime Minister in the 1970s was posthumously accused of inappropriate relations with young boys. I remember John Major, sleeping apparently on consensual basis, with one of his beautiful ministers of state in 1990 or there about. The longest serving female Labour MP, Harriet Harman said this kind of behaviour cuts across all facets of life in the United Kingdom especially when people  having power deal with those below them. She gave a personal experience of when she was about to graduate some decades ago. Her lecturer called her and told her “young lady you are close to an upper second honours degree and to make sure you make that grade you have to sleep with me. The choice is yours”. She did not say what later happened. For those who think Nigerian teachers are lecherous, you better believe that inappropriate behaviour in tertiary institutions is global. The point must also be made that female students are not saints in this sordid drama.

    What I find intriguing is that the  current brouhaha  about sexual harassment is not likely to cut any ice in France. Infidelity and sexual promiscuity has been tolerated in France  since the time of the Bourbon dynasty to the present. President  Francois Mitterrand for example had a daughter out of marriage and proudly went about with her without anybody raising an eyelid.  The mother of President  Francois Hollande’s children was not the First Lady of France in the last regime and neither was he married to her or the First Lady. The Germans are like their British fellow Saxons who probably hypocritically put on a moral armour in public while  doing something different in their privacy. The Italians of Silvio Berlusconi would laugh at the prudishness of the British. Journalists and victims of sexual harassment in Putin’s Russia will be too afraid to accuse anybody in government because they may be sent to jail or worse.

    I wonder what will happen if there were to be a focus on people in power in Nigeria in their relations with women under them. This would cut across all spectrum of the society in government, bureaucracy, tertiary institutions, business, and even the holy orders  of Christian and Islamic traditions.

    I remember some incidents that make our situation a bit peculiar. In 1995, Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu led a delegation on behalf of the Abacha regime to the European Union. I was Ambassador in Germany winding down my mission to that country. The delegation sought a meeting with the German foreign office. I had to arrange it. We were given 15 minutes for the meeting. Ojukwu was the spokesperson for the group. After a rambling speech about the generosity of Abacha to Abiola in  detention, he dramatically said that Abacha allowed “four of Abiola’s senior wives to visit him every week”. The Germans with broad smile asked Ojukwu “How many wives does Abiola have?”

    The attitude in Asia is not much different. This reminds me of  what the minister of foreign affairs in the Philippines was said to have said to a  Philippine lady who complained to him during a visit to Saudi Arabia about being raped by her boss. He was said to have whispered to his aid without knowing that the microphone was switched on  that she should enjoy it. When the news got home, the minister was immediately fired.

    Although there is no universal norm of sexual relations, but we can all agree that no one should have the power to sexually exploit a fellow human being because of the position of power one holds. Even in marriage, one should not be able to exploit his or her partner sexually. A husband can technically be guilty of rape if a wife is forced against her will. As bad as we sometimes think  things are in Nigeria, people still maintain decent and respectable relationships with people of the opposite sex. I was in Redeemers University for 12 years and I can attest and affirm the fact that nothing of this sort occurred between staff and students. There were cases of improper relations among students. But this is to be expected among young people whose hormones drive them towards sexual relations. Unfortunately with the downturn in the economy in the country, girls and boys in order to survive, I am told, are forced to compromise their morals.Young people of today are less inhibited  as people of my generation. A former female student of mine told me she and two other former students were sharing an apartment in Lagos. I immediately assumed the other two were girls. I was shocked when she told me they were boys. I then told her that I found the situation a bit confusing to put it diplomatically. She explained that there were three different rooms, and that they shared a common kitchen and bathroom and toilet. She then said they were adults with knowledge of permissible boundaries. I then recalled my stay in Lillian Penson Post-graduate hall in the university of London in 1968. This was a mixed hall and my neighbour to the right and left were ladies. Since all the rooms were en suite, I never heard of any scandal through out my stay there yet coming from Nigeria where sexes were rigidly separated. I initially found the arrangement difficult to understand. It all boils down to discipline. Since we were all young and had no power or influence to exercise over others in exchange for sexual favours, the idea of sexual harassment did not come up. This is the crux of the matter. Sexual harassment is a manifestation of power.

  • Nigeria holds conference on GIPS standards

    Major stakeholders in the Nigerian investment market are expected to meet on Tuesday November 21, 2017 to discuss ways to entrench the Global Investment Performance Standards (GIPS) in Nigeria as part of efforts to deepen the capital market and enhance investors’ returns.

    The GIPS standards are a set of global minimum requirements and recommendations for calculating and reporting investment performance. When voluntarily and fully complied with, investment managers’ performances are ascertained as plausible and fairly comparable across all regions.

    Nigeria, through its country sponsor, endorsed the GIPS standards in May 2015. The Nigerian country sponsor comprises of Fund Managers Association of Nigeria (FMAN), Pensions Operators Association of Nigeria (PenOp), The CFA Society Nigeria, and capital market and pension industry regulators.

    At the Nigeria Investment Performance Stakeholders Conference being hosted by King Thrones Limited, an investment advisory firm, the country sponsor and other major stakeholders in the Nigerian investment management industry will deliberate on ways to entrench a market approach to the adoption of the GIPS standards.

    Chief Relationship Officer, King Thrones Limited, Mr. Akin Adeniyi , said the conference is aimed at advancing the works of the country sponsor with a view to providing appropriate public information and guidance around the standards’ ideals as well as the framework for its market operations going forward.

    “The essentials of this gathering rest on the need first and foremost to sensitise all stakeholders in the market, starting with investors, to their advisers, investment managers, pension funds, insurers, mutual funds, trade groups, regulators, consultants, and a host of others, of the workings and benefits of these standards, and the general expectations in the adoption process by investment management firms,” Adeniyi said.

    He noted that the entrenchment of the GIPS standards in Nigeria will increase capital inflow into the Nigerian collective investment market as GIPS standards will create improved performance reporting modalities for the easy ascertainment and comparative analysis of factual historical records and reliable forecasting.

    At the conference, during which Director General, Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), will present a keynote address, stakeholders will have the opportunity to interact and debate on relevant issues, with the primary objective of establishing a clear understanding of the roles and responsibilities of market operators in the journey to attaining compliance with the global investment performance reporting standards.

    Adeniyi outlined that GIPS standards will enhance the development of the Nigerian market by further promoting fair representation and full disclosures of facts behind every performance presentation, especially to prospective investors.

    “Potential and existing clients are assured that the information shown in a GIPS – compliant performance presentation reflects the results of the presenting firm’s past investment decisions – which is equally crucial in the investor’s final decision-making process. Investors are also assured that the returns are calculated and presented on a consistent basis and that they are objectively comparable for a given strategy to those reported by other firms claiming compliance with the standards,” Adeniyi said.

    Since their introduction in 1999, the GIPS standards have gathered momentum with investment management firms worldwide adopting these voluntary and ethical requirements for calculating and presenting historical investment performance. By the operations of both the GIPS Council and the Executive Committee, strong partnerships are formed with country sponsors to promote and educate the GIPS standards, and these have greatly contributed to their rapid global reach.

    With the endorsement of its country sponsor of the standards in August, 2017, Kazakhstan became the 41st and most recent country to join the growing list of countries embracing these ethical standards.  Nigeria and Denmark had become 30th and 31st respectively on the May 26, 2015.

  • Navgas promotes safety standards

    Navgas has unveiled its ‘driving safety forward initiative’ in  Lagos. This came almost two years after it launched the same programme. According to the firm, the objective was to promote world-class safety standards and practices within the liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) industry.

    Its management said:“Navgas strongly believes it is important to take a leadership role in ensuring safety of the Nigerian LPG industry.

    “Since Navgas introduced this initiative, we have achieved a number of accomplishments; the most notable being the mandatory installation of functional emergency shut offvalves on all LPG trucks.  Before Navgas started this programme, less than 20 per cent of LPG trucks in Nigeria had emergency shut off valves, and now almost all LPG trucks in Nigeria have them installed and this has greatly helped to control incidences of truck leaks in the industry.”

    It continued:“Navgas is now taking the Driving Safety Forward initiative a step further by directly reaching out to LPG drivers by launching a Loyalty and Reward programme.

    “Navgas believes that drivers, who come to our terminal serve an important role in the distribution chain and appreciating their efforts in safety will further reinforce safe behaviours, highlight the importance of safe practices in the communities they service and will help improve the overall safety of the LPG industry at large.

    “Navgas will reward drivers, who clearly demonstrate their commitment to safe LPG loading practices by entering them into a draw for various prizes. The initiative has begun on October 28, this year and will run till February 14, 2018.”

  • Moral, ethical, standards should be our watchword

    Moral, ethical, standards should be our watchword

    Tajudeen Akande is a Financial Analyst, Senior Partner and Director at the African Board of PKF International; a global firm of chartered accountants with offices located in over 400 cities and 125 countries, with the aim of achieving continuity among clients, thereby building relationships and delivering superior services. In this interview with Omolara Akintoye, the Chartered Accountant with over 29 years’ experience, said a good manager must have emotional intelligence and that professionals can help society by ensuring that in every dealing, ethical standards should be introduced, which can help to reduce corruption to its barest minimum.. Excerpts…..

    What is your management style?

    I believe in participatory management, what is called democratic leadership style. I like to involve people in decision making so that they can also have an input. I always believe that as a leader, no matter your vision or your conviction, if that vision is not shared by your team members, it may ultimately not be effective in implementation. That is what defines my management and leadership style. I’m also very decisive when I need to take decisions.

    And your management philosophy?

    I believe in the philosophy of togetherness, trusting people to be involved in decision-making. My management philosophy is that as a leader, you must trust your subordinates to be able to take decisions through. As much as possible, delegate and co-ordinate, because it’s very easy for delegation to turn into a lassez faire system, which can be very chaotic. So, delegating decision-making process and getting involved in terms of co-ordination and ultimately, decision-making so that it is participatory. But the leader is still seen as leading from the front.

    Do you micro-manage?

    No, it is totally against my philosophy. In fact, any of my managers that is not delegating enough or cannot mentor, is not fit to lead. I believe in identifying future leaders and mentoring them to become good leaders. Anybody you are looking at, if he doesn’t have the characteristics of being able to delegate and mentor is not fit to be a leader.

    How do you motivate your staff?

    It’s different combinations, ranging from motivation by acknowledging their good deed. I believe in appreciating good deeds. What anybody has done well, because I’m also a very critical person. So, when you’ve done something good, I do acknowledge that. Over the years, I’ve discovered that it can be very motivating; you also reward performance. Also in my career and experience, timely feedback also serves as a good motivating factor for staff whether they are doing it right or making a mistake. Not when the deed is done and it’s already too late they get penalised. Unlike if their attention had been drawn to it with timely feedback, they would have changed in course of action.

    How do you reprimand erring staff?

    It depends on the situation and the gravity of what has happened. Sometimes it’s about calling, advising and in the course of that, you get a lot of harsh tongue. Not shouting; it could take a form of warning. It also depends on the frequency of occurrence. I don’t mind you making a mistake and correcting you but if I keep correcting you on the same issue overtime, then you’ll see my other side.

    Do you apply the carrot and stick approach?

    I do. You can’t flog all the time and you can’t pamper all the time. Sometimes you also dangle the carrot; so, I do.

    What has been your toughest decision as a manager?

    That was when I had to fire a staff who is also a personal friend, which was tough. I knew it’s a decision that would still come back to me, for someone who is close. We’ve been together for years, something happened and you just have to apply the same principle for everybody. That can be very tough. There is also a situation whereby, because I like to interact with people, you do this to break barriers and make them feel free. We’ve had a big time together and then an incident happened the next day in the office and you had to issue query. People got shocked, not believing you could actually issue that query. For me, it’s one of the toughest decisions.

    Your best decision overtime?

    That is my decision to stick with this career. In my formative years, I’ve got to cross roads as to what do you do, you’ve had offers here and there, you’ve seen colleagues move, you see things happen in different sectors. I just looked at myself and what I have a passion for and what my personal disposition is and I decided to stick with accounting practice. My friends even thought I signed my life to poverty, but today I look back and I’m happy to say that it couldn’t have been better anywhere else.

    What is your definition of a good manager?

    A good manager must be calm, plan before acting; must be able to motivate his team, as well as have the ability to create another manager through mentoring. He must also have emotional intelligence. You cannot afford to react emotionally, because decisions that are based on emotions are always very wrong. Yes, as human beings, we have emotions, but you must get over emotions before taking decisions. So, he must have the capacity to display high level of emotional intelligence.

    As an upwardly mobile executive, how do you ease off stress?

    People often accuse me that I work too hard, but I also play as much as I work. So in terms of socialising, I try as much as possible to catch fun with friends after work, that is why I belong to many social clubs. I’m a member of Lagos Country Club, also their current president, also a member of Sagamu Golf Club. I also belong to few other associations. I like to take holidays, just relax, and switch off the phone. It’s the key to healthy life, especially when you have a busy executive lifestyle. I’ve been an active clubber for over 20 years.

    In retrospect, what do you regret most in your career and profession?

    Absolutely nothing; no regret at all.

    Your fond memories of starting out as a professional?

    (Laughs) I recall going as a member of team for auditing, getting into various environment and people receiving us with a lot of respect. You see everybody checking themselves. You can see the anxiety all over them, they can’t wait for us to leave; it makes me feel important, really. Also by the virtue of the nature of the job, you have the opportunity of interacting with management and board members that, ordinarily, you wouldn’t have had access to. But as an auditor, you are able to interact with them. The job also exposes you to a lot of travelling round the country, staying in the best hotels in town; those were the experiences of the profession as a senior accountant in training then. I still look back to those days and I feel today my colleagues might have lost some elements of respect which we had in those days. Probably because there are more people in the profession now, more people have come from this side to the other side, so it’s like we know what they are coming to do. Another reason could be because of the way people also conduct themselves. In those days, when people heard that you were chartered, they look at you with a lot of respect, and with the training we received then, once you stepped out, you knew that you were representing your firm and you had to conduct yourself in an orderly manner. Even when you are hungry and a client is offering you something, you reject such offers. And eventually after having finished the engagement, you are given the best treatment by the entire management team. Unlike today, you are there, they just abandon them in one room. Those good old days are no more there.

    How best do you think professionals can contribute to the development of this country?

    First, there is something that is common to every profession, which is called ethical standard, medicine, law, accounting, journalism, engineering etc, which separates the professional that is well trained from the ordinary man on the street that learn on the job. One of the major problems I see in this country is corruption, pride and weak leadership arising from lack of practice of ethical standards. It’s easy to say let the professional get involved in politics, but when you look at those in politics, some are professionals while others are not. It’s about people maintaining and conducting business. I mean in every aspect of human endeavour, there should be a high level of ethical standards. So, professionals can help society by ensuring that in every dealing, ethical standard should be introduced, which can help reduce corruption to its barest minimum and the society will be better for it.

    Finally, you are the newly appointed president of Lagos Country Club, what are you bringing to the club that is different from what other past presidents had done?

    In a nutshell, I intend bringing transformational leadership. Every person that had served the club in the past has added one thing that is different from what their predecessor had done, so we’ve had progress. Transformational leadership in a way that we want to create change that is faster, that is revolutionary, so to say. I think we’ve had a fair share of being complacent in our developmental journey, in which case, majority of our members believe that our level of development, as good as it is, should be a lot faster than what it is. So my vision is to accelerate that level of development; to take us at the pace of where we are coming from to be able to implement what we would have done in ten years in one year.

     

  • Taleveras complied with International Trading Standards, says legal team

    The Taleveras Group yesterday said all its business transactions and investments in the oil sector  have been in compliance with International Trading Standards.

    It also said that in the last 17 years, it has been trading and engaging in third party contracts, inclusive of oil and gas upstream operations.

    On the case made by the US Department of Justice, Taleveras said neither it nor its associated companies lifted any oil from the Atlantic Drilling Fluids.

    In a statement signed by its Legal Counsel, Alex School Esq,  the company which just won oil blocks in Equatorial Guinea, said the legal case against Atlantic Drilling Fluids has nothing to do with Taleveras or its chairman, Mr. Igho Sanomi.

    The company said the reports of some online online publications were not only misleading but grossly inaccurate.

    The statement said: “The attention of Taleveras legal team has been drawn to online publications related with a case against Atlantic Drilling Fluids. This legal case is not against Taleveras or Igho Sanomi.

    Some of these publications are misleading and grossly inaccurate. It is thus proper to set the records straight.

    “One of Taleveras core activities since 2000, is sourcing, trading and engaging in third party contracts, inclusive of oil and gas upstream operations.

    “Taleveras due to its capacity, trading expertise and financial strength, continues to source and engage in procuring third party oil contracts.

    “Taleveras performs on these contracts handling the physical delivery, risk management and logistics from start point to its numerous first class end users and major refiners.

    “This process involves verification of the contracts with the issuing authority to authenticate and further compliance with our lending banks internal due diligence processes. This is no different from International Trading Standards performed by the numerous international and major oil and gas companies operating in Nigeria.

    “As it relates to the US department case against Atlantic Drilling, please note that Taleveras and the other two major oil trading houses (Glencore and Arcadia) were not faulted for embarking on a legitimate transaction, as all payments were made based on legitimate third party contracts with private companies and not NNPC.

    “This is indeed compared to a buyer of a property who embarks on verification of property title documents with the issuing authority and upon verification, goes into a sales contract and then makes contractual payment to the seller. The Buyer certainly has no control in whatever the seller does with his proceeds from the sale.

    “In concluding, the ultimate aim of contracting is to off-take crude oil from asset productions.

    “ It is worthy to note that neither Taleveras nor its associated companies lifted any oil from this production through Atlantic. Terms of the agreement were breached and hence a legal dispute and appropriate filings made in respected court of jurisdiction.

    “We will thus refrain from making further comments.”

  • We’ll stick to standards, says SON

    We’ll stick to standards, says SON

    The Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) is committed to the economic and social emancipation of Africa using the instrument of standardisation, the Director General, SON, Osita Aboloma.

    He said SON it commitment to the ideals of the African Organisation for Standardisation (ARSO) aimed at promoting development within the continent through improved intra-African trade as well trading with the rest of the world.

    Aboloma, who stated this in an address to representatives of ARSO at the  on-going 56th Council meeting  in Ouagadougou,  Burkina Faso. praised the contributions of the founding fathers of ARSO and their vision in sharing and accepting common thoughts on the best ways to stimulate Africa’s development and competitiveness using the strong tool of standardisation.

    He said ARSO is playing a key role in the emancipation of the Africa through facilitating the harmonisation of National and regional standards and conformity assessment processes.

    “I wish to add my voice to the need to sustain the existence and effectiveness of ARSO through our collective and selfless contributions” he said.

    The President of ARSO who is also the Chief Executive of the Zimbabwe Bureau of Standards, Madame Eve Gadzikwa, praised the Government and people of Burkina Faso for hosting the 56th Council meeting and 23rd General Assembly of the Continental standardisation body.

    She said the ARSO five year strategic plan 2017-2022 seeks to build on new strategies to address the challenges of Quality Infrastructure in Africa, under the four Goals, namely, to develop high-quality standards and related deliverables through ARSO members:  to ensure that African standards are adopted and applied as national and sub-regional standards within the continent: to ensure  that ARSO structures and operations are sustainable, and to ensure that stakeholders are effectively engaged across the entire ARSO standardisation community.