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  • Experts seek reforms in capital market

    Financial and policy experts have called for concerted efforts to encourage Nigerians’ greater participation in the domestic capital market. They called for reforms to enhance the global competitiveness of the Nigerian market to attract more investors.

    The experts, who spoke at the 2019 Capital Market Summit, hosted by the Association of Securities Dealing Houses of Nigeria (ASHON) in Lagos, brainstormed challenges militating against the growth and development of Nigerian capital market and proffered workable solutions to re-position the market for the benefit of all stakeholders. ASHON also used the summit to announce its name change from Association of Stockbroking Houses of Nigeria to Association of Securities Dealing Houses of Nigeria.

    The keynote speaker, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Susman and Associates (S and A), Dr Shamsusdden Usman, in his paper titled: “Driving Financial Inclusion through the Capital Market “, explained that unlike other markets that had fully recovered from the global financial crises of 2007-2008, Nigeria’s capital market continue to suffer from investors’ apathy and other sundry issues.

    Usman, a two- term Minister of Finance and National Planning, advocated a complete review of the market in line with the current realities in the global financial market in order to re-address the issue of investors’ confidence and leverage the market for financial inclusion. He advocated a one-stop financial centre in line with some foreign markets.

    “In China, Interbank bond markets offer special financial bonds for the purpose of increasing size of loans to the SMEs. Capital Market Business Hubs (CMBH) are established in small cities to expand outreach of capital market institutions. In Mexico, the farmer mutual insurance funds provide insurance to their members by pooling together resources to pay for future indemnities and reinsures itself from major systemic risks that could hurt simultaneously all their members,” Usman said.

    He stated that he instituted a project called Voice and Voting Power(VPP) in which major stakeholders are involved with the aim of finding lasting solutions to the challenges facing the capital market.

    Usman identified some of VPP’s recommendations as development of the commodities exchange ecosystem, encouraging more trading through tax incentives, deepening of Islamic finance and other non-interest products,  development of bond market, reduction of the average costs of issuing equity and debt securities, relaxation of complex legal, regulatory and listing requirements and greater use of simple and innovative technology, among others.

    ASHON Chairman,  Chief Patrick Ezeagu said the association was committed to activities aimed at ensuring that every citizen participates in the financial industry and enjoys its benefits.

    “The Association has been engaging in various advocacy initiatives in line with our objectives. We recognise that the world is fast undergoing some evolution, especially in the way of doing things, which is being propelled by the fast pace of technological innovations. The recognition of the retail investor and expansion of the scope of our business to the hinterlands are key to stimulation and sustainable growth of the capital market. We believe that we should work in tandem with all regulatory institutions to promote financial inclusion,” Ezeagu said.

    According to him, ASHON decided to make a slight change in its nomenclature to Association of Securities Dealing Houses of Nigeria, with a new logo as brand identity, to reflect the expanded scope of the members’ operations.

    He also noted that some eminent Nigerians presented with awards were those recognised for outstanding contributions to the growth and development of the market.

    The panelists, who spoke on the perspective of the capital market on financial inclusion, underscored the need for financial literacy for all categories of investors, strong advocacy for the market in the government institutions, introduction of simple and affordable market products and deployment of simple technologies.

    They included Nigerian Stock Exchange’s (NSE) Chief Executive Officer, Mr Oscar Onyema; NASD Plc Chief Executive Officer, Mr Bola Ajomale; Director-General, Debt Management Office, Mrs Patience Oniha; Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Limited Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Mr Haruna Jalo-Waziri and former Chairman, Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG), Alhaji Bukar Kyari, while the Vice Chairman, Capital Bancorp Plc, Mr Tola Mobolurin was the Moderator.

     

  • Edo JAAC declares N2.6bn March allocation for LGAs

    The Edo State Joint Account and Allocation Committee (JAAC) has declared N2,582,596,600.47 as total allocation accrued to the 18 Local Government Areas (LGAs) of the state from the Federation Account for the month of March and shared in April 2019.

    Chairman, Oredo LGA, Hon. Jenkins Osunde, disclosed this at the end of the monthly JAAC meeting presided over by the Acting Governor, Rt. Hon. Comrade Philip Shaibu, at Government House, in Benin City, Edo State capital.

    Osunde, who is also Chairman, Edo State Chapter of the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON), said the Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) for the month of March amounted to N354,348,936.65.

    Osunde noted that teachers and non-teachers’ salaries gulped N1,102,649,372.43, Local Government contributions for pension is N276,144,513.54, while pension arrears paid is N100,000,000.00.

    “Total deduction from LGAs is N1,688,231,322.38 and net allocation to LGAs is put at N894,365,278.09. Total amount transferred to LGAs stands at N881,452, 295.09,” he said.

     

  • Yari commends FG, calls for media support

    Zamfara State Governor and Chairman Nigeria Governors’ Forum, Abdul’aziz Yari Abubakar has on Monday commended President Muhammadu Buhari’s led Federal Government for the newly established Exercise “Harbin Kunama III” in the state.

    The Governor made this known in a press release signed by the acting Director General press affairs, government house Gusau, Malam Kabir Bashir Ahmad describing the development as timely considering the intense spate of killings and kidnappings going on in some parts of the state.

    He commends the Chief of Army Staff of the Nigerian Army, Lieutenant General Tukur Yusuf Buratai for establishing the exercise at Headquarters 1 Brigade Barracks Gusau, saying that the move will in no measure accelerate the fight against the bandits that have been terrorising the people of the state.

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    He says the exercise which according to the Chief of Army Staff is planned to mitigate the current threats to security in Zamfara and its neighbouring States will enjoy his administration’s support especially the traditional institutions.

    Hon. Yari then urges 8,500 Civilian JTF recruited by the state government to continue to work closely and within the ambit of the law  with the Nigerian Army and other security operatives in all nooks and crannies of the state.

    Governor Yari reassures Zamfara State Government’s commitments to providing adequate guidance, intelligence and logistics for the effective and efficient operation in the state.

    He therefore calls on people of the state to assist the security agencies with relevant information that will serve as pivotal machineries in flushing out the bandits and other criminals that have crippled the socio-economic activities of the people of the state.

  • Corruption behind building collapse in Nigeria

    A lecturer at the University of Ilorin (UNILORIN) Dr. Yusuf Shuaib-Babaita has attributed incessant building collapse in the country to corruption.

    Dr Shuaib-Babaita, who is the acting head of the Department of Materials and Metallurgical Engineering of the university lamented the repeated collapse of buildings in the country with the resultant loss of lives and properties, stated that “many buildings were constructed in wrong places with substandard materials and unfortunately without adequate supervision by trained experts”.

    Dr. Shuaib-Babaita, who was a Member of the Failures Analysis, Prevention and Control Committee of the Ilorin Branch of the Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE), opined that building regulatory bodies are not discharging their supervisory responsibilities as expected because of what he described as “the Nigerian factor”.

    He pointed out that the negligence of duties by the officials of those agencies is deeply rooted in the pervasive acts of corruption and nepotism the nation has been battling with over the years, which had often prevented those bodies from functioning effectively.

    The don explained that poor maintenance culture, design error and excessive loading of structures, which are responsible for the frequent collapse of buildings across the country, could be promptly checked and effectively controlled when and if those regulatory bodies are discharging their responsibilities as expected.

    Dr. Shuaib-Babaita, who is also the National Public Relations Officer of the Materials Science and Technology Society of Nigeria (MSN), stated that the consistent use of substandard materials for buildings is also a contributory factor to building failures and collapse across the country, which he regarded as an embarrassment to the nation, considering the overwhelming presence of well-trained professionals in building and construction.

    Read Also: ‘Our mandate is to nip corruption in the bud’

    He added that most olden day buildings are standing the test of time because of the high quality of materials used as well as the close supervision given to their construction by experts engaged as well as from the regulatory authorities, which insisted on nothing but the best in terms of materials and strict adherence to the rules and regulations.

    Dr. Shuaib-Babaita acknowledged the fact that modern day professionals are not only more qualified and competent but are also more sophisticated than their predecessors.

    He, however, said that their profound exposure are not being well felt in the “alleged non-enduring capacity of modern buildings as a result of ignorance often exhibited by building owners and the appalling poverty that often propelled them from ignoring professional advice”.

    To arrest the increasing tendencies of building collapse in Nigeria, Dr. Shuaib-Babaita advised the government not to leave any stone unturned at insisting on sanity in building and construction management.

    While advising that the building regulatory bodies should be better empowered with adequate funds and equipment to always do the needful, the don suggested that those regulatory bodies must also be monitored to ensure that they do their functions as stipulated.

    Dr. Shuaib-Babaita also proposed the continuous demolition of buildings, which do not conform to the laid-down rules to show the government’s seriousness that it would not tolerate shady deals and inelegant service delivery.

    He also suggested overhauling of relevant laws relating to building in such a way that building owners and experts who are found wanting, no matter their status be penalized.

    He, however, emphasised that once the cankerworms of bribery, nepotism, laziness and corruption are effectively banished from the psyche of Nigerians, including the professionals, the issue of building collapse would be a thing of the past.

     

  • Cultism: Shaibu orders partial shutdown of two schools in Benin

    Edo State Acting Governor, Rt. Hon. Comrade Philip Shaibu, has ordered the partial shutdown of Ihogbe College and Oba Akenzua Secondary School, to allow the state government, parents and a mentorship committee brainstorm and provide solutions to cult-related activities among students in the schools.

    During a meeting between the acting governor and parents of the students, held at the school premises on Monday, April 1, in Benin City, Shaibu said the schools would be shut a week earlier than the scheduled date for closure, with only those in Senior Secondary School 3 (SS3) and Junior Secondary School (JSS3) allowed into school, as others students have finished their exams.

    He said this would enable a mentorship committee set up to address clashes in the schools, come up with effective approaches to resolving the lingering issues and set the template to ensure the students imbibe acceptable social behaviours and good morals.

    He noted, “We cannot allow cultism in our secondary schools in Edo state. We have to stamp our authority in these two schools. We cannot allow rivalry and cult clashes among students. That is why we have to come in to deal with the issue of morals. Something went wrong and that is what we must correct. That is why we have set up the mentorship committee and closed the school to investigate the root cause of this incident and find solutions.”

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    He added, “What is key is that these students need serious moral rearmament. We have to refocus their minds toward education.”

    Noting that there was a need to involve parents in addressing the lingering issues, Shaibu said, “We cannot do it without involving parents. The teacher will play his or her role; the government will play theirs, but the feedback and follow up from home is critical. That is why we have to bring the parents in.”

    Stressing that the situation in the school is not a lost cause, he said the students can still be guided aright with the right mentoring and support. “The good news is that the situation is not that bad to the extent that these children cannot be helped. The complaints from the teachers and all other things I saw are policy issues, which we will go back to the office and discuss. Don’t forget that the governor must endorse some of these decisions because they are going to be critical and we have to think through them before making any drastic decision. We are not going to leave any stone unturned,” he added.

    A motivational speaker, Pastor Kay Benson-Akhigbe, urged the students not to feel offended whenever their teachers correct them, noting that such corrections are meant to enable them lead better lives.

    Akhigbe urged the parents to ensure they guide their children and wards on appropriate morals and report deviant behaviours to teachers and members of the committee.