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The
director-general of the Budget Office of the Federation, Bright Okogu,
yesterday, blamed ministries, departments and agencies as well as the
National Assembly for delaying annual appropriations. Speaking at the
second Economic Policy and Fiscal Strategy Seminar in Abuja, Mr. Okogu
said that the MDAs focused more attention on revenues allocated to them
than the value to the people. Mr. Okogu also noted the difficulties in
operating fiscal federalism in the country, saying that it has been
hard for the government to implement the provisions of the Fiscal
Responsibility Bill the way it was conceptualized because of states’
insistence that the federal government cannot make laws for them,
particularly on issues that have to do with revenue allocation.

“The
deterioration in the fiscal discipline in recent times could be
attributed partly to the insistence by the states on the constitution,
particularly that all monies collected must be paid into the federation
accounts, that even savings in the excess crude oil account belongs to
them, and they should be allowed to share it as and when they feel the
need to,” he said. According to Mr. Okogu, in an environment where
stakeholders always have to restructure and reconcile the difference in
figures between what the executive proposed in the Appropriation Bill
sent to the National Assembly and what comes out as the final figure
included in the Act.

Challenging limit

Former
minister of finance, Mansur Mukhtar, also said that political
pressures, particularly from states, to share monies from the excess
crude account and to raise the benchmark oil price, as well as the
strong interests of the lawmakers to promote constituency projects,
also affected the budget process.

“Even
within the ministries, the budget process has always been characterized
by competition in the allocation of resources,” he said. “It is
difficult to insulate the system from these pressures. But it is all
about the ability to reach a consensus through interaction and dialogue
that is important.”

Defective structure

The
chairman of the House Committee on Finance, John Enoh, called for the
engagement of the lawmakers in the budget preparation process to avoid
discrepancies that resulted in long delays in appropriation.

Wearing sunglasses,
a gold necklace, and sitting outside his home in a village in the Niger
Delta, ex-militant leader, Ateke Tom, is happy for the army to take
over what were once training camps for his fighters.

Along with other
former gang leaders who accepted a government amnesty last year, Tom
now finds himself working with the security forces he long fought in
Nigeria’s southern oil region, trying to persuade those still carrying
arms to surrender.

“They are
criminals, and I heard that those boys that were disturbing (things) in
Rivers State have been arrested,” Tom said, referring to a gang leader
who had been holding 19 hostages until they were freed by the army last
month.

“I thank God they have been arrested. They were just criminals, nothing more,” he said.

Tom was a field
commander for the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta
(MEND), the main militant group responsible for years of deadly
attacks, which at their peak, shut down more than a quarter of
Nigeria’s oil output.

Oil production has
partially recovered, as infrastructure remains damaged and Nigeria is
now pumping more than 2 million barrels per day compared with lows of
1.5 million in early 2006 when MEND burst onto the scene. Crude output
is still well below the 2.4 million bpd averaged in 2005.

Along with fellow
MEND commanders, Farah Dagogo and Boyloaf, who helped the armed forces
secured the release of the 19 hostages last month, he accepted an
amnesty brokered last year partly by President Goodluck Jonathan.

Security experts
working to protect Africa’s biggest oil and gas industry say the
involvement of former rebel leaders in the military efforts to flush
out remaining armed gangs in the creeks of the delta could be a turning
point.

But they also
caution it is virtually impossible to secure hundreds of kilometres of
exposed pipeline which criss-cross remote communities in the vast
wetlands region, meaning supply disruptions are likely to persist.

Much is at stake

Jonathan is the
first head of state from the Niger Delta and resurgent unrest risks
undermine his credibility ahead of elections next April. His
administration is keen to show it has the security situation under
control.

But disputes
between international oil companies and local youth demanding security
contracts, jobs, or simply trying to siphon off stolen oil, are common
and it takes little more than home-made explosives to rupture a
pipeline.

The Niger Delta
Liberation Force (NDLF), a newly emerging faction run by gang leader,
John Togo, said on Monday it had sabotaged a pipeline belonging to
state oil firm, NNPC, although there was no independent confirmation.

Royal Dutch Shell
declared force majeure last month on its Bonny Light oil exports –
freeing it from contractual deliveries due to actions beyond its
control – after a pipeline was damaged by oil theft.

The amnesty had
brought more than a year of relative peace, until the recent spate of
kidnappings, but critics question whether it is sustainable, saying
those who surrendered weapons are only happy while they are being paid.

Bank customers are still worried at returning queues to the banking halls and the pace at which they are attended to.

The apprehensive
customers who spoke to our reporter expressed irritation that despite
the efficiency that technology brings, banks are yet to get it right in
rendering swift service. The introduction of Automated Teller Machines
(ATM), e-banking, and all other banking alternatives have done little
to decongest the banking halls.

Dayo Aribigbe, a bank customer, said he stood in a queue in one of Nigeria’s banks for hours.

“Our banking system
in Nigeria is so poor. There is a need for a change. I can’t imagine
myself standing for hours in the bank’s branch at Abule Egba. Please,
we need solution providers,” he said.

“I thought they
said all this e-payment stuff would help reduce these queues? I can’t
seem to see how much these have helped. Besides, is it the e-payment
stuff that would also train the bank staff to be polite? asked Mercy
Atoyebi, another bank customer.

Cecelia Babatunde said she dreads doing transaction with a particular new generation bank.

“The thing is I
don’t know what the problem is. To me, I think they are just not
efficient, or maybe it is shortage of staff, I really don’t get it. GTB
too is another bank that is struggling to manage its customer turnout,
but I think they are better. I think their own case is that of having
to manage increasing customer base,” Ms. Babtunde said.

Visits to some banks in Lagos confirmed customers’ complaints of longer time spent in performing transactions.

No need to trade blame

While some
customers said the massive bank layoff may have been responsible for
the queues, some finance experts are of the view that these
organisations would have to rise up to the challenge of efficiently
utilising the available hands working with them at the moment.

A source at Zenith
Bank said the pressure on the available staff is much, as new customers
patronise the banks and no other employment is made to balance the
additional customer flow.

“In some instances,
some people even go on maternity leave, some on their usual annual
leave, and no one is brought to cover in for them,” the source said.

Experts say
employers and decision makers in human capital management functions
must seek new ways to build successful organisations with high
performing employees, amidst declining training budgets, wages and
remuneration packages.

Performing employees

Emmanuel Tarfa, a
human resource manager with Ciuci Consulting, a management consulting
firm, said the ability of a company to develop high performing
employees is a direct function of the company‘s human resource strategy.

“In order to
improve the productivity of employees within organisations, we have
identified three areas that companies in Nigeria should focus on. They
include continuous training and development, improving working
conditions and the atmosphere of the work environment, implementing the
appropriate performance management system, among others,” Mr. Tarfa
said.

According to him,
banks and other organisations facing performance challenges must focus
on personal development of employees, cultivating a culture of good
leadership and mentoring in the workplace, and a fair compensation plan.

“From the CEO, to
the managers, down to the other supervisors and managers, there should
be an understanding of what is required at each level, including
subordinate levels, and training programmes should be designed based on
this,” he added.

Akinbamidele
Akintola, a research analyst at Renaissance Capital, an investment
bank, said banks need to ensure that they deploy robust information
technology facilities to support an increase in customers’ activities
in the banking halls, and adequate human capital development for its
staff, in terms of skills.

“I don’t believe these long queues are here to stay. They would
disappear in the near future, as high standard customer service is what
would become a distinguishing factor, especially for end users of
banking products and services,” he added

Desperate
to see the end to the controversial sale of the Nigerian
Telecommunications Limited (NITEL) and its mobile subsidiary, MTel, the
Presidency has granted another extension to the deadline earlier
granted bid winner, New Generation Consortium, to make the initial bid
security payment for the national telecoms carrier.

Following
Presidency’s approval last October for the Bureau for Public
Enterprises (BPE) to take steps to conclude the privatization process,
New Generation was, on October 25, asked to pay the initial bid
security of $750 million (about N112.5billion) within ten calendar days
from the date of its receipt of a demand letter conveying its
acknowledgment as winner.

But,
following a request for 30 days extension to enable it mobilise funds
for the transaction, the National Council on Privatization (NCP) on
November 5 granted the consortium 20 days extension, which BPE
spokesman, Chukwuma Nwoko, said was to help the consortium “clarify all
compliance and due diligence issues and also to remit the funds into
BPE’s account.”

However,
contrary to high expectations that the payment would be done on or
before the deadline yesterday, NEXT gathered that the consortium was
granted another extension till December 23 to pay up.

Extension granted

The
director general, BPE, Bolanle Onagoruwa, said in a telephone interview
in Abuja that the extension was granted by the vice president and
chairman of the privatization council, Namadi Sabo, based on the
recommendation of the management technical committee of the NCP “so as
not to fall into any technical trap.”

“They
(New Generation Consortium) have an extension from the Presidency till
22nd of December, 2010. The issue is that the letter that they got was
dated 19th of November. But, we (BPE) immediately announced the
extension on the 5th of November based on a verbal approval from the
vice president as the chairman of the National Council on Privatization
(NCP). The formal approval did not come until the 19th of November, and
they collected the letter approving the extension on the 23rd of
November.

“Basically,
what they (New Generation Consortium) were saying was that their
bankers wanted a written confirmation, as they could not rely on verbal
directives, to continue the process. That is why they wanted the
extension to start counting from the 23rd of November, when they
actually received the letter.

“Everybody
is anxious to see the transaction come to an end, so that we can pay
NITEL staff who have been pressurising for their entitlements,” Mrs.
Onagoruwa said.

Too long a transaction

Executive
secretary, Africa Telecom Development Initiative (ATDI), Kenneth
Ugbechie, told NEXT that most Nigerians are anxious for the transaction
to be brought to a close as soon as possible.

“Everybody’s
expectation is that they (New Generation) take advantage of the
deadline and pay up. The transaction has dragged on for far too long,
to the point that it has become an embarrassment to everyone, including
the government itself,” Mr. Ugbechie said.

According
to him, the negligence NITEL has suffered over the years has inflicted
grievous injuries on the workers in a manner that has affected their
families, psyche, and personality, adding that apart from not getting
any other jobs since they lost the ones they had in NITEL, many of the
workers are entitled to some unsettled benefits.

“What most people are asking for is government to ensure that the old
NITEL workers are paid off, so that the new owners can start on a clean
slate; so that tomorrow nobody can carry placards to the gates of the
new owners protesting their unpaid benefits,” Mr. Ugbechie said.

The president,
National Association of Telecommunications Subscribers (NATCOMS), Deolu
Ogunbanjo, on Wednesday, urged operators to build more Base
Transceivers Stations (BTS).

Mr. Ogunbanjo said
that the low tariff recently introduced by some service providers such
as Airtel and Etisalat would lead to increase in calls frequency. He
said that the low tariff would encourage subscribers to make more
calls, adding that this would lead to the congestion of BTS.

“More BTS should be
constructed to accommodate the volume of voice calls, because I am very
optimistic that all telecoms operators will reduce their tariffs in the
long run,” he said.

Some depositors who
had their funds trapped in the Integrated Microfinance Bank (IMFB),
Ikeja, on Wednesday, turned the designated venue for the payment of
their funds to a prayer centre.

Joseph Okhotupo, a
depositor with the bank, told the News Agency of Nigeria that there was
need for the prayers for God to intervene in their matter.

The Central Bank of
Nigeria (CBN) had in September revoked the licences of 224 microfinance
banks over corporate governance abuse. Ifeanyi Obiachukwu, a customer
of IMFB, said there was need for the CBN to create more awareness on
the operations of microfinance banks.

Umaru Ibrahim,
acting managing director, Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC),
had last week said that the corporation would next Monday commence
payment of N18.2 billion to the depositors of the failed microfinance
banks.

The rise of crude
oil price in the market raises hope of boom time for producers of the
resource and fears of high-energy costs for others. Price thresholds
above $80 per barrel also make investment in some forms of energy such
as agrofuels appear attractive. For Nigeria, as the price of crude
inches up, so must the gobblers of so-called excess crude funds be
getting ready for the kill.

As the major
supplier of government revenue, the crude oil price rise must be
accompanied by increase in production to ensure maximum benefit to the
government and the oil corporations. This would mean keeping all oil
wells pumping at full throttle. It would also mean ensuring that peace
reigns in the oil fields, even if it means exerting maximum firepower
in search of a handful of renegade post-amnesty militants.

The popular spaces
in Cancun began to fill up over the last weekend, even as the climate
talks got ready for the home stretch. The environmental justice
movement believes rightly that fossil fuels must be left in the ground,
as their use is responsible for the release of much of greenhouse gases
in the atmosphere. Leaving the fossil fuels in the soil would translate
less pollutions and less toxic compounds in the environment. It would
also mean rapidly transiting to renewable or less harmful energy
sources and into a post carbon civilisation.

Negotiators in the
climate talks are not listening to the clarion call to leave the fossil
fuels in the soil. What is music to their ears, however, is how the
carbon that is released when the fossil fuels are used can be captured
and stored. No, they are not exactly debating the best technologies
that can achieve this. So, what is on the table?

Climate negotiators
are seeking to make carbon capture and storage projects eligible for
carbon credits. Technologies for capturing and storing carbon are far
from being ready for implementation at the moment. There are also
issues over costs as well as doubts over their effectiveness. However,
leaving the fossil fuels in the soil is undoubtedly effective carbon
capture and storage. This option does not require technology transfer.
Neither does it require any capital outlay.

Challenging the
reckless nature of the oil industry, I was privileged to join a team of
nature defenders to institute a case in the constitutional court of
Ecuador against BP for their reckless activities and oil spill in the
Gulf of Mexico. The case opens a unique way for holding corporations
and individuals accountable for their acts anywhere in the world. It is
also a direct action in tackling climate change. Two of the key demands
of the case is that BP should leave as much oil as they have spilled in
the ground and should stop deep water activities.

Will the world’s
addiction to crude oil allow the voice of reason to prevail? Will the
climate negotiators pause to review all the false solutions plastered
on the negotiating texts by corporate interests fuelled by greed as
well as the creed that the market hold the solution to every problem?

Assaults in the creeks

While the price of
crude oil increases and yields more revenue to both the government and
the oil companies, the environmental and social impacts are still
externalised to the poor communities. To ensure that oil must flow at
all costs, it does not appear to matter how much human bloodletting
happens in the process.

Over the years,
conflicts have been orchestrated in the Niger Delta – and indeed other
parts of Nigeria – either for economic reasons or for political ones.
When the late President Yar’Adua announced an amnesty for the armed
groups in the oil fields, popularly known as militants, critics doubted
that the amnesty would work. Others simply prayed that it would work.
And it did.

The amnesty
programme had some foundational problems because of the nature of the
conflicts on the ground. Usually, combats involve taking of territories
or for political supremacy. The fights in the Niger Delta is not one
for territorial control, neither is it for political power. It can be,
and has been interpreted, as largely opportunistic and as means for
capital accumulation.

However, it must
again be stated that some sense of political disenchantment is also
discernible. In all the expressions, the environment continues to
suffer; the local communities continue to be carpeted through ground,
sea, and air bombardments.

We remember what
happened to Gbaramatu Kingdom in May 2009. After the assault, 3000
women with their kids became refugees for months at a health facility
in Ogbe Ijoh. Now, with the latest levelling of Ayakoromor community,
Delta State, the same health facility has again become home for
displaced local people. That health facility is a clear metaphor for
the jaundiced development efforts in the region. If it were functioning
as a hospital, as it was designed, would it readily turn into a refugee
camp?

The resumption of
open hostilities says something about the amnesty programme. That
scheme was built on mostly accumulated military hardware and personnel
in the Niger Delta, and spending a tiny fraction of the overall budget
on training and reintegration of repentant militants.

Reports have shown
that many youth who requested to be trained and rehabilitated could not
be taken on because of some quota system that had already established a
ceiling as to how many could be trained. According to Dutch media
reports, companies such as Shell have hired some of the retrained
militants as welders and fitters. That also tells a story on its own.

But the real issue
of deep environmental pollution is yet to be tackled and unless the
environment is safe for local people to return to their normal means of
livelihood, any declared amnesty is a smokescreen and is bound to blow
up in smoke. However, when all is considered, we can submit that the
current amnesty has worked beyond what it was designed to achieve.