Nigeria Content Online

Some operators in
our nation’s capital market yesterday commended the courage of the
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to wield the big stick against
the former Director General of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), Ndi
Okereke-Onyuike, and the former council president, Aliko Dangote.

Emeka Nwosu,
President, Independent, Shareholders Association of Nigeria (ISAN),
said the removal will restore investors’ confidence in the capital
market. Tope Fasua, managing director of an Abuja-based capital market
management firm, Global Analytic Consulting, described the removal of
the two as a positive development and a breath of fresh air for
investors.

“Ndi
Okereke-Onyuike’s exit, in particular, would mark a new beginning for
the nation’s capital market,” Mr Fasua said. “In situations like we
have in the market, where investors lost investments valued at several
billions of naira as a result of clear instances of manipulation of the
market by managers, it is good to clear the table and start afresh,” he
said on telephone from Dubai.

On steps to restore
confidence, Mr Fasua urged Nigerians not to expect the recovery of the
market in the short term, rather he advised investors to begin to think
in the long term, to allow enough time for the rehabilitation of the
market. “This will afford major investors – major oil companies,
telecoms operators – enough time for re-education on how the market is
going to work to attract more liquidity to the market,” he explained.

Esan Ogunleye, a
former registrar of the Nigerian Institute of Bankers (NIB), also said
the decision will boost the country’s risk and credit ratings as well
as the status and stature of the capital market.

Describing the
decision as long overdue, Mr Ogunleye said, over the last one year,
investor confidence has been on a downward trend, though it stabilised
briefly in the first quarter of this year. “After that, despite a loss
of two to three per cent in the capital market, it rose gradually and
flattened towards the end of that quarter, after recovering between 20
to 30 per cent capacity. Ever since, it has been spikes and falling.
With the sack, one can imagine what the investor confidence would be,”
he noted.

Business confidence in South Africa slipped in July on signs the
economy is still struggling to gain momentum after last year’s
recession, a survey showed on Thursday. The South African Chamber of
Commerce and Industry said its business confidence index edged down to
84.3 points in July from 84.8 in June as euphoria from the soccer World
Cup hosted by the country faded.

The vice-chairman of Egypt’s main state wheat buyer said on Thursday he
hoped Russia would honour existing wheat contracts after Moscow said it
was temporarily banning grain exports. Egypt is the world’s largest
wheat importer, and General Authority for Supply Commodities has signed
contracts for the purchase of 540,000 tonnes of wheat from Russia for
delivery between August 1 and September 10. Russian Prime Minister
Vladimir Putin, who announced the ban earlier on Thursday, is seeking
to keep inflation in check after the worst heatwave on record ravaged
crops. “If a decision is issued and it is an official decision the
Russian government has to … allow (buyers) to implement the contracts
that have been completed, then ban any other contracts after August
15,” said Nomani Nomani, chairman of Egypt’s GASC.

Namdeb will invest $1 billion in the next 10 years to extend the life
of its diamond mining operations near Oranjemund in Namibia, the 50-50
joint venture between De Beers and the Namibian government said on
Thursday. Namdeb hopes the investment, partly self-financed and partly
via funds from banks, will extend its diamond operations in the coastal
area to 2050. The company also said it expected to produce 500,000
carats of diamonds this and next year from its onshore operations.

The Zamfara State
government is collaborating with the federal government in the
execution of a N16 billion project to facilitate the transfer of water
from Bakalori Dam to Gusau water works, to find a lasting solution to
the perennial water scarcity in the state capital.

Kabiru Marafa, the
Commissioner for Water Resources, said the project would be jointly
funded by the federal and state governments.

Mr Marafa said that
apart from providing sufficient water supply to Gusau, the state
capital, and environs, six other local government areas, Maradun,
Talata Mafara, Maru, Bakura, Anka and Tsafe would also benefit from the
project.

He said the project was conceived by the state government in 2007, but suffered some delays owing to bureaucracy.

The management of Oando Plc said, on Thursday, it had secured loan facilities worth N60 billion from 13 banks to fund growth.

Oando, which is listed in Lagos and Johannesburg, said First Bank,
Guaranty Trust Bank and Stanbic IBTC Bank were the lead arrangers for
the financing, which takes the form of a 5-year medium-term note.

The Association of
Nigerian Exporters (ANE), on Thursday, called for the termination of
the contract of Price Waterhouse Coopers, the company handling the
Export Expansion Grant (EEG) computation.

It said the contract should be handed over to Nigerian Export
Promotion Council (NEPC). The President of ANE, Joseph Idiong, said the
NEPC should process the contract “since it is the agency appointed by
law to manage the EEG.” Mr Idiong said the measure was imperative,
because from January 2006 to date, NEPC had trained its staff to take
over the handling of the EEG process from the consultant.

A new law to drive private participation in government business in Cross River state is now in place.

This is the
public-private-partnership (PPP) law that is expected to woo the
organised private sector. Governor Liyel Imoke, while giving his assent
to the PPP Law 2010, said it will give fillip to public private
partnership in the state as well as “create an enabling environment for
transparent process, opportunities for participation, and clear
regulatory framework for the partnership to develop.” The law seeks to
create the legal and institutional framework to facilitate and regulate
the financing, development, and maintenance by the private sector of
some public enterprises and services.

Mr Imoke revealed
that the state is the first state in the country to embark on the
process by providing the necessary statute to guide it and “will
continue to create an enabling environment with clear understanding of
working together with the private sector to develop its economy.” He
also expressed gratitude to the federal government for “its support in
working out the policies of the law,” and commended all those who
played significant roles to ensure the realisation of the law.

Mr Imoke declared
that the implementation of the law is with immediate effect, and called
on ministries, departments and agencies to study it in detail. He asked
them to set up PPP units in their offices because all PPP projects will
be executed in consent with the law which is very critical, adding that
more PPP contracts will be seen in the state in the 2011 fiscal year.
“This will go a long way to relieve the pressure on our capital budget
and addressing the resource gap that has always been a burden to us,”
he said. “We are on the verge of a fast tracking of our growth and
development in Cross River State.”

Fidelis Ugbo, the Secretary to the state government, said the PPP
law will fast track private sector participation and bring about a boon
in economic activities. Mr Ugbo described the law as a milestone in
business development, adding that it has given the right signal to the
private sector in the state and others who want to invest.

The Federal
Airports Authority of Nigeria yesterday unveiled its new revenue
collection policy targeted at ensuring the quick remittance of all
income due to the agency.

This is coming
because concessionaires, airlines, aviation ground handling companies,
and others regularly neglect to remit accrued charges to the authority
as at when due.

Richard
Aisuebeogun, managing director of the authority, said at a forum at the
Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos, that the credit
control system will ensure accountability and objectivity in all
financial transactions between the authority and its customers.

“There have been
situations in which disputes arose between FAAN and some of its
customers over reconciliation of accounts or interpretation of terms of
agreement,” Mr. Aisuebeogun said.

“It was either that
the customer was claiming that the authority had given a higher bill
than he deserved or that the authority was claiming that the customer
under-paid or breached the terms of agreement,” he added.

Mr. Aisuebeogun
spoke of occasions when debts were made to accumulate over a long
period, some stretching for years because debtors refused to pay their
bills on account of the former mode of payment.

“Besides, most of
the transactions that the authority still operates with some of our
customers were entered into many years ago, with conditions that are no
longer feasible or viable in today’s economic reality,” he said.

N18 billion debt

Condemning the
laxity in remitting charges exhibited by clients of the authority,
Azuka Onyia, the new finance and accounts director of FAAN, said that
the authority was owed N18 billion by its customers as at may 2010.

“I know that it is
beyond that now; and they know that the way businesses strive to
survive is the same way FAAN strive to survive,” Mrs. Onyia said.

She reiterated that
perennial debtors to the authority will have to pay accrued interest,
adding that series of complains over the decaying state of the airport
warrant immediate financial attention.

“You can’t owe us
N1 million since 2004 and come to pay same N1 million in 2010,” she
said. “You all know that there has been series of articles in
newspapers condemning the authority, and since you will not allow
anybody to owe you, FAAN will not allow any of you to owe any longer.”
The finance director, however, said that clients are advised to meet
with the authority to negotiate whatever term they find unclear in the
manual.

“There is nothing
in the credit manual that does not give FAAN basis to understand with
her customers, for it is not necessary for us to start dragging one
another to Abuja or to court,” she said. “It is in their best interest
that our customers enter into agreement with us for both parties to
negotiate.” Mrs.

Onyia outlined
penalties against defaulters highlighted in the new manual to include
complete denial of access to the authority’s facilities, and litigation
where all possibilities of amicable resolutions have been exhausted.

A Lagos-based firm,
Cifa International, has entered into partnership with the O’dua
Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture aimed at boosting
agricultural production in the southwestern part of Nigeria.

The managing
director and chief executive officer of Cifa International, Adebowale
Aderotoye, said at the official presentation of the prospectus of the
third O’dua International trade fair/exhibition in Ibadan, Thursday,
that the partnership was borne out of concern for the declining
fortunes of agriculture in Nigeria.

Mr. Aderotoye said
through the partnership, new ways of harnessing the climate and rich
land in the region will be discovered to increase food production in
Nigeria and Africa.

“The project is
important because agriculture is becoming something of the past. If
care is not taken, in the next 10 years, all food for consumption in
Nigeria will be imported. Record from the Nigerian Customs says food
importation in the country is above 38 per cent. That now becomes a
driving force for us. We want to use the project to resuscitate
agriculture in Nigeria,” he said.

First international fair

He explained
further that apart from inviting experts from Malaysia, Canada, Poland
and some West African countries to display their wares, the exhibition
will encourage state governments to develop their agricultural sector
in order to boost their economies and provide food for their people.

Olaitan Alabi, the
chairman of the 2010 O’dua International Trade fair/ Exhibition, said
the programme could not hold in the past two years because of logistic
reasons.

Mr. Alabi said this
year’s edition will not be restricted to the promotion of agriculture
alone, but will accommodate other sectors complementary to it. He
appealed to the federal government to build an international trade fair
complex in Ibadan as it has done in all other old regional headquarters
in the country.

Abiodun Oyeka,
chairman of Odua council, said this year’s exhibition was the first to
be approved for international participation to showcase the economic,
industrial and investment potentials of the country in agriculture and
food productions.

Themed,
“Agricultural Industry: Production, Processing and Packaging Synergy to
meet local and foreign markets in the face of globalisation,” the trade
fair is scheduled to hold in Ibadan from 8 to 18 October, 2010.