Nigeria Content Online

The Nigerian
Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) and human resources
managers of multi-national oil companies yesterday met to streamline
guidelines for expatriate quota applications and deployment in the
country’s oil and gas industry.

The meeting was to
provide a forum for the managers to understand the guidelines by the
Board for expatriate quota application, to ensure full compliance with
the provisions of the Nigerian Content Act.

The meeting was
also to shed some light on a section of the Act which gives the
operator/project promoter room to retain a maximum of five percent of
management positions, as may be approved by the Board, as expatriate
positions to take care of investors’ interests.

Ernest Nwapa, the
NCDMB executive secretary, told participants that the guidelines were
applicable to both international operating companies and their service
counterparts, warning that the Board would frown at a situation where
the companies continue to use suppliers and contactors who flout these
laws by bringing in expatriates without due approvals.

The Nigerian
Content Act and guidelines hold operators responsible for the failure
or otherwise of their contractors to comply, adding that the Board
would not prequalify erring contractors and suppliers to continue
providing services in the industry.

On the recent
upsurge of labour agitations against the influx of expatriates into the
industry, Mr. Nwapa assured that the implementation of the guidelines
would address the concerns of the oil industry workers’ unions in a
structured and sustained manner.

He added that the
Board was working with the Ministry of Interior on expatriate quota
management, manpower development initiatives, and creation of
employment opportunities for Nigerians in the oil and gas industry.

Charity begins at home

He reminded
Nigerians who hold senior positions in the oil and gas industry of
their responsibility to support the Federal Government’s efforts at
full implementation of the provisions of the Act.

The guidelines
issued by NCDMB require that all companies applying for expatriate
quotas must provide proof that the positions applied for have been
advertised in at least four major Nigerian newspapers and two
international newspapers, to establish that there is no qualified
Nigerian that can do the job.

Besides, those
companies are also required to notify the NCDMB of the receipt of
applications, planned interview dates, and results of the interviews
for each vacancy advertised, as well as proof that no qualified
Nigerian had been found fit to occupy the positions.

Similar requirements are applicable on the extension of existing expatriate quotas operating companies in the industry.

Emmanuel Ihenacho,
the Interior minister, had, during a meeting with the NCDMB Board last
month, said the government would adopt strategies initiated on
expatriate quota management.

At the end of the meeting, the NCDMB received assurances of the
industry’s commitment to comply with the stipulated guidelines, while
the managers pledged to study the provisions before coming up with
strategies that would guarantee full compliance by all industry players.

Britain’s leading
share index pushed higher on Tuesday, led by energy stocks with BP
boosted by Royal Dutch Shell bid interest talk. The FTSE 100 index
ended up 30.46 points, or 0.5 percent at 5,891.21, a closing level not
seen since June 2008.

“Volumes remain
thin, but the FTSE keeps going up, with oils adding the main fuel
today, although whether the 5,900 level can be breached without more
momentum is a big question,” said Mic Mills, head of electronic dealing
at ETX Capital.

Integrated oils
gave the blue chips strength, although the crude price slipped back
following strong gains made on Monday after data highlighted continued
growth from China. BP was the biggest FTSE 100 riser, up 3.2 percent as
traders cited vague talk of potential bid interest from Shell, ahead
1.4 percent. Both companies declined to comment. BP was also supported
by its announcement that it would sell a portfolio of oil and gas
assets in Pakistan for $775 million, above analysts’ forecasts.

In addition, oil
majors were helped by a bullish note from Credit Suisse, which raised
its oil price forecasts for 2011 and hiked target prices across the
sector. The broker reiterated that BP was its top sector pick.

Among individual
blue chip gainers, outsourcing firm, Serco, gained 2.1 percent after
being selected as preferred bidder for a prison management contract in
New Zealand, valued at around 190 million pounds. And Scottish &
Southern Energy added 1.2 percent after newspaper reports revived
possible takeover interest in the multi-utility.

Miners miss out

Miners were the
biggest blue chip fallers, retreating after gains on Monday, with
Lonmin shedding 1.1 percent. Whitbread, however, was the top FTSE 100
decliner, down 2.8 percent despite posting strong profit growth.
Panmure Gordon downgraded its rating to “hold”, saying it did not
expect consensus expectations to be raised. Tour operator, TUI Travel,
fell 0.6 percent as its German parent company, TUI AG, posted full-year
results, and as JP Morgan Cazenove cut targets for both TUI Travel and
mid-cap peer, Thomas Cook, down 0.9 percent.

Elsewhere on the
second line, housebuilders provided the main support led by Persimmon
and Redrow, up 5 and 4 percent respectively, after a survey said the
decline in house prices in England and Wales was at a slower pace in
November than analysts had expected.

British consumer
price inflation, however, rose unexpectedly to a six-month high of 3.3
percent in November, which could increase the pressure on the Bank of
England to raise interest rates.

U.S. monetary
policy was being debated at the last Federal Reserve Open Market
Committee meeting of 2010 on Tuesday, although analysts expected no
changes when the Fed’s announcement is made. U.S. blue chips were up
0.6 percent by London’s close, supported by stronger than expected U.S.
retail sales data.

It
was a day of mixed business operations for Union Bank. While its 41st
annual general meeting was on at Maiduguri, Borno State capital,
protesting staff shut down the bank’s operations nationwide.

The
workers said they have had enough of the mismanagement of the present
management staff, and in particular, the Managing Director and Chief
Executive Officer, Funke Osibodu. They are also complained about the
alleged termination of 200 staff without due process. “Enough is
enough,” said one of the protesters, who did not wish to be named.
“What is it? Since she came, we have not known peace. She has been
undermining workers solidarity and constantly deducting workers salary
for no specific reason. We need answers to her actions so far. We need
her to clarify certain thing we don’t understand. All the tax that are
being deducted from our salaries, there is no evidence that they are
being remitted to the tax office. She is looting our money. They were
told to come here and raise our share capital base. Nothing has
happened so far. It’s not really the layoff that is our problem now.”

Inquiries
revealed that all the branches of the bank nationwide were affected by
the protest as the central server which is supposed to link up the
systems for the online services were shut down as well. The protest is
one of the fallouts of the restructuring of the rescued banks by the
Central Bank which commenced last year with the takeover of nine banks.

Protest would continue

Denja
Yakub, the Assistant secretary Nigeria Labour Congress, said the
protest “would continue forever.” “We have succeeded in shutting down
all Union Bank branches nationwide,” he said. “They didn’t work
anywhere today and we will continue tomorrow. It will continue forever
until they decide to talk with us.” Mr Yakub alleged that the bank
management has ignored implementation of all collective agreements it
signed with the union, misappropriated shareholders’ funds, and sacked
over 200 workers without due process.

Among
the placards and hand bills held by the protesting workers were
inscriptions like ‘Madam Osibodu, stop undermining workers’
solidarity’. ‘Know that working men have no country’. ‘While the wages
of workers is under assault, the directors’ income is witnessing an
upward swing’. ‘Osibodu, why are you moving deposit to our competitors?
Tell the world why you ceded our US$500 million deposit to First Bank
of Nigeria’. ‘Madam Osibodu, you represent the Jezebel of our time. We
bind you, don’t disturb’.

However,
while her house was literarily on fire, Mrs Osibodu was assuring
shareholders that better days are ahead as a result of the changes
being implemented in the bank. “We are confident that the changes being
implemented in the bank will yield the desired results such that they
will begin to reap good returns from their investments in the bank in
the near future,” she said.

Francis Barde, the bank’s spokesperson, said he was unable to
comment on the picketing and promised to call back; which he did not do
as at the time of going to the press.

The Nigerian
Bottling Company (NBC), bottlers of Coca Cola and other drinks, on
Tuesday, announced plans to delist its shares at the Nigerian Stock
Exchange.

Management of the
company said in a statement to the Exchange that it “wishes to formally
inform the Nigerian Stock Exchange of a proposed scheme of arrangement
between the company and its members, involving a cancellation of part
of its share capital, such that the company would become a wholly owned
subsidiary of its majority shareholder, Coca-Cola Hellenic Bottling
Company S.A.” Coca-Cola Hellenic currently owns 66.4 per cent of the
total share capital of NBC. The company, which was listed 37 years ago,
said an application will consequently be made for the delisting of the
company’s shares from the Daily Official List of the Exchange. “The
company will also be re-registered as a private company in accordance
with the relevant provisions of the Companies and Allied Matters Act,”
the statement said.

Market confidence

Meanwhile, the
Exchange spokesperson, Wole Tokede, said the plan “does not have
anything to do with loss of confidence in the capital market.” He said
that the Coca-Cola producing company has its reasons for delisting,
adding that it is a choice of a company to either be listed on the
Exchange platform or not. “What they plan to do is not only happening
here, it is also happening in Greece too,” he said. “But until we see
the scheme of arrangement, the NSE cannot be specific on the delisting
plan.” Adeyanju Olomola, the company’s spokesperson, said the delisting
plan “is not as a result of loss of confidence in the capital market
but an investment plan of the company with Coca-Cola Hellenic which
will benefit the Nigerian economy at large.”

Compensation for shareholders

In the meantime,
the NBC said that the proposed structure envisaged a cash consideration
to be paid as compensation to shareholders for the cancellation. The
proposed scheme includes a cash payment of N43 per share as
consideration to the minority shareholders. “The proposed price would
provide all minority shareholders with a premium of 37.4 per cent to
the 30-day average closing price and 43.2 per cent to the closing price
of NBC shares on the NSE on December 13 which was N30.03 per NBC
share,” said the statement.

The proposed scheme is subjected to the approval of the shareholders
at a meeting of the company, convened on the order of the Federal High
Court. This will only become binding and effective upon obtaining the
approval of not less than three- quarters in value of shares held by
those present and voting, in person or by proxy, at the said meeting
and the subsequent sanction of the court. If approved, the transaction
is expected to be completed during the second quarter of 2011, at which
time NBC would also be delisted from the Exchange. The value of the
proposed transaction is approximately N18.612 billion.

Investors at the
Nigerian Stock Exchange recorded a total loss of N74.175 billion at the
close of trading activities in November. The drop in value was
attributed to the decline in equity prices as investors sought to take
quick profit.

Meanwhile, the
research team at GTI Capital, a stock broking firm, attributed the
decline to the price valuation process to be adopted by the Asset
Management Company of Nigeria (AMCON).

“The bull’s pace
immediately slowed down and almost all stock, especially those in the
banking sectors, and trading above the calculated rescue price, have
dropped below the said prices, while those trading below the calculated
rescue prices find it difficult to hit such prices,” the team said.

According to the
report, “the market may not do any good return until AMCON takes off.”
The market value of the 216 listed equities, which opened the month at
N7.982 trillion, closed on the last trading day of November at N7.908
trillion, reflecting N74.175 billion losses or a 0.93 percent decline.
The value of the listed equities accounted for 79.04 percent of the
total market capitalisation of the 263 quoted securities value
(including bonds) at N10.015 trillion.

Also, the Exchange
All-Share Index (ASI), which opened at 25,042.16, closed at 24,764.65.
This shows a decline by 277.54 points or 1.11 percent during the month.

The Exchange’s
strategy and business development department said, “The stock market
performance in November was largely unsatisfactory,” adding that the
decline in market capitalisation “can be attributed largely to the drop
in equity prices and the delisting of one matured Federal Government of
Nigeria bond.”

High turnover, low value

The market recorded
a high turnover of 7.43 billion shares, valued at N60.34 billion in
121,531 deals during November, in contrast to a total of 6.71 billion
shares, valued at N90.6 billion, exchanged during October in 117,203
deals.

Hence, traded
volume and number of deals increased by 10.8 percent and 3.7 percent
respectively, while the value traded dropped by 33.4 percent. Last
month, volume and value of trades rose by 39 percent and 92 percent,
respectively.

Aggregate stock
market turnover between January and November 2010 were 86.43 billion
shares, valued at N730.8 billion, exchanged in 1,799,081 deals. In the
comparable period during 2009, the market recorded turnover of 95.3
billion shares, valued at N638.11 billion, in 1,619,385 deals.

Active subsector

Measuring by
turnover volume, the Banking subsector was the most active in November
with traded volume of 4.95 billion shares, valued at N35.51 billion,
exchanged in 70,864 deals; while the Insurance subsector was second
with traded volume of 801.52 million shares, valued at N580.2 million,
exchanged in 5,707 deals.

The Information
Communication Technology subsector was third with transaction volume of
254.7 million, valued at N498.4 million, traded in 472 deals, while the
Mortgage Companies subsector was fourth with transaction volume of
224.4 million shares, valued at N156.9 million, traded in 998 deals.

The Maritime
subsector was fifth with transaction volume of 186.62 million shares,
valued at N238.32 million, traded in 2,377 deals.

The five subsectors
accounted for 6.42 billion shares, valued at N37 billion, exchanged in
80,418 deals. In October, the five most active equity subsectors
accounted for 5.65 billion shares, valued at N44.31 billion, exchanged
by investors in 86,292 trades.

Bond Trading

Over-The-Counter
(OTC) bond market, a turnover of 730.82 million units worth
N750.91billion in 5,524 deals was recorded in November 2010, in
contrast to a total of 1.1 billion shares, valued at N1.036 billion,
exchanged during the preceding month in 8,004 deals.

The most active
bond, in terms of volume, was the 10.00 percent Federal Government of
Nigeria (FGN) Bond July 2030 (formerly 7th FGN Bond 2030 Series 3) with
traded volume 205.56 million units, valued at N155.8 billion, in 1,595
deals.

This was followed
by 4.00 percent FGN April 2015 (Formerly 7th FGN Bond 2015 Series 2)
with a traded volume of 151.7 million units, valued at N113.1 billion
in 1,250 deals. Only 26 of the available 34 FGN Bonds were traded
during the month, compared with the 29 in the preceding month.

Between January and
November 2010, total transactions on FGN Bonds through the OTC were
13.33 billion units, valued at N14.91 trillion, in 134,684 deals.
During the same period in 2009, total transactions on FGN Bonds through
the OTC were 15 billion, valued at N15.95 trillion, in 109,588 deals.

It was a front page
headline last week that the media should be the one to rebrand Nigeria.
This was contained in the sermon of Pastor Enoch Adeboye, the general
overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God at the Vanguard Media
Fellowship. The man of God was emphatical when he said “it is not the
government that will rebrand Nigeria; it is the media.”

Though I agree with
Pastor Adeboye’s view, l will quickly add that the government,
especially our leaders, have a crucial role to play. I stated this in
an earlier write-up that rebranding should start from the top. However,
if I take a quick guess at what Pastor Adeboye was trying to say, he
wanted the media as purveyor of information to utilise its role
effectively to project a positive image for the country.

Adeboye was frank
to a fault, that the onerous burden of rebranding and redeeming the
dented image of the country is the function of the media. He spoke
extensively about how the media has been publishing negative reports,
which further have adverse effects on the country’s image. The media
should reconsider its role in embellishing negative reports beyond
imagination.

I also started as a
journalist and I know the importance of a bad news becoming “good news”
in the media. The media should endeavour to increase its projection of
‘good things’ happening in the country.

In some cases, when
l see foreign events dominating front pages of newspapers, l wonder
whether Nigeria could be accorded same prominence in the foreign media.
The point here is that there are key landmarks that the media is not
giving utmost priority. A number of newspapers deserve commendation for
focusing on the enterpreneunal spirit of Nigerians and on some
community oriented reports.

It is imperative to
state that the media cannot effectively be an agent of change if it
does not put its house in order. Though the efforts of NUJ and NGE in
sanitising the profession deserve commendation, there is still a lot to
be done to restore the dignity of the fourth estate of the realm.

There is an urgent
need to ensure strict adherence to ethical standards of the profession.
This is a case of ‘physician heal thyself’. The attitude of some
journalists is unbecoming and if this not checked, it will continue to
denigrate the profession.

The issue of
professionalism should also be looked into. I remember that as a
cub-reporter with Sketch Press Ltd., we were subjected to rigorous
training at the training school before being admitted into the
newsroom. I know Guardian too has a qualitative reportorial training
which l also benefitted from under the late Doyin Mahmud, a versatile
journalist of repute. It is observed that new entrants into the
profession are no longer exposed to the fundamentals of the profession.

This is one
critical area that should be addressed. Our institutions of learning
are also not helping the situation, as Mass Communication students
cannot even write effectively. I have had to start training and
nurturing young graduates entering Journalism and Marketing
Communication in order to make them thoroughbred professionals.

For the media to be
effective in rebranding Nigeria, credibility should be looked into.
Several media practitioners have resorted to blackmail in order to
maintain their means of livelihood. Since there is specialisation in
the media now, some journalists have commercialised their pages and
without one paying money, one’s reports cannot get published. This
might be related to the fact that several media houses owe salaries,
and the resultant effect makes some journalists to engage in acts
inimical to the profession.

I still belong to
this noble fourth estate of the realm, but my heart bleeds with the
current trend in this distinguished profession. For the media to earn
respect of the society, it should lead by example. l have had several
conversations with people and they say all kinds of unprintable things
about the profession.

This is a clarion
call to all and sundry for us all to engage in a house cleansing
exercise. We need to restore the glory of this profession. The public
should see us as a set of noble and distinguished professionals.
Nonetheless, this is not to say that we do not have people of integrity
in the profession. There are still men and women of conscience who have
refused to soil their hands.

It is only when the
media lives above board that it can take the torch to brighten the
firmament. A credible media is very important to the positive
projection of the country, but let the media practitioners turn the
searchlight on themselves first.

Ayopo, a communication strategist and public relations specialist, is the CEO of Shortlist Ltd.

World-class maker
and collector of luxury furniture in Nigeria, Leatherworld, has
commenced its 2010 Annual Sale, which includes the offer of up to 50%
discount on most of its products purchased from December 3rd to
December 12th, 2010. This is part of its loyalty and reward-driven
initiative to its esteem and prospective customers.

The Leatherworld
Blow Out Annual Season’s Sale is offering an array of exquisite
furniture, characterised by detailed finishing, Monday through Saturday
daily, between 9:00 a.m and 6:00 p.m, and Sundays from 1p.m and 6p.m.

The offer will
enable existing and prospective customers to experience the bounties of
the new season with timeless tasteful furniture that guarantees
beautiful experience in the end of the year season. It is also a unique
platform for its teeming patrons to avail themselves of the unique
opportunities for “Make-Overs” of several furniture and furnishing
items to bring about renewal across homes, offices, and various other
apartments of living spaces.

The Leatherworld
brand introduced the annual sale, now christened ‘The Leatherworld Blow
Out, Buy Out’ in the year 2003, as one of its numerous pioneering
initiatives into the industry.

The Leatherworld brand was incorporated in 1994 and started operations in 1995.

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.

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 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.