The Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, has said that the maritime industry agencies will from next week undergo a performance audit.
The agencies to be audited include the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, Nigerian Ports Authority, National Inland Waterways Authority, and the Nigerian Shippers Council.
The minister made this know on Tuesday at the opening of a regional training course on port state control organised by the NIMASA and the Abuja Memorandum of Understanding on Port State Control for West and Central African region.
Amaechi said, “I have received a written approval from President Muhammadu Buhari to commence the performance audit and carry out massive reforms in the maritime sector of Nigeria’s economy.
“ Also, For that reason, I don’t want to step on too many toes; I want to make sure that for every step I take, I have prove, which inform my actions. So, NIMASA, NPA, NIWA and NSC will be audited from next week.”
Amaechi also hinted of a likely purge of the leadership of the various Federal Government agencies operating in the sector, adding that it was important for all Nigerians to benefit from the maritime sector instead of a situation where a few people were benefiting.
First City Monument Bank (FCMB) has said the social intervention training programme it organised for the people of Bayeku community in Ikorodu, Lagos state has begun to yield positive results. The project, which trained beneficiaries was aimed towards the conversion of water hyacinths to make handicrafts, was in partnership with MitiMeth.
The training was initiated and sponsored by the bank as part of its environmental sustainability and poverty alleviation effort to curb the menace of water hyacinths (that is, weeds that infest waterways that disrupt water transportation and fishing, while promoting general increase in several diseases). Infestation by water hyacinth is usually heavy on the waters surrounding Bayeku community at various times of the year, negatively impacting livelihoods – transportation, fishing and health – in the area.
Upon successful completion of the workshop, co-operatives focused on converting the hyacinth to handicrafts such as baskets, lamps, vases, etc were established in the affected communities. With the new skills learnt, women and youths of Bayeku community have been empowered to turn a disadvantage into a source of income.
The Team Lead, CSR and Sustainability of FCMB, Mrs. Temitayo Ade-Peters, expressed excitement about the development.
According to her the bank’s intervention was borne out of its CSR mantra of, “Teach a man to fish,” she added that,
“With this capacity building and empowerment programme, we have been able to preserve the environment and empower people in the community to create additional sources of income thereby reducing poverty.”
Nigeria’s latest entrant into the telecoms scene and advanced 4G/LTE network operator, ntel, has announced an exciting pre-launch opportunity to early pre-subscribers as it prepares to enter the market.
According to the telecoms operator, the first batch of subscribers to reserve their numbers on the network and subsequently SIM-activate after launch, will be recognised as pioneers on Nigeria’s newest mobile network, marking them out as among those to reap the company’s promise of abundant broadband on it’s pure-play Advanced 4G/LTE network.
In a statement, ntel’s Chief Executive Officer Kamar Abass said: “ntel is a proudly Nigerian company fully committed to empowering Nigerians through a technologically advanced pure-play 4G/LTE network. We are offering pioneer status to the first batch of subscribers. Those who reserve their numbers, and subsequently SIM-activate with us, will be the vanguard of a select corps. of privileged subscribers.”
The number reservation campaign, which opened yesterday, for the next one month, offers subscribers, who log on to ntel’s website, www.ntel.com.ng, the opportunity to pick and reserve up to five numbers and, provided they register on time, will become ntel pioneers.
The company, which made its first voice over LTE call in Lagos on February 25, is leading the way as Nigeria’s most advanced 4G/LTE network.
ntel is entering a vibrant market, with four established players, but it hopes to make a mark with its full commercial launch of high-definition voice, video and high-speed Internet Access over Advanced 4G/LTE. ntel’s network is built on the 900/1800 Mhz, which is recognised as the most widely used frequencies for the deployment of 4G/LTE technology.
Commenting further, Abass noted that “We expect to see more than 50m 4G/LTEsubscribers in Nigeria by 2020 and ntelis delighted to be leading this transformation towards that critical mass of customers.”
Technology and data are transforming the way consumers and businesses interact with each other, driving a need to bring new ideas to market with greater speed. The right corporate-startup partnership gives startups an accelerated path to scale innovative solutions.
The MasterCard Start Path Global 2016 program has been designed with that objective and has launched a call for applications across the globe. Since 2014, Start Path has provided more than 60 startups a variety of operational support, mentorship, and investment to develop the next generation of commerce solutions.
Middle East and Africa (MEA)
Start Path has seen success in the MEA region and is intensifying its search as a continuing reminder of the innovation potential of local startups. In MEA, the program is currently working closely with startups including Saida, a startup that has developed an app that uses the data on the customers’ smartphones to underwrite loans to them in minutes. The app has just launched in Kenya and has been instrumental in providing over 16,000 loans.
“Startups are actively experimenting with new solutions aimed at transforming the status-quo across a wide variety of industries including financial services, retail, and healthcare” said Stephane Wyper, global lead of MasterCard Start Path. “We can provide critical support through operational expertise and access to a steady pipeline of customers, channels and partners. In just two years, Start Path Global has a strong record of helping startups transform innovations into sustainable business propositions.”
Apply Now
Each quarter, MasterCard Start Path recruits a new class of startups to embark on the six-month virtual program. The program is currently accepting applications for its next class. The application window to join the next class is open until Monday, March 21, 2016. To apply, visit: www.startpath.com. The program is open to all non-US based startups.
The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria has promised to support the Office of the Auditor General for the Federation in the area of forensic inspection of transactions in the public sector.
Mr. Samuel Deru,The President, ICAN, made the pledge when he led a delegation of the institute on a visit to the Auditor General for the Federation, Mr. Samuel Ukura, in Abuja on Wednesday.
Mr Deru also called on auditors in the public sector to always sharpen their auditing skills by upgrading their knowledge in the area of international audit standards.
The AGF said his office had helped the training of auditors on performance and environmental auditing with the aim of improving their technical know-how.
The Kwara State Government has urged state and local government workers and pensioners that are yet to provide their Bank Verification Number (BVN) for the ongoing staff verification exercise to do so within seven days or risk non payment of salaries.
The state governor, Alh Abdulfatah Ahmed stated that government has no intention of withholding any worker’s salary without justification, adding that the affected workers and pensioners will still be credited with their salaries and pensions but will not be able to access the money until they obtain BVN.
He said the intention behind the personnel database system is to give the government an accurate picture of the state and local government councils’ payroll and ensure that only those properly employed receive salaries and pensions.
The alternate chairman of the committee, Alhaji Isiaka Gold disclosed that of the 82, 642 workers so far verified by the committee, only 49, 579 have valid BVNs while 124 were discovered to have fake BVNs.
To ensure that its teeming customers in the Diaspora are not denied access to their accounts and other financial services in Nigeria, Stanbic IBTC Bank, a member of Stanbic IBTC Holdings Plc, has expanded the registration process for the Biometric Verification Number (BVN) for its customers at designated centres across the world.
The bank assured its customers that efforts have been made to ensure that the registration is easy, seamless and fast through the strategic location of enrolment points at VFS Global and Online Integrated Solutions (OIS) centres across the world.
The Central Bank of Nigeria had earlier announced extension of the BVN registration deadline for bank customers who live abroad till June 2016 to ensure that they are all reached and their biometrics captured. The registration guidelines provided by the CBN for clients in Diaspora show that BVN enrolment can be done at offshore branches of any Nigerian bank and through the service centres of the two service providers, Online Integrated Solutions (OIS) and VFS Global, the apex bank engaged.
The centres provided to further drive enrolment are: London, Leicester and Manchester in the United Kingdom; Dubai; Johannesburg and Cape Town in South Africa; Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou in China; Jeddah, Riyadh and Al Khobar in Saudi Arabia; Atlanta, Houston, San Francisco and Los Angeles in the US. Others are: Toronto and Vancouver in Canada; Paris, France; Rome, Italy; Sao Paulo, Brazil; Ankara, Turkey; Kiev, Ukraine; New Delhi, India; Moscow, Russia; Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney in Australia
Executive Director, Personal and Business Banking, Stanbic IBTC Bank, Mr Babatunde Macaulay, said the bank will continue to provide the necessary support and assistance to its clients in Diaspora to ensure that they are all properly registered. “It is our desire to ensure that no customer is denied access to their accounts or other financial services as a result of failure to do the BVN enrolment, which is why we are doing everything possible to speed up the registration process by providing relevant information and support to account holders who live abroad,” Macaulay said.
Diamond Bank has brought to the fore the importance of improved and enhanced quality healthcare for women, drumming the urgent need for increased support and awareness of the ravaging effect of Endometriosis, a silent but growing health condition that exposés women to cancer, infertility and severe periodic pains.
Highlighting the significant role that good healthcare plays in stimulating the economic contribution of women to the gross domestic product, GDP, Diamond Woman, a female-friendly initiative of the Bank, stated that there is an urgent need for a collective strategic refocus and concerted action against the disease through increased awareness.
In a five kilometer trek with Endometriosis Support Group of Nigeria (ESGN), the Bank, the major sponsor of the event, restated its commitment to the total wellbeing of women, noting that their importance in the business place and society generally, cannot be downplayed by ignoring the pains and challenges that confront them in their collective and individual pursuits to contribute to the growth of the economy.
The Bank’s chief spokesperson, Ayona Trimnell, stated that Diamond Bank is very passionate about the health and economic wellbeing of women, pointing that as an invaluable force in the production circle of the society women deserve unhindered access to affordable and good healthcare. According to her, an enhanced and good quality healthcare for the women will translate to total wellbeing of the family.
“At Diamond Bank, we view the life of the woman as a total package that encompasses her economic, health and social wellbeing. Diamond Woman, as an initiative that caters for the complete woman, is very passionate about the education and awareness level of the woman especially in dealing with health conditions like Endometriosis. This march is to raise awareness of the disease and keep women on the alert.”
Reiterating Ayona, Aishah Ahmad, Head, Consumer Banking, stated that only a healthy woman could succeed in her career and family, adding that Diamond Woman, is not just a platform for enhanced financial lifestyle and healthcare but also, a networking platform meant to improve the welfare of women.
“For a woman to succeed in her business or family she needs to be healthy, so drawing her attention to endometriosis also impacts on her from the financial perspective.”
According to Dr. Abayomi Ajayi of Endometriosis Support Group, endometriosis is a condition in which tissue which normally grows inside the uterus grows outside, pointing that most women are not aware of the condition until it is diagnosed at the advanced stage.
“It involves our women and it is a lifelong condition women need to know how to manage it so that they can have quality life and enjoy their marriages. It is a chronic disease where tissues that are normally found lining the womb (uterus) are found elsewhere in the body forming lesions. During menstrual flow, these lesions bleed in their locations leading to pain. The most common symptoms include chronic pelvic pain, painful bowel movement, menstrual pain and sometimes some degree of infertility.” Research shows that the condition affects about 176 million women worldwide.
The attention of the African Basket Ball League and Africa Sports and Entertainment Management Company Limited (collectively, the “ABL”) has been brought to a press release issued by the Nigerian Basket Ball Federation (“NBBF”) on various social media platforms.
At the outset, it is important to state that the ABL would have refrained from joining issues with the NBBF in the media, but is constrained to promptly make this succinct statement to correct the various patently inaccurate statements contained in the NBBF’s press release. Equally significant, is to state that nothing that the ABL has done came as a surprise to the NBBF. Indeed, quite the contrary. THE ABL HELD VARIOUS DISCUSSIONS WITH THE NBBF, PRESENTED THE NBBF WITH VARIOUS COLLABORATIVE OPPORTUNITIES, ALL GEARED TOWARDS DEVELOPING YOUNG TALENT, SPONSORING VARIOUS PROGRAMS, AND IMPROVING THE WELFARE OF PLAYERS, COACHES AND REFEREES, TO NAME A FEW.
Now to address certain sensational misrepresentations contained in the NBBF’s press release:
Even a cursory review of the NBBF’s press release reveals that it was intended to be sensational and vitriolic and no attempt whatsoever was made at fact-checking.
The ABL has the approval of FIBA Africa with a test run.
The ABL held various meetings with the NBBF. The NBBF expressed support for the ABL and, in fact, stated that the success or otherwise of the ABL’s inaugural season will determine the extent of the role that the NBBF would play in collaborating with the ABL.
It follows from points 1 and 2 above that ABL is in very good standing.
The ABL does not intend to supplant the Nigerian Basket Ball League or the efforts of the NBBF. The ABL is interested in collaborating with the NBBF towards the development of a world-class Pan-African basketball league.
Regarding the various other statements contained in the NBBF’s press release, the ABL states, with respect, as follows:
It is the FUNDAMENTAL and CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHT of players, coaches, referees and, indeed, owners of the various teams to ASSOCIATE WITH WHOM THEY PLEASE. The NBBF cannot legislate with whom these groups may associate.
The NBBF needs to work with the promoters of the various teams. There cannot be a league without the teams.
The NBBF should not engage in scare tactics and a tear-down campaign against the supporters, both corporate and individuals, of the game we all seek to promote towards diversifying the Nigerian economy, creating direct and indirect employment opportunities, as well as responsible entertainment for the public.
The scare tactics of the NBBF constitute, amongst other things, tortuous interference with business and advantageous relations.
The tone of the NBBF’s press release is demeaning to members of the public. Nigerians are not “uninformed” – Nigerians are DISCERNING.
The NBBF should cease and desist from interfering with the decisions of the various other African Basketball Federations which have been very supportive of the ABL.
In the final analysis, the ABL seeks to work collaboratively with the NBBF and looks forward to the possibility of having issues resolved, fairly, amicably and promptly. The foregoing is without prejudice to all legal recourse available to the ABL.
Guinness Nigeria has confirmed that a Notice of Discontinuance of the court action instituted against the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) and the Attorney General of the Federation has been filed.
The action was started following imposition of administrative charges of one billion naira (N1billion) on the company by NAFDAC.
The termination of the court action was predicated on the letter dated 15th February 2016 from NAFDAC to the company which was stated to “supercede the decisions contained in the Agency’s letter dated 9th November 2015”.
As part of the resolution, NAFDAC would be present during the destruction of the expired raw materials in its rented warehouse and both parties agreed that this would be the procedure for the exercise in future.
Guinness Nigeria also agreed to pay administrative and service charges to NAFDAC to cover the cost of the investigative inspection of raw materials carried out by the Agency as well as the supervision by NAFDAC of the destruction of the raw materials which would be carried out by Guinness Nigeria.
The administrative and service charges of approximately N11.4m has since been paid to NAFDAC.
Guinness Nigeria is home to some of the most iconic brands in Nigeria including Guinness Foreign Extra Stout. As part of the Diageo group of companies, Guinness Nigeria operates to the highest standard of quality in its production and processes, being guided not only by Nigerian but global best practices.
Guinness Nigeria acknowledges the support received from the Honourable Minister of Health and from the former Director-General and senior management of NAFDACtowards the amicable resolution of the matter and expresses its commitment to maintaining and fostering a strong and mutually beneficial relationship with NAFDAC.
Market Capitalization of the Nigerian Stock Exchange, NSE, on Wednesday, March 9, appreciated by N45 billion or 0.51 per cent, reverting the negative trend.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the market capitalisation closed higher at N8.904 trillion against N8.859 trillion posted on Tuesday due to gains by highly capitalised stocks.
Okomu Oil Palm recorded the highest gain to lead the gainers’ chart, growing by N1.50 to close at N31.50 per share.
Nigerian Breweries came second having garnered 96k to close at N97, while Dangote Cement appreciated by 88k to close at N164 per share.
Unilever gained 50k to close at N28, while Lafarge Africa also increased by 50k to close at N85.50 per share.
On the other hand, Beta Glass topped the losers’ table with a loss of N2.50 to close at N47.50 per share.
PZ Industries dipped 50k to close at N24.70, while Nigeria-German lost 24k to close at N4.67 per share.
Custodian and Allied Insurance shed 10k to close at N3.80 and ETI also lost 10k to close at N18 per share.
NAN reports that a total of 214.95 million shares valued N1.35 billion were exchanged by investors in 3,327 deals.
This was in contrast with 233.43 million shares worth N1.42 billion traded in 3,224 deals on Tuesday.
FCMB Group was the toast of investors as they staked N28.21 million on 34.42 million shares traded in 166 deals.
It was trailed by Fidelity Bank with 27.77 million shares worth N31.97 million achieved in 101 deals, while FBN Holdings sold 18.82 million shares valued N69.54 million traded in 345 deals.
Zenith Bank accounted for 14.14 million shares worth N175.27 million exchanged in 299 deals and UBA transacted 13.62 million shares valued N46.94 million in 238 deals. (NAN)
The Managing Director of Total Nigeria, Nicholas Terraz, has said the oil giant has invested sum of $10bn in Nigeria.
Terraz who made this known on Wednesday, March 9, when he paid a courtesy call to the Rivers Governor, Nyesom Wike, in Port Harcourt, said the company has enhanced development in its host communities.
He said the company would continue to ensure a healthy environment.
Nigeria’s external reserves continued a steady rise, soaring by 0.2 per cent within seven days in March as global oil price leaped to $40 per barrel on Wednesday, March 9.
Reserves which had begun a slow recovery since February having dropped to $27.789 billion stood at $27.823 billion as at February 29 but had risen to $27.879 billion as at Monday March 7, 2016, according to latest data given by the Central Bank of Nigeria.
Oil prices broke above $40 a barrel on Wednesday, driven by anticipation that the world’s largest exporters may agree as soon as this month to freeze output, which could accelerate a decline in the largest global build in unwanted crude in years.
Meanwhile, the Debt Management Office says it plans to raise N100 billion in local currency denominated bonds with maturities ranging between five and 20 years next week Wednesday, March 16, 2016.
The debt office said it will raise N40 billion at par in the local bond maturing in 2036, N40 billion of the paper maturing in 2026 and N20 billion of the debt maturing in 2020.
The 2026 and 2020 maturing notes are reopening of previously issued paper, while the 2036 maturing note is a fresh issue.
At the interbank market, lending rates among banks faced south with the exception of overnight rates which rose to 5.0487 per cent from 4.7917 per cent which it was in Tuesday.
One month rate dropped to 7.6966 per cent from 8.0506 per cent. Three and six month’s rate also dropped from 9.4052 and 11.0947 per cents to 8.9165 and 10.757 per cents respectively.
Power generation in the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry (NESI) on Tuesday, March 8, slid to about 2,000 Mega Watts (Mw) from a peak generation of 4,300MW early in the week.
The drop followed a partial system collapse at the Shiroro Power Station .
It was also learnt that due to the collapse, the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) reduced the allocation to the Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC) from 450MW to 245MW yesterday .
However, the situation worsened on Wednesday, to the extent that allocation to the Abuja Disco stood at about 181.77Mw.
A source said there was a partial system’s collapse on Tuesday at Shiroro, which brought down generation to about 2000MW from the 4300 peak that was attained earlier in the week.
This brought down AEDC’s allocation on Wednesday to about 245MW from its normal baseline of about 450MW.
“At about 7.34am today, (yesterday the allocation rose to about 327MW, but caved
in again at 9.48am to 181.77MW. The situation deteriorated to 131.77MW as at 1.25pm,” a source said
The Minister of Finance Kemi Adeosun, on Wednesday, March 9, said Federal Government is probing an additional 11,000 workers to determine if they are ghost workers.
About 23,000 such workers were uncovered recently, saving the government N2.29 billion monthly.
The Minister, while briefing State House correspondents, said the Federal Executive Council (FEC) approved continuous audit process, particularly on the payroll.
According to her, the audit would be extended to other areas of government’s expenditure to block fraud.
She said: “The approval of a presidential initiative on continuous audit. In the budget speech, the President said we would introduce a continuous audit process, particularly of the payroll and that work has resulted in the elimination of about 23,000 fraudulent recipients of federal salary and more work is still on.
“We felt that the continuous audit should not be limited to payroll, there is actually need to strengthen internal audit across government and to that extent, the World Bank in 2010 started an initiative to try and introduce real-space internal audit in Nigeria, but it wasn’t successful.”
Stressing that the World Bank indicated its readiness to support Nigeria in the initiative, she added that it would take six months to get the required legislation through.
She said: “So, in the interim, we have agreed to do the presidential initiative on continuous audit, which will give backing to the work we are doing and will allow us to extend this work beyond payroll to other areas of expenditure.”
The National Examinations Council , NECO, on Wednesday, March 9, released results of the 2015 November/December Senior School Certificate Examination, with about 43.52 per cent of candidates passing at credit level.
NECO’s Registrar/Chief Executive Prof. Abdulrashid Garba, who announced the results at its headquarters in Minna, said of 50,060 candidates that registered, 47,507 sat for English language and 47,554 sat for mathematics.
He said 29,718 (62.55 per cent) got credit passes in English language. Also, 32,484 candidates obtained credit passes in maths.
Garba added that 43.73 per cent got credit passes in biology, and in chemistry, 11,951(53.63 per cent), obtained credit passes.
Similarly, of the 22,201 candidates, who sat for physics, 818 (3.68 per cent) passed at credit levels.
In geography, 19,781 sat for the examination and 3,851 or 19.46 per cent passed at credit levels.
In economics, 39,406 sat for the examination and 23,991 or 60.88 per cent passed at credit levels.
The registrar said malpractice was high as against previous years, adding that the council was devising ways to curb the malaise.
He said candidates should access results on NECO’s website using their registration number and scratch cards.
American oil giant, Chevron Corporation, has unveiled plans to achieve capital spending budget of between $17 billion and $22 billion yearly for 2017 and 2018.
The company’s executives at its annual security analyst meeting in New York reiterated priorities, expressed confidence in the company’s near term outlook and emphasized an advantaged position when markets rebound.
They also highlighted upcoming project completions and shale drilling efficiency.
Chevron’s chairman and chief executive officer, John Watson said:“We’re completing major projects that have been under construction for several years. This enables us to grow production and reduce spending at the same time, which should improve our net cash flow significantly.”
Watson reiterated the importance of dividend growth and maintaining a strong balance sheet in the company’s financial priorities, noting the company’s record of 28 consecutive years of dividend increases, and plans to limit debt increases beyond 2016.
International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, on Wednesday signed an advisory agreement with Fidelity Bank Ghana to expand agent and mobile banking in Ghana. It aims to make financial services more easily available to low-income customers, small-scale entrepreneurs and rural communities.
Fidelity Bank was the first bank in Ghana to deploy agent banking to expand formal financial services to previously unbanked customers. It launched its inclusive banking service Smart Account in 2014 with the goal to reach 5.0 million customers. The initiative is intended to help increase the rate of financial inclusion in Ghana, currently at an estimated 35 percent of the adult population.
Dr. William Derban, Director for Inclusive Banking at Fidelity Bank said, “As the leading bank promoting financial inclusion in Ghana, we understand the needs of the unbanked and we are dedicated to finding innovative solutions to help them. This project will help us promote our agency banking service to help more Ghanaians access basic financial services”.
As part of the three-year advisory project, IFC will provide Fidelity Bank with strategic and technical advice for the expansion of the agent banking service. This will include advice on risk management related to deploying digital financial services and on customer acquisition with a focus on the unbanked.
Ronke Ogunsulire, IFC Country Manager for Ghana, said, “Fidelity Bank is a mobile banking pioneer in its market, and its Smart Account service has already made real impact. There is considerable potential to further advance digital financial services in Ghana, with benefits for individuals as well as the overall economy.”
The project is funded by the Partnership for Financial Inclusion, a $37.4 million joint initiative of IFC and The MasterCard Foundation to expand microfinance and advance digital financial services in Sub-Saharan Africa. The program works with microfinance institutions, banks and mobile network operators across the continent to further financial inclusion.
Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo SAN, disclosed yesterday that the Federal Government has accepted an offer of the Swiss government to return $321m stolen funds from Nigeria under the Abacha government, and is now developing a framework that will aid the repatriation of the funds stashed abroad.
He said the framework once finalized will be made available publicly and it would cover the whole spectrum from the source of the stolen asset to how it would be managed once recovered.
Prof. Osinbajo commended the Swiss government on its assistance in repatriating the country’s stolen assets, saying that the federal government appreciated the Swiss government for their very laudable efforts.
Meanwhile, the attorney-general of the federation and justice minister, Mr. Abubakar Malami, SAN, signed an agreement which was described as a “Letter of Intent” between the Swiss government and the Nigerian government on the restitution of illegally-acquired assets forfeited in Switzerland. Mr. Burkhalter signed the letter for the Swiss government.
Under the agreement, the Swiss government will award to Nigeria $321m of funds illicitly acquired by the Abacha family, initially deposited in Luxembourg and confiscated by the Judiciary of the Republic and Canton of Geneva pursuant to a Forfeiture order dated 11th December 2014.
Kemi Adeosun Hon. Minister of Finance, Federal Republic of Nigeria
Discipline… it is all in the detail.
Economists have long found Nigeria to be something of a conundrum. The macro picture has always appeared compelling – large population, oil reserves, mineral reserves, endless tracts of arable land and sea borders for regional domination. Indeed the absurdity of our underperformance is only surpassed by our ability to accurately quantify our losses and missed opportunities.
In the short period that I have been privileged to serve as Minister of Finance, I have observed that even the most basic systems and controls over the management of our resources are in dire need of strengthening. While we are regaled with and shocked by details of amounts stolen, diverted or wasted, we must face the cold reality that such acts are facilitated by weaknesses in our systems. Even if we successfully prosecute and jail every looter, ghost worker and other economic saboteur, there is every risk that those caught will only be replaced by persons who are just as bad, or worse – unless we radically strengthen our systems and institutions.
Our President’s brave and committed fight against corruption and waste is as much an economic crusade as it is a moral one. The objective is not just to stem the corruption and loss but to execute an economic plan to channel those monies into much needed areas that will support and reposition the economy. In short, the fight against corruption is not about “retribution” and meting out punishment, it is about releasing funds for our economy. I am humbled to be part of the ongoing work on recovery and can report that the urgency in the work, especially our interface with nations where our money has been stashed, is propelled by our need for funds to invest into our economy.
Our economic plans are not about austerity and frugality; if that were the case then we would not be attempting an expansionary budget. We could have pursued fiscal consolidation and maintained 2015 budget size, and then introduced severe public spending cuts to balance the books by laying off workers and cutting projects. Had we done so, we would by now be the darling of the IMF and other multi-laterals.
Conversely, we are undertaking an ambitious counter cyclical strategy to stimulate our sluggish economy and expanding government spending with a focus on infrastructure, the true catalyst for economic growth. This will have contractors returning to site and re-engaging workers, it will see new projects commencing, arrears released and economic activity reinvigorated across the nation. We plan to take advantage of low global prices for commodities and contract prices. Existing contracts are being renegotiated downwards, with significant savings recorded and new projects priced to reflect current commercial realities. Our spending stimulus is private sector driven, supported by a robust procurement system that will see permanent local capacity built in a number of sectors including oil and gas, housing construction and agriculture. However, and this is the key differentiator, we plan to spend in a disciplined manner that will extract the maximum value for every naira spent.
The process of building the internal control framework to support this need for disciplined spending has begun in earnest. Our Efficiency Unit has reviewed four years of detailed expenditure data to identify trends and is already negotiating volume discounts that appropriately reflect the buying power of government. Personnel remains our largest cost. In addition to the BVN driven cleaning of our payrolls that has so far removed 23,000 fraudulent entries, we have initiated significantly stronger controls over our payroll. These efforts will exert a constant downward pressure on personnel costs until such a time as we have assurance that every payment is accurate and valid. A similar process is now commencing in Pensions. The N160 Billion spent monthly on personnel and pensions related costs demands this as an absolute minimum.
The revenue focus is non-oil. We are revisiting historical decisions that are no longer in the best interests of the national economy. The establishment of various boards and parastatals to undertake the operational and revenue generating business of government was a well-intentioned attempt to provide separation from policy makers. However, as the economy has grown, so too has the revenue earned in these agencies and their financial autonomy has grown in a manner that no longer fully serves the public interest. Port charges, maritime charges, airport landing fees, visa charges, passport charges, telecoms licence fees, among many others, must be tracked and accounted for. While the Fiscal Responsibility Act was designed to provide control, actual compliance has been poor. The result has been leakage on a staggering scale, as findings from our ongoing audits suggest. This is a serious issue. The upside is a significant revenue opportunity which the TSA implementation has given us sight of, and which we are supporting with a proactive drive for improved accountability.
At the same time, our traditional revenue sources are being supported to be more effective. In Customs, we are making the necessary investments in container scanners and other equipment required to improve collection efficiency. This is combined with the results of a compensation survey which will see the introduction of performance related pay, to reduce corruption and create an alignment of interest that will enhance revenue generation. With FIRS there is a well-defined plan to enhance compliance by widening the tax net. Using data to drive tax compliance, we will ensure that the tax regime is efficiently administered and that everyone pays their fair share.
There is a need for disciplined and effective system of managing our financial resources to ensure maximum value. We will no longer measure performance by the size of our budget or the amount disbursed; we must measure by the impact of that expenditure on the lives of Nigerians. To measure and manage this we have already made some key changes in the way funds are released. We have abandoned the old system of capital releases that funnelled a proportional share of available funds released to each Ministry, Department and Agency. We have a robust system in place where funds are tied to specific outcomes as documented by each agency. This is being supported by follow up reviews to ensure implementation.
As Benjamin Disraeli once said, “We are not creatures of circumstance; we are creators of circumstance.” I am firmly convinced that Nigeria is on the right path. The path of discipline will confront some age old destructive habits. It will challenge some unwritten rules, and I personally will step on some highly placed toes on this journey. All this I am fully prepared for, and so I do not expect nor do I particularly want to be popular.
However, I will act in the best interest of all Nigerians to ensure that we build the economy that we desire and richly deserve.
This is the second of three articles by Mrs. Kemi Adeosun, Minister of Finance, Federal Republic of Nigeria.
