MMA2: FAAN, airlines disagree over relocation order

 
MMA2 Terminal building
The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria and domestic airlines have again clashed over a fresh order by FAAN that some of the carriers should relocate their operations from the General Aviation Terminal (old domestic terminal) to the Murtala Muhammed Airport, Terminal Two, Lagos.

The Chairman, Airlines Operators of Nigeria, the umbrella body of the domestic carriers, Dr. Steve Mahonwu, told journalists on Monday, that the relocation order, which evicted all airlines currently operating at GAT, except Arik Air, would create unnecessary monopoly for Arik.

Mahonwu, who said that the order was a violation of the contractual agreement between FAAN and AON members, warned that the body would not hesitate to ground domestic flights if FAAN forced the affected carriers out of the GAT.

By the directive, Arik is to continue its operations at the GAT, while the other carriers operating at the terminal will relocate to MMA2, a terminal that is being currently managed by Bi-Courtney Aviation Services Limited under a build, operate and transfer arrangement.

Aerocontractors Airlines, Chanchangi Airlines and IRS Airlines had last week received eviction notices from FAAN.

A letter written by FAAN to the three airlines, on February 7, 2011, and signed by FAAN’s Regional Manager, South West, Mr. O.E. Aiyenuro, read in part, “The management of FAAN has directed me to inform you to move your passenger check-in activities from the General Aviation Terminal to Bi-Courtney Services Terminal, MMA2, effective from Tuesday, February 8, 2011.”

But AON, in a statement issued on Monday, said, “The Airlines Operators of Nigeria totally rejects the illegal relocation of our members, which immediately tends to create monopoly for one of our members, Arik Air, against three others or more. We believe in equity and justice and are committed to protecting all our members from the cudgels of any aviation parastatal to enhance harmony and judicious acts of governance.

“We have received complaints from some members of our organisation that they have been given notices of eviction from the General Aviation Terminal by the management of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria.”

AON added, “FAAN has directed them to relocate their check-in counters and sales outlets to MMA2, which for now belongs to Bi-Courtney Aviation Services until the expiry date of their contracted Build, Operate and Transfer arrangement.

“FAAN has no right, therefore, to relocate our members to any terminal, which presently does not belong to them. The action of FAAN is a violation of the contractual agreement between FAAN and our members, which is tantamount to victimisation and unnecessary use of force.”

Arik had last year said that it would renovate the GAT and brand it as its own exclusive terminal if government allowed it.

The airline’s move was, however, criticised by stakeholders, who said that all domestic airlines, including Arik, were meant to operate from MMA2 in line with the BOT concession agreement between the Federal Government and Bi-Courtney.

Arik had, after the completion of MMA2 in 2007, said that it would never relocate its operations to the terminal. Although other carriers like Aero, IRS and Chanchangi relocated to MMA2 in 2007, they still maintained check-in counter sales outlets at GAT due to competition.

Mahonwu said that AON would only comply if FAAN wanted to renovate GAT for the purpose of fulfilling the BOT agreement between it and Bi-Courtney.

Bi-Courtney had since 2007 been fruitlessly battling FAAN to get airlines to relocate from GAT to MMA2 in line with its concession agreement.
Source:Punch

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Leveraging effective networking for business growth

 Business growth

Networking as a concept for growing businesses is becoming increasingly relevant with each passing day. However, many businesses, especially small scale ones, do not seem to be utilising this avenue, with its immense potential. Indeed, windows for networking both on the Internet and at the physical interaction level, is growing daily.

Networking in this sense, involves growing people, who are mainly targets for products and services provided by businesses. While not translating into sales immediately, it creates the room for massive sales in the nearest future.

Businessmen ought to network effectively, using club meetings, on the webs, at meetings and other event avenues.

The National Director of the Nigerian chapter of the world’s largest business networking organisation, Business Network International, Mr. James Agwu, says businesses should not just network, but network effectively.

He says, “So many people are networking without commitment. They are at the Ikeja Club, Ikoyi Club, and they attend events. But they do not keep track of or have any data on the people they meet for continuous relationship.”

Networking, according to him, is much more than selling. “Selling is one-way traffic; but in networking, businesses should look at forming a relationship that will lead to many selling opportunities,” Agwu says.

He notes that networking is effective through referrals, which are even more convincing than advertising. “A lot of expenses are involved in marketing, where only about 20 per cent turns into real sales out of every 100 converts. But in networking, expenses are eliminated, with people doing the marketing for you,” he says.

When businesses make plans for a new year, it is expedient that they should “plan big on how to become a people’s person r company,” advises Mrs. Janet Anwo, a renowned expert in personal finance and self empowerment.

The Chief Executive Officer, Character Moulders Limited, on which platform she has been raising raised entrepreneurs across Africa, Anwo says many people have poor social life. She says that in this present recessive economy, people must harvest from their abilities to build social networks.

She says, “Now this is not about partying or dancing. It is about how you can improve your relationship. Many do not know how to make friends, maybe due to poor complex. Now is time to do a self examination and improve on it.”

An advocate of zero capital entrepreneurship, Anwo says building relationships is one skill that is priceless and better than capital itself. With a well developed social relationship, she gives a list of vocations and businesses one can engage in without start up capital.

“When I tell people during training that they can start a business with zero capital, I expect to receive a ‘madam, that is not possible’ response. But I tell you that is very possible. A young woman, who is skilled in the art of dressing hair does not need a start-up capital. All she needs is a network of people whom she can service from house to house. Such a person would not need money to buy tools or raw materials because your customer provides all that you need to render the service to her,” she says

A management consultant and a personal finance specialist, Mr. Nuru Adesanya, also shares Anwo’s position on making fortune out of effective networking. Whichever way you want to go- getting a job or becoming self employed- people network is an asset.

He says, “If you want to do something new in 2011 or you need small capital to start a business, you don’t get such money from banks. It is still the informal relationship that you are able to keep from your club, or other associations that would help you. So people should be ready to tap from their ability to network among people. When you have people, there is really, hardly anything you can’t get, including money.

“Even when we want to talk about employment, you would discover that a large percentage of people got their jobs through their friends, relatives, or church members. Now if you are unemployed and you really need to get a job, the way to start this year is by connecting with people, especially beginning from the religious unit you belong to and then opening up to others such as connecting to employment consultants rather than sleeping at the cyber cafes or buying newspapers for vacancy advertisements.

“You would soon find out that your next job is not the one you will invest so much effort or even money in. In this country we know that up to 60 per cent of job placements are not usually advertised. The question is: how do they get people to fill those vacancies?”
Source:punch

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Investors can no longer ignore Nigeria, says Aganga

 We have the second largest economy in Sub-Saharan Africa and one of the fastest growing one in the world.

Minister of Finance, Segun Aganga, has said that Nigeria can no longer be ignored by investors seeking good returns on their funds. Speaking at the official commissioning of the first phase of the 400,000 metric tons per annum Midland Steel Rolling Mills complex at Abeokuta, Ogun State, the Minister said the present administration has taken steps to harness the country's potentials towards ensuring it takes its rightful place not only among the world's leading economies, but also as an industrialised nation.


"We have the second largest economy in Sub-Saharan Africa and one of the fastest growing one in the world. We have the largest population in Africa and the 8th largest in the world. Our people are young, vibrant and educated as well as ready to work at economic prices." Mr. Aganga said that, apart from being a leading producer and exporter of oil with the largest gas reserves in Africa, the country is blessed with numerous mineral resources, 33 of which are available in commercial quantities. "We can also be grateful for the 65 million hectares of fertile land that contributes about 43 per cent to our GDP, which gives us the potential to become an agricultural power house," he said.
However, there have been questions around the mismatch between the huge potential of the country and its impact on the quality of life of the citizens. Analyst at FSDH, a financial advisory and investment firm said improving on the poor state of infrastructure for instance, will bring huge multiplier effects on the future growth capacity of the country. "We urge the Federal Government to put in place workable and measurable plans to address the high unemployment rate and infrastructural deficits that dominate the economy in order to achieve the Vision 20:2020," it stated in its 2011 economic forecast. The firm called for the acceleration of funding of agriculture and modern method of farming in Nigeria as they are strategies to boost employment generation in Nigeria.
Performance
Reviewing the performance of the economy in recent years, the minister noted that the country's real gross domestic product (GDP) growth rate rose from 6.96 per cent in 2009 to about 7.85 per cent last year, against 4.8 per cent recorded in the global economy in 2010, pointing out that the performance had attracted the attention of such global financial institutions as the international Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank as one of the strongest globally.
Besides, he said Nigeria is currently a part of the Next Eleven (N-11) group of countries identified by Goldman Sachs, the global investment bank, as having a high potential of becoming the world's largest economies in the 21st century along with the BRICs economies, consisting Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.
To enable Nigeria achieve its potential as well as play a leading role within the N-11, government should focus on pursuing the reforms that will help rebuild and grow the country's economy on a sustainable basis, and paying particular attention to its vast potential, strengths and other challenges. "Government's plans are targeting an overall double-digit growth rate in the medium term that will place Nigeria in the top tier of emerging economies within the next decade," he declared.
Enabling environment
Mr. Aganga revealed that , government is committed to ensuring that the enabling environment exists for the private sector and investors to thrive, adding that in the last eight months it has been implementing an economic strategy based on the four pillars of sourcing and allocating of cheap long-term capital to the real sector and infrastructure, inclusive growth and job creation, removal of barriers to enhance productivity as well as improving the business climate and governance.
He said a roadmap for critical infrastructure has already identified 50 critical projects, including power plants, roads, bridges, rail and aviation, to be executed to help impact the economy as well as boost productivity. "My experiences with investors in the last five months have been encouraging. In the last four days, at least 7 big international firms have indicated interest to invest large sums of money in refineries, fertilizer plants, in agriculture, textile, in breweries, in hospitals, in power and roads," he said.
Source:234next
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Cocoa exporters torn between rival Ivorien order

The cocoa trade in Cote D'Ivoire was on Friday torn between conflicting orders on exports and payment of taxes from rival authorities.

An Ivorian trade body loyal to incumbent leader, Laurent Gbagbo, has threatened sanctions including jail terms against cocoa exporters who delay shipments or fail to pay taxes by March 31, a letter showed.
However, the rival government of Alassane Ouattara, widely recognised by the international community as the winner of a November 28 election, warned exporters against cooperating with the pro-Gbagbo committee, saying they face sanctions from his administration if they do.
Ouattara's government said the head of the pro-Gbagbo body, Anoh N'Guessan, had been dismissed and had no right to act in its name.
"Volumes of cocoa subject to these procedures should be shipped by April 15, 2011, at the latest," said the letter to exporters from the coffee and cocoa management committee, dated February 9 and signed by N'Guessan.
It added that exporters in Ivory Coast, which account for roughly one third of world supplies, were obliged to pay all their taxes by March 31 at the latest. Exporters include major international trading houses such as Olam and Cargill.
"Any trader who contributes to or is inclined towards not respecting the above regulations exposes himself to sanctions prescribed by Ivorian law," it said.
Justin Kone Katinan, Gbagbo's budget minister, said, "The law gives us powers to (collect the taxes.) All we have to do is apply the law. We have foreseen all this."
The minister also issued a warning to smugglers of cocoa.
"The first exporter who is registered here and is caught involved in parallel exportation will be stripped of his licence, arrested, and sent to prison for complicity with an armed group," he said.
Ouattara has placed a one-month ban on cocoa exports that most exporters are observing. Fears that Ouattara may extend his export ban, have helped push cocoa futures to one-year highs. ICE May cocoa futures were up $18 to $3,391 per tonne on Friday.
Source:234next

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Normal banking activities resume at Union Bank

L-R Obukese Orere; Association of Senior Staff of Bankers Insurance and Financial Institution , Abdulwaheed Omar; NLC President

Normal banking activities have resumed at Union Bank branches following the picketing of the head office in Lagos this morning by the leadership of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC).

The picketing, which was led by the NLC national president, Abdulwaheed Omar, was, however, aborted midway as security personnel prevented the union members from gaining access into the bank.

As at the time of filing this report, security personnel were still present to forestall any break down of law and order. Staff and customers of the bank were subjected to questioning to ascertain the genuineness of their transactions while persons without proper identifications were prevented from entering the bank.

The general secretary of the Association of Senior Staff of Banks, Insurance and Financial Institutions (ASSBIFI), Obukese Orere, said the leadership of the NLC were in a meeting with police authorities.

“We carried out our plans to picket the bank. Right now, we have been summoned to a meeting with the commissioner of police. We are in his office right now,” he told NEXT on the phone.

He said the next line of action would be determined by the outcome of their deliberations.

 Source:234next

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Power firms: Oando, Indian company, others to express interest

Wale Tinubu
As the deadline for the expression of interest in the power generating and distribution companies unbundled from the Power Holding Company of Nigeria approaches, MARTIN AYANKOLA reports that renowned local and foreign firms are currently putting finishing touches to their bid documents.




A leading player in Nigeria’s energy industry, the Oando Group, and an Indian company, Essar, are at the forefront of the different consortia that are expected to express interest in the Federal Government’s power firms on February 18.

The Bureau of Public Enterprises has asked prospective investors to submit Expressions of Interest for eleven distribution companies, four power generating firms and two hydro power stations slated for privatisation.

A source at the Oando Group told our correspondent on Sunday, “We are going to show firm interest in some distribution companies and a power generation firm.

“We are leading a consortium that also includes a multinational power company. I cannot reveal the name of our partners to you now, but we are definitely expressing an interest.”

Another source at the Bureau of Public Enterprises also disclosed that Essar, the Indian power giant, was showing serious interest in the generation and distribution firms.

“I expect them to show firm interest in the companies. Some other foreign firms are also in discussion with Nigerian firms with a view to forming consortia to express interest and later bid for the power firms,” the source added.

The Oando source, who is a top official of the integrated energy company, said, “We are so far satisfied with what the government has done as regards sticking to the timetable for the privatisation of the sector.

“We think the government has shown commitment and seriousness so far and with the right political will, the process will be successful.”

He added, “However, the true level of government’s seriousness will be determined by what is done after the Expressions of Interest in the firms”.

A power analyst and Managing Director of Powercap Limited, Mr. Abiodun Ogunleye, also gave kudos to the Federal Government for implementing the privatisation timetable to the letter.

Ogunleye told our correspondent on the telephone on Sunday, “The Federal Government has been serious with the timetable. However, the issues we need to address relate to whether the time is long enough for serious investors to express interest and the need to ensure that the process is not hijacked by politicians.”

The BPE had also embarked on road shows since January 18, to woo investors to the Nigerian power industry, starting with a meeting with investors in Lagos.

Aside from the Lagos event, meetings had also been held with investors in Dubai, United Arab Emirates on January 24; London, United Kingdom, on January 27; and New York, United States on February 1; while another meeting will be held with investors in Johannesburg, South Africa, on February 11.

The spokesman for the BPE, Mr. Chukwuma Nwokoh, told our correspondent on the telephone on Sunday that over 200 individuals attended the London event.

“We also had over 90 people in attendance in Dubai,” he added.

Furthermore, the Federal Government has offered prospective investors a five-year tax holiday as part of incentives to woo them to the power sector.

According to the BPE, another incentive for investors is the World Bank’s instruments to insure their investments against political risks.

The agency also assured investors of a cost-reflective tariff regime and pledged to resolve all labour matters before the handover of the companies to the core investors.

The meetings with the investors are coming ahead of the February 18 deadline for the expression of interests in 11 distribution companies, five thermal generating firms and two hydropower stations.

Speaking at the Lagos event, the Director-General, BPE, Ms. Bola Onagoruwa, said, “The idea of this is that it enables investors to gain some confidence. Even if we don’t complete the privatisation before the handover of government, no harm is done.

“From the response you have seen here, power is something that has attracted the interest of most people in Nigeria. I don’t think any administration will come in and not take the issue of reforms in the power sector seriously.”

The eleven distribution companies, which investors are expected to express interest in, include the Abuja Electricity Distribution Company Plc; Benin Electricity Distribution Company Plc; Enugu Electricity Distribution Company Plc; Eko Electricity Distribution Company Plc; Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company Plc and Ikeja Electricity Distribution Company Plc.

Others are Jos Electricity Distribution Company Plc; Kaduna Electricity Distribution Company Plc; Kano Electricity Distribution Company Plc; Port Harcourt Electricity Distribution Company Plc and Yola Electricity Distribution Company Plc.

Investors are also expected to express interests in four thermal generating stations, namely: Ughelli Power Plc; Geregu Power Plc; Afam Power Plc; and Sapele Power Plc.

Two hydro power stations; Kainji Power Plc, including the Jebba power station, and Shiroro Power Plc, will be given out to private investors under a concession arrangement.

Also, speaking at the forum, the Minister of State for Power, Mr. Nuhu Wya, said that both local and international investors were invited to the forum to show the numerous opportunities available in Nigeria’s power sector.

According to him, the forum is also to share with investors, the precise details of the Federal Government’s privatisation plans and strategies for the divestiture of PHCN successor companies and other assets.

He said, “Altogether, these assets deliver about 4,000 megawatts today. The Vision 2020 envisages a market for 40,000MW in 10 years’ time; that is, by 2020.

“This growth, which is quite plausible, has to be driven by Greenfield private sector investments. Our mission in this forum is to have a better understanding of your concerns so that we can build a power supply industry that works for all and grows fast enough to cope with demand.”

The Chairman, Presidential Task Force on Power, Prof. Barth Nnaji, also told our correspondent on the telephone that the response of prospective investors to the road shows had been impressive.
Source:punchng.com






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Insurance: Processing your business claims

Business claims

When an entrepreneur suffers a loss in a business, which he had properly insured, there is a need for him to follow proper procedure of claim settlement in order to ensure that he is quickly compensated by his insurer.

This will enable him to be able to continue running his business unhindered because, insurance will restore him to his former position before he suffered the loss.

With insurance, an entrepreneur does not need to dip his hands in his capital to help him cover the losses that he suffered. Rather, his insurer should bear the risk in that regard because that is a major reason the insurance institution exists.

The Managing Director, Anchor Insurance Company Limited, Mr. Ademayowa Adeduro, emphasises the need for the entrepreneur to pay his premium regularly.

He says that the policy owner should inform his insurer of any change in the information that he gave his insurer, such as a change of address or any other important detail.

Although, the insurer will pay claims when a loss occurs, he enjoins the entrepreneur to exercise caution and safety of his properties.

The managing director says that immediately a loss occurs, the insured should notify his insurer on what next to do.

Adeduro explains that when a large claim is involved, a loss adjuster may be employed in the verification process to ascertain the extent of damage and how much to pay.

For instance, he adds that if a fire accident occurs in a business, an adjuster who is an expert on the field will be dispatched to the site.

He says that to commence the claims settlement, the claimant will have to fill a claims form, adding that if he cannot do that himself, he should ask his broker to put him through.

According to him, to help in the documentation process, the entrepreneur should take pictures of the damages that had been done to his business, while also attaching other relevant evidences.

Adeduro says that if proper procedures are followed,there will be faster settlement of claims for the policy owner.

The Chairman, Nigerian Council of Registered Insurance Brokers, Port Harcourt Area Committee, Mr. Dele kareem, says that the best way by which an entrepreneur can protect his business from any hazards is through insurance.

He observes that most times, people are too cost conscious and do not take insurance seriously.

According to Kareem, when an individual takes the policy through an insurance broker, he should inform the broker so that the broker can help him through all the claims settlement procedure.

If the loss requires an adjuster coming to inspect the damage, he adds that the broker will make the provision for that.

He, however, advises that when a loss occurs such as fire or destruction of goods, the entrepreneur should get adequate evidence and notify his insurer of the loss.

This, he adds, will enhance fast settlement of claims.

There are different types of life and non-life policies that are available to businesses to secure their operations from unfavourable circumstances.

Under the non-life policies, there are insurance covers for general accident, motor vehicle accident, fire accident, burglary or theft, marine related risks among others.

These policies provide compensation at the occurrence of fire outbreak, theft and other risks covered in the policy.

Others are energy insurance, engineering insurance, miscellaneous insurance, bonds credit guarantee and suretyship insurance among others.

Firms can take cover to secure their cargo or goods being transported from the point of purchase to delivery point under what is referred to as marine cargo policy.

Likewise, goods in transit provide compensation for loss or damage to the whole of the property described in the policy of the insured due to the risk by means of conveyance among other means.

Under the life insurance business, policies such as individual life insurance, health insurance, group life assurances and annuity, among others, will protect workers’ lives during their working years.

Other life insurance policies such as workmen compensation can also be undertaken for workers.

Source:Punch

 


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‘Mobile money service can help banking access'

There is compelling need for financial services firms to explore mobile money services in order to reach out to more unbanked Nigerians.

Emmanuel Okoegwale, principal consultant at MobileMoneyAfrica, a mobile money services company, said the challenge of rolling out new branches has made it imperative for banks to explore the new channel.

"The prospect for mobile financial services is significant in a country like Nigeria where only 25 million of the 70 million adult population have access to banking services," Mr Okoegwale added. He said the infrastructural needs to roll out mobile money lies with the mobile network operators despite the fact that the licences were issued to financial institutions and independent providers only.

He said the mobile payment regulatory framework issued by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) which has been in use in the last 24 months does not adequately spell out liaison between the Nigeria Communications Commission (NCC) and the CBN on enforcing compliance by the network providers. "Post licencing period will expose some of the land mines in the regulatory framework and potential lapses but since no framework is carved in stone, I believe the regulator will take note and ensure positive changes."

He expressed concern about enforcing certain aspects of the framework on the Mobile network operators through the NCC. ‘'How do you force MTN for instance, to open its network for independent providers when it already has its preferred partners''? Already, the Central Bank has issued licenses to 16 firms to operate in the mobile money business.

Jibril Aku, Managing Director, Ecobank Nigeria, said embracing mobile banking facilities will aid the gradual migration to cashless society and also reduce cost of cash handling. In a statement recently, Mr Aku said mobile banking payment solution will help bridge the gap between the over 64 million unbanked and the over four million under-banked Nigerian adults.

Pieter Verkade, MTN Executive of MobileMoney, said recently that it has reached agreement to introduce international mobile remittance services in the 21 countries where MTN operates. Nigeria remains MTN's largest market with subscriber base of over 20 million.

No role for Communication Commission

Reuben Morka, NCC's spokesperson said the commission has no real role to play in the sector as the CBN is the regulator granting the licences. "It is not our business to begin to regulate how banks relate with telecoms companies on this. We licence telecoms companies but banks are seeking solutions and they approach any company of their choice." The Central Bank in its framework for mobile payment services identified three models for the implementation of mobile payments services.

These are, bank -focused- financial institutions as lead initiator, bank led-financial institutions and non-bank corporate organisation. According to the framework, "The lead initiator shall be responsible for ensuring that the various solutions and services within a mobile payment system meet the entire regulatory requirement as defined by the Central Bank of Nigeria."

This framework makes banks legally responsible and accountable to the Central Bank of Nigeria and the end user.Enhancing Financial Innovation and Access (EFInA), a non-profit organisation promoting access to financial services for the unbanked and financial sector development said Nigeria lags behind South Africa, Botswana and Kenya in terms of the percentage of the population who are financially served. Its claimsin 2010 that, "the growth in financially served population in many of these markets is mainly attributable to their mobile money offerings."

Source:234next.com

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NBC, 2 others to pull out of Stock Exchange

Media speculations of planned delisting of Nigerian Bottling Company Plc. was confirmed on Tuesday, when the food and beverage giant commenced steps to pull out of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE). Also on the verge of pulling out are two other foreign blue-chip companies (names withheld).

If this happens, the shares of the companies will no longer be traded on the NSE trading floors, although stakeholders can still get dividends and bonuses, as may be approved by the company’s board of directors.
Impacted by long-drawn market meltdown, its attendant loss of confidence and crisis in the exchange, three quoted companies had earlier delisted from the exchange this year, Prior to NBC application, INCAR Plc., Afprint Plc., and Abosedehye Plc.

But this is the first time foreign multinationale companies from breweries, conglomerate and food & beverages sub-sectors have applied to pull-out of the bourse. If the companies eventually get delisted, it will bring to six the number of companies that have pulled out of the NSE this year.

In its notification letter, NBC cited a proposed ‘Scheme of Arrangement’ involving merger and acquisition with Hellenic Bottling Company South Africa as majority stakeholder, having bought a major stake in NBC, now a wholly owned subsidiary of Coca-Cola Hellenic Bottling Company South Africa.

The letter stated that the proposed scheme of arrangement between the company and its members involve 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. According to the notification letter, the proposed Scheme would be effected under the provision of S539 of the Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA), which allows for an arrangement to be proposed between a company and its members.

The proposed structure envisages a cash consideration to be paid as compensation to shareholders for the cancellation of the shares of the company, which Hellenic (through its subsidiaries) does not already own.
“The terms and conditions thereof will be incorporated in a Scheme document to be circulated within the stipulated statutory period to all the company’s shareholders for their consideration,” the letter stated.

The proposed scheme includes a cash payment of N43 per NBC share as consideration to the minority shareholders and 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 percent to the closing price of NBC shares on the NSE on December 13, 2010, which was N30.03 per NBC share.

However, the proposed scheme will be subject to the approval of the shareholders at a meeting of the Company, convened on the order of the Federal High Court, and 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 FHC.

Consequently, an application will be made for the delisting of the company’s shares from the Daily Official List of the NSE and thereafter the company will be re-registered as a private company in accordance with the relevant provisions of CAMA
Source:Sunnewsonline.com

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New NSE DG: Ike, Onadele divide Council

Baring last minute change, the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) may announce the newly recruited chief executive officer of the Exchange this week, with Mr. Bola Onadele and Yvonne Ike being front runners to clinch the exalted job. Both finalists are said to have divided the Council of Nigerian Stock (NSE) as to who should clinch the top position at last.


Already, Mrs. Taba Peterside and Binus Yaroe are said to have emerged successful as the Executive Directors. The duo who are already employees of the Exchange are to be joined by two other successful applicants for the post of Executive Directors who are coming from outside.

As one of the three finalists pencilled down for the job, Onadele has another strong contender, Yvonne Ike, to beat. Oscar Onyema has also been found worthy of the job and can pull a last minute surprise. Daily Sun gathered from impeccable sources that Onadele has divided the Council of the Exchange as some of the members are predisposed to have him for the job.

Mr. Onadele, an Economics graduate and a Chartered Accountant is the founder of Financial Datanet. Koko, (as he is popularly called in the Nigerian financial market), is vast in Treasury Management Operations with experience spanning over 10years as Assistant General Manager Treasury (Citibank Nigeria) and Vice-President, Treasury group of FCMB.

With a passion for Treasury development, he has been involved with a number of market development activities of the Money Market Association of Nigeria (MMAN); having served on the FX Advisory and Market Development Committees of the MMAN between 1997 and 2000.

He was the Chief Operating Officer of Lead bank between 2003 and 2005 and served as a Director of the Nigeria Inter Bank Settlement System (NIBSS) in 2000. Koko championed the two-way quoting system in trading in the foreign exchange market, the Nigerian Inter-bank Offered Rate (NIBOR), Nigeria Inter-bank Foreign Exchange Index (NIFEX) and the introduction of screen based dealing in Nigeria.

He was a facilitator for the Citibank Bourse Game (Foreign Exchange & Money Market Simulation) course in Nigeria and Ghana between 1997 and 1998. He also served as faculty member of the Lagos Business School/MBC International Bank Treasury Simulation Course. He is currently the President of FDHL.

However, Yvonne Ike, a South Easterner married to Hon. Habeeb Fashinro, a House of Representative member, is believed to have the backing of highly placed insiders in government and at the capital market.

Presently out of job, Mrs. Fashinro was a senior investment banker and until 2009 was a Managing Director at JP Morgan Chase, one of the world’s biggest financial services institutions, where she was Head of Investment Banking for West Africa. Prior to that, Yvonne worked at Lehman Brothers. She is an Ernst and Young trained Chartered Accountant and holds a BSc in Economics. 

  Source:sunnewsonline.com
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CPC warns PHCN, NERC over arbitrary billing

The Consumer Protection Council (CPC) has asked Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) and the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) to hence -forth stop arbitrary billing of electricity consumers for services they did not provide.


The Director General of the CPC, Ify Umenyi who expressed displeasure with the unpleasant treatment to Nigerian consumers without value addition said the Council was ready to wade into the situation.

“It has become a tradition with the PHCN to always bill consumers of electricity on what they refereed to as maintenance charges so far such consumers have not connected to the PHCN national grid”, which is not proper, she stated.

According to the survey conducted by the Council, she said, “this maintenance fee is irrespective of whether such consumers use electricity or not. It also observed that neither the NERC nor the PHCN carries out any such routine maintenance on the consumers’ meters”.

She stressed that the Nigerian consumers should be treated with all sense of respect, without which services and products will not, in the first place be found in the market place.
Mrs. Umenyi disclosed that, discussions are on going with the NERC over the issues as survey carried out by the council revealed that all the consumers repeatedly keep making the same complaints over the ill treatment being melted on the officials of the PHCN.

She said there was never a time any of the PHCN’s meters being used by the consumers had ever been maintained instead, “The meters are collected and the consumers made to pay again, the same amount to obtain new ones. That is where and when they are available.”

She vowed that what the PHCN or NERC refers to as maintenance fees will be eliminated as there is no basis for such fee since no routine maintenance is being carried out by the agencies. The Council boss who also expressed worries over the ill-treatment melted out to consumers by the aviation operators at the airport, said, “I felt very bad for also the foreigners who keep experiencing one form of problem or the other at our airport. Some of these challenges they experience here in Nigeria , are not so in their own countries.

Everything works well for everybody at their country’s airport but here in our airport, the operators seem not to be mindful of their services to consumers. “They don’t care about the implications of their actions, especially when it has to do with the challenges of flight delays or other unpleasant issues,” she said.

She decried several ordeals faced by consumers when these operators will send information about alteration in flight movement when passengers are already at the airport or sometimes at the tarmac.

Mrs. Umenyi berated such mode of service rendering by the operators of the industry as not good enough for the consumers who should be treated as king in the market place.
The Council she added was working with the consumers department of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) towards ensuring that the unpalatable treatments melted on the aviation sector consumer are checked.
Source:sunnewsonline.com
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Army will secure all oil pipelines –Ihejirika

Ihejirika
The Nigerian Army said it would provide adequate security to Oil and Gas pipelines across the country, promising to spoil business for vandals.

Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Azubuike Ihejirika who disclosed this in Abuja Wednesday when he received the Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) Engr. Austen Oniwon assured of the readiness of the Army to support the NNPC in mitigating the effects of the activities of vandals on oil pipelines and promised that a dedicated Army team will immediately be assigned to the two oil pipelines that are central to the operations of the three refineries in the country.

He said that in line with his vision upon assumption of office, the Nigerian Army would transform and rise to the occasion to meet the challenges of contemporary Nigerian society, stating that the collaborative efforts with the NNPC was to bring to an end the incessant vandalization of petroleum products pipelines across the country especially the Niger Delta region.

Earlier, the NNPC GMD noted with dismay that the recurring damage of oil pipelines by vandals have impacted negatively on the operation of the Country’s Refineries.
He implored the Chief of Army Staff to particularly deploy his men to step up surveillance on the crude pipeline from Bonny to Port Harcourt refinery and the Escravos pipeline to Warri and Kaduna Refinery saying that the refineries have been shut down temporarily because all the aforementioned pipelines have been severed.

“The rate of the crude pipeline vandalisation from Bonny to Port Harcourt refinery and the escravos to Warri and Kaduna refinery is alarming and I wish to request the Army to concentrate on these pipelines as they are critical to our operations”, Engr. Oniwon opined.
The GMD further sued for more collaboration with the Army in the area of Engineering and applauded the Army for maintaining a high standard of work in some of the contracts being handled by the Army for the Corporation.

He reiterated the commitment of the Corporation to the existing mutual relationship between the NNPC and the Army and asserted that the relationship would help the duo to meet its primary obligations to the country.
Source:sunnewsonline.com

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NITEL: New Generation asks for extension of payment deadline

THE preferred bidder for the Nigerian Telecommunications Limited, New Generation Telecommunications Limited, on Thursday confirmed that it had asked for the extension of the deadline for the payment of the $2.5bn it bid for the acquisition of the company. 
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11 states not contributing to National Housing Fund – Minister

Eleven out of the 36 states of the federation are currently not contributing to the National Housing Fund, which was established to provide a pool of resources for the development.The states are Lagos, Ondo, Ekiti, Kano, Sokoto, Borno, Abia, Edo, Taraba, Yobe and Benue.
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EU threatens snowbound airports with regulation

BRUSSELS: Europe‘s transport chief has said he is considering forcing airports to provide airlines with a minimum level of infrastructure support during severe weather, such as this week‘s snowstorms.

European Union Transport Commissioner, Mr. Siim Kallas made his comments after more than 3,000 flights were cancelled across Europe on Monday, according to flight authority Eurocontrol.
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2011 budget: FG slashes overheads by 29%

Minister of Finance, Mr. Olusegun Aganga
The Federal Government has slashed the overheads of all its ministries, departments and agencies by 29 per cent for the 2011 fiscal year.

The move is aimed at reducing the high recurrent expenditure pattern in the country’s annual budgets, which is hugely disproportionate to the capital expenditure.

The Minister of Finance, Mr. Olusegun Aganga, who disclosed this on Thursday, during an interactive session with journalists in Abuja, also noted that 31 revenue generating agencies listed in the Fiscal Responsibility Act had submitted their annual budgets to the National Assembly.

He added, “Accordingly, the 2011 budget proposal reflects the following cuts; aggregate expenditure has been reduced by 18.1 per cent from N5.16tn in 2010 to N4.23tn in 2011.

“Despite absorbing the full impact of the increase in salaries by 53 per cent in July 2010, we have reduced non-debt recurrent expenditure by 7.02 per cent to N2.48tn. We have also cut overheads from N536bn to N381bn.”

The agencies include the Central Bank of Nigeria, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, Nigerian Ports Authority, Bureau of Public Enterprises, National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure, Nigerian Social Insurance Trust Fund, Corporate Affairs Commission, National Clearing and Forwarding Agency and Nigeria Unity Line.

Others are the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency, Nigeria Shippers’ Council, National Maritime Authority, Raw Materials Research and Development Council, Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, National Sugar Development Council, Nigeria Postal Service, Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, Nigerian Mining Corporation and Nigerian Re-Insurance.

Also on the list are; Nigerdock Nigeria Plc, Securities and Exchange Commission, National Insurance Commission, Nigerian Re-Insurance Corporation, Nigerian Telecommunications Limited, National Automotive Council, Nigerian Tourism Development Board and Nigerian Communication Commission.

Others are the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control, Nigerian Customs Service and Federal Inland Revenue Service.

The Senate had sent a letter to the Ministry of Finance, demanding the budgets of the 31 federal agencies before it could pass the 2011 budget of the Federal Government.

The minister also said that the Federal Government had reduced the level of domestic borrowing by 38 per cent to N865bn.

He, however, added that the government had secured a loan of $900m from the Export Import Bank of China.

The loan, which had a repayment period of 20 years, was secured at an interest rate of 2.5 per cent.

Our of the $900m, Aganga said that $500m would be utilised for the construction of the Abuja-Kaduna railway project, while the balance would be expended on the national security project.

One of our correspondents gathered on Thursday that the letter, which was addressed to the Minister of Finance, Mr. Oluegun Aganga, specifically demanded that the budgets and their details must be submitted before work would commence on the 2011 budget estimates by the relevant Senate committees.The letter was signed by the Chairman of the Appropriation Committee, Senator Iyiola Omisore.
Source:punchng.com

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Level 3 calls for conditions on Comcast/NBC deal

NEW YORK: Level 3 Communications Incorporated asked United States antitrust officials to set conditions on Comcast Corporation‘s planned acquisition of NBC Universal that would assure ”unfettered access” to all internet content, Reuters reported on Friday.

The move represents Level 3‘s latest retaliation against a fee Comcast is charging it for increased network traffic.

Level 3 operates internet backbone networks, but also offers content delivery network services, which enable clients like Netflix to store and stream movies online. The CDN business has grown as consumers increasingly turn to the internet for entertainment and shopping.

The sheer rise in internet traffic has prompted Comcast, which provides the ”last mile” of internet connection to consumers‘ homes, to demand a recurring fee from Level 3 to transmit video and other online content to customers.
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NIPP: One power plant for delivery by month end – FG

Efforts by the Federal Government to ensure stable electricity supply in the country will receive a boost by the end of the month as the National Integrated Power Project is expected to add some megawatts to the National Grid.

Disclosing this during a reception for executive members of the Niger Delta Students Association of Nigeria in Abuja on Friday, the Managing Director, Niger Delta Power Holding Company of Nigeria, Mr. James Olotu, said the December target was still on course and that one of the power plants was going to deliver by the end of the month.

The Federal Government, through the Minister of State for Power, Mr. Nuhu Wya, had promised earlier in the year that the NIPP would generate about 5,000MW.

Source:http://www.punchng.com/Articl.aspx?theartic=Art201012201325831 Read more...

Xmas: FAAN to ground debtor airlines

Barring last minute intervention, the Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria will today (Monday) ground airlines that are indebted to it to the tune of N2bn.

The action, it was learnt, would cripple the operations of the debtor airlines at the Abuja airport, one of their key destinations.

This is a departure from the practice in the past when the agency grounded debtor airlines at the Lagos airport.

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Fidelity Bank eyes acquisitions, growth

 Fidelity Bank wants to expand rapidly to become one of the country's top three lenders, growing organically and potentially through acquisitions, its chief executive said on Friday.


Reginald Ihejiahi said Fidelity was still interested in buying local rival Afribank, one of nine lenders rescued in a $4 billion bailout last year, even though it has picked a private equity consortium as its preferred bidder.
"With regards to the Afribank transaction, I will just say that these are early days yet. It's a transaction we are still waiting on," Ihejiahi told Reuters in an interview in the commercial capital Lagos.
"We will do an acquisition if the price is right, if the contractual terms are right."
Banking sources said last week that a consortium of private equity investors had emerged as the preferred bidder for Afribank with Fidelity as the reserve bidder.
Afribank has said it is in talks with potential investors but has given no further details.
Industry sources estimate private equity bidders would need to raise up to 30 billion naira to bring Afribank up to minimum capital requirement levels after state-run "bad bank" AMCON absorbs all of its non-performing loans.
AMCON was set up to help recapitalise the nine rescued banks by absorbing their bad loans in an effort to restore lending in sub-Saharan Africa's second biggest economy. It will also buy margin loans from across the wider banking sector.
Ihejiahi said Fidelity had disclosed all of its non-performing loans (NPLs) to AMCON and wanted to sell them.
"We want to sell 100 percent, we have no reason not to do that ... We have very little margin loans, we have about 5 billion naira," he said, adding that bank chiefs had met with AMCON on Thursday to discuss the process.
"They said they would like to focus on margin loans but (AMCON) has assured that before you get to the second quarter of 2011 they will have taken up all the NPLs," Ihejiahi said.
He said the bank expects to grow its branch network to 200 branches from a current 181 before the second quarter of 2011 and that it planned to apply for an international banking licence by the end of the year.
The central bank has said it will stop issuing universal banking licences in a bid to avoid a repeat of last year's near collapse of several lenders which led to the bailout.
The regulator wants to separate banks' core lending business from more speculative capital markets activities -- such as stockbroking, asset management, private equity and venture capital -- to protect depositors' funds.
Under the guidelines, lenders will now operate as regional, national or international banks with varying minimum capital requirements.
"We are asking for their approval for us to be a commercial bank which has an international aspiration ... We plan to put in our application before the year runs out," Ihejiahi said, adding Fidelity would sell subsidiaries as needed.
Source:234next.com

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