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EKEDC begs customers as blackout persists in Lekki, others

Ehime Alex
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EKEDC begs customers as blackout persists in Lekki, others

The Eko Electricity Distribution Company has expressed regret over the prolonged power outage being experienced by its customers in the Lekki, Ikoyi-and Ajah environs of Lagos State.

In a statement on Friday signed by its General Manager, Corporate Communications, Godwin Idemudia, the company urged the customers to be calm to enable it to fix the issue.

According to Idemudia, EKEDC is working with the Transmission Company of Nigeria to ensure that supply is restored very shortly as the ongoing repair works are almost completed.

“We are not unaware of the difficulties our customers are experiencing within the Lekki, Ajah and Ikoyi areas of our network. As we have restated earlier, the outage is a result of ongoing maintenance by our TCN partners. While the work is already behind schedule, we are glad to inform our customers that the repair work has reached an advanced stage and will be completed as soon as possible,” he said.

Further appealing for understanding and calm, Idemudia said the company remained committed to its objective of providing reliable power to its customers.

Market forces’ll determine petrol pump price, says PPPRA

Anozie Egole
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Market forces’ll determine petrol pump price, says PPPRA

The Petroleum Products Price Regulatory Agency has said the latest pricing template it released does not translate to an increase in the pump price for Premium Motor Spirit, otherwise known as petrol.

In a statement obtained by Financial Street on Friday, the Executive Secretary of PPPRA, Abdulkadir Saidu, said that the price could only be determined by market realities in line with the dictates of market forces.

According to him, one of the conditions for the implementation of the Market-Based Pricing Regime for PMS Regulations 2020 is the monthly release of the guiding price to reflect current market fundamentals.

He said, “In line with its mandate to maintain constant surveillance over all key indices relevant to pricing, the agency monitors market trends on a daily basis to determine guiding prices.

“The agency is not unaware of the challenges with the supply of PMS due to some concerns leading NNPC to be the sole importer of PPPRA.”

Saidu said the agency was mindful of the current discussions going on between the government and the organised labour on the deregulation policy.

He said, “While consultation with relevant stakeholders is ongoing, PPPR does not fix or announce prices and therefore there is no price increase. The current PMS price is being maintained while consultations are being concluded.

“Even though market fundamentals for PMS in the past few months indicated upward price trends, the pump price has remained the same and we are currently monitoring the situation across retail outlets nationwide”

Saidu assured the public of adequate product supply, adding that the agency would continue to perform its statutory function in ensuring that the downstream sector remains vibrant as well as support both government and members of the public.

In its earlier template obtained by Financial Street, the agency had fixed Nigeria’s petrol price at N209.61-N212.61 per litre, for the month of March 2021, meaning that at the current pump price of N170 per litre, the Federal Government, through the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC is still subsidising the product with N42 per litre.

Seplat gets over 98% of materials from Nigeria – CEO

Ehime Alex
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Seplat gets over 98% of materials from Nigeria – CEO

Seplat Petroleum Development Company Plc has said over 98 per cent of the materials used by the company are sourced from Nigeria.

Its Chief Executive Officer, Mr Roger Brown, said this during the company’s ‘Facts Behind the Sustainability Report’ presentation at the Nigerian Stock Exchange on Tuesday.

According to him, Seplat, a Nigerian independent energy company, has invested “extensively” on development of local suppliers.

“We have a deliberate policy of encouraging local contractors in the award of some jobs. The company takes the issue of local content delivery seriously,” he said.

Brown said the company’s sustainability policy is based on the principles of transparent and complete disclosure of its Environment Social, and Governance performance, setting science-based targets to deliver on environmental footprint, among others.

“We respects [the] rights of employees, community people and their culture. We maintain a non-discriminatory posture in recruitment devoid of gender, religion, tribe or other such considerations, and adhere to national and international labour laws and protocols,” Brown explained.

He noted that over the years, the company had improved economic empowerment of women and youths with a customised empowerment programme, engaged 534 employees in its Nigerian and UK locations, and had done much more.

“We adopt an inclusive stakeholder management approach; integrate sustainability into our core business model and strategy; embed Sustainability concept and practice companywide; operate the highest standard of corporate governance; leverage on stakeholder engagement in determining materiality; and exhibit a strong belief in our shared Value philosophy,” he added.

Commenting on the sustainability report, the NSE Chief Executive Officer, Oscar Onyema, urged other companies to learn from Seplat, saying reporting sustainability could help organisations create a sustainable future.

According to him, there is a recognised need for enhanced levels of corporate transparency on ESG.

He said, as an exchange, “we are well positioned to encourage and even require listed companies to produce better sustainability reports that are issued consistently and with comparable information.”

Capital market key to financing Nigeria’s budget deficit – Minister

Ehime Alex
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Capital market key to financing Nigeria’s budget deficit – Minister

The Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mrs Zainab Ahmed, has said the capital market is “very key” to financing Nigeria’s budget and infrastructure deficits.

Ahmed said this on Thursday during the Securities and Exchange Commission’s yearly Budget Seminar themed, ‘Financing Nigeria’s budget and infrastructure deficits through the capital market’.

She said past experiences had shown that the Nigerian capital market had been quite supportive in providing the necessary funds needed to finance the government’s needs.

According to Ahmed, the government is committed to introducing more instruments in partnership with the capital market to finance projects for economic growth.

“The capital market is a room for various programmes and mechanisms that are targeted at aggregating and channelling long term capital for businesses and development. The Nigerian capital market has been doing this for many decades and has the potentials to do more.

“I want to urge the capital market participants and operators to consider retail investments to give opportunity to the Nigerian citizens to invest within the capital market in an easy and simple way,” the finance minister said.

Ahmed stressed that the need to use the capital market for budget finance had been further underscored by the current global pandemic and its attendant negative effects on economic and social activities.

In order to provide the necessary infrastructure and still continue to meet other immediate expenditure needs, the government often adopts deficit budgets which have to be financed through borrowing, she noted.

“Nigeria needs to spend and spend now more on infrastructure and other capital projects. A recent evidence of the benefit of spending is the fourth quarter GDP growth rate of the economy which was 0.11 per cent, resulting in Nigeria pulling out of recession after two quarters of negative growth,” Ahmed added.

The Director-General of SEC, Mr Lamido Yuguda, who also spoke at the virtual event, noted that the 2021 budget proposed a deficit of N5.6trn, and that 42 per cent of the sum would be financed using domestic sources.

According to Yuguda, it is expected that the capital market would be leveraged to finance the deficit.

He said, “The 2021 Budget proposes a deficit of N5.6trn, and 42 per cent of this will be financed using domestic sources. It is expected that the capital market will be leveraged to obtain this financing and also that the impact on infrastructure development of the country as well as the general economic conditions will be positive.

“In addition, we also believe that our capital market has the capacity to roll out innovative products to support Nigeria’s infrastructure needs and financing. This is necessary for us as a country to be able to effectively compete with the rest of the world.”

Practitioners, policy makers, academics and other stakeholders also corroborated also urged the federal government to leverage the capital market to finance revenue generating projects while working to reduce balance sheet borrowing.

Zenith Bank, 10 others drag stock market lower by 0.60%

Ehime Alex
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Zenith Bank, 10 others drag stock market lower by 0.60%

The Nigerian stock market contracted on Thursday amid renewed bearish activity, as heavyweight stocks such as Zenith Bank, United Bank for Africa and Dangote Cement closed in the red territory.

As a result, the All-Share Index of the Nigerian Stock Exchange fell by 0.60 per cent to 38,697.17 points.

Investors lost N122.46bn as the market capitalisation further dropped by 0.60 to close at N20.25trn.

Despite renewed profit-taking activity, the stock market recorded 25 gainers and 11 losers, while the year-to-date loss of the ASI further rose to -3.90 per cent.

The share prices of DANGCEM, ZENITHBANK and UBA fell by 3.51 per cent, 1.38 per cent and 0.71 per cent respectively.

Smurfit Kappa Group led the gainers’ table by 10 per cent, while African Alliance Insurance topped the losers table with a price depreciation of -8.33 per cent.

Sectoral performance was positive as four of the five indices tracked closed in the green territory.

The banking, insurance and consumer goods indices rose by 0.01 per cent, 0.69 per cent and 0.42 per cent respectively, as the oil and gas index closed flat.

In contrast, the industrial index dip by 1.70 per cent.

Meanwhile, trading activity was weak as total deals, volume and value of stocks fell.

Thus, the total volume of trade declined by 54.01 per cent to 169.35 million units valued at N2.12bn in 3,568 deals.

Many faces of SMEs funding

Janet Ogundepo
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Many faces of SMEs funding

Business, as a pathway to wealth, has its highs and lows. Among the lows is funding. JANET OGUNDEPO, in this feature, presents the many faces of small business funding

Dreaming of having a business is sweet, but starting one is risky. The entrepreneur requires capital for the other two factors of production. Assets, employees, and even promotional services are at the mercy of fund availability.

There are lots of business ideas on paper and/or in the subconscious of many a Nigerian without the wherewithal to realise them. Funding is to a business what breath is to man.

Many start-ups and going concerns are battling with this challenge. Team Lead of a logistics company, Mr. Femi Lafua, says, “The challenge we face as a business is mainly funding. There are ideas you want to push out, but you need funding; there are new products you want to launch, you need funding to do that. It’s a major challenge. To even get the commitment of your workers, you need money to pay their salaries. Small businesses like ours don’t have that luxury of cash to move around, test new markets, do research and development.”

 

Sourcing equity

Fund is to business growth what water is to life. Therefore, having a dependable access to funds goes a long way in increasing the productivity and lifespan of a business. Crowd funding, grants and loans are other means to obtain money to start and/or grow a business, aside personal savings.

In Nigeria, many Small and Medium-sized Enterprises depend on loans from microfinance banks, friends and families to start or grow their businesses; they do not rely on grants or loans from the government. However, those who detest taking loans save up to expand their businesses.

Mrs. Blessing Chikwe, who runs a bookshop in Lagos, said, “I save up when I want to expand my business because I don’t like to collect loans from family and friends or microfinance banks.”

 

Business funding across cultures

In Nigeria, the Igbo apprenticeship system, which mystery economic experts are yet to unravel, has been described as the best business framework in the world. It is common among the Igbo for boys to serve an established entrepreneur for an agreed number of years, after which the boss would empower him with fund to start his own business.

Mrs. Blessing Godwin, a cloth trader, confirmed this. According to her, among the Igbo, the boss sets up businesses for their apprentices after some years of service. She added that spouses could also set up businesses for their partners.

“If the husband is capable, he establishes the wife in a business; and if the wife is the one with the funds, she establishes the husband,” she said.

Chigozie Ezenwa, a furniture business apprentice, added that it was not mandatory for the boss to provide everything for his apprentice after the years of stewardship.

“Not everything is provided for an apprentice, who is through with his apprenticeship. Sometimes, it depends on how he (the boss) ‘settles’ you. He may give you money to start your own business or give you money and a shop. Some bosses will give you some goods and shop and some money,” he said.

Chinweuba and Chukwudi (2017) citing Obunike (2016) in their journal on the foundation of Igbo entrepreneurship, emphasised that the system of business among the Igbo is the apprenticeship strategy.

“The Igbo entrepreneur hardly waits for government funds to venture into the business of their choice. ‘Igba-odibo’ (traditional business school) has remained a source of livelihood and a means of employment that incubates entrepreneurs to stand on their own, raise capital for business, and actively engage in economically worthwhile ventures,” they wrote.

Unlike the Igbo, in Togo, taking loans is popular for their business of crops and farming. Joshua Anani says, “In Togo, obtaining loans is the way to get funds to start a business.” When asked of government intervention schemes for SMEs, he said, “There are lots of it.”

But it is popular among Yoruba women to have their husbands or other family members to establish them in a business. Mr. Folorunsho Abiodun, the Supervisor for Grooming Centre Microfinance Bank, Lagos, said, “Of all the tribes (in Nigeria), the Yoruba are the ones that apply for loans most. This is because the people we give loans are civil servants, and the Yoruba are more in the civil service in Lagos. Most of them collect these loans to pay school fees and house rent. The percentage of those that collect loans for business is not many.”

It is pertinent to say that tribal beliefs and cultures also impact on the way business is done.

 

Grants and loans

Government’s interventions in SMEs with various grant schemes seem not to reach the grassroots, as many traders said they never heard about it.

A poll on Tradermoni around a market in Mushin part of Lagos proved that majority of the traders have not heard about the scheme. Of the 17 respondents, only four agreed to have heard of it. Of the four that heard, only one is a beneficiary.

Realising this, the government said through Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, “We must find ways of expanding the scope of the scheme (Artisan and Transport Scheme), because the numbers we have approval for are small in comparison to the enormity of the problems we are faced with.

“Even if we are able to reach two million beneficiaries, it is still a tiny percentage of the millions who require assistance. We have to find ways of getting approval to expand the scope of the scheme.”

Many are not interested in getting these funds because they do not believe they will get it or see the process as rare a privilege.

Mrs Godwin said, “I have not heard of Tradermoni and do not believe in the fund government gives because after pursuing it, one might come back with sadness; you may not get it.”

However, Lafua, a beneficiary of the Federal Government’s SMEs Survival Fund, advised, “Usually, when you are applying for grants, there is a 50:50 chance that you will get selected; it is not certain that you will get it, especially when it comes from the government because thousands of people applied too. Majority of them are even more qualified than you; so you just have to be hopeful that you will be selected.”

In another twist, there has not been record of any of the beneficiaries repaying the loan. Some who have collected see the money as their own slice of the national cake; hence no need to payback.

Financial Street gathered that some traders even part with about N2,000 bribe to get the N10,000 Tradermoni.

 

Last line

In the final analysis, every business requires fund to survive. However, fund for business does not follow the same route. So, whichever way your funding comes from, the most important thing is that you make judicious use of it, and, where applicable, repay as and when due.

Customs hand over illicit drugs worth N214m to NDLEA

Anozie Egole
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Customs hand over illicit drugs worth N214m to NDLEA

The Ogun I Area Command of the Nigeria Customs Service has handed over 3,165 wraps of cannabis sativa, otherwise known as marijuana’, with duty paid value of N213.62m, to the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency.

This was disclosed on Thursday in a statement by the Public Relations Officer of the command, Hammed Olayode.

Olayode said the handover of the illicit drugs was part of the efforts of the command in collaborating with the NDLEA to ensure that the country, particularly Ogun State, was free from illicit drugs particularly.

According to Olayode, other contrabands handed over to the agency included 41 packets Tramadol Capsules worth N20.50m

“In another development, the command has made appreciable progress again in its anti-smuggling activities by recording a total of 143 seizures of various prohibited items in the month of February, 2021 with a combined DPV of N77,498,144.00”

The Customs Area Controller in charge of the command, Comptroller PC Kolo, advised the community leaders on the need to educate the youths against the dangers of smuggling, particularly the smuggling of harmful drugs and consumption of same.

Most manufacturers couldn’t access CBN N1trn package – MAN

Anozie Egole
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Most manufacturers couldn’t access CBN N1trn package – MAN

The Director-General of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria, Dr Segun Ajayi-Kadri, has said most of the members of the association that applied for the Ntrn COVID-19 stimulus facility set up by the Central Bank of Nigeria for manufacturing and import substitution could not access it.

Ajayi-Kadir, who said this on Thursday in a statement sent to Financial Street, identified what it called the prevarication of the participating financial institutions as the reason most manufacturers were yet to access the fund.

“According to the CBN, only 76 companies have received N300bn, which translates to 30 per cent, in one year. Intriguingly, according to our members, the banks are claiming that they have not received the framework for the administration of the facility from the CBN,” he said.

He commended the CBN’s move, and described the development funds as critical to driving manufacturing investment and production in a country.

He said, “No doubt, development funds are critical to driving manufacturing investment and by extension, production.  This is because the single digit interest rate for developments fund far contrasts the more than 25 per cent rate charged on commercial banks’ lending.

“The various CBN funding windows are commendable but the poor implementation hinders the attainment of the noble objectives of these funds. Manufacturers hardly access these funds.”

Ajayi-Kadir said, “There should be ardent enforcement by the CBN to ensure that the PFIs grant transparent and effective access of its intervention funds to manufacturers.

“This is especially with respect to the N1trn manufacturing and import substitution facility, the N220bn Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Fund, the 100bn Health Care and Pharmaceuticals Support Funds and N300bn Real Sector Support Facility.”

Nigerian manufacturers’ unsold goods rise to N300bn in H2

Anozie Egole
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Nigerian manufacturers’ unsold goods rise to N300bn in H2

The Manufacturers Association of Nigeria has said the inventory of unsold finished and manufactured goods increased to N303.22bn in the second half of last year, compared to N202.16bn in the corresponding period of 2019.

In a statement signed by the Public Relations Officer of MAN, Mrs Omotayo Okewunmi, on Thursday, the association said the unsold goods increased by N28.83bn, when compared to the N275.39bn recorded in the first half of the year.

MAN said the inventory of unsold manufactured goods in the sector totalled N577.61bn in 2020 as against N402.42bn in 2019.

“The increase in inventory in the period was attributed to the general low consumption and renewed imports in the economy as global economies generally open after months of lockdown,” it said.

It said that electrical and electronic sector group accounted for over 33 per cent of total inventory of unsold manufactured products in the period.

“The group are having challenges of low patronage, high smuggling and products counterfeiting which rubbed off negatively on inventory,” MAN said.

The association said the energy supply to the manufacturing sector increased to 12 hours on a daily basis in the second half of 2020 as against 10 hours daily in the first half.

“Average daily outage had constantly averaged four times per day. However expenditure on alternative energy in the second half of 2020 increased to N57.75bn in the second half of 2020 as against the N34.70bn recorded in the corresponding half of 2019 thus indicating 66.4 per cent increase over the period,” it said.

Women’s role in economic development amid COVID-19

Christiana Unakalamba
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Women’s role in economic development amid COVID-19

The International Women’s Day, celebrated on Monday, March 8, called to action the appreciation of women’s value in society to promote gender equality. CHRISTIANA UNAKALAMBA takes a look at the effect of COVID-19 on gender issues and women’s contribution to economic development

In preparation for this year’s International Women’s Day, the European Commission, the executive branch of the European Union, had stated that the Coronavirus Disease widened the gender gap existent in the economy, with women still hugely under-represented.

It said, “The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated the existing inequalities in our society. It put women at a great risk, including at times in their own homes.”

So, it suggested that gender equality must be at the heart of the post-pandemic recovery.

“Women must also be better represented in leadership positions, be it in politics or on companies’ boards – we will continue to fight for it.

“While women make up the majority of frontline workers in healthcare, they were barely represented in the pandemic decision-making processes. For instance, of the national dedicated COVID-19 task forces in 87 countries, including 17 EU member states, 85.2 per cent were led by men,” it stated.

Executive Director of Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS, Winnie Byanyima, noted, “Up to 20 million more secondary school-aged girls could end up out of school following the crisis. Many may never go back to school or have access to skills and economic opportunities, and will be at greater risk of violence, poor health, poverty and more.

“Two and a half million more girls are now at risk of child marriage in the next five years. There has been a dramatic increase in violence against women.”

According to her, pandemics such as COVID-19 magnify the fissures in society and exacerbate vulnerabilities.

“Gender-based and intersecting inequalities and violence hold back the lives of women and girls all over the world. The pandemic has brought into sharp and painful focus that, even before COVID-19, an estimated 34 million girls between the ages of 12 and 14 years were out of school, one in three women globally reported having experienced physical or sexual violence and women the world over worked longer hours for less or no pay,” she said.

Lead author of UN Women’s latest report, ‘From Insights to Action’ and UN Women’s Senior Research and Data Specialist, Ginette Azcona, noted, “For the last 22 years, extreme poverty globally had been declining. Then came COVID-19, and with it, massive job losses, shrinking of economies and loss of livelihoods, particularly for women. Weakened social protection systems have left many of the poorest in the society unprotected, with no safeguards to weather the storm.”

Speaking to CBS News about IWD, renowned feminist and journalist, Gloria Steinem, stated, “Studies show that women have suffered more anxiety, depression and trauma during this pandemic, because we have more responsibility for others and are brought up to be more empathetic.

“On the other hand, men have been more at home with families this year; so let’s hope this narrows the empathy gap.”

Despite the effect of the pandemic on contributions of women to the economy and society, there is need for women to play active roles to recover from the effect of the pandemic.

On this year’s IWD theme, ‘Women in leadership: Achieving an equal Future in a COVID-19 World,’ the United Nations Development Project stated, “Women must have the opportunity to play a full role in shaping the pivotal decisions being made right now as countries respond to and recover from the COVID-19 pandemic – choices that will affect the wellbeing of people and the planet for generations to come. To do this, we must break down the deep-seated historic, cultural and socio-economic barriers that prevent women from taking their seat at the decision-making table to make sure that resources and power are more equitably distributed.

“For instance, across the world, women remain concentrated in the lowest paid jobs, many in extremely vulnerable forms of employment. Women are nearly twice as likely than men to lose their jobs during the COVID-19 crisis.”

This entails more feminine gender inclusion and active participation irrespective of COVID-19 or societal influences, which can be achieved through deeper involvement in the economy.

According to the Managing Director, Development Policy and Partnerships, World Bank, Mari Pangestu, trade can expand women’s role in the economy and decrease disparities with men by giving women more and better employment opportunities.

“Seizing these opportunities will be even more important in a post-COVID-19 world,” the Indonesian economist added.

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