BusinessDay 24 May 2017

More documents

Recommendations

Info

32 BUSINESS DAY C002D5556 NEWS Obaseki closes down Edo Line over N1.5bn debt --relocate staff to ministry of transportation IDRIS UMAR MOMOH, BENIN N11bn fuel subsidy: Court to decide legality of Uba’s detention SEYI ANJORIN, ABUJA Justice Yusuf Halilu of the High Court of Federal Capital Territory, Jabi has fixed Thursday for ruling on a motion on notice filed by embattled Chief Executive Officer of Capital Oil and Gas Ltd, Ifeanyi Uba, challenging his continued detention by the Department of State Service (DSS). In the motion brought pursuant to Section 298(2) of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA) 2015, Uba, through his lawyer, Ifeoma Esom is praying for “an order vacating/discharging the exparte order of this honourable court made on the 10th of May, 2017, allowing the applicant to detain the respondent in the custody of the applicant for an initial period of 14 A Nigerian employee of the British American Tobacco (BAT) Nigeria Limited, Timothy Ogbole, has been dismissed from the company for exposing wrongdoings by an expatriate manager. Ogbole, a pioneer staff who rose to the position of Process Engineer/Pest and Hygiene Manager, was forced out of the company through a plot hatched and executed by Ilker Ogretir, a Turkish national and BAT’s Manufacturing Manager. In March 2016, Ogbole was commended, via email by the Human Resources Manager, days pending the completion of investigation”. The DSS, based on a report made to it by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), over the purely civil dispute arising out of the alleged indebtedness of Capital Oil and Gas (COG) to the NNPC, arrested Uba from his house in Lagos on March 24, 2017 and kept him in its custody until April 14, 2017, when he was temporarily and conditionally released after he had been coerced into making payment of N2billion and executing various documents in favour of NNPC and Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON). However, Esom told the court that Uba upon return to his home in Lagos, in fear for his life and liberty should he renew his claims that he is not indebted to either Wednesday 24 May 2017 L-R: Ada Ijara, head, private trust, United Capital Plc; Charles Odenigbo, MD/CEO, Scobro International Limited; Dave Uduanu, MD/ CEO, Sigma Pensions, and Mabel George, vice president, development, Sigma Pensions, at the Sigma Pensions human resources conference in Lagos, yesterday. Pic by Olawale Amoo NNPC Retail Ltd or AMCON as he had maintained before his incarceration, instructed his counsel to file an application for the enforcement of his fundamental rights. When the suit came up before the Lagos division of the Federal High Court on the April 27, 2017, the court granted him leave to serve the originating processes on the SSS outside Lagos whereupon the originating processes were served on them on the 28th of April 2017. According to Esom, “notwithstanding the pendency of the suit and the service of the originating processes, the SSS again invited the Respondent to report to its offices in respect of the same allegations made by the NNPC and AMCON which is the subject matter of the suit. British American Tobacco’s Turkish manager sacks Nigerian for exposing stock fixing BUNMI BANJO Edo State Governor, Godwin Obaseki has shut down indefinitely the Edo Line transport company. The state-owned transport company was shut down November 2010 by the immediate past governor, Adams Oshiomhole over the rejection of the appointment of Amos Osunbor as the board chairman of the company by the workers. Oshiomhole however in 2012 made Osamede Adu, the chairman of Bob Izua company as the sole administrator of the company Following the appalled by organized Labour during the last May Day celebration in Benin-City that the governor should revitalize moribund companies in the stage, the governor, Godwin Obaseki vowed not to put for sale all the ailing industries and redeploy staff to the relevant ministries. In fulfillment of the threat, the governor during inspection announced the closing of the company and the redeployment of all the staff to the ministry of transport.The governor said the company was indebted to the tune of N1.5 billion while some buses and major departments were in disrepair. Among the disrepair departments are the mechanic unit, the courier section, the staff office among others. According to him, we will shut down this place, clean it up, and decide on how to liquidate the debt and plan how to use the premises for other ventures. “The company’s debt was about N1.5 billion. This is a typical waste. Can you see how many vehicles are around? We have been paying people close up to four years without doing any work. “The company has a huge amount of debt and as a government, we cannot continue in this situation. What we are doing is that we are absorbing the staff The company had workforce that was 186-people strong with its headquarters located at James Watt Road, Off Mission road, Benin City and other outlets in Lagos, Abuja, as well as other parts of the country”, he added. for his performance in his new role as Process Engineer. According to Sahara reports he was a diligent staff. It was that role that caused the friction between him and Ogretir. Company sources disclosed that Ogbole observed that Ogretir was involved in certain fraudulent activities and stock fixing. Aware that what Ogretir was doing could adversely affect leaf waste management, one of his key performance indicators, Ogbole was said to have requested, via email, that the stock fixing be stopped. This, unknown to Ogbole, got his Turkish boss very angry. Buhari terminates pre-shipment contracts awarded under Jonathan KEHINDE AKINTOLA, ABUJA Facts emerged on Tuesday that President Muhammadu Buhari terminated the controversial appointment of Pre-shipment Inspection Agents (PIA) which was approved three In November 2016, Ogbole’s line manager, Adetola Musa, confided in him that he had been instructed to place him on a Performance Improvement Plan (PIP). Realizing that this was a booby trap, Ogbole refused to sign the PIP document, insisting on a performance evaluation based on key performance indicators set at the beginning of 2016. Ogbole knew that it was his Turkish boss’ scheme to either get him sacked or demoted. This was confirmed in a video recording of the discussion between him and Adeola, his line manager. days before the expiration of President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration. President Buhari’s decision was in line with paragraph 12(2b) of the contract agreement signed between Federal Government and the PIAs, which stated that: “the preshipment inspection contracts so signed shall be deemed terminated upon any change of government bringing an end to the life of the preceding government.” According to a letter issued by the office of the Accountant General of the Federation (AGF), with reference No: FD/LS/0167/III/DF dated 12th May, 2017 sent to the Chairman, House Committee on Public Procurement, Oluwole Oke, and obtained by BusinessDay, total sum of N70,053,195,868.22 was paid by the 11 PIAs between January 2011 and April 2017. According to the letter signed by Ahmed Idris, AGF, Colbalt International Services Ltd paid N11,307,644,156.71; JBIS Integrated Resources Ltd paid N15,206,397,092.42; Global Scansystems Ltd paid N14,120,797,979.28; Arlington Securitas paid N8,495,355,177.67; Robinson Internal Energy Ltd paid N6,099,409,893.12; Swede Control Intertek Ltd paid N5,623,500,645.53; Lagos begins review of newspaper registration law JOSHUA BASSEY Lagos State government says it has started the process of reviewing the Newspaper Registration Law, part of the aim being to ascertain the number of outfits: online and conventional media that are Lagos based. Steve Ayorinde, the commissioner for information and strategy, disclosed this at a news conference onTuesday, as part of activities to mark the second anniversary of the Governor Akinwunmi Ambode led administration, assuring that the review was not meant to muzzle media practice, but know who publishes what within the state and their status. According to Ayorinde, this has become necessary because the existing law signed into effect Candid Oil Services Ltd paid N2,929,587,557.59; Trobell International Ltd paid N2,537,273,056.24; Gulf Inspection Service Ltd paid N799,829,808.57; Carmaine Asseyer Ltd paid N163,306,953.60 while total sum of N2,779,093,557 was added as schedule of outstanding claims. Idris further explained that the role of the oAGF “is limited Topsy mentioned facilitation, based on submission of requests and approval in the agents policy files maintained at the Federal Ministry of Finance. Evaluation of the agents request/bills is done by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and Federal Ministry of Finance. However, payments could only be effected based on available cash flow in the dedicated NESS (Oil & Gas) account maintained and operated with the Central Bank of Nigeria.” In his testimony, Muhammad Wanka, Managing Director of Arlington Securitas, which paid the sum of N8,495,355,177.67, who alleged that the pre-shipment inspection contracts terminated by Federal Ministry of Finance in September 2015, however confirmed that the contract letters were signed by President Jonathan on the 26th May, 2015. Wanka who confirmed signing the contract papers in 2003, has become obsolete and no longer in tune with modern reality and new developments within the media industry, especially the growth and penetration of the digital platforms. “In views of the realisation that the State Newspaper Cap Law is obsolete, the State Government has commenced the process of reviewing existing Newspaper Law Cap No2 of 2003 with a view to making it more effective and in tune with modern reality. The review is not an attempt to stifle the media. The idea is to move with the trends and development of the time. It is for the good of the journalism profession.” Ayorinde said the government would be inviting media stakeholders to seek their inputs to intimate them with the provisions of the law and their obligations before enactment. however noted that despite the termination of the contract, his company did not stop working since the approval was for two years without payment from government. While speaking, Ibrahim Dutse (APC-Jigawa) blamed the Finance Minister for the development and losses recorded by the companies having failed to appoint a replacement before disengaging them. On his part, Bulus Maren however observed that the decision of Allington and others like it to keep carrying out inspection was out of their own volition having being disengaged. “Whatever Allignton or any of the affected firms did in the absence of a running contract was purely volunteerism on behalf of the country,” Maren said, just as he thanked the companies for their charity and selfless services to Nigeria. Also at the hearing, Nigerian Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF) to the committee traded blames over the submission of Bureau for Public Procurement (BPP) on the prequalification of companies for pre-shipment inspection. In his remarks, Mamman Ahmad, BPP Director General explained that approvals were given to companies based on verification of their particulars, including compliance certificates issued by NSITF. “You can’t operate as a print and not be registered with the ministry. The media space has been going through transformation and the review is in line with the changes in the media space. According to Ayorinde, there is the need to address the challenge ascertaining the actual number of media houses operating in Lagos to facilitate documentation and billings. He said the review is about how the ministry can be empowered to register online media, tract who is who and from where they are operating. While claiming that 90 percent of the online media are based in Lagos, Ayorinde enjoined online media publishers to come forward to identify themselves with a location. He said the review is being looked at from the point of the media and the law.
Wednesday 24 May 2017 UBA to launch $500m... Continued from page 4 UBA said it will obtain the approval of the CBN to access the official foreign exchange market, if for any reason the bank does not have sufficient foreign currency reserves to meet the principal and interest payments due on the notes. Based on Fitch’s assessment on expected recoveries in a liquidation scenario, an expected Recovery Rating (RR) of ‘RR4 (EXP)’ is also assigned to the notes, implying average recovery prospects. The notes will constitute senior unsecured obligations of UBA and will be used for general corporate purposes. Fitch said the assignment of the final rating is contingent on the receipt of final documents conforming to the information received to date. The expected rating is in line with UBA’s Long-Term Foreign-Currency Issuer Default Rating (IDR) of ‘B’. In Fitch’s view, the likelihood of default on these notes reflects the likelihood of default of the bank. According to Fitch’s criteria, a bank’s IDR usually expresses Fitch’s opinion on the risk of default on senior obligations to thirdparty, non-government creditors as in Fitch’s view, these are typically the obligations whose nonperformance would best reflect the uncured failure of the entity. Where a bank has a Long-Term IDR of ‘B+’ or below, Fitch usually assigns an RR to the entity’s issues. RRs provide greater transparency on the recoveries component of Fitch’s assessment of the credit risk of low-rated issuer’s securities. “A change in UBA’s IDR would affect the rating of the notes and may also affect recovery prospects and the RR. UBA’s IDRs are driven by the bank’s standalone financial profile, as reflected in its Viability Rating (VR) of ‘b’. UBA’s VR and IDRs are primarily sensitive to further asset-quality deterioration and capital deterioration as well as continued pressure on foreigncurrency funding and liquidity,” Fitch Ratings stated. Importers to save N1trn annually on 24-hour... Continued from page 1 two to seven days in Cotonou; Durban port, South Africa and Mombassa port. “In Nigerian ports, an importer of a 20-foot container is expected to get five days demurrage free and to pay daily charges of N2,850 for 6-10 days; N4,400 for 11-24 days and N6,600 for 25 days and above. Acting President Osinbajo on May 19 signed, a new ‘Executive Order on Promotion of Transparency and Efficiency in the Business Environment,’ directing the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), terminal operators and other government agencies involved in cargo clearance at the nation’s seaports to begin round-the-clock operations at the port within 30 days. “Currently, the marine and ship side of port operations, carried out by the terminal operators have been taking place 24 hours, seven days a week, without interruption in most terminals in Lagos ports. This means that ships bringing cargoes are being attended to any time and day, including public holidays and weekends. However, cargo clearance and examination by Customs and other agencies do FG says new executive orders will be... Continued from page 4 C002D5556 L-R: Raji Afolagbe, national president of Government High School old students association; Raliat Abdul-Razaq, wife of the founder and first School Administrator; Alimi Abdul-Razaq, eldest child of the founder, and Saka Isau, former Secretary to the Government of Kwara State and old student, during the reception hosted by the family of Abdulganiyu Abdul-Razaq, founder of Ilorin College, now Government High School, Ilorin, to mark the 50th anniversary of the school. not take place at night, weekends and public holidays,” said Lucky Amiwero, a maritime analyst, in a telephone interview. According to Amiwero, only a few terminals allow agents to take delivery of already cleared consignments but 24-hour port operation can only have impact on cargo clearance, ‘if all the government agencies at the ports, including commercial banks that would collect import duties and clearing agents, are encouraged to work round-the-clock and every day. “The situation where banks operate from 8am to 4pm everyday, would not allow the importers and their agents to pay import duty and obtain necessary clearance that would enable Customs to release the cargo. It is not enough to issue an executive order on paper, the Federal Government needs to put structures on ground to ensure round-the-clock power supply at the ports, as well as illuminate the ports and environs. “As we speak now, the access roads leading to the ports in Lagos are in a sorry state and the question is, how would our ports operate 24-hours in such a state?”. servants who will be in charge of the implementation. To ensure that the orders work, we want to change the orientation of Nigerians,” Akande said, adding that Nigerians need to understand that it is the duty of everyone to ensure the improvement of the Nigerian business environment. The newly signed executive order calls for transparency in Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) of the Federal Government of Nigeria. It also deals with government agencies budgeting and expenditure procedures, a new visa regime that reviews entry experience of visitors and travellers, as well as port operations that under the order will now run for 24 hours. Meanwhile, more than one month after the sack of the Director- General of the National Pension’s Commission (PenCom), Chinelo Anohu-Amazu and appointment of a replacement, Dikko Aliyu Abdulrahman and his subsequent rejection by the Senate, the government is yet to pick a replacement. Presidential Spokesman, Femi Adesina told newsmen at the briefing that the matter is still being looked into, describing it as a developing story. “It is a developing story and it is being looked at. No name has been transmitted to the Senate for now and that tells you the matter is still being looked at”. On April 13, President Muhammadu Buhari fired heads of 22 parastatals, including Pencom, and announced Abdulrahman as the new director-general of Pencom, subject to the Senate’s confirmation. The President also appointed Funso Doherty as chairman of Pencom Board, as well as Akin Akinwale, Abubakar Zaki Magawata, Ben Oviosun and Nyerere Ayim as executive commissioners. The appointment of the new PenCOm DG is a breach of the provisions of the Pension Reform Act, 2014 that provides that the nominee for the position of the chairman or director-general of Pencom cannot be a shareholder or staff of any Pension Fund Administrator (PFA), within three years before or after his or her appointment. Section 21 (2) of the Act also states that in the event of a vacancy (for the chairman, DG or other members of board), the President shall appoint a replacement from the geo-political zone of the immediate past member that vacated the office to complete the remaining tenure. According to the Pensions Act, the Commission’s DG is entitled to five years tenure of office, subject to renewal for another term in office. The sacked DG was appointed in 2014 even though she was in charge of the agency in acting capacity from December 2012. Abdulraham, the nominated DG, is from the North-West geopolitical zone, while the former DG is from Anambra State, South East Nigeria. The sacked PenCom DG was reputed to have increased pension assets from N2.9 trillion in 2012 to N6.7 trillion in 2017 and the Retirement Savings Account from N5.39 million to N7.2 million. Amiwero also observed that there are too many agencies at the ports and for “24-hour port operation to achieve its aim, the government needs to prune down the number of agencies at the ports because many of them duplicate functions.” Tony Anakebe, managing director of Gold-Link Investment Limited, also agreed that round-theclock port operations will reduce demurrage charges importers pay to shipping companies and storage charges paid as rent to terminal operators for delayed cargo clearance. Anakebe however said that “If 24-hour operation must work, the government must improve on the security system within and around the port by ensuring that port access roads are well illuminated and that security cameras are installed to monitor movement of persons and cargoes in and out of the ports. Security officials such as men of the Nigerian Police Force and others must be on ground to monitor activities around the ports,” he said. Anakebe, who noted that the efforts of the past administration of Good-Luck Jonathan to introduce 24-hour port operations, as directed by Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, then minister of finance failed due to poor infrastructure around the port area. He further observed that government must ensure that port access roads are in good shape to ensure free flow of traffic day and night. “The past administration did not have the political will to implement the 24-hour port operation and the government also did not put pressure on agencies and other operators involved, so as to ensure that the ports operate round-theclock, in line with the international best practices.” Jonathan Nicole, President Shippers’ Association of Lagos, who commended the government for the new order, said that if well implemented, it would reduce the time spent in clearing goods from 21 days to two days, and further help in reducing the cost of doing business at the ports. “Customs officers and all other operators that now work from 9am to 5pm are expected to be on seat regularly to attend to importers and their agents, and they can achieve this by running 12-hour shifts on a daily basis. “If the Federal Government succeeds in implementing the 24-hour port operations, Nigerian seaports would become user-friendly and more efficient, reducing the dwell time of cargo and ensuring faster turnaround time for ships calling at the ports,” Nicole added. BUSINESS DAY 33 NEWS Briefs Trump’s $4.1tr budget takes hatchet to safety net The White House has unveiled a $4.1tr (£3.1tr) budget that would take the axe to the social safety net for the poor. The plan would sharply slash food stamps, healthcare for low-income patients, disability benefits and eliminate student loan subsidies. The budget also features an Ivanka Trump plan for paid parental leave. Government borrowing at three-year April high Government borrowing was at its highest April level for three years, according to the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS). Public sector net borrowing, excluding public sector banks, was £10.4bn last month, up by £1.2bn from April 2016. Public sector net debt was £1.72tn, equivalent to 86% of GDP, an increase of £114bn on April 2016. German police raid Daimler offices German police have searched 11 offices of carmaker Daimler as part of their investigation into possible fraudulent emissions data by employees. A total of 23 prosecutors and 230 police officers took part in the search in the states of Baden- Wuerttemberg, Berlin, Lower Saxony and Saxony, Daimler, which owns Mercedes-Benz, said it was cooperating with authorities. Housing recovery intact despite drop in new home sales New U.S. single-family home sales tumbled from near a 9-1/2- year high in April, but the housing recovery likely remains intact amid a tightening labor market. The Commerce Department said on Tuesday new home sales declined 11.4 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 569,00 units last month, with sales in the West region plunging to their lowest level in nearly 1-1/2 years. U.S. plan to sell oil reserve shows declining import needs President Donald Trump’s proposal to sell half of the U.S. strategic oil reserve highlights a decline in the biggest oil user’s reliance on imports - and a weaning off OPEC crude - as its domestic production soars. The U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) SPR-STK-T-EIA, the world’s largest, holds about 688 million barrels of crude in heavily guarded underground caverns in Louisiana and Texas. Apple and Nokia see deeper partnership after ending patent dispute Apple (AAPL.O) has settled a patent dispute with Finnish telecom equipment maker Nokia and agreed to buy more of its network products and services, sending Nokia shares up 7 percent. The deal means Nokia will get bigger royalties from Apple for using its mobile phone patents, helping offset the impact of waning demand for its mobile network hardware.
Page 1 and 2: Importers to save N1trn annually on
Page 3 and 4: Wednesday 24 May 2017 9
Page 9 and 10: Wednesday 24 May 2017 INSIGHT AUSTI
Page 11 and 12: Wednesday 24 May 2017 COMMENT SMALL
Page 13 and 14: Wednesday 24 May 2017 C002D5556 BUS
Page 17 and 18: Wednesday 24 May 2017 Tax Digest C0
Page 21 and 22: Wednesday 24 May 2017 BUSINESS DAY
Page 23 and 24: Wednesday 24 May 2017 In Associatio
Page 25 and 26: Fiat debuts in Nigeria weekend Page
Page 27 and 28: Wednesday 24 May 2017 27 BUSINESS D
Page 31: Wednesday 24 May 2017 31
Page 37 and 38: A2 BUSINESSDAY C002D5556 Jubilee Sy
Page 39 and 40: Wednesday 24 May 2017 A4 BUSINESS D
Page 41 and 42: C002D5556 A6 BUSINESS DAY Wednesday
Page 43 and 44: Wednesday 24 May 2017 A8 BUSINESS D

BusinessDay 24 May 2017

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?