BusinessDay 16 Apr 2018

A12
NEWS
BUSINESS DAY
C002D5556
Adeosun, Emefiele join economic experts to
discuss global issues at IMF/World Bank meeting
Minister of finance,
Kemi
Adeosun, and
Central Bank of
Nigeria (CBN) governor, Godwin
Emefiele, left Nigeria for
Washington DC on Sunday to
join other economic experts
from around the world to discuss
issues affecting global
economy. Discussions would
take place under the auspices
of the World Bank Group and
the International Monetary
Fund (IMF).
The Spring Meetings of the
IMF and the World Bank will
bring together central bankers,
ministers of finance and
development, parliamentarians,
private sector executives,
representatives from civil society
organisations and the
academia.
The experts will discuss
issues of global concern, including
the world economic
outlook, poverty eradication,
economic development and
aid effectiveness.
There will also be seminars,
regional briefings, press
conferences and many other
events with focus on global
economy, international development
and the world’s
financial system. The meetings
will hold between April
16 and April 22, 2018.
Nigeria attends the meet-
ing each year because of the
quantum of investments and
assistance it receives from
both the IMF and the World
Bank.
Although Nigeria currently
has zero loans with the IMF,
it enjoys technical support
from the organisation.
The World Bank Group on
the other hand is helping to
fight poverty and improve living
standards in the country
through 33 Core Knowledge
Product Reports and 29 ongoing
National and Regional
projects. This is in addition to
about 60 Trust Funds.
The World Bank Group
since 1958 supported Nigeria
with loans and International
Development Association
(IDA) credits worth about
$14.2 billion.
The group in 2017 fiscal
year alone committed $1.51
billion to the country, and so
far in 2018, it already spent
$486 million on different development
projects across the
country. Some of the projects
include Electricity Transmission
Project, Agro-Processing,
Productivity Enhancement
and Livelihood Improvement
Support Project, Polio
Eradication Support Project
and Housing Finance Development
Programme, among
Capital market plan to top discussions as
SEC holds first CMC meeting for 2018
ONYINYE NWACHUKWU, Abuja
Progress made so
far on the capital
market master
plan implementation
and other
market initiatives will top
discussions as the Securities
and Exchange Commission
(SEC) holds its first
Capital Market Committee
(CMC) meeting for 2018.
The meeting is scheduled
to hold in Lagos from
April 19 to 20.
The ten-year plan for the
Nigerian capital market,
which is expected to help
refocus and double the
market size as well as grow
the economy, was unveiled
November 2014.
The Commission has so
far implemented some initiatives
in the Master Plan
with the aim of attracting
more investors to the market.
Some of the initiatives
include direct cash settlement,
dematerialisation
and e-Dividend Registration,
as they promote
transparency, protect and
enhance investors’ confidence
in the capital market.
Mary Uduk, who was
appointed last Friday by
minister of finance, Kemi
Adeosun, to take over as
SEC’s acting director-general,
is expected to chair
the meeting.
Uduk took over from
Abdul Zubair, who Adeosun
redeployed to external
relations department of the
SEC.
Those who have been
invited to attend the expanded
session are chief
executive officers (CEOs)
of all registered capital
market firms, including
Broker Dealer, Capital Market
Solicitors, Custodians,
Fund Managers, Issuing
Houses, Rating Agencies,
Registrars, Reporting Accountants,
Trustees, and
Consultants, etc.
Others are CEOs of the
Nigerian Stock Exchange
(NSE), National Association
of Securities Dealers
(NASD), The Financial
Markets Dealers Quotations
(FMDQ), Africa Exchange
Holdings (AFEX),
Nigeria Commodity Exchange
(NCX), Central Securities
Clearing System
(CSCS), Chartered Institute
of Stockbrokers (CIS); as
well as representatives of
relevant Financial Services’
Agencies, among others.
Monday 16 April 2018
Kenya Airways sacks 86% of
its Nigerian employees
... unions to picket airline operations
IFEOMA OKEKE
East African carrier,
Kenya Airways,
weekend, sacked 22
out of its 26 Nigerian
employees, representing
86.4 percent of the affected
workers.
A source close to the airline
told BusinessDay that
the staff members were issued
the disengagement
letters at the airline’s office
in Lagos, in the presence
of stern looking police officers
that were engaged by
the airline to scare away the
affected staff and prevent
possible breakdown of law
and order.
Only four of its Nigerian
staff members are retained
by the management of the
airline after the purging
exercise. Those retained
are Afeez Balogun, country
manager, the station manager,
and two other staff.
The source disclosed that
the affected workers were
only given four weeks wages
on disengagement, a situation
the industry unions are
already frowning at.
It was gathered that the
abrupt sack of the Nigerian
workers happened when
the airline was still negoti-
ating the new condition of
service with the industry
unions.
The source said the carrier’s
management took the
decision without taking into
consideration the Nigerian
Labour Laws, which kick
against unilateral decision
by employers when disengaging
workers.
It was learnt that plans
had also reached an advanced
stage by the management
of the airline to
replace the sacked workers
with casuals, as it had already
contracted engagement
of new workers to a
general sales agent in the
country.
However, there are indications
that the sack of
the workers may cause disruption
to the smooth operations
of the airline today
(Monday), as the unions
have prepared to picket the
operations of the airline.
Olayinka Abioye, general
secretary, National Union
of Air Transport Employees
(NUATE), confirmed the
sack of the 22 workers, saying
however that the unilateral
sack of the workers
by the airline would not be
allowed to stand by the industry
unions.