The United Nations (UN) is ready to collaborate with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu administration to attain Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in Nigeria.
The global body said it is of the conviction that the success or failure of Africa depends on Nigeria. The UN, in a statement released yesterday by presidential spokesman, Stanley Nkwocha, said the progress of Nigeria translates to the development of Africa because if the country does not make it, there is no chance for any nation on the continent to make it.
UN resident and humanitarian coordinator in Nigeria, Mohammed Fall, stated this yesterday in Abuja when he led a delegation from the UN system in Nigeria to visit Vice President Kashim Shettima at the Presidential Villa, Abuja
Proposing a humanitarian response plan for Nigeria, Fall said, “If Nigeria doesn’t make it, there is no chance for any country to make it. If Nigeria lifts it here, not only our sub-region but the entire continent and the world at large will be on track for the SDGs.
“If we succeed in Nigeria today, the whole of the continent succeeds, but if we have challenges or difficulties to succeed in Nigeria, I am sure it is all of our continent that will be pulled down,” he maintained.
On the proposed Humanitarian Response Plan for Nigeria, Mr Fall said, “The plan is beyond helping those who are in need but to set the ground for a transition towards medium and long-term development. We need to act now. It is the only way to sustain the successes recorded by the government and other partners to reduce vulnerability in society.”
While commending the measures so far taken by the Tinubu administration to reposition the economy, the UN official emphasised that Nigeria is critical to the progress of Africa and must be supported to succeed.
Mr Fall pledged the UN system’s support for the reforms undertaken by the Tinubu administration, just as he sought the partnership of the Federal Government to initiate a social safety programme that will mitigate the impact of the reforms on the most vulnerable in the society.
“Your decision is commended everywhere but we (at the UN) felt that before we get the results, there is a high risk that it impacts the most vulnerable segments of our community. And at the UN, we stand next to you to try to look for solutions on how we can mitigate those impacts on the most vulnerable people.
“This is what we want and that is our first initiative – how can we do and work together to step up our work on the social protection front? To make sure that a safety net is in place, bring coherence, bring consistency in a way that helps us address vulnerability that is still prevailing in the country,” he emphasized.
In his response, Shettima said Nigeria would work closely with the UN to address the country’s challenges.
He said removing fuel subsidy and unifying exchange rates were tough but necessary decisions to rescue Nigeria from an economic “cul de sac.”
Shettima said the Tinubu administration inherited a dire situation when it took over the government last year.
“Fuel subsidy has been an albatross around the neck of successive governments in Nigeria. We had two options – either we got rid of subsidy or subsidy will get rid of the Nigerian nation. We have to be our brother’s keeper, but we were literally subsidising the fuel of the entire West African sub region,” he said.
The staff of the Securities and Exchange Commission were in great jubilation as newly appointed director-general Dr. Emomotimi Agama assumed office in an acting capacity pending confirmation by the Senate of the National Assembly.
Agama who resumed at the Commission’s head office yesterday and was received by excited members of staff, promised to ensure that the capital market is well regulated and developed in a bid to contribute to the nation’s economy.
Agama said, “I have come here today to serve you and the institution by sheer providence, we should work together to meet the yearnings and aspirations of the capital market, let us make this institution better and greater knowing that it is a place that feeds and gives us succour, united we stand, and divided we fall.”
According to him, we are grateful to President Bola Tinubu for finding us worthy of this opportunity and we know that expectations of the market and the country are huge, it is our utmost determination to work together with the staff of the Commission to ensure that we deliver on this assignment. The acting DG also commended the staff of the Commission on their commitment to the SEC and assured that the incoming Management will work with the staff union to ensure all lingering staff issues are resolved
“I have come here as your colleague because without you this institution won’t get anywhere. This institution has been built by you, your resilience even in trying times has brought us thus far. All of you have been symbols of hard work.
“It has been a wonderful journey knowing every one of us here. I have had the pleasure of being involved in people’s career here for the last 20 years. We have crossed many rivers, but each of us has added some value to this institution. When we leave we should be able to look back with joy at what we have done. I therefore solicit your support and cooperation to ensure that we all succeed.”
Both the top executives and junior staff who spoke at the meeting pledged their commitment to support the DG to achieve the lofty goals of making the Nigerian capital market better and greater.
It would be recalled that President Bola Tinubu recently approved the appointment of a new Board for the SEC. This was contained in a statement issued by Ajuri Ngalale, a spokesperson to the President.
The President also appointed the following professionals to the board of the Commission: Mr. Mairiga Aliyu Katuka as Chairman, Frana Chukwuogor – Executive Commissioner (Legal and Enforcement), and Mr Bola Ajomale as Executive Commissioner (Operations)
Japan Tobacco International Nigeria (JTI), celebrates this year’s International Workers’ Day, felicitating its workforce across the globe for their steadfastness, pursuit of excellence and innovation, which has engendered the company’s growth trajectory. The company, which is a member of JTI Worldwide with personnel in over 130 countries across the world, has attained excellence in its employee experience strategies and won the prestigious ‘Top Global Employer’ award for 10 consecutive years including regional certifications in Europe, Africa, Asia Pacific, North America, and the Middle East.
With this year’s International Workers’ Day theme ‘Social Justice and Decent Work for All,’ JTI Nigeria said it is committed to creating a working environment that enables brilliant people to be creative, nurture the best possible culture that embraces diversity and individual development thereby allowing them to reach their full potential.
The company’s sustainability target is to be a certified employer of choice every year in at least 60 locations, by focusing on talent management, rewards, and empowerment. JTI Nigeria offers long-lasting careers with inspiring prospects and promotes gender equality in its operations.
This is why it set up the platform, To get HER- an Employee Resource Group (ERG) which helps foster women empowerment and equal opportunities. It is a safe environment to talk, challenge, and grow on our journey towards gender equality..
The general manager of JTI Nigeria, Thomas Adams, said as a company that operates in line with global best practices, JTI delivers on its objectives of making progress in improving employees’ well-being, supporting greater diversity and inclusion wherever it operates, and giving its personnel equal opportunity to develop their career.
He stated that, while JTI is a relatively young company, it operates at the forefront of the tobacco industry with its employees at the core of its mission, and this is responsible for its certification as a “Great Place to Work”
Ethnic Youth Leaders have poured encomium on the Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), Mele Kyari, and the Executive Vice President (Downstream) of the company, Adedapo Segun, for their relentless efforts towards clearing the current fuel supply disruption.
The Ethnic Youth Leaders in a statement jointly signed by their spokesperson, Malam Kabiru, and deputy acting president, NG Emmanuel, on Wednesday, said Kyari was committed to ensuring downstream energy stability in line with Renewed Hope Agenda of the President Bola Tinubu.
They, therefore, faulted the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) for calling for the resignation of the the NNPCL GCEO, saying he has not rested on his oars but working round the clock to ensure adequate supply and availability of fuel despite daunting challenges, urging the students who are future leaders to appreciate and support his efforts in addressing the energy challenges.
They reminded NANS that the Kyari-led NNPCL was not complacent in addressing the situation and has already assured Nigerians that the ongoing fuel scarcity and queues will be cleared out by this Wednesday.
“Just when NANS is threatening mass protest NNPCL under Kyari has given Nigerians its words that the company currently has an availability of products exceeding 1.5 billion litres, which can last for at least 30 days.
“Like we and other Nigerians already know, the three-day disruption in distribution being experienced is due to logistical issues, which has since been resolved by resolved by NNPLC but doing that ideally requires more time to return to normalcy. And unfortunately, however, some persons in the business are taking advantage of this situation to maximise profits.
“And fortunate enough, the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (lPMAN) concurred that with intervention of the NNPCL, the queues will disappear from filling stations as more products will be available for lifting by marketers and the supply will be stabilised,” they stated.
Mr. Oluwole Adeosun is President of Chartered Institute of Stockbrokers (CIS), the largest self-regulated professional group in the capital market. A highly versatile and experienced financier, Adeosun is a chartered stockbroker, accountant, tax expert, banker and director. In this panel interview with select senior journalists, Adeosun speaks on wide ranging issues on the economy, financial markets and stockbroking. Deputy Group Business Editor, Taofik Salako, was there
What’s your view on the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)’s directive on new banking recapitalisation?
The action of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) was both necessary and overdue, especially when considered in the context of global trends.The developmental needs of Nigeria haves substantially increased since the last banking recapitalisation exercise that was initiated about 20 years ago. The country’s population as well as the serviceable market for financial transactions, have substantially grown. With the advent of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), Nigeria must enhance and modernise its financial system to stay competitive. Various external and domestic factors have significantly impacted the economy, necessitating an increase in minimum capital requirements for banks. So, the recapitalisation essentially aims to fortify banks’ capital base, enabling them to absorb unforeseen losses and sustain their role in fostering the growth and development of the economy as we aim for the $1 trillion economy, achievable by 2026.
From the perspective of an insider and operator, what are the most viable options for the banks in meeting the new minimum capital requirements, especially in the light of current macroeconomic environment?
Yes, most of the plans we have seen so far are considering rights issue alongside other options. I think that is the logical, and the right thing to do. Businesses would naturally want to give their existing shareholders the privilege of enhancing their shareholdings, before reaching out to outsiders. If the rights issue succeeds, it means that the company was able to raise capital without changing the shareholding structure or diluting the proportionate stake of existing shareholders who choose to participate in the offering. Nevertheless, past occurrences suggest that following the rights issues, numerous companies may opt for a public offering to raise additional capital and attract more shareholders. This trend is especially probable given that many Nigerian banks have expanded into international markets, necessitating substantial capital to operate on a larger scale.
From a strategic standpoint, engaging in a public offering can also significantly elevate a bank’s visibility and reputation within the market landscape. This move has the potential to attract fresh investors, thereby amplifying its market capitalisation. With an augmented capital base, the bank gains enhanced financial prowess and adaptability to seize growth prospects and extend its footprint. Leveraging public offerings grants banks access to a vast reservoir of potential investors, facilitating swift accumulation of substantial capital. Moreover, it ensures transparency and regulatory adherence, as banks must conform to stringent disclosure standards mandated by regulatory bodies such as the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Nigerian Exchange (NGX).This transparency not only fosters investor trust but also solidifies the issuing bank’s credibility.
In addition to rights issues and public offerings, banks may also diversify their capital-raising strategies by exploring avenues such as private placements or strategic investments from institutional investors. These alternatives furnish banks with supplementary pathways to fortify their capital base and advance their growth objectives within the dynamic capital market milieu.
How can banks tap to the bounteous potential of youths in attracting required capital, considering the relatively low participation in capital market?
To entice Millennials, Gen Z, and Gen Alpha under the recapitalisation programme, banks must adopt a multi-faceted approach that resonates with the preferences and values of these diverse generations. Banks should prioritise digital innovation and convenience. Millennials, Gen Z, and Gen Alpha are digital natives who prefer seamless online experiences and mobile banking solutions. By investing in user-friendly mobile apps, banks can cater to the tech-savvy preferences of these generations. This happened three years ago when a major telecommunication company floated its initial public offering in Nigeria.
Emphasising sustainability and social responsibility can also appeal to younger generations. Millennials, Gen Z, and Gen Alpha are known for their environmental and social consciousness. Banks can attract them by aligning with sustainable practices, such as offering green investment options, supporting community development projects, and promoting financial literacy initiatives. Moreover, personalised, and customised services are essential for engaging younger customers. Banks can leverage data analytics and AI technologies to offer tailored financial products and services that meet the unique needs and preferences of Millennials, Gen Z, and Gen Alpha. Personalised recommendations, budgeting tools, and educational resources can enhance their banking experience and foster long-term loyalty. Furthermore, transparency and authenticity are key factors in building trust with younger generations. Banks should communicate openly about their values, fees, and policies to establish credibility and integrity. Engaging in transparent communication through social media channels, blogs, and community events can help banks connect with Millennials, Gen Z, and Gen Alpha on a deeper level.
What’s your general assessment of the capital market, especially in the light of the roles you had highlighted?
I think the market is vibrant, it has not only fully recovered from the 2008 global shock, but it has surely become one of the solid pillars of economic recovery in the country. Investor confidence is significantly restored, even though we still expect more faith from our local investors. Market regulation has been substantially tightened, and you hardly get to hear of market infractions anymore.
Compared to 2010, the capital market has witnessed monumental expansion. We have five thriving securities exchanges in the country, in contrast to only one then, and three of these are, we didn’t have before. The equities market has been on an upward trajectory since the entry of the administration of President Bola Tinubu), due to proactiveness in implementing reforms such as the removal of fuel subsidy and the liberalisation of the foreign exchange (forex) market. The stock market has recorded significant growth as the All Share Index (ASI) successively broke barriers at 70,000 points in October 2023 and crossed the historic 100,000 mark in January 2024.
Our market had emerged as one of world’s best-performing stock markets and as number one exchange in Africa.
The fixed income securities market has so blossomed that Nigeria is today about the leading debt capital market (DCM) in Africa. Investment product has increased and investors today can seamlessly choose between the traditional equities, mutual funds, exchange traded funds (ETF) fixed income securities and derivatives amongst others.
In terms of professional development, the Chartered Institute of Stockbrokers (CIS), has implemented specialised qualifications and shifted examinations to remote settings. Nigerian stockbrokers now have a seamless path to practise in the advanced countries due to the institute’s international collaborations. The current leaders shaping Nigeria’s financial system—the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy along with the CBN Governor are seasoned members of our institute. Their extensive experience and the commendable work they’ve undertaken underscored the caliber of professionals the institute produces.
For the first time in Nigeria you have chartered stockbrokers at the helms of the national economic and financial management, what does this really mean for the institute and the economy?
I will say it is a testament to the rich intellectual content of CIS’ membership and the growing profile of the institute, that her members currently heads the two most important positions in the Nigerian financial system, and probably the entire economy as well. The Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr Wale Edun, a Fellow of the institute, is a well-known and long-standing member of CIS. Similarly, Mr Olayemi Cardoso, another fellow of the institute, the CBN Governor is also a long-standing career member of the institute. It is important to draw your attention to the fact that these two gentlemen were appointed because they had been tried and tested, and passed the test of excellent performance. They worked with President Bola Tinubu when he served as Governor of Lagos State and performed satisfactorily. Secondly, both are stockbrokers-cum-bankers. They have full and comprehensive knowledge of the entire financial system, not just one segment as we had with others in the past. So, it bodes well for the country. In fact, as you can see, there has been seamless synergy between the money and capital markets since they took over, and the economy is the better for it.
My advice to the two city gentlemen is that they continue to abide by our dictum: my word is my bond. Trust and Integrity have always been our watchword, and we are confident that Edun and Cardoso will always live by the dictum. Secondly, the gap between the money market and capital market in Nigeria is abnormally wide, in terms of development and utilisation. So, they should do their best to develop the capital market and create a fair balance in the utilisation of both markets, so that the overall performance of the economy can be faster and greater.
Talking about deepening the market and youth engagement, what efforts is the institute making to attract more youths into stockbroking?
As we have reiterated numerous times, youth engagement stands as our utmost priority. Tertiary institutions and schools serve as the primary focus of our annual capital market literacy campaign. Each year, we conduct career talks across multiple institutions and partner universities and polytechnics to initiate capital market studies.
In fact, we have extended our efforts by granting CIS Diploma scholarships to several financially disadvantaged youths, many of whom have shown enthusiastic participation. We organise the inter-school capital market quiz and, more recently, introduced an essay competition to further foster financial literacy and engagement among the younger generation. So, we are doing a lot in this direction and we expect to continue to see the gains in terms of enrollment and participation overtime.
How would you rate the performance of the institute in recent years?
The CIS has undoubtedly continued to contribute its own quota to the resurgence and development of the Nigerian capital market in the last decade, and we have to thank our past presidents, Governing Council members and management for the commitment and immense work that they all put in.
In the last two years, the profile of the institute has risen very fast, and as I said, it’s an accumulation of work done by the past and present councils and office holders. We’ve seen a record number of new membership intakes, new Fellows and new life members. The National Universities Commission (NUC) has approved the Benchmark Minimum Academic Standard (BMAS) for Securities and Investment/Capital Market Studies in the country.
Full remote, online, examinations for our Level One Professional Examinations, as well as Diploma students, including those in the Diaspora, has been introduced. We have a full-fledged training arm, CIS Academy, and last year, CIS Academy held two high-profile executive courses, in collaboration with the Lagos Business School. The CIS Academy has also strengthened its relationship with Chartered Institute for Securities and Investment, United Kingdom. Through this initiative, more members of the institute have become members of CISI, UK without writing any examination.The Academy has organised training programmes for over 2000 participants so far, including training on Islamic finance, green finance and derivatives among others.
Also, the first official district society of the Chartered Institute of Stockbrokers, the FCT & Northern Zone District Society was inaugurated in December 2023. The institute now has a world class electronic library in place. Perhaps our greatest area of achievement has been in advocacy. We held a high impact national workshop in Abuja and the annual stockbrokers conference in Abeokuta. In 2022, the conference was hosted by the Edo State Government in Benin City. The CIS secretariat in the last one year, has hosted several important visitors who came on courtesy visits and these include the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Nigeria Exchange (NGX), Pension Fund Administrators Association, CISI United Kingdom and the Central Bank of Gambia, to mention a few.
The CIS has leveraged on its unique position as the chartered body in the industry to rally other stakeholders for joint discussions on submissions on key industry matters like, margin lending, capital gains tax and so on, as the needs arise.
What would you like to be remembered for as a president of the institute?
I have worked with my team in the Governing Council and we put in our best to maintain the pace of growth and development set by our predecessors and projecting the image of the institute to significantly higher levels pan-Nigeria and internationally. We have established new partnerships and collaborations. I think I will always cherish the rich memories of the CIS@30 celebrations which was held in two phases between November 2022 and February 2024. The project was historic with a grand set of events to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the establishment of our institute, The extensive array of events provided by the CIS@30 project offered the institute a rare opportunity to further enhance its brand value, and attract immense goodwill.
The history of the capital market – book and documentary, project was launched, as part of the CIS@30 celebrations. The book is based on the first-hand memories of the then Doyen of Stockbrokers (now the late) Otunba Olasubomi Balogun, the most senior Past President, Mr Olutola Mobolurin, former long-serving Director -General of the Nigerian Stock Exchange, Prof Ndi-Okereke-Onyuike and other eminent personalities in the capital market, including the immediate past Director-General of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Mr. Lamido Yuguda.
We also achieved a lot of milestones in terms of internal operations and protocol, but those will be outlined in detail in the institute’s annual report and milestones compendium 2022-2024. So, to the glory of God, I wish to thank my fellow office holders, our team in the governing council, as well as management and staff for the various milestones achieved. I assure you that the institute will continue to soar even beyond these achievements.
What is next after you pass the baton at the institute?
It has been two years of hectic public service on the professional front. While the baton is passed to the next president of the institute, in line with the orderly succession arrangements, to continue the work he has been part of in the last four years of stepping into the presidential corridor, I will take some time off to rest and later continue in the role of Immediate Past President providing support for the new administration to conclude one or two unfinished projects of my tenure. Much more, I will focus on my firm’s business full time along with other service engagements.
Shareholders of Zenith Bank Plc have unanimously approved the restructuring of the bank to a holding company.
The approval was secured during a court-ordered Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM). The meeting held virtually at the weekend from Zenith Heights, Zenith Bank Plc, Victoria Island, Lagos.
In accordance with the Scheme of Arrangement, dated March 28, pursuant to Section 715 of the Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA), 2020 between the bank and the holders of the fully paid ordinary shares of 50 Kobo each in the bank, the shareholders voted to transfer 31,396,493,787 ordinary shares of 50 kobo each held in the issued and paid-up share capital of Zenith Bank Plc. to Zenith Bank Holding Company Plc. (the HoldCo).
The shares transfer will be in exchange for the allotment of 31,396,493,787 ordinary shares of 50 kobo each in the share capital of the HoldCo in the same proportion to their shareholding in the bank.
Similarly, the shareholders approved that each Existing GDR Holder receive, as consideration for each existing GDR held, one new HoldCo GDR.
The shareholders also approved that all of the shares held by the nominees of the bank in Zenpay Limited, a direct subsidiary of the HoldCo, together with all rights and liabilities attached to such shares, be transferred to the HoldCo.
The Board of Directors (BoD) was also authorised to delist the shares of the bank and the Existing GDRs from the Nigerian Exchange and the London Stock Exchange respectively, as well as re-register the bank as a private limited company under CAMA Act 2020.
In his remarks during the EGM, the bank’s Founder/ Chairman, Jim Ovia, thanked the shareholders for their unwavering commitment, which has been instrumental in the bank’s outstanding performance over the years. He expressed his delight at witnessing the transition of the Bank to a holding company, which is anticipated to position it advantageously for exploring emerging opportunities in the Fintech space while bolstering its digital and retail banking initiatives.
Group Managing Director/Chief Executive (MD/CEO) Ebenezer Onyeagwu, lauded Ovia for his pivotal role in creating an institution that has consistently been a trailblazer in the nation’s financial services industry.
nyeagwu expressed his optimism about the Bank’s growth trajectory in the coming years as it transitions into a holding company structure.
He said: “The HoldCo structure presents an opportunity for us to unlock value for shareholders in terms of opportunity in other sectors beyond banking. The first part is Fintech, where we have already received the approval and the license from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), which we are launching soon.
“It is going to be focusing on an area that we know has not been touched on by anyone. So it is more like us finding an open wide space where we can begin to operate, and with a HoldCo, what that means is that we have an opportunity to diversify our investment. We can begin to look at other business verticals that were restrained by the kind of authorisation we have.
“So, it presents a big opportunity for us to have a wider lens and scope in terms of what we can do. It will also position us to think of opportunities beyond Africa. We will be looking at key business verticals that have the potential to enable us to create value for shareholders.”
The Onne Port Complex of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), on Saturday, successfully berthed a container vessel, MV KOTA CEMPAKA, with Length over All (LOA) of 300 metres.
The berthing of the vessel has again demonstrated NPA’s capacity and readiness to berth large ships in the nation’s seaports.
LEADERSHIP reports that at Onne Port, NPA has successfully berthed Maersk Stadelhorn measuring 300 Meters LOA and MV Lady Jane with 295 Meters LOA.
However, according to a statement made available to LEADERSHIP, the vessel christened “KOTA CEMPAKA” with International Maritime Organization (IMO) number 9638965 that sailed under the flag of Singapore came into Onne Port with 566 laden containers.
Speaking on the development, the managing director, NPA, Mohammed Bello-KoKo, said the development showed that Onne Port is poised to sustain its growing fortunes.
The NPA boss further stated the authority will sustain its advocacy for the patronage of the Eastern Ports.
“This is a confirmation of the capacity and readiness of Eastern Ports for vessel traffic. This also shows that our investments in channel navigability and security are yielding results. We will sustain our advocacy for the patronage of the Eastern Ports”
“Also, coming after the berthing of Maersk Stadelhorn also measuring 300 Meters LOA and MV Lady Jane with 295 Meters LOA , this development showed that Onne Port is poised to sustain its growing fortunes,” the NPA boss stated.
President Bola Tinubu has secured an investment of $600 million from Danish shipping and logistics company, A.P Moller-Maersk, to expand existing port infrastructure to accommodate more container shipping services in Nigerian ports.
Chairman of A.P Moller-Maersk, Mr. Robert Maersk Uggla, disclosed the decision during a meeting with President Tinubu on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum Special Meeting on Global Collaboration, Growth and Energy for Development in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Sunday
President Tinubu in a statement by his spokesman, Ajuri Ngelale on Sunday noted that this investment will complement the administration’s ongoing $1 billion investment in seaport reconstruction across the eastern and western seaports of Nigeria.
The President added that it would further support the country’s port modernisation efforts and port process automation through his administration’s implementation of the national single window project, which is aimed at enhancing trade facilitation, easing import/export flow, reducing corruption at the ports, while improving the efficiency and transparency of port processes in Nigeria.
“We appreciate your business and the contribution you have made and continue to make to our country’s economy over time. We do not take our partners for granted. A bet on Nigeria is a winning bet. It is also a bet that rewards beyond what is obtainable elsewhere.
“More investment opportunities are available, and my government has worked on various reforms to encourage investments. We need to encourage more opportunities for revenue expansion and minimise trans-shipments from larger ships to smaller ships,” he said.
The President assured Maersk of his administration’s commitment to collaborating and creating an enabling environment for businesses to thrive in the country.
He cited Maersk’s previous partnership in the development of the Ogun State container terminal as a testament to fruitful partnerships with the reputable logistics company.
Highlighting Maersk’s long standing engagement in Africa’s most populous nation and his belief in the future of Nigeria, Chairman of A.P Moller-Maersk, Mr. Robert Maersk Uggla said his company had made significant investments of over $2 billion in Nigerian ports and other activities.
He emphasised the potential for Nigerian ports to accommodate larger container ships and stressed the need for expanding port infrastructure to meet this demand while reducing the cost of logistics.
”We have seen a significant opportunity for Nigeria to cater for larger container ships. Historically, most of the West African coasts are already served by smaller ships. Currently, we see an opportunity to deploy larger ships to Nigeria. To achieve this, we need to expand the port infrastructure, especially in Lagos, where we need a bigger hub for logistics services. The growth potential is hard to quantify.
”We believe in Nigeria, and we will invest $600 million in existing facilities and make the ports accommodating for bigger ships.
”In my humble view, given that Nigeria is the most populous country in Africa, Nigeria should have the best and biggest port and we are very eager to invest, and we will continue that dialogue with the relevant Nigerian authorities to explore further investment opportunities,” the Maersk Chairman said.
The Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), has challenged African youth to raise their voices in shaping the future development of the continent ahead of the Summit of the Future. The executive secretary of ECA, Claver Gatete, said this in a statement issued on the commission’s website.
Gatete, while opening the African Youth Consultative Forum on the UN Summit for Future held in Addis Ababa, emphasised the importance of investing in the ‘youth divided’.
He challenged young people to amplify their voices and participate in global affairs in shaping the future of Africa.
“Youth must participate in the issues that matter to the Common Agenda of the United Nations which has 12 commitments from where the issues are.
“Being drawn for the Summit of the future in September as well as the Social Summit in 2025, where the youth must be involved,” Gatete said.
According to the ECA boss, about 70 per cent of the population in Africa are young people and that by 2030, 42 per cent of the global youth will be from Africa. He said this dynamic was reflective of how the youth should be treated.
“You cannot have the future without developing the youth of today and the youth of tomorrow.
“Youth have to participate in all spheres of the implementation of the SDGs by 2030 and should be involved in achieving the targets,” he said.
Gatete acknowledged the multiplicity of challenges faced by African countries, including the cascading impact of COVID-19, debt servicing, access to affordable financing among others.
“It is therefore critical for the youth to have a say in these discussions so that their ideas are considered in the Summit of the Future in September 2024.
“We need your voice and your contribution. This is the time to make your contribution.
“Of the 12 commitments in our Common Agenda, the 11th commitment is about listening and working with the youth,”Gatete said.
The ECA Director of Strategic Planning, Oversight and Results Division (SPORD), Said Adejumobi said you could not have a summit of the future without the people of the future.
According to him, the future can only be defined in the context of the present, you (youth) are not only leaders of tomorrow but leaders of today.
Mutetsi Oliver, the Vice-President of Eastern Africa, Pan African Youth Union said young people were eager to participate in shaping the future of Africa.
Oliver, however, reiterated the need for them (youth) to be supported to thrive on the continent.
She said that insecurity was a major challenge on the continent as was rising unemployment and lack of access to education, health, and social services to young people.
“We employ young people to put their government to task to give them start-up capital just like others do with investors as well as access to land and loans.
“I, therefore, call for the prioritisation and provision of sexual, reproductive, and mental health services to young people,” Oliver said.
Assistant secretary general and director of United Nations Development Programme, (UNDP) Africa Bureau, Ms Ahunna Eziakonwa, said the Africa Youth Forum was a pivotal moment for young people.
Eziakonwa, represented by Mr Matthias Naab, the Director, UNDP said this was as Africa reiterated its dedication to multilateralism to pave the way to a promising future for the youth.
“The world is far from achieving the SDGs, and as Africa races to achieve Agenda 2030 and the SDGs, the Summit of the Future is a beacon of hope.
“While the Youth Forum offered an opportunity to articulate the positions, thoughts, priorities, and urges of young Africans toward the Summit of the future.
“Youth empowerment is both a goal and mission and the young people represent great minds with a potential to transform Africa,” he said.
Meanwhile, Daniel Adugna from the African Union Commission (AUC), said Africa was already the youngest continent and it must invest in developing its young people.
He said the integration of Africa was at the forefront of Agenda 2063 and would unlock economic opportunities for the continent.
Olu Verheijen is the special adviser on Energy to the President. In this interview, she speaks on a number of presidential initiatives (orders) by President Bola Tinubu aimed at restoring improved deliverables to the oil and gas sector of the Nigerian economy. Excerpts:
What inspired your push for the presidential directive? And how did you get the buy-in of the president?
Even before President Bola Tinubu assumed office, we needed to understand the root cause analysis of why we were where we were in the energy space beyond crude theft. Crude theft was mostly discussed at the time because at the time we started looking at this, we were then at the lowest point around 900,000 bpd from over 2 million bpd. The main impact of crude theft was the fact that we had to shut in production every time vandalism occurs on a major trunk line, so we had a lot of shut-ins because the integrity of the transportation or evacuation infrastructure needs to be making sure that we are producing a safe and reliable infrastructure. We said let’s take a major trunk line in the Delta, which was the TNP, for example, and we noticed that a lot of the work that NNPC had done had yielded significant outcomes there. The uptime of the infrastructure is quite high, and most barrels that are injected into those pipelines make it into the terminals. When you looked at the East, you found out that that wasn’t always the case, and that was more urgent because a lot of the associated gas goes into NLNG from the East. We needed to focus on major trunk lines that take gas and oil and see if we can quickly put a crack team together and focus on the issues there and start making improvements and start getting immediate traction. When we looked at it, we realised that there were few interventions with the NSA, the president himself and when the two Ministers of Defence came on board with NNPC, they started taking a few of the lessons of what has worked in the West and tried to replicate it or transfer some of those learnings to the East and Central zones. We have seen improvements there in terms of the availability of crude in that pipeline, and it has gone up.
What of the gas space? How are you dealing with issues there?
We are able to do the same. One of the outcomes is that we are able to see that NLNG’s output or availability went from an average of 53 per cent in 2022 to close to 70 per cent in the first quarter of this year, so that means more income back to the federal government for further investment. Instead of an activity based approach, spending a lot of money not really understanding what your outcomes are, we are able to see direct correlations between the activities that we are undertaking as a government that’s yielding the desired outcomes. More barrels into the terminals that we can export and more gas into the domestic market for power and industrialisation and more LNG cargoes making it into the market so that we can earn the dividends that are required for foreign exchange to just stabilise the macro-economic environment. The work isn’t done there, but there have been significant improvements. That is on the security side.
What other constraints, apart from security, have you identified as slowing down growth?
When we look into the rest of the issue, there were other issues that are driving the reduced production numbers. Again, we noticed that despite holding significant volumes of Africa reserves, over the last 10 years, we have only been able to attract four per cent of the capital that has been spent on the continent on oil and gas. So we started looking at that because it has many implications. What it means is that even if we do not have crude theft, and we are able to solve the crude oil problem and make progress in that regard, if we don’t attract capital, oil and gas may not really buoy our economy because they will not last forever. So you need to continuously invest to even maintain your profile, to stem the climb, and grow production. The second leg of the issue was why we are not able to attract investments and why we are not competitive given the size of our resources.
What did you discover?
We looked at investments over the last 10 years, and all we have been able to attract is $300 million. When you look at places like Ghana where you see over $12 billion (because of the operating environment). That seemed off to us, because, ideally, the biggest resource holder should be attracting more and we tried to understand why that wasn’t happening and we found a few issues which are really around investment climate and that’s why we decided to zero-in on those additional interventions and said what are the main issues harming investment in the country, how do we make sure that this is a conducive and competitive investment climate for capital, so that when investors are looking for opportunities and financiers are looking for opportunities across the globe, they will say Nigeria is one of the most attractive options and then they are able to allocate more capital to Nigerian projects.
We found two things that we thought would significantly address this investment climate challenge. The first one was around cost. We found that the cost of doing business in Nigeria is quite high, and in the oil and gas space, the benchmark as to other climates is high. If you look at Saudi Arabia, they produce oil at less than $5 a barrel. On average, some of our producers here go over $ 40. It doesn’t make us attractive.
Why is that the case?
It is the subject of the presidential directive. We found a lot of issues. One of the things that we found was that our contracting timelines take too long. To put a contract in place whether you want to drill a rig or drill a well or do anything in the oil and gas sector, we found that sometimes it can be as high as 38 months to actually pull that contract. That contracting cycle, for many reasons, we thought this is one of the quick wins because once the amount of time is extended, you’ll need to do anything when the costs go up because its base are expiring and you have to come back, you are missing cycles and low cycles, opportunities, to lock-in prices and move. Many will go to where contracting timelines are less.
Did you say 38 months?
Yes! That definitely adds to the cost and, more importantly, it just makes you unattractive when people can move to other climates within three to six months. Some places do it in less than two months. If it takes up to 38 months, that is one of the reasons for investors to go elsewhere. But we are already working on that, and the contracting time, based on what we have put in place, would never take that long, not even half the time. I know you have heard many times that people say Nigeria is more of a gas country than an oil country, but you wonder why despite us being the sixth largest energy exporter, but when you look at the amount of gas that we consume domestically or how much of that gas that we export, you will find that we are a very distant sixth. So we started to ask ourselves how we can become the dominant gas players that we should be. But we said let’s start with stimulating the upstream gas supply. If you are able to demonstrate that our gas is just as attractive as gas in the US or Europe, then we should be able to attract the necessary capital to unlock that gas supply. But why focus on gas supply? Because it is for export. If you want to build an energy train, the first thing your financier would ask is, “Do you have your supply secured?” And you won’t have your supply secured if the upstream person doesn’t think it’s attractive if there are other opportunities. So PIA has done quite a bit in making sure that associated gas and most gas fuels that have some liquid within it are competitive for investment. When it comes to non-associated gas, which is now 50 per cent of our remaining reserves, we need to do more. You need to start building a robust, non-associated gas portfolio so that you are a lot more reliable as a supply source in the market. So we started looking at what was required to improve non-associated gas fuels so that we could attract capital to those projects as well. There are a few principles that we thought were really important.
All these efforts may never be appreciated if people do not see things on the ground?
We assume that this year, you will see a number of big projects announced because of these directives and many other actions that are being taken on the NNPC side around security. There are quite a lot of things that are happening, but because of these directives, we think that if you have addressed efficiency, this is now the fourth directive that the president assigned. By using directives, it is also signalling a sense of urgency because we could have waited to put all of these things into law, but we know how long the PIA took. Our president, Bola Tinubu, is signalling to investors that Nigeria is open for business and he is willing to take any action that is required under law to make sure that sense of urgency and our openness for business is well-understood and documented that was one of the reasons we went to the presidential directives mode so that it is something that people can use to make immediate investment decisions before the laws are passed.
Nigeria has always had great ideas, but implementation remains a challenge. How is this being addressed?
On the presidential directive, Nigerians are wary of big announcements that do not yield anything. We don’t have a shortage of good ideas. Execution is where we tend to struggle. With the presidential initiative, one of the things that was really important that we demonstrated was not just the ability to come up with novel and interesting ideas that we think can unlock investments, but to actually go after implementation and execution of those presidential directives to yield the intended outcomes.
So, his role as the finance minister and coordinating minister of the economy, he needed to play a part?
Yes. Because those ones were fiscal incentives and he is in charge of fiscal policy. So, he helped integrate the directives that had been done by the different agencies involved in that space so he could issue a fiscal guideline. That was done on Tuesday. We have commenced the next phase and made a presentation around how to resolve some of the issues in the deep water as well as to make sure that we continue to be an attractive destination. In addition to that, there are a number of projects that we are using as a template to push through this directive and implement this directive so that the intended outcome of making sure that we reverse this 10 year decline around investments is ongoing.
A lot of explaining still needs to be done because once Nigerians hear that the government has put some policies in place and the results would be wonderful, they immediately want results
Investments don’t necessarily yield production growth, so I know most Nigerians look at the dollar to Naira exchange rate. Will this investment immediately impact that? No, but in some ways, they actually help us start the economy. There haven’t been a lot of projects. The last big deep water project was in 2013, and there has been no major investment since then. There are a lot of contractors, people who supply water, people who train staff, a lot of businesses that have been idle and shut down and we are able to restart economic activities, and that helps generate income for Nigerians in the meantime.
So, getting it right is very key?
You’re right. Nigerians need to understand what President Bolan Tinubu is trying to achieve here. In a year or two, most of what we are doing now would yield massive results. If we are able to ensure that the domestic power plant is able to be paid by a domestic distribution company. The distribution company in the power value chain needs to be able to collect cost reflective tariff, pay everybody along the chain including the transmission company and generation companies and then allow the gas supplier to be paid, the effect on the economy would be so massive that most of what we are complaining about today would be forgotten.
In the area of power, the issue of grid collapse has become a major problem…
(cuts in) Even before we get to the grid, you will see why we focus on the distribution end of things. Installed capacity in the country is about 15 gigawatts, and we can continue to add. NNPC has a few initiatives where they will continue to add more supply to the grid. On the transmission end, we have a capacity of eight gigawatts, but we really haven’t been able to hit those numbers for a number of reasons. Even if we fixed that, the distribution end has not been able to distribute more than four gigawatts over the last 10 years. If by some magic wand you make sure that your grid is stable and you are able to evacuate the eight gigawatts that are in store or start to grow it, the distribution end cannot take it because the investment required to distribute to more end users has not occurred. That is why we focused on that distribution and ended with a number of initiatives to make sure that we improve the capacity for them to distribute more energy. On the transmission grid size, it’s another grid size. It is another focus. There is another presidential power initiative that the minister is driving that focuses on how to make this grid stable and smarter. He is spending quite a bit of time with his team focused on that section of the value chain.
Nigeria has always had great ideas, but implementation remains a challenge. How is this being addressed?
On the presidential directive, Nigerians are wary of big announcements that do not yield anything. We don’t have a shortage of good ideas. Execution is where we tend to struggle. With the presidential initiative, one of the things that was really important that we demonstrated was not just the ability to come up with novel and interesting ideas that we think can unlock investments, but to actually go after implementation and execution of those presidential directives to yield the intended outcomes.
So, his role as the finance minister and coordinating minister of the economy, he needed to play a part?
Yes. Because those ones were fiscal incentives and he is in charge of fiscal policy. So, he helped integrate the directives that had been done by the different agencies involved in that space so he could issue a fiscal guideline. That was done on Tuesday. We have commenced the next phase and made a presentation around how to resolve some of the issues in the deep water as well as to make sure that we continue to be an attractive destination. In addition to that, there are a number of projects that we are using as a template to push through this directive and implement this directive so that the intended outcome of making sure that we reverse this 10 year decline around investments is ongoing.
A lot of explaining still needs to be done because once Nigerians hear that the government has put some policies in place and the results would be wonderful, they immediately want results
Investments don’t necessarily yield production growth, so I know most Nigerians look at the dollar to Naira exchange rate. Will this investment immediately impact that? No, but in some ways, they actually help us start the economy. There haven’t been a lot of projects. The last big deep water project was in 2013, and there has been no major investment since then. There are a lot of contractors, people who supply water, people who train staff, a lot of businesses that have been idle and shut down and we are able to restart economic activities, and that helps generate income for Nigerians in the meantime.
So, getting it right is very key?
You’re right. Nigerians need to understand what President Bolan Tinubu is trying to achieve here. In a year or two, most of what we are doing now would yield massive results. If we are able to ensure that the domestic power plant is able to be paid by a domestic distribution company. The distribution company in the power value chain needs to be able to collect cost reflective tariff, pay everybody along the chain including the transmission company and generation companies and then allow the gas supplier to be paid, the effect on the economy would be so massive that most of what we are complaining about today would be forgotten.
In the area of power, the issue of grid collapse has become a major problem…
(cuts in) Even before we get to the grid, you will see why we focus on the distribution end of things. Installed capacity in the country is about 15 gigawatts, and we can continue to add. NNPC has a few initiatives where they will continue to add more supply to the grid. On the transmission end, we have a capacity of eight gigawatts, but we really haven’t been able to hit those numbers for a number of reasons. Even if we fixed that, the distribution end has not been able to distribute more than four gigawatts over the last 10 years. If by some magic wand you make sure that your grid is stable and you are able to evacuate the eight gigawatts that are in store or start to grow it, the distribution end cannot take it because the investment required to distribute to more end users has not occurred. That is why we focused on that distribution and ended with a number of initiatives to make sure that we improve the capacity for them to distribute more energy. On the transmission grid size, it’s another grid size. It is another focus. There is another presidential power initiative that the minister is driving that focuses on how to make this grid stable and smarter. He is spending quite a bit of time with his team focused on that section of the value chain.
