The Operators of the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) in Lagos say they are still quantifying the losses incurred by the two-week suspension of operations, occasioned by the violence that trailed the recent #EndSARS protests across the country.
The Head of Corporate Communications of the organisation, Mr Mutiu Yekeen, stated this in an interview with newsmen on Sunday in Lagos.
“Like every other company that has been affected by these crises, we are still trying to quantify our losses as an organisation.
“We have not been able to operate for 14 days, and this has affected our business negatively. As an organisation, we are currently quantifying our losses,” he said.
Yekeen, who said that the firm commenced operation on Friday, assured the commuters that it would resume full operations to reduce the hardship which commuters were currently going through.
“We are going to operate maximally as an organisation. We have a lot of buses on our corridor.
“We have started operations. We will do our best to ensure that people get to their destinations within record time,” he said.
He said that the firm had always put safety of commuters and its members of staff as top priority.
Newsmen report that the violence and massive destruction of public and private investment and property by hoodlums in the aftermath of #EndSARS protests had led to the stoppage of operations by the firm.
Newsmen also report that the Lagos Bus Service Limited (LBSL), operator of the government-owned Marcopolo high capacity buses, has yet to resume in the state since the suspension of operations, occasioned by the #EndSARS protests.
Following the development, many commuters in the state have been experiencing untold hardship commuting from one place to another.
Nigeria received the sum of $26.94 billion as development assistance funds from international donors from 2015 to 2020, Minister of State for Budget and National Planning Clement Agba said on Tuesday.
He made the disclosure in Abuja while briefing the House of Representatives Committee on Civil Society and Development Partners on transfers and disbursements to government agencies, donor fund receipts, civil society and non-governmental organizations in Nigeria.
$2.34 billion was received in 2015, $1.15 billion in 2016, $774.93 million in 2017, $22.02 billion in 2018, $655.64 million in 2019 and $5.64 million in 2020.
The donations, according to Agba, came from the United Nations Development System, the European Development Fund and China.
Other donors include the German International Cooperation, Japan via the Japan International Cooperation Agency, Korean International Cooperation Agency, Department for International Development and United States Agency for International Development.
The minister said his ministry did not receive donor funds and, for that reason, could not transfer or disburse what it did not receive.
He added that the country did not qualify for budget support as it was not classified as “very poor” but a lower income country that was only eligible for projects/programmes.
“The implication of this is that donors do not give us the funds for management. Rather, donors work with the sectoral stakeholders to fund the projects directly, after identifying the needs by the MDAs/states, in line with the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness.
“For the purpose of clarification, the Federal Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning is responsible for coordinating Nigeria’s multilateral and bilateral economic cooperation, including development Aid and Technical Assistance Programmes by signing of Cooperation Agreements, facilitating the implementation of programmes and projects as well as monitoring and evaluation.”
Agba went further to say the ministry has a duty to coordinate the bilateral and multilateral institutions, non-governmental organizations, international non-governmental organizations and civil society organizations.
“Interventions in these identified areas are done directly in collaboration with the relevant ministries, departments and agencies as well as states and local government areas through their implementing agencies.
“In view of the above, procurement is carried out directly by the donors,” he said.
The United Kingdom High Commission has announced the reopening of its visa application centres in Nigeria.
This is coming barely one week after it shut down its visa application centres in Victoria Island, Abuja and Lagos over the crisis arising from #EndSARS protests in the country.
The UK made this known in a statement on its Twitter.
It noted, however, that its centres would not open on Thursday due to the public holiday in Nigeria for Maolud Nabbiyy.
The notice was titled ‘update on UK visa application centres in Nigeria’.
Part of the notice read, “Our TLS contact visa application centres are now open in Nigeria. Following the recent closures, we are working hard to process all outstanding applications.
“We thank you for your continued patience and understanding. Please note Thursday, October 29, is a public holiday in Nigeria and our Visa application centres will be closed.”
Meanwhile, a judicial panel in Lagos on Tuesday began an inquiry into the shooting of peaceful protesters last week and broader police brutality that had sparked demonstrations and unrest.
The state had been rocked by violence since demonstrators were gunned down in the economic hub on October 20, sparking international outrage and rioting.
Amnesty International says 12 people were shot dead by the police and army at two locations, in assaults shared widely on social media.
The #EndSARS protests in the state drew support from celebrities around the globe and turned into one of the biggest challenges to the governing elite in years.
Overall, Amnesty International says 56 people have died nationwide since the demonstrations began.
The situation has calmed in Lagos since days of rioting but looting and violence rumbles on in pockets around the country.
Nigeria, like other African countries, wasn’t spared from the spread of the coronavirus pandemic. To overcome this challenge, countries have been advised to keep testing, treating and isolating to reduce infections.
Nigeria has been expanding its capacity to test. The country’s laboratories can carry out about 18,000 tests per million daily, but this can be improved. The country ought to be doing about 40,000-50,000 tests daily.
Nigeria successfully controlled Ebola and is applying some of the lessons learned. But COVID-19 presents new challenges as scientists are still trying to understand the novel virus.
This novelty highlights the importance of continuous investment in science, research and development. The African Centre of Excellence for Genomics of Infectious Diseases, Redeemer’s University, Ede, is one of the few research institutions in the country with the ability to carry out whole genome sequencing. It’s therefore one of the few centres working on the frontline of the pandemic. It collaborates with the second main institution, the Nigerian Centre for Disease Control.
Rwanda is an example of a country that has invested in healthcare and provides an environment for innovation. For example, Rwanda’s Health Ministry announced the use of smart robots to administer temperature checks, monitor COVID-19 patients’ status and keep medical records.
To control this pandemic and prevent a future one, Nigeria needs to start investing heavily in science research. Nigeria was one of the 10 African heads of state and government that endorsed a target to allocate 1% of gross domestic product to research and development in 2002. But progress towards this target has been slow.
Scientific responses
On 1 March 2020, an Italian man was identified as the first case of COVID-19 in Nigeria by the National Center for Disease Control. Within three days of receiving the specimen, the African Centre of Excellence for Genomics of Infectious Diseases assembled a full genome of SARS-CoV-2. This was the first sequenced genome of the virus from the African continent.
This was immediately made available to the global scientific community to help inform the public health response, improve surveillance and facilitate drug, diagnostics and vaccine development.
The centre remains at the frontline of Nigeria’s response by carrying out daily diagnosis of suspected COVID-19 samples. At its disposal are state-of-the-art sequencing and advanced bioinformatic tools to understand the epidemiology, evolution, spread, and virulence of the virus. This has generated data that have informed covid-19 rapid diagnostics development, vaccine design and production, as well as policy formulation. The data have contributed significantly to the international scientific community.
One of the innovations by the centre is a COVID-19 self-screening tool tailored for Nigerians to assess their risk of exposure. This phone app tool factors in not just scientific and epidemiological data but also the socio-cultural diversity of the country. The screening is available in English and different languages spoken in Nigeria.
Since the app was released, over 4,100 Nigerians have completed the test with over 6,800 users and a traffic of over 84,000 as at August 29, 2020. The tool has been effective in reducing panic, improving health access and reducing response time.
In addition to daily screening of clinical samples, a real-time interactive map showing confirmed cases across Nigeria was developed by the African Centre of Excellence for Genomics of Infectious Diseases. It gives an overview of laboratory confirmed cases nationwide, using data from the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control.
The map is updated daily as new cases are confirmed and provides an immediate update on the outbreak. This helps the country to identify hotspots and make evidence-based decisions and policies.
Investment in science research is needed
Greater investment in research and development would help Nigeria create a pool of talent and expertise to develop solutions to other problems too.
Investment in science also means investment in the future of science – the next generation of scientists. This would require investing in tertiary education, professional development, and an environment that supports mentorship. It requires infrastructure such as laboratories, laboratory equipment and uninterrupted power supply to carry out experiments.
To achieve this, Nigeria needs political will coupled with commitment, partnerships and the right leadership. The country is lagging behind in science when compared to other African countries in the region but the current pandemic gives it an opportunity to make science a priority once and for all.
Air Peace will begin regular commercial flights from its Lagos hub to Johannesburg in South Africa, before the year ends, its management said.
This is just as the airline has resumed flights to Enugu and Asaba which were suspended following the curfew occasioned by the #EndSARS protest aftermath.
The airline said the Lagos-Johannesburg flight which would be the second International flight after Dubai flagged off last year, was in keeping with its vision to provide seamless connectivity across cities, adding that Lagos-Johannesburg-Lagos will be operated thrice a week.
It said it has made huge progress in meeting the stipulated requirements of the aviation authorities in both South Africa and Nigeria to enable it to launch flight operations into the country before the year runs out.
Its spokesman, Stanley Olisa, said South Africa is one of the destinations which the Federal Government had designated Air Peace to operate into.
He added that South Africa has always been on the radar of Air Peace as the airline is constantly reviewing its route network and looking at strategic ways of expanding it to provide immense value to Nigerians first and other Africans.
The spokesman noted that apart from South Africa, Air Peace has also been designated to operate commercial flights into Mumbai, London, Guangzhou-China, Houston, with other destinations still in the works.
Wema Bank, one of Nigeria’s foremost banks has embarked on a number of schemes aimed at addressing the demands of its different customer base in this peculiar times.
The bank recently announced the opening of a new branch in Oregun, Lagos as it continues its strategic expansion to meet the demands of customers. In a statement made on Monday, 17 August 2020, the bank disclosed that the new branch, which is located at No. 41, Kudirat Abiola Way, Oregun, Lagos State, would strengthen its business in the state in line with its growth path.
“The new branch follows our strategic growth plan as we are committed to expanding our services to places where there are compelling business opportunities. The bank’s position on this has not changed,” said Executive Director Lagos Directorate, Wole Ajimisinmi.
This rides on a series of initiatives which the bank embarked on to cushion the effect of the pandemic on individuals, businesses and communities. As a response to the gruesome financial impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on businesses, one of the key initiatives the bank has taken to alleviate the financial strain of her borrowing customers is to suspend the loan repayments for small and medium scale enterprises (SMEs).
Furthermore, in its continuous bid to support customers in the fight against the pandemic and its financial implications, the bank launched collateral free loan products to support its customers. The loan offering which is open to healthcare businesses, school owners, as well as those dealing in trading or general commerce is available to the bank’s existing and new customers.
In an earlier communication, Wema Bank Managing Director, Mr Ademola Adebise said “As we critically pay attention to supporting players in the health sector, as a Bank, we are also constantly looking into how we can support our customers financially. We hope individuals and business owners take advantage of these programs for their financial well-being and to help keep their businesses afloat”.
The Bank is also set to reward its saving customers on the Royal Kiddies Account platform. As a drive towards supporting an early start to financial freedom, Wema Bank launched the Royal kiddies Account program, and now the Bank is set to reward its customers with school support funds in her 2020 Wema Educational Award. By opening a new account or topping up with a hundred thousand naira on an existing Royal Kiddies Account, customers can were able to gain eligibility to win the fifty thousand naira school support fund.
According to the Managing Director, Ademola Adebise “We are a caring bank and we won’t relent in our efforts to continually initiate programs that would be of immense benefit to our customers and their businesses. Considering it’s a continuous process of innovation for us at Wema bank, we encourage our customers and everyone to always look out for our initiatives, as I can assure you there is always something good from us for everyone”.
There are palpable fears by firms and private individuals whose properties were vandalized and looted by hoodlums if the insurance industry in Nigeria has capacity to meet huge claims by those who insured their properties.
Some especially the Small and Medium Enterprises did not insure their operating premises and their wares and can not make claims. However Insurance firms in Nigeria are bracing up for potential claims, following the widespread looting and destruction of properties, vehicles, and other assets across the state.
Most government offices, banks, shopping malls, media houses, toll plazas, and private offices were set ablaze by suspected hoodlums after allegations of soldiers shooting in the air to disperse protesters on Tuesday night.
This triggered scores of skirmishes across the state with several vehicles, buildings, and properties set ablaze or looted by suspected hoodlums. It is envisaged that when normalcy is restored, businesses will start to take stock of their losses and someone will have to bear the cost. While most insurance contracts exclude damage to property from war, riots, or other forms of force, it is likely that some will pay for the risks.
According to NAICOM, Insurance companies paid a total non-life insurance claim of N64 billion in 2018 compared to N56.4 billion a year earlier. Out of this total, claims on fire insurance were about N9.1 billion while Motor Vehicle was N17.3 billion. The Insurance sector is currently reeling from the effect of the Covid-19 pandemic, with the sector posting a contraction of 29.53% in the second-quarter GDP report published by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). It is likely to drop into a recession when the NBS releases its third-quarter GDP report in a few weeks’ time.
President Muhammadu Buhari addressed Nigerians on Thursday, demanding an end to the violence in parts of the country as a result of the activities of hoodlums who took advantage of the EndSARS protests. “In the circumstances, I would like to appeal to protesters to note and take advantage of the various well-thought-out initiatives of this administration designed to make their lives better and more meaningful and resist the temptation of being used by some subversive elements to cause chaos with the aim of truncating our nascent democracy. For you to do otherwise will amount to undermining national security and the law and order situation. Under no circumstances will this be tolerated,” Buhari said. The President also called for an end to the street protests, requesting that protesters should engage the government. He also asked Nigerians to go about their “normal businesses” while demanding that security agencies protect lives and properties.
“And I call on all Nigerians to go about their normal businesses, and enjoin security agencies to protect lives and properties of all law-abiding citizens without doing harm to those they are meant to protect,” he added.
The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has repaid most of the arrears it owes to international oil companies for joint venture operating expenses, recently repaying US$3 billion to Exxon and Shell, Bloomberg reported on Tuesday, citing a statement from the Nigerian state oil firm.
NNPC works in joint ventures with the major international oil producers in Nigeria, including ExxonMobil, Chevron, Shell, Total, and Eni. However, the stretched finances of the Nigerian company has led to arrears in its payments for contributions to the operating expenses of those joint ventures.
Nigeria still owes US$1.7 billion to the oil majors, but it has now repaid most of its dues.
In the latest installment of US$3 billion, Exxon received US$2.3 billion, while Shell received US$455 million, according to the statement reported by Bloomberg.
NNPC owes Shell another US$917 million and still must pay US$385 million to Eni, US$304 million to Total, and US$55 million to Chevron.
The payments to the oil majors could be a sign that the Nigerian company has shored up finances in recent years, as it also said in a rare financial release last week.
Last week, NNPC said in its second financial statement in over four decades that its losses shrank by 99.7 percent in 2019, while “the outlook for 2020 looks promising” as the state oil firm continued to slash costs.
NNPC said in its audited financial statement for 2019 that its loss last year fell to just US$4.4 million (1.7 billion Nigerian naira), compared to a loss of US$2.1 billion (803 billion naira) in 2018.
Earlier this year, NNPC published its 2018 audited financials as part of a drive for transparency at the company.
The significantly decreased losses in 2019 were mainly the result of cost optimization, operational efficiency, and renegotiation of contracts, NNPC’s chief financial officer Umar Ajiya said.
Delta Airlines has cancelled two more flights earlier scheduled to come in and go out of Nigeria as a result of the ongoing #EndSARS protests in the country.
The airline cancelled Flight 248 from Atlanta, United States, to Lagos, Nigeria, and Flight 249 from Lagos to Atlanta scheduled for Tuesday night (today) and also Wednesday evening due to the tension caused by demonstration in the country.
Earlier, SaharaReporters revealed that Delta Airlines Flight 54 from Atlanta to Lagos was forced to return to America after first terminating its journey in Dakar, Senegal, with the entire crew and passengers on board.
Young people across Nigeria are calling for police reforms and improved governance but the peaceful exercise has now been overtaken by armed gangs attacking innocent civilians and wreaking havoc all over the place.
State governments have been forced to adopt various measures including the imposing of indefinite curfew to arrest the situation.
However, the company suggested on Tuesday that this spring fall could have a knock-on effect on its baby formula business next year, with an expected fall in the global birth rate.
“There is evidence that birth rates will be further lowered in coming quarters as a result of behaviour changes related to the pandemic,” it said.
“Our performance has been led by an increase in hygiene and health volumes,” said boss Laxman Narasimhan.
Sales of Dettol-branded sprays, wipes and liquid climbed more than 50% compared to the same period last year.
Airwick and Finish continued to grow strongly, with consumers continuing to spend more time at home compared to a year ago, the company said.
Improved hygiene
The company said that Covid-19 is accentuating trends such as “urbanisation and global warming, and their impact on their spread of infection, re-enforcing the necessity of improved hygiene”.
It also highlighted a growing demand for self-care and a growing importance of sexual health and wellbeing.
“As consumers have sought to embrace self-care for themselves and their families, we have seen growth in preventative treatments, such as vitamins, minerals and supplements,” it said.
“With a clear purpose – to protect, heal and nurture in the relentless pursuit of a cleaner and healthier world – we are uniquely placed to help tackle the challenges the world is facing,” said Mr Narasimhan.
Tuesday’s figures were well received by analysts. ”Reckitt Benckiser has cleaned up on our obsession with hygiene,” said Susannah Streeter, senior investment and markets analyst, Hargreaves Lansdown.
“Our pursuit of cleanliness during the pandemic has been hugely beneficial for the group, and the signs are that the crisis is leading to a longer-term behaviour shift with consumers demanding reassurance that workplaces, shops and public transport are germ free.”
And Richard Hunter, head of markets at interactive investor, said: “Reckitt was already seeing the benefits of improving hygiene and self-care awareness, and the pandemic has moved growth to another level.”
BEIJING (AP) — China’s shaky economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic is gaining strength as consumers return to shopping malls and auto dealerships while the United States and Europe endure painful contractions.
The world’s second-largest economy expanded by 4.9% over a year ago in the three months ending in September, official data showed Monday. Retail spending rebounded to above pre-virus levels for the first time and factory output rose, boosted by demand for exports of masks and other medical supplies.
The recovery is broadening out and becoming less reliant on government stimulus, Julian Evans-Pritchard of Capital Economics said in a report. He said growth is “still accelerating” heading into the present quarter.
China, where the pandemic began in December, became the first major economy to return to growth after the ruling Communist Party declared the disease under control in March and began reopening factories, shops and offices.
It is the only major economy that is expected to grow this year while activity in the United States, Europe and Japan shrinks.
The Chinese economy expanded by 3.2% over a year earlier in the three months ending in June, rebounding from the previous quarter’s 6.8% contraction, its worst performance since at least the mid-1960s.
The economy “continued the steady recovery,” the National Bureau of Statistics said in a report. However, it warned, “the international environment is still complicated and severe.” It said China faces great pressure to prevent a resurgence of the virus.
Authorities have lifted curbs on travel and business but visitors to government and other public buildings still are checked for the virus’s telltale fever. Travelers arriving from abroad must be quarantined for two weeks.
Last week, more than 10 million people were tested for the virus in the eastern port of Qingdao after 12 cases were found there. That broke a two-month streak with no virus transmissions reported within China.
Industrial production rose 5.8% over the same quarter last year, a marked improvement over the first half’s 1.3% contraction. Chinese exporters are taking market share from foreign competitors that still are hampered by anti-virus controls.
Retail sales rose 0.9% over a year earlier. That was up from a 7.2% contraction in the first half as consumers, already anxious about a slowing economy and a tariff war with Washington, put off buying. Online commerce rose 15.3%.
In a sign demand is accelerating, sales in September rose 3.3%.
“China’s recovery in private consumption is gathering momentum,” said Stephen Innes of AxiCorp in a report.
China has reported 4,634 coronavirus deaths and 85,685 confirmed cases, plus three suspected cases.
Economists say China is likely to recover faster than other major economies due to the ruling party’s decision to impose the most intensive anti-disease measures in history. Those temporarily cut off most access to cities with a total of 60 million people.
The International Monetary Fund is forecasting China’s economic growth at 1.8% this year while the U.S. economy is expected to shrink by 4.3%. The IMF expects a 9.8% contraction in France, 6% in Germany and 5.3% in Japan.
Private sector analysts say as much as 30% of China’s urban workforce, or up to 130 million people, may have lost their jobs at least temporarily. They say as many as 25 million jobs might be lost for good this year.
The ruling party promised in May to spend $280 billion on meeting goals including creating 9 million new jobs. But it has avoided joining the United States and Japan in rolling out stimulus packages of $1 trillion or more due to concern about adding to already high Chinese debt.
The Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) has called for a uniform electricity tariff, saying the current structure favours some regions and strain others.
It called on the Federal Government to prevail on the electricity Distribution Companies (DisCos) to unify the tariff nationwide.
President of MAN, Engineer Mansur Ahmed, in a statement, said that the purpose of the call for uniformity is to create a level playing ground for manufacturers in Nigeria.
“These tariff differences in some instances are as high as 25 per cent, making it impossible to ensure fair competition amongst manufacturers. The resultant effect of this tariff differential is that manufacturers under the DisCos with higher tariff rate sell at a loss in order to sustain the market share and if action is not taken urgently, the affected manufacturers may be forced to close down with looming adverse effect on employment and the economy,” he said.
The inadequacy of electricity supply he said has been one of the major challenges hindering the competitiveness of the manufacturing sector in the country as manufacturers spend over 40 per cent of the production overhead on electricity leading to an increase in the cost of operation and prices of local goods.
A Nigerian payments company Paystack has been acquired by a US-based payments giant, Stripes.
The deal is rumoured to be for over $200 million.
For many in the Nigerian tech ecosystem, it was just a matter of time before this happened.
Founded in 2015 by Shola Akinlade and Ezra Olubi. Paystack sought to solve the challenge most Nigerians face when it comes to online payment transactions in Africa.
By seamlessly connecting all multi-channel payment options with merchants across the country, it enabled them to accept payments from around the world, via credit card, debit card, and direct bank transfer on web and mobile.
This got the one-year-old startup into US-based seed-stage accelerator, Y Combinator where it received 120,000 US dollars in funding and access to global investors.
Later that year, it raised a seed funding of 1.3 million US dollars from Tencent, Comcast Ventures, Singularity Investments, Michael Seibel, Justin Kan, Jason Njoku’s SPARK.ng, Olumide Soyombo among other investors.j
But it was in 2018 Paystack put everyone on notice as it raised 8 million Dollars in Series A funding. With participation from global payments company, Visa, US-based accelerator, Y Combinator, and Tencent, it was Stripe, a similar payments company based in the US, who led the round.
Three years after launching, this brought the company’s total funding to a little over $10 million. And since then, the company hasn’t raised a follow-up round.
So far, Paystack now has more than 60,000 businesses using its platform and is looking to expand beyond Nigeria and Ghana where it currently operates.
According to the founders of Stripe, the company was looking to continue investing in product development, further global expansion and strategic initiative
The billion-dollar startup has been strategically investing in similar startups around the world. Having invested in Paystack (Africa) two years ago, it recently invested in Paymongo, a payments startupin the Philippines (Asia) last month.
For its global expansion into Africa, Paystack presented the perfect acquisition opportunity. But while this is the biggest acquisition deal to come out of sub-Saharan Africa and Stripe’s largest acquisition till date, both companies will continue to operate independently.
The Federal Government has extended the suspension of the new electricity tariff by one week.
Prof. James Momoh, Chairman, Nigeria Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) said this when the ad hoc Technical Committee on Electricity Tariff submitted its interim report at a reconvene bilateral meeting between Federal Government and Organised Labour on Monday in Abuja.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the new tariff was earlier suspended for two weeks and ended at midnight on Oct. 11, when the organised labour suspended the planned industrial action over agitation on the hike in electricity tariff on Sept. 28.,
It would also be recalled that the the committee which was Chaired by Mr Festus Keyamo, Minister of State for Labour is to examine the justifications for the new policy in view of the need for the validation of the basis for the new cost reflective tariff.
It was also agreed that while the committee carries the justification that electricity tariff should be reduced for two weeks.
Momoh while speaking, said the one week extension new tariff said was to enable the committee to review and work out modalities for the implementation of the agreement reached on the electricity tariffs structure.
Sen. Chris Ngige, Minister of Labour and Employment, while reading a resolution reached between the Federal Government, Organised Labour and the Ad Hoc Technical Committee on Electricity Tariff said that adoption of the work plan for effecting the resolutions has been reached.
Ngige said the resolutions adopted would be implemented by all stakeholders within the week by Sunday, Oct. 18.
According to him, the following amendments to the resolutions were adopted include, phase one immediate reliefs.
“Using of the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry (NESI) VAT proceeds to provide relief in electricity tariff. This is to leverage on the VAT from the NESI, the increases experienced by customers due to the transition to the Service Based Tariff will be reduced.
“That is Band A – 10 per cert reduction, Band B – 10.5 per cert reduction and Band C – 31 reduction,” he said.
He said on the acceleration of National Mass Metering Programme (NMMP).
It was adopted that for the distribution of the first one million meters, the Ministry of Power was to liaise with Central Bank of Nigeria(CBN), Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) and Nigerian Electricity Management Services Agency (NEMSA).
He added that they are to start work by Oct. 12, to accelerate the roll out of meters with a target of December 2020.
The minister, therefore said that the meeting agreed that it would work towards bridging the metering gap.
“The Federal Government committed to provide six million meters and NERC is expected to compel the DISCOs to meet the metering needs of the customers,”he said.
Ngige also said on the resolution adopted for the Local procurement for Meters for National Mass Metering Programme (NMMP) that organised Labour would to work with government to improve and ramp up local production capacity.
He also said that the resolution adpoted on salary protection for electricity workers was that NERC should ensure that the personnel costs of electricity workers should be placed on first-line charge on the Primary Collection Account.
He added that the process would commence from Monday , Oct. 12.
“On the issue of mandatory refund for any over billing during system transition by the DISCOs that NERC should implement immediately within October.
‘While on the freezing of customer band migration during the interim period that the revised NERC order will include specific guidelines on freezing band migration, ” he said.
Ngige also noted that the resolutions adopted for Phase two for the extensive review of key sector reforms include that the ad hoc committee would work from Oct. 12 to Dec. 12, to ensure that all outstanding issues are resolved and implemented.
He also said the resolution adopted on gas pricing was that the Group Managing Director was co-opted into the Technical Committee to assist with the purpose.
He added that on resource capacity, the Managing Director, NEMSA is also co-opted into the Technical Committee to work with NERC on the metering assignments.
Firms looking to set up gas-dispensing facilities will henceforth get three approvals and licenses, and scale other regulatory hurdles before obtaining the go-ahead to begin operations, the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) declared on Sunday.
“Companies intending to establish these facilities must satisfy all necessary requirements stipulated by DPR and obtain the underlisted applicable approvals: Site suitability approval; Approval to Construct (ATC)/Approval to Install; and Licence to Operate.
“Necessary amenities and equipment’s like functional automated/manual leak tester, functional fire alarm system, and mounted gas detectors, adequate fire water storage and sprinklers, perimeter fence with fire wall amongst others must be provided in the facilities,” Sarki Auwalu, the DPR chief, said in a statement issued in Abuja.
The policy shift is coming days after a gas explosion at Baruwa, Ipaja, Lagos which, apart from killing a number of locals, spurred a collateral damage that affected over 20 buildings.
While taking stock of the accident, the DPR observed the facility was unlicensed and had been running illegitimately, Mr Auwalu said, citing this as the ground for the inferno.
The new operational framework entails preconditions and terms for running Liquefied Petroleum Gas refilling plants and retail outlets, and for setting up autogas refuelling stations, add-on gas facilities as well as gas storage and utilisation.
The DPR head disclosed that the policies aim at deepening gas penetration and utilisation at the same firming up operational safety and the ease of doing business in the energy industry.
The Central Bank of Nigeria has ordered banks to comply with the SWIFT universal payment confirmation.
It stated this in a circular titled ‘Compliance with the SWIFT universal payment confirmation’ signed by the Director, Banking Services Department, Sam Okojere, to all banks which was released on Friday.
Part of the circular read, “All banks operating in Nigeria are by this circular reminded of the need to ensure full compliance with SWIFT universal confirmation requirements.
“All SWIFT customers are required to provide confirmation on the outcome of all their incoming single customer payment (MT103) messages to SWIFT via tracker, also known as universal confirmations.”
A SWIFT code is a code used to identify the country, bank and branch that an account is registered to.
The CBN said the confirmation should get to SWIFT within two business days on whether the beneficiary’s account has been credited, payment is rejected or pending.
It added that all financial institutions within the ecosystem would be measured on whether they confirmed 80 per cent on their weekly payments.
The CBN noted that SWIFT offered different ways to provide the status update via automated manual methods.
The channels, it added, included the basic tracker-manual, API calls, automated MT 199 confirmations, batch confirmation, full GPi, ISO 20022-available from 202.
It advised all banks to review and select the appropriate channel that suit their operations with a view to meeting the deadline of November 22 set by SWIFT for compliance.
Dapo Apara, a Nigerian chartered accountant, has accused a former governor of Lagos State, Bola Tinubu; a consulting firm, Alpha-beta, and a former commissioner in the state, Akin Doherty, of money laundering, fraud, tax evasion, and sundry corrupt practices.
Mr Apara, in writ of summons deposed to at a Lagos high court, claimed that Mr Tinubu and Alpha-beta reneged on certain agreements reached in the past about the management and control of the consulting firm.
Alpha-beta is a consulting firm handling the computation, tracking and reconciliation of Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) in Lagos State in return for a commission.
Mr Apara, who claims to own 30 per cent stake in the company, alleged that Mr Tinubu “has directed and dictated the affairs” of the company by diverting assets to himself at the detriment of the claimant (Mr Apara).
Mr Apara claimed that apart from owning 30 per cent stake in the company, other stakeholders are Michael Ogunmola, trading under the name and style Mono Consulting (40 per cent); Tunde Badejo, trading under the name and style Ebo Consult (15 per cent); and again, Tunde Badejo, trading under the name and style Intergrev Services (15 per cent).
Mr Tinubu was Lagos governor between 1999 and 2007 while Mr Doherty served in different capacities in Mr Tinubu’s government, notably as commissioner for finance between 2005 and 2007.
Tade Ipadeola.
Mr Apara claimed that sometime in 2000, he solely conceived, prepared and presented a proposal to the Lagos State Government on providing consultancy services using his firm, Infiniti Systems Enterprises, with respect to using computerisation to track and reconcile the Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) of the state.
Following the presentation of his proposal to the Lagos State Government, Mr Apara claimed that Mr Tinubu, who was at the time the governor of Lagos State, demanded that 70 per cent equity interest in the project be assigned to a certain Olumide Ogunmola before he will approve the project.
Mr Apara said he then met the said Mr Ogunmola, who he had never met before, and it was agreed that a limited liability company be incorporated in which Mr Apara will hold 30 per cent shares while Mr Ogunmola and his partners will hold 70 per cent of the shares of the company.
Alpha Beta Consulting Limited was incorporated in 2002 with the shareholding ratio that shows that 30 per cent was allocated to him (Mr Apara), 40 per cent for Mr Ogunmola, and 30 per cent for Adegboyega Oyetola.
It remains unclear if the said Mr Oyetola is the incumbent governor of Osun State, a close ally of Mr Tinubu.
Mr Apara said that upon the commencement of business operations, Mr Tinubu directed that the 30 per cent shareholding of Mr Oyetola be transferred to one Tunde Badejo and this was done. He added that although he was a signatory to all the bank accounts of the company, payments from the bank accounts required only 2 signatories which was mostly handled between the other two partners, Messrs Ogunmola and Badejo.
After the incorporation of Alpha-Beta Consulting Ltd in 2002 and the company, Mr Apara said it was structured according to the dictates of Mr Tinubu, in his official capacity as the governor of Lagos State. Mr Tinubu thereafter approved that Alpha-Beta Consulting Ltd be awarded consultancy contract for the assessment and collection on behalf of the Lagos State Government, all taxes and Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) due and payable to the State at a 10% consultancy fee (subject to a benchmark which varies from time to time).
He noted further that due to the technology deployed by him, the Internally Generated Revenue of the state grew from a base of about N10 billion in 2002 to over N300 billion in 2019.
Things Fall Apart
In 2010 or thereabouts, he alleged, Mr Tinubu directed that the incorporation structure of the Alpha-Beta Consulting Ltd be changed from a Limited Liability Company to Limited Liability Partnership under a newly promulgated law of the Lagos State Government. Mr Apara said Mr Tinubu explained to him that the purpose was to further shield his (Tinubu’s) Involvement in Alpha-Beta Consulting Ltd from public scrutiny. This was done in 2010.
Mr Apara claimed that Mr Tinubu thereafter directed that Mr Ogunmola be designated as Managing Partner of Alpha Beta Consulting LLP, while he was designated as Deputy Managing Partner. He explained further that in 2014, Mr Tinubu directed that Mr Ogunmola should cease being the Managing Partner and he (Mr Apara) then became the Managing Partner with access to review the financial records.
But things took a dramatic turn sometime in 2016 when Mr Tinubu told him he had has received feedback that he (Apara) was reviewing past financial records of the company and he was displeased with this action. He claimed Mr Tinubu therefore announced that he intends to bring Mr Doherty into the management of the company as Managing Director to take over the financial management of the company, while he (Mr Apara) should revert to his former role as Deputy Managing Director and not get involved in the company’s financial affairs.
The 2nd Defendant (BOLA AHMED TINUBU) also warned the claimant not to even think of exposing his involvement in the financial affairs of the lst Defendant to the EFCC as the then Acting Chaiman of EFCC, Ibrahim Magu, will always protect him (the 2nd Defendant),” Mr Apara said in the writ.
“The 2nd Defendant (Tinubu) also threatened to use the agencies of the Lagos State Government such as the Lagos State Internal Revenue service (LlRS) and the Lagos State Building Control Agency to harass and seize the assets of the Claimant if the Claimant ever betrayed him.”
Mr Apara said he disagreed with the Mr Tinubu’s request that he should revert to the role of a deputy.
“Instead the Claimant agreed with the 2nd Defendant that he will transition to a consultant to the 1st Defendant to manage the technology and get remunerated on a monthly basis for this task,” he claimed.
“Thereafter, the 3rd Defendant was brought to the office premises of the 1st Defendant by Mr. TUNDE BADEjo, a partner, and introduced to the staff as the new “Managing Director” of the 1st Defendant.
Thereafter, MR. TUNDE BADEJO told the claimant that if he (the claimant) ever came to the office of the 1st Defendant, he, MR. TUNDE BADE]O, win terminate the life of the Claimant.
“This incident was reported to the Police in 2018 and is under investigation. When the Police commenced investigation into this complaint by the plaintiff in 2018, the 2nd Defendant (BOLA AHMED TINUBU) interfered in the PoLice investigation to frustrate it.”
Mr Apara said that despite being a signatory to the company’s account, from 2018 to date, Messrs Badejo and Tinubu have colluded to operate the bank accounts of the amongst themselves without his involvement contrary to the subsisting mandate which stipulates that he and Mr Badejo jointly sign any amount as “A” signatories, apart from a limit of N10 million monthly which may be signed jointly by any “A” and a “B” signatory.
The “B” signatory was designated as Mr Bode Oluyemi, an employee of the company.
Suspicious that his signature was being forged to enable the Messrs Tinubu to operate the bank accounts of the company without his involvement, Mr Apara claimed that he wrote to the bankers of the company in February revoking his mandate for any debit transactions.
Alleged Breach of Agreements
Mr Apara claimed that Clause 8 of the Partnership Agreement which relates to Profit and Losses provides that “the Partnership’s profits and losses (including profits and losses of capital) shall be divided between and borne by the Partners in proportion to the shares in its capital for the time being owned by them”.
However, he said, the company has received from the Lagos State Government commission for its services estimated at over One hundred and fifty billion naira from 2010 to date with the profits of the Partnership being that sum minus legitimate costs.
Despite the huge income made by the company, he said, Messrs Badejo and Doherty “acting under the direction of the 2nd Defendant (TINUBU) breached Clause 8 of the Partnership Agreement and denied” him (Apara) his share of the profit from the partnership as provided in the agreement.
“The Claimant avers that Messrs Tunde Badejo, Michael Olunride Ogunmola and Akin Doherty have colluded and conspired to run the affairs of the business in a manner designed to bankrupt the 1st Defendant through suspicious monetary transfers to 3rd parties running into billions of naira contrary to the Partnership Agreement,” he averred, listing some of the alleged suspicious transactions.
He alleged further that during a review of the company’s account, he discovered that huge sums of money earned by the company over the years were not reflected in the account.
“The claimant avers that the account review alluded above revealed large scale fraudulent transactions some of which are stated above and diversion of the lst Defendant funds running into billions of naira by the 2nd and 3rd Defendants,” the writ stated.
“The Claimant shall contend at the trial of the suit that au actions of the 3rd Defendant acting alone or in connivance with the 2nd Defendant is a continuing violation of the Laws of Lagos State as it pertains to Partnerships as well as a violation of the Partnership Agreement through which the 1st Defendant came into existence.”
Mr Apara claimed that he confronted Mr. Badejo who then admitted to him that the funds of the company were grossly mismanaged over the years including the diversion for purported joint venture purposes at the direction of Mr Tinubu
The said partner confided in the Claimant that it was the style of the 2nd Defendant (TINUBU) to corrupt his office and extort benefits of between 70% or more from all projects on-going in Lagos State since he became Governor in 1999 to date,” Mr Apara said in the writ.
“The said partner further cited as example to the Claimant the Global Computerisation Project which is being handled by another company of his called Soft Alliance and Resources Limited and where all the payments received are diverted to the 2nd Defendant (BOlA AHMED TINUBU).
“The Mr. Tunde Badejo also cited the case of the Land Use Charge) Project which followed a similar pattern. The Claimant avers that Mr. Tunde Badejo further admitted that the diversion of the 1st Defendant funds over the years running into billions of naira into suspicious accounts was done in a “smart” way to shield the 2nd Defendant (BOLA AHMED TINUBU) from public scrutiny and to hide his assets from the Code of Conduct Bureau and the anti-corruption agencies.”
Mr Apara claimed that after Mr. Badejo had explained the facts to him, it became clear to him that the company was being used for “massive corruption purposes including tax evasion, bribery of government officials, diversion of the funds.” However, he said that Mr. Badejo thereafter threatened that his life will be in danger if he ever reveals the admitted facts to third parties.
After a thorough and full assessment of the information he received from Mr Badejo which confirmed the poor records book keeping of accounts, Mr Apara said he decided to whistle blow the fraudulent activities, adding that as a stakeholder, he is entitled to the payment of his dividends from 2010 to date in accordance with agreements reached.
Outburst
In 2018, Mr Apara made newspaper headlines when he took to Twitter to vent his frustration over the operation of Alpha-Beta.
Tweeting via @DapoApara, he revealed that the company has generated about N1.5 trillion for the Lagos government since 2002, from which Alpha-beta earned 10%.
In the writ issued by Mr Apara’s lawyer, he said he had made attempts to have the matter settled out of court with Messrs Tinubu and others but such attempts were unsuccessful.
“The Claimant caused his lawyers to write the defendants several letters from 31st July 2018 to 21st September 2020 and Defendants refused or neglected to respond,” the lawyer said.
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Chevron Nigeria Limited has said it will slash its workforce by 25 per cent as it is reviewing its manpower requirements in the light of the changing business environment.
CNL disclosed this on Friday in a statement entitled ‘Chevron Nigeria Limited reviews workforce in accordance with business exigencies’.
The oil major said it would continue to evaluate opportunities to improve capital efficiency and reduce operating costs.
CNL’s General Manager Policy, Government and Public Affairs, Esimaje Brikinn, said, “The aim is to have a business that is competitive and have an appropriately sized organisation with improved processes.
This will increase efficiency and effectiveness, retain value, reduce cost, and generate more revenue for the Federal Government of Nigeria.”
According to him, the new organisational structures will, unfortunately, require approximately 25 per cent reduction in the work force across the various levels of the organisation.
“It is important to note that all our employees will retain their employment until the reorganisation process is completed,” Brikinn said.
He said there were no plans to migrate Nigerian jobs outside the country.
He said, “We have prospects for our company in Nigeria; however, we must make the necessary adjustments in light of the prevailing business climate; and we need everyone’s support to get through these tough times stronger, more efficient and more profitable, in order to sustain the business.
We are actively engaging our workforce to ensure they understand why this is being done. We will continue to consistently engage all relevant stakeholders, including the leadership of the employee unions as we continue this process of business optimisation.”
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