₦airaland Forum

victorv12: @franckyychijy You must be an slowpoke... What's the essence of wasting taxpayers money on a project we know that's bound to fail?! So what you're saying now is that, as a country, we're sending some children to Almajari schools to be reciting Koran and the federal government is financing it on a large scale! How will these almajari schools curb terrorism in the north? A system of education that the government refuses to integrate with the state's basic education system...You must be a fool!

news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7796109.stm

emmysenior: Before nko? Who for do am? That's what they voted him into the office to do...

It's no big deal.

phantom: i hope this marks the end of blackouts.uninterrupted power supply will accelerate the economy so fast it will make our heads spin

Royal Roy: And for whatever reason the Vice President decides to sit on his assss when everyone else including the President is on their feet.

Is he crippled or he just doesn't give a damn?

revolt: That our clueless aboki president yaradua actually Stalled the privatisation process so his ppl intrsts wnt be touched. Same thing he did to soludos redecimalisation, fackn aboki, and apc wants to return another one! GOD FORBID

Idoma Likita: Can my Christian Child Enrol?

Sincere 9gerian: The privatisation is killing several birds with one stone:

1. Elimination of public sector CORRUPTION in the power sector. This is fighting corruption using SYSTEMS that work.

2. Elimination of govt bureaucracy from the power sector. You no longer require the approval of the minister in Abuja to have faulty transformers in your locality changed.

3. Removal of govt inefficiencies in the sector.

duality: I want to discuss this issued Objectively with Gbawe or any of the ACN faithfuls. surprisingly, they wouldn't want to talk about it. we can not just keep talking about PDP alone if we are truly honest.

kingoflag: You hungry imbe.cile, who said GEJ shouldn't be kept safe?! All the article is saying is, it's very easy to improve the living standards of Nigerians and get them out of poverty if the President and his cohorts don't try to steal everything in sight.

hercules07: If it is true that she was laundering money for Ngige, then EFCC should go after Ngige and Anambra people should also make up their mind if they want someone who has laundered money to be their governor.

slap1: RIP. Is that a Nigerian road? I guess he's not used to driving on good roads.

Tolexander: cars again?

This ministry should be converted to road instead of aviation.

eGuerrilla: I bet most of these cars ended up with "ghost workers" too

DerideGull: Few people that have the privilege to know about such information already informed number of dead woods on this forum that Ngige is as corrupt as police officers on Nigerian roads.

django1: This minister is a chronic liar!!! Where was she when her aide was confirming the fact that vehicles were bought for her "safety".

Why would the NCAA be buying expensive vehicles to convey foreign dignitries? What would the foreign affiars ministry be doing at such time?

nameo: This is a report from Thisday Newspapers quoting and using Documents obtained from a US State public record, my brother.

This is as solid as they come

Hope of better electricity supply to Rivers, Bayelsa, Akwa Ibom and Cross River states has been rekindled as the Federal Government gets set to hand over the Port Harcourt Distribution Company (PHED) to its new owners and operators, 4Power Consortium Limited.

A statement issued by the company and signed by its Administrative Secretary, Precious Wokocha, the company said the Federal Government would formally hand over the distribution company to them tomorrow.

The statement said the Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Power, Dr. Godknows Igali, would perform the ceremony on behalf of President Goodluck Jonathan.

snoopy: Am not surprised dangote is seen as more powerful than jonathan. Jonathan has not really asserted himself as the commander in chief. He's not as bullish as he should on critical decisions and that's why he sometimes appear clueless which may not necessarily be the case.

kokoA: Mr Metu, your party is the ruling party which means you guys are incharge of all the anti-corruption agencies in Nigeria. What have you people done to bring these people to book? Shameless people.

payless: I am interested in that if you have the fact and document to back it up like Sahara did against Stella Oduah. Present the fact and refrain from hearsay, please.

software man: So why did cosharis lie if it was straight forward stock logistics? Why did he not state precisely who and what the armoured vehicles were for?
It is not a crime to buy armoured vehicles. It is a crime to lie to evade tax
It is a crime to spend public money not appropriated for.
It is a crime to wilfully contravene public procurement act and due process
It is a crime to inflate contracts
It is a crime to approve expenditure above your approval limit.

On Wednesday 9th, October 2013, Nigeria’s leading online shopping outfit Jumia won “The Best New Retail Launch of the Year” award at the 2013 World Retail Congress held in Paris. With this distinction, Jumia became the first African company to ever win the most important retail award worldwide. That Jumia, a Nigerian start up won this award, ahead of established retail operators in advanced economies points to the fact that Nigeria has become the latest frontier market for retail sales in the world.

The reasons for this frontier position and the rapid growth in the retail market are associated with the increased urbanization, rising population, rise of a working class desirous of convenience and also increased purchasing power.

The nation’s population of over 170 million is growing at 2.7 percent per annum, with a median age of 18.6, while the urban population is estimated at 42 percent, compared with 19 percent in East Africa.Income per head has grown from $378 in 2000, to $1615 at YE 2012, as the economy expanded five-fold in the period. Gross domestic product (GDP) is forecast to expand an average of 6 percent a year for the next five years, according to International Monetary Fund (IMF) data. We also note that the huge remittance flow to Nigeria from Nigerians abroad is also giving a boost to disposable incomes and retail spending. The World Bank recorded that remittance flow to Nigeria from Nigerians living in Diaspora in 2012 was up to 21 billion US dollars.

India may provide an example of how the Nigerian retail growth story unfolds in the future, as analysts say Nigeria is in a similar place as India was 10 years ago just before the Indian retail boom took off. In 2001, India had 142,000 sq m of modern retail space. By 2006, the number had spiked to 2.7m sq m, moving from 30 malls in 2003 to 230 malls by 2007.

Analysts predict that Actis may make investments of as much as $1.5 billion in African commercial real estate, including Nigeria. Already Shoprite the South African retail giant sees Nigeria as its growth market as purchasing power plummets in home country.Retail property plans for Nigeria include the Jabi Lake mall in Abuja, and Ado Bayero Mall in Kano.

The most attractive locations for new retail outlets are often the first tier cities of Lagos and Abuja, due to ease of access and superior infrastructure. Second tier cities like Port Harcourt, Kano, Warrri, Owerri and Onitsha are also providing opportunities.

One major challenge facing investors in Nigeria’s retail market is capital. While large equity requirements of between $30 – $70 m are often needed, naira debt is expensive as prime lending rates are north of 20 percent with the central bank’s (CBN) benchmark monetary policy rate at 12 per cent. The cost of projects is also expensive often with limited local expertise. Informed estimates reveal that the cost of completing a project in Nigeria is 2.5 times that of a similar sized one in South Africa. Costs are often passed on to tenants, leading to few anchor options. Thus investors will have to navigate the challenge with prudential risk management strategies.

One other challenge that must be overcome for enhanced retail growth and expansion is the poor transportation and distribution system that is largely road based with attendant delays resulting from poor road infrastructure. Distribution will be better enhanced in a transportation system where the rail system is quite efficient and effective.

As services are steadily experiencing growth in many economies, the retail services is a new frontier that needs to be better tapped for economic growth in Nigeria