₦airaland Forum

These links will help all exporters: http://tectono..com/2014/09/tectono-ventures-presents-contemporary.html
http://tectono..com/2014/09/nigeria-business-review-in-conjunction.html
Just click and read carefully. Good luck.

CBN MOVES TO STRENGTHEN MONETARY AND FISCAL POLICIES
Tectono Business Review has gathered that the Central Bank of Nigeria has begun moves to strengthen the level of coordination between monetary and fiscal policy instruments, following the challenges currently facing the economy. This, according to the apex bank, will help to achieve the broad objectives of macroeconomic growth in the country.

This development was made known by the Deputy Governor, Economic Policy, CBN, Dr Sarah Alade. While speaking at the opening session of the Fiscal Liquidity Assessment Committee retreat in Abuja, she said that there was the need to strengthen the effectiveness of monetary and fiscal policies in the country.

Speaking on the theme, ‘Can monetary or fiscal policy alone achieve macroeconomic stability and growth?,’ Dr. Alade said the recent emerging challenges facing the country had made it imperative for the monetary and fiscal authorities to better coordinate their activities. She listed some the challenges as low fiscal buffers, expansionary fiscal policy, high volume of maturing instruments, impact of external shocks, dwindling foreign exchange earnings, declining reserves, weak oil market and high unemployment.

These challenges, she noted, had all redefined the boundaries of macroeconomic management thus necessitating the need for redressing mutual suspicion and hostility experienced globally between the two macroeconomic management institutions.

She said, “At the moment, the economy faces significant downside risks of reversal in capital flows, reserve depletion, depreciation of naira, financial market instability and higher inflation and we cannot afford not to understand ourselves and work together. In the next couple of months, political activities would be at the peak and anticipated level of injection would require enormous effort to manage domestic excess liquidity to reduce inflationary pressure Against this background, FLAC members at this workshop are enjoined to appreciate the importance of their individual and collective roles in confronting the enormous challenges that lie ahead. It is my hope that this year’s retreat will offer participants the opportunity to evaluate the recent challenges confronting monetary and fiscal policies and to build the trust required in sharing information, which will be key to strategising for the growth and stability of our economy in the days ahead.”

Also speaking at the event, the Director, Monetary Policy Department, CBN, Mr. Moses Tule, said there was a need to sustain macroeconomic stability through effective and efficient domestic policies. Current development had provided the committee with a strong motivation for strengthening coordination between monetary and fiscal policies.

The theme of the conference, he noted, was structured to elicit discussions that were invaluable in developing monetary and fiscal policies that would consistently address macroeconomic stability.
From: http://tectono..com/

ARMED ROBBERS KILL NZE MICHAEL ANYIAM-OSIGWE
Information reaching Tectono Business Review has it that Nze Michael Anyiam-Osigwe, a member of the prominent Anyiam-Osigwe family, has met his untimely death. The entire family has been enveloped by a thick pall of grief since Saturday, November 29, 2014 when the incident occurred. Until his death, the deceased was Co-ordinator General of the Osigwe Anyiam-Osigwe Foundation and Secretary to the Supervisory Board.

His elder brother, Charles Anyiam-Osigwe, said in a statement that the family was gripped by a deep sense of sorrow at the passing on of Nze Michael. He noted, however, that the family had submitted to the will of the Almighty God who gives and recalls. “For us, Michael remains irreplaceable, but collectively, those of us left behind will do our very best to bridge that void which his absence no doubt now creates for us as a family and group,” he said.

We gathered that the incident occurred on Saturday while the deceased was travelling to his hometown, Nkwerre, in Imo State, to attend a funeral. He was in company with three of his elder brothers – Charles, Anthony and Chukwuka.

An eyewitness stated: “He was in the same car with Charles and Anthony, while his eldest brother, Chukwuka was in another car with his wife. They were with three escort mobile policemen. Somewhere on the expressway around Okada Town, very close to Benin, they ran into armed robbers who were operating on the road. It was about 2.30pm. Their cars had got very close to the scene of the robbery before they made the discovery. Like other motorists, they all managed to escape inside the bush. The robbers were well armed and they could not be curtailed by the three policemen travelling with the Anyiam-Osigwes. But a detachment of policemen later arrived the scene and engaged the robbers. The robbers later ran away.

“The policemen later announced with their megaphone that the robbers had been sent packing, and that the road was now clear for the motorists to continue their journey. The policemen told the people to come out of the bush where they had been hiding. Michael and his brothers and others travelling with them came out and entered the car. Many of the motorists started their cars and sped off. Unfortunately, the car in which Michael and two of his brothers were riding in did not start, apparently because it had been shot and a bullet was lodged in the engine. While they were trying to understand what could be responsible, one of the armed robbers suddenly materialised and shot Michael in the chest and thigh.”

Daily Sun gathered that he was rushed to the nearest hospital around Okada town to see how he could be stabilized first. The doctor, it was learnt, made efforts to save his life, but the medical experts could not achieve much as he had been badly shot.

A member of the family told the reporter that efforts were also made to get a helicopter from Port Harcourt, adding, however, that it was already late and they were told that the captain that would have brought the chopper could not fly after 6pm

“When he stabilized a bit, he was moved to Lagos by road, with full security cover provided by the Edo State Commissioner of Police. He was brought in late Saturday to Eko Hospital and the doctors did all they could to save his life. His brother had even made an arrangement and got a private jet ready to fly him out to a hospital overseas on Sunday evening if his condition improved. Regrettably, he was confirmed dead on Sunday afternoon.”

The deceased was a very erudite scholar, thinker and businessman working within the Anyiam-Osigwe family business. He has extensive local and global connections around the world. He was a friend to a number of presidents and prime ministers, both serving and former within Africa, Europe, Asia and the United States. He was Coordinator of the annual Anyiam-Osigwe Memorial Lecture, which has featured many serving and former Heads of States as keynote speaker. He is the fifth of the Anyiam-Osigwe seven brothers. His sister is Peace Anyiam Osigwe, the founder of AMAA awards. Like other members of the popular Anyiam-Osigwe family, Nze Michael was always in white attire.

A statement issued by Charles Anyiam-Osigwe on behalf of the family reads: “With grief and a deep sense of sorrow, but with total submission to the will of the Almighty God who gives and recalls, the Anyiam-Osigwe family announces the untimely passing to eternal glory of Nze Michael Anyiam-Osigwe. Michael was killed at the hands of armed robbers who operated along the Ore-Benin Road near the Okada Junction in the afternoon of 29th November 2014 at about 2.30pm. Up until his shocking and painful demise, Nze Michael Anyiam-Osigwe was the Co-ordinator General of the Osigwe Anyiam-Osigwe Foundation and a member of its Board of Trustees. He was also a Director of the Africa Institute for Leadership Research and Development as well as the Honorary Consul of the Republic of Malawi to Nigeria. He was also the Executive Director within the Anyiam-Osigwe Consortium of Companies. He studied Economics and obtained a joint Masters Degree in Social Anthropology and Musicology from Goldsmiths College, University of London He is survived by his mother, Chief Dorothy C. Anyiam-Osigwe (OON), his wife, Okiemute Anyiam-Osigwe, five lovely children, six brothers and a sister, nieces and nephews and a host of other relations. In due course, his rights of passage would be announced by the Family. May his gentle soul rest in peace.”

From: http://tectono..com/

FINANCE PROFESSIONALS PREDICT HARD TIMES OVER NAIRA DEVALUATION
If the analyses provided by financial experts are anything to go by, the recent devaluation of the naira will result in huge industry closures, high inflation and job losses.

According to those professionals, the economy of Nigeria, the largest in Africa, will enter a new mode in about three months’ time and its citizens may start experiencing an unprecedented job loss. They said for an import-dependent economy like Nigeria, the devaluation of the naira by the Monetary Policy Committee on behalf of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) had put the economy in limbo and Nigerians could be in for hard times in a few months from now.

The CBN had, last week, devalued the naira by 8.4 per cent from N155 to N168, raised the benchmark interest rate (Monetary Policy Rate) from 12 per cent to 13 per cent, and increased the Cash Reserve Ratio of private sector deposits in banks from 15 per cent to 20 per cent, among other policy adjustments.

Plunging world oil prices have dealt a big blow to Nigeria’s oil-dependent economy in the last few months, with foreign portfolio investors pulling out their billions of dollars through the bond and equity markets.

The CBN was forced to devalue the naira after admitting that the dwindling reserves were making it hard to defend the local currency. The external reserves have plunged to $37.1bn as of the last week of November, 2014.

The central bank said the economy was in a precarious state and that naira devaluation was the ‘best’ it could do to save the economy from further woes. But analysts said the devaluation route would lead to massive job loss occasioned by massive industry closures, high inflation rate (moving to double digit from the current 8.1 per cent) and the economy’s fortunes could be worsen. They said the economy was heading for the hard times as experienced in 1986 when the naira was similarly devalued.

The President, Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Mr. Remi Bello, said he had warned the Federal Government of its looming danger to the economy, insisting that the devaluation of the naira would impoverish Nigerians.

“We have been through this before; it happened in 1986 and we know what eventually happened when the naira was devalued then. The belief is that when the naira is devalued, the pressure on exchange rate will be reduced. Yes, theoretically but the one we have been doing in the past has not achieved that aim.”

On the effect of the devaluation on cost of doing business, Bello observed that as a result of the import-dependent character of the economy, the sharp decline in exchange rate would naturally push up the operating cost of enterprises in the economy.

A famous economic analyst and the Chief Executive Officer, Financial Derivatives Limited, Mr. Bismarck Rewane, said, “The decision to raise the MPR and the CRR on private sector deposits, as well as the shift in the benchmark mid-point of the currency band are not without far-reaching implications.” According to him, the currency adjustment has a direct impact on the cost of imports and this may undermine the MPC’s efforts at ensuring price stability.

Also analysts at the BGL Plc are of the view that the depreciation of the naira will increase the cost of imports and prices of imported materials. “This, in turn, will lead to increase in inflation on imported foods,” they stated. The economists unanimously noted that depreciation was a hard route for an import-dependent economy. “It’s never the best of options,” they said, in a report. The Governor of the CBN, Mr. Godwin Emefiele, had also affirmed this.

In his screening at the Senate earlier in the year, Emefiele, had vowed that he would never devalue the naira because it would lead to serious hardship with terrible macroeconomic instability. He had said, while unveiling his economic blueprint, “Devaluation will hurt the economy. So, devaluation will not happen because it will hurt the economy; people will lose their jobs; inflation will be high and some industries will close down.” Emefiele had also said at his screening that he would bring down rates in order to boost employment. But last Tuesday, the MPC was forced to increase rates.

Analysts said this decision, coupled with the raising of the private sector CRR, would lead to a rise in the cost of funds and ultimately low investment and high unemployment rate.
Although the Managing Director of Economic Associates, Dr. Ayo Teriba, supported the naira devaluation, he faulted other measures announced by the CBN. He said, “To my mind, devaluing the naira was the only thing they should have done. All the other steps that they took amounted to overkill and they will cause problems elsewhere in the economy. I do not think they should have raised the policy rate. You told us that inflation had been falling; so, why do you need to raise the policy rate? In the eyes of the CBN, Nigerian economy is banks, foreign exchange market and government, which is very wrong.”

Other analysts have stated that another round of devaluation could take place if oil prices continue on the downward trajectory. Asked if there might be a further devaluation of the naira amid the continued decline in oil prices, Teriba said, “If the adverse global forces continue, the CBN will have no choice but to do the needful. I doubt that the falling oil prices will continue. It might drop rapidly to $60 as OPEC may desire, but then getting to $60 should achieve their aim. Part of their aim is to derail the shale oil developers in the US.

A professor of political economy and management expert, Pat Utomi, in a telephone interview with journalists, said, “For me, the fall of oil price is an opportunity. In fact, if I have my way, I want it to fall to $20 per barrel because unless that happens, we won’t be able to save the country. We have created a system that runs on easy money and rent-seekers are extracting rent everywhere and the most important asset that they have, their brains, are not being deployed to create wealth for the country. Nigeria therefore continues to be poor. So, while people are upset that oil price has crashed, I want it to fall further so that it will provide some opportunity to prosecute those who have wasted Nigeria’s resources.”

The CBN had no choice but to devalue the naira, Utomi said, “but my problem is not what they did; the problem is that we could have at least prevented this a long time ago and we would not have been where we are now. We could have saved the money we were making, rather than spending like drunkards.

“I have argued for 20 years that the benchmark for the FAAC accounts should not be more than $40. If the state governments are not going to behave themselves and share money within $40 per barrel, they should not run for governors because intelligent people know that states are supposed to create value, create revenues and not go to FAAC account meeting in Abuja and share. Also, I argued that between $40 and $60, the money should go to a stabilisation fund, which can be drawn on when the oil price drops. Then, if it turns out that oil price is going to $100, everything from $80 upwards will now go to a future fund, a long-term instrument that will create continuing wealth for generations. I expect the naira to be more than 200 a dollar in the next couple of days.”

An energy analyst at Ecobank, Mr. Dolapo Oni, said there are two segments of the energy sector that could be affected by the devaluation of the naira, namely, refineries and power plants. He said, “The price at which they buy their raw materials, which for the power plants is gas and for the refineries is crude oil, is in dollar. But when they earn their revenue from their customers, power plants sell their power to customers and collect naira. The refineries sell their fuel to the petroleum marketers and they collect naira. Unfortunately, the naira that they are going to be collecting is worth a lot less than what the dollar they are paying to their supplier is worth. So, we are starting to see some impact and I think we will see a lot more going forward.”

According to the LCCI president, businesses driven by government patronage are likely to experience a decline in the short term given the current revenue outlook and the effect of devaluation.

“Capital projects of government will reduce drastically and this would affect some segments of the private sector. Generally, government contractors would experience a slowdown in tempo of activities. With declining revenue, the risk of default in payment for jobs executed for government agencies will be higher in the short term. This situation calls for cautious engagement with government contracts at all levels of government. As government revenue contracts, the capacity to meet financial contractual obligations may be difficult.”

To Bello, the effect on the consumer will be disastrous as the devaluation may lead to cost-push inflation which will be driven by high cost of production and high cost of imported finished goods.

An industrialist and Secretary, Yaba Industrial Estate, Leonard Onyegbu, agreed with the LCCI president’s analysis of the situation. Onyegbu noted that the devaluation would push up the cost of machines and raw materials since most manufacturers acquired their raw materials from outside the country. “The effect will not be limited to imported items; it will trickle down to the local market where sellers will increase prices of local items including consumables to keep up with the increase in prices of imported goods,” he said.

From: http://tectono..com/

OKEY EZEA TELLS GOV. CHIME TO STOP BUYING VEHICLES AND PROPERTIES FOR CONCUBINES
Chief Okey Ezea, an erudite maritime lawyer and shipping mogul, is a governorship aspirant under the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Enugu State. He spoke briefly on his ambition with journalists shortly after submitting his nomination form at the APC National Secretariat, Abuja. Enjoy it.

Enugu PDP has zoned its governorship ticket to Enugu North where you hail from. Can you beat the PDP candidate, if given the APC ticket?
I am very much prepared for this battle. I have gone through the battle before and I know that the PDP is not as popular as people claim in Enugu State and in Igboland generally. The problem is that they have always excelled on the platform of not credible elections in our state. The PDP banks on rigging and on writing of results and over time, we have known their gimmicks and we are prepared to match them and we are also relying on the promises made by the INEC that this time around, we are going to have Biometric accreditation and that will enhance the credibility of the elections in terms of reaching out to grassroots. Everybody wants change in Enugu state. They want a change from non accountability; they want a change corruption, they also want a change from the suffering of the people. All our youths are not employed, our children school under the Mongo trees, our hospital do not exist and somebody say there is government in Enugu state. There is no government in Enugu for a long time.

What are those things that you are bringing on board?
What I am bringing on board is change in every aspect of life. We are introducing free education to the state; we are going to introduce medical care to the aged, children and pregnant women. We are going to bring about policies that will enhance job creation for our young men, because there are many institutions in Enugu state producing thousands of many young men and women who do not get employed, meanwhile PDP government is busy squandering billions of Naira that come to the state. From our last analysis of allocation, Enugu state supposed to have collected about N544 billion in the last eight years and there is nothing to show for it. If you check papers today, they are talking of bad roads in many part of the state.

How do you intend to finance these projects when you come into office?
The tragedy of government in Nigeria is that people just sit down on their chairs and waits for federal allocation to come. Governors and the policy makers should wear their thinking cap and begin to talk of how to generate revenue through investment that is regenerative, not tax the people and making the life more difficult for the people by going to impose tax on somebody riding motorcycle. The governor should tackle the leakages in the system and stop buying vehicles and the properties for concubines alone. It would bring down the expenses of government and they will have more money to attend to the needs.

How visible is the APC in Enugu state?
You cannot underrate the APC in Enugu State. I want to tell you that the propaganda from the state governor that there is no opposition party in Enugu is only on the pages of Newspapers. I personally have ran the opposition party in Enugu state in the last eight years, I contested under the Labour Party (LP) in 2007 and defeated Sullivan Chime, and I have continue to maintain our position that we do accept the policies and practices of the PDP in Enugu state. We are all over the place and our structure is on the ground.

From: http://tectono..com/

Tectono Business Review is a platform where both politics and business are reviewed. All the elites read it everyday apart from you. What are you waiting for? Just click: http://tectono..com/

yuncka:
Nice! I wished dis can be done at levels. I juz wish!

Yes, it is achievable.

HOW GOV. CHIME AND HIS FACTION IN PDP WERE HUMBLED
Tectono Business Review gathered that the conduct of the Enugu State PDP House of Assembly primary election was peaceful without issues as both Gov. Chime’s faction and that of Ekweremadu agreed and harmonized in the interest of PDP and the state. This harmonization made it possible for delegates ‘elected’ on November 1, 2014 congress to be accepted and used for the House of Assembly primaries and will be used in subsequent primaries.

The use of the delegates who emerged during the congress on the 1st day of November, 2014 by itself has placed Governor Chime and his team in a precarious political position of uncertainty. The incumbent House of Assembly members seeking re-election were thrown to a very rough political terrain. It is more like bringing the hunters and the hunted together as the hunted have taken the power to decide the faith of the hunters.

We gathered that the beehive of activities centered at the residence of the Deputy Senate President, Chief Ike Ekweremadu. It was heard that majority of the incumbent House of Assembly members went through the gates of his Independence Layout residence seeking support from the new David of Enugu State politics—a feat impossible in the recent past.

However, Ekweremadu, in his disposition of humility, directed them to go meet with their delegates because the result of the primary election will be the decision of the people through the elected delegates of November 1, 2014. One of such desperate incumbent and a prominent member of Gov. Chime’s faction seen at the premises was Hon. Sunday Ude-Okoye, the majority leader of the house and the champion of the ‘chicken impeachment’ of the deputy governor.

Wow!!! We heard that Hon. Ude-Okoye was so desperate to the extent of kneeling down before Ekweremadu. He was swiftly ushered out to meet with the elected delegates and the people of Awgu-North. At the end of it, the pleading and begging did not help as the delegates and majority of the people of Awgu- North rejected Hon. Ude-Okoye, staunch loyalist of Gov. Chime, because of his high-handedness and hostility towards his own Awgu people – the same people he was supposed to be representing.

Among the many incumbents and loyalists of Gov. Chime who kissed the dust includes but not limited to the member representing Oji-River. The man was seen sweating profusely at the gate after the delegates and the people of Oji-River had rejected his quest to return to the house. The reason for his rejection is not known at this time.

Similar situations played out throughout the 17 local government areas of the state as incumbents most of them Gov. Chime’s loyalists were seen begging for their seats and the delegates making decisions on who gets elected or rejected. The good news about this is that internal democracy has returned to Enugu State PDP. Those nominated by PDP were by the will of the people and not by the imposition of bigwig politicians.

From: http://tectono..com/

2015: CHIME, ELECHI AND ORJI BATTLE FOR POLITICAL RELEVANCE
Moves by governors of the South-east states of Ebonyi and Enugu to produce their successors by May 29 next year are currently bringing the once peaceful states to the edge of political crisis. Ahead of the primary elections of the Peoples Democratic Party for next year’s general elections, the political temperature in some states of the South-east has clearly reached a feverish pitch as incumbent governors seem to be engaged in the battle of their lives.

Common Aspiration
In the South-east, apart from Anambra State that is not taking part in the governorship election and, of course, Imo that is under the control of All Progressives Congress, the remaining states of Abia, Ebonyi and Enugu are PDP states readying for the emergence of new governors as the incumbents serve out their second terms by May 29 next year.

Besides, the three governors are eyeing the senate seats of their respective senatorial zones. While, Governor Theodore Orji of Abia State has been cleared to contest the Abia Central senatorial seat, Martin Elechi of Ebonyi State is contesting for the Ebonyi Central senatorial seat. On his part, Governor Sullivan Chime of Enugu State is seeking the Enugu West senatorial seat, which is currently occupied by the highly influential Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu.

Battle of Succession
At the moment, while Orji seems to have relative peace in his choice of his successor, his colleagues in Ebonyi and Enugu states are having sleepless nights in view of the obvious opposition to their preferred candidates.

Elechi is believed to have settled for the immediate past Minister of Health, Professor Onyebuchi Chukwu, while Chime has pronounced his preference for three-time member of the House of Representatives for Udenu/Igboeze North federal constituency, Hon. Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi. Hon. Ugwuanyi has also received the endorsement of PDP at different levels, from Enugu North caucus, Enugu East caucus, Enugu West caucus, the state caucus to the State Executive Committee. Several other groups have joined the fray of endorsements for Hon. Ugwuanyi, who is widely seen as having large followers across political, religious and social boundaries.

Objection
However, the initial excitement in Ebonyi and Enugu states that had greeted the endorsements of Chukwu and Ugwuanyi, respectively, are being seriously challenged by some party chieftains in the two states. At the last count, no fewer than six persons, including Senator Ayogu Eze representing Enugu North senatorial zone, billionaire businessman and owner of the Peace Mass Transit, Evangelist Samuel Onyeishi, a commissioner with the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFUND), Hon. Chinedu Onu, and a governorship aspirant, Chief Anayo Onwuegbu, have been cleared to challenge Ugwuanyi at the December 8 governorship PDP primary.

In Ebonyi State also, five PDP chieftains, including the deputy governor, Mr. Dave Umahi, a former Commissioner for Works, Mr. Paul Okorie, a former Commissioner for Culture and Tourism, Chief Hyacinth Ikpoh, chairman of the Senate Committee on Police Affairs, Senator Paulinus Igwe Nwagu representing Ebonyi Central senatorial zone, and a Second Republic senator, Chief Offia Nwali, have joined the race to challenge Chukwu at the primaries.

PDP Crisis
No doubt, the governorship contests within the ruling party in the two states have become very hot because of the crisis that trailed the party in the build-up to the November 1 ward congresses. The crisis followed the resignation of the chairmen of the party in the states. While Ugorji Amaoti, who resigned to pursue his aspiration to represent the people of Afikpo North/Afikpo South federal constituency of Ebonyi State, and Vita Abba, who resigned to contest the Nsukka/Igboeze South federal constituency seat.

But the major area of contention, which culminated in the crisis rocking the two states, is the mode of replacement of the two chairmen. Those opposed to the two governors alleged that while the party’s constitution provided that the party’s deputy chairman should take over in the absence of the chairman, pending the selection of a substantive chairman from the same area as the previous chairman, the party in the two states had gone straight to replace the duo of Amaoti and Abba with people from their areas instead of their deputies.

In Ebonyi State, they alleged that instead of Joseph Onwe, who was Amaoti’s deputy, Ben Akpa, a former Commissioner for Commerce and Industry, was appointed by the party’s SEC, while the PDP State Executive Committee in Enugu State equally appointed a former Managing Director of the State Housing and Development Corporation, Ikeje Asogwa, as the new state chairman instead of Elder David Aja, Abba’s deputy.

The situation at the moment has pitched Elechi against his deputy, while in Enugu State, Chime is also having a running battle with Ekweremadu, who is seeking to return to the senate for a record fourth time.

Undaunted
Despite the crisis, the aspirants appear undaunted in their aspirations. Onyeishi, who is the owner of Peace Group of Companies and Peace Airlines, formally declared for the governorship race in Enugu State on Monday, saying his decision was in response to a divine call. Onyeishi, who made the declaration shortly after being cleared by the PDP governorship screening committee, said he had the needed experience to attract huge investments to the state and equally make efficient management of its resources.

He said, “I started my business from the scratch but today, we are a force to be reckoned with in the country. It doesn’t really matter the amount of money you have but your ability to utilise the little you have. Our assurance to Enugu people is we are not only going to make judicious use of the state’s allocations, but use our business contacts to bring local and international economic investment here.”

Onyeishi added, “Even though I am still rendering service to the people through my business, I will do more as a governor. I also believe that God has prepared me enough to be useful to Enugu State. I believe that I have the training, experience, exposure and enough qualification which I will use if given the opportunity by Enugu people.

“As a philanthropist, I give scholarship to about 120 students out of about 2, 400 applicants every year, just around five per cent. If I had the resources, I will like to give scholarship to 1, 000 persons yearly. Education in the life of a man is as important as air, so it is one sector we are going to give priority.”

The billionaire PDP aspirant equally spoke on his plans in the area of agriculture, health care, solid mineral development, workers’ welfare as well as wealth creation, promising to “encourage a savings culture for the state, to serve as a hedge against any future ‘allocation shock’, which has become likely, given the continuous decrease in the price of crude oil, the nation’s major source of revenue.”

Pro-Jonathan Rally
On their part, despite the political bickering and leadership crisis in PDP in Ebonyi State, last week, Elechi organised a rally to not only drum up support for the second term ambition of President Goodluck Jonathan but to also dispel insinuations in some quarters that he had been swallowed by the crisis currently rocking the party in the state.

The rally held at the Abakaliki township stadium attracted a huge crowd. Some observers said it was one of the biggest political gatherings since the creation of the state. Elechi’s supporters were excited by the size of the crowd, despite what they termed sustained efforts by anti-Elechi elements to wrest the leadership structure of the party from him and prove to the PDP national leadership that the governor was incapable of delivering Jonathan in 2015. Various speakers at the event reassured Elechi of their unwavering commitment to the victory of the party next year.

On his part, Elechi alleged that some politicians contesting elective positions in the 2015 general elections were sabotaging Jonathan’s effort towards building a united Nigeria. He described those politicians as liars, saying their character does not reflect what they profess.

Elechi added that Jonathan had portrayed himself as a true Nigerian by refusing to discriminate against anybody on the basis of tribe, religion, language, and socio-political affiliation even in the face of opposition.

According to the governor, “We are here for a purpose; to thank the man who is the greatest gift to Nigerians. Nigerians are begging him to continue his agenda for total transformation of Nigeria. We thank God for giving us Jonathan. We are happy for him. Some are pretending to be working for him while they are sabotaging him.”

While reaffirming his support for the candidacy of Chukwu, the governor urged all Ebonyians not to vote people of questionable character in the 2O15 general elections. He appealed to the people not to result to violence but to ensure free, fair and credible elections next year.

Senator Chris Nwankwo, who represents Ebonyi North senatorial zone, and Sunny Ogborji, representing Ebonyi South senatorial zone in their speeches said the state was not for sale to moneybag politicians. They warned that any attempt to work against the government would be resisted, promising to support Jonathan to realise his second term bid.

The team leader of Chukwu’s campaign, Senator Emma Onwe, said the rally was a sign of Jonathan’s transformation stride in all sectors of the economy and assured him of their total support.

Private Meeting
Though, the battle is tough at the moment, emerging developments seem to indicate that there would be an agreement among the PDP players at the end of the day.
A source close to the governors of Ebonyi and Enugu told journalists that the outcome of recent meetings between Jonathan and some party stakeholders from the two states were positive. The source, who is a PDP member that prefers anonymity, said “very soon,” the struggle for power in the states would be a thing of the past. But at the moment, the aspirants are not relenting in their political aspirations.

From: http://tectono..com/

ALFRED OKUGBENI SPEAKS ON THE CHALLENGES OF THE HAULAGE INDUSTRY IN NIGERIA
The Chief Executive Officer, SinoTrucks Nigeria Limited and a trustee of Road Haulage Transporters Association of Lagos, Alfred Okugbeni, speaks with journalists on the challenges of the haulage industry in Nigeria. It is very informative, especially for those people intending to invest in haulage business. Relax and enjoy it.

Why are there several associations for haulage transporters?
The existing associations are tilted towards container freighting and wet cargo; there was no focus on dry cargo organised haulage, which is done by corporate haulers. So, we decided to bring the focus to that area. We are all working together for an industry that is professionally run with some sanity. Although our members are primarily into the haulage of dry cargo, they also cut across other aspects of haulage.

The haulage sector is often perceived as unorganized. Has that been your experience?
Well, in this industry, there is no cohesion. There has been no formal association where members get actively involved. Trying to bring people together has been a bit difficult but people are responding. This association has very credible members that are very much interested in bringing changes to the way the haulage industry is perceived and run. Now we have a secretariat with an executive secretary that is up and running.

Falling trucks within the metropolis and along the highways are a common sight. What is responsible for this?
There are three primary factors that cause accidents – the human, mechanical and infrastructure problems. The roads are not in their best shape. Areas where you have a lot of trucks turning upside down are usually places where you have bad roads. To a large extent, the bad roads are responsible for the accidents because a loaded truck is a delicate object. If it tilts, it can easily turn over.

Then, you factor in the drivers or other road users. It is unfortunate that in this country, there is no formal school for training truck drivers; there are very few. The only way most drivers learn is informally, graduating from motor boys into truck drivers by observation. This has contributed to a lot of the crashes you see on the road.

ROHTAL is trying to address that. The Lagos State Driving Institute is one institution that is also trying to do something. There are a few private truck driving schools owned by some of us in the association but the impact has not been felt. Total Nigeria owns a truck driving school in Ibadan but it is tailored towards meeting the needs of Total truck drivers; they go there for retraining.

The bulk of the truck drivers are not formally trained to drive trucks. Driving a truck is sensitive; a truck on its own is a heavy vehicle. By the time it is loaded with 30 tonnes of materials whether wet or dry cargo, it becomes a weapon of mass destruction. So when you find a situation where the drivers are not properly trained, these things are inevitable. Over time, we have observed that a whole lot of these crashes are avoidable if only drivers were trained on safety.

On the maintenance culture, most people in the haulage business are on small scale; people who got into the business by mistake because it was not planned. Perhaps they were unemployed and their brother overseas sent them a fairly used truck. Before you know it, they go into haualge and they don’t have a proper structure for maintenance. They don’t have workshop for repairs. Very few outsource the maintenance to workshops. Most of the trucks are managed by roadside mechanics; the trucks are not serviced; there is no preventive maintenance.

Most of our members, who are mostly organised private sector transporters, have workshops. One of the things we are trying to put in place is to have a joint facility in the future where we can all have one or two zonal areas for maintaining our trucks. Transport really is a different business from maintenance. We want a situation where we can outsource the maintenance of all the trucks to the joint facility. That is one of the projects we want to undertake. Ordinarily a haulage company does not need to have a workshop if they have a place it can outsource the service to.

Trucks drivers are said to be often extorted by security agencies. How true is this?
That is the reality on the road in many cases. The Federal Government came out over a year ago to say the collection of revenue on the road is illegal. People should desist from it but some local and state governments still have this taskforce on the road that harass truck drivers for revenue collection. Sometimes when the drivers try to run away, it results into accidents. For that reason, ROHTAL is partnering with ex-service men that is the Nigeria legion, a group of ex-military and para military personnel. They provide some kind of security for people on the road so that you are not extorted by these touts who call themselves revenue collectors. Our drivers are really suffering from these things. We plan to have their stickers on our trucks so that when such issues arise, we can call on them to intervene.

There was a time the executive secretary of ROHTAL attended a meeting organised by the joint task board. When she raised this issue, all she was told was that the government was working on it. The Joint task board was working on it to harmonize tax and revenue collection on the highway but then we cannot wait forever. We are trying to find a way whereby our members can travel the length and breadth of the country without harassment by partnering with the ex service men.

Cargo clearance at the ports is often said to be time consuming. How has this affected haulage?
Although the Federal Government in recent times has tried to streamline the cargo clearance system, there are still a whole lot of bottlenecks. The business of a transporter is to pick cargo and deliver it but in some cases, you find the transporter being harassed for one thing or the other. The problem of cargo clearance is outside of our control, so we can only do some advocacy with the government to streamline it. In many countries, you can clear cargo within a day but here, it takes more than seven days, depending on how fast the process is and how congested the port is. It is really a big problem. There is also a need to develop other ports so as to decentralise the process and decongest Lagos ports, considering the volume of imports being handled there.

Truck drivers into container freighting and wet cargo have complained about the lack of staging areas. How is this affecting haulage sector?
When the ports were planned, it was done with a limited mindset, such that there was no provision for staging areas. I understand a place is being developed opposite Tincan Island by the Ministry of Works as a staging area. The absence of appropriate staging areas is responsible for the traffic in Apapa; most of the trucks are parked on the road, hoping they would be called into the port. Lagos State on its own has designated a place around Orile Bus Stop as a truck park. It is being used by the tanker drivers. It is still not enough though. Some private companies along Lagos/Sagamu have also built their own parks. Ogun State government has also built one or two parks. The ones built by Ogun State government have not been put to full use because they have not been properly developed. Our intention is to approach neighbouring states like Ogun to allow access to those parks so that our members can use them and wait. It is also not to our benefit that the trucks come in and wait all day on the roads to load cargo. Although most of our members have their own private parks it would help if those who don’t have can wait somewhere.

How can the government encourage professionalism in haulage?
Haulage is a strategic and sensitive industry because goods that are produced have to be moved out and even raw materials used to produce the goods have to be moved to where they are needed. For that reason, about 80 per cent of cargo in Nigeria is moved by road. Given this nature, there is the need for a transport policy; there is none in Nigeria. It would help to put standards and structures in place and address everything that is wrong with haulage in Nigeria.

For example, there are many overloaded trucks on our roads. Those days, we used to have weigh bridges at the toll gates but now, vehicles that are supposed to load 30 tonnes are loading 50 tonnes and nobody checks that. Overtime, the roads that are being done would go bad. It is the policy that would spell out the minimum standard for a truck. In some other countries, there are inspectors who check even the wear and tear of the tyres. In Nigeria, we have trucks on the road without spare tyres; some have worn out tyres and without basic safety equipment.

There is also a difference between the average driver’s licence and the truck driver’s licence. In the US, for example, if you commit any offence as a driver, you can be suspended for a number of months. If you repeat that offence, you can be stopped from driving totally. It is the lack of a transport policy that has made the haulage sector an all comers affair. In the UK, you get a licence to go into haulage and once the company violates any of the policies, the company can be suspended or fined for something as common as violating the number of driving hours. In Nigeria, haulage is not regulated; you don’t need a license to start a haulage business.
From: http://tectono..com/

DEPOSIT MONEY BANKS FACE LOSSES ON BORROWED FUNDS FOLLOWING THE DEVALUATION OF NAIRA
Tectono Business Review has gathered that Deposit Money Banks that have obtained foreign loans running into hundreds of millions of dollars face record losses on the loans following the devaluation of the naira by the Central Bank of Nigeria.

According to top banking sources, Eurobonds and other dollar-denominated loans obtained mostly from international capital markets and not hedged may make some banks to record foreign exchange losses in their income statements. This, it was learnt, might ultimately reduce the profitability of some banks in coming months. Nigerian banks have issued Eurobonds running into over $2bn, aside other dollar-denominated foreign loans.

One of the sources familiar with the situation said, “Some banks have borrowed money in dollars from international capital markets. These monies were brought into the country and put in their general pool of funds in the treasury. From the treasury, the monies were disbursed along with other funds into various investment sources including lending into oil and gas and other sectors. With the devaluation of the naira, the banks will need more naira to buy dollars in order to service those loans and pay the principal at maturity.”

The source, however, said there was no cause to worry because banks would even-out the foreign exchange losses with time because those differences would be factored into future lending and investments.

The official said, “With time, banks will factor in the 8.4 per cent devaluation in the naira into their future lending and investments. You know banks will not want to carry the losses. All these things will ultimately affect cost of funds in the near future. It will reduce profitability in the short run but not in the long run as those losses will be recovered in no time.”

Meanwhile, Tectono Business Review has gathered that individuals and companies which have borrowed money from banks may soon begin to get letters from the financial institutions informing them of their decision to review their interest rates after the devaluation of the naira and increase in the Monetary Policy Rate from 12 to 13 per cent.

A top bank official, who made this disclosure to our journalists said, “In the offer letter signed by customers that obtained loans from banks, there is a section that states that ‘we will inform if the markets conditions change’. This is part of what it means. Some of the banks will write their customers to review their interest rates in line with the new policies. This is irrespective of whether the loans were obtained before the policies were announced or not.”

Commenting on banks’ dollar-denominated loans, Afrinvest Analysts said there was the need for the CBN to carry out a stress test to ascertain the banks’ exposure to dollar-denominated loans.

“We do not have access to the banks’ books to determine those foreign loans in dollars that were hedged and those that were not hedged. The CBN may need to carry out a stress test to determine this in the light of the currency devaluation,” they noted.

From:http://tectono..com/

Ezedon:
I will congratulate her when her office will yield a positive result

Really?

We, the management of Tectono Group of Companies, congratulates Architect Enyi Ben-Eboh on his investiture as Fellow of the Nigeria Institute of Architects (NIA) at the recently concluded Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the institute in Ilorin.

Architect Ben-Eboh, you are among the few human beings in the world that Tectono brand likes to be identified with. We are proud of you and wish you many more remarkable achievements.
From:http://tectono..com/

We, the management of Tectono Group of Companies, join millions of Nigerians to heartily felicitate with Dr. Goodluck Jonathan (GCFR), president and commander-in-chief of the armed forces and Dr. Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke, the Honorable Minister of Petroleum Resources, on the occasion of her election as the new president of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).

We believe that this milestone is a testimony of the visible and steady achievements that Nigeria has in the oil and gas sector under your visionary and distinguished leadership especially now that the country is witnessing an increased involvement of indigenous firms in the industry through passing into law the Nigeria Oil and Gas Industry Content Development Act in 2010.

We, at Tectono Group of Companies, are proud of you and we pray for your strength, wisdom and good health as you pilot the affair of this prestigious organization. More power to your elbow.

From: http://tectono..com/

THE CHALLENGES OF FINANCING SMALL FARMERS AND MSMES IN AFRICA: HOW AGRICULTURAL VALUE CHAIN FINANCE CAN BE A RESCUE.
INTRODUCTION
WHAT IS VALUE CHAIN?
A value chain is often defined as sequence of value-adding activities in a supply chain – from production to consumption, through processing and commercialization. Value chains in agriculture can be thought of as a set of processes and flows – from the inputs to production to processing, marketing and the consumer. Each segment of a chain has one or more backward and forward linkages. A chain is only as strong as its weakest link and hence the stronger the links, the more secure is the flow of products and services within chain. It is important to note that the benefit of value chain finance goes beyond that of the financial flows within the chain. Yes, it is about finance with agriculture and agribusiness within a chain but also about aligning and structuring finance with the chain or because of it. Simply being a part of a secure market chain makes one a better credit risk.

WHAT IS “FINANCING ALONG THE VALUE CHAIN?”
For centuries traders have provided finance to farmers for harvest, inputs or other needs such as emergencies. Many of the traders in turn receive finance from millers and processors who in turn may be financed from wholesalers or exporters who are farther “up” the chain from production to marketing. We all understand how trade finance typically works. But we also want to note that there are many entry points and many factors involved.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The term “value chain” therefore describes the full range of activities that are required to bring a product or service from conception, through the different phases of production (involving a combination of physical transformation and the input of various producer services), delivery to final consumers, and final disposal after use .

While approaches and applications vary, most value chain approaches have several common characteristics, including: a market system perspective; a focus on end markets; an emphasis on value chain governance; a recognition of the importance of relationships; a focus on changing firms’ behavior and transforming value chain relationships; targeting leverage points; and, empowering the private sector. In the international development field, projects utilizing the value chain approach generally tend to shift the balance of power within value chains through the formation of associations; branding; alternative financing; support for market systems; market or supply diversification; and, changing the basis of competition (generally from price-based to quality-based).

COMPETITIVENESS
One major discussion across Africa since globalization has been; can small firms and farmers compete in international, national or even local (globalized) markets? Will the poor be marginalized more by globalization? Or can they learn to compete? Africa has a large and growing population, and an increasingly industrialized and urbanized economy. All people need access to reliable, cost-effective and diversified sources of high-quality food, and the best source of this food is from the region itself.

There is also the vast export potential to be considered, especially in Middle Eastern and Asian markets, where food consumption is rising rapidly. However, African agriculture continues to be relatively uncompetitive, especially in relation to developing counterparts in Asia and Latin America. The continent’s over reliance on food imports creates unnecessary trade imbalances, fosters anxiety over food security, and is also a missed opportunity for promoting prosperity.

There is a serious danger that, through its inability to structurally reform agriculture, Africa is forced to make ever greater concessions to powerful foreign interests to guarantee food security. Whilst foreign investment should be encouraged, it should not be negotiated in desperation but from a position of confidence.

INADEQUATE FINANCING
A healthier development would be the orderly financing of a competitive domestic agricultural sector underpinned by a robust local financial sector; and there are reasons for optimism. In general, Africa’s financial sector is deepening and improving rapidly. Currently, however, agriculture is not broadly an attractive market for commercial financial institutions. Development agencies should build on the momentum in the financial sector however, to work more closely with financiers to facilitate access to finance for agriculture.

The agricultural sector is essential for job creation, food production and overall economic growth in many developing countries. Africa’s agricultural potential is largely untapped, however, with value chains often unproductive and uncompetitive. This is due to a number of environmental, economic, and social factors. One of the key challenges is lack of finance to fund the growth of African agriculture. It is against this backdrop that African governments, commercial financial institutions and the international community have reinforced their efforts to close this gap, also spurred on by the recent global food and financial crisis.

Agrifood systems worldwide are being transformed in unprecedented ways. Market integration and stringent specification of quality and timing of produce has never been so important. Farm production and distribution are rapidly evolving from the simple relationships and points of interaction of the past to the highly integrated linkages and closer alignments among business partners we witness today. Value chains are being promoted as the business development frameworks of choice in the agrifood sector.

There is much more attention being paid to inter and intra-organizational efficiency in production, processing and logistics. There is increased focus on marketing, product differentiation and product niche development. Furthermore, the competition is now global: prices are less affected by local conditions, seasonality and markets. All these developments make a solid financing structure even more important than it has always been. Market competitiveness and market risks are becoming the drivers of financing decisions in the new agrifood systems.

Yes, much is changing and much is not. While African agriculture, agribusiness and finance is evolving rapidly in some parts of the globe, in others there is little change and whole communities merely subsist and become less and less competitive, often also stricken with HIV-AIDS. Many sub-Saharan countries are affected by this scenario. It is important that value chain opportunities be available to all but to do so, finance and capacity building are critical components.
To read the full research work, click: http://tectono..com/2014/11/the-challenges-of-financing-small.html

You can have an export manual that explains how to export all non-petroleum products by clicking on:
http://tectono..com/2014/09/tectono-ventures-presents-contemporary.html

THE CHALLENGES OF FINANCING SMALL FARMERS AND MSMES IN AFRICA: HOW AGRICULTURAL VALUE CHAIN FINANCE CAN BE A RESCUE.
INTRODUCTION
WHAT IS VALUE CHAIN?
A value chain is often defined as sequence of value-adding activities in a supply chain – from production to consumption, through processing and commercialization. Value chains in agriculture can be thought of as a set of processes and flows – from the inputs to production to processing, marketing and the consumer. Each segment of a chain has one or more backward and forward linkages. A chain is only as strong as its weakest link and hence the stronger the links, the more secure is the flow of products and services within chain. It is important to note that the benefit of value chain finance goes beyond that of the financial flows within the chain. Yes, it is about finance with agriculture and agribusiness within a chain but also about aligning and structuring finance with the chain or because of it. Simply being a part of a secure market chain makes one a better credit risk.

WHAT IS “FINANCING ALONG THE VALUE CHAIN?”
For centuries traders have provided finance to farmers for harvest, inputs or other needs such as emergencies. Many of the traders in turn receive finance from millers and processors who in turn may be financed from wholesalers or exporters who are farther “up” the chain from production to marketing. We all understand how trade finance typically works. But we also want to note that there are many entry points and many factors involved.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The term “value chain” therefore describes the full range of activities that are required to bring a product or service from conception, through the different phases of production (involving a combination of physical transformation and the input of various producer services), delivery to final consumers, and final disposal after use .

While approaches and applications vary, most value chain approaches have several common characteristics, including: a market system perspective; a focus on end markets; an emphasis on value chain governance; a recognition of the importance of relationships; a focus on changing firms’ behavior and transforming value chain relationships; targeting leverage points; and, empowering the private sector. In the international development field, projects utilizing the value chain approach generally tend to shift the balance of power within value chains through the formation of associations; branding; alternative financing; support for market systems; market or supply diversification; and, changing the basis of competition (generally from price-based to quality-based).

COMPETITIVENESS
One major discussion across Africa since globalization has been; can small firms and farmers compete in international, national or even local (globalized) markets? Will the poor be marginalized more by globalization? Or can they learn to compete? Africa has a large and growing population, and an increasingly industrialized and urbanized economy. All people need access to reliable, cost-effective and diversified sources of high-quality food, and the best source of this food is from the region itself.

There is also the vast export potential to be considered, especially in Middle Eastern and Asian markets, where food consumption is rising rapidly. However, African agriculture continues to be relatively uncompetitive, especially in relation to developing counterparts in Asia and Latin America. The continent’s over reliance on food imports creates unnecessary trade imbalances, fosters anxiety over food security, and is also a missed opportunity for promoting prosperity.

There is a serious danger that, through its inability to structurally reform agriculture, Africa is forced to make ever greater concessions to powerful foreign interests to guarantee food security. Whilst foreign investment should be encouraged, it should not be negotiated in desperation but from a position of confidence.

INADEQUATE FINANCING
A healthier development would be the orderly financing of a competitive domestic agricultural sector underpinned by a robust local financial sector; and there are reasons for optimism. In general, Africa’s financial sector is deepening and improving rapidly. Currently, however, agriculture is not broadly an attractive market for commercial financial institutions. Development agencies should build on the momentum in the financial sector however, to work more closely with financiers to facilitate access to finance for agriculture.

The agricultural sector is essential for job creation, food production and overall economic growth in many developing countries. Africa’s agricultural potential is largely untapped, however, with value chains often unproductive and uncompetitive. This is due to a number of environmental, economic, and social factors. One of the key challenges is lack of finance to fund the growth of African agriculture. It is against this backdrop that African governments, commercial financial institutions and the international community have reinforced their efforts to close this gap, also spurred on by the recent global food and financial crisis.

Agrifood systems worldwide are being transformed in unprecedented ways. Market integration and stringent specification of quality and timing of produce has never been so important. Farm production and distribution are rapidly evolving from the simple relationships and points of interaction of the past to the highly integrated linkages and closer alignments among business partners we witness today. Value chains are being promoted as the business development frameworks of choice in the agrifood sector.

There is much more attention being paid to inter and intra-organizational efficiency in production, processing and logistics. There is increased focus on marketing, product differentiation and product niche development. Furthermore, the competition is now global: prices are less affected by local conditions, seasonality and markets. All these developments make a solid financing structure even more important than it has always been. Market competitiveness and market risks are becoming the drivers of financing decisions in the new agrifood systems.

Yes, much is changing and much is not. While African agriculture, agribusiness and finance is evolving rapidly in some parts of the globe, in others there is little change and whole communities merely subsist and become less and less competitive, often also stricken with HIV-AIDS. Many sub-Saharan countries are affected by this scenario. It is important that value chain opportunities be available to all but to do so, finance and capacity building are critical components.
To read the full research work, click this link: http://tectono..com/2014/11/the-challenges-of-financing-small.html

Otil1, in this context, wretched means financially impoverished.

naijaking1:
A wretched man is better than a wretched politician parading himself as a wretched journalist. Shame on you Tectoctno, Chime not paying you enough to write proper grammar

Why are many Nigerians like this? Is there any law that compels the user of Naijaking1 to comment on every thread even when he does not know what to comment? This idiotic scamp has the habit of rushing to comment without understanding the content of the thread. Well, I do not know his qualification but all I know is that he is a very poor reader. I wonder how he tackled comprehension and summary sections in WAEC's English Language.

JUMIA PLANS TO HOLD BIGGEST ONLINE SHOPPING IN NIGERIA
As the world gets closer to the last Friday in November this year, online marketplace, Jumia.com, said it was ready to mark the Black Friday in Nigeria with other electronic commerce players in the globe.

Across the world, people drive from as far as neighbouring countries to join the shopping madness and extravaganza that has come to be called Black Friday and is regarded as the world’s biggest shopping day of the year with 2013 recording 307 million shoppers globally.

Having experienced Black Friday live in Nigeria last year, the firm said Nigerians should be getting ready to break the bank shopping for gifts for family, friends and colleagues. The firm said, “To Nigerians, who for many years have only read about ‘the biggest shopping event’, Black Friday may seem like madness, an event that usually saw the shopping appetite of people come to the fore, ushering in Christmas shopping and a day that people look forward to with so much expectation.

“Statistics for online retailers for Black Friday in the United States and Asia have come in their billions with most retailers seeing figures that have most times far exceeded what they had previously recorded in whole months.”

From: http://tectono..com/

naijaking1:
A wretched man is better than a wretched politician parading himself as a wretched journalist. Shame on you Tectoctno, Chime not paying you enough to write proper grammar

Naijaking, what is wrong with our grammar? Our brand name is not 'Tectoctno', it is 'Tectono'.

GOV. CHIME’S FACTION OF PDP IN ENUGU PETITIONS MU’AZU OVER WRETCHED AJAH

Tectono Business Review gathered, from a very reliable source, that Gov. Sullivan Chime’s faction of Peoples Democratic Party in Enugu State has petitioned the national leadership of the party over what they described as the unlawful activities of the wretched acting chairman, Elder David Ajah. The petitioners included 12 out of the 14 members of the State Working Committee. It is obvious that in addition to being stupid, David Ajah is wretched. This is because a well-to-do man cannot claim that a political party’s ward congress was held when it is graphical that that there was no congress just to satisfy his paymaster, Ike Ekweremadu.

In the petition addressed to the national chairman of the PDP, Alhaji Adamu Muazu, the SWC members complained of “the untoward act of conspiracy and gross misconduct exhibited by the State Deputy Chairman of the party, Elder David Ajah, to undermine the interest of the party in the State and bring it into disrepute.”

Ajah was the deputy chairman until the resignation of former chairman, Vita Abba, but after the appointment of Chief Ikeje Asogwa by the party’s State Executive Committee to replace Abba, Ajah was endorsed as acting chairman by the PDP National Working Committee.

The SWC members, in the petition, informed the PDP national leadership that no ward congress took place in Enugu State on November 1, adding that all the members of the committee, except, Ajah, were present all day at the state party secretariat for the coordination of the exercise, which did not take place eventually.

They expressed dismay “that Elder David Ajah to the chagrin of the members of the State Working Committee and other members of our great party, unilaterally addressed the press and made radio announcements to the effect that he purportedly led the State PDP executives to what he called ‘successful ward congresses in 266 Wards of Enugu State’ (when infact there are only 260 electoral wards in the State), without any approval or deliberation on the matter by the State Working Committee of the party.”

Also, they accused Ajah of working according to the script of Ike Ekweremadu by unilaterally and unlawfully taking decisions without adhering to the PDP constitution, which empowers the SWC to undertake the day-to-day administration of the party in the state on behalf of the SEC. When a wretched man is given an amount of money he has never dreamt of getting, he can do anything for the giver.

The 12 members of the SWC urged the national leadership of the party to call Ajah to order and also take appropriate action to ensure that proper ward congresses are conducted in Enugu State.

From: http://tectono..com/

PRESIDENT JONATHAN PRAISES HIMSELF
Information reaching Tectono Business Review has it that President Goodluck Jonathan has described himself as the best leader to be produced by Nigeria. According to him, no leader since the country gained independence in 1960 had done better than himself for the country.

He said that the comment made by former President Olusegun Obasanjo, in which the ex-President described Jonathan’s performance as below average, was untrue. Jonathan said this in a statement by his Special Assistant on Public Affairs, Dr. Doyin Okupe, in Abuja on Sunday.

Okupe’s statement reads, “Our attention has been drawn to comments made by a former President of this country, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, regarding the performance of the administration of President Goodluck Jonathan. Obasanjo had at an event over the weekend declared that he rated the President Goodluck Jonathan administration ‘below average’. We aver that Obasanjo’s comments are untrue, misleading and clearly do not tally with the facts on the ground. We therefore wish to assert without equivocation that in terms of performance and achievements, no administration since 1960 when Nigeria gained independence from Britain, has done as much as that of President Jonathan.”

He said that every discerning and unbiased Nigerian would definitely attest to this “as the evidence stare all of us in the face.” Okupe, who had also worked with the former President while in office, added that contrary to Obasanjo’s position, the Federal Government under Jonathan had performed excellently given the prevailing circumstances and resources available to it.

He said while it was true that Nigeria had been faced with incidents of insurgency and terrorism, especially in the last few years, the Jonathan administration had successfully contained the initial widespread activities of the insurgents, which he said were prevalent in 12 states of the North, including the Federal Capital Territory.

He added, “While it is true that the present activities of the terrorists in the three north-eastern states have become more deadly in mindless killings, kidnappings and supposed territorial seizures, government has made giant diplomatic strides with our neighbouring countries in order to checkmate the crisscrossing of the insurgents.

“The military and other security agents, which have engaged the insurgents since inception, have done a great job in spite of recent challenges. The truth of the matter which we must know and accept is that we have an internal enemy supported by internal and external resources waging a major warfare against our nation.”

From: http://tectono..com/

VALENTINE OBIENYEM EXPOSES THE REAL REASON WHY PETER OBI LEFT APGA
It is no more news that since the former governor of Anambra State, Mr. Peter Obi, dumped APGA for PDP, the greedy National Chairman of APGA, Chief Victor Umeh, has not relented in ac¬cusing him of abandoning the party. In this interview with journalists, Obi’s Media Assistant, Valentine Obienyem, exposes the real reason why his boss dumped APGA for PDP. Enjoy the interview.

Your boss, ex-governor Peter Obi, has been vilified in recent times for dumping APGA for PDP. What re¬ally informed his exit from APGA?
In the first place, the exit of Mr. Peter Obi from APGA to the PDP was in¬formed by the consciousness that he was exercising his constitutionally guaranteed right to associate freely with any law-abiding group of his choice. Perhaps, you are interested in knowing why he became tired of APGA. It is not only Obi, every¬body is tired of APGA because its leaders are more of men that think about today rather than the future. There is something organic about nurturing a party but for the current chairman of APGA, party is about using it as a leverage for personal gain. If he cared for APGA’s growth, how would he remain the chairman of the party and yet be vying for senatorial seat? If this is not the highest exemplification of greed and selfishness, I wonder what it is? To be hon¬est to ourselves, how can a party that is so mightily derided by its leadership ever hope to survive? The irony of it is that he does this with the party people, remain¬ing supine because once one raises one’s voice, one is either suspended or expelled. This means that from the beginning, APGA has never been a political party and those like Obi, who struggled to turn that monster into a human being were, in the long run, driven out of the party.

Asking me what informed the exit of my boss from APGA, you are invari¬ably asking me what informed the exit of people like Chief Martin Agbaso, Barrister Ugo¬chukwu Agbala and other big names from the party. You are asking me what some people like Sen. Uche Chukwumerije, Sen. Joy Emordi, Sen. Ben Obi, Hon. Uche Ekwkunife, Hon. Chris Azubogu, Hon. Lynda Ikpeazu and many big names saw and refrained themselves from either joining APGA or leaving the party as soon as they joined. The fact is that from the way APGA is being run, it is not a political party. My boss tried to make it one but it was difficult for him for, as the saying goes: “One cannot be a sane man in the midst of madmen.” Those madmen will believe they are normal while yourself is the mad one. Did you not witness what happened in Imo State? Ask followers of Chief Agbaso and they will tell you how a few wads were considered above a man, who carried for years the storm and stress of Imo APGA.

Look at what is happening in APGA today, one man, Chief Victor Umeh, is the beginning and end of the party. The deci¬sion of my boss to leave the party was a great one. We note with happiness that he fulfilled his promise to Ojukwu and hand¬ed over to an APGA government. Besides the fact that Victor actually demanded that he should leave, the PDP has also widened his horizon and placed him on a vantage platform where he would serve the people of Anambra State, Ndigbo and Nigerians from the centre, as he has been doing and dreaming on expanding.

But all the same, his defection attracted criticisms, not only from Chief Victor Umeh, surprisingly, from Ojukwu’s wife, Bianca. What do you have to say on this?
If you have been following develop¬ment, you would have noticed that amidst cacophony of voices, even those from the lunatic fringes, Mr. Obi only responded to Bianca because she was the only one who spoke with sincerity and was genuinely concerned by the development. Obi ex¬plained to her that he had to leave because the party had derailed from its original ideals. If you read Bianca’s interview carefully, you would have noticed that she rested the entire crisis in the party on Victor Umeh. She said APGA rejoiced in chasing the cat (Chekwas) away, only to be saddled with a tiger (Umeh). That view agrees with what Ezeigbo (the late Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu) always said about him.

What Nigerians should be looking at are the reactions of Nigerians, which are com¬ing in torrents, showing how important Obi is in Nigeria and her politics. Most of those reactions are positive, in fact, they are more of congratulatory notes for him on leaving APGA for a platform that will allow him serve majority of Nigerians.

Is it true that Obi and Umeh parted ways because of Umeh’s insistence that the former governor must hold local government elec¬tion in Anambra?
Citing local government election as the reason he fell out with Obi is not true. I would rather prefer if you ask him if it was Obi that made him to sell party nomination forms to candidates for local government election in many cases and refuse to balance them the money when elections did not hold.

The fact is that anybody who tolerated Umeh for even a year must be a saint. How many months did he get on with Gov. Rochas Okorocha before he declared him a persona non grata at Imo State Government House? During Obi’s time, he nominated many commissioners but Rochas would have none of that.

Umeh’s aide, Stanley Okeke, accused the former governor of col¬lecting 10 per cent from contractors on all the contracts awarded by the Obi administration. What is your take on this?
All Victor made were from 2003 or thereabout when he met Obi. Obi changed his life. Under Obi, Anambra State built the most impressive network of roads. Un¬der him Anambra State got first of every¬thing: Secretariat, teaching hospital, lab for testing construction materials, among others. When he handed over, he left bil¬lions of naira in the treasury. The debate in Ekiti, as in other states in Nigeria, is on how much unpaid debt from money borrowed from banks or through bonds that was left by former governors but in Anambra, it is about how much money was left. Is this an evidence of a man that collected 10 per cent? Everybody in APGA knows that most contracts meant for APGA party faithful were hijacked by greedy party officials.

From: http://tectono..com/

CHIEF M.I. OKORO EXPLAINS HOW CHIEF MARTINS AGBASO WILL SALVAGE IMO STATE IF ELECTED GOVERNOR
The Director General of Martin Agbaso Campaign organiza¬tion, Chief Meckson Innocent Okoro, recently spoke with jour¬nalists in Lagos. Chief Okoro, who is a core profession¬als, ex¬plained why Chief Martin Agbaso, Peoples Democrat¬ic Party (PDP) gubernatorial aspirant should become the governor of Imo State in 2015. Chief Okoro, an estate surveyor/ property practitioner for over 25 years, has decided to go the extra mile to ensure that Chief Agbaso becomes the next governor of Imo State. That feat, he said would make Imo state the most preferred destination to live and do business in Nigeria come 2015 and beyond. Sit back and enjoy the interview.

Chief, you are an expert with over 25 years of practice. Why are you now drifting into politics, to work for Martin Agbaso?
If you have a very poor rep¬resentation at government level, be it as a councilor, State House of Assembly member, Federal House of Representatives, Local Government Chairman, Gover¬nor etc, you will notice that poor representation affects every facet of our lives. It will affect our quality of living, it will affect our education, and it will affect our food consumption and food supply. It will affect everything about life. Some of us have been waiting; we keep on complaining and hoping that the country will be better. Honestly, the country is not getting any better and it does not hold a vibrant hope for our children. What shall it benefit me if I make all the money as an estate surveyor and valuer and then my children don’t have any future? What will it benefit me to make all the money and live big, travel abroad when our dependants in the villages are suffering? Some of them, when they see you come, they look upon you as messiah and by the time they expect you to begin to drop something, you know that you don’t even have enough to talk. You now find out that the only way you can positively impact on people is through quality representa¬tion and good governance. For instance, Lagos state, within the period of this political era, a lot has happened. Somebody who has not been to Lagos 5-8 years ago, when he comes to Lagos now, would not know where to start because Lagos has meta-morphosed into something else. I give credit to the drivers of the economy of Lagos state.

There are other states of the federa¬tion where good governance is lacking. Why we say civilian government is better than that of military is because we believe that good governance can only come through democracy which is government of the people by the people, and for the people. But these days, we discover that they use these less privileged people to get to power. Imme¬diately they get there, they shut their doors, they don’t see them. That is why people like us are saying No. it will not happen again. Enough is enough. For me to leave my vibrant busi¬ness and comfort zones to jump around with the monkeys, and to walk the mud like a pig, it’s as bad as that. I have decided to pay the price, even if it means to take my life so that the less privileged will live, so that my children will have future. That is why people like us have decided to go into government.

There are astute poli¬ticians coming out in the Imo gubernatorial race for 2015. What makes you think Ag¬baso has more advan¬tages?
Two principal factors one has to consider are which party that will guarantee us access to power and what platform are we going to use and who is the person that can command my respect to follow. The quality of the man and woman I want to follow and who will now become governor of a state, matters a lot to me. Two major decisions are who is going to be the candidate we are to follow and what are the qualities of that candidate and which party and why? If everything is in order, if the government is doing well, we are contributing through our profession. We de¬cided to follow Martins Agbaso, because he is prepared, he’s well educated, he’s an economist, he’s an investor and has made his mark. He is somebody who is better focused and ready to know what to do to better the lives of the people. His main focus will be job creation. There is no grammar you can speak without focusing on how to generate employment, because if our people go to school and they don’t have employment that is a waste. That is a challenge. He is well prepared. We have our poli¬cies already on blue print. So, as soon as he’s elected into power as governor of Imo state, our focus will be job creation. We plan to make sure that within the first three years we would have created 250,000 jobs for Imo employable youths. If he doesn’t achieve it, he will resign within the first three years. Apart from job creation, we are also going to look at housing. We are going to look at the industrialization of the state.

Our people are business people; we are going to look at the goodwill of the government to attract foreign investors. 50 and about 55percent of people that travel to India, Asia and Dubai to buy things are mainly from the eastern region. Our fo¬cus will be to make sure that we use the government’s goodwill to attract these foreigners to come and invest under PDP arrange¬ment. We can begin to encour¬age the industrialization of the state so as to create the needed jobs for our youths and when the state is properly industrial¬ized , there will be demand for housing. Then we will begin to develop large housing estates and focus more on social housing so that people will benefit. Apart from housing, we will also look at mechanized agriculture for the state. You noticed that since oil came, all states of the federation, none laid emphasis on agricul¬ture again. But when we focus on agriculture, people will feed well, the nutritional value will increase. But because it is easier to go to Abuja and collect grant, nobody is interested in agricul¬ture.

Poor representation is what is killing us, even our governors. What most of them do is that they get this grant, instead of investing it back for the benefit of the masses; most of this mon¬ey goes to private pockets. You see somebody who never had good house in the village before he became governor, now has houses in South Africa, America, and London. How long can we live like this as a nation? That is why people like us are worried that we have to make sure that the right things are done. If we don’t do this, it will continue to reoccur. We can only complain. How many houses do I need in this world? How many cars do I need? Most of the money they repatriate abroad to buy these houses, they find out that when they have done such investments, the taxes that they pay there create jobs for people abroad.

Agbaso has not been a frontline politician. How would he cope?
My boss, Chief Martin Agbaso was the one that made sure that the present governor came to power. Martin Agbaso contested in 2007. He was unanimously elected in Imo state and for obvious reasons from Abuja end he was not allowed to become governor. He was in court for more than three years. At the time he came out of that court without success, he came out for election again. But this time around, he was the one that brought Rochas. And he made sure he used the structure. After all, Rochas has always been aiming for presidency, but he now brought him, gaining from the APGA platform, and made sure that he used his structure to put him as governor and put his brother as deputy. Less than one year, Rochas swept him out. It is only a man that was able to give somebody power that will be able to wrestle that power out of that person, not any other person.

One adage says, it’s only the owner of a dog that can put his hand into the dog’s mouth. If you are not used to the dog he can bite you. That is why the man that put the present government in power has decided, to take it back, having seen that things are not going the way they planned to go. Good governance is lack¬ing completely. People are doing things without due process, with a total disregard for rule of law. No, this is not his vision. He has to go back to wrestle the power out. This time around, he has decided to go through a popular party, PDP.

Is APGA not in existence in Imo anymore?
We believe that Imo people cannot stand out as an opposition state to the rest of the country. There is no how APGA , even if he put a governor there cannot get the best. But if you are within the ruling party and the state is being governed by a PDP gover¬nor, the people will be better off, because the desired develop¬ment will be able to come to the people. We are using the oppor¬tunity to appeal to the conscience of the Imo people to know and to do the right thing. I am not going there, before I will get what I have not gotten before. The only thing I have not gotten, and am ready to have is good governance for my state, and you know, unless we do something our people will perish.

Do you consider the incumbency power in Nigeria’s Politics?
There are lots of factors to consider. The present governor is a beneficiary of incumbency fac¬tor during the time of Ohakim. It was this Agbaso that made sure that the present governor was elected, even when Oha¬kim was governor of Imo state. We thought that by the present governor, the messiah had ar¬rived. Unfortunately, the messiah is yet to come. As far as we are concerned, people of Imo state know what they want, and the fact that somebody is an incum¬bent does not make any differ¬ence. Today, people are wiser than yesterday. What people are looking for is any government that can improve on the stan-dard of living of all the people. Can you imagine the governor of Ogun state joining APGA and coming for re-election? If Amosun joins APGA, I doubt if he can go far. The present governor, Okorocha, betrayed the mandate Imo people gave him. APGA was supposed to be our traditional party just like APC is, in the west. Unfortunately, a man that emanated from the platform of APGA, no sooner he became governor used one leg to kick out APGA and brought APC. That was not the deal.

That was not the mandate the people gave him. That alone, has scored him less; the incumbency to us means nothing. It’s like a wash-wash thing. In fact, our advice is that he should not even present himself for re- election. He will regret, and he will know that mandates belong to the people. He betrayed our people. If only he has remained in APGA, and then resolved the problem, it would have been a different thing. But the fact that he went to slap the sensibility of our people by imposing APC on them is unfortunate.

From: http://tectono..com/

ChimaAdeoye:
Chime should join APGA to pursue his political dreams and continue with the good works he is doing for his people.

You are absolutely right. By my own calculation, Gov. Chime want his defection to APGA to be his PLAN B if the national working committee of PDP approves the fictitious congress held by Ike Ekweremadu's faction.

ENUGU 2015: GOV. CHIME DENIES PLANNING TO JOIN APGA
Tectono Business Review has gathered that the faction of Enugu State chap¬ter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) loyal to Gov. Sullivan Chime has dismissed as untrue the allegation of planning to pitch its tent with the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) to further its politi¬cal ambition.

While reacting to the news in some sections of the media that most campaign posters of members of the party in the state pasted all over the Enugu metropolis had no PDP logo on them, the party through a statement signed by its State Publicity Secretary, Dr. Okey Eze, debunked the allegation, stressing that virtually all the posters produced by its aspirants in the state had the party’s logo on them, wondering where the fictitious report emanated from.

Countering the allegation that the consensus governorship candidates of the party, Hon. Ifeanyi Ug¬wuanyi’s posters have no PDP logo on them, as an indication that the party may dump PDP for APGA, Dr. Eze dismissed the insinuation as false and misleading, stating that the said posters under reference were the handiwork of the opposition and noted that since Hon. Ugwuanyi emerged, the elements have been trying to blackmail him but have failed. According to him, the numerous billboards, dotting the state in support of his candidature have all borne the PDP logo.

The party also reiterated its earlier clarifications that Hon. Ugwuanyi is not an anointed candidate of Gov¬ernor Sullivan Chime, emphasising that he (Ugwuanyi) emerged the party’s consensus candidate through a democratic process that was duly endorsed by all the caucuses of the party in the state.

Tectono Business Review equally gathered that 17 Local Government Area Chairmen in Enugu State under the aegis of the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON) have denied the allegation by supporters of Senator Ike Ekweremadu that they are planning to defect to another political party with Governor Sul¬livan Chime over the non-conduct of the Ward Congresses of the party on November 1, 2014.

In a statement signed by the Chairman and Secretary of AL¬GON, Enugu State Chapter, Hon Prince Cornelius Nnaji and Hon Cornell Onwubuya respectively, the council chairmen said that the allegation is not only unfounded but also an orchestrated attempt to divert the attention of the public and the national leadership of the party from the burning issues at hand, over the non-conduct of the Ward Con¬gresses of the party in Enugu State on November 1, 2014.

The council chairmen stated that it is unfortunate that strangers and political hawkers who are not on ground in the state and at their various Local Government Areas in particular have chosen the path of blackmail, propaganda, deceit and falsehood, in a failed attempt to actu¬alize their selfish political ambition.

They disclosed that there is no such plan of abandoning the PDP for another political party, adding that it is impossible for them and the state governor to leave a party they have labored tirelessly to build over the years for strangers and political jobbers.

The Chairmen maintained that it is in the overall interest of the PDP nation-wide that the national leadership of the party accept the glaring fact that no ward congress of the PDP took place in Enugu State on November 1, 2014 and further accede to the yearnings of the overwhelming majority of party members in the state for the pronouncement of a new date for the conduct of the Ward Congresses for peace to return in PDP in Enugu State.

They insisted that rather than accusing them and the Governor of planning to decamp to another Party, Senator Ike Ekweremadu and his cohorts should be held responsible for all the political crises and chica¬nery bedeviling the party in the state, stressing that it is only when the truth is allowed to see the light of the day in the Enugu State matter and the right thing done, that the PDP national leadership will know who is truly in control of the party and indeed the goodwill of the people of the state.

The Council Chairmen reaffirmed their unalloyed support for President Goodluck Jonathan, Dr. Adamu Mu’azu-led National Working Committee, the State Lead¬er of the party, Governor Sullivan Chime and Chief Ikeje Asogwa-led state leadership of the party, and reassured them of 100 percent vic¬tory for the PDP in the 2015 general elections.

From: http://tectono..com/

ENUGU 2015: GOV. CHIME PLANS TO JOIN APGA
Information reaching Tectono Business Review has it that the governor of Enugu State, Sullivan Chime, has perfected plans to dump the People Democratic Party (PDP) for the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA) with his loyalists ahead of 2015 polls. This is the aftermath of the rivalry engulfing the Enugu State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

Reliable sources from the camp of the governor said that the decision to pitch tent with the APGA was reached when it became obvious that the National leadership of the PDP was not disposed to allowing him control the structure of the party towards nominating candidates for the 2015 general elections.

The governor’s group had last week gone to the Enugu High court, where they secured an order against the PDP over the outcome of the congresses of the party held in the state that did not favour it .

It was equally noticed that the new campaign posters of Gov. Chime’s ‘consensus’ governorship candidate, Hon. Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, which dotted the nooks and crannies of the state over the weekend came without any party name or logo, given credence to the speculation that the group has jettisoned the PDP. Chime was said to have sent a high-powerful delegates to negotiate with the leadership of APGA on their intention to cross over to the party.

Tectono Business Review reliably learnt that some conditions were given to the governor and his group to use the party to vie for election next year including entering an accord that would bind them from jettisoning or leaving the party after the 2015 polls.

It further revealed that Chime and his group were also reminded of the N29million allegedly granted the party (APGA) in 2011. The grant was said to have been stopped on the order of the governor immediately he triumphed over the erstwhile National Chairman of PDP, Dr Okwesilieze Nwodo, on the then struggle for the PDP structure in the state. Chief Umeh advised the governor during the meeting to redeem his 2011 pledge before further negotiations.

From: http://tectono..com/