₦airaland Forum

…to safeguard national energy security

The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation has revealed that it is currently considering equity participation in a number of private refineries in the country in line with a Federal Government policy directive which stipulates the mandatory participation of the Corporation in any privately-owned refinery that exceeds 50,000 barrels per day capacity in keeping with its statutory role of safeguarding national energy security.

In this regard, the Corporation has identified at least six refinery projects in which it intends to seek equity participation, five of them are at the development stage with the Dangote Refinery being the largest of them.

A statement by the Corporation’s spokesperson, Dr. Kennie Obateru, explained that NNPC a the National Oil Company of Nigeria primarily has a dual role of providing stewardship for the nation’s hydrocarbon resources and adding value to the resources for the benefit of all Nigerians and other stakeholders. These roles enable it to achieve the twin objectives of providing energy security for the country and stimulating the nation’s economic development and growth.

He said that NNPC’s strategic objective to ensure energy security and stimulate economic growth with limited resources requires it to consider strategic partnerships with competent investors in sectors of the oil and gas value chain especially where it currently operates on a sole risk basis.

The oil refining sector is one of such segments where NNPC is revisiting its strategy in order to strengthen domestic refining capacity and guarantee National Energy Security. The new vision is to grow domestic refining capacity, improve petroleum products supply from our local refineries and become a net exporter of petroleum products.

The Corporation assures that the move to seek equity participation in the private refineries would not undercut its commitment to the rehabilitation of its own refineries and strengthen the domestic refining sector, stressing that the overall goal is to boost the nation’s refining capacity with a view to becoming a net exporter of petroleum products in the soonest possible time and boosting the nation’s economy.

Keystone Bank, Nasarawa State vaccinate over 1000 students, teachers against typhoid


Keystone Bank Limited in partnership with the Nasarawa State government on May 21, 2021 vaccinated over 1000 students and teachers of Government Secondary School Garaku, Nasarawa, against typhoid bacterial disease.

A statement by the lender said the gesture which is part of its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is in line with its never-ending efforts to create sustainable impact within the environment it operates.

Speaking at the event, Mr. Lawal J. Ahmed, Executive Director, (North & Public Sector) of the bank who was represented by Mr. Suleiman Mohammed, Regional Head, Abuja & North Central noted that health initiatives like this is on the forefront of the Keystone Bank’s CSR drive, especially during unprecedented times such as this.

“At Keystone Bank, we understand the importance of healthy living; a healthy nation will produce a robust economy.

“So, this is just one of the many health initiatives we have extended to students, school children and Nigerians.

“As the students go through their academics, it’s also important that they remain fit and healthy,” he said.

On his part, the deputy governor of Nasarawa State, Dr Emmanuel Akabe who also attended the event commended the bank for being alive to its CSR in partnering with the state government to keep her students in good health.

Akabe further called on other corporate bodies to emulate the gesture of Keystone Bank for the benefit of the larger society.

Keystone Bank is a technology and service-driven commercial bank offering convenient and reliable solutions to its customers.

Keystone Bank, Nasarawa State vaccinate over 1000 students, teachers against typhoid


Keystone Bank Limited in partnership with the Nasarawa State government on May 21, 2021 vaccinated over 1000 students and teachers of Government Secondary School Garaku, Nasarawa, against typhoid bacterial disease.

A statement by the lender said the gesture which is part of its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is in line with its never-ending efforts to create sustainable impact within the environment it operates.

Speaking at the event, Mr. Lawal J. Ahmed, Executive Director, (North & Public Sector) of the bank who was represented by Mr. Suleiman Mohammed, Regional Head, Abuja & North Central noted that health initiatives like this is on the forefront of the Keystone Bank’s CSR drive, especially during unprecedented times such as this.

“At Keystone Bank, we understand the importance of healthy living; a healthy nation will produce a robust economy.

“So, this is just one of the many health initiatives we have extended to students, school children and Nigerians.

“As the students go through their academics, it’s also important that they remain fit and healthy,” he said.

On his part, the deputy governor of Nasarawa State, Dr Emmanuel Akabe who also attended the event commended the bank for being alive to its CSR in partnering with the state government to keep her students in good health.

Akabe further called on other corporate bodies to emulate the gesture of Keystone Bank for the benefit of the larger society.

Keystone Bank is a technology and service-driven commercial bank offering convenient and reliable solutions to its customers.

Keystone Bank, Nasarawa State partner to vaccinate over 1000 students, teachers against typhoid


Keystone Bank Limited in partnership with the Nasarawa State government on May 21, 2021 vaccinated over 1000 students and teachers of Government Secondary School Garaku, Nasarawa, against typhoid bacterial disease.

A statement by the lender said the gesture which is part of its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is in line with its never-ending efforts to create sustainable impact within the environment it operates.

Speaking at the event, Mr. Lawal J. Ahmed, Executive Director, (North & Public Sector) of the bank who was represented by Mr. Suleiman Mohammed, Regional Head, Abuja & North Central noted that health initiatives like this is on the forefront of the Keystone Bank’s CSR drive, especially during unprecedented times such as this.

“At Keystone Bank, we understand the importance of healthy living; a healthy nation will produce a robust economy.

“So, this is just one of the many health initiatives we have extended to students, school children and Nigerians.

“As the students go through their academics, it’s also important that they remain fit and healthy,” he said.

On his part, the deputy governor of Nasarawa State, Dr Emmanuel Akabe who also attended the event commended the bank for being alive to its CSR in partnering with the state government to keep her students in good health.

Akabe further called on other corporate bodies to emulate the gesture of Keystone Bank for the benefit of the larger society.

Keystone Bank is a technology and service-driven commercial bank offering convenient and reliable solutions to its customers.

• Group asks APC to disqualify candidate

• Layeni’s result not authentic –WAEC


The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) has clarified the authenticity of the December 1979 result being paraded by a chairmanship aspirant in Ojodu Local Council Development Area (LCDA) of Lagos state, Alhaja Layeni Olufunmilayo Kafayat, saying that the certificate is not genuine.

Layeni, an aspirant in the forthcoming Local Government elections under the banner of All Progressives Congress (APC), is majorly being sponsored by a member of the House of Representatives representing Ikeja Federal Constituency, Hon James Faleke.

In a response dated May 25, 2021 to an inquiry with respect to the authenticity of Layeni’s result, the examination body said the result did not emanate from it.

In the said result, Layeni claimed to have made C6 in English Language, C5 in Government, C4 in Economics, C4 in Mathematics, D7 in Biology, C5 in Commerce, and C3 in Accounts.

The examination body simply replied: “source document not from WAEC.”

Meanwhile, an interest group in Ojodu known as Ojodu Collectives has urged the leadership of the APC to disqualify Layeni from participating in the primary election to decide the candidate of the party for the general election.

In a statement jointly signed by the Chairman and Publicity Secretary of the group, Mr Shola Akinmaja and Seun Adeboriola respectively, the group said it was unfortunate that someone aspiring to lead the council could be parading a fake result.

“In the light of the revelation by WAEC to the effect that the result being paraded by the said Layeni is fake and not genuine, we urge the APC as a proactive and responsible party to do the needful by disqualifying Layeni forthwith,” the statement reads in part.

The group also called on the police to investigate the development and take necessary action, since falsification of result also amounts to forgery and perjury under the law for which prosecution is applicable.

In a related development, Hon Wale Abdusalam of the Segun Odunmbaku Campaign Organization (SOCO), has condemned attempts by some persons within the APC to deceive unsuspecting party members to the effect that a particular candidate has been endorsed.

Abdusalam admonished the people to be wary of the antics of desperate elements.

“Our attention has been drawn to the actions of some mischievous aspirants within Ojodu LCDA pretending to be staff of APC party secretariat and calling innocent voters lying to them that certain aspirants have been endorsed and that innocent voters should come out and vote for them with monetary inducements on the day of primary election.

“The Segun Odunmbaku Campaign Organization (SOCO) totally condemns this act of canvassing for votes through fraudulent means.

“We appeal to all our teeming supporters to please ignore their calls and remain focused,” Abdusalam said.

The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has announced a ₦39.85billion trading surplus for the month of February 2021 representing a massive 314.24% leap from the ₦9.62billion surplus it recorded in January 2021.

This is contained in the February 2021 edition of the NNPC Monthly Financial and Operations Report (MFOR), according to a press release by the Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division of the Corporation, Dr. Kennie Obateru.

Trading surplus or trading deficit is derived after deduction of the expenditure profile from the revenue for the period under review.

According to the report, in February 2021, NNPC Group operating revenue as compared to January 2021, increased by 35.64% or N 152.07billion to stand at N578.79billion. Similarly, expenditure for the month increased by 29.21% or N121.83billion to stand at N538.94billion. The expenditure for the month as a proportion of revenue was 0.93% as against 0.98% the previous month.

The significant increase in trading surplus is attributed mainly to reconciled accounts by the Corporation’s downstream subsidiary, the Petroleum Products Marketing Company (PPMC), using the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA) pricing template.

Other factors that boosted the trading surplus figure, according to the Corporation, included the performance of Duke Oil, Nigerian Gas Company (NGC) and Nigerian Gas Marketing Company (NGMC) which recorded robust gains as a result of increased debt collection and cost optimization measures.

Conversely, during the period under review, 54 pipeline points were vandalized representing 50% increase from the 27 points recorded in January 2021.

The Warri Area accounted for 50% and Mosimi Area accounted for 39% of the vandalized points while Kaduna and Port Harcourt Areas accounted for 7% and 4% respectively.

NNPC continues to work in collaboration with the local communities and other stakeholders to eliminate the menace of pipeline vandalism.

In the period under review, the Corporation supplied a total of 1.41bn litres of Premium Motor Spirit (petrol) translating to 50.52m litres/day.

In terms of natural gas offtake, commercialization and utilization, out of the 206.05Billion Cubic Feet (BCF) produced in February 2021, a total of 133.06BCF was commercialized consisting of 40.15 BCF and 92.91 BCF for the domestic and export market respectively.

This translates to a total supply of 1,433.75Million Standard Cubic Feet Per Day (mmscfd) of gas to the domestic market and 3,318.25mmscfd of gas supplied to the export market for the month.

This implies that 64.48% of the average daily gas produced was commercialized while the balance of 35.52% was re-injected, used as upstream fuel gas or flared.

Gas flare rate was 7.67% for the month under review (i.e. 565.52mmscfd) compared with average gas flare rate of 7.12% (i.e. 529.20mmscfd) for the period of February 2020 to February 2021.

The February 2021 NNPC Monthly Financial and Operations Report is the 67th in the series. It is published in keeping with the Corporation’s commitment to transparency and accountability.

Hamza Ibrahim Jamo, a retired employee of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) recently drawn into a phantom N1.5 trillion fraud issue speaks on how an alleged blackmail attempt became a trending story. EDWIN USOBOH reports

Tell us about this N1.5 trillion naira you are said to own in Fidelity Bank and your encounter with Jackson Ude?
A: You are welcome to Abuja. I am happy you are here because I am so eager to express myself and explain what really happened.
I was so surprised with the last tweet, even when there was a report of a mix up in identity. The man named Ude was calling me a thief kind of.
He said I saved N1.5 trillion from NNPC and so we are the same thieves. I don’t know the man Ude and I don’t know where he came from, but I don’t think he is educated. If he is, he should know the worth of N1.5 trillion. N1.5 trillion is more than the budget of about three states in the North.
First of all, there was a controversy about building a refinery because I come from the oil and gas sector at N1.5 billion and you are talking about N9 billion in an individual account.
So if I have N1.5 trillion in Fidelity Bank account that means the bank should give me the position of GMD or MD. Because you need to ask what the capital of Fidelity Bank is. Let him go and look at it.
What are the total capital, total saving and asset of Fidelity Bank as at today? Maybe that should be up to two third of the figure he is calling. I don’t know the figures, but definitely N1.5 trillion cannot go into one persons account( unnoticed)

Tell us about yourself?
My name is Hamza Ibrahim Jamo from Kaduna. I worked with the NNPC and retired in 2017 after 35 years of service. That is a little something about me.
The man was also quoting Talent Expertise. I met Talent Expertise on one of our Dubai programmers in 2017 and we agreed for me to be their Nigerian representative.
So since 2018 we signed an MOU, making me to function in that capacity. When we came to Nigeria, because of the regulations, the regulatory agency mandated us to do a company registration in Nigeria, so we have our CAC certificate in the name of Talent Expertise with the same address he is quoting, which is Eket Close, Area 8, Garki, Abuja and I am the only African representative.
There is one funny thing that happened. We had on several occasions attempted to do a proposal for NIMASA, and each time it failed.
I have made several efforts to see Bashir Jamoh, but I have never met him face to face. We haven’t had the chance to see him, not to talk of giving him a proposal. All attempts to get anything from NIMASA failed.
The N37 million Ude quoted was a contract given to us by the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR). The payment was supposed to be in dollars, but because of issues encountered in the dollar payment process, it was then paid into our GTB account in Naira. It was originally N38 million, but when you deduct tax and VAT, then you have N37 million. I am surprised as to where he got his own information.
There is information I will like to share. Sometimes around May, 2019, scammers started removing money from that account with number 4020949836.
It happened from Friday till Monday. Some EFCC operatives later contacted me and asked if money was removed from my account. I confirmed it and was invited to their office around August or September, 2019.
After going in there, I saw someone who was apprehended from Enugu in connection with the fraud. Then they gave me the details of my account which contains my date of birth, name, BVN, account number, PIN and every other thing about me, which was surprising and very shocking.
Then below it they said I have over N40 million in that account as my balance in 2019. I was shocked because I didn’t have up to N3 million at the time.
So that information continued to circulate in different whatsapp groups, I have had several calls and attempt to remove my money, to the extent that I had to block the account.
Still the threat continued. At the end of it, in august 2020 I had to close the account. So that account he quoted has been closed since then. After the closure, I didn’t hear anything again, till now when I heard this information. How did it start?
On Friday around 12:04 pm, I saw a whatsapp message with a report that I should respond to the report. They also said that they found it necessary to meet me before releasing this report.
That I should respond to avoid what happened to the MD of NPA. I told them that I have read their report and I find it to be a planned blackmail, and that it appears they are having two conflicting information in their report.
I informed them that I am Hamza Ibrahim Jamo; and not Bashir Jamoh, we are not from the same family and that I have never met him.
So he replied; “blackmail?” and I said yes, because I retired from NNPC after serving for 35 years and then joined Talent Expertise International and have been with them for over four years now, so what are you telling me?
He replied “great” then went on to ask how come I worked in NNPC and was able to have over a billion naira in the account I mentioned earlier, quoting it. I now told him that he must be part of those groups that have been trying to hack my account.

Do you suspect him?
Yes I suspected him, because I wondered where he got the information from; which means he has gotten that information about me, the account details and my BVN.
It was through my BVN he was able to trace the GTB account as I am a signatory to the account where we have our Naira for the company. So I am surprised that he got this information. So he flared up that I called him 419 and that I would regret. I told him to go ahead that I want to regret and his days are also numbered and he won’t succeed.

In your opinion, how do you think people like that who have access to account number and other information about bank customers should be treated in Nigeria like Jackson Ude?
A: We are in trouble in this country with this 419 people if they can go to that length. The problem is that the bankers are also helping them because the information was leaked by my bank which I am sure its from one of the staff.
People are also using the internet to steal money. I was lucky they sent one voice note to me mistakenly. One of the big scammer was telling the people who were communicating with them that if they were able to prove to him that I have the N40million in my account, that he will remove the money that night. Unfortunately they sent the audio to me mistakenly. So I called them thief and told them that they are not going to get me Insha Allah. So after that I had to close the account.
My concern now is that I want people to believe me. I wonder if people really know the worth of the figure he mentioned, because N1.5 trillion is not small money. To be able to move N1.5 trillion, you will wonder how much is the budget of NIMASA?
How much is the budget of the whole ministry of transportation? I will be surprised if an individual can have such amount. To God who made me, if I am able to get the guy we will take him to court. My lawyers are preparing to look for him.
Since that Saturday the report was released, I have received over 500 calls, whatsapp and text messages altogether on this issue that I am Bashir Jamoh.
I got all sorts of text and calls. Some called me thief, while some begged me money. Some also promised to help me. I don’t know what to do. Small person like me, what do I have? I am just so surprised.

…deal to yield over $780million in immediate revenues to government

The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and its Production Sharing Contract (PSC) partners – Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company (SNEPCo), Total Exploration and Production Nigeria Limited (TEPNG), Esso Exploration and Production Nigeria Limited (EEPNL) and Nigerian Agip Exploration (NAE) – have executed agreements to renew Oil Mining Lease (OML) 118 for another 20 years.

The five agreements signed include, Dispute Settlement Agreement, Settlement Agreement, Historical Gas Agreement, Escrow Agreement and Renewed PSC Agreement.

A statement by the Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division of the NNPC, Dr. Kennie Obateru, quoted the Group Managing Director of the Corporation, Mallam Mele Kyari, as saying that over $10bn of investment would be unlocked as a result of the agreements which signaled the end of the long-standing disputes over the interpretation of the fiscal terms of the Production Sharing Contracts (PSC) and the emplacement of a clear and fair framework for the development of the huge deep-water assets in Nigeria.

According to him, this is an indication of “a renewed confidence between NNPC and her partners; between the Government and the investing communities which include NNPC. It produces value for all of us by providing a clear line of sight for investment in the Bonga bloc of around $10billion,” Mallam Kyari stated.

He disclosed that the deal would yield over $780million in immediate revenues to the Federal Government while it would also free the parties from over $9billion in contingent liabilities.

“Ultimately, these agreements will engender growth in our country where investment will come in for other assets, not just in the deep-water, but even for new investors. It is an opportunity for them to see that this country is ready for business,” the GMD enthused.

He thanked President Muhammadu Buhari, the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Chief Timpre Sylva, and the NNPC Board of Directors for enabling the Corporation to achieve this laudable landmark.

Also speaking at the event, the Country Chair of Shell Companies in Nigeria, Mr. Osagie Osunbor, said the OML 118 renewal agreement would remain a watershed in the history of deep-water investments in Nigeria, assuring that the giant stride would further bolster investor confidence in the country.

Speaking in a similar vein, the Managing Director of SNEPCo, Mr. Bayo Ojulari, noted that the agreements marked the end of a twelve-year dispute that had marred business relationship and affected trust and investment.

“Today, we have signed agreements that define the future of deep-water for Nigeria. This is the first deep-water block that was developed in Nigeria and it is also the first one that we are resolving all the disputes that will lay the foundation for the resolution of other PSCs,” the SNEPCo helmsman stated.

On their parts, the Managing Directors of Total, Mike Sangster, Exxonmobil, Richard Laing and NAOC, Roberto Danielle, all applauded the GMD NNPC, Mallam Kyari, for providing leadership which engendered the resolution of the disputes, assuring that the agreements would attract more investments into the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry.

The appointment of embattled Managing Director of Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Hadiza Bala Usman has been described as one of the grevious mistakes of the Buhari administration by a leading licensed customs agent, Lucky Amiwero.

He said she lacks work experience and that places she had worked before coming to NPA never qualified her for such assignment of national economic significance.

Amiwero who is President of National Council of Managing Directors of Licensed Customs Agents (NCMDLCA) said Hadiza was thrown up for the sensitive assignment by virtue of political patronage without experience or knowledge about such critical national assets, saying she is unfit for the job.

Speaking to reporters in a telephone interview, Amiwero added that her management style set the nation’s ports backwards as expectations of becoming a load center, transhipment hub and a preferred port by users were not achieved under Hadiza.

According to Amiwero, managing ports for optimum impacts goes beyond making revenue for government but supporting local and international businesses using the ports to grow international trade.

“You know me for one thing, which is the truth. One of the greatest mistakes the government has made is Hadiza Bala-Usman.

“Because when you look at the whole concept of the port, you will agree she is not fit for the task.

“I have been involved in the port activities for a very long time. I am saying this based on the truth. Hadiza has no experience in the port. Look at people who have been manning the port before Hadiza; people like Sarumi, Gwandu and many more have been in the port before they left.

“Hadiza was brought politically and that destroyed the whole port system. We don't have a working port. Our port system is zero. The components of the port is supposed to be driven on three aspects which was actually designed by the World Bank.

“Firstly, the regulators is supposed to be the Shippers Council, as given to them by the Jonathan administration and solidified by the present dispensation.

“Secondly you look at the engineering aspect of the port itself, which is the land lord function.

“Thirdly the port concessionaires, because if that is not in place, what you will have are lease operators, because their contract is on lease.

“Till now, we don’t have a contract for concessionaires. There is no concession in our port system, but leasing.

“I know this because I am part of the system when it comes to port operations, international trade and reforms in customs. So you have a woman without any experience about the structure and working of an ideal port being in charge.

“The Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) is not a regulator, they are service providers, because they are to provide service to take care of the channels, engineering, pilotage and other areas. If you check the law, it is very clear.

‘But what has happened is that Hadiza was brought in politically, and that destroyed the port system completely. The ports are not about politics. If you go round the world, the port system is not politicised. If you don’t have a good port, then you will drown economically

Our port is not to generate revenue as some think and I think the government is making a very big mistake about that.

“The functions of the port authority is to see how to make the ports a load centre, transhipment centre or the preferred port. Are we the load centre, transhipment centre or preferred port? The answer is no

“We are not classified under any of these. Our transhipment is lost. It is been handled by Togo, Benin Republic, Cote d’Ivoire and Ghana” he said.

By Dr. Ibrahim Zubairu



My Dear Sister

I hope this letter meets you well. I decided to write to you first as a Nigerian and secondly as an observer familiar with the recent happenings in the maritime sector. I read about your suspension and some of the actions that you were said to have taken while in office. I am also aware, just like many Nigerians that an administrative panel has been set up by the government to look into the issues. I must say that I have great respect for you and have sympathy for the courage you have displayed so far.

These are obviously challenging times for you. It is obvious that you are quite an influential person as I can see the efforts of many media people to defend you. I have also read a few press statements issued directly by your good self in a bid to state that you are blameless. Recently and surprisingly too, the former President of Liberia Mrs. Ellen Johnson Sirleaf expressed how disheartened she was about your suspension. Apart from the former President, other female platforms are said to be actively mobilising to begin to put all forms of pressure on the government on your behalf. That is really nice.

As a devotee of women empowerment, I stand with them in solidarity that more opportunities not less should be given to our women. However I think public office should not be an entitlement; it is a privilege and should be treated as such. It must not be for one person alone. It should go round. The whole thing is now looking more like desperation on your side and I am not happy about it. Granted, you are obviously doing everything to defend yourself but in the process you have leaked many sensitive government documents to the public to try to back up your story. Why all that? As someone who appears sure of her innocence, many of your supporters believe that you should have waited to go to the panel to state your case to see if you will be given a fair hearing. That you did not wait for that to happen makes it look like you have something to hide.

Surprisingly, the evidence emerging about your dealings are quite disturbing and at this point I really wonder what a media campaign can help you achieve. It will rather exacerbate the situation and make it seem like you are confrontational and jittery. For instance you were accused of hastily manipulating the procurement processes through selective tendering. Maybe this was because you had transferred the procurement department from its original position to domicile it directly under your office. I am very worried about this because I used to think that you were a selfless activist. If you were indeed a champion of transparency that you want Nigerians to believe then why try to evade checks and balances. It makes a mockery of whatever you stood for before your NPA appointment. You chose a process that only allows a preselected list of contractors so that you can have your way. Such influence peddling does not provide for a level playing field and you know it. I also learnt that you made sure that it happened when there were restrictions as a result of the pandemic. Unsurprisingly only few contractors even knew about it. During the period, you reportedly insisted that your preferred staff came to office even on weekends in order to finalize the papers in line with your predetermined direction. I was also told reliably that you granted duty waivers worth billions of naira to Africa’s richest man Aliko Dangote who is quite close to you. You were also said to be repeatedly hard on his competitors to give him underserved advantage at the expense of the country. Why? What have you got to say about that? As a member of the Presidential Action Committee Against Corruption (PACAC) with a respected family background, you should have known that you are being watched closely. Do you not understand the meaning of conflict of interest?

Whatever grievances that you may have personally about these contractors, you should know that there will be consequences when their contracts get suddenly terminated. It is voodoo economics to have taken such actions and still try to say (as your supporters suggest) that you acted to further national interest. So how come there are shortfalls here and there? You could have avoided treating NPA as if it was an extension of your father’s private company. Why did you have to do all that? Did you forget that you will one day leave office and some of these details will emerge in the public domain? Do you mean that all those posturing you did as a public spirited campaigner were just to deceive the undiscerning public? Anyway, to some extent you succeeded with it especially with someone like me (initially) and I must commend you for that.

I can confirm to you that many Nigerians are particularly disappointed by your record of disobedience of court orders. Denying them makes you look quite disingenuous because there are copies flying around in public spaces. In government, you do not wake up and terminate agreements like the one said to be between INTELS and NPA because of vested interest. You should have considered the losses and collateral damage to the country first and followed through the process. If indeed you were in pursuit of national interest, why hurry and attract avoidable litigations? When a conflict arose, what was your reason for avoiding options for arbitration as specified in the contract agreement? Did you actually believe that you are above the law and your contacts within the government will protect you?

Hadiza dear, I am aware that you were calm but ruthless in most of the actions you took while in office. That makes me sad. However those who know how close you are to the Kaduna State Governor Nasir Elrufai do not have to go too far to figure out where you learnt those skills from. Yet, you should have thought it through before exporting such toxic disposition to a government bureaucracy. You probably forgot that you were just a head of an agency not a chief executive of a state.

I guess that by now it must have started dawning on you slowly that you made mistakes and there were many of them. You should not have gone above the Ministry of Transportation to get your approvals even if you had access to the President. You allowed power to get into your head and you over assumed that those within your network in government will always rescue you when you are caught in a web such as this. It is fine. Even if you felt it was time to kick away the ladder you climbed, you could have done so more subtly and smartly. But who am I? I must quickly add that you have done well for yourself. You are just 44 years and you have really moved quite fast in life. I understand that this is your first major national assignment and you should have learnt a lot from it. After all there is no particular thing that made you qualify for the position beyond patronage. Now if the same patronage infrastructure that enthroned you eventually decides to dethrone you, I think you should come to terms with it, count your losses and move on.

This imaginary reputational battle you are waging is diversionary in intent and may end up backfiring on you. I read about a veiled reference by one of your supporters about politics and I began to imagine how bad Senator Shehu Sani and his other colleagues will be feeling because of the alleged role you played to thwart their ambition and please your boss. It is a story for another day. For now, I am really praying fervently that you realize the truth and that all goes well with you in the coming weeks. Both your critics and admirers are waiting for the panel to finish their work and suggest a landing pathway. I have no gift of clairvoyance but apparently the damage has been done already. I am confident that you still have more opportunities to prove that you are committed to national interest as you like to claim. There is still work to do as you have not lost much. By the way, some of the Chibok girls are still in captivity and many more persons are being kidnapped daily in Kaduna, Kano, Bornu, Yobe, and even Zamfara. You could as well continue with the campaigns to press for their freedom or try to run for an elected office again to test your popularity.

For now, I offer my heartfelt greetings to your children and the rest of your family. I suggest you take time off to rest, desist from unhelpful campaigns against a government you once served while watching things unfold. Qui Sera Sera!

All the best

Dr. Zubairu is a Maritime/Public Policy Analyst and contributed this piece from Apapa Lagos. He can be reached on ibrozubiru1970@gmail.com

President, Association of Nigeria Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA), Mr. Iju Tony Nwabunike has suggested pathways for Nigeria’s sustainable economic diversification amid insecurity.

Speaking at the 8th edition of Nigeria Annual Transport Lecture in Lagos, Nwabunike said blue economy should be at the top of discourse at a time Nigeria is no longer getting enough funds as she desired from crude, the mainstay of the economy.

He noted that the 853km long Nigeria coastline runs through seven of the southern states of Nigeria from Lagos, through Ondo, Delta, Bayelsa, Rivers, Akwa Ibom and Cross Rivers bordering the Atlantic Ocean, saying Nigeria should be looking beyond oil for the nation’s economic sustenance.

“In one of my public messages, I postulated recently that as the second highest revenue earner, Nigerian maritime industry is the nation’s economic low hanging fruit capable of cushioning the temporary effect of inadequate oil revenue.

“We are rich in maritime resources, rich in oil which is transported by ships but in the recent past, we were tagged as the poverty capital of the world. This is ironically our reality, which we can change for better.”

“National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) had declared that it would deduct N112 billion from oil and gas proceeds for April to ensure continuous supply of petroleum products to the country and guarantee energy security. The implication includes not having oil revenue for the Federal Government to share with the states and local governments.”

He said this situation is premised on the hike in crude oil prices on the deregulated downstream sector and the need for uninterrupted supply of petroleum products to citizens

According to him, even if oil prices rise astronomically now to $200 per barrel, Nigeria is a country in debt and still looking for loans to fund the 2021 budget as at May this year.

“What this tells us is that oil money alone cannot satisfy our national thirst for funds. Federal, states and local governments struggle to pay salaries while pension and other welfare liabilities are almost unattended to in many parts of the country,” he said.

Threat of insecurity on blue economy

According to Nwabunike, insecurity has dealt a deadly blow on the maritime sector and its economy. Maritime piracy, robbery and other criminal activities have contributed in slowing down the maritime economy, he said.

“Our maritime domain suffers the setback of general insecurity either due to lack of priority attention, inadequate security platforms like patrol boats, aircrafts and supporting technology gadgets and lesser number of personnel to implement or enforce adherence to security on water.

“Maritime piracy, sea robbery, oil theft, kidnapping on water or through water have been copiously recorded in the domain that should be contributing to our economic well being.

“I am almost tempted to say that our Exclusive Economic Zone is no longer exclusive to us because the people I choose to call maritime bandits are threatening our space.”

Nwabunike said the Federal Government (through Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency) is rising to the occasion with planned deployment of advanced security assets to energise our blue economy. I believe it will work if consciously sustained, saying it is a anticipated that this move will go a long way in fighting piracy and other maritime crimes in the Gulf of Guinea and the country’s entire territorial waters.

He said safety of vessels; cargoes and crews on our waters have direct impacts on our overall economy since the maritime sector is critical for Nigerians in the areas of trade, investment, employment and recreation.

“While government is procuring platforms and training personnel for maritime security, I wish to advocate that a community supported security approach will be more productive.

“Government should as a matter of policy involve youths of coastal communities in a kind of Civilian Task Force to support the Navy and other security agencies in nipping our maritime insecurity in the bud.

“Further development of our maritime potentials will be a bold step towards economic diversification for job creation, addressing insecurity and positioning our ports for hub status in the West and Central African regions,” he stressed.

Meanwhile experts at the Annual Transport Lecture have said that a safer and more secure maritime sector will open a vista of economic improvements for us a country

They said most thriving businesses in the nation’s maritime domain are forced to spend a good part of their profits on the provision of security. Where such private arrangements are not made, “oil, construction and other workers operating or transiting through waters face risk of kidnap, robbery or murder,” they said.

…Vows to resist imposition of his Band boy



Isolo Youth Coalition has lambasted the fuji czar, king Wasiu Ayinde Marshall over his unnecessary interference in the Isolo politics of All Progressive Congress (APC).

The fuji music star is specifically accused of infiltrating the party elders to impose his stage manager Bayo Olasoju as consencus Chairman of the LCDA.

In a statement signed by the youth leader, Saheed Adebayo, the fuji star was quoted to have said that he was trying to compensate the band boy for his loyalty to the Ultimate Band with the position.

While the youths are calling for a transparent primary, they equally frown at the candidate of K1 who is described as a drop out only fit to be a stage boy.

The statement emphasised that all the other two aspirants are of Tinubu political empire and loyal APC members.

Olasoju was accused of incompetence as vice chairman who is more concerned about his social celebrity status instead of the welfare of the local council people.

The statement reads ” during one of the councils budget retreat, he (Olasoju) did not attend, only to see him on the stage at Chief Okoya’s 80th birthday collecting money sprayed his boss (K1). Is that the kind of local council chairman we deserve.

The group however called on the party elders to wade into the matter to help APC grow and instill confidence on the people.

Specifically, they called on the national leader, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu to call Wasiu to order not to put his personal interest that has lost touch with the people Isolo above the interest of the people as he presently resides in Ijebu-Ode,Ogun State.

The Nigerian Institute of Public Relations, (NIPR) on Thursday in Bauchi at its Annual General Meeting, conferred the prestigious Fellowship Award on Dr. Kennie Obateru, Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation.

Obateru, a self-driven and an amiable PR practitioner, joined the NNPC in 1992 as an experienced hire. Through the years he has served in various capacities as: General Manager/Head NNPC London Office, Manager, Public Affairs, National Petroleum Investment Management Services (NAPIMS), Manager, Public Affairs, Port Harcourt Refining Company (PHRC) among other positions.

He is an alumnus of the Nigerian Institute of Journalism, Lagos; University of Ilorin and University of Stirling, Scotland, UK, where he obtained a Certificate in News Reporting, a B.A. (Hons) Performing Arts and an M.Sc. in Public Relations respectively.

In 2012, he was awarded a Doctorate Degree in Management (Honoris Causa) by the Commonwealth University, Belize.

Obateru has attended numerous professional courses and conferences at home and abroad which include International Public Relations Association Conferences,) World Petroleum Congresses (WPCs) and more than a dozen OPEC Ministerial Conferences among others.

…as Acting MD is blacked out of Twitter handle
…Twitter handle last updated on Worker’s Day, May 1

About two weeks after Ms Hadiza Bala-Usman was suspended as the managing director of Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), no mention has remained the MD of Authority at the @portsauthority, the verified official twitter handle of Nigerian Ports Authority, with no mention at all made on the recent change in the top hierarchy of the management of the Authority.

Our Findings reveals that the strangle hold on the public communication channels of the Authority by the suspended MD, seems so unbreakable even as there seems to be a conspiracy of silence by the Public Relations Department of the Authority not to perform their statutory duty for which they are paid with public funds to duely update @portsauthority, with tne current development in the nation’s lead maritime agency.

To the chagrin of followers of @portsauthority, nothing new has happened in NPA since May 1, 2021, when Ms Bala-Usman’s May Day greetings to NPA workers was posted.

The post reads: “The Board and Management of Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) wish every member of staff a very happy Worker’s Day. We appreciate your labour and commitment to the Authority and will continue to promote the welfare of staff”..Hadiza Bala-Usman.

To the followers of @nigerianports, Ms Bala-Usman is still the managing director of NPA and the Acting Managing Director Mohammed Bello Kolo is the Executive Director, Finance and Administration of NPA.

Meanwhile, observers who are not surprised but amused by the situation, said this is not unrelated to the efforts of Ms Bala-Usman to return to NPA and continue as the MD.

It is widely believed that some employees of NPA Public Affairs department and media consultants were behind satirical reports aimed at attacking the person of Transport Minister, Rotimi Amaechi and the Acting MD.

They had deliberately avoided tweeting the usual Eid El Fitri greetings during the last Muslim holiday to followers of the official Twitter handle as a way of making NPA look inactive in the eyes of the public

One of the observers who would not want his name published said: “If you have been following events since she (Ms Bala-Usman) was suspended, you will notice that she has activated all her networks local and international, her political godfather is there, taking her to the powerful northern aristocrats to lobby for her return.

“She believes that she will return because of her powerful connections in the north, not that she does not know that she cannot be able to escape most of the alligations against her. So, she still has a finger in the things going on in NPA.

“There is also the issue of blind loyalty among staff, which is not professional because they are there to serve whoever the government appoints. You can also not rule out the fact that some might be afraid that if they give their full support to the Acting MD and Hadiza happens to win her battle and returns to NPA; what will happen to their job? Nobody wants to go to the unemployment market at this time. So, it is neither here nor there,” he said.

Recall that Ms Bala-Usman was suspended from office on May 7, 2021 over alleged financial malfeasance by the Federal Government which set up a panel to probe her handling of NPA activities in the about five years of her headship of the management of the Authority.

Since then, more revelations have emerged on acts of insurbodination, disobedience of lawful directives from superior government officials and arbitrariness with regards to termination of contractual agreements with Nigerian investors in the port industry as hallmarks of ‘Hadiza’s NPA.’

Following complaints and concerns raised , handlers of the Twitter account posted at about midnight on Tuesday that “the Ag. MD @mojalilah has today led the Management team to an emergency meeting on the review of concession and lease agreements with the @nassnigeria Joint Committee on Marine Transport & Ports and Harbours under the leadership of Sen. Danjuma Goje and Hon. Garba Datti Babawo”

Adepoju Anu, a Lagos-based doctor, has come under fire on Twitter after another lady accused the health practitioner of carrying out failed cosmetic surgery on her in Abuja.

In now-viral pictures of the alleged botched surgery, the client explained that she had engaged the services of the doctor because she had no knowledge about previous allegations against her.

The lady said she is based in New York and had returned to Nigeria 10 years after she left the country.

She noted that it was after the surgery that she got wind of the cosmetic surgeon’s past records.

According to the lady, the development has left her with fat necrosis — a condition that occurs when a person experiences an injury to an area of fatty tissue.

The client added that the surgery has continued to cause her untold pain, adding that “I am dying in Abuja.”

“Dr Anu has done it again o. She has been in Abuja doing surgery and giving them infection. Dr Anu gave me infection, fat necrosis. I’m dying in Abuja o. I live abroad, I live in New York. I didn’t know about Anu until I came down to Nigeria,” she wrote.

“I haven’t been in Nigeria for 10 years. It was after the surgery that I started hearing things about her. For real, you don’t have to be harsh on me. I just started following you of recent.”

The doctor was arraigned in Lagos last year after a failed cosmetic surgery which allegedly resulted in the death of the client.

Her arraignment had come at about the same time when MedContour Services Ltd, her medical facility in the commercial city, was shut down.

The development had also led to her suspension by the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria (MDCN) at the time.

Adepoju had, however, hit back at her critics and blamed the complications on the disobedience of post-surgery rules.

The latest development has continued to ignite heated reactions on the microblogging platform.

S&P Global Ratings said changes to the boards of FirstBank of Nigeria Limited and FBN Holdings (FBNH) Plc, recently directed by Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), addressed the banking group’s corporate governance challenges and ensures the Nigerian banking sector’s financial stability.

In a statement, it stated that its ratings on FBN and other Nigerian banks remain constrained by shortcomings in corporate governance and transparency, among other factors.

The CBN recently replaced the entire boards of FBN and FBNH, and reinstated the former executive directors and CEO, Dr. Adesola Adeduntan.

The CBN had also requested FBN unwind certain exposures and divest from its participation in a non-permissible company, also pointing to potential corporate governance lapses at the bank.

“However, Dr. Adeduntan’s reinstatement and the re-appointment of the other executive directors underscores the CBN’s confidence in the existing management team to continue the turnaround of the third-largest banking group in Nigeria, which has total assets of Nigerian N7.7 trillion.

“We are of the view that the CBN’s historical approach has been more reactive than proactive, as illustrated by the Skye Bank episode. That said, recent actions, while disruptive in the near-term, may signal a more direct and possibly decisive supervisory approach to alleged failings in the management and governance of regulated institutions,” it stated.

It noted that FBN’s overall credit profile has gradually stabilised since 2016, with a capital adequacy ratio of 17 percent in 2020, as against a 15 percent minimum requirement.

Similarly, the bank’s asset quality indicators improved significantly, with Non-Performing Loans (NPLs) reducing to 7.7 percent in 2020, from 20-25 percent since 2016.

Bigi, an ace brand with twelve variants from the stable of Rite Foods Limited has taken music activation and concert to another level in Nigeria with its maiden edition of BIGI Media Idol and sponsorship of the Nigerian Idol, Season 6.

It is no longer news that the maiden edition of BIGI Media Idol, a music contest organized for content drivers, bloggers and journalists in Lagos, saw breathtaking, exciting and jaw dropping music performances akin to the Nigerian Idol. BIGI dazzled reporters and other music lovers with a replica of the Nigerian Idol, where classic content drivers were given the opportunity to experience the music contest first hand as contestants.

Rotimi Ige, a Nigerian Tribune reporter emerged winner of the grand prize of two hundred and fifty thousand naira with his powerful R & B vocals. The sum of one hundred and fifty thousand naira was awarded to the first runner up, Osigwe Blessing, a reporter from High Society Magazine, whose angelic voice ignited uproar at the scene, while Funsho Arogundade, a reporter from PM Express with his powerful Fuji tunes went home with one hundred thousand naira. Winners also got crates of Bigi drinks products.

However, the highlight of the event was Bigi’s creative way of communicating its twelve variants through the concept of microphones. This was ingeniously done by using each of the Bigi variants to create a microphone, thus having all its variants of soft drinks take over the microphone stands, an illustration that has been described as Bigi’s determination to take over the microphone by supporting exceptional talents and igniting great musical performances.

All other contestants were awarded cash prizes of fifty thousand naira each as Nigerian Idol music judges, Obi Asika and DJ Sose were on ground to spice up the contest and select the best Bigi Media Idol of the year.

According to one of the content developers at the event, the concept of the Bigi microphone ownership emphasizes the brand readiness in playing big in the music industry and entertainment generally.

Seleem Adegunwa, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Rite Foods Limited stressed that music brings the best out of our culture and Nigeria is littered with abundance of talents-in music, movie, comedy, spoken words, and dance. In his words, “We are putting our weight behind the Nigerian Idol because it will bring the best out of the many talents we have in this country. Bigi has come to take over the mic,” he stated.

At the moment, music lovers, performing artists, and entertainment juggernauts are currently showing great interest for the brand that has come to ‘take over the mic’ in Nigeria. As the days and months roll by, one can only but wonder what else the brand has in store for its numerous consumers and other entertainment lovers.

Established in 2007, Rite Foods Limited is a subsidiary of Ess-AY Holdings Limited and has grown to become a truly world class and proudly Nigerian food and beverage company.

Its Bigi soft drinks have set the pace in the beverage market with variants such as the Bigi Cola, Bigi Orange, Bigi Apple, Bigi Bitter Lemon, Bigi Soda Water, Bigi Lemon & Lime, Bigi Tropical, Bigi Chapman, Bigi Tamarind, Bigi Cherry Cola, Bigi Ginger Lemon, Bigi Ginger Ale.

Other products of the company include Bigi Premium Table Water, Fearless Red Berry Energy Drink, Fearless Classic Energy Drink, Rite Spicy, Bigi Beef Sausage roll and Rite Sausage roll.

The company’s inventiveness has earned high recognition in the energy drinks market with the first ever packaged polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottle brands for the Fearless Red Berry and Fearless Classic.

Pan African Financial Institution, United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc has announced that 10 of its  loyal customers will get a chance to win N1,000,000 each, in the ongoing UBA Savings Promo which is scheduled to hold on to May 7, 2021 at the bank’s corporate head office, in Lagos.

This unique promo intends to appreciate loyal customers of the bank, who have stayed with the bank over the years, and will also offer fresh opportunities for potential and intending customers to join the growing number of UBA millionaires who have in the past benefitted from the ongoing Promo.

To qualify for the draws, new and existing customers of the bank are expected to save N10,000 monthly or N30,000 at once for 3 months; before each draw date. Savings account holders eligible for this draw include Target, Bumper, Next Gen, Savings, Teens & Kiddies).

Some past winners who cut across all regions of the country and have previously benefitted from the promo include; Nnadumije, Ebube Dawn; Onwochei Christiana Okwukwe; Eze Mathias Nnaji; Christian N Orie; Uka, Okwudiri; Okata Stephen Uche; Okafor Onyinye Esther; Nwanekezi Chimezie Jude; Ayomide V Yahaya and Olanegan, Oyetunde Keji.

Others are Emmanuel Onu Chidozie; Mohammed Fatima; Aminu, Mustapha; James Nanre; Pahinti Albert; Emmanuel O Adeniji; Jaki Movihinze Mercy; Saminu Muritala Mohammed; Ezeh Raphael Uballa; Uchenna Iheji. Already the winners have claimed their cash prizes and are currently spreading the news so others can take advantage of this once in a life time opportunity.

Speaking ahead of the forthcoming draw, UBA’s Head, Personal Banking, Ogechi Altraide,  said that without a doubt, UBA’s passion for the growth and overall success of its customers cannot be overemphasized, adding that this has consistently been proven in numerous ways. She explained that the bank has consistently invested in cutting edge technology to improve its service delivery and its overall aim of delighting customers.

She said: “With customer-centric promos like the UBA Savings Promo, we have created an ever increasing list of millionaires who continue to join the UBA customer millionaire club. For this edition of the promo, we decided to pick the month of May, which is the month that workers are celebrated across the world for their efforts at contributing to the growth of the economy. We know that this promo will put lasting smiles on the faces of our customers and will also assure them that UBA truly values them,” Altraide said.

UBA’s Head, SME Banking, Sampson Aneke, spoke of UBA’s continuous commitment to give back to its customers especially during these challenging economic periods, where people need all the support they can get to make life more meaningful.

“With this in mind we decided to prioritise them in as we always do at UBA, by giving them plenty to cheer about and that is the reason for the Promo. I have been privileged to visit some of the customers who won in January, and we were more than fulfilled to see happiness and gratitude on the faces of the lucky ones when their cash prizes were presented to them. That feeling is special. So I enjoin those who are yet to join the winning team, to do so. You never can tell, the next big millionaire could be you,” Aneke said.

United Bank for Africa Plc is a leading Pan-African financial institution, offering banking services to more than twenty-one million customers, across over 1,000 business offices and customer touch points, in 20 African countries. With presence in the United States of America, the United Kingdom and France, UBA is connecting people and businesses across Africa through retail; commercial and corporate banking; innovative cross-border payments and remittances; trade finance and ancillary banking services.

Impacting hundreds of thousands of lives and communities across Nigeria


If you live in Lagos, Abuja or Port Harcourt, or you reside in any of the other state capitals, you probably take for granted that you actually live in the better of the two worlds that make up Nigeria when it comes to banking.

Take Lagos, for example, you would find a bank in almost any corner you turn. You have many streets in business or commercial areas in the city that are lined up by nothing but banks in all their glory and magnificence. If a count is taken, it could be established that there are probably more bank branches in Lagos than any other branded business outlets or branded activity centres – if street stores and religious centres are excluded.

Many people in city centres somehow assume that this situation of banks being in your face in cities is the same reality that prevails in most parts of the country. They have no idea that there are parts of Nigeria, especially the hinterland, where people take the absence of banks for granted the same way city dwellers take the preponderance of bank branches for granted. To get to the nearest bank, people in the hinterland who live this reality every day would have to travel many kilometres to get to their state capitals or some other large towns. These are the people living in the worse of the two worlds you find in Nigeria as far as having bank presence is concerned.

Imagine if the situation were reversed and city dwellers had to travel many kilometres to get to the nearest bank branch where they could do their transactions. It is not unlikely that such a situation would be accompanied by a ballooning of the stress levels in city dwellers, increased road rage on city highways and heightened frustration generally. How would people who spend multiple hours in traffic on a daily basis, work longer than counterparts elsewhere for far less remuneration, enjoy less sleep on their beds and less time with family and loved ones, cope with the additional burden of walking or driving endlessly in search of a bank to do their transactions? How? Just how?

So city dwellers should indeed be thankful for their world. And while at it, they as well as people in the hinterland, who live in the other world, should not be shy to extend appreciation to those working so hard and tirelessly to bridge the gap between the two worlds in Nigeria. The Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) financial inclusion initiative geared towards bringing the unbanked and underbanked as well as communities in Nigeria’s hinterland into the formal financial ecosystem has been key to efforts to bridge the gap. The CBN’s mandate to ensure the availability of affordable financial products and services to all individuals and groups of people in Nigeria, regardless of location, literacy level, familiarity with technology or accessibility to modern infrastructural facilities, has been wholly embraced, supported and promoted by FirstBank.

FirstBank’s unmatched commitment to financial inclusion is informed by the bank’s undivided focus on making real impact across Nigeria. Hear Dr. Adesola Adeduntan, the Chief Executive Officer of the premier bank in West Africa and the leading financial inclusion services provider in Nigeria for over 127 years: “The key strength of our franchise is our ability to look at gaps in the society and develop products and services that [address those gaps].”

Continuing, he notes that as an integral part of the bank’s strategy: “We believe that by significantly working with the Central Bank to improve the financial inclusion index of the country, we would, as FirstBank, be assisting [the] country to address poverty, to address hunger, thereby also promoting security of life and property because when people are gainfully employed, the implication is that they think less of crime.”

It is therefore not surprising that FirstBank has driven the financial inclusion initiative much more vigorously than any other bank in Nigeria, with its Firstmonie Agent channel, which crossed the 100,000 Agents mark a few days ago, being among the bank’s many initiatives to expand financial access in the country. The 100,000 Agents feat in itself speaks volumes about the bank’s strides in the financial inclusion space. No other bank comes anywhere close to FirstBank in terms of number and spread of agents in their agent banking networks. FirstBank’s Firstmonie Agents and the thousands of staff they employ are in all the 774 local government areas in Nigeria save two and, in 2020 alone, processed over 295 million transactions with a total value of N6.65 trillion and opened more than 196,000 accounts. However, for FirstBank, it is not about number or competition with others or even being the largest bank-led network in Africa, but the impact the Firstmonie Agents channel it is creating, as Dr Adeduntan highlighted above.

His deputy, Francis Shobo agrees, saying FirstBank is looking beyond numbers and considering impact. He makes a bold declaration, “We are trying to make those Agents the centre of the financial ecosystem in the country.” This probably explains why Firstmonie Agents are considered by the bank as community heroes that it is planting all over the nation. And this is the sense one gets in interviews with Agents and customers across the country.

Aiyetoro is a riverine community in Ilaje Local Government Area of Ondo State. It has no banks, according to Stephen Adeleye, a Firstmonie Agent serving Aiyetoro community. He recounts how Firstmonie has impacted his community. Adeleye says Firstmonie has provided easy access to banking ensuring that “people in the community now have this kind of savings habit” – a reference to the growing savings culture in Aiyetoro.

One of his customers, Tina Farodoye, who operates a grocery store in the community says Firstmonie has helped her business to grow. She can now buy her stock in bulk all the way from Lagos where they are relatively inexpensive (even with transport costs added) compared to her community, all because she is able to transfer funds through Agent Stephen to the wholesalers in Lagos. This has improved her business profitability by increasing the profit margin in her business.

Ephraim Osinachi, is a Firstmonie Agent in Obehie, Asa Ukwa West, Abia State. He serves customers across all ages, including the very aged, as all customers are assisted with their transactions, unlike the use of ATM where the customer is practically on their own. He says market traders take advantage of his presence in the community to make lodgements at the end of the day’s trade. He and his staff wait until traders are done at the market (unlike your regular banks which shut their doors to customers at four o’clock, generally). The advantage this offers the people is invaluable.

He cites a case where a customer’s house was raided by robbers in their absence and all the robbers could find after ransacking the entire house was fifty naira cash and old phones valued at N3,000. His services are enabling his community to avoid keeping bulk cash at home and the consequent risk of being robbed and traumatised by men of the underworld.

Orode Hesse, Firstmonie Agent in Ubeji, Warri South, Delta State is both emphatic and ecstatic about impact Firstmonie has had on her life. She enthuses that it has really impacted and empowered her financially and enabled her to empower others, especially other women. She has six employees, five of whom are female. So she sees Firstmonie as a business or platform to employ and empower women.

Interestingly, Orode is part of the 26 per cent of Firstmonie Agents that are women, a fact that points to the important role Firstmonie is playing in driving women economic empowerment.

Abubakar Aki Bolaji, is a Firstmonie Agent along Karishi Road, Orozo in FCT, Abuja. He points out that the nearest bank to his community is 15km away. He is pleased that his presence as an Agent in the community has cut out the costs of transportation his people would have continued to incur in order to access banking services. His sentiment and delight are shared by the teeming customers he serves.

This situation is very common in the North given its landmass and the dispersed nature of human settlements. Dr Adeduntan relates how a senior government official in Jigawa State highlighted how important the presence of Firstmonie Agents was when he informed him that all across a 70km stretch from Gumel, where there was the branch of a bank, there were no banks anywhere in sight. All he saw were at least two Firstmonie Agents in that long stretch of 70km, no banks. Without those two Agents, all the people in the settlements along that 70km stretch would be without access to banking services.

Another Firstmonie Agent, Mohammed Tatari, serving Tudun Wada in Bununu, Bauchi State, says his services are helping to drive commerce in his community as traders are now able to transfer funds to the wholesalers elsewhere from whom they buy. His services are helping traders to avoid carrying large cash with them given the dire security situation. He noted that the people used to travel elsewhere just to access banking service. His presence has changed all that now.

He concludes that Firstmonie is changing his community (for good). One woman who would agree with him is Halima, a housewife and petty trader in the outskirts of Abuja. She discovered Firstmonie through her co-tenant, during the recent lockdown due to COVID-19, and was excited that she could access funds at the Firstmonie Agent outlet close to her and send money to her mother in far away, Maiduguri in Borno State. She had been unable to move to Garki where her bank branch was because of the lockdown.

Besides ensuring that individuals in the suburbs do not have to travel for long hours to the city for their banking activities, Firstmonie Agents are also bridging the gap between the tech-savvy and the low-literacy clients as the Agent network represents the convenient and comfortable alternative for customers that are unacquainted with sophisticated digital channels. And as Firstmonie Agents give their best, FirstBank, on its part, has been doing everything to encourage the Agents.

In its inaugural Firstmonie Agent Banking Awards, FirstBank rewarded 37 leading Agents that have promoted financial inclusion in the country. Thirty-one (31) Agents each won the sum of N250,000 at the state level while five Agents won the sum of N1,000,000 at the regional level. At the national level, the grand prize of N2,500,000 was won by Zayyanu Hassan Ishaq, an Agent from Abuja (North Central), who described it as a miracle and noted that it would spur him to work harder.

As further encouragement and to promote the business activities of Firstmonie Agents, the bank announced the provision of loan facilities of up to N1,000,000 to the Agents. This new credit scheme, which they can access 24 hours a day, can be processed in less than two minutes. The scheme means more empowerment and business expansion for Firstmonie Agents. And the expansion can go beyond Nigeria as Dr Adeduntan says FirstBank is looking beyond Nigeria to other African countries where FirstBank operates, like Ghana and DRC – a country with over 80 million people – to promote financial inclusion and begin to address poverty on the African continent through the Firstmonie platform.

Rite Foods Limited, a truly world-class and proudly Nigerian food and beverage company has stated that it will continue to produce world-class products for the benefits of its consumers, through the possibility of the state-of-the-art infrastructure and up-to-the-minute technology deployed in its production factory.

This was the submission of the Company’s Managing Director, Mr. Seleem Adegunwa, at the recent Rite Foods Brand Academy organised for content drivers at its first-rate factory at Ososa, Ogun State, where he said the company which started with a humble beginning has set the pace for others in the industry through unique brands that are proven to be unrivalled by consumers.

He said the rapid success of the indigenous company can be attributed to its quality consciousness and technological advancement it has attained.

Adegunwa affirmed that the company’s exceptional brands are produced with machineries that are the best from across the world, thus ensuring the most hygienic and global standardit has maintained since inception.

On a tour of the infrastructure, the content drivers were inundated with the Nigerianess and “I CAN, I AM” mantra of Rite Foods.

They were also amazed with the up-to-date technology installed in the factory, which are automated with little or no – human interference, with artificial intelligence at all phases of the production processes, thereby ensuring the delivering of quality products at optimum capacity.

The Rite Foods MD explained that the factory generates its own source of electricity via the largest solar plant in West Africa, alongside its usage of gas and diesel induced plant connected to the National Grid that facilitates seamless, uninterrupted power supply to the highly sensitive, sophisticated technology infrastructure.

According to him, the global approach was induced to enable the company deliver unparalleled brands to meet consumers expectation, which according to market survey, has been surpassed, with the largest market share in the sausage and beverage sector of the Nigerian economy.

Established in 2007, Rite Foods Limited is a subsidiary of Ess-Ay Holdings.

Its sausage brands have been the mark of excellence for the industry with the Rite Spicy, Bigi Beef and Rite Sausages.

On the company’s stables are the 12 leading Bigi soft drink variants which include the Bigi Cola, Bigi Orange, Bigi Apple, Bigi Bitter Lemon, Bigi Soda Water, Bigi Lemon & Lime, Bigi Tropical, Bigi Chapman, Bigi Tamarind, Bigi Cherry Cola, Bigi Ginger Lemon, and the Bigi Ginger Ale.

Its Bigi Premium Table Water, which is produced with global best practices in purification, offers quality, freshness, confidence and reliability.

Rite Foods’ inventiveness has earned high recognition in the energy drinks market with the first ever packaged polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottle brands for the Fearless Red Berry and Fearless Classic.

The effort of Rite Foods in setting up such superlative factories was highly commended by the Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, when he visited the place. He said “This is a testament to the true Nigerian spirit of hard work, bold entrepreneurship and commitment to world class standard.”

The leading company has also made inroad into the entertainment industry with the sponsorship of the Prophetess movie premiere which recently debuts in Oyo and Lagos States, as part of its corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiative.

Nigerian Idol, a platform for budding and talented singers to express themselves is also been sponsored by this emerging, friendly conglomerate, which also organised a prototype of the show for content drivers in Lagos recently, christened Bigi Media Idol.

In its environmental preservation programme, the organisation recently embarked on a clean-up of the Alpha beach in Lagos, and immensely supported the less privileged in one of the communities in the state with consumable household items, as part of its CSR programme.

The story of Toyin Subair’s arrival in the national spotlight is inextricably linked to his defunct Hitv, the pay television experiment that went belly up within a few years. At launch, Hitv looked like a monster hit.

But those familiar with the story of the pay television provider and its promoter said it was everything but. The story is about how Hitv, seeking to make an instant splash in the pay television market with the popular English Premier League, dug its own grave.

According to the story, Chief Raymon Dokpesi of DAAR Communications was keen on the hit sports property for his pay television platform, DAARSat. That was in 2006. He, along with his team, made a bid but left the bidding session sure that some madness was afoot. Why? They had been blown out of the water by the Toyin Subair-led Hitv with a spectacularly outrageous bid.

DAARSat and its founder decided that they needed to call the attention of the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC), telling the broadcast regulator-in a petition-that Subair’s bid was unreasonable and the money could not be raised within Nigeria, something Subair appeared to confirm in a social media post four years ago, writing: “It pains me to admit that someone told the then Minister of Information that Nigerians can’t fund our type of business and I was really hoping to prove him wrong.”

Subair must have laughed. He got his wish with Hitv, which wrested the football property from the grip of MultiChoice, and plenty of media attention. After four years, with Hitv unable to renew the rights for what drew customers to it, it became ill, started gasping and died. The rights were, again, sold to MultiChoice, which was among the operators trumped by Hitv in the last round of bidding.

Those close to him said he blamed Multichoice, a claim that found confirmation in a 2017 post on his LinkedIn page.

“The competition spent a lot of time courting all arms of government and I was a simpleton. We just expected the whole world to cheer us on. The laws in Nigeria are as empty as they are full. A lot of writings but you have to make sure your business model is adequately protected…We paid $40 million for the first year of the second term of the EPL from mostly equity. But still had to come up with a guarantee of about $70 million for the latter two years and in Nigeria, guarantee requires cash in bank. The alternative bank we were forced to use, despite all their assurances and being offered half of the amount by another bank failed to issue same on that fateful Tuesday and only offered it to us on Thursday. Meanwhile the EPL sold it to our competition on Wednesday morning,” wrote Subair.

The animosity with MultiChoice, which he blames Hitv’s collapse on, has obviously continued to flame. Those who worked closely with him during the Hitv days blame the collapse on other things, which include unrestrained spending on first class trips abroad, ostensibly to seek new programming; and non-stop partying, which did not impress his board.

He claimed that those allegations were made up, saying Hitv had excellent corporate governance. This, however, is not supported by the evidence of how things went.

He, however, does not look like a man you can easily keep down. Once in a while, he had bobbed up in the past. These days, riding on the back of Lai Mohammed, Minister of Information and Culture, he has been remade as a big thing in the nation’s broadcast industry.

Industry watchers, many of who view the Information Minister with suspicion, are not comfortable with the dad-lad combo of Mohammed and Subair. They suspect both men of harbouring strong personal interests and working for the interest of a Tier-A Southwest politician, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu.

One of Subair’s jobs after Hitv sank was as Managing Director of CONSAT, the failed Tinubu-owned satellite television service provider, which Subair was said to assured the promoter that it would be the biggest thing on the circuit.

Soon after Hitv bombed, Subair founded InView, which he foresaw as a vehicle for Nigeria’s digital transition. The digital transition programme, it was suspected at onset, would deliver a feast for those with huge appetite for money, knowing the country’s corruption circle. Subair knew that government would insist on spending huge sums for the DSO even if cheaper alternatives were available. Having worked for Tinubu, to whom he tried to sell Hitv to in its dying days, he sought the godfather’s blessings. The godfather also saw a fusion of business and political benefits, especially the chance to become the local Rupert Murdoch

He already owns The Nation titles, Television Continental (TVC), Max FM and had always been a strong player in the media space since the time of the military when he was a shareholder in The News and Tempo magazines as well as PM News.

With his presidential ambition slowly gathering steam and with Mohammed and Subair to seize the broadcast media space, the hold on the media will be vice-like.

To make it easy, Mohamed has raised a Task Force to “ensure” Nigeria’s digital transition is completed before Buhari leaves office, a tough task, given that despite billions of naira spent, only the capitals of the six states used as pilot locations has digital transition infrastructure.

With additional billions released, only a few more states will be covered in the second stanza of the process. To manage expectations, the acting Director of the NBC, Armstrong Ideachaba announced that most of the recently approved N9.4billio the Federal Executive Council is for settling old debts.

One of the companies owed money to is Subair’s InView. Subair, I need to mention, is a member of the Ministerial

Task Force on the DSO? Conflict of interest? Be the judge.

On Tuesday January 26, 2021, President Muhammadu Buhari inaugurated an 18-member Presidential Steering Committee on the Alternate School Programme, (ASP). The President charged the committee to coordinate and lead the deployment of a National Plan which will address the issue of out-of-school children in the country.
Sadiya Umar Farouq, Honourable Minister of Humanitarian Affairs Disaster Management and Social Development was named co-chair alongside Mallam Adamu Adamu, Honourable Minister of Education.
The choice of Farouq as co-chair is instructive when the mandate of the steering committee is taken into consideration.

The Alternate School Programme has as its mandate to improve access to education for all Nigerian children in alignment with Sustainable Development Goal (SDG-4) which aims to “ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all”.

The Terms of Reference for the National Steering Committee include: “refine and focuse the vision of the initiative; ensure engagement and effective uptake of the ASP initiative across the country; review and approve all work, implementation plans, expected deliverables, feedbacks and reports as proposed & undertake any other task that can enhance the effective delivery of the initiative.

In his remark, the president noted that despite the strides made with the Universal Basic Education Commission under the Federal Ministry of Education, it remained an unacceptable aberration to see young children “abandoning formal school to become apprentices in shops, workshops, and markets, whilst many others choose to loiter at markets, become cart pushers and hawkers.”

To put the new initiative in context, Unicef notes about Nigeria that “Even though primary education is officially free and compulsory, about 10.5 million of the country’s children aged 5-14 years are not in school. Only 61 percent of 6-11 year-olds regularly attend primary school and only 35.6 percent of children aged 36-59 months receive early childhood education. In the north of the country, the picture is even bleaker, with a net attendance rate of 53 percent. Getting out-of-school children back into education poses a massive challenge.”

That challenge is at the core of the Alternate School Programme which, if viewed from the perspective of the ripple effect an uneducated population can have on the polity, presents a humanitarian imperative.

The UN lays the blame for the huge number of out of school children, over 5% of the population at the feet of poverty, geography and gender imbalance. A lack of economic empowerment, location in conflict impacted states and disinterest in educating the girl child have contributed in exacerbating the problem.

The Unicef report contends that “Gender, like geography and poverty, is an important factor in the pattern of educational marginalization. States in the north-east and north-west have female primary net attendance rates of 47.7 percent and 47.3 percent, respectively, meaning that more than half of the girls are not in school. The education deprivation in northern Nigeria is driven by various factors, including economic barriers and socio-cultural norms and practices that discourage attendance in formal education, especially for girls.”

The ASP hopes to help tip the scales and achieve a balance in this disproportionately lopsided state of affairs by providing an innovative & flexible approach to schooling as well as skills development.

By focusing on out of school children, the ASP will ensure a reversal of Nigeria’s abysmal statistics which the UN has captured in very poor terms – “one in every five of the world’s out-of-school children is in Nigeria.”

According to Umar Farouq in a January 31 tweet “That translates to 10.5 million children aged 5-14 years. There is also a high percentage of absenteeism with only 61% of children aged 6 to 11 able to attend primary school regularly. The figures are worse in the North.”

An uneducated child will grow up into an illiterate adult who will be unable to access neither gainful employment nor economic empowerment. Such an individual will constitute an unproductive component of the population and remain a burden on the system.

Viewed from these perspectives it is easy to see why the ASP constitutes a humanitarian imperative especially as the bulk of the out of school children are already in the grip of a humanitarian emergency after over a decade of insurgency in the North East states of Adamawa, Yobe and Borno where the UN estimates that 2.8 million children are in need of education-in-emergencies support with at least 802 schools shut, 497 classrooms destroyed and another 1,392 damaged but repairable.

The Alternate School Programme is not the first of such initiatives to tackle the menace posed by out of school children. In January this year, during an inter-ministerial briefing, the Minister of Education, Mallam Adamu Adamu had informed his audience that the number of out-of-school children has reduced from 10.1million in 2019 to 6.95 million in 2020.

He said the reduction was consequent on gains from the Federal Government’s Better Education Service Delivery for All (BESDA) initiative which was being implemented in 17 states of the federation in conjunction with the National Association of Proprietors and School Owners of Nigeria. The effort, he announced, had led to the enrolment of 1,053,422 children during the period.
The coming of the Alternate School Programme with its innovative approach will help accelerate the gains by ensuring that every child gains access to quality education, irrespective of social, cultural, or economic standing.

Highlighting the humanitarian approach, the co-chair, Sadiya Umar Farouq noted that the FG through the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs Disaster Management and Social Development and the National Social Investment Programmes (NSIP) is working to improve household incomes for the families of out of school children as it seeks to equip them with literary and numeracy knowledge as well as the requisite skills to engage with and contribute meaningfully to the Nigerian economy. To help achieve the goal, the ministry has begun the collation of data of all out-of-school children across the country.

It was pleasing to read news of the inauguration of a technical Working Group on Tuesday April 13, 2020. This development speaks to the seriousness with which the assignment is being addressed. The TWG will oversee and ensure effective planning and implementation of the ASP which will, in the short term, evolve means of delivering a limited number of subjects with emphasis on numeracy and literacy as well as basic and social sciences from Mathematics to English Language, and Basic Sciences to Social Studies. These would be scaled up in the long term to facilitate the acquisition of relevant technical skills.

As work progresses on this very laudable initiative, the hope is that in a year or two, Nigeria would no longer score so abysmally low when it comes to out of school children.

A group of petroleum tanker owners in Nigeria under the auspices of the Association of Distributors and Transporters of Petroleum Products (ADITOP) has commended the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) for its unrelenting efforts to bring sanity into the downstream sector of the oil industry

Speaking during a visit to the NNPC Towers Abuja, the National President of ADITOP, Alhaji Lawal Mohammed, expressed delight at the achievements of the Corporation under the leadership of Mallam Mele Kyari, especially in the area of stakeholder engagement.

“This singular action of meeting with us defines you as a leader with limitless leadership humility and untiring capacity for encouraging the concept of stakeholder management and eagerness to carry us along in every public policy engagements of the NNPC concerning the oil and gas value chain,” Mohammed stated.

He pledged the group’s support for NNPC stressing that they were ready to place their trucks and retail outlets at the disposal of the Corporation for any pilot programme and investment initiative.

While welcoming the ADITOP leadership to the NNPC Towers, Mallam Kyari pledged to work with the petroleum products distributors to sustain the prevailing sanity in the downstream sector.

Zenith Bank Plc, has charged Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) to be conversant with the five principles of credits to boost chances of accessing funding facilities.

The Group Managing Director of the bank, Mr. Ebenezer Onyeagwu, gave the advice at the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) financial services group webinar today.

The webinar has the theme: “Addressing the Funding Challenges for your Business”.

Onyeagwu represented by Dr. Temitope Fasoranti, the Executive Director, Zenith Bank Plc listed the five principles for fulfilment by MSMEs as character, capacity, capital, collateral and conditions.

He said that these principles were used to measure the business credit history, ability to repay loan and other parameters to influence the lender’s desire to finance the customer.

He said that having a continuity and succession plan, knowing types of funding available to specific business, and educating the banks to understand your business type would also improve access to funding.

The Zenith Bank MD advised business owners to work out remediation plans as opposed to running away, when a loan went bad.

“The challenges MSMEs face are from unfriendly business environment, poor funding, low managerial skills, lack of modern technology, poor governance, lack of succession planning but among these, shortage of finance is central.

“According to the World Bank Doing Business in Nigeria Report 2020, Nigeria scores a low 15 out of 100 for ease of getting credit.

“However, notwithstanding the evolution of the banking industry and digital disruptions, the five C’s of credit are sacrosanct in the bank’s lending decisions.

“This means that banking and financial services are highly regulated and so banks not donor agencies.

“But to access funding more easily, businesses must be conversant with the five Cs of credit, top of which, character is key.

“Business owners must consciously keep and update financial records regularly and make every effort to service existing loans obligations,” he said.

In her remarks, Mrs Toki Mabogunje, the President, LCCI, noted that the global consensus that MSMEs were crucial to economic development continued to be at risk.

Mabogunje, represented by Mr Gbenga Ismail, the Vice President, LCCI said this was because difficult access to affordable finance and funding continued to impede the growth of the sector.

According to her, many Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) continue to struggle with the risk assessment criteria of commercial banks and other lenders, also poor accounting records, cash flow rigidity, among others.

“The objective of this webinar is to provide a veritable platform to facilitate discussion and interface between managers of loanable funds and businesses, especially the MSMEs on the huge financing gaps that still exist in the economy despite the various intervention measures,” she said.

Also, Mr Obinna Anyanwu, the Chairman, Financial Services Group, LCCI, stressed that inadequate funding inhibited the scale up, competitiveness and sustainability of MSMEs, further compounded by the pandemic.

Anyanwu noted that a survey conducted by the Pan-Atlantic University and Development Bank of Nigeria in 2018, reported that the rejection rate for loans by banks to MSME was pegged at 50 per cent.

He urged the banks on the provision of practicable and innovative solutions to the issues of funding in Nigeria.

The gas development and commercialization programme of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) received a boost Thursday with the execution of the Oil Mining Lease (OML) 143 Gas Development Agreement (GDA) by the NNPC and its partner, Sterling Oil Exploration and Production Company (SEEPCO).

A statement by the Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division, Dr. Kennie Obateru, disclosed that the project would boost the nation’s gas production by 1.2trillion cubic feet (tcf).

Speaking at the GDA signing ceremony which held at the NNPC Towers, Abuja, the Group Managing Director of the NNPC, Mallam Mele Kyari, said the gas commercialization strategy of the Corporation was in sync with the Federal Government’s National Gas Expansion Programme (NGEP), adding that the gas from the project would be processed at the Ashtavinayak Hydrocarbon Limited (AHL) 125million standard cubic feet (mmscf) of gas per day gas plant located in Kwale, Delta State.

“This opens a gateway for other opportunities in the Oil and Gas Industry, not just SEEPCO Group but for other companies too. We are happy that this will unlock significant volumes of gas which will deliver 125mmscfd to the Midstream plant that you have built. Of course, this is a great milestone for us and we are happy to do business with you. You are a very reliable partner because when you say things, you get them done,” Mallam Kyari stated.

He said the development of OML 143 would bring value for the Federal Government, NNPC and SEEPCO Group which would in turn boost the nation’s economy.

On his part, the Group Managing Director of SEEPCO, Mr. Tony Chukwueke, said the OML 143 GDA is a major milestone for the country because it was the first Agreement in Nigeria that fully separates gas development from oil production, noting that the arrangement would enable wholistic development of the gas potential in the block.

He further explained that the GDA was a significant step as it was the first of its kind to expressly include terms that encourage the contractor to be effective in its cost management thereby passing on significant revenue to the Federal Government, NNPC and other stakeholders.

“I will like to take this opportunity to thank the GMD, NNPC for his contribution to Nigeria and also recommit that SEEPCO is determined to play its role in the energy industry in Nigeria,” Tony Chukwueke reassured.

The Gas Development Agreement is required, pursuant to the Production Sharing Contract obligations, to set out the terms for the development of the 1.2tcf Non-Associated Gas oil block by SEEPCO which is the Contractor with the NNPC is the Concessionaire.

The additional gas supply from the project would raise the nation’s gas production profile, make dry gas available for the proposed 650 megawatts NNPC/SEEPCO Independent Power Plant, boost in-country supply of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) and general domestic gas utilization, increase energy security, and create job opportunities for Nigerians.

Guaranty Trust Bank plc has released its unaudited Financial Results for the period ended March 31, 2021, to the Nigerian and London Stock Exchanges.

A review of the result shows a resilient performance across all key financial metrics in the face of the unprecedented macroeconomic challenges, reflecting the quality of past decisions and reaffirming its position as one of the best managed financial institutions in Africa.

The Group reported Profit before tax of ₦53.7billion, representing a drop of 7.8% over ₦58.2billion recorded in the corresponding period of March 2020. Deposit Liabilities increased by 3.0% from ₦3.611trillion in December 2020 to ₦3.717trillion in March 2021, whilst the Group’s Loan book (Net) dipped by 1.4% from ₦1.663trillion recorded as at December 2020 to ₦1.639trillion in March 2021.

Guaranty Trust Bank’s Balance sheet remained well structured and diversified with Total assets and Shareholders’ Funds closing at ₦4.993trillion and ₦837.2billion respectively. Full Impact Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR) remained very strong, closing at 26.1%, while Asset quality was sustained as NPL ratio and Cost of Risk (COR) closed at 6.1% (Bank: 5.6%) and 0.11% (Bank: 0.02%) in March 2021 from 6.0% (Bank: 5.9%) and 0.08% (Bank: 0.01%) in March 2020 respectively.

Commenting on the financial results, the Managing Director/CEO of Guaranty Trust Bank plc, Mr. Segun Agbaje, said: “We have started off the 2021 financial year on a fair footing, and our first-quarter results demonstrate our ability to continue delivering strong and sustainable returns, despite the macroeconomic uncertainties that persist in our business environment. This is a reflection of the resilience of our franchise, our prudent approach to risk management and the efficacy of our digital-first customer-centric business strategy.”

He further stated that: “Looking forward, we are optimistic about the long-term value that we will continue to create as an organization. We strongly believe that our new growth strategy, together with the enduring loyalty of our customers, the hard work and dedication of our staff and the unwavering support we continue to enjoy from our shareholders, will enable us drive and deliver best-in-class financial solutions for people, businesses and communities across Africa and beyond.”

Guaranty Trust Bank plc continues to post one of the best metrics in the Nigerian Banking industry in terms of all Financial Ratios i.e. Return on Equity (ROAE) of 26.0%, Return on Assets (ROAA) of 4.3%, Full Impact Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR) of 26.1% and Cost to Income ratio of 42.6%.

Renowned for its forward-thinking approach to financial services and customer engagement, GTBank was recently ranked Africa’s Most Admired Finance Brand in the 10th-anniversary rankings of Brand Africa 100: Africa’s Best Brands, the pre-eminent survey and ranking of the Top 100 admired brands in Africa.

The Bank was also awarded the Best Bank in Nigeria by Euromoney Magazine for a record-extending tenth time and the Euromoney Excellence in Leadership Africa Award for its swift reaction in responding to the COVID-19 crisis and for addressing the impact of the pandemic on its customers and communities.

…reiterates its commitment to service delivery excellence



FirstBank, Nigeria and indeed West Africa’s premier financial inclusion services provider has announced the launch of its newly designed website at https://www.firstbanknigeria.com/.

The new website is upgraded with features that are streamlined to reinforce its role in delivering seamless banking and technology solutions to its customers across the world.

The website is configured with modern design and improved functionality that eases customer experience whilst carrying out various activities on the site, including electronic banking. Non-customers are also able to open an account, putting them at an edge in the industry as they establish a relationship with the Bank that puts YOU, its customers, First.

The new website seamlessly adopts a fresh, magazine-style look and feel for easy navigation in order to promote the access to essential information for its customers, FirstMonie agents, prospective agents and the public. This upgrade also guides one to make well-informed decisions about one’s personal, business and private financial needs.

Dr. Adesola Adeduntan, CEO of FirstBank Group, while speaking on the launch of the New Corporate Website, said that: “As one of the key contact points to existing and potential customers, the Bank’s website remains a gateway to our business, supporting our unique value propositions and financial services solutions. As such, we are committed to continuously improve the overall user experience through intriguing content quality, exciting features and ease of navigation.”

He further noted that: “The Bank’s new website will be updated on a regular basis with exciting features that will continue to reinforce the Bank’s resolve to promote digital customer interactions and transactions across our virtual touchpoints and platforms’’.

Concluding, he remarked that: “The website will also serve as a financial services library that will keep customers and the public abreast of various financial services solutions and offerings, thereby helping them to improve their economic and social wellbeing.” He encouraged everyone to explore the website and follow the Bank’s social media pages for updates.

FirstBank has continued to evolve over the years, successfully adopting the latest technology and embracing innovation in its quest to be African’s bank of first choice.

Ecobank has rolled out several investment packages and opportunities to encourage Nigerians in the diaspora to own houses in the country and also participate actively in money and capital markets.

Speaking to newsmen in Lagos at the weekend, Olukorede Demola-Adeniyi, Head, Consumer Banking, said the bank is offering mortgage loans to Nigerians living abroad to finance property ownership in the country, stressing that the terms and conditions are flexible and easily accessible. She encouraged them to open domiciliary account with the bank to access the various opportunities. The packages can also be accessed via Naira accounts.

According to her: “We offer loans for outright purchase of completed properties and refinancing of existing homes. Our financing solutions also provide access to a range of respected property vendors that they can choose from to achieve their desired accommodation. We allow up to 10 years tenor at highly competitive interest rates. However, the borrower must be a legal resident of the country they are applying from. As a bank, we want to eliminate the associated challenges faced by hardworking Nigerians who are interested in having properties of their own at home here.”

Mrs. Demola-Adeniyi added that Ecobank also helps Nigerians in the diaspora with resources for wealth management through investment in money market, capital market, real estate and treasury products at attractive and competitive interest rates on both foreign and local currencies, stating that the bank offers financial planning advisory including information on stocks, bonds, real estates and insurance products, in addition to helping customers retrieve outstanding dividends and missing shares.

She advised them to open a multi-currency online account in Naira, GBP, USD & EURO via https://aop.ecobank.com, adding that they can also download the bank’s award-winning mobile banking app, Ecobank Mobile, which is available on app stores to enjoy real-time access to their accounts from the comfort of their home.

She further stated: “You can download the Rapidtransfer app to send money home and your beneficiary can pick up USD cash at any Ecobank branch nationwide or have it directly credited into their Ecobank domiciliary account. You can also send money through any of our remittance partners such as Ria and Small World for cash pick up and direct credit. Other partners such as Western Union and MoneyGram are available for cash pick up only. You can wire funds directly to your foreign currency account through our correspondent bank in USD, GBP and Euro.”

She disclosed that the bank is actively driving the Central Bank of Nigeria’s Naira for Dollar scheme which offers N5 on ever dollar received over the counter or into an account. Customers who wish to receive their funds into their account will get one opened automatically in a seamless manner. She encouraged Nigerians at home to inform their family and friends abroad to take advantage of this initiative so they can earn extra cash on their remittances.