All Posts in "Month: April 2022"

Development Bank disburses N482bn to MSMEs

By Favour Nnabugwu

A total of N482Billion has been disbursed to Micro, Small, and Medium Scale Enterprises by the Development Bank of Nigeria Plc (DBN) since 2017 to date.

The Managing Director (MD) of the bank, Mr. Tony Okpanachi made this known at the institution’s Annual General Meeting (AGM), in Abuja, today, that 65 percent of the disbursements were to women and youth-owned businesses.

He told stakeholders that the fundamentals of the Bank’s financials were very robust, with Gross Earnings closing at N38.18 billion by December 31, 2021.

He said, “Profit Before Tax (PBT) was N22.76 billion representing, an increase of 25 percent from the previous year. Total Assets also increased by 1.4% from N492.3 billion in 2020 to N499.2 billion in 2021″.

Mr. Okpanachi, said the Bank’s financial performance to “its robust corporate governance framework, business model as well as its top-notch enterprise risk management coupled with highly committed Board of Directors, Management and Staff. This is something that I am very proud of”

According to him, “We continued to focus and deliver on our mandate of providing access to finance through our PFIs to Nigeria’s most critical, but underserved Micro, Small, and Medium Scale Enterprises building their capacity and that of the PFIs in addition to the provision of partial credit guarantee to encourage lending to this very important sub-sector of the economy”.

“Our cumulative disbursement of N482Billion especially to women-owned or managed businesses; is something that we are particularly delighted about from the perspective of women empowerment and poverty alleviation.”

The MD expressed gratitude to the bank’s shareholders, development partners, PFIs, Board of Directors, and employees for their continued support with a promise to continue to remain focused on the bank’s mandate, as well as, sustain efforts toward achieving sustainable financing and capacity building for the MSMEs.

Kabir Okunlola, a Partner with KPMG Professional Services, the external auditors of the Bank said that the summary of the financial statement of the bank complied with the relevant statutory requirements.

“In our opinion, the accompanying summary financial information is consistent, in all material respects, with the audited financial statements, and also in compliance with the Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA) 2020, as well as the Banks and Other Financial Institutions Act (BOFIA) 2020,” he said.

by Patoma Admin — April 26, 2022 in Banking & Finance 0

AIB releases preliminary reports on four aircraft major incidents

By Favour Nnabugwu

Nigeria Accident Investigation Bureau, AIB-N, has released four preliminary reports on serious incidents and accident involving aircraft owned and operated by United Nigeria Airlines Limited, Max Air, Air Peace and the Nigerian Police Air Wing.

AIB General Manager, Public Affairs, Mr Tunji Oketunbi who disclosed the release of the reports said they are the Preliminary report on the Serious Incident involving the United Nigeria Airlines Embraer 145LR aircraft with nationality and registration marks 5N-BWW, which was climbing out of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, Nigeria when a serious incident occurred at about 4,000 feet on 17th November, 2021.

The second Preliminary report is on the Serious Incident involving Max Air Boeing 737-300 aircraft, which was parked at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja with nationality and registration marks 5N-DAB and was involved in an on-ground collision with Skyway Aviation Handling Co. Plc (SAHCO) lavatory service truck with fleet number 9/5 on 21st November, 2021.

The third Preliminary report is on serious incident involving a Boeing 737-300 aircraft owned and operated by Air Peace Limited with nationality and registration marks 5N-BUQ, which occurred after take-off from Sam Mbakwe Airport, Owerri, Nigeria enroute Lagos on 22nd November, 2021.

The final preliminary report released is on an accident involving a Bell 429 helicopter owned and operated by Nigeria Police Air Wing with Nationality and Registration marks 5N-MDA, which occurred at the Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa Airport, Bauchi, Nigeria on 26th January, 2022.
The reports are already on the Bureau’s website (www.aib.gov.ng).

According to Oketunbi, the “Preliminary reports are not the final reports as they only contain details of the initial facts, discussions and findings surrounding the occurrences; which include information gathered from witness statements, flight recorders, Health and Usage Monitoring System (HUMS) Data, Flight Data Monitoring (FDM) data, and preliminary inspection of the accident sites and the wreckages.”

“Therefore, investigations on these serious incidents and accident are still ongoing and final reports will be released at the conclusions of the respective investigations,” the AIB Spokesman said.

by Patoma Admin — April 26, 2022 in Aviation 0

Kenyan insurance association to ascertain insurers’ IFRS 17 state of preparedness

By Favour Nnabugwu

Kenyan insurance firms will face high costs in working to meet International Financial Reporting Standard (IFRS 17) that comes into effect on 1 January 2023.

To help them, the Association of Kenya Insurers (AKI) has hired a consultant to carry out a survey on the level of preparedness of Kenyan insurers to comply with the requirements of the IFRS 17.
To comply with IFRS 17, insurers may have to double their capital and shift all non-quoted investments into a holding company, reported The EastAfrican.

Mr Nizar Juma, the group chairman of Jubilee Holdings, told the weekly regional newspaper, “We need money because we are moving from a 100% capital adequacy ratio requirement to 200%, which means we are almost doubling our capital.”

The consultant — Kenbright Actuarial and Financial Services — is expected to release the findings of the survey soon.

Mr Tom Gichuhi, AKI’s chief executive told The EastAfrican, “We expect the report probably in a month or two months. The reason why we are carrying out this survey is because companies are at different levels of compliance.”

“We want to find out who is at what level so that we know what kind of interventions to make, for instance, organising training programmes and ensuring that the staff of these companies understand the requirements of IFRS 17 and how to comply with them,” he said.

The implementation of the accounting standards has been delayed by one year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

by Patoma Admin — April 25, 2022 in Insurance 0

Ethiopian Airlines’ 4-Pillar growth strategy

Ethiopian Airlines was forced to heavily adapt during the peak months of the pandemic. The flag carrier of Ethiopia took it upon itself to redeploy its aircraft to meet urgent cargo demand while conducting over 470 critical repatriation flights.

Now, recovery is underway, and the airline is once again evolving. Simple Flying recently spoke with Ethiopian Airlines USA Regional Director Samson Arega, about his airline’s growth strategy in this new era.

The refocusing on air cargo helped Ethiopian Airlines end 2021 in a profitable state thanks to a boom in freight demand. Overall, the airline handled the pandemic with its own finances without bailouts while operating close to 70% capacity as the new year arrived.

To handle the challenging conditions of the global health crisis and enter recovery in a strong position, Ethiopian developed a four-pillar growth strategy. The focus areas are:

Following the rise of the pandemic, the company capitalized on these pillars and used its agile workforce and technology to cope with the crisis. Samson highlights that the flexibility of its management has been critical in devising new strategies to come through the crisis, including the reconfiguration of passenger aircraft into cargo and redeployment of staff to its least affected business units while applying cost leadership strategies.

Keeping the momentum going
In this next chapter, these pillars will remain integral. Samson told Simple Flying the following about his airline’s recovery plans:

“Passenger business is recovering. Complete recovery is dependent on the confidence of travelers and airlines’ safety measures. For us, safety has been at the heart of our operation, and we stepped up precautionary actions to help gain passenger confidence in travel and expedite recovery. Digitization has also been a priority to bring about a contactless passenger experience from booking all the way to boarding. At the airport, customers’ experience is contactless, easy, and convenient with the newly designed terminal equipped with the latest aviation infrastructure. We digitized most airport activities.”

Samson adds that passengers can seamlessly book, check-in or change travel dates from home. Moreover, most customer flight requirements can be handled by the carrier’s app. As a result, the majority of passenger queries are addressed online with the additional help of chatbots and social media channels.

There have been significant changes already this year. Notably, long-time CEO Tewolde GebreMariam stepped down due to health issues and was quickly replaced by new CEO Mesfin Tasew Bekele in March.

Ethiopian didn’t waste time following this shift, with the carrier announcing a thrice-weekly service on an Addis Ababa-Lomé-Washington route that will begin on June 1st using Boeing 787-8 aircraft. The airline’s leadership is keen to optimize opportunities on North American routes, looking to cater to demand from growing business segments.
Ethiopian Airlines concludes that it is determined to recover in the passenger space with the effective practice of safety measures to boost customer confidence.

All in all, the airline’s ability to adapt and show resilience is due to its 75-year journey that has allowed it due evolve with the times. This factor is significant at this time when countries are starting to ease restrictions and airlines need to transition themselves to new challenges to restore business. Therefore, the carrier is working closely with other airlines, airport operators, and aviation regulatory bodies to make the most of this crucial period

by Patoma Admin — April 24, 2022 in Aviation 0

Lagos State to seal construction sites without a professional, evidence of insurance policy

By admin

The Lagos State Government has warned that any construction site without the presence of at least a professional and evidence of insurance policy will be sealed off .

The sanction will commence site by site inspection to force compliance.

This is part of the state government’s efforts to stem the tide of building collapse in the construction sector.

This was made known by the General Manager of the Lagos State Building Control Agency (LASBCA), Arc. Gbolahan Oki, when he gave audience to the Association of Real Estate Developers of Lagos State (AREDOLS) in Lagos, warning developers and property owners in Lagos to abide by the building codes of the state or face the full wrath of the law.

Arc. Oki in his address to members of the association warned that, henceforth, all developers must ensure that buildings conform to requirements of the law such as engagement of building professionals – Architects, Engineers, and Builders – during building projects in order to ensure the stability of buildings.

He said, “The Agency will begin site by site inspection to compel compliance and any site without the presence of at least a professional will be sealed off and the developer will be highly sanctioned.’’
The General Manager further said that the General Contractor All-Risk Insurance Policy must be taken seriously as the relevant unit of the Agency has been fully activated to intensify enforcement and seal off any building site, above two floors, that does not have evidence of the policy on demand.
Oki maintained that the names of all artisans working on-site, including iron benders, welders, bricklayers, carpenters, and others must be provided on demand with their respective passport photographs while all concrete works have to be assessed by Lagos State Materials Testing Laboratory and the test results submitted to LASBCA as applicable.
He also warned developers to desist from harassing and obstructing State officials while carrying out their legal duties, insisting that the dastardly act would attract serious sanctions, including prosecution.

by Patoma Admin — April 24, 2022 in Pension 0

N32.68bn withdrawn from RSAs by 131,376 retired workers – PenCom

By Favour Nnabugwu

A whopping N32.68 billion was withdrawn from Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) of Retired Savings Accounts (RSAs) by 131,376 retired workers with less than N550,000 in their accounts.

Figures from the National Pension Commission, PenCom shows the latest figure of 131,376 retirees is a 14.4 per cent increase from 114,837 retired workers who withdrew N28.46 billion as of the end of June 2020.

Between June 2020 and December 2021, the number of retirees rose by 16,539 who withdrew N4.12 billion, according to PenCom.

It also shows that some foreign nationals returning to their countries withdrew their savings before they left Nigeria.

Pension Reform Act 2014 says any worker with less than N550,000 in his RSA is expected to be given the entire amount by the Pension Fund Administrator (PFA) and subsequently allowed to quit the pension scheme

.PenCom decried the attitude of employers that deduct monthly contributions from workers’ emolument but fail to remit such to their RSAs with their respective PFAs.

It said it retains the services of recovery agents for the retrieval of outstanding pension contributions and penalties from defaulting employers.

The Pension Funds Operators Association of Nigeria (PenOP) said: “If the employer and employee have contributed consistently over this period of time, then the funds in that individual’s RSA account would be sufficient to have a decent lump sum with enough funds remaining to earn a decent pension for life.

“As a matter of fact, what we need to promote, and the pension industry is leading on that, is to encourage more workers to add to their statutory deductions while working, as this would enable them to shore up their balances over time.

“What we need to advocate more is the consistency and discipline in the contributions that will even remove the need for any large lump sum payout when retired.

“If a worker were to save N20,000 consistently every month for 15 years with an interest rate of 10 per cent per annum compounded for the 15 years, at the end of the period, he would have amassed over N16 million.

by Patoma Admin — April 24, 2022 in Pension 0

6,460 cases of Gender Base Violence cases reported so far – Women Affairs Minister

By Favour Nnabugwu

Out of the total number of 6,460 Gender Base Violence, GBV, cases reported in the country, only 33 perpetuators have been convicted in Lagos, Abuja and other states, according to the Minister of Women Affairs, Pauline Tallen,

Tallen in Abuja yesterday, spoke to the Media on “one-more-case- too-many of GBV”, following the case of Osinachi and the most recent case in Jos, Plateau State, involving Husband, Samuel Mathew, who butchered his wife, Mercy Samuel.

According to her, “Let me give you the validated data for just five states: Lagos, Ebonyi, Adamawa, Sokoto, Cross River and FCT, we have 5010 reported cases. Fatal cases 160; closed cases 231; open cases 963; convicted cases out of the 5,100 is 16. The most recent data are: reported cases 6,460, fatal cases 229, closed cases 295; open cases 1443; convicted cases 33.

Among other things, she pointed out that she would ensure that psychiatric tests are made compulsory as part of marriage requirements in the country.

She, however, bemoaned the slow implementation of Violence Against persons prohibition, VAPP, Act in the state, urging the Federal Government, likewise the state governments to put in place standards that allow for expeditious investigation and judgement on instruments of domestic violence, GBV, including cases involving sexual harassment.

She said: “We can refer to it as a step first, as the first step to ensure that we begin doing this to our aim. I will initiate a conversation with the Honourable Minister of Interior to ensure that psychiatric test cases are made compulsory as part of Marriage Requirements in the country.

“The cabinet is made of the society and everyone calls from a family. Mothers are the bedrock of the family and custodians of family’s traditions. We must play a part as more and more than our male children to become able to become better adults who can take on marital responsibilities without feeling insecure.

“We must put an end to the culture of reinforcing male dominance in our society. Our society must move with the realities of the time. We can no longer tolerate wickedness, greed envy, and malicious acts under the guise of culture.

“In this regard, I want to appeal to all leaders in our society to be more sensitive with the way they execute their activities and utilise the powers bestowed on them. The mindset and formation of our young ones request support from the entire society, from teachers, to doctors, to health care providers, to fathers, mothers, leaders, community leaders, older siblings and other relations.

“I am happy to know that Yobe state, has joined the league of states that had assented to the child’s right up at the violence against persons prohibition act. This brings the total number of states that have passed the child’s rights act 27, and the VAPP act to 34. This is a good signal that we are unanimously committed to. But our problem I repeat again is the implementation of these laws.

“Even as we speak another woman is being violated and we do it has been disposed of all her life investment offers have been thrown out without hope for a better tomorrow. I am reaching out to governors and commissioners of women affairs of all the affected states to give the much needed attention to these cases.

“Our traditional and religious institutions must help us in this mission. The woman groups in the society have a big role to play. In all of this, we must remain focused and resolute to ensure that perpetrators will face the full word of the law that governs our dear country.”

She urged the Media to intensify advocacy against GBV while taking the needed precautions in their reportage.

“I want to appeal to the media to continue to spotlight and carry the messages to the wider society. More advocacy needs to be done. The naming and shaming of victims under the VAPP Act should be made public; no rapist wants to be seen. If we expose those rapists, we will be able to address and reduce the number of these cases that are coming in, day in and day. out,” she said.

The minister said further that president Mohammadu Buhari, state governors and other concerned ministers have displayed genuine interest and are ready to deploy all needed resources to fight the menace.

“President Mohammadu Buhari is committed to seeing that we end gender bed violence in the state. His open participation at the town hall during the spotlight, was a clear indication of his commitment to end GBV.

“The 36 state governors, I held a meeting with them and all of them declared zero tolerance and state of emergency to GBV, on 10th June, 2020. But, what are we seeing in all the states: so many states have domesticated the VAPP Act and the child right act, only two left , but the is not on the laws but the implementation is my greatest concern because the numbers are on the increase.

“If we implement these laws, it will serve as a deterrent. They are just too many for us to keep quiet. The 9th National Assembly is equally committed to this course. The Senate president, the speaker have shown zero tolerance and they made open statements to this. But, we want to see perpetrators of these cases being punished to serve as a deterrent. So, many cases are left unanswered; young children, young girls”, she said.

by Patoma Admin — April 23, 2022 in Metro 0

World’s most powerful passports in 2022

By admin

The 2022 Q2 Henley index of most powerful passports in the world is out.

The Henley Passport Index ranks 199 passports according to the number of destinations their holders can access without a prior visa.

Leading the global ranking are Japan and Singapore’s passports, which have once again ranked first as the most powerful passports in the world, allowing their holders to enter 192 countries without a visa or receive their visa on arrival.

Germany and South Korea hold joint-second place. Holders of the two passports are eligible to travel to 190 destinations without a visa.

Meanwhile, Finland, Italy, Luxembourg, and Spain tie for third place, with a visa-free score of 189.

The UK has moved up one place to number five, sitting alongside France, as well as Ireland and Portugal, with a score of 117.

The United States stays at number six, with a score of 186, sharing the position with Belgium, New Zealand, Norway and Switzerland.

There’s no change at number seven, with Australia, Canada, Czech Republic, Greece and Malta staying together again, with a score of 185.

Afghan nationals sit at the bottom of the index once again, and can access just 26 countries without requiring a visa in advance.

The Henley Passport Index, based on exclusive data provided by the International Air Transport Association (IATA), has been regularly ranking the world’s most travel-friendly passports since 2006.

by Patoma Admin — April 22, 2022 in Tourism 0

FG blames delay in passport issuance to NIMC server breakdown, discrepancies in names

By Favour Nnabugwu

The Federal Government has blamed the delay in the issuance of international passports to the breakdown of the National Identity Management Commission NIMC server and discrepancies in names.

Minister of Interior, Ogbeni Abdulrauf Aregbesola stated in Abuja at the 3rd and 4th Quarter 2021 Performance Review of the Ministry.

Aregbesola made it known that the breakdown of the NIMC server makes validation of passport applicants’ biodata impossible.

He added that discrepancies in names of citizens on their Passports and National Identification Number NIN also adds to the problem.

The minister said: “You must integrate your NIN with your Passport, without which we cannot issue a passport. So the delays therefore are not caused by us at all. As long as that integration of your biodata also called biometrics with your NIN number, which is on the database of NIMC, cannot accept your biodata as similar or identical with the one in it to issue a passport, without such integration or harmonization, it will simply be impossible.

“We are not the ones holding your passports and preventing you from traveling. The problem is the inability to link your biodata with your NIN. That is responsible and it is beyond our control. Why could this be? The server of NIMC might be down, it rarely happens, but it does happen.

“Another problem is the applications themselves. Individuals shouldn’t be bearing different names on their NIN and passports. It won’t be a seamless integration. There shouldn’t be a mix up of middle names in place of first names and vice versa, as it is on your NIMC so it should appear on your passport.

“These little things conspire against speedy processing of passports. I took time to explain this, because most Nigerians do not care about these minute details, they just heap the blame on the Nigeria Immigration Service.”

The Minister noted that soon, applicants will be able to track their applications online, adding that the Ministry and its sister agencies are not where they ought to be.

“I must say that our services have improved tremendously and quite noticeably too, with presentation of our performance at the Second Ministerial Retreat organized by the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation which was applauded and well received.

“We are not yet there by our own standards. Things are not yet where they are supposed to be, but I want to assure Nigerians that we will not rest on our oars”, he stated.

On his part, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry, Dr Shuaib Belgore, said the 3rd and 4th quarter performance review of 2021 would provide the Ministry the opportunity to assess and fix any noticeable loophole.

by Patoma Admin — April 22, 2022 in Travel 0