African financial institutions to adopt Nigeria’s agric credit scheme

African financial institutions are to adopt the Nigerian Incentive-based Risk Sharing for Agricultural Lending (NIRSAL) strategy for lending to agriculture and allied investments on the continent.
The plan followed the approval and commendation the NIRSAL project received at the just concluded 2016 African Green Revolution Forum (AGRF) in Nairobi, Kenya where Nigeria was cited as a country that had successfully developed a national risk sharing facility for banks to lend to the sector.
Specifically, it was stated that through NIRSAL, the nation witnessed a 600 per cent increase in lending to agriculture. The development, it is believed, led to many banks establishing specialised agricultural desks.

Enugu chamber slams FG, says economy in depression

ENUGU—The Enugu State Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture, ECCIMA, on Wednesday, lashed out at the Federal Government, revealing that the economy has already plunged into depression contrary to the claims of recession making the rounds in government circles.
ECCIMA said unless the Federal Government quickly rejigs its economic team if it had one in the first place, people’s means of survival may be greatly diminished.
It also regretted the prevailing situation whereby families can no longer afford one square meal a day, adding that it is a clear pointer that the economy is depressed.
Continuing,ECCIMA further maintained that the south-east geopolitical zone is the worst hit, occasioned by the abysmal infrastructure in the region which has crippled trade and commerce that forms the bedrock of the regions’ economy.
While fielding questions in his office yesterday,a sober looking Director General, ECCIMA, Mr.

Lack of long term capital, bane of housing sector – CBN

The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr Godwin Emefiele, has identified the non-availability of long term capital to boost mortgages as the major challenge crippling the country’s housing market.
Emefiele, who stated this in Abuja, yesterday, at the opening of a three-day African Union for Housing Finance (AUHF) conference, pointed out that mortgages were not run by credit or short-term investment.
He also cited the high cost of building materials which, he said, had led to the growing spate of unaffordable housing in the country.
AUHF is a 55-member association of mortgage banks, building societies, housing corporations and similar organisations working on the mobilisation of funds for shelter and housing on the African continent.
The AUFH conference, with the theme, ‘Housing and Africa’s Growth Agenda’, is organised in collaboration with the Nigerian Mortgage Refinance Company (NMRC).

nvestors gain N22bn as stock market trading resumes bullish

Investors gained N22.2billion at the stock market yesterday as the trading resumed on bullish note after two days holiday.
The Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) All-Share Index rose by 0.23 per cent to close at 27,642.13, while market capitalisation added N22.2 billion to be at N9.5 trillion.
The performance trimmed the year-to-date decline to 3.49 per cent. The positive close was propelled by price gains recorded by Dangote Cement Plc, Stanbic IBTC, Unilever, Lafarge Africa and Flour Mills of Nigeria Plc among others.
However, Conoil Plc led the overall price gainers’ chart as investors continued to react to the impressive 2015 full year results of the petroleum products marketing firm.
The stock appreciated by 10.1 per cent to close at N26.21 per share, trailed by Unilever Nigeria Plc with 4.9 per cent. Conoil Plc posted a growth of over 176 per cent in profit after tax to N2.308 billion for 2015, up from N834 million in 2014. Based on the improved bottom-line, the directors recommended a dividend of 300 kobo per share, up from 100 kobo in 2014.

Unity Bank sacks 215 workers

Unity Bank Plc has sacked 215 members of staff. The bank has over 2,000 workforce.
The exercise, it was leant, was to enable the lender realign its operation and pursue a long term growth strategy.
Some of the downsized staff members were said to have opted to resign while management approved severance package for them in line with the bank’s policy.
The lender last May, forged a strategic alliance with Black Trituium, equity and investment fund manager.
Investigation revealed that the affected members of staff were those that achieved less than 40 per cent of their performance target, which affected the lender’s overall profitability in recent years.

‘Forex scarcity stifling insurance operations’

Even as insurance practitioners are complaining about the prevailing apathy by the public towards its services, operators have lamented the negative effects of the foreign exchange crisis confronting the nation on their businesses.
The operators under the aegis of the Nigeria Insurers Association (NIA), and the Chartered Insurance Institute of Nigeria (CIIN), noted that the devaluation of the Naira has wiped off the value of their capital base and insurance stock price.
Currently, the official exchange of the Naira per dollar is N305.00 while that of the parallel market (black market) hovers between N400 and N420 per dollar.
The Chairman of NIA, Mr. Eddie Efekoha, and the Deputy President of the CIIN, Mrs. Funmi Babington-Ashaye, spoke at different fora on the plight of the insurance sector in the face of the protracted foreign exchange crisis.
Speaking on the challenges of the sector at a recent Insurance Professionals Forum, held in

Nigeria records $2bn revenue deficit monthly due to falling oil revenue – NECA

Larry Ettah

The Nigerian Employers Consultative Association of Nigeria (NECA) has disclosed that falling oil price has resulted in a loss of about $2billion in federal government’s revenue. This is even as the nation’s economy continues to struggles under recession.
NECA president, Mr Larry Ettah, said the government required about $3billion monthly to function, but its receivable was about $1 billion per month, reflecting a drop of $2 billion.
Consequently, the NECA boss called on the government to direct more effort to address the economic challenges, saying that government should look beyond oil because the price of crude would remain low.
According to him, gone were the days the price of oil was $100 dollar per barrel in the international market.
“The oil price will not go up to $100 per barrel as we used to enjoy. Gone are the days when we used to buy it for $80, $90 or $100 per barrel. We have to be living in a restructured environment in which case we have to be looking into how to diversify the economy. And I think this is a painful opportunity for us which we have to take,” he stated.
He pointed out that for the country to exit the recession, the government should work on the

AfDB harps on agric processing to end $35bn yearly import

Akinwumi Adesina

Beside low food production that hallmarked the continent’s agrarian economy, post-harvest losses have become the major challenge besetting the quest for food security.
But the President of African Development Bank (AfDB), Akinwumi Adesina, has reiterated the importance of policy regulations to end the losses in the continent that spends $35 billion on food imports each year.
“Massive quantities of food crops, fresh fruits and vegetables and dairy products go to waste in rural areas, while Africa depends on food imports,” President Adesina said.
Adesina underlined the importance of policies to support the establishment of private sector-driven food processing and manufacturing companies in rural areas to deal with the immense food waste, enough to feed at least 300 million people a year.
“That is more than the 250 million people that go hungry each year in Africa,” he told a session on the “Role of Policy in Enabling Public-Private Partnerships to Achieve African Agricultural Transformation,” he said.
He noted that, despite accounting for some 32% of the continent’s Gross Domestic Product, the