EU Ban On Nigerian Beans: FG Inaugurates Standing Committee

The Federal Government has inaugurated a 26-member Standing Inter-Ministerial Technical Committee to address the rejection of Nigeria`s dry beans by the European Union. The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Chief Audu Ogbeh, while performing the inauguration in Abuja on Tuesday, urged the committee members to work as a team to achieve the desired goal.

“It is my pleasure to welcome you to this important workshop for members of the Inter-Ministerial Technical Committee on Zero Reject of Agricultural Commodities and Produce/Non-Oil Exports. “We are here to take our destinies in our hands by finding lasting solution to incessant rejection of our agricultural commodities, especially in Europe.

“We need to avoid the embarrassment of further rejection in the future by strengthening our regulatory authorities to live up to their mandates. “Our desire for agricultural products and non-oil exports means there will be vigorous pursuit of investment in quality control and standardisation.

“In addressing this challenge, we are working with the Nigerian Agricultural Quarantine Service to ensure safety of what we produce and consume locally and internationally, “ Ogbeh said. The minister urged members of the committee to carry out the assignment with unity of purpose and in the interest of the nation.

“We will get our desired result if this committee carries out its work diligently without fear or favour because there is demand for Nigeria`s product outside the country. “We are also working with other agencies on traceability; that is to know where the sub-standard goods are coming from. “

He, however, called on donor agencies to consider other gaps that could be filled to bring Nigeria`s agriculture to a loftier height. Mr Charles Malata, Chief Technical Adviser, UNIDO, said that the importance of the workshop and inauguration was to enable Nigeria to explore non-oil sector of the economy.

Malata said that the committee was set up because of the rejection of the country’s agricultural produce and commodities at the international market. “We have a project which is funded by EU and it has been running for two years. “Through the project, we have been addressing the issue of safety and good health in order to boost the competitiveness of Nigerian products.

“We appreciate what the Federal Government is doing towards the removal of the ban soon. “I urge the committee to take time to look at the issues that are challenging Nigeria to provide a roadmap to possible solutions to these challenges, “ he added.

In a keynote address, Head of Trade and Economics Section, European Union, Mr Filippo Amato, said that the ban was a wake-up call for the country to work toward achieving standards. He commended the Federal Government in setting up the committee to look at the rejection of Nigeria`s beans for containing high level of pesticides which were dangerous to human health.

He, however, reiterated EU`s support to the country in order to improve its compliance to meet standards and protect consumers` right. The EU announced import suspension measures in June 2015, which affected dried beans from Nigeria.

The suspension was supposed to lapse in June 2016 when the country was expected to provide “substantial guarantees that adequate official control system have been put in place “. The EU further extended the suspension to three years for alleged lack of seriousness by stakeholders to meet the dateline.

The committee members are from the Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Federal Ministry of Industry Trade and Investment, Nigeria Customs Service, Nigerian Agricultural Quarantine Service and Nigeria Export Promotion Council.

Pension assets hit N5.8tn as PenCom seeks to invest 40 per cent in infrastructure

The Director-General of the National Pension Commission (PenCom), Ms. Chinelo Anohu-Amazu, on Tuesday hinted that the total pension assets had hit N5.8 trillion, adding that the commission was targeting to invest 40 per cent of the funds in infrastructure and housing by 2019.
She was, however, quick to add that the safety of such investments would not be compromised, as they would require guarantees from government and stakeholders.
She said currently, 15 per cent of the assets are invested in infrastructure bonds, five per cent in infrastructure funds, 35 per cent in corporate bonds, and 20 per cent in mutual funds.
Speaking in Abuja on “Using Pension Funds for Infrastructure Development to Enhance Inclusive Growth” at an interactive forum organised by the Financial Correspondents Association of Nigeria (FICAN), she also disclosed that a multi-funds investment structure was being put in place to allow people some flexibility in investment choice, taking into consideration age, among others.
However, the PenCom boss further revealed that having recovered about N10 billion from employers who had failed to remit pension deductions, the commission had engaged the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to prosecute employers who criminally deduct pensions without remitting same to Pension Funds Administrators (PFAs).
Represented at the forum by the Head, Investment and Supervision Unit, PenCom, Mr. Ehimeme Ohioma, the director general said the prosecution of such employers should begin soon with a “name and shame” strategy.
Nevertheless, she said the unavailability of investment projects remained a major challenge to the investment of pension assets in the country.
She identified other constraints to include political risk, policy somersaults, and lack of continuity, adding that less than three per cent of assets are currently invested in infrastructure through state government bonds.
She said government and other stakeholders had not really taken advantage of pension assets to develop infrastructure in the country.
Anohu-Amazu said as part of efforts to deepen pensions, a micro-pension scheme was being finalised to provide opportunities and products targeted at over 50 million people in the informal sector of the economy.
She said the proposed infrastructure projects should, however, be commercially viable and self-financing or able to generate cash flows to repay overtime while bid/concession processes must be open and transparent.
She added that political risks must be guaranteed for projects by the federal government or the IFC/World Bank and African Development Bank (AfDB) to effectively tap into pension funds for infrastructure development.

CBN lifts Forex ban on eight suspended banks

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has lifted the ban on eight banks earlier sanctioned for foreign exchange sharp practices.
The Director of Banking Supervision at CBN, Mrs Tokunbo Martins told journalists in Abuja that the Apex Bank took the decision following the receipt of proposal for a repayment plan by the affected banks.
Last week, the CBN banned nine banks from the foreign exchange market, for hiding over $2 billion belonging to the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) from the Treasury Single Account (TSA).
But the ban on United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc, one of the affected banks, was lifted after the lender remitted all outstanding NNPC/NLNG deposits in its possession to NNPC’s Treasury Single Account (TSA) at the CBN.