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

MSMEs fund hits N220 billion – CBN

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) at the weekend in Enugu disclosed that the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) fund has hit N220 billion.
The bank which announced this at a three-day sensitisation fair it embarked upon to create awareness, said the apex bank was also in Enugu to explain its activities to the people, as well as acquaint them with the opportunities available in the bank.
The CBN’s acting Director, Corporate Communications, Mr Isaac Okorafor, who stated this also, said that 60 per cent of the MSMEs fund was designed for women and enterprises owned by them.
According to him, some states in the federation have already accessed the fund to the tune of N1 billion and N2 billion which they have also retailed to the registered cooperative members in their states.
“Some states elected to pay the interest which is not more than nine per cent on behalf of the

Nigeria’s ethanol production to hit 75m litres by 2020

Allied Atlantic Distilleries Limited, the only ethanol manufacturing company in Nigeria, says the company will improve ethanol production in Nigeria from nine million to 75 million litres annually by 2020.
The Managing Director of the company, Mr Rajavelu Rajasekar, disclosed this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Wednesday.
Rajasekar, who explained that Nigeria was currently importing about 260 million litres of ethanol, said the plan for the improvement in local production was to enable Nigeria save its foreign exchange.
He said the company, situated in Ogun State, began operation in 2014 and was currently producing nine million litres of ethanol from fresh cassava sourced locally from farmers.
The director told NAN that the company also had the plan of setting up ethanol companies in

Siemens supports local content with service centre workshop

Determined to reduce the cost of operation in Nigeria’s oil and gas sector without compromising quality, Siemens Nigeria has invested over €3 million in the facility Service Workshop in Port Harcourt.
Regarded as the first facility of its kind for Siemens in West, East and Central Africa, the workshop, according the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the company, Onyeche Tifase, will reduce capital flight in the country and will also facilitate the implementation of Nigeria’s Content policy.
Speaking at the commissioning of the facility, Tifase said the workshop is equipped to repair and overhaul highly sophisticated equipment that would previously have been sent overseas.
She said that this will ensure that the company remained even closer to its customers and can provide greater responsiveness, reduce turnaround time and optimise costs for undertaking maintenance programs.

Nigeria’s biggest airline, Arik Air, resumes operations

Nigeria’s biggest airline, Arik Air, will resume normal flights Wednesday morning, 24 hours after it suspended operations over problems with insurance.
In a statement on its website, Arik Air said it will resume flights at 11 am on Wednesday, having resolved its insurance issues.
The company also said that it is in the process of changing its ‘airline Liability Insurance providers’.
“Arik Air, West and Central Africa’s largest airline, is pleased to announce that scheduled flights will resume from 11 am tomorrow, Wednesday, September 14, 2016.
“Members of the public and our customers are advised to discountenance the disparaging

CBN warns Nigerians against investing in wonder banks

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has warned Nigerians to be careful of any deposit money institution that is not insured by the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC).
The bank through its the acting Director of Corporate Communications, Mr. Isaac Okoroafor, made this known yesterday against the proliferation of wonder banks in the country in recent times.
Okoroafor said such deposit money institutions were dubious present Ponzi schemes
“At times like this when the economy has suffered some decline, Nigerians should be very careful with those they deal with. Any institution that is not licensed by the CBN to accept deposits should not be given money to keep under any guise,” he advised.
He warned Nigerians to beware of the so-called wonder banks, explaining that they were makeshift institutions to dupe people.
“We can vouch for the banking system. The deposit money banks are the only licensed institutions to take deposits. If you need to deposit money in any form, go to any of the deposit money banks and put your money, you can buy fixed income instruments or invest in stocks,” he said.

Union Bank unveils upgraded branches in Port Harcourt

In line with its objective to provide simpler and smarter banking solutions to its existing and prospective customers, Union Bank of Nigeria Plc, has unveiled two new upgraded branches in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.
Speaking at the unveiling, the Managing Director of the bank, Emeka Emuwa, said the transformed branches are fully equipped to deliver quick and efficient services to its customers in a vibrant and conducive environment.
He said: “Our newly upgrade branches simply manifests the work we have put in the past three years to ensure that our customers are offered the simplest and smartest of banking solutions. From our innovative products to our digital platforms – UnionOnline and UnionMobile, we are poised to meets our customers at the point of their banking needs.”
“As we approach our centennial anniversary, we remain committed to doing even more and

ExxonMobil resumes export three months after force majeure

Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited, a unit of ExxonMobil, will resume shipment of Qua Iboe crude, Nigeria’s largest grade of crude oil in October, three months after the company had declared force majeure on the exports of the grade.
This is coming as oil prices slumped three per cent tuesday following another gloomy prediction by the International Energy Agency (IEA) on demand growth that suggested that oversupply in the oil market might persist for longer than anticipated.
ExxonMobil had declared the force majeure after it observed a leak caused by what it described as a “system anomaly” during a routine check of its loading facility on July 14, this year.
The cause of the leak was not clear, but the force majeure came just days after a militant group, the Niger Delta Avengers (NDA), claimed to have bombed the company’s 48-inch Qua Iboe crude oil export pipeline on July 11.

Why mortgage financing contributes little to GDP – Brent

The Managing Director, Brent Mortgage Bank Limited, Mr. Kola Abdul, says dearth of market-focused mortgage products is partly responsible for the low contribution of the mortgage financing sub-sector to the nation’s Gross Domestic Product.
According to him, there is a need for products that meet the expectations of a large spectrum of people in order to reduce the nation’s housing deficit and boost economic growth.
Abdul spoke in Lagos when his company launched three mortgage products.
He said, “Our findings reveal that dearth of market-focused mortgage products is partly responsible for the low contribution of mortgage financing to the Gross Domestic Product.
“We need products that are not stereotyped, but meet the needs of a large spectrum of people and plug the gaps that exist in the nascent mortgage sector.”
The Brent Mortgage Bank boss noted that the products were targetted at Nigerians at home and in the Diaspora who are working hard to own a comfortable but affordable house in the country.