Business
A’Ibom Microfinance Bank Sacks 40 Employees
The Akwa Savings and Loans Limited, owned by the Akwa Ibom Government, said it had disengaged about 40 employees.
The bank’s Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Mr Ebong Bassey, disclosed this at an interactive session with newsmen in Uyo on Monday.
“We have disengaged 40 of our staff and very soon more than 50 others will also be disengaged. This is in a move to aggressively restructure the bank and reposition it for global competitiveness,” he said.
Bassey said that the move would also strengthen the capital base of the bank.
He also said that some branches of the bank would be shut to enhance productivity and quality control.
According to him, some of the employees of the bank who have been indicted by a special panel on various cases of fraudulent practices, are being interrogated by the police and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.
He, however, said that the previous management of the bank had deviated from the core mandate and vision of the founding fathers of the struggling bank.
Bassey blamed the previous management for running the bank as a charitable organisation, adding that his management team inherited N1.8 billion debt and within five months of his assumption of office, recovered N1.4 million
“ We are doing everything within our power to ensure that we recover all the money,” Bassey said.
The managing director promised to publish names of the bank’s debtors as soon as the external auditors submitted their report in March.
He said that many debtors had written and submitted post-dated cheques to the bank to prevent their names from being published.
The managing director assured esteemed customers that the new management was resolute to reposition the bank to meet modern banking standards.
Council Calls For More Deep Seaports
The Chairman, Nigerian Ports Consultative Council (NPCC), Chief Kunle Folarin, has said that more deep seaports with natural deep draught are critical to the development of the Nigerian maritime industry.
Folarin said this in a paper titled: “Overview of the Nigerian Maritime Sector’’, presented at a two-day retreat organised by the House Committee on Ports, Harbour and Waterways, the Federal Ministry of Transportation and its agencies.
According to him, with the continued increase in the volume of global trade, most shipping lines and main line operators seek to achieve economies of scale.
“This is why the deployment of large capacity deep sea and mother vessels to serve their trunk trade routes,’’ he said.
“Presently, Panama vessels can load up to between 8,000 to 15,000 TEUS (containers) with draught of between 13 to 15.5 metres.
“Consequently, this has precipitated the demand for deep seaports to accommodate these vessels for the purpose of transhipment,’’ The Tide source quotes Folarin as saying.
He suggested that a deep seaport should be strategically located in an area where security and safety would not be compromised.
Folarin said major ports with the right depth and facilities were being favoured as transhipment hub due to the enormous amount of money generated from the plethora of cargo handled.
He said, “There is a compelling need for strong and durable strategic alliances between the Federal Ministry of Transportation and key Federal Government Ministries, some of whose functions inter-phase with those of the ministry.’’
Folarin said that there were critical issues in the maritime domain like: piracy and armed robbery; effects of macro-economic policies; free trade zones restrictions; and excessive port charges.
“Other issues are: multiple intervention in clearing processes; difficulties in export documentation and contracts; prohibition of imported items; and parallel tariffs and duplication of charges,” Folarin said.
Folarin mentioned commercial industrial and oil and gas cargo operations; limitations and barriers in claims administration; and unfavourable commercial trade terms option.
He said other issues included: foreign exchange inaccessibility by shippers; ratification and domestication of international conventions and compliance with World Trade Organisation (WTO) and EU protocols.
Business
Food Vendors, Others Relocate To New Site At PH Airport
The raging controversy between the Port Harcourt International Airport Management and restaurants/canteen operators and theirallies over relocation has been brought under control, as the operators have commenced relocation to their structures at the new site.
Recall that there had been serious feud over a directive by the Manager of the airport, Mr. Michael Area, for food vendors and their allies to relocate to the new site.
They insisted that the new site was too distant and hence, would negatively affect patronage from customers, with possible loss.
They further also insisted that it wouldcost them much money to put up another structure, given the economic situation in the country, since the airport management did not build any structure for them, apart from providing the empty land they have to also pay for.
The situation had led to flexing of muscles, which made the Airport Manager to order for sealing of all shops, resulting in scarcity of food, as airport users could not find a place to eat, apart from the only Genesis fast food spot available.
As at last Friday, The Tide observed that most of the food vendors had transferred their structures to the new place, and had started doing business there already.
Meanwhile, customers have started settling down at the new location as they were seen patronising shops for foods and drinks, in spite of the distance.
Few of the remaining structures at the old site, The Tide further gathered, will also be removed as quickly as possible, and the owners are making efforts to get funds for the job to be done.
One of them, Mrs Aka Love explained that she was going to relocate to the new place before the end of March.
Currently, business activities at the old site have come to null, as the place which was usually a beehive of food, drinks and relaxation, has completely winded down.
By: Corlins Walter
Business
MOWCA Strengthens Maritime Crime Prevention
Secretary General of the Maritime Organisation of West and Central Africa (MOWCA), Dr. Paul Adalikwu, has stepped up interaction with the United States Government to lift restrictions placed on some member countries allegedly implicated in illicit shipping activities.
Adalikwu, who led a delegation from the MOWCA Secretariat to the US Embassy in Abidjan for a first leg of the strategic consultation aimed at promoting seamless participation of MOWCA countries in international trade within the global maritime space, reiterated the organisation’s commitment to the best ethical and lawful maritime practices.
Addressing the U.S Ambassador to Côte d’Ivoire, H.E Mrs Jessica Davis Ba, the MOWCA SG stated the organisation’s interest in promoting the International Ship and Port facility Security (ISPS) code which aims at enhancing security of vessels and their ports of call.
He expressed the commitment of MOWCA in promoting environmentally friendly, safe and cost effective shipping without any encumbrance that may limit the economic potential of member countries.
Dr Adalikwu recalled that at the instance of the U.S. Department of State invitation, MOWCA participated in the 2023 Registry Information Sharing Compact (RISC) Conference in Larnaca, Cyprus, on February 28–March 1, 2023, and a virtual meeting held on June 6 2023, with Mrs Jennifer Chalmers, Officer in change of Counterproliferation Initiative.
He recalled The U.S. DOS willingness to support MOWCA’s effort for preventive maritime security through the establishment of the Center for Information and Communication (CINFOCOM) with the aim to ensure a maritime situational awareness domain within MOWCA’s member states’ waters.
He added that MOWCA under his watch is committed to training and retraining of maritime practitioners and experts to enhance the human capital capabilities of member states.
The CINFOCOM will help prevent transnational crimes committed at sea like sanctions evasion by North Korea and other state actors, who exploit poor enforcement due diligence by ship open registries to circumvent United Nations and U.S. trade restrictions.
By: Nkpemenyie Mcdominic, Lagos
Business
Nigeria’s Public Debt Hits N97.3trn – DMO
The Debt Management Office (DMO) has hinted that Nigeria’s public debt increased by 10.7 per cent from N87.87 trillion in the third quarter of last year, to N97.34 trillion as at December 31, 2023.
DMO, in an update data released last Friday, said the increase in the debt stock was largely due to new domestic borrowing by the Federal Government to part finance the deficit in the 2024 Appropriation Act and disbursements by multilateral and bilateral lenders.
The office noted that the N97.3 trillion public debt comprises of domestic debt of N59.12 trillion and external debt of N38.22 trillion. The sum of $3.5 billion was used to service external debt during the review period.
“Nigeria’s Public Debt Stock as at December 31, 2023 was N97.34trillion or $108.229 billion. This amount comprises the domestic and external debt stocks of the Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN), the 36 States Governments, and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
“There was an increase of N9.43 trillion over the comparative figure for September, 2023, which was largely due to new domestic borrowing by the FGN to part finance the deficit in the 2024 Appropriation Act and disbursements by multilateral and bilateral lenders.
“At N59.12 trillion, total domestic debt accounted for 61 percent of the total public debt stock, while external debt at N38.22 trillion accounted for the balance of 39 percent.
“Consistent with the debt management strategy, Nigeria’s external debt stock was skewed in favour of loans from multilateral (49.77 percent) and bilateral lenders (14.02 percent) or total of 63.79 percent which are mostly concessional and semi-concessional.
“Whilst the DMO continues to employ best practice in public debt management, the recent and on-going efforts of the fiscal authorities to shore up revenue will support debt sustainability”, DMO stated.
By: Corlins Walter
-
Oil & Energy4 days ago
Nigeria Hosts Global Confab On Oilfield Sustainability, Hydrocarbon Accounting
-
Sports4 days ago
Iheanacho, Dessers Applaud Finidi’s Tactics
-
Rivers3 days ago
Group Begins Massive Support Drive For Fubara
-
News2 days ago
Reps Member Pledges Support, Loyalty To Fubara, Joins SIMplified Movement
-
Maritime4 days ago
Illegal Migration: NIS, NIWA Move To Strengthen Partnership
-
News3 days ago
Insecurity: Arrest Gumi Within Seven Days, Group Tells FG
-
Rivers2 days ago
Bonny Ward 12 Endorses Council Boss For Second Term
-
News1 day ago
New Kalabari Monarch To Emerge Soon -Regent