Mr Adegboyega Adepegba, Director-General, Chartered Insurance Institute of Nigeria (CIIN), on Tuesday said the institute would hold a forum of insurance practitioners to X-ray the business landscape in 2011.

Adepegba said in a statement in Lagos that the forum with the theme entitled: “Strategies for Business Success in 2011” would be held in February.

“The choice of the forum was informed by the growing need for an articulated action plan in facing the emerging challenges in the business environment,” he said.

According to him, 2011 as the beginning of a new business decade called for the recreation, rethinking and remodelling of strategies after the turbulent business terrain which characterised the last few years.

    Adepegba said that the dip in the business outcome for most organisations in the latter part of the last decade must be reversed, adding “otherwise, we will all face a bleak situation in the emergent period.’’

2011: Stakeholders Urge Success Of N50bn Job Creation Budget

Some stakeholders in the financial sector on Monday in Lagos urged the Federal Government to ensure the success of N50 billion earmarked for job creation in the 2011 budget.

They told our correspondent that the lofty idea should not be allowed to fail in the face of the high unemployment rate in the country.

Dr Mashudd Fashola, a Senior Lecturer, Department of Economics, University of Lagos, said that the government should come out with the kind of employment it intends to provide.

“The government should let the people know which of the sectors it intends to empower with the money.

“It will be proper to know whether it is in the small or medium enterprises,” he said. Fashola reiterated that the rate of unemployment in the country was worrisome and needed proactive measures by the government to check the problem.

He said that the money should not be spent in a way that would create imbalances in the economy.

Fashola said that the fund would have a positive impact on the economy if properly managed because it would create employment opportunities for the people.

He urged transparency and serious monitoring of those in charge of the fund to achieve its objective.

Mr Eddie Osarenkhwe, President, Finance Houses Association of Nigeria (FHAN) said that the plan would promote skill acquisition and entrepreneurial skills.

Osarenkhwe said that the fund, if properly managed, could reduce unemployment rate by 40 per cent.

He added that the plan would raise per capita income and improve the standard of living if only the right channels got the fund.

Dr Taiwo Opeyemi and Dr Tunde Adeoye, who are lecturers, Department of Economics, University of Lagos, however, urged the government to address the problem of decay in infrastructure in the country.

They said that the impact of the idea might not be significant if the government did not urgently tackle the decayed infrastructure.

Adeoye said that the Federal Government should sustain its current efforts to provide constant power supply in the country.

“No nation can survive without effective power supply which is the key to the success of most companies,” he said.