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UBA Records Strong Double Digit Growth In Top and Bottom Lines, Declares N0.20k Interim Dividend

Africa’s Global Bank, United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc, has announced its audited financial results for the half year ended June 30, 2022, recording double-digit growth across key income lines as well as significant progress in the contribution from its subsidiaries.

At the end of the first two quarters of the year, the Bank was able to deliver a 12.6 per cent appreciation in profit before tax(PBT) to N85.7bn, up from N76.2bn recorded in the same period of 2021.

Despite numerous business, economic as well as geo-political environmental challenges including continued supply-chain interruptions due to Covid, the Russia and Ukraine conflict, and the resultant rise in prices of global commodities, that characterized the first six months of the year, the tier1 lender delivered impressive numbers, with gross earnings hitting N372.4bn, a solid 17.8 percent growth when compared with N316billion that was posted the same period in the prior year.

Operating income also grew by 20.1% to N256bn in the period, while the firm’s profit after tax closed the first half stronger at N70.3 billion, up by 16.1 percent compared to the N60.6 billion same period in 2021.

A further breakdown of the Bank’s half-year result, which was filed with the Nigerian Exchange Group(NGX), in the early hours on Thursday, September 8, showed total assets continued on an upward trajectory, increasing 5.4 percent to about N9 trillion.

The bank also delivered on its core mandate of extending loans to credit-worthy customers for the overall economic development, as loans and advances increased by 4 percent to N3trillion; while deposits rose by 7.9 percent to N7.6 trillion at the end of the period.

Shareholders’ funds however declined marginally by 2 percent to N788.5 billion, owing majorly to the decline in its foreign operations translation reserve as well as fair value losses suffered from the investment securities valuation occasioned by the increasing interest rate regime across the globe.

With the strong double-digit growth in profit after tax (PAT) vis-à-vis the marginal decline in shareholder’s fund, the Group’s return on equity (RoE) closed the period stronger at 17.7%, whilst return on assets (RoA) came to 1.6%, up by 9 basis points.

Reaffirming its commitment to shareholders and the investing public, the Board of Directors of UBA Plc declared an interim dividend of 20kobo per share for every ordinary share of N0.50 each held by its shareholders.

UBA’s Group Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Oliver Alawuba, while commenting on the result, said the stellar performance was in line with management’s expectation, adding that the Bank’s continued focus on its Customer 1st philosophy to pursue the mission of providing superior value to our stakeholders had increased low-cost customer deposits, and boosted the growth of its payment and transaction banking.

“The financial year 2022 showed initial signs of recovery of economies across the globe, despite continued COVID-induced supply-chain disruptions. However, geopolitical challenges including the Russia and Ukraine conflict, resulted in escalation of global commodity prices, particularly grains and crude oil, which have taken a toll on several economies. Notwithstanding these developments, our half-year numbers came out stronger than the prior year, with top and bottom-line reaching new record highs,” Alawuba said.

According to him, The Group’s profitability increased by 12.6% to N85.7 billion, with double-digit growth recorded across key income line. The Bank also recorded a decent 20% growth in net interest income as it continues to moderate cost of funds whilst improving yield on assets, thereby contributing to the strong 20% growth in operating income. “Our investments in state-of-the-art technology continue to yield expected results, evident in the huge boost of our digital banking income, which grew 22.7% year-on-year to N36.3 billion. These gains have enabled us to optimize net earnings amid the accelerating inflationary pressure, the currency devaluation, and increased regulatory-driven cost,” he said.

The GMD also noted that he is delighted at the strides made by the Bank in growing its market share across Africa. In his words, “Our retail business has continued to grow, as we ride on our agency banking network, trusted brand, competitive product offerings and quality service delivery to deepen our retail penetration,”

Alawuba who also commented on his recent appointment as Group Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, alongside five other Group Executive Directors, assured the investing public of his relentless commitment to the growth of the business. “Together, with our highly motivated workforce, we are poised to usher the business into a new era of growth that will deliver superior values to all stakeholders,” he said.

UBA is a leading pan-African financial institution, offering banking services to more than thirty-seven million customers across 1,000 business offices and customer touch points in 20 African countries.

With presence in New York, London and Paris and now the UAE, UBA is connecting people and businesses across Africa through retail, commercial and corporate banking, innovative cross-border payments and remittances, trade finance and ancillary banking services.

African Researchers hold Symposium on Africa’s Development

A group of African researchers under the name Alafarika for Study and Consultancy had recently on August 26 and 27, 2022 organized a virtual symposium titled “Knowledge Creation and Dissemination in Africa”, which researchers in African affairs from Morocco, Nigeria, Mali, Mauritania, Egypt, and the Central African Republic participated to come up with model for African Development. The participants commended the initiative for giving great importance to knowledge, its creation and dissemination, and considering it an initial and basic building block for developing and progressing in Africa.

The two-day session which dealt with a series of issues related to influencing African policy and politics with knowledge, the process of knowledge management for development; the role of the media in creating knowledge societies; and the challenges facing academic publishing and its potential solutions. The symposium also touched on the relationship between philosophy and human development in the African context and how revolutions and movements demanding change can be directed based on the knowledge that provides answers to the state-building and development that the continent needs in the twenty-first century and the digital age, in addition to the potential of investigative and data journalism to contribute to Africa’s prosperity.

Talking about creating knowledge societies and influencing African politics, the speakers revealed that consultancy institutions are one of the means of influencing knowledge creation processes if these institutions are rooted in local issues and are experts in initiatives that touch the needs of the population and citizens. The speakers stressed that civilizations and advanced societies throughout history have depended on knowledge and actors in disseminating human sciences. Despite the lack of interest of some current African governments in knowledge, its means and tools for its dissemination, the history of Africa, its civilizations and kingdoms in different regions confirmed that Africa has rich experience in this regard. What is required today is to study these historical achievements and support the creativity of young people that may limit the brain drain in many African countries, in addition to attaching the utmost importance to educational institutions and their outputs.

They stressed that knowledge management is a necessary process for development because it relates to many sensitive areas and is an essential means of successful management and that it elevates knowledge to the forefront of any government or political system’s success by emphasizing the knowledge capabilities of individuals, universities, and research institutions that facilitate access to knowledge, participation in it, distribution, preservation, and retrieval.

Talking about the impact of globalization and the rapid technological change in human societies, the speakers make knowledge the basis of domination and influence. Stating that all indicators show the strength of tomorrow’s world will be determined by the interest in human capital and the exploitation of the energies and capabilities of the continent’s population in sustainable human development. In terms of knowledge management and development, they are of the belief that there is a need to move from theories to real-life applications to meet the challenges of the continent and the rapid transformations in all fields without neglecting data technologies, which collect and categorize information to enable users of knowledge systems and services to access them when necessary. Pointing that all of these can be achieved through interviews and dialogues with experts and actors in national development policies, humanities, and modern methods that reflect positively on African societies and enable African countries to compete globally.

African Media Institutions are tasked with the process of creating knowledge society at a time when global media ignore the role of Africans in crystallizing global knowledge and the information explosion, without overlooking the fact that digital media plays some of the roles of traditional media, influencing different African societies and stages. Media roles are however agreed not be limited to the use of various means to highlight developments and experiences in African countries, their civilizations and history or to publicize their tourism sectors. Taking the information revolution and technological innovations the continent’s youth seize today in Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa, Egypt, and other African countries to develop the financial, agricultural, and health sectors into consideration, the relationship between the media and the dissemination of knowledge shows a relationship of mutual influence that can be observed in concepts related to human values, the crucible of communication and understanding.

Another means of developing and changing society is the process of scientific research and academic publishing. It was also agreed that one of the tools through which sustainable development can be achieved thereby addressing the challenges facing academic publishing in Africa and the weak governmental attention to the results of research projects and recommendations of conferences and research sessions that may contribute to promoting development.

While one of the crisis facing academic publishing in Africa is lack of publishing and distribution centres for works, academic books, and scientific journals within Africa, without forgetting that education curricula and teaching methods in several African countries are rooted in the colonial era and ideas that strengthen Western scientific institutions while weakening African scientific institutions that are already short of the necessary infrastructural resources.

Speakers in the “Knowledge Creation and Dissemination in Africa” symposium also pointed out that African philosophy can help us understand the problems facing the creation of knowledge and enhance the patterns of knowledge production that the continent needs. Furthermore, studying African history and philosophy may determine the African position towards modern science and contemporary issues, especially since knowledge based on African philosophical foundations may transform African societies into freer societies and can provide answers to the most important factors contributing to political, social, and economic inequality.

The COVID-19 crisis has shown the repercussions of the lack of independent and effective scientific research, sufficient scientific and technological resources, and the lack of manufacturing capabilities in the global south in general and Africa in particular. As a result, most African health care systems relied on the so-called “goodwill” of the global north and foreign vaccines.

The symposium also highlights that recent protests and political transformations in Africa indicated that most movements calling for change were not based on knowledge foundations that meet the state-building processes Africa needs in the twenty-first century. This is despite the fact that between 2005 and 2014, 40 out of 54 countries on the African continent witnessed widespread protests and uprisings in their various forms at the local and national levels. The knowledge equation lies in the repeated mistakes of these movements and that some of these uprisings often exacerbate the situation in the countries where they occur. Knowledge gaps can also be seen in the ideologies and parties that refuse to bring about the continent’s desired social and political changes.

In conclusion, the participants praised the role of investigative and data journalism in promoting African prosperity based on knowledge, as data and statistical information should contribute to achieving good governance and revealing corporate and institutional corruption and social injustice, in addition to presenting powerful and influential stories and revealing the truth. Thus, data is a mirror to confirm or deny a particular phenomenon or issue and a means of exploring its direction and foreseeing its future trend.

Microsoft’s Senior Program Manager, Yemi Orimolade To Speak at EnterpriseCEO Media Masterclass

Communications Expert and Microsoft’s Senior Business Program Manager, Africa Development Center, Yemi Orimolade and Member Forbes Coaches Council and Founder, LIMB-simple academy, Ezekiel Solesi are the latest facilitators that will be speaking at the EnterpriseCEO Media Masterclass, a media improvement program.

‘Yemi, with over fourteen years of experience has delivered strategies to advance corporate reputation, and effective government and stakeholder relations. He is passionate about unlocking emerging markets immense potential, through advocating for the relevance of young people in Africa to acquire digital literacy with the effective deployment of technology for social & economic impact.

Solesi, a strategy consultant, member Forbes Coaches Council through his LIMB-simple academy has worked with over 3,000 businesses and helped 34 of them exceed 1 billion naira in revenue.

LIMBsimple is an acronym for Life, Investing, Money and Business made simple. It focuses on providing simplified technical, inspirational and motivational knowledge in helping to break down complex issues in life, investing, money and business in order to make them simple enough for the everyday person.

The media masterclass themed “Platform – Content – Monet – IZATION” is designed to set the pace for media practitioners in the digital era on how to monetize their qualitative and in-demand media contents for the success of their platforms.

A-list successful journalists and top-notch media entrepreneurs in the industry are billed to facilitate sessions at the one-day media masterclass program, including Managing Director, Quest Times, Victor Ogunyinka; Founder, Mosron Communications, Tolulope Olorundero, Founder, LIMB Simple, Ezekiel Solesi and founder and CEO First Founders, Lanre Messan.

The joint media improvement program fee is #10,000 for participants as certification of participation will be awarded and lunch will be served in the course of the program.

Notably, the EnterpriseCEO Media Masterclass is slated for this Thursday, September 8th, 2022 at 9:00 AM at NECA House, Plot A2 Balogun Street, CBD, Alausa, Ikeja, Lagos.

Optima Care Centre MD Femi Olaleye in Wife’s Little Niece Sexual Harassment Mess

A popular Nigerian medical practitioner and cancer care advocate, Femi Olaleye, has been accused of sexually violating a minor. He is the Managing Director of Optimal Care Centre, Surulere, Lagos, was accused of harassing a niece of his wife, Remi Olaleye, for one year and nine months.

The caregiver was also accused of threatening to deal with his wife, who reportedly informed the police of the incident and is now pressing charges.

The Lagos State police command said it is aware of the case and that the file is currently with its legal unit for legal advice.

Popular Nigerian actresses, Kate Henshaw and Damilola Adekoya, who is known for her stage name, Princess, recently released videos about the matter.

Ms Henshaw in her video said the accused once confirmed the allegation to her during one of the cancer care outreaches held recently by the doctor’s organisation.

The actresses have, therefore, called on the Lagos State Domestic and Sexual Violence Response Team, (DSVRT) and various non-government organisations, (NGO) involved in cases of rape and sexual abuse to do more in protecting children from sexual abuse and sexual violators.

Mr Olaleye could not be reached for his stance as he did not pick calls or reply messages sent to him.

Henshaw’s account
Ms Henshaw, who said her post was necessary based on her relationship with the accused, said she was surprised that Mr Olaleye who had earlier confessed to her of “falling into a trap allegedly set for him by his wife,” later denied a few weeks after via short text messages they both exchanged.
She said; “I have known Dr Femi for many years. He had approached me to help in his advocacy for breast cancer screening. For years I have supported his vision and even put in money towards helping women get screening.

“On the 9th of July we met again at another advocacy event where he partnered with Reddington Hospital on Victoria Island, Lagos.”

Ms Henshaw said, at the event, she asked after his wife and Mr Olalaye said they were now separated and “that she kicked him out of the house.”

“He went on to say, ‘I will admit to you Kate that she set me up and I fell for it.’ When I asked what happened he said she brought a young girl to the house and he did stuff with her. He blamed his wife for knowing his weakness and still went ahead to bring the girl to the house.

“He even said she arrested him at that time and told me when I probed further that he had sexual affairs with the girl but didn’t mention that she is a minor or that she is his wife’s niece. He just told me other things and I said alright take it easy and resolve it with your wife,” she said.

Ms Henshaw said the doctor’s wife later reached out to her after a while and told her what really transpired.

She said Mrs Olaleye sent her videos confirming that Mr Olaleye had been sleeping with the minor for a long time but claimed she could not post the video due to the minor involved.

“I sent him a message to express my disappointment and told him to go to submit himself to the authorities but his response was that he totally understands and added that he cannot remember admitting to me that he had sexual relations with anyone,” Ms Henshaw added.

Alleged threat
Meanwhile, in another viral video on social media, Princess said she has also known the doctor for a long time and has joined in his advocacy against breast cancer and has learnt a lot from him.
Femi Olaleye
She said she also just found out that he has been abusing his wife’s niece and was threatening her as well.

Princess said; “He would threaten her with all these fetish stuff that the day she talks she would die, then he started giving her some pills to prevent pregnancies.

“The worst of it is that the case was reported and the next day, he was supposed to be charged to court but because he made an undertaking that it will not happen again he was detained and released.”

Princess said the doctor started going to his wife’s house to threaten her and sent people after “her to kill her.”

Doctor’s mother too
In another audio that Princess played online, a voice allegedly belonging to Mr Olaleye’s mother, was heard threatening another person in the conversation that her son should be spared because “doing such is not a new thing.”

The other party in the conversation was said to be Ms Olaleye.

The voice said; “Is it a big deal to molest a minor? Why do you want to take the case too seriously? Is my son the first person to rape a minor? Why do you want to take the life of my son?
“My son came home and told me what he did and that you are not supporting him but instead want to kill him. In the name of Jesus nothing will happen to my son. It is you that will die and it is you that will be cursed.”

Princess claimed that Mr Olaleye was in London before but was accused by patients of sexual molestation and was sacked. The development, she alleged, led to the crash of the doctor’s first marriage.

Accused unreachable
Apart from switching off his personal line, all telephone lines on the website of Mr Olaleye’s known organisations including the hospital have been switched off.

Meanwhile, the doctor has also reportedly changed his status profile on some social media platforms to “private” to avoid the public reaching out to him via messages.

Police confirm case
When PREMIUM TIMES contacted the Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer, Benjamin Hundeyin, a superintendent of police, he confirmed knowledge of the matter.

He said: “The case file has been sent to the Legal unit for legal advice. Awaiting response.”

Culled from Premium Times

Popular Prophet, Israel Oladele Ogundipe (Genesis) Sets To Shake Lekki, Lagos Island With Standout Conference ‘5G’ Season 3

Its here again. The event which promise to shake Lekki axis and its environs to its very foundation will hold on Friday, the 9th of October 2022. This season 3 of standout conference according to Prophet Israel Oladele Ogundipe fondly called ‘Genesis’ when speaking to his media aide Oluwaseun Fabiyi said this year edition will be taking another dimension as youngest proactive keynote speakers would be dishes out their God’s gift talent to engage their target audience It will be recalled that this event made its debuts few years ago at Lekki area and was well attended by the WHO IS WHO in Lagos Island.

According to Prophet Israel Genesis who said he caught the vision of ‘5G’ few years ago and ‘Without hesitating, I keyed into the vision and use it as an avenue for all Christian to come together in arousing.
And in his words confirmed that many who were in attendance under the roof of season 1 are still to the great wonders that took place at the events respectively.

This year’s edition of standout conference which is tagged ‘ 5G’ will take another dimension because it will be viewed live on every social media as top Nigerian celebrities and great anointed men of God will be in attendance. When asked what’s special about season 3, the amiable man of God said the fact that the Top popular Nigeria Gospel artiste, Mike Abdul, Beejay Sax who will be there to showcase their talents giving quality worship and praises to God includes others.

We also have three (3) resilience keynote speakers such as Dr. Stephen Akintayo who is an expert in real estate business, also Mr. Niyi Adesanya, and youngest Hon. Dayo Israel while Prophet Genesis remain the real host speaker likewise some prominent Nigerian presenters would be on grand to drive this memorable event which is targeted to come up between 5pm at the popular Lagos Oriental Hotel, Grand Ball Hall, 3, Lekki-Epe Express Road. Victoria Island

Prophet Israel Oladele Ogundipe therefore stand on behalf of Genesis Global as he beseech everyone to put on the garment of praise and their dancing shoes because there will be showers of blessing upon everybody who will be attending this year edition

Stop The Rumour …Ahmed Halilu is the Right Man for The Job

A clear and meticulous choice for this sensitive position, Ahmed Halilu‘s appointment as Executive Director of The Nigerian Security Printing and Minting checks all boxes.

Considering the amount of experience he had acquired over the years, this indeed is a golden choice.

However, naysayers had taken to the hill and beyond to downplay his competence. Hoping that invented propaganda to smear his career in order to score points will overshadow everything he had done to merit this meritorious milestone.

It is unambiguous but daunting nonetheless to see the facade behind the trolls. When a son of the soil attains certain height, of course some spectators will have different views. But make no mistake, for many reasons, the former manager at Zenith Bank deserves his job at NSPM.

More than fastidious, to say the least, is to allege as well as pin a political undertone to this worthy milestone.

Mr. Halilu, a professional banker, has master’s degree in business administration from Ahmadu Bello University in 2001. He returned to the same institution in 2008 to earn another Master’s degree in international affairs and diplomacy.

He had earned several other professional and diploma certifications that proved his wealth of knowledge.

His managerial experience is not in question considering his 15 years of managerial and financial portfolio. His first working experience post-nysc in 1992 was at African International Bank at Kano State.

Ahmed Halilu would thereafter become a deputy manager in charge of Foreign Exchange department in 1998.

Furthermore, his earliest managerial position was his two-year stint at CBN Kaduna Branch as the manager in charge of Corporate Banking Loans and Advances Recovery.

A transformative and visionary leader like the fufore-born product of prestigious ABU is deserving of this job. Also, considering that he had garnered admirable and decade-long experience in the financial sector, he is a good fit.

In his long career as a financial expert, he had attended not less than 17 high-value courses. It is unfair to overlook all these achievements and focus on the fact that he is President Muhammadu Buhari’s in law, insinuating that that is the only yardstick for his appointment. Again, it is an unjust assumption which can only be purported by mischief makers.

Princess Aminat Elegushi offers free medical outreach to Eti-osa indigenes

Princess Aminat Elegushi with some recipients

In an effort to make healthcare accessible to Nigerians and improve health conditions of her immediate communities, Princess Aminat Elegushi through her non-governmental organization; PAE Foundation recently concluded a three-day free medical outreach to people living in Eti-Osa and its environs.

The medical outreach which Princess Aminat Elegushi foundation is holding in collaboration with Eti-Osa Indigenous Students Association, commenced on Thursday, August 25, 2022 at Gbara Junior Secondary School in Gbara, Eli-Osa LGA which afford residents of Eti-Osa free medical consultancy services.
At the Gbara Community School, scores of indegenes and residents were tested and checked in different areas like cancer Screening, HIV Screening/Counseling, HIV Test, Malaria Test, Hypertension Test, Hepatitis Test, Tuberculosis Test, Drugs, Covid-19 vaccines and refractive errors in the eyes.

According to the founder of the foundation and convener, Princess Aminat Elegushi who is the chief executive officer and publisher of the Eti-Osa Newspaper, a bi-monthly community magazine published solely dedicated to projecting the beauty, culture, heritage and anesthetics of the community Eti-Osa, said the aim of the medical outreach is to allow the teeming residents and indigenes receive free medical consultancies in the local government area which according to her, accounts for forty percent of revenue of entire Lagos.

Princess Elegushi said, “As a proud Indigene of this community, it pleases me to hold this medical outreach here where I am from. I salute the royal fathers, dignitaries and local government Chairman. We are rendering these medical services because health is wealth and our people deserve the best.

She announced that in addition to the free medical services available during the three-day program, a hundred persons will have the opportunity of receiving a year medical consultancy from the state clinics.

Dr. Tunde Ajayi, the Special Assistant to Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu on Health commended Elegushi for the initiative, saying that it would in no small way make people conscious of their health, particularly the insurance aspect of the mission.

“You see, insurance is paramount on the list of services you must subscribe to in any environment at all and bringing insurance here is an amazing thing, it’s super amazing.

“So, I would like to commend her again, more grease to her elbow, and obviously encourage more people who are able to bring innovative and key interventions like this to the community they came from,” he said.

Olasupo Adedimeji, the National President of Eti-Osa Indigenous Students’ Association, also a partner of the medical outreach, urged the people to keep their environment clean to prevent getting infected with diseases.

A beneficiary, Mr Hakeem Aribidesi commended the initiative, saying it had always been part of what the indigenes wanted. Another beneficiary, Taibat Ariyo, a petty trader, also commended the foundation and the health personnel for the free health services rendered.
Other destinations for the medical outreach are Baale of Badoore Palace and the Iru/Victoria Island LCDA, EtiOsa, Lagos.

2023 Budget: We will Need to Borrow over N7trillion to Pay Petrol Subsidy – Minster of Finance

The Federal government has proposed to borrow over N11 trillion to finance the proposed 2023 budget deficit, a development far above the stipulated threshold in the Fiscal Responsibility Act.

Zainab Ahmed, minister of finance, budget and national planning, said this on Monday while appearing before the house of representatives committee on finance to defend the 2023-2025 Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) and Fiscal Strategy Paper (FSP).

She said the government’s budget deficit is expected to exceed N12.42 trillion if the federal government keep the petroleum subsidy for the entire 2023 fiscal cycle.

Reeling out numbers to the committee, Ahmed said the 2023 budget proposal is based on two options.

On the first option, the deficit is projected to be N12.41 trillion in 2023, up from N7.35 trillion budgeted in 2022, representing 196 percent of total revenue or 5.50 percent of the estimated GDP.

Based on this, Ahmed said the federal government would spend N6.72 trillion on subsidy payments.

On the second option, if the federal government keeps subsidy payments till June 2023, the budget deficit would amount to N11.30 trillion, which is N5.01 trillion of the estimated GDP. In this option, the PMS subsidy is projected to gulp N3.3 trillion.

The minister further said the first option is not likely to be achievable based on the current trend, while the second option would require tighter enforcement.

She said the new borrowings would come from local and international sources. Ahmed said N9.32 trillion in new borrowings, comprising N7.4 trillion from domestic sources and N1.8 trillion from foreign sources, adding that the government is expected to generate N206.1 billion from privatisation proceeds and N1.7 trillion in multilateral project-tied loans.

On the two proposals, Ahmed said they have budget deficits far above the stipulated threshold in the Fiscal Responsibility Act.

The fiscal responsibility law provides a limit of 3 percent threshold for sustainability but the president can “exceed the ceiling if there is a clear and present threat to national security or sovereignty of Nigeria”.

In 2020, the federal government exceeded the fiscal borrowing threshold, citing the COVID-19 pandemic.

2023 BUDGET BENCHMARK PROPOSALS

The minister said oil production for 2023 would be pegged at 1.69 million barrels per day. A real GDP growth rate of 3.7 percent and an inflation rate of 17.16 percent for the year. She added that the budget would be premised on $70 per barrel of crude oil and an exchange rate of N435.57 to the dollar.

REVENUE
Ahmed said the government was projecting revenue of N8.46 trillion for 2023 — N1.9 trillion of which would come from oil-related sources while the balance would come from non-oil sources.

ON SUBSIDY
Ahmed said the petrol subsidy regime would remain up to a mid-2023 sequel to the 18-month extension announced early in 2021.

She added that N3.36 trillion would be provided to pay the subsidy in 2023.
The minister also told the session that there would be tighter enforcement of the performance management framework for government-owned enterprises “which would significantly increase operating surplus/dividend remittances in 2023”.

DEBT SERVICING

She said there were no projections that Nigeria would default on her debt services in the nearest future.

While the amount currently used in debt servicing had overshot appropriation in the 2022 budget, she said systems are put in place to manage the situation.

“We planned that 60 percent of revenue would be spent on debt servicing, but in some months, the ratio went up to 90 percent,” she said.

“We have been able to, consistently without fail, service our debt, and we do not have any projections even in the near future that we will fail.

“We actually follow the Medium Term Debt Management Strategy very strictly; the debts are not taken haphazardly, and they are planned.

“They are appropriated, and then we borrow against appropriation.”

The minister acknowledged, however, that the government was under pressure to manage debt servicing following the drop in revenue generation.

Culled from The Cable

FirstBank Commemorates its Annual Corporate Responsibility & Sustainability Week and Promotes kindness across over 7 Countries

FirstBank commemorates its annual Corporate Responsibility & Sustainability week and promotes kindness across over 7 countries

The FirstBank CR&S Week is a dedicated week designed to offer opportunities for employees to give their time & resources to defined causes in line with the Bank’s CR&S strategic approach;
The FirstBank CR&S Week is held in Nigeria and 7 other countries: United Kingdom, Ghana, DRC, Guinea, Sierra Lone, Senegal and Gambia;
Since its maiden edition in 2017, the FirstBank CR&S week is fast becoming a household name in the Bank’s host economies.

In furtherance of its continued commitment to impacting the lives of individuals in its host communities across 7 Countries: Nigeria, United Kingdom, Ghana, DRC, Guinea, Sierra Lone, Senegal and Gambia. FirstBank of Nigeria Limited has announced the Fifth edition of its Corporate Responsibility & Sustainability (CR&S) week, scheduled for 22- 27 August 2022.

The event which is themed: “Kindness…. A Way of Life” reflects the single-minded purpose to make a difference in the world by inspiring and institutionalising kindness. SPARK is an acronym for Start Performing Acts of Random Kindness and it is a values-based initiative designed to raise consciousness that we can choose to be kind.

The FirstBank CR&S Week is a dedicated week designed to offer opportunities for employees to give their time & resources to defined causes in line with the Bank’s CR&S strategic approach. The CR&S Week will offer employees opportunities to give their time & resources to defined causes. The Week’s activities are an aspect of the Bank’s Employee Giving & Volunteering Program, which was instituted to encourage employees to give back to the community as well as inculcate in them the integral corporate culture of giving.

The Bank held the maiden edition of the CR&S week in 2017 with a focus mainly on three key initiatives/activities which were giving and visits to orphanages/less privileged homes/IDPs; career counselling day; and Staff Promoting Acts of Random Kindness (SPARK) initiative – which is now Start Performing Acts of Random Kindness. The CR&S week has become more successful in subsequent years and it is fast becoming a household name in the Bank’s host economies.

There are five main activities to be implemented during this year’s CR&S Week in Nigeria, FBNBank UK and across the SSA markets. These activities include SPARK APP, Kind Comments Day, Visits to orphanage/less privileged homes, SPARK School Engagement, and Women Economic Empowerment. The major highlight of the Week will be the launch of the SPARK APP. The app is strategic in the Bank’s journey to institutionalize “A Day of Kindness” on a national level, and globally position the Bank as a Corporate Citizen in leveraging new media to drive sustainability practices.

The SPARK App is a sensational application designed to have individuals abreast with the act of kindness through various kindness-based quotes and inspirational phrases that will be displayed on one’s phone screen, especially when the phone is idle.

Kind Comments Day is an initiative that focuses on inspiring and encouraging everyone to be deliberate with the use of kind words in relating or interacting with anyone.

In addition, with Women Empowerment, the Bank will support, VVF patients in need of surgical operations and also empower them with vocational skills as they integrate back into the society.

The SPARK Schools Engagement will be implemented through the National Competition of JAN SPARK School Integration. The activity is aimed at rewarding the various participating students, following their SPARK activity, Through the partnership with JAN, SPARK is integrated into the JAN Company Program, where students are taught the values of SPARK. The SPARK schools’ competition has been tied with Company programme regional competition,ensuring they imbibed the values taught during the training. One of the highlights of the event is the visit to orphanage homes and the less privileged, across various cities which will be carried out by volunteers from the Bank.

Speaking on the week, Dr. Adesola Adeduntan, CEO, FirstBank said “The CR&S Week is another opportunity to strengthen our commitment and extend our reach beyond the communities where we operate in Nigeria and across our subsidiaries. Over time, our goal has stayed the same, to create platforms through which our positive impact is felt.”

“For us in the FirstBank Group, beyond saying that we care, we take a step further and show it,” he concluded.

Through the years of commemorating its annual CR&S Week, FirstBank has impacted lives across its host communities in Nigeria, the United Kingdom and its SSA subsidiaries. These impacts comprise the partnership with Lagos State Government on the provision of a Primary Health Centre at Ijedodo Community, Lagos State; engagements with over 60 charities, Non-governmental organisations, orphanages, correctional centres, schools and Internally Displayed Persons (IDP) Camps which resulted in touching the lives of over 20,000 underprivileged individuals in the society including widows, orphans and children with disabilities.

Insecurity: Lagos Speaker Advocates True Federalism, Implementation of Panel Reports

…Says Lagos Government Proactive On Issues Of Security

– Suggests State, Community Policing Systems

Hon. Victor Akande, representative of Speaker Mudashiru Obasa with members of the academic community.

The Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. (Dr) Mudashiru Obasa, has described Nigeria as a country that desires true federalism as part of the solutions to the nation’s security crisis.

Dr. Obasa stated this on Wednesday at the 2022 National Congress and Scientific Conference of the Nigerian Psychological Association held at the Lagos State University.

The Speaker, who was awarded Honourary Fellow of the academic body, lamented that insecurity had continued despite the federal government’s deployment of financial and other resources to its fight.

He also urged the federal government muster the political will to implement the recommendations of different panels and committees that have investigated immediate and remote causes of insecurity in the country.

Represented by Hon. Victor Akande, chairman of the House Committee on Judiciary, Human Rights, Public Petitions and LASIEC, Obasa further advocated for sincere national mediation, negotiation, arbitration, reconciliation, and broad amnesty as modern conflict resolution strategies where necessary.

Speaking on the topic, ‘Security and National Sustainability’, Obasa described Lagos as one of the safest states in the country owing to the proactive efforts of all the tiers of government in the state.

“Here in Lagos State, we’ve taken preventive steps to ensure that law and order do not collapse for no good reason. We established the Neighbourhood Safety Corps because we are aware of the critical need for quick response from local security officers at the grassroots level.

“The state government’s efforts, led by the Neighbourhood Safety Corps and aided by the other security officers on the ground, have made Lagos a secure place to live for everyone.

“There is, however, reason to believe that the federal government would support the same objective by establishing a state police force. Community preventative policing, as opposed to curative policing, is crucial for maintaining national security in light of the current state of affairs. Constant contact between the security agencies and community people is necessary to get the country out of its current situation.

“At the same time, all three tiers of government should work to significantly cut spending on administration, which includes things like defence and domestic security. As one might expect, this is crucial if we want to see progress in the real sectors of the economy,” Obasa said.

The Speaker, while noting that military action and confrontational approach tend to increase violence rather than decrease tension, added: “to rehabilitate all militants who embrace reconciliation, however, we need to place a greater emphasis on the concepts of mediation, negotiation, arbitration, reconciliation, and broad amnesty as modern conflict resolution strategies.

“The principle of true federalism advocated by militants in the Niger Delta and other groups should be adopted because it guarantees genuine political autonomy and the right to control resources.

“In a similar vein, the federal government and other stakeholders in Nigeria’s violent sociopolitical and ethnically based crisis need to muster the political will to carry out the recommendations of the numerous panels and committees set up to investigate the immediate and remote causes of the crisis.”

He attributed insecurity to a number of factors including the country’s inheritance of a faulty security structure and the failure of successive governments to effectively restructure the system.

Beyond impacting knowledge, the Speaker tasked tertiary institutions to be interested in the affairs of the nation as part of their contributions to the sustenance of national progress.

He commended the NPA and LASU for honouring him as he promised to continue to play roles for the advancement of Nigeria.

Earlier in his address, Prof. Olukayode Afolabi, President of NPA, lamented the security situation of the country saying it now affects every facet of Nigeria’s development and forcing investors away.

Among other suggestions, he said there was an urgent need to bring psychologists into the recruitment and development processes of security personnel.

On her part, Prof Adenike Boyo, Deputy Vice Chancellor (Academics) of LASU who represented the Vice Chancellor, Prof. Ibiyemi Olatunji-Bello, expressed hope that the 5-day conference would add value to Nigeria’s development.

Eromosele Ebhomele
Chief Press Secretary to the Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly.