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  • JTI Certified As A Global Top Employer

    JTI Certified As A Global Top Employer

     

    • Recognized for progress in Wellbeing and Diversity & Inclusion

     

    Leading international tobacco and vaping company, JTI has been recognized as one of only 16 Global Top Employers for the seventh consecutive year, after the Top Employer Institute certified the Company in every region it operates.

     

    This latest certification once again recognizes the excellent working conditions provided at JTI, as well as the laudable strides the Company continues to make in improving the wellbeing, diversity and inclusion of its employees at the workplace.

     

    Being certified as a Top Employer showcases an organisation’s dedication to a better world of work and exhibits this through excellent HR policies and people practices.

     

    Habanera Limited, JTI’s subsidiary/entity in Nigeria, also received the award as Top Employer in the Africa and Nigeria categories.

     

    According to Steve Dyer, JTI’s Vice President, Global Talent Management; “The Top Employer certification is not an end-in-itself. For us, it is confirmation that we have always been on the right track by making our workplace a safe and flexible environment for all our employees, whether they are farmers, scientists, office or factory workers. “This seventh consecutive certification also sends a strong message to our future employees: we constantly give our people the opportunity to develop their career under the best conditions in order to perform to their highest abilities while being themselves,” he said

     

    Since January 1, 2021, JTI employees across the world, regardless of gender or the way they become parents, benefit from 20 weeks fully paid leave when welcoming a child.

     

    The Company’s headquarter has been Equal Pay certified for 3 years in a row by the EQUAL-SALARY Foundation for providing fairness and equal opportunity to women and men.

     

    Also speaking on this year’s recognition as a Top Employer in Nigeria, the General Manager, of  JTI’s entity in Nigeria, Brian Murphy, said the recognition is another moment of pride for the Nigerian entity, because the Company was also recognized as a Top Employer for the Africa Region. “This award is a confirmation that we have been implementing innovative and inclusive policies that support our people and we are definitely motivated to continue to do more to make our Company an inclusive, enabling, safe, inspiring and rewarding work environment for all JTI employees in Nigeria. Anyone can attain his or her full potential at JTI,” Brian Murphy said.

     

    In her own reaction to the award, Chinuru Alex-Efeyini, Director, People & Culture, at JTI’s Nigerian entity: “Being awarded Top Employer again in Nigeria is a good reminder that we are doing something right when it comes to our people management practices. Beyond attracting and developing our talented employees, we prioritise creating an enabling environment for them to thrive in. Creating and maintaining a culture that makes our employees truly happy to work here every day is what makes us most proud.

     

    JTI is a leading international tobacco and vaping company with operations in more than 130 countries. It is the global owner of both Winston, the number two cigarette brand in the world, and Camel, outside the USA and has the largest share in sales for both brands. Other global brands include Mevius and LD. JTI is also a major player in the international vaping market with its brand, Logic and tobacco vapor brand, Ploom. Headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, JTI employs over 44,000 people and was awarded Global Top Employer for the seventh consecutive year. JTI is a member of the Japan Tobacco Group of Companies.

     

    Top Employers Institute is the global authority on recognizing excellence in People Practices. The organization helps accelerate these practices to enrich the world of work. Through the Top Employers Institute Certification Program, participating companies can be validated, certified and recognized as an employer of choice. Established 30 years ago, Top Employers Institute has certified 1,691 organizations in 120 countries/regions. These certified Top Employers positively impact the lives of over 7 million employees globally.

     

  • BREAKING: Third Mainland Bridge To Be Opened Midnight

    BREAKING: Third Mainland Bridge To Be Opened Midnight

    Against the earlier projected Tuesday 2nd February opening for the Third Mainland Bridge as a result of the casting of the expansion joints, the work has now been completed and would therefore be open a day earlier to vehicular movement, which is by 12 Midnight today, Sunday 31st January, 2021.

     

    The earlier movement arrangements of 12.00 AM for Lagos Island bound motorists and 12.00 Noon for Mainland bound motorist subsist.

     

    The Commissioner for Transportation, Dr. Frederic Oladeinde expressed his gratitude to Lagosians, especially those affected by the closure for their understanding, assuring that the Babajide Sanwo-Olu led administration will continue to drive infrastructural growth in the State.

     

    The State Government hereby appeals to residents to cooperate with the State Government as all other ongoing rehabilitation projects will come to an end in a very short while, adding that the benefits, including safety, is for all and sundry.

  • MultiChoice Slashes Price of DStv, GOtv Decoders

    MultiChoice Slashes Price of DStv, GOtv Decoders

    Pay-Tv giant, MultiChoice Nigeria, has announced a price slash on its DStv and GOtv decoders starting Monday, February 1st, 2021.

     

    The price slash will see the DStv HD decoder, dish kit with Compact package subscription drop from N18, 600 to N9,900 on Confam package, while GOtv decoder, GOtennae with GOtv Jolli package subscription will go from N8,400 to N6,900.

     

    DStv Confam is one of two recently improved DStv packages specially designed for the Nigerian family. With over 120 channels, DStv Confam offers the best of family time with international entertainment, kids, news and sports boasting of a range of channels including SuperSport La Liga, CBS Reality, FOX, BET and Cartoon Network.

     

    GOtv Jolli, also a recently improved package on the DTT offering, offers a broad selection of over 68 local and international channels to choose from. Some of the channels available include SuperSport Football, ROK 2, Telemundo, FOX, Davinci Learning and Africa News.

     

    Speaking at a virtual media briefing held on Friday, 29 January, Chief Customer Officer, MultiChoice Nigeria, Martin Mabutho, explained that the price slash is part of MultiChoice’s long line of efforts to lessen the economic impact of COVID on customers and a reflection of its commitment to making quality entertainment more accessible to Nigerians.

     

    “With this discount, we are lowering the entry barrier for new customers to get a DStv or GOtv decoder as staying connected to credible information and other quality programming can be comforting for many families during these trying times,” said Mabutho.

     

    Mabutho also listed some of the company’s relief strategies deployed during the first wave of the pandemic which include cash donations of N200 million and N50 million to the Federal Government and Lagos State Government respectively, N400 million to the creative industry, whose professionals experienced disruptions in productions; donation of 30,000 Personal Protective Equipment and 30,000 face masks to hospitals and Non-Governmental Organisations as well as an approved inventory worth over N550m highlighting NCDC’s COVID-19 helplines and PSA materials on over 10 channels on DStv and GOtv.

     

    “In addition to the discount we are currently running our DStv Step Up offer which gives our customers on lower packages an opportunity to experience programming on higher packages, and a GOtv Max offer which sees customers on Jolli and Jinja enjoy a special discount of N2,999 instead of N3,600 per month,” Mabutho added.

     

    The discounted DStv and GOtv bundle offer will be available from Monday, February 1st 2021 for a limited time only.

  • Banks’ Credit To Economy Hit N25tn In 2020

    Banks’ Credit To Economy Hit N25tn In 2020

    Banks’ total credit to the economy rose to N25.02tn as of the end of 2020, the Central Bank of Nigeria has said.

     

    This was disclosed during the Monetary Policy Committee meeting in Abuja on Tuesday.

     

    Delivering the committee’s submissions, the CBN Governor, Mr Godwin Emefiele, said the figure rose by 13.4 per cent between November and December.

     

    He said, “Aggregate domestic credit, also moved further up by 13.40 per cent in December 2020, compared with 9.48 per cent in the previous month.

     

    “This was largely attributed to the bank’s policy on Loan-to-Deposit Ratio, complemented by its interventions in various sectors of the economy.

     

    “Consequently, banking sector gross credit as at end-December 2020 stood at N25.02tn compared with N24.25tn at the end of November 2020, representing an increase of N774.28bn.”

     

    The committee urged the bank to sustain its current drive to improve access to credit to the private sector while exploring other complementary initiatives, in collaboration with the Federal Government, to improve funding to critical sectors of the economy.

     

  • Slash On Imported Vehicles’ Duties Begins Next Week – Customs

    Slash On Imported Vehicles’ Duties Begins Next Week – Customs

    The planned reduction in the duties on vehicles and tractors from 35 to about 10 per cent may take off next week, the Nigeria Customs Service said on Tuesday.

     

    Comptroller-General of Customs, Hameed Ali, who disclosed this to journalists in Abuja, said the management of the service was expecting an official communication from the finance ministry on the matter any moment from now.

     

    He said the vehicle tariff reduction, as contained in the 2020 Finance Act, was initiated by the NCS to ease the cost of transportation in Nigeria.

     

    He said, “We are the proponents of the new tariff. I’ve been torn apart by many people criticising it, saying I used my connection to get it done. But it is in the overall interest of Nigeria.

     

    “Now, it has become a law. We are now waiting for the finance minister to give us a formal conveyance of that Act. Once we receive it, we commence implementation immediately and inform our commands.

     

    “We are hoping that latest by next week, it will become operational.”

     

    On the African Continental Free Trade Agreement, Ali said all aspects that concerned the NCS had been adhered to.

     

    He, however, noted that the service would need certain inputs from the AfCFTA secretariat, such rules of origin, as this should not be left to chambers of commerce alone, adding that the NCS should part of the team.

     

     

     

  • NIN: FG Grants Plateau Govt Licence To Register Residents

    NIN: FG Grants Plateau Govt Licence To Register Residents

    Following the challenges faced by residents of Plateau State in enrolling for the National Identity Number (NIN) as a result of few enrolment centres, Plateau State Governor Simon Lalong, says he has secured the licensing of Plateau State as a service provider for the enrolment of Nigerians residing in the State.

     

    The governor’s Director of Press and Public Affairs, Macham Makut, in a statement on Sunday said the licence granted to Plateau State by the Federal Government was for one year subject to renewal upon satisfactory performance during the period.

     

    According to him, the approval which was conveyed to the governor by the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy through the Director General of the National Identity Management Commission, Mr Aliyu Aziz, indicates that the Plateau State Government can now participate in the registration of citizens of the State into the national identity database in line with the provisions of the NIMC Act and other guidelines issued.

  • AMCON Seizes Inducon Nigeria’s Assets Over N1.3bn Debt

    AMCON Seizes Inducon Nigeria’s Assets Over N1.3bn Debt

    The Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria, AMCON said it has taken over an asset belonging to the Chief Promoter of Inducon Nigeria Limited, Dr. John Abebe, over N1.3bn debt.

     

    In a statement on Sunday from the Head, Corporate Communications Department, AMCON, Jude Nwauzor, titled ‘N1.3bn debt: AMCON takes over assets of Inducon Nigeria Limited’ it said this followed the order of Honourable Justice Aikawa of the Federal High Court, Lagos.

     

    “In compliance with the enforcement order, AMCON at the weekend took effective possession of the property situate at Plot12, Block 108, Lekki Peninsula Residential Scheme, Lagos, through its debt recovery agent – Ogunsola Shonibare L.P.

     

    “The court also ordered that the bank accounts of the company and its directors, Dr. John Abebe, Mr Olawole Fatimilehin and Ademola Buraimoh, be frozen pending the final determination of the suit.”

     

    AMCON stated that the case of Inducon Nigeria Limited and its promoters had been interminable shortly after the loan was purchased by AMCON during the first phase of Eligible Bank Asset purchases from the defunct FinBank (now FCMB) since 2011.

     

    Since the purchase, AMCON said it had offered the obligor several concessions and explored all avenues to resolve the debt harmoniously, but the obligor and his company had remained recalcitrant and unenthusiastic to repay the huge debt to AMCON.

     

    They had consistently reneged on several promises they made in the past during negotiations, it stated.

     

    It said that this prompted the debt recovery agency to evoke the corporation’s asset tracing powers granted it under the AMCON (Amendment No. 2) Act, 2019.

     

     

     

    Nwauzor confirmed the success of the enforcement exercise over the weekend but added that all avenues of peaceful resolution were explored to no avail before the hard decision was taken.

     

    He emphasised that the enforcement option was usually the last resort for the corporation whenever a recalcitrant obligor decided to be unreasonable.

  • FG To Pay N71bn Counterpart Funding For Six Railway Projects

    FG To Pay N71bn Counterpart Funding For Six Railway Projects

    The Federal Government is to partly fund six rail projects connecting virtually all regions of the country with a counterpart funding of N71.15bn this year.

     

    Also, N15.1bn will be spent on the development of safety and security critical projects, airport certification, runway construction, terminal building, among others in the aviation sector in 2021.

     

    A report on selected projects in the 2021 budget obtained by our correspondent from the Federal Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning in Abuja showed that in the rail sector, the government had mapped out six projects that it would partly fund this year.

     

    The government stated that the N71.15bn would serve as counterpart funding for railway projects including the Lagos-Kano rail line (ongoing), Calabar-Lagos (ongoing), and Ajaokuta-Itakpe-Aladja (Warri), which was also described as an ongoing project.

     

    Others are the Port Harcourt-Maiduguri railway, the new Kano-Katsina-Jibiya-Maradi line in Niger Republic and the Abuja-Itakpe and Aladja-Warri Port and refinery/Warri new harbour.

     

    Construction work is currently ongoing on some of the rail projects, while others are new projects, as physical construction work had yet to start on them.

     

    Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, had explained that the Lagos-Kano line (ongoing), which would be connected from the Ibadan end of the Lagos-Ibadan railway, would cost about $5.3bn.

     

    On January 9, 2021, Amaechi declared that the construction of the Ibadan to Kano line would commence once the Chinese government approved its $5.3bn loan to Nigeria, as the Federal Government had given approval for the contract.

     

    “We are waiting for the Chinese government and bank to approve the $5.3bn to construct the Ibadan-Kano. What was approved a year ago was the contract,” the minister said.

     

    He added, “The moment I announced that the Federal Government had awarded a contract of $5.3bn to CCECC (China Civil Engineering and Construction Corporation) to construct Ibadan-Kano, people assumed the money had come in; no.

     

    “We have not got the money, which is a year after we applied for the loan. We have almost finished the one of Lagos-Ibadan. If we don’t get the loan now, we can’t commence.”

     

    Meanwhile, a few of the rail projects had come under criticism, as many Nigerians and groups had faulted the locations where the projects were sited.

     

    An example is the Kano-Katsina-Jibiya-Maradi in Niger Republic, which on January 11, 2021, the Federal Government announced that it signed a $1.96bn Memorandum of Understanding with Mota-Engil Group for the construction of the standard gauge rail project.

     

    Amaechi signed on behalf of the Federal Government, while the Managing Director, Mota-Engil, Antonio Gvoea, signed on behalf of the contracting firm.

     

    The $1.96bn rail line connects Nigeria and Niger Republic, as the new railway corridor, located in Northern Nigeria, would run through three states.

     

    The states include Kano, Jigawa and Katsina and the 283.75km rail line would go through the territory of Niger Republic as far as Maradi.

     

    This particular project had been greeted by widespread criticism. The Pan-Yoruba sociopolitical organisation, Afenifere, for instance, said many Nigerians were against the move by government to construct the rail line.

     

    Afenifere’s Publicity Secretary, Yinka Odumakin, told The PUNCH that it was unfortunate that President Muhammadu Buhari was more interested in constructing a project outside Nigeria than in developing bad roads within Nigeria.

     

    Odumakin said, “It is an unfortunate development. We know the state of Nigerian roads. We know that our roads are in a very bad shape; for instance, look at the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, the roads to the East, to Port Harcourt and the rest of them.

     

    “They are not Buhari’s priority; rather his priority now is the line to Maradi in Niger Republic. They are more interested in their kings and kins who are Fulanis outside Nigeria than in Nigeria itself.”

     

    He added, “It is unfortunate. So the Afenifere and many other Nigerians out there are not in support of this initiative. In fact, how can we support it?”

     

    Meanwhile, aside from rail infrastructure, the report on selected projects in the 2021 budget listed other projects to be developed in the aviation sector, among others.

     

    In the aviation sector, it stated that N3bn was for safety and security critical projects and airport certification nationwide.

     

    “N10bn is for the construction of a second runway at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja,” it stated.

     

    The report added, “N900m is for extension and asphalt overlay of MMIA (Murtala Muhammed International Airport) runway. N1bn for construction of new terminal building in Enugu.

     

    “N200m is for construction of Abeokuta airstrip.”

     

    Some selected projects in the power sector were also mentioned as infrastructure to be funded by the government this year.

     

    A total of N1.3bn was earmarked for rural electrification access programme in federal universities.

     

    Also, N160.83bn was for multilateral and bilateral funded projects such as the Zungeru power project, Abuja power feeding scheme, transmission access project, etc.

     

    A N200m counterpart fund was named as part of the money to be provided by government for the development of the Mambilla Hydro Power project.

     

    In the report, the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed, said the government was optimistic that there would be significant improvement in macroeconomic performance by the second quarter of 2021.

     

    This, according to her, was because the Federal Government was already implementing several measures to overcome the country’s fiscal constraints.

     

    Ahmed said, “In addition to the Strategic Revenue Growth Initiatives, we are leveraging technology and automation, plugging fiscal drainers and ensuring more effective independent revenue monitoring.”

     

    She, however, noted that the Federal Government remained mindful of the need to provide safety nets to cushion the impact of reform measures on the vulnerable segments of the population.

     

    The minister explained that the goal of fiscal interventions would be to keep the economy active through carefully calibrated regulatory/policy measures designed to boost domestic value-addition.

     

    Ahmed said this would de-risk the enterprise environment, attract external investment and sources of funding, among others.

  • CBN To Stop Exporters With Unrepatriated Proceeds From Banking Services

    CBN To Stop Exporters With Unrepatriated Proceeds From Banking Services

    The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has directed banks to deny exporters with unrepatriated export proceeds from accessing all banking services by January 31.

     

    The apex bank issued this directive in a circular sent to banks in the country.

     

    Affected exporters are expected to comply with this directive before the specified date. Some banks have already issued a statement directing exporters to comply with the directive.

     

    In August 2020, CBN had instructed banks to submit the names, addresses and bank verification numbers (BVN) of exporters that have defaulted in repatriating their exports proceeds, for further action.

     

    Bloomberg quotes Osita Nwanisobi, CBN acting director of corporate communications, as saying that the new directive applies to exports up until June 2020.

     

    “Proceeds for oil is to be repatriated within 90 days and non-oil within 180 days,” he said.

     

    The news agency noted that the measure is part of an effort to defend the country’s currency by targeting importers and exporters with tougher regulations.

     

    Global decline of crude oil prices coupled with the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic led to the scarcity of foreign exchange in Nigeria.

     

    This resulted in a significant difference between the official exchange rate and the parallel market rate.

     

    It added that the differential of about 25 percent has induced exporters to divert forex earnings to unofficial channels.

  • How Food Prices Rose In December — NBS

    How Food Prices Rose In December — NBS

    Food prices rose in the country in December, the National Bureau of Statistics disclosed in its ‘Selected food price watch’ for December 2020.

     

    Part of the report obtained on Friday stated, “Selected food price watch data for December 2020 reflected that the average price of one dozen of agric eggs medium size increased year-on-year by 9.12 per cent and month-on month by 0.98 per cent to N499.55 in December 2020 from N494.72 in November 2020 while the average price of piece of agric eggs medium size (price of one) increased year-on-year by 11.49 per cent and month-on-month by 1.43 per cent to N45.40 in December 2020 from N44.75 in November 2020.

     

    “The average price of 1kg of tomato increased year-on-year by 17.51 per cent and decreased month-on-month by 1.92 per cent to N310.10 in December 2020 from N316.16 in November 2020.

     

    “The average price of 1kg of rice (imported high quality sold loose) increased year-on-year by 19.80 per cent and month-on-month by 0.17 per cent to N550.94 in December 2020 from N549.98 in November 2020.”

     

    It added that the average price of 1kg of yam tuber increased year-on-year by 12.89 per cent and decreased month on month by 1.17 per cent to N233.48 in December 2020 from N236.25 in November 2020.

     

    The NBS also disclosed that the consumer price index, which measures inflation increased by 15.75 per cent (year-on-year) in December 2020.

     

    This was 0.86 per cent points higher than the rate recorded in November 2020 (14.89) per cent.

     

    On month-on-month basis, the headline index increased by 1.61 per cent in December 2020.

     

    This is 0.01 per cent rate higher than the rate recorded in November 2020 (1.60 per cent).

     

    The percentage change in the average composite CPI for the twelve months period ending December 2020 over the average of the CPI for the previous twelve months period was 13.25 per cent, representing a 0.33 per cent point increase over 12.92 per cent recorded in November 2020.

     

    The urban inflation rate increased by 16.33 per cent (year-on-year) in December 2020 from 15.47 per cent recorded in November 2020, while the rural inflation rate increased by 15.20 per cent in December 2020 from 14.33 per cent in November 2020.

     

    On a month-on-month basis, the urban index rose by 1.65 per cent in December 2020, same as the rate recorded in November 2020, while the rural index also rose by 1.58 per cent in December 2020, up by 0.02 per cent above the rate that was recorded in November 2020 (1.56 per cent).