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How 100m Nigerians Will Be Lifted Out of Poverty – Osinbajo
- Inaugurates National Steering Committee on Poverty Reduction with Growth Strategy
Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has explained that the Muhammadu Buhari’s administration plans to lift 100 million Nigerians out of poverty in ten years will not be based on a business as usual approach, but a very simple, common sense strategy that will deliver the results as promised.

According to a statement by Osinbajo’s spokesman, Laolu Akande, the Vice President stated this in Abuja on Friday at the inaugural meeting of the National Poverty Reduction with Growth Strategy Steering Committee held at the Presidential Villa.

He expressed confidence that the Committee will be able to achieve rapid progress, adding that “in order not to make this merely, another of those high-sounding committees that eventually achieve nothing, we have to be very intentional about our objectives and how to achieve them.”

He said to members of the committee, that government would adopt a different and more effective approach in actualizing the objective of eradicating poverty in the country for the sake of delivering results.

According to him, “I really want us to approach this as much as possible, commonsensically, so that we are able to resolve all the issues and focus on the real progress.

“I want us to look beyond all of what we are going to be doing, there is going to be a considerable amount of paper work, but a lot of common sense is what grows economies. It’s what other countries have done, not really reinventing the wheel. So, I want us to focus on those commonsensical things, so that we can actually move forward.”

Citing the example of Bangladesh where a poverty reduction strategy was also implemented, Osinbajo noted how the country’s manufacturing sector was key.

“Bangladesh actually exports more garment than we export oil. Countries that have managed to get out of poverty have created a lot of jobs through industries, and they have developed intentional strategies.

“We must look at what others have done, the smart things that other people have done, and adopt.”

On agriculture, he said: “We really have to think smartly about how we are funding agriculture.

“I think we really need to take a deep dive because governments have made several efforts at poverty alleviation but generally speaking, they have not yielded the sort of results they should yield, and I think it’s because there is a lot of focus on documentation and paper work and very little commonsense approaches,” the VP added.

Osinbajo explained that National Poverty Reduction with Growth Strategy is meant to be a national strategy, not just a federal effort and it is aimed at taking 100 million people, nationally, out of poverty within a target time-frame of 10 years.

His words: “I just want to emphasize that it is a national strategy as opposed to a federal strategy which is why the steering committee is made up of federal as well as state officials.”

While also emphasizing the role of the private sector, the VP said “essentially, this effort must also be directed at how to facilitate private sector creation of jobs. The fact is that there is no way that the Federal Government or the State Governments can create the number of jobs that we need.

“We need to take a few broad looks at the features of what constitutes our present predicaments in terms of job losses and unemployment.”

Osinbajo added that efforts will be made to focus attention on creating opportunities for Nigerians to earn decent livelihoods in addition to equipping them with the necessary vocational skills.

Those in attendance included Governor Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti State, who is also Nigeria Governors Forum Chairman, Governor Babagana Zulum of Borno State and Governor Abdullahi Sule of Nasarawa State.

The Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha; Ministers of Agriculture, Muhammad Nanono; Industry, Trade and Investment, Niyi Adebayo, and Labour and Employment, Dr Chris Ngige also attended, while the Minister of State for Budget and National Planning, Prince Clem Agba joined the meeting virtually.

Later at the end of the inaugural meeting, and while fielding questions from journalists, Governor Sule of Nasarawa State said “the whole essence of the committee is for the government to be able to take 100 million Nigerians out of poverty in the next 10 years.”

He said that having reviewed the Terms of Reference (TOR), the Steering Committee is now constituting the technical working group and the National Social Protection Network and then resume its meeting after the Sallah break.
10 July 2021
AAAN Takes 48th AGM/Congress To Ibadan

The Association of Advertising Agencies of Nigeria (AAAN) has concluded plans to hold its 48th Annual General Meeting/Congress.

The President of the Association, Mr Steve Babaeko announced this during a press conference held at the AAAN secretariat in Lagos.

The Association’s AGM is always a major event in the nation’s marketing communications calendar as it always attracts overwhelming local and foreign coverage.

With the theme “Boom, Gloom and Doom! Where do we sit?”, the AGM/Congress is scheduled to hold at the Golden Tulip Hotel, Ibadan, Oyo State on Friday 23rd and Saturday 24th July, 2021.

Mr. Seyi Makinde, the Executive Governor of Oyo State, will be among prominent dignitaries at the 48th Annual General Meeting/Congress of the Association of Advertising Agencies of Nigeria.

The Governor is expected to declare open the AGM while the Minister of Information, Alhaji Lai Mohammed will also be in attendance as the Special Guest of Honour.

L-R: Chairman of the Events Planning Committee, Mr. Doyin Adewumi, Director, AAAN, Mrs Kemi Famusoro, AAAN President, Mr. Steve Babaeko and AAAN Vice President, Mr. Jenkins Alumona during the Press Conference held at the AAAN Secretariat in Lagos recently. Photo: Adejuwon Osunnuyi

According to Babaeko, the association’s AGM is a platform to actively engage in intellectual and critical discourse on the challenges facing the business and practice of Advertising in Nigeria and advocate unconventional solutions in rebuilding and rebranding the industry.

Speaking on the AGM, the Chairman of the Events Planning Committee, Mr. Doyin Adewumi stated that this year’s conference would different as many interesting activities have been lined up.

He noted that the association has come to a decision to invite leading experts in their fields to lead the discourse on the theme.

According to Adewumi, the impact of the discourse will be beneficial to delegates and members of the Association.

L-R: Vice Chairman, Events Planning Committee, Mr. Taiwo Agboola, Chairman of the Events Planning Committee, Mr. Doyin Adewumi, Director, AAAN, Mrs Kemi Famusoro, AAAN President, Mr. Steve Babaeko, AAAN Vice President, Mr. Jenkins Alumona, Publicity Secretary, AAAN, Mrs.Tope Jemerigbe during the Press Conference held at the AAAN Secretariat in Lagos recently. Photo: Adejuwon Osunnuyi

To emphasize the importance of the AGM, the Association has invited Mr. Abubakar Suleiman (MD, Sterling Bank Plc), Mitchell Elegbe (MD/CEO, Interswitch) and Mr. Iyinoluwa Aboyeji (Founder, Future Africa) as speakers. The panelists include, Mrs. Cherry Eromosele, Group Chief Marketing & Corporate Communications Officer, Interswitch, Mrs. Bukola Akingbade, CEO, Image and Time, Mr. Lanre Adisa, CEO, Noah’s Ark, Mr. Tunde Dosekun, Managing Director, DDB Lagos, Miss Nnenna Onyewuchi, Co-Founder/Director of Strategy, Yellow Brick Road, Mr. Dipo Adesida, Chief Operating Officer of Verdant Zeal Group.

Adewumi added that in recognition of meritorious service, some senior members will be honoured and given special recognition awards.

Also, according to him, young practitioners who have shown exceptional leadership will also be recognised at the AGM/Congress.

This year’s AGM, he emphasized, promises to be engaging, memorable and will clearly impact positively on the delegates and the industry at large.

Adewumi said; “We are not just going there to sit and discuss among ourselves. We are going to the city of Ibadan and make sure that Ibadan notices us.

“The first thing you will notice is that we are already patronizing the Federal Government because we are going to transport our members to Ibadan by train. I am excited that we are going to enjoy all the facilities that the government has put in place.”.

Speaking further, he said the AGM is also going to witness career talk with students of the University of Ibadan being in attendance.

However, the highpoint of the event was the introduction of the AAAN new Director, Mrs Kemi Famusoro to members of the press by the AAAN President, Steve Babaeko.

Famusoro is the first woman to occupy the seat of the AAAN Director.

10 July 2021
Lagos Govt Unveils Traffic Management Solution To Ease Gridlock, Check Traffic Violations

The Lagos State Government has introduced a technology-driven device, Traffic Management Solution (TMS), aimed at implementing traffic law compliance in the State.

The State Government said the introduction of the handheld device, which allows for real-time capture of pictures and video evidence of road traffic and vehicle compliance violations as they occur, will ease traffic gridlock on Lagos roads and put to rest controversies surrounding the operation of law enforcement agents and traffic violators.

Speaking at a press conference held at Alausa, Ikeja on Wednesday to announce the introduction of the Traffic Management Solution (TMS), Lagos State Commissioner for Transportation, Dr. Frederic Oladeinde said the device, which would be used by both the Lagos Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) and the Vehicle Inspection Service (VIS) in their operations is linked to the control room where every activity will be monitored.

He said with the device, offender may choose to visit a Traffic Court and present the Violation Number for the violation he or she wishes to challenge Electronic verification of the authenticity of drivers’ licenses, vehicle licenses and number plates which will significantly assist in achieving the goal of clamp down on motorists with fake licenses and number plates.

The Commissioner disclosed that Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s goal is to modernise operations and simplify enforcement by eliminating situations that facilitate impediments and cause counterproductive results on roads.

Oladeinde therefore enjoined Lagosians to support the initiatives of the Sanwo-Olu administration in addressing the issue of Traffic Management and Transportation, which is the first pillar of the THEMES developmental agenda of the incumbent government.

He said: “In line with the Smart City status of the state, this innovation will align with traffic management structure on traffic law violations and compliance checks.

“With the use of this TMS device the need for traffic law enforcement officials to have any contact whatsoever with vehicular offenders on the road will be reduced significantly as they will only face the duty of capturing violations which will enable efficient and effective traffic management as their primary duty.

“Lagosians will experience transparency at its peak with the use of the TMS. It will expose in detail violations with the provision of video and picture evidence to aid the resolution process and give specific financial penalties within the ambit of the Law.

“Reports of physical abuse of our traffic management personnel will be eliminated as there will be no need for face to face resolutions and will create a strong deterrence to traffic offences which will significantly reduce the traffic situation in the state.

“I enjoin the good people of Lagos State to support the initiatives of the Babajide Sanwo-Olu led Administration as this is pointer to a better transportation sector as promised at the beginning of this journey in the Y2019,”

Dr. Oladeinde, who briefed journalists in company of the Commissioner of Information and Strategy, Mr. Gbenga Omotoso; the Special Adviser to Governor Sanwo-Olu on Transportation, Mr. Oluwatoyin Fayinka and other head of agencies in the Ministry of Transportation, disclosed that the recently launched body camera for law enforcement operatives would also complement the new device.

9 July 2021
NCC’s ICT Parks Will Fast- Track Digital Access, Innovation – Ganduje

Kano State Governor, Dr Abdullahi Ganduje has commended the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), under the leadership of Executive Vice-Chairman, Prof. Umar Garba Danbatta, on the initiative of building Information and Communication Technology (ICT) parks across the six-geo political zones of the country.

Ganduje made the commendation on Tuesday when he visited the site of an ongoing construction of ICT Park by the Commission for the North-Western zone located in Kano State.

The governor acknowledged the efforts and commitment of the Danbatta-led NCC in ensuring increased digital access for fast-tracking digital innovation across Nigeria and the North-West in particular, saying the initiative will trigger socio-economic transformation of the area in no distant future.

Ganduje said, “Realising that a major project that resonates with the global vision for the 4th Industrial Revolution (4IR) is being vigorously driven by NCC leadership, shows the kind of socio-economic transformation we should expect through ICT across Nigeria in the next few years.

“For the ICT Park being built here in Kano to serve the North-West zone, the government and citizens of Kano State are grateful to Prof. Danbatta and his team for bringing development to the state and the zone at large.”

He also applauded the quality of the construction work being undertaken by the NCC on the ICT Park and expressed appreciation for the foresight of the NCC for accommodating an expansion plan at the project site.

The ICT Park in is an initiative of the Executive Vice-Chairman of the NCC, Professor Umar Garba Danbatta, to provide Innovation Labs and Digital Fabrication Laboratories (Fablabs) for use by ICT innovators and entrepreneurs to turn their ideas into products and prototypes.

The Tier-4 Digital Industrial Complex (DIC) will provide a Commercial Hub for ICT capacity building and digital skills, create employment and entrepreneurial activities and facilitate smart city deployment across the Digital Industrial Complex.

The ICT Park consists of laboratories for ICT innovations and Commercial Hubs providing capacity building to ICT startups and entrepreneurial activities, in Kano State.

The parks are designed to provide fast internet service (broadband) and constant power supply.

ICT park comprises an area or location with concentration of all ICT facilities, which enables a concerted leap into the digital age by creating a dynamic environment in which local talent is incubated, cultivated, and shared. ICT park is best tested and trusted institutional mechanism to address the needs of technology-intensive, knowledge-based Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs).

The NCC ICT Parks, which are being built across the six geo-political zones of the country, involve the construction and equipping of fully-functional Tier-4 Digital Industrial Complex (DIC) in each of the six geo-political zones of the country.

The ICT Park consist of laboratories for ICT innovations and Commercial Hubs providing capacity building to ICT start-ups and entrepreneurial activities. The Parks are designed to have fast internet service (broadband) and constant power supply.

The digital parks are to provide Innovation Labs and Digital Fabrication Laboratories (Fablabs) for use by ICT innovators and entrepreneurs to turn their ideas into products and prototypes.

The parks will also provide a Commercial Hub for ICT capacity building and digital skills; create employment and entrepreneurial activities; and facilitate smart city deployment across the Digital Industrial complex.

Speaking on the ICT Parks project recently, Prof Danbatta stated that the project was conceived and designed to support the federal government’s ICT-related policies and programmes by facilitating the availability and accessibility of ICT services across the country, promote their usage across all sectors and ultimately address youth unemployment in the country.

Designed to propel socio-economic transformation in the country, the EVC said the ICT Parks will help build capacity for the teeming population of Nigerian youths in the area of skill acquisition and innovation by complementing existing initiatives geared towards accelerating socio-economic transformation of Nigeria.

“The whole idea of putting these two things (i.e. skill acquisition and innovation) at the forefront of this very important initiative is to produce youths that can be self-reliant, generate employment for themselves and for other Nigerians,” he said.

Danbatta said based on its national structural spread, no part of the country will be left out as beneficiaries of the initiative. “The NCC ICT Parks Project is another move by the current leadership of the Commission to boost youth digital skills acquisition, promote innovations, provide jobs for the teeming Nigerian youth and ultimately support the overall digital economy agenda of the Federal Government,” he said.

He said the parks will support software development, incubation and hardware development. “We also hope to see innovative technologies that will leverage the broadband network, which the Commission is deepening in order to socially and economically transform our communities and societies.”

Danbatta urged the potential and would-be beneficiaries of the project, especially the youths, to be ready to leverage the initiative as it promises to empower them socially and economically.

“I would like to send out a very important message to our youths, especially those who are currently occupied with various innovative applications, those who have acquired the skills but are looking for where to put the skills fruitful engagements, by incubating them, commercialising them, or giving publicity to these excellent initiatives, to be ready to leverage the facilities,” he stated.

The ICT Park in Kano is expected to be completed and inaugurated at the end of the year.

9 July 2021
NCC Dismisses Report On 3 Million New Lines In Q1, 2021

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has denied a media report alleging that mobile telephony subscriptions in Nigeria somehow grew by 3,000,000 new subscribers in the first quarter of 2021, despite the suspension on the registration of new subscribers which took effect from December 9, 2020 and was only lifted in May, 2021.

According to the Commission, the Ericsson Mobility Report cited in the online publication is essentially a forecast of trends based on Ericsson’s analysis and does not refer to the NCC or any official channel as source for its data and/or projections.

In a statement signed by NCC’s Director, Public Affairs, Dr Ikechukwu Adinde, the Commission noted that it is inaccurate that Nigeria recorded three million new lines in the first quarter of 2021 as stated in the media report.

“We wish to use this opportunity to clarify that the Nigerian Communications Commission and the National Bureau of Statistics, (NBS) are the only authoritative sources of authentic data on the Nigerian telecommunications sector. Indeed, the Commission is well aware of the critical need to make accurate and up-to-date data available to all Stakeholders.

“Indeed, as a matter of corporate policy and consistent with international best practice, relevant data and statistics on the industry are transparently reported and regularly updated on the Commission’s website (<https://www.ncc.gov.ng/statistics-reports/industry-overview >) for free use by interested Stakeholders.”

The Commission encourages all Stakeholders to visit its website for authentic data on the sector and to refer all doubts to its Public Affairs Department to avoid unnecessary controversy and/or inadvertently misleading other Stakeholders who may rely on such reports.

The Commission also urges Stakeholders to disregard any information on subscriber data different from those presented in the Commission’s website.

9 July 2021
Ecobank Launches Ellevate, Set To Empower Over 40m Women In SMEs, Others

Ecobank Nigeria has launched “Ellevate”, a gender-based proposition for women-owned businesses to reduce gender inequality in entrepreneurship and aid equal representation for women in the formal business sector.

The Managing Director, Ecobank Nigeria, Patrick Akinwuntan said the Ellevate product introduced to the nation’s financial landscape on Wednesday, is targeted at empowering at least 40 million women owned or women-managed businesses in the country.

He said this is part of Ecobank’s Group objective as the leading pan-African financial institution to drive financial integration and contribute to the economic development of the continent by deepening engagement with women-owned businesses.

“Ellevate is designed by Ecobank to empower women-owned and women-managed businesses in Nigeria and indeed across all our Africa footprints, leveraging various unique financial and non-financial benefits. Ellevate promises an end-to-end partnership in which they could gain access to financial services specially tailored for them, these include loans at special terms and other mouthwatering discounts. They will also get fixed deposit investments at special premium rates, zero account maintenance fee, continuous financial education and capacity building under our AUDA-NEPAD academy and other special arrangements. They will have access to networking and recognition under our business clubs as well as access to markets, leveraging our various e-commerce solutions”, he stated.

Further, the Ecobank Nigeria boss reiterated that the businesses under Ellevate will also have “access to Ecobank’s unique digital payments and collections solutions like Omnilite for payments, EcobankpayNQR for contactless local and cross-border collections, modern POS channels, and various lifestyle benefits including campaigns and promotions to drive their business growth and personal well-being.”

He said “the Ellevate proposition is a total package addressing the broad needs of women-owned businesses in Nigeria including businesses that produce for women.

In his comment, the special guest of honour, Managing Director, Development Bank of Nigeria (DBN), Mr Tony Okpanachi, represented by Mr. Bonaventure Okhaimo, Chief Operating Officer, lauded Ecobank for introducing the product, stating that it would go a long way to assisting the targeted group.

He disclosed that DBN was doing a lot to uplift small businesses in the country, stressing that it was ready to partner with reputable financial institutions such as Ecobank in that regard.

Founder of Ruff n Tumble, Nike Ogunlesi, who was a panelist at the event, advised women business owners to avail themselves of the opportunity provided by Ecobank through Ellevate to develop their businesses.

She called on women entrepreneurs to be resilient and know the role customers, people, finance, community, and technology play in business growth.

On her part, Innovations and Partnerships Advisor at Nigeria for Women Project, Tolulope Babajide, said “with Ellevate, Ecobank truly understands the needs of women owned businesses. She spoke on scalability, sustainability, and expansion of MSMEs.

Other speakers at the event including the Founder, Health Africa, Fola Laoye; the Founder, Braveline Growth Partners, Taba Peterside/ they all lauded Ecobank for initiating such a product, stating that it would benefit women businesses and lift many families out of poverty.

9 July 2021
Nigeria Must Create Environment To Encourage Export, Attract Forex – Muda Yusuf

The immediate past Director General of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), Dr. Muda Yusuf has called on the Nigerian authorities to create an enabling environment that will encourage export business and attract foreign exchange (forex).

Nigerian economy, according to him, has the capacity to attract a lot of foreign exchange because of its size, stressing that there are potentials and opportunities that are still hidden.

Speaking at the monthly forum of the Finance Correspondents Association (FICAN) on Thursday, Yusuf stated that foreign exchange earning is all about creating the environment for more inflows to come in the form of diaspora remittances, foreign direct investment inflows, foreign portfolio investment, export proceeds among others.

The theme of the forum is : “Post COVID-19 Economy in H1:2021 and Outlook For Financial Services Sector.”

Specifically, the former DG observed that the exporters are passing through a lot of difficulties, adding that the way to attract foreign exchange is to export but ” if you go to the ports and see what exporters are going through, you feel sorry for them and the Nigerian economy in general.”

According to Yusuf, “We say we don’t have foreign exchange but the way to attract foreign exchange is to export. However, exporting is almost a nightmare in Nigeria.

“For instance, the process for export cannot begin until an exporter has loaded the truck and paid the truck owner.

“After paying the truck owner, he would go through about two weeks of inspection and documentation. After which he will also face the traffic gridlock and before they could finish the inspection and documentation some of the products must have gone bad especially the ones that are perishable,” he emphasized.

He also said that the policy of exchanging export proceeds at the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange (NAFEX) rate is not fair to the exporters because of the gap between the official and unofficial exchange rate windows.

This, he revealed, is one of the reasons why some of the exporters hide their export proceeds.

“Exporters should have free access to their export proceeds and be incentivised, just like the Nigerian diaspora were encouraged with the Central Bank of Nigeria’s naira 4 dollar exchange rate policy for remittances.

Yusuf further stated that looking back in to the last six months, the monetary policy makers retained policy parameters as the committee tried to maintain a balance between boosting growth recovery and curbing the monetary component of inflationary pressure.

The CBN, according to him, sustained its developmental finance intervention in the first half as part of efforts in stimulating local production.

Similarly, “The bank employed administrative measures including Open Market Operation (OMO) auctions, Loan to Deposit Ratio (LDR)/ Cash Reserve Requirement (CRR) debit and special bill auctions to control excess liquidity in the banking system as a way of tackling the monetary inflationary drivers.

“The banking industry demonstrated resilience amid disruptions associated with the pandemic, attributable to the policy intervention of the CBN,” he said.

Going by key ratios, Yusu added that the banking industry is financially stable and sound with industry capital adequacy and liquidity ratios above regulatory threshold while non-performing loan ratios is slightly above the five percent prudential guideline.

9 July 2021
Coscharis Motors Flaunts Locally Assembled Renault Vehicles At Lagos Motor Fair

Coscharis Motors Plc, a subsidiary of Coscharis Group recently showcased two locally assembled Renault automobile models amongst others during the 15^th Lagos Motor Fair held at the Federal Palace Hotel, Lagos.

Speaking at the Fair with various stakeholders in attendance, the Coscharis Group General Manager, Marketing and Communications, Abiona Babarinde said “If you recall in July 2019 we formally announced our partnership with the Renault Group to represent their auto brands in Nigeria. We equally showcased our ultra-modern Semi-Knocked-Down Assembly Plant located at our Group Head office in Awoyaya, Lagos. As at today, we are excited to say that Coscharis Motors has since been rolling out two name plates of the Renault Brand, namely Renault Logan and Renault Duster, from the assembly plant. These two locally assembled nameplates are among the five models that include Renault Kwid, Renault Koleos and Renault Oroch respectively on display here today under the Renault brand.”

Commenting on the locally assembled vehicles, an obviously elated Director General of Nigeria Automotive Design and Development Council, Dr. Jelani Aliyu said, “I am excited to see that Coscharis Motors has assembled these vehicles in Nigeria. The NADDC and other relevant agencies of government are willing to support you to do more in this regard. I commend and congratulate the leadership and entire Coscharis team and their Renault partners for this great feat and assure the Company of government support towards the growth of local assembling of more Renault models in your plant”

R – L : Abiona Babarinde, GM, Marketing and Corporate Communications, Coscharis Group; Dr. Aliyu Jelani, DG, National Automotive Design and Development Council; Sola Adigun, General Manager Sales, Renault, Coscharis Motors; Olayinka Oladipo, Sales Manager, Renault, Coscharis Motors, during the exhibition of Renault brand of vehicles at the 15th Lagos Motor Fair held at the Federal Palace Hotel, Lagos, last week

Coscharis Motors equally used the Fair to further remind the market on the ongoing ‘Giveaway’ promotion for any purchase of the Renault Kwid and Renault Koleos that attracts a free Abro Generator, 5% discount, free insurance, free vehicle registration and free vehicle service for the 1^st two service. This is coupled with the ease of purchase through flexible finance schemes from Coscharis Mobility, Polaris Bank and other upcoming finance institutions that are finance partners to Coscharis Motors.

The Koleos

The Koleos is designed with a sense of detail and personality enhanced by its sleek appearance and athletic curves.

Behind its chic urban styling, Koleos has the DNA of a true 4X4. The ALL MODE 4×4-I technology allows you to select the transmission mode that your vehicle will need to be equally at home on dirt, mud or sand as it is on tarmac.

Koleos comes with a range of driver assistance technologies including active emergency braking, blind spot detection system, easy trunk access and R-Link 2 media system.

Duster

Customers can choose from 1.6-Litre to 2.0Litre engine but whichever engine, it is built with a robust off-roader looks. With the superb ground clearance, the Duster is a practical and durable vehicle for the Nigerian road.

The interior of the All-new Duster reflects its generous, adventure-seeking nature. The spacious cabin is bright and reassuring. The driver and passenger seats provide plenty of support to ensure your comfort wherever you go. The upholstery features a high-quality finish, as does the dashboard, where particular emphasis was placed on ergonomic design.

Simple and intuitive, the multimedia system Media Nav with touching screen allows you to navigate through all the different functionalities: navigation, phone, radio, Aux/USB ports and Bluetooth® connection to listen to your favorite music.

It also comes with hands free card to lock and unlock the doors from a distance as well as assist to start the air-conditioning before getting into the car.

Logan

New Renault Logan has an even more modern and dynamic design. With redesigned front and rear end panels featuring the new Renault brand light signature, New Renault Logan is a beauty to behold.

New Renault Logan has 5 generous seats to comfortably accommodate all your passengers. Enjoy useful and smart new storage areas, including a phone pouch and a front passenger side net pouch. There’s a new 12 V output in the rear for charging your devices. There’s also a 1/3-2/3* split-fold rear bench seat and a spacious boot to transport everything you need in the way that suits you. Combine utility and pleasure for a journey you’re sure to love. *Depending on the version.

Logan’s ground clearance level (155-164mm) enhances its capacity to cope with extremely poor road surfaces (potholes, cobbles, uneven surfaces. The mechanics, bodywork (opening panels), air conditioning/ventilation system and passenger compartment all specially designed to cope with certain countries’ environments where dust is omnipresent. Logan has an excellent thermal comfort standard (the vehicle is designed to deal with “extremely hot” conditions.

Kwid

Inside Renault Kwid, there’s plenty of headroom, legroom and elbowroom for the driver plus up to 4 passengers. There are ingenious storage spaces everywhere.

The Renault KWID’s class-leading boot space of 290L can be extended up to 1100L, making it the perfect partner for a long road trip.

Customers can also personise their vehicle with a pack connect that offers you the possibility to integrate a black front grille with a chrome embellisher, a chrome ring around the fog lamps and a black pearl color for side mirrors.

Customers can now contact our dealer outlets across Nigeria or visit www.renault.com.ng for pricing and specification listings.

We also offer trade-in options so that customers can upgrade to newer models by trading in their current vehicles.

Furthermore, Abiona Babarinde reassured on the company’s aftersales commitment stating that “Coscharis is fully equipped to handle all after-sales – services and repairs timeously with the original spare parts. We are continually confident to simply delight our customers with the Renault brand as the exclusive franchise owner in Nigeria”.

We are the sole franchise for Renault brands in Nigeria. Currently, we have top-notch sales and service centres across Nigeria with major dealership outlets in Abuja, Lagos, Port Harcourt and Uyo respectively.

9 July 2021
Coscharis Motors Reveals All New Ford Explorer at 2021 Lagos Auto Fair

Coscharis Motors Plc recently introduced the all new Ford Explorer at the 2021 Lagos Auto Fair, which took place at the Federal Palace Hotel, Lagos.

Coscharis’s participation at this edition of the auto fair is in a bid to ensure customers get the opportunity to experience the vehicle amidst available competition.

According to Abiona Babarinde, General Manager, Marketing & Corporate Communications, Coscharis Group, “We were in high anticipation and excitement levels to showcase the current Ford product lines and remind our customers of the nearly two million naira discount on Ford Escape but more importantly, keen to reveal the latest model of the Ford Explorer under a strict covid-19 protocol as our customers’ safety came top on our list.”

“In addition to revealing the Ford Explorer, we are announcing the availability of ease ownership through our finance scheme packages with a basket of partners including Coscharis Mobility, Polaris Bank and Alt Drive Leasing.”

Abiona went further, “The Explorer is available as Base, XLT and the range-topping Limited Edition, with 10-speed A/T 2.3L EcoBoost to 3.3L Ti-VCT V6 engines. Despite serious competition from several other brands, our target will be to position it as the benchmark, as quite a bit of work had been done on the vehicle to upgrade it.”

Major upgrades:

Interior Spacing as it is Sophisticated

The All-New EXPLORER offers a more spacious interior with increased cargo space compared to the previous generation. With seating for up to 7, passengers in all 3 rows will benefit. The All-New EXPLORER has best-in-class 1^st– and 2^nd-row hip room and 2^nd-row headroom, while 3^rd-row passengers enjoy unsurpassed headroom. Should someone unbuckle their safety belt, a new Belt Monitor System will alert the driver as to which belt is unbuckled through the instrument cluster productivity screen. And thanks to a new dual-wall dashboard between the engine and passenger compartments, as well as acoustic glass for the windshield and 1^st-row windows, everyone will enjoy the quietest All-New EXPLORER cabin ever.

STAY CHARGED

Up to 9 available power points, including 2 new USB-C outlets, are located throughout the All-New EXPLORER interior to help keep everyone’s devices charged and ready to go.

Driver-Assist Technology

The Explorer features as standard a series of driver-assist technology including: Auto-on/off headlamps, Hill Start Assist, Apple CarPlayTM/Android Auto/AppLink 3.0, Reverse sensing system, Lane-keeping System, Auto high-beam headlamps, Auto hold, Pedestrian detection, Forward collision warning, Dynamic brake support, Post-collision braking, EcoCoach and Intelligent Oil-Life Monitor.

Go further

You can go further with the Ford Protect which offers a holistic suite of service, maintenance, warranty and roadside-assistance products aimed at keeping the vehicle in perfect working condition in addition to a 3-yr/100 000km Comprehensive Warranty.

Coscharis Motors Plc has the exclusive franchise for Ford brands in Nigeria with Ford dedicated sales showrooms, parts and Aftersales workshops in all the geopolitical zones.

8 July 2021
Tax Evasion: FIRS Directs Banks to Deduct N1.8trn From Multichoice’s Accounts

The Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) has appointed some commercial banks as agents to recover N1.8 trillion from accounts of MultiChoice Nigeria Limited (MCN) And MultiChoice Africa (MCA).

Muhammad Nami, FIRS chairman, said the decision to appoint the banks as agents and to freeze the accounts was as a result of the group’s continued refusal to grant FIRS access to its servers for audit.

Multichoice is the owner of the satellite television, DSTV, a popular subscription-based platform in Nigeria.

Nami said the FIRS discovered that the companies persistently breached all agreements and undertakings with the service.

He explained that the companies failed to promptly respond to correspondences, and further described them as lacking in data integrity and transparency as they continually deny FIRS access to their records.

“Particularly, MCN has avoided giving the FIRS accurate information on the number of its subscribers and income. The companies are involved in the under-remittance of taxes which necessitated a critical review of the tax-compliance level of the company,” a statement by Abdullahi Ahmad, FIRS director of communications and liaison department, quoted Nami to have said.

The statement added that the group’s performance does not reflect in its tax obligations and compliance level in Nigeria.

“The level of non-compliance by Multi-Choice Africa (MCA), the parent Company of Multi-Choice Nigeria (MCN) is very alarming. The parent company, which provides services to MCN has never paid Value Added Tax (VAT) since its inception.”

The FIRS chairman said that Nigeria contributes 34 percent of total revenue for the Multi-Choice group, adding that the next to Nigeria from intelligence gathering is Kenya with 11 percent and Zambia in third place with 10 percent.

According to him, the rest of African countries where they have presence, accounts for 45 percent of the group’s total revenue.

“Information currently at the disposal of FIRS has revealed a tax liability for relevant years of assessment for N1.82 trillion and $342.5 million,” he said.

“Under FIRS powers in Section 49 of the Companies Income Tax Act Cap C21 LFN 2004 as amended, Section 41 of the Value Added Tax Act Cap V1 LFN 2004 as amended and Section 31 of the FIRS (Establishment) Act No. 13 of 2007, all bankers to MCA & MCN in Nigeria were therefore appointed as Collecting Agents for the full recovery of the aforesaid tax debt.

“In this regard, the affected banks are required to sweep balances in each of the above-mentioned entities’ accounts and pay the same in full or part settlement of the companies’ respective tax debts until FULL recovery. This should be done before the execution of any transaction involving the companies or any of their subsidiaries. It is further requested that the Federal Inland Revenue Service be informed of any transactions before EXECUTION on the account, especially transfers of funds to any of their subsidiaries.”

Nami noted that it was important that Nigeria puts a stop to all tax frauds that have been going on for too long.

He added that all companies must be held accountable and made to pay their fair share of relevant taxes including back duty taxes owed, especially VAT for which they are ordinarily agents of collection.

8 July 2021