“We call for more credit to the private sector from banks and sustaining trajectory for initiation of special intervention with grants and low interest loans…”
Omodele Adigun
As the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) commenced claim verification of the customers of the recently liquidated 154 microfinance banks (MfBs) and six Primary Mortgage Banks (PMBs), Mr Paul Ruwase, the President of the Lagos Chambers of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), has advised the corporation to latch on to technology and get their entitlements wired into their accounts through the Bank Verification Number (BVN).
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According to him, this is one good avenue to settle with the aggrieved members of the public that have lost their scarce resources in the failed financial institutions and almost lost hope and confidence in the system.
His words: “There are some people too that have lost money in the (liquidated) banks. And when dividends are paid over the years, a lot of people might have given up and they wont know that their money is waiting there for them. So this is one thing that NDIC has to do to see how people know that those so-called dividends that were paid, distressed balances, apart from the secured ones they get initially, people get to know that their money is waiting there. And with technology now, where we have BVN, you can also ensure that such money goes into the accounts of those people.”
At the just-concluded, Lagos International Trade Fair, he explained what the country should do to raise its ranking in the World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business Report as well as the efforts of LCCI in lifting the Trade Fair to global standard.
Doing Business
We believe that solving the issues of Ease of Doing Business in Nigeria is a continuous one. The World Bank Doing Business 2019 Report showed a marginal drop in the ranking, from 145 to 146 for dear country. We acknowledge the efforts of the government on the Ease of Doing Business in the country. This underscores the need for more attention to be focussed on the business environment issues.. To continually improve this ranking, the private sector must be empowered to create jobs and to reduce poverty. We call for more credit to the private sector from banks and sustaining trajectory for initiation of special intervention with grants and low interest loans with longer tenor and moratorium. The cardinal objective of the 2018 Lagos International Trade Fair is ‘Promoting Investment, Connecting Business’. We in the Chamber believe that government has no business in doing business. All government needs to do is to create an enabling environment. Any time, government tries to do business, it is bogged down by bureaucracy; it is done inefficiently and at the end of the day, the end users don’t see any benefit.
So, all we are wishing government to do is to create an enabling environment for us business people. We shall do what we know how to do.
NDIC
The Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) is an independent agency of the government of Nigeria. The key mandates of the Corporation is to provide deposit guarantee to depositors of insured financial institutions, distress resolution and bank liquidation. Since inception, the Corporation has gone from strength to strength, not only on the implementation of its mandate, but also in ensuring that the overriding public policy objectives for establishing explicit deposit insurance system in the country were realised.
At a time like this, building confidence in the Nigerian financial system is critical in the face of vulnerability of the economy to foreign exchange (forex) crisis, liquidity challenges and macroeconomic distortions. We appreciate the efforts made by the NDIC in the distress situation of Skye Bank.
We also acknowledge the upward review of the of the maximum deposit insurance coverage, which currently stands at N500,000 per depositors for licensed banks. This is in tandem with the current economic conditions and there should be a continuous review of the exercise.
For all that I know, because I have been following what NDIC is doing, I can say with all confidence that depositors won’t lose their money at the end of the day.It may take a long time but the only problem is that people are not aware of this.
There are some people too that have money in the (liquidated) banks, when dividends are paid over the years, a lot of people might have given up and they wont know that their money is waiting there for them.
So this is one thing that NDIC has to do to see how people know that those so-called dividends that were paid, distressed balances, apart from the secured ones they get initially, people get to know that their money is waiting there. And with technology now, where we have BVN, you can also ensure that such money goes into the account of those people.
Lagos Trade Fair
The Lagos Chamber of Commerce has consistently hold the Lagos International Trade Fair for the past 32 years. This is the32nd edition of hosting the Trade Fair by the Chamber.And I would like to also inform you that we are celebrating our 130th year this year. Out of that, when we were about 100 years old, we started doing the Trade Fair and today, by the grace of God, we are 130 years as an institution here in the space called Nigeria.
Over these years, the Lagos International Trade Fair has become the biggest and the first Trade Fair in West and central Africa. This is a testimony to the Chamber’s commitment to trade promotion, bilateral trade relations and advancement of the Nigerian economy. In response to the yearnings of the business world, the event of this year’s Fair started with an investment conference which brought together captains of industries, diplomatic corpse and government officials with the responsibilities of the investment climate in Nigeria. We had an investment forum to kickstart this event, and we know that Nigeria is a destination of choice for investment. The returns are very huge; the population is very high. Yes people talk about our security challenge. When they ask me, I tell them that there is no place in the world that is secure. A businessman must know how to take care of insecurity; it is part of the cost of doing business. And you discover that where you have insecurity is where you make a lot of money as businessman if you know how to navigate your way out.
This year’s Trade Fair has attracted numerous local and international companies from China, Egypt, Japan, Ghana India , European Union, Indonesia and Pakistan. This was in addition to the many state governments, key federal parastatals and agencies. Hundreds of indigenous large, medium and small sized businesses who have took spaces to be part of the 20,000 exhibitors at the 2018 Lagos International Trade Fair. This year parades improved facilities, including adequate security arrangements, convenient stable power supply and cooling system to enhance both exhibitors and visitors’ satisfaction. We have tried to improve this year, for those that have been coming to the Lagos International Trade Fair, the noise level has gone down not by sheer wish. It was a deliberate effort by the Chairman of Trade Promotion and his members.It was something that before, when you are on that ground you could not talk to the man next to you without shouting at the top of your voice. So we have tried to create a better environment and that is the hallmark of Lagos Chambers of Commerce and Industry. Something that has been going on for 130 years. It has improved over the years. We have moved up by 130 steps in the improvement scale.
I also confirmed that this year’s Fair is enriched with more professionally packaged media content to give more value to our exhibitors and participants. We have also have tried to take care of the media. We have a media village somewhere, which our media friends can attest to.