Nigeria can become major wine producer with government support - Entrepreneur

March 29, 2018

By Ijendu Iheaka

An Aba-based entrepreneur, Mr Longinus Chima, says with the country’s natural endowments and government’s support, Nigeria can become a major producer of exotic and tasty wines for global markets.

Chima, a U.S. trained biologist and wine produce, who lives in Aba, spoke in an interview with our reporter on Thursday in Aba.

He said that Nigeria, blessed with assorted and exotic fruits not found either in Europe or America, could become a major producer of exotic and tasty wines, comparable to the best in any country, and acceptable anywhere in the world.

He said that if investors and governments took advantage of this rare opportunity of venturing into wine-making, it could save the country huge sums in foreign exchange and on importing of low quality wines.

“We can produce better wines in Nigeria because of the assorted types of fruits that we have. The Whites use grape, the type of which I believe we have in Jos.


“But that brand of grape is not richer than mangoes or other fruits that we have here, which can be used for wine making.

“A White man told me how he uses the cob of sweet corn to make wine because of the sugar in the cob. Tell me what quality of wine you would get from a corn cob compared to what you would get from a fruit?

“And when they bring such wine from corn cob here, our people would jump at it and say it is produced abroad.

“Yes, they have all it takes to produce and package good looking wine, but we can produce and package more nutritional and better, high quality wine here in Nigeria, especially if we have government’s support.

“A lot of fruits are being wasted here especially oranges in the Benue area, whereas if they have any winery there, the fruits could be used for wine instead of allowing them to waste”, he said.

Chima lamented that some of the challenges being faced by Nigerian entrepreneurs were funding and government administrative bottle-necks, while trying to establish a factory.

He said government could help the wine industry thrive through incentive and removal of administrative bottle-necks for the bottling companies, producers of wine and wine bottle corks.

“There is need for government to encourage production of good wine in Nigeria which will ultimately reduce smuggling of wine products into the country.

“At the end, Nigerians would get better and cheaper wines that would give Nigerian wine producers comparative advantage over some producers in other parts of the world.

“It would also generate more revenue for the government and reduce unemployment through creation of jobs for Nigerians”, he said.

Manufacturer urges FG to invest in local raw material production

March 29, 2018

By Ijendu Iheaka

A manufacturer, Mr Jayendra Dube, on Thursday called on the Federal Government to invest in the production of rubber and cotton to boost local sources of sanitary pad materials.

Dube, who is the Business Development Manager, Trust Pads, Aba, made the call in an interview with our reporter in Aba.

He said improved production of local raw materials would reduce the cost of importing them by local manufacturers from abroad, adding that it would also protect industries and conserve foreign exchange.

Dube said that Nigeria could do better in the production of such products, because it has forest zones that could grow the products and compete with China, Australia and Indonesia favourably.

He said that his company, which has about five per cent market share of the sanitary pad market in Nigeria, had been burdened with sourcing 70 per cent of its raw materials abroad.

The manufacturer noted that if the volume of materials sourced locally increased, his company would be able to produce more sanitary pads at lower rates and compete favourably with imported pad products.

He said that the company, which has 90 per cent Nigerians as employees, has plans to make cheaper pads if it could source 100 per cent of its raw materials locally.

Dube said that the devaluation of naira had affected the cost of production and reduced their gains and threatened their existence.

He also said that irregular power supply had made the company to depend on generators which increased the cost of production.

“Imported products in this area are very many and to compete with them is becoming very difficult for us.

“We urge the Federal Government to help by supporting local raw materials production.

“What is keeping us in business is that we are maintaining the quality of our products, no matter the hardship which has earned us brand loyalty from those buying it,” he said.

How APC paid for "fake" Martin Luther King Jr's Award for President Buhari

In what many Nigerians have critized as an undeserving First Black History Month National Black Excellence and Exceptional African Leadership award conferred on Nigerian president Muhammadu Buhari by Martin Luther King Jr’s family, LeadersNG through a presidency source has learned that the award was handsomely paid for.

According to our presidency source, the award was facilitated by Abike Dabiri-Erewa, the Senior Special Assistant to the president on Foreign Relations & Diaspora through a Ghanaian self acclaimed foreign diplomat, Erieka Bennett.

A quick fact-check on Erieka Bennet revealed that She runs a Non Governmental Organization called, Diaspora African Forum based in Accra, Ghana.

Erieka Bennett

Erieka Bennett calls herself ‘Ambssador At Large’ as she uses her influence to facilitate foreign awards for unsuspecting African leaders.

Erieka Bennett was a former aide to Ghanaian president, John Mahama.

LeadersNG investigations revelaed that Dr. Erieka Bennett was contracted by Abike Dabiri-Erewa to help use her NGO to bring Martin Luther King jr’s family to Nigeria to give President Muhammadu Buhari award.

Dr. Erieka Bennett, LeadersNG learned, contacted someone in King’s family, a distant relative of Martin Luther King called Dr. Naomi Barbara after King Center declined earlier request by Bennett to influence an award for a certain African leader.

The award which was paid for by the Nigerian government as part of the ongoing PR stunt to launder president Buhari’s image was not on official portals that was opened strictly to promote the 50th anniversary of Martin Luther king’s assassination.

Our Presidency source said, Buhari only got to know about the award on the day of confirnment as he had no pre-knowledge of what Dabiri-Erewa was up to.

However, LeadersNG further learned that $3m was paid for the fake Martin Luther King Jr’s award that was conferred on Nigerian president Muhammadu Buhari.

You would recall that a pro-democracy group, Concerned Nigerians had earlier condemned the award given to president Muhammadu Buhari.

The group in its statement berated the King’s family for awarding Nigerian president a leadership award as it negates the ideals and principles of what America’s foremost civil rights activist stood and died for.

The $3m according to our source, was provided by APC Board of Trustees member, Alhaji Nasir Dano.

The King Centre had through their official Twitter account denied awarding President Muhammadu Buhari.

The centre says “The award given to President Buhari of Nigeria was not given by The King Center, at the request of The King Center or by the children of #MLK and #CorettaScottKing.

Culled from LEADERSNG.

NAFDAC confiscates N5m expired drugs from Ariaria Market

March 27, 2018

By Ijendu Iheaka

The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has confiscated expired drugs worth over N5 million from a drug dealer in Ariaria Market, Aba, Abia.

The state Coordinator of NAFDAC, Mr Olisa Okeke, disclosed this in an interview with our reporter on Tuesday in Aba.

Okeke said that the agency got information that the dealer (names withheld) was used to stocking expired drugs, changing their expiry dates and selling same to unsuspecting members of the public.

According to the coordinator, NAFDAC officers investigated the shop, swooped on it and successfully confiscated many common drugs with March 2017 expiry date and awaiting re-validation.

Okeke, who said that the dealer ran away, gave the assurance that NAFDAC would do its best to ensure his arrest and prosecution.

“We are working hard to clean Aba; so, we are asking the residents to come forward and give us information on persons who do suspicious businesses.

“We got a tip-off concerning expired drug sale in Ariaria, and successfully investigated a particular shop we heard stocked expired drugs awaiting revalidation.

“When we went, we got many cartons of expired drugs earmarked for re-validation by the suspect; the drugs are worth over N5 million,’’
he said.

According to him, the expired drugs include common drugs such as antibiotics, anti-emetic and anti-malaria drugs.

“The investigation is ongoing but the shop owner has been on the run.

“We are monitoring the market; immediately we arrest him, we will move him to our Enforcement Office in Lagos.

“To him for a product that expired in November 2017 to be changed to November 2019 will be very easy for any clever artist.

“Such information is not what NAFDAC will joke with,’’ Okeke said.

Okeke also said that the agency had sanctioned more than 50 bakeries in Aba for claiming to be out of operations while functioning secretly and refusing to renew their NAFDAC licences.

He said that some of them had operated for four years without renewed licences.

“Hence, they have been given commensurate administrative charges to pay for failing to abide by the rules.’’

The coordinator said that NAFDAC had also begun inspection of water-producing factories in Abia to promote good health.

Leather policy will promote indigenous technology in Nigeria — Onu

March 26, 2018

By Ijendu Iheaka


The Minister of Science and Technology, Dr Ogbonnaya Onu, said on Monday that the provision of an enabling framework for the promotion of leather technology would enhance the deployment of the needed indigenous technology in Nigeria.

Onu said this at the second National Leather and Leather Products Policy Validation Workshop held at Aba, Abia.

He noted that producing a workable leather products policy would enhance the nation’s ability to reap the benefits of the leather sector, which is the second most important commodity in Nigeria after oil.

“This will quicken Nigeria’s industrialisation process and also strengthen our capacity to convert our rich agricultural products into viable goods and services for both domestic consumption and export.

“This will accelerate the restoration of our national pride and self-confidence, enhance prosperity and ultimately boost our economy.

“This policy I am going to present to the Federal Executive Council (FEC) and by the grace of God, it will pass and open new opportunities for our people in Nigeria and Aba will benefit a lot.”

He described Aba as a place where several talented young men and women work hard in trade, commerce and manufacturing to become successful business men and women.

Onu, therefore, urged the leather producers to be proud of their products and print Made in Aba on them to enable the world to know them and their work.

He commended Gov. Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia for creating the state Ministry of Science and Technology and promised to work with it to develop indigenous technology to utilise the enormous resources in the state.

In his address, Ikpeazu said that the choice of Aba for the workshop confirmed that the ciity is the hub for leather works in Nigeria.

He said that the policy, if passed, would fast track the provision of jobs for the teeming Nigerian youths.

Ikpeazu, represented by his deputy, Mr Ude Oko-chukwu, said that the minister’s activities in the sector had shown his great desire to leapfrog the Aba Leather Clusters to a new height for the benefit of all.

Mr Bello Yakasai, the Cluster Manager, World Bank/DFID project GEM (Growth and Employment Project), while presenting the draft policy document noted that the preparation of the policy document had been ongoing since 2010.

He said that if Nigeria had to diversify its economy, it had to look at the second most important sector after oil which was the leather sector, and develop it through conscious effort and processes.

Yakasai, who is working with the Shoe and Leather Cluster under the GEM project, said that the passage of the leather policy would legalise implementation of certain programmes for the development of the sector.

On the other hand, he said failure to pass and implement the leather policy would make the country to continue to suffer loss of revenue, continuous importation of leather goods and reduction in wealth creation and employment.

NAFDAC arrests man with 16 cartons of fake food seasoning product

March 19, 2018

By Ijendu Iheaka

The National Agency for Food, Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Abia State Office, has arrested one Samuel Akin Chukwu for faking a food seasoning product owned by another importer.

The Abia State Coordinator of NAFDAC, Mr Olisa Okeke, disclosed this in an interview with our reporter on Monday in Aba.

Okeke said that Chukwu claimed in his preliminary statement that he was not the importer but only an agent to an importer in Onitsha, Anambra, who brought in the fake products.

He said that the original product was imported from South Africa by a Nigerian, who had been the sole distributor until the fakers went to China to produce the adulterated version.

He said that the importer of the spice registered it with NAFDAC and had been renewing the registration with a record of good business until the fakers went to reproduce it in China.

“After surveillance, we were able to isolate the warehouse and with the support of the Nigerian army, the warehouse was stormed and we arrested Samuel Akin Chukwu and confiscated about 16 cartoons of the product.

“We were also able to retrieve some cartons from two persons who had bought the fake products and were leaving the shop on our arrival,” he said.

According to the NAFDAC Coordinator, the agency confiscated a total of 26 cartons of the fake product from Chukwu and his customers.

Okeke descried the Eziukwu Market in Aba as the centre for high volume of trade in food items, adding that some dubious persons used the opportunity to manufacture fake food products.

“Eziukwu is a market that NAFDAC Abia office has its eyes on because of the activities of nefarious individuals in from time to time.”

He said that NAFDAC would continue to raid the market until producers of fake products were thrown out of business to eradicate the menace of poisoning of citizens for the sake of monetary gains.

Okeke thanked the residents who gave NAFDAC the tip-off and urged them to always inform the agency of suspicious activities around them.

The product is named “Benny Powdered Chicken Stock” with the image of the head of a cockerel in front of the pack.

The original product has a set of three sachets joined horizontally with the expiry date written on a black patch but the fake version has a set of five joined vertically and without a black patch.

Land grabbers about to sack ABSUTH, workers cry to government

 March 15, 2018 

By Ijendu Iheaka

Abia State University Teaching Hospital (ABSUTH) workers on Thursday protested the encroachment on the hospital’s land in Aba while calling on government to save them from land grabbers.

Speaking during the protest, the Abia State Chapter Chairman, Nigerian Medical Association (NMA)Dr Prince Onyemachi, said ABSUTH needed government to urgently reverse the trend before land grabbers sack the hospital.

“We are here to let people know that our land has been continuously encroached, we do not have space for our student hostels, laboratories, offices, some of our students are still at the University Main Campus at Uturu and we need to bring them here.

“The nursing department is not here because there is not enough space to accommodate them and daily before our eyes our land is being taken away by land grabbers.

“We are using this medium to inform the general public, traditional rulers, other stakeholders and government about our plight so that they can help to recover this land.

“It is possible that the letters we have written to the governor have not been reaching him. We are praying that he should help us recover this land so that our entire hospital will be in this compound”, he said.

The Chairman, ABSUTH Joint Health Unions, Chief Emea Ukariwe said that Umueze and Abayi communities gave the land to Eastern Nigerian government in 1962 for  building a specialist hospital.

According to him the land which stretches from Dan Dollars filling station on Aba-Owerri road to Abayi river and Umueze Primary School has been reduced to less than 10 hectres by land grabbers.

Ukariwe said several letters have been sent to Gov. Ikpeazu but government was yet to act perhaps because he has not been receiving the letters hence the need for the protest.

Dr Edmund Ezirim, the Abia State chapter Chairman, Medical and Dental Consultants of Nigeria (MDCN) said they were protesting the serious concern caused by the illegal encroachment on ABSUTH land.

He said that the encroachment had continued for a long time to reduce the land space befitting the needs of a true college of medicine and asked government to intervene.

He said that several accreditation visits by the Medical and Dental Council and NUC had left reports saying that the hospital lacked space for its needs hence the call for urgent action.

Dr Mrs Chika Uche, Chairman, Medical Women Association, Abia Chapter said that governor Ikpeazu has much expectation on him as an Ngwa son adding he should fulfil his promise not to disappoint his people be recovering the lands.

A hospital source who refused to be quoted said that government agents since the time of Governor Orji Uzor-Kalu have been selling off parts of the land leaving just little now.

FG must keep off issues that stall business development in states - Ikpeazu

March 7, 2018  

By Ijendu Iheaka

 

Gov. Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia State has called on the federal government to remove its hands from the things that impede businesses at the sub-national levels to enable the states drive the country's economy.

Ikpeazu made the call during the South East Stakeholders Regional Forum on Ease of Doing Business in Nigeria.

He said that federal government's overwhelming influence in business environment has deprived states of the opportunity to make impacts that could improve business development and the economy.

He said that the central government should give states the opportunity to chose which businesses or organizations to patronise depending on the quality of their goods, services or cost.

"Nobody should enslave us or tie us to any contract. We should be allowed to exercise our freewill. It is in our Constitution and even in the Bible.

" Give us the ability at all times to respond to market forces because business is business. Enabling business is enabling the public.

"You cannot hold down the variables that can enable the public and say that you are enabling business", he said.

The  Secretary to Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council, (PEBEC) Dr Jumoke Oduwole said the South East was replete with Small, Medium Scale Enterprises (SMEs) needing to be supported.

She said that the enterprises need to be made to know how to play by developing bankable businesses hence the need for the Council's support.

She promised that the federal government would continue to provide enabling business environments that would help grow Nigerian businesses.

Oduwole who is also the Special Adviser to the President on Industry, Trade and Investment noted that collaboration of states with federal government had increasingly improved the ease of doing business in Nigeria and asked for more collaborations.

Mark Atasie, Special Adviser to Governor Ikpeazu on Ease of Doing business said that the state had provided institutional reforms, tax reforms and tax payment platforms to enable ease in doing business.

According to him, Abia state has improved in ease of doing business in Ikpeazu's regime because the governor had invested in infrastructure including internet supported by its own Backbone.

The theme of the forum was "Ease of doing business: Reforms and Implications for SMEs".

Nigerians in London to access WorldRemit's low cost transfer service

February 2, 2018

By Ijendu Iheaka

Over 42,000 Nigerians living in New York would now have access to send money home through an international money transfer service which WorldRemit, a leading money transfer firm has launched, the company has said.

This was contained in an email message sent to our reporter in Nigeria.

According to WorldRemit, the service would connect the state’s 42,000-strong Nigerians in diaspora especially those living in New York to its fast, low cost service.

  

WorldRemit said that the United States is the world’s biggest sender of remittance, and the amount of money sent has grown from $50 billion to $66 billion over the past five years, according to the World Bank.

"The company has been sending money to Nigeria since 2011, and handles over 100,000 transactions each month. 

"On average our Nigerian consumers saved over $87 in sending costs versus Western Union in 2017 when sending money from the United.

"WorldRemit handles a growing share of the global $600 billion remittance market. 

"Its mobile-first, digital model allows customers to complete their transactions in just a few taps from a smartphone - without the need to visit a bricks and mortar agent.".

Ismail Ahmed, founder and CEO of WorldRemit said that Millions of customers around the globe send funds to family and friends back home with WorldRemit. 

He said that New York is truly a melting pot of people and cultures and the company  is pleased to bring the benefits of its lower-cost, convenient service to all the diverse communities of New York.

At the launch, Andrew Stewart, Regional Director of Middle East & Africa at WorldRemit  said they were delighted to launch New York as a send location, connecting thousands of Nigerians living in the state to their family back home. 

"Nigeria is an important market for us and our large network of receive options across the country makes it fast and convenient to access funds sent with WorldRemit.”

"The company started its money transfer operations in the US in 2014. With the addition of New York, the US is set to become WorldRemit’s largest send market - it is already one of the company’s fastest growing send markets with more than 200% year on year growth," he said.

  

Founded by entrepreneur Ismail Ahmed in 2010, WorldRemit has secured $220 million in funding rounds led by Accel and TCV - early investors in Facebook, Spotify, Netflix and Slack.

WorldRemit says that Nigerians make up the largest African diaspora group in the United States, and New York City is home to the largest Nigerian population, followed by Houston and Washington.