Ubongo Seeks Return of Children’s Education, Entertainment on TV

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06/10/2021

Ubongo, Africa’s leading edutainment company has called for the return of the children’s education and entertainment belts on Nigerian television and radio stations.
The pan-African social enterprise made this call at the commencement of its capacity building initiative in Lagos with the Abuja session scheduled for Thursday, October 7, 2021.
Tayo Olaniyan, Country Representative, Ubongo, who made this call during the “Storytelling for Change” workshop for broadcasters, educators and content providers for children programmes, noted that there is currently a dearth of educational content in Nigeria which the return of the children belt on radio and television can begin to address.
He stated that in line with Ubongo’s mission to reach children everywhere with edutainment, the firm is partnering with key players across the broadcast industry to drive the reach of its relevant African centric entertaining entertainment and educational content. He added that Ubongo will continue to seek opportunities to contribute and support efforts aimed at scaling the capability of broadcasters to develop local entertainment content across Nigeria.
On the workshop, he remarked, ” We are sharing our expertise with the Nigerian broadcast industry as key partners; we want to inspire a lot more creativity for education and entertainment interventions by broadcast houses within the country, and we’re advocating for the return of the children’s belt on television and radio.
According to Cliodhna Ryan, Head of Education and Research, at Ubongo, “The interactive workshop is a platform to share human-centric insights, discuss the role of educational media in keeping children learning and best practices for designing media-based learning for kids and youths.”
She explained that the firm seeks to use the opportunity of the workshops to take broadcasters through Ubongo’s process of human-centred design so that they can co-create content with children. She said, “As co-creation partners, we don’t believe in creating content as adults in isolation, we believe that children are a key part of the creation process. For this course, we’re taking them through our storytelling for change approach.”
She stated, “We believe that stories are powerful and that children learn best when they’re entertained. So, the key to educating a child through mass media is to ensure that they’re highly engaged in what they’re watching or listening to. For this reason, we use stories, songs and games for children to be active listeners and viewers when they’re engaging with the content rather than passively receiving the content.”
Also speaking on the project, Iman Lipumba, Director of Marketing and Communications, Ubongo, reiterated that the firm’s objective is to create fun, localised and multi-platform educational media that reaches millions of families through accessible technologies noting that Ubongo creates engaging and locally relevant edutainment for African learners.
She revealed that through its multi-platform and fun learning programmes, “Ubongo Kids” and “Akili and Me,” Ubongo is helping millions of kids find the fun in learning through whatever technology they have, whether radio, TV, mobile, web and even offline using SMS based systems.
Studies show that Ubongo’s programmes significantly improve school readiness and learning outcomes for kids and also promote social and behavioural change for kids, caregivers, parents, and educators.
By leveraging localised media on accessible technology, Ubongo has created an extremely cost-effective and high-reach solution to help close the literacy gap for millions of children at the base of the pyramid in Africa.
The workshop continues in Abuja on Thursday, October 7, 2021 at Chelsea Hotel and will draw participants from across the northern region of the country.

ABOUT UBONGO
Ubongo is Africa’s leading edutainment company, creating fun, localised and multi-platform educational media that reaches millions of families through accessible technologies.
Our programs significantly improve school readiness and learning outcomes for kids, and also promote social and behavioural change for kids, caregivers and educators.

‘NCC Not Disqualifying Nigerians Below 18 From Getting SIM’

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06/10/2021

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The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) would like to draw the attention of the public to a publication in a section of the media, purporting that the Commission is developing a regulation to disqualify Nigerians below 18 years of age from getting Subscriber Identity Module (SIM).
For the avoidance of doubt, the Commission wishes to categorically state that the said report is not only misleading and inaccurate; but a misinformation and mischaracterisation of the proceedings of the Public Inquiry on the Reviewed/Draft Registration of Telephone Subscribers Regulations, which took place on Tuesday, October 6, 2021.
The Commission considers it necessary to set the record straight for the purpose of serving existing and potential telecom subscribers, investors and other stakeholders in the industry accurate information for making informed decisions.
In accordance with sections 70 and 71 of the Nigerian Communications Act (NCA), 2003 and the Commission’s consultative engagement process, which define its rule-making process, the public inquiry was held for all relevant stakeholders to provide input on the draft regulatory instrument.
The age of 18 years for SIM acquisition proposed in the draft regulation is contingent on the constitutional provision, which makes 18 years the age of consent in Nigeria. Also, SIM acquisition is a contract between service providers and their subscribers, which requires the subscriber to have proper legal status, be of matured mind and rational enough to bear certain responsibilities, obligations and liabilities imposed by a contract.
The proposal is, therefore, to protect minors. Parents and guardians can acquire SIMs in their names on behalf of their children and wards in which case they assume whatever responsibilities or liabilities arise from the usage of such SIMs, a measure expected to also strengthen national security.
While the Commission is progressively pursuing digital inclusion for all, the draft proposal is intended to guarantee increased monitoring of children and shield the minors from undue liabilities in line with NCC’s Child Online Protection drive.
However, the consultative engagement process is still on-going, as the Commission is reviewing all input from relevant stakeholders in this regard and will consider and deliberate on all comments before issuing a final regulatory instrument.
We appeal to our media stakeholders to always fact-check their stories pertaining to telecoms regulatory issues and seek necessary clarifications for informed and accurate reporting as the Commission runs an open-house system.

AFRICA RE, IFC Partnership to Empower African Farmers

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06/10/2021

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Africa-Re’s partnership with IFC (A member of the World Bank Group) in March 2019 is strategic and symbolic. The Partnership aims at providing technical support to insurance companies for their agricultural line by using index-based agricultural insurance.
This no doubt will trigger innovative and more efficient solutions for small farmers, help them mitigate effects of climate change-related shocks, protect them against catastrophic losses and access to finance.
The African agriculture insurance market has encountered several challenges that have resulted in the very low penetration levels of this class over the years. Initially, indemnity-based products were a common feature.
However, these products became riddled with high costs of administration and the inherent fraud risks made it difficult for underwriters to implement. Thus, a parametric solution was sought, specifically to encourage the smallholder farmers access to insurance at affordable terms. This solution is currently being adopted in many African markets.
Unfortunately, the parametric solution is also encountering many challenges in its implementation. These include high premium rates, high volatility of net account results for risk carriers, low institutional capacity and limited reinsurance capacity.
In order to address these challenges that have impacted the expansion of agriculture insurance solutions in Africa, the IFC’s Global Index Insurance Facility (GIIF) set up an experience account whereby the loss ratios of the net account for local risk carriers would be capped at 75% and the excess loss amounts transferred to the Global Index Insurance experience account. African Reinsurance Corporation acts as the fund administrator. The Global Index Insurance Facility (GIIF) is a multi-donor program managed by the World Bank Group created to address the scarcity of affordable insurance protection against weather and catastrophic risks in emerging countries. GIIF is supported by the European Commission, the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) Group of States, the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the German Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), and the Japan Ministry of Finance
The pilot phase of the experience account was set up in 2017 for a 3-year period to end in December 2020. The USD$900,000 fund covered Nigeria and Zambia and was intended to support the development of weather and area yield index insurance programs in these countries.
The benefits of the experience account to the index insurance portfolios cannot be overemphasized and include;
• Protection of risk carriers net accounts from adverse loss scenarios whereby they can recover monetary amounts from the fund facility in the event their loss ratios exceed 75%, however capped at some monetary limit.
• Motivation for risk carriers to continue writing agriculture businesses as they know they have some cushion in the event of a bad year. This has resulted in an increased number of licensed agriculture underwriters since 2017. (For example, in Nigeria, the number of licensed underwriters has grown from 4 in 2017 to 15 in 2021).
• Motivation for risk carriers to provide fairly affordable prices to smallholder farmers as well as tailor-made products that are attractive. Smallholder farmers can therefore easily access insurance. The number of insured farmers as well as premiums written for the last 3 years have therefore grown considerably.
“This initiative would certainly go a long way in moving Nigeria towards its goal of food security in line with Africa-Re’s mission to support African economic development“— Ken Aghoghovbia (DMD/COO-Africa Reinsurance Corporation).
During the last 3 years, the experience account fund has been triggered twice – in 2019 and 2020.In 2019, two risk carriers, Mayfair Insurance Company (Zambia) and AXA Mansard Plc (Nigeria) benefitted from the fund following various flood losses that impacted their net account portfolios.
In 2020, the Nigeria market was again hit by flood losses that affected 8 local risk carriers on the CBN Area Yield Index Anchor Borrowers Program (Wet Season) for rice, maize and cotton crops. The total market gross claim was NGN1,995,487,009 (Approximately USD$5m) and the local insurers that covered the risk include Veritas Capital, Leadway Assurance, AIICO Insurance, AXA Mansard Insurance Plc and Royal Exchange Insurance Plc.
Africa Re paid about US$1.5 million to the lead insurer as their reinsurance share of the claim and has handed out a total of US$827,000 to the local risk carriers from the IFC’S GIIF experience account fund.
With the increasing number of agriculture risk carriers as well as smallholder farmers in need of insurance, coupled with the climate change impacts stemming from erratic climatic conditions worldwide, the future of agriculture and hence food security in Africa is uncertain.
It is obvious that the need for wider incentive programs such as the GIIF experience account will be key parameters in mitigating challenges associated with these anticipated scenarios in the future.
The IFC/GIIF fund which Africa Re manages on behalf of the agriculture industry stakeholders aligns well with its mission statement of fostering the development of insurance and reinsurance industry in Africa.

Qatar Airways, 5 Others Join IATA Travel Pass Program

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06/10/2021

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The International Air Transport Association (IATA) announced that Etihad Airways, Jazeera Airways, Jetstar, Qantas, Qatar Airways and Royal Jordanian, will implement IATA Travel Pass in a phased rollout across the airlines’ networks. These five airlines join Emirates Airline as IATA Travel Pass implementation pioneers.
The announcement, made on the sidelines of the 77th IATA Annual General Meeting being held in Boston, follows eleven months of extensive testing by 76 airlines.
“After months of testing, IATA Travel Pass is now entering the operational phase. The app has proven itself to be an effective tool to manage the complex mess of travel health credentials that governments require. And it’s a great vote of confidence that some of the world’s best known airline brands will be making it available to their customers over the coming months,” said Willie Walsh, IATA’s Director General.
The app offers a safe and secure way for travelers to check the requirements for their journey, receive test results and scan their vaccine certificates, verify that these meet the destination and transit requirements and share these effortlessly with health officials and airlines prior to departure. This will avoid queuing and congestion for document checks—to the benefit of travelers, airlines, airports and governments.
IATA Travel Pass is a mobile app that can receive and verify a range of COVID-19 test results and digital vaccines certificates. Currently vaccine certificates from 52 countries (representing the source of 56% of global air travel) can be managed using the app. This will increase to 74 countries, representing 85% of global traffic, by the end of November.
IATA Travel Pass is expected to play a key role in the aviation industry’s recovery from the impact of COVID-19. A digitalized solution to manage the paperwork of COVID-19 travel health credentials will support a return to travel when borders reopen. With many governments relying on airlines for COVID-19 document checking this will be critical in avoiding queues and congestion at check-in as travel ramps up.

South Africa: Business Insolvencies Rise by 22% over COVID-19 Pandemic

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06/10/2021

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• Thanks to massive state intervention, global insolvencies decreased in 2020 (-12%) and will continue to do so in 2021 (-6%). Euler Hermes expects global insolvencies to rise by +15% in 2022, but still at a low level (-4% compared to pre-crisis figures).
• The US will be an exception in the global landscape, keeping insolvencies at a low level in 2021 and 2022, while Europe will see mixed trends and Emerging Markets should be watched very closely.
• Business insolvencies in South Africa are expected to reach 2,200 cases for the full year
• 5 factors will set the tone for the path ahead: the global momentum of the economic rebound, the pace of withdrawal of state support, the extent of “fragile” companies, the deterioration of companies’ financials and the quick recovery of business creation.
Since 2020, state support measures have helped most economies avoid a large wave of business insolvencies despite the historic economic shock caused by the Covid-19 crisis. But will their gradual withdrawal spark a resurgence in the coming months?
Euler Hermes’ economists investigate in their latest report.
• Global insolvencies are on the rise, but still at a lower level than in 2019
Global insolvencies decreased in 2020 (-12%) and will continue to do so in 2021 (-6%) as the extension of many state support measures in a context of generally accommodative monetary policy is helping to manage the pressure on companies’ liquidity and solvability.
“Looking at insolvency levels, governments succeeded in helping companies face the crisis: massive state intervention prevented one out of two insolvencies in Western Europe and one out of three in the US in 2020. Their extension will keep insolvencies at a low level in 2021, but what happens next depends on how governments act in the coming months,” said Maxime Lemerle, Head of Sector and Insolvency Research at Euler Hermes.
According to Euler Hermes, the withdrawal of support measures for companies sets the stage for a gradual normalisation of business insolvencies. The world’s leading trade credit insurer expects global insolvencies to post a +15% y/y rebound in 2022, after two consecutive years of decline.
But with a fine-tuned and step-by-step removal, the return to pre-crisis insolvency levels will take longer: global insolvencies will remain -4% below 2019 levels in 2022.

• The US and Asia could take longer to see a resurgence compared to parts of Europe and several Emerging Markets
Emerging Markets are already seeing a normalisation of business insolvencies amid renewed restrictions in response to new waves of infections and less generous policy support. We expect those in Africa to largely exceed pre-Covid-19 levels as soon as 2021, and those in Central/Eastern Europe and Latin America to do so in 2022.

• Business insolvencies in South Africa rise by 21.5%
South Africa is one of the few countries posting, for the first months of 2021, more business insolvencies compared to 2020 – with notably Italy and Spain and Morocco. Business insolvencies increased by +21.5% y/y over the first seven months of the year, with 1,162 cases compared to 956 in 2020.
This shows that South Africa has already recovered to its pre-crisis level since business insolvencies were reaching 1,140 cases on average since 2014 for the same period (January to July).
“Q3 liquidations for trade, food and accommodation have been impacted the most as a result of lockdown restrictions and lack of substantial state support. They were at 286 between January to August 2021 versus 229 for the same period last year. The majority of the other sectors showed marginal declines or improvements from last year,” says Luke Morawitz Head of Credit Intelligence at Euler Hermes South Africa, which operates through the Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty (AGCS) license in South Africa.
“Euler Hermes expects business insolvencies in South Africa to reach 2,200 cases for the full year, which would represent more than pre-crisis levels since insolvencies were averaging 1,900 cases over the 2014-2019 period), but much less than the record reached in 2009 and 2001 when business insolvencies exceeded 4,100 at the full year,” adds Morawitz.
After a noticeable decline in 2020-2021 due to the faster exit from the pandemic and the corresponding economic recovery, most Asian countries will post higher insolvencies in 2022 (+18% y/y for the region). India in particular will see a strong surge (+69% y/y) due to the specific duration of the suspension of courts over 2020-2021.
However, while most countries will return to the ‘natural’ number and trend in insolvencies related to their business demographics and economic outlooks, the region overall will still record less insolvencies in 2021 than in 2019, unless a prolonged resurgence of the virus continues to disrupt ports, plants and supply chains.
Western Europe will post mixed trends: Spain and Italy are likely to see a large recovery of insolvencies by 2022 (5,110 and 10,500 insolvencies, respectively) due to their higher shares of sectors sensitive to Covid-19 restrictions. In contrast, Germany (16,300), France (37,000), Belgium (8,150) and the Netherlands (2,400) will take longer to return to pre-crisis levels because of large support packages and/or the extension of support measures.
The US is the main outlier, with a low number of insolvencies likely both in 2021 and 2022 due mainly to the combination of massive support (notably the PPP virus loan program in 2020 and the recovery plan in 2021-22) and the fastest economic rebound in over three decades.

• 5 indicators will shape how insolvencies evolve in the coming months
Euler Hermes has identified five factors that will set the tone of the path ahead for global insolvencies:
• The global momentum of the economic rebound, which will be decisive for the pace of removal of state support measures, and in turn impact the pace of business insolvency normalization. Most advanced economies should see GDP growth above the +1.7% required to stabilize insolvencies in 2021-2022. As a reminder, Euler Hermes estimates that global GDP will grow by +5.5% in 2021 and +4.2% in 2022;
• The pace of withdrawal of state support, since it will also influence the cash burning dynamic of companies;
• This point is even more important as many fragile companies will still be at high risk of default, notably the pre-Covid-19 ‘zombies’ kept afloat by emergency measures and the companies weakened by extra indebtedness from the crisis;
• The deterioration of companies’ financials, which is adding to debt sustainability issues;
• The quick recovery of business creation, since the increase in the number of businesses will mechanically increase the base for potential insolvencies, particularly in sectors where creation is highly related to meeting new needs arising from the pandemic (i.e) home delivery) but with uncertain viability.

NCC Holds Maiden Campus Conversation at Abuja Varsity

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06/10/2021

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Following the re-structuring and re-branding of its existing consumer outreach programmes, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has held the maiden edition of the Campus Conversation at the University of Abuja. Campus Conversation is featured as an important part of NCC’s new Telecom Consumer Conversation (TCC).
Speaking at the event, which held at the Main Campus of the University of Abuja at the weekend, NCC’s Director, Consumer Affairs Bureau, Efosa Idehen, said the Commission, as a consumer-centric regulator, has always been at the forefront of protecting the interest of the consumers.
He said the Commission has, over the years, embarked on many initiatives and programmes to deliver on its consumer protection mandate, as enshrined in the Nigerian Communications Act (NCA), 2003 and in line with other subsidiary legislations, guidelines, directions and determinations, in order to proactively address consumer concerns.
Idehen stated that, as a modified outreach programme, Campus Conversation takes life from NCC’s consumer protection and empowerment agenda as stipulated in the Commission’s Strategic Management and Vision Plans, as well as extant policies and well-conceived decisions of Management.
The objective of the Conversation is to ensure that the telecom consumers on university campuses are adequately informed and educated on their rights and privileges to acquire knowledge they require to take informed decision and protect themselves from unwholesome practices from service providers.
“Essentially, this maiden edition of our Campus Conversation is kicking off here at the University of Abuja today, as part of our strategic effort at creating awareness among the university students on their rights and obligations as telecoms consumers, as well as sensitising them on the many initiatives of the Commission designed to enhance consumer protection and empowerment,” Idehen said.
At the event, the NCC team led by Idehen, took turns to educate the campus community on Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) registration, the Benefits of National Identity Number (NIN)-SIM Integration, Cybersecurity and related online protection issues, among other initiatives of the NCC.
Participants were also enlightened on the various consumer-centric activities of NCC such as the NCC Consumer Complaint Toll-free Number 622; the Do-Not-Disturb (DND) Short Code 2442 instituted to manage unsolicited messages; the National Emergency Toll-free Number 112 which every citizen is expected to know and use during emergencies. Over twenty Emergency Communication Centres (ECCs) where 112 calls are received and escalated, have been constructed by the NCC and operational in different states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory.
Other Information, Education and Communication (IEC) materials printed in bookmarks, handbills and stickers were distributed. The IECs cover a wide-range of topics on consumer concerns, including Consumer Bill of Rights, Complaints Management Process, Mobile Number Portability (MNP), SIM Registration, Obligations of Telecom Service Providers and the Consumers, and Tips on Managing Data Usage.
The event provided a rare opportunity to the students and other members of the University community to interface with the Commission. The NCC team responded to questions and comments relating to the participants’ experience with telecom services.
The Vice-Chancellor of University of Abuja, Prof. Abdul-Rasheed Na’Allah, who was represented at the forum by the University’s Head of Electrical and Electronic Engineering Department, Dr. Evans Ashigwuike, commended the NCC for the elaborate enlightenment programme hosted in the university community, which he described as highly beneficial to the students.
Na’Allah assured the Commission that the University will ensure that students, who attended the Consumer Conversation pass the knowledge gained and the IEC materials circulated by NCC to their fellow students for effective knowledge-sharing and education.
The TCC, now segmented and targeted at different consumer groups, comprises: The Village Square Dialogue, The Telecom Public Sphere, The Professionals’ Dialogue, Campus Conversation, Market Conversation and the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) Sensitisation.
Aside the TCC, other strategic outreach programmes of the Commission, delivered through its Consumer Affairs Bureau, include Consumer Telecom Town Halls on Radio, a phone-in radio dialogic programme to educate consumers at the grassroots; Telecom and The Citizen, a bi-monthly Twitter Live Chat targeting telecom consumers that are active on the social media; and Telecom TV Dialogue, a monthly television-based discourse on topical telecom issues.

Non-Implementation of Guaranteed Minimum Pension:Increasing Apathy to Join/Remain in the Contributory Pension Scheme

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06/10/2021

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By
Dr. Pius Apere (PhD/FCII)
(Actuarial Scientist and Chartered Insurer)
Chairman/CEO, Achor Actuarial Services Limited

• Introduction
Basically, the Nigerian Pension Industry has been operating two pension regimes concurrently since 2004, namely Pay-As-You-Go (PAYG) defined benefit (DB) scheme (the old unfunded pension regime) and the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) under the Pension Reform Act (PRA) 2014 as amended.
Currently, there are three categories of employees in the pension industry that will receive retirement benefits from either or both the two pension regimes. The first category consists of employees in the public service of the Federation, Federal Capital Territory, States and Local Governments or the Private Sector who are expected to receive retirement benefits from only CPS.
At retirement, these employees may withdraw an amount of money (lump sum) not exceeding 25% of the total amount credited into their Retirement Savings Accounts (RSAs) being managed by a Pension Fund Administrator (PFA) and the balance will be used to provide a regular pension either through annuity from a life insurance company or Programmed Withdrawal from the PFA.
The second category of employees are exempted from the CPS as specified in section 5 of PRA 2014 (e.g) members of the Armed Forces, the intelligence and secret services of the federation etc.) and they will receive benefits only from the existing PAYG defined benefit scheme in accordance with a specified formula provided for in the Second Schedule to the Act or under the provisions of enabling laws.
For example, an employee will be entitled to a gratuity and pension as 300% and 70% of final salary respectively at retirement, having completed 35 years of pensionable/qualifying service with the employer.

The third category consists of public service employees (RSA holders with deferred pensioner status) in the CPS. At the date of retirement, they are entitled to receive the accrued (past service) pension rights (determined by an actuarial valuation at the commencement date of the CPS) from both the existing PAYG defined benefit scheme and RSA balances from the CPS.
Nigerian pensioners have two basic expectations under the CPS, namely to have sustainable standard of living in retirement and “receive their retirement benefits as and when due”, as stated in section 1(c) of PRA 2014. This paper highlights the reasons for the increasing apathy of employees to join or remain in the CPS, particularly those in the formal and public sector, as their expectations are not likely to be met.

• Reasons for Increasing Apathy to Join/Remain in CPS
The public service employees particularly the third category of membership of the CPS feel aggrieved and short-changed compared to their counterparts who are exempted from the CPS. The retirees in this category always perceive that their expectations have not been met for the following reasons:
• The employees still erroneously believe that 25% of the RSA (maximum lump sum allowed) and/or the pension payable from CPS will be closed to 300% and 70% of their final salary as prescribed for gratuity and pension in PAYG defined benefit scheme respectively having completed 35 years of service.
• The employees’ accrued pension rights calculated at the commencement date of the CPS may not have kept up with inflation due to lack of revaluation. In practice, a deferred member’s accrued pension benefits/rights from the date of leaving the PAYG defined benefit scheme are usually expected to be revalued up to the member’s retirement date in order to keep up with inflation.
• The pensions in payment from CPS do not allow for pension increases as compared with the pensions payable from the PAYG defined benefit scheme.
• An employee’s RSA balance at retirement being managed by a PFA could not provide a decent standard of living at retirement, mainly due to the short period over which contributions have been made and invested after commencement of CPS, and overall investment returns credited into RSA are abysmally low.
• The delayed or inability of the Federal Government and/or State Governments to remit the accrued pension rights to the individual retirees RSA on a timely basis had increased the plight of pensioners because the regulator insisted that the retirement benefits cannot be paid from RSA without the accrued pension rights being added to it.
• The Nigerian Police Force, having been granted their own PFA, is still making several efforts through the House of Representatives to opt out of CPS. Many State Governments are at various stages of implementing the CPS but the senior public service employees of the State Governments who are closed to retirement age had been making frantic efforts to ensure that the process of transition to CPS is delayed unduly until they retire in the old PAYG defined benefit scheme.
The recent statistic has shown, in InspenOnline news platform dated 25th September 2021, that “of the about 46.49 million employed persons working in the formal sector of Nigeria, just 9.4 million of them had subscribed to the CPS, leaving a whopping of 37.09 million of them out of the scheme”. It is obvious that the public service employees of State Governments are likely to constitute a greater percentage of the number of employees (37.09 million) currently out of the CPS.
The private sector employees have different level of apathy to join the CPS because employers do provide additional gratuity schemes and/or voluntary contributions in CPS for their employees in order to augment any shortfall in expectations.

• The Challenges of Meeting Pensioners’ Expectations in CPS
The framers of the law, PRA 2014, realized the importance of the guaranteed minimum pension (GMP) as stated in section 84(1) of the Act to reduce the risk of volatility of standard of living of Nigerian pensioners in retirement.
GMP is akin to an income support from the government, which can be considered as a variant of social security policy that ensures redistribution of resources, a safety net for a pensioner. Thus, the expectations of pensioners under the CPS cannot be fully met, particularly for the third category of membership, without the implementation of the GMP. This is true because they have higher expectations close to that of the exempted pensioners (e.g) in Armed Forces of the Federation) receiving benefits from the PAYG defined benefit scheme.
In practice, the GMP is usually a form of underpin applicable in a defined contribution scheme which has a main benefit that is defined contribution in nature, with a promise that the benefit will be at least a defined benefit amount, usually a percentage of final salary at retirement date.
GMP is usually to protect the members against some of the risks of low investment returns and may also be applied on a temporary basis after a conversion of a scheme from a defined benefit form to a defined contribution form, which is particularly suitable for employees in CPS with deferred pensioner status.
The implementation of the GMP has been unduly delayed since the commencement of the CPS in 2004 by the regulator, having assured stakeholders in Punch Newspaper dated 10th November 2016 that “retirees to earn minimum pension from 2017.”
This may be probably due to computation complexities, as the assessment of the cost of guarantees using stochastic modelling techniques should be under the control of an actuary. Furthermore, there could be lack of sufficient funds to finance the GMP despite the Pension Protection Fund (PPF) being established as stated in section 82 of PRA 2014.
Instead, the regulator implemented an Enhanced Pension for only the Programmed Withdrawal (PW) pensioners effective December 2017. This could be seen as cushioning the effect of non-implementation of the GMP to an extent for only these PW pensioners.

• Conclusion
The personnel of the Police Force and other Paramilitary Agencies seeking for exemption from the CPS, the State Government public service employees’ apathy to join the CPS and the general disenchantment among the current pensioners have arisen from not implementing the GMP. Thus, the pension industry requires an enlightenment campaign in order to manage the expectations of employees and retirees in the CPS.

PenCom: Pension Assets Now N13tr, Partners EFCC to Eradicate Fraud

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06/10/2021

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5th from right: Mr. Boss Mustapha (Secretary to the Government of the Federation), 6th from right: Mr. Abdulrasheed Bawa (Executive Chairman, Economic & Financial Crimes Commission), 2nd from right: Mr. Clement Oyedele Akintola (Commissioner Inspectorate, National Pension Commission Representing the DG, National Pension Commission), 4th from right: Senator Michael Ama Nnachi (Representing Chairman, Senate Committee on Anti-Corruption), 1st from left: Comrade Ayuba P. Wabba ( President, Nigeria Labour Congress), 2nd from left: IGP Sulaiman Abba Rtd (Chairman, Nigeria Police Force Pensions Limited), 3rd from left: Mrs. Nneka Obi-Amalu (Acting Executive Secretary, Pension Transitional Arrangement Directorate, PTAD), 4th from left: Prof. ACB Agbazuere (Representing Executive Governor of Abia State, 1st from right: Commodore Saburi Lawal (Chairman, Military Pensions Board)

• I’m highly honored to be invited to give a goodwill message at the opening ceremony of the two-day sensitisation workshop on the “Eradication of Pension Fraud in Nigeria”.
• The National Pension Commission (PenCom) is indeed, pleased to partner with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in this awareness creation initiative, which essentially seeks to examine the incidences of fraud in the pension sector in Nigeria and ways of eradicating the menace in a proactive manner. This event will, no doubt, create the synergy needed to boost the efforts of the two organisations in the discharge of their respective statutory mandates relating to the theme of the workshop.
• Ladies and gentlemen, as you may recall, the problems of fraud and mismanagement in the pension sector in Nigeria were amongst the reasons that necessitated the pension reform of 2004 by the Federal Government. The Pension Reform Act 2004, which was later reviewed and re-enacted in 2014, introduced legal and institutional frameworks aimed at addressing the rot that characterized the administration of pensions in the pre-reform era. The Act also established PenCom to regulate and supervise all pension matters in Nigeria, including the licensing of Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs) and Pension Fund Custodians (PFCs). The Pension Transitional Arrangements Directorate (PTAD) was also established by the PRA 2014 to administer, in a transparent manner, the Defined Benefits Scheme (DBS) for pensioners exempted from the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS). These measures substantially restored credibility and confidence in Nigeria’s pension systems. Thus, we have, today, an industry that has accumulated pension assets in excess of N13 trillion, invested in various aspects of the economy and still growing.
• Pursuant to its statutory mandate under Section 23(f) of the PRA 2014, PenCom has consistently undertaken public education, enlightenment and awareness campaigns on the CPS and other pension matters. It has also developed and established structures, systems and procedures that ensure transparency, accountability and efficiency in the administration of pension in Nigeria. These systems and procedures have become reference points for other African countries, many of whom have undertaken study visits to the Commission.
• However, as it is the case with every human endeavor, retrogressive elements continued to exploit procedural gaps in the operations of pension practitioners in both the CPS and DBS to the detriment of unsuspecting public. Thus, new issues and challenges continue to emerge, which place special responsibility on the regulators, the operators and other stakeholders to constantly review their operating environment with a view to finding solutions to address the problems.
• Happily, the PRA 2014 had strengthened Nigeria’s pension institutions in both the Contributory and Defined Benefits Schemes, and imbued them with the capacity to rise above emerging challenges. Thus, while these institutions explore their respective…, the continued collaboration with the EFCC would certainly serve as catalyst for reducing the menace of fraud in the pension industry to the barest minimum.
• Indeed, we must recognize the uniqueness of today’s workshop, which has literally taken our collaboration to the next level. Stakeholders have all converge to discuss within the two days of this workshop, the entire ramifications of fraud in the pension administration space, understand the issues, share experiences and find proactive ways of preventing their occurrence. This is indeed a mutually beneficial and veritable platform which we must all keep and ensure its sustainability.
• I have taken time to carefully review the topics slated for discussion during the two days of this Workshop and noted the caliber and background of the respective lead presenters and discussants of the topics. I’m very confident that experiences would be shared, pertinent issues would be raised and thoroughly examined, and workable solutions would be found for the adoption of all stakeholders.
• Ladies and Gentlemen, permit me at this juncture, to commend the foresight and dynamism of the leadership of the EFCC for accepting to collaborate with us for this workshop despite the preponderance of other daunting challenges being tackled by the EFCC in our country. This demonstrates the importance given by the EFCC to issues that concern our senior citizens.

Unity Bank Unveils Service Charter for Exceptional Customer Experience

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Business Journal

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06/10/2021

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In a bid to firmly entrench a customer-first attitude with enduring service culture, Unity Bank Plc has launched a new service charter and Hall of Fame for staff. This is to create an exceptional customer experience as the Bank celebrates the 2021 Customer Service Week.
Unveiling the Service Charter, the Managing Director/CEO of Unity Bank Plc, Mrs. Tomi Somefun applauded “customers and Frontline Staff who have promoted professional, courteous, positive and friendly environment; thus provided service that is personalised, empathic, competent, convenient and proactive”.
The Customer Service Week is a week-long celebration, which will hold across the Bank’s over 200 branches from Monday, October 4 to Friday, October 8, 2021.
This year’s Customer Service Week is themed “The Power of Service, which is to spotlight the imperatives of service as the world battles a global pandemic and the people on the frontlines who made a difference in the lives of their customers.
The Bank has lined up several activities. The Hall of Fame is the major highlight; to make the week exciting, memorable by rewarding staff who have created exceptional customer service experience in the Bank.
Restating the commitment of the Bank to providing excellent customer service, Mrs Somefun said the service charter will drive achieving the bank’s vision and guarantee customer satisfaction.
She said: “We celebrate all our customers for remaining loyal and devoted to us. You have choices of different institutions from which you can choose to do your transactions, but you chose us. Thank you for choosing Unity Bank’’.
“We appreciate you and remain committed to serving you better. We are not a perfect institution but take our word that we are committed to making sure that we delight you, by investing in continuous improvement and expanding our platforms to enhance service delivery efficiency’’, she reasserts.
“The last couple of months especially have been challenging, but we thank God that we are all alive, and we are still here to serve you and you are still available to be our customers. We believe that we will continue to ride the waves of the pandemic and come out even much better”, she reaffirms further.
The COVID-19 pandemic has led to evolving work culture, but the Bank has also evolved with the tide and deployed new customer service experience strategies to mitigate the impact that the new normal may bring to bear in access to its services.
The lender continues to maintain its focus on strategies for technological innovation through which it has evolved digital products such as the USSD banking *7799# in local languages, anti-fraud USSD channel, *7799*9# and mobile banking solution, UniFi which have boosted customers’ access to the Bank’s services, while facilitating convenience and security.
Also speaking, the Chief Customer Service Officer, Unity Bank Plc, Mrs. Titilayo Abraham said: “This year, as we inaugurate this Hall of Fame, we celebrate individuals and teams for their efforts in delivering excellent service to our customers. We will celebrate them particularly for their display of exceptional professionalism in providing great service without borders, going the extra mile to meet and surpass our customers’ needs. In doing this, they have enhanced customer satisfaction thereby carving a niche for our brand in the industry.”
She added: “Becoming the retail bank of choice in Nigeria is a journey. We shall relentlessly strive to improve service and ensure our customers come first at all times.”

Sanwo-Olu, Mustapha Set for GOCOP 5th Annual Conference Oct 7

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05/10/2021

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Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State and Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Boss Mustapha, have confirmed their participation at the 5th Annual Conference of the Guild of Corporate Online Publishers (GOCOP) scheduled for Thursday, October 7, 2021.
The two-day conference with the theme “COVID-19 Pandemic: Recovery and Reconstruction in Nigeria” will take place at the Sheraton Hotel, Ikeja.
A statement by GOCOP Publicity Secretary, Olumide Iyanda, disclosed that Mr. Sanwo-Olu’s presence was confirmed to the conference organising committee by the Lagos State Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Gbenga Omotosho.
Mr. Mustapha’s participation was confirmed by a letter dated September 14, 2021, and signed by the Permanent Secretary – General Service Office, Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Nnamdi Maurice Mbaeri.
The conference will open on Wednesday, October 6 with a business session which will have Editor-in-Chief of Premium Times, Musikilu Mojeed; Group Executive Editor of DigitalSENSE Africa Media Limited, Remmy Nweke, and Editor-in-Chief/CEO of NATIONAL ACCORD, Tom Chiahemen, as facilitators.
Corporate affairs managers from the public and private sectors will also be hosted to lunch on the opening day of the conference.
All programmes on the opening day are strictly by invitation.
Governor Sanwo-Olu will be Chairman on the second day of the conference, Thursday, October 7, when the SGF will deliver a keynote address on the conference theme.
Lagos State Commissioner for Health, Prof. Akin Abayomi, and Director, Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), Dr. Yahaya Disu, will serve as panelists.
The choice of topic and speakers at the conference was informed by contemporary political, economic, security, socio-cultural challenges facing Nigeria occasioned by the coronavirus pandemic, which has crippled socio-cultural and economic activities not only in Nigeria but around the world and the concerted efforts made nationally and globally to tame the scourge, the statement by GOCOP said.

Ecobank Named ‘Best Retail Bank in Nigeria’ by The Asian Banker

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Business Journal

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05/10/2021

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Ecobank Nigeria has again emerged the “Best Retail Bank in Nigeria” by The Asian Banker, at the Middle East and Africa Regional 2021 awards ceremony in Johannesburg, South Africa. Ecobank is winning this award for the second time consecutively.
Chairman, The Asian Banker, Emmanuel Daniel, who congratulated Ecobank and other winners of the prestigious awards in the various categories, stated that the process for selection was rigorous, transparent and conducted with the highest level of integrity.
Commenting, Managing Director, Regional Executive, Ecobank Nigeria, Patrick Akinwuntan, said:
“The fact that the bank is winning this award for the second time shows that we have come to stay in terms of delivering world class and diverse financial services in Nigeria and to a greater number of Africans across the continent. We understand their needs, forecast opportunities in the market and making our digital platforms available to be leveraged to achieve the highest potentials. Ecobank’s platform is unique for all types of retail transactions, especially account opening, bills payment, airtime purchase and third-party transfers. We have ATMs spread across country while our agency network reaches every community in order to provide basic financial services and support for every Nigerian. We have built an ecosystem that brings affordable financial services – payments and collections to every African.”
Akinwuntan reiterated that the award is a worthy recognition of Ecobank’s digital transformation landmark initiatives whereby “we can make payments into more accounts and wallets than any other bank in Africa.”
He also commended The Asian Banker Awards’ Team for creating an opportunity to celebrate innovative ideas by members of the banking community, assuring that Ecobank will continue to deploy its robust digital platforms and enhance customer experience at every touch point.
Ecobank Nigeria Limited is a subsidiary of the Ecobank Group, the leading pan-African banking group with operations in 33 African countries and an international presence in four locations (London, Paris, Beijing, and Dubai). Ecobank Nigeria is a full-service bank providing wholesale, retail, investment and transaction banking services and products to governments, financial institutions, multinationals, international organizations, medium, small, and micro businesses, and individuals.
Ecobank is a major player in the distribution of financial services in Nigeria, leveraging digital platforms including Ecobank Mobile App and USSD *326#, Ecobank Online, Ecobank OmniPlus, Ecobank Omnilite, EcobankPay, Ecobank RapidTransfer, ATMs, POSs and an extensive distribution network of over 250 branches and about 30,000 agency banking locations.
The Asian Banker Excellence in Retail Financial Services and Technology Innovation Award is acclaimed the most rigorous, prestigious and transparent country level award programme for consumer financial services and technology in Middle East & Africa.
The awards committee assess banks and non-banks in Middle East & Africa on a product and business level through a comprehensive evaluation process based on criteria and scorecards on world-class standards of what the retail banking proposition and technology proposition should be.

Ecobank MD: Super Brands Must Collaborate to Address Challenges in Africa

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Business Journal

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04/10/2021

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Patrick Akinwuntan
The Managing Director
Ecobank Nigeria

The Managing Director, Ecobank Nigeria, Patrick Akinwuntan has advocated a synergy between super brands in Africa to solve the multifarious challenges facing the continent.
Akinwuntan, who made this submission at the International Advertising Association (IAA) Africa Rising 4 virtual conference, posited that recent happenings in the global arena such as covid 19 pandemic further reinforces the need for bigger brands on the continent to collaborate effectively to achieve sustainable solutions to challenges facing the continent.
According to him, “It is not just about digitization but understanding that life itself has deeper substance. What we have learnt in the past 18 months calls for common agenda for human race, an opportunity for collaboration to search for sustainable solutions to the myriad challenges facing the continent. This also reenforces the fact that until we are comfortable, no part of the globe is comfortable. This provides a completely new direction between developed worlds, developing worlds and whatever categorisation that you want to bring to the table. With people having to stay at home because of the pandemic, we quickly saw that being disconnected from the economy fabric is much more dangerous than the health risk that we are trying to avoid from the social distancing and stay at home”.
On how Ecobank as an African Super Brand responded to the covid 19 pandemic, Mr. Akinwuntan noted that the bank’s success story in handling the outbreak and spread of Ebola disease in some parts of Africa came handing, adding that the bank’s investment in technology also paid off as it was able to provide financial services seamlessly to its customers in countries where the operates.
“We came out with strategies to ensure that small business and women enterprise leaders are able to learn to improve their capacity and source for labor without physical contact and able to access market without physical contact and be able to be financially strong without having to physically visit distant locations. For the small businesses, it is enabling them to have faith in themselves to be able to see that tomorrow has a brighter future. The covid-19 pandemic was a leveler and therefore everyone felt the impact. For a brand like Ecobank, we needed to demonstrate our ability to reach everyone at the same time. First is knowledge, people need to know, is this circumstance unique to my country, or to my own livelihood? if it is not, what has worked for other people and how have we leveraged it. That is quite a lot of learning that we focused on. We actually partnered with NEPAD and brought about leveraging on technology and capacity building for the small and medium scale business.”
Aligning with Akinwuntan’s submission, another speaker at the session, Group Executive for Marketing, MTN, Bernice Samuels said it was imperative super brands in Africa have a common platform to address and offer solutions to challenges facing the continent. The captivating session was moderated by Robyn Curnow, Anchor & Host of CNN Newsroom
Earlier in his welcome address, World President and Chairman, IAA, Joel Nettey said the 2-day virtual conference with the theme: ‘Africa To The World’ is aimed at projecting African brands to the world and bringing together the best on the continent to discuss trends and key developments.
According to him, “as the most influential network of industry leaders with a broad spectrum of expertise, we help brands grow, strengthen, and forge new paths around the world through meaningful relationships with consumers. We use our thought leadership, initiatives in education and development, and world-class events to help our members navigate through the ever-changing worlds of business and technology. We are delighted to be able to put together this conference in such trying times to add value and bring together those who shape the industry’s future. The African continent is endowed with vibrancy, creativity, culture, its people, and strong brands weaving coherently into what makes the engines of economies move.”
The International Advertising Association’s (IAA) Africa Rising for Leadership Conference 2021 is first IAA virtual conference and it is congregating speakers and participants from across the globe – Nigeria, Kenya, south Africa, USA, Italy, Russia, Malaysia and several other leading countries where IAA has presence.

Qatar Airways Reports $4bn Loss in 2020 over COVID-19 Pandemic

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Business Journal

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01/10/2021

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Qatar Airways has reported a net loss of 14.9 billion $4.1billion in 2020 financial year.
The major loss, which the airline reported on September 27, 2021, is a result of lockdowns and travel bans triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic, which greatly reduced demand for long-haul travel. The airline also attributed more than half of the loss (QAR 8.4 billion or $2.3 billion) to a one-time impairment charge related to the grounding of the airline’s Airbus A380 and A330 fleets.
Despite these difficulties, the state-owned airline also reported that it saw an improvement in EBITDA (Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortization) to QAR 5.9 billion ($1.6 billion), compared to QAR 4.9 billion ($1.4 billion) the previous year. This was achieved as the airline saved on jet fuel, reduced salaries by 15% and cut some 13,400 employees from its workforce.
A report by AeroTime News says the carrier’s cargo division also saw a 4.6% rise in freight tonnes handled over the previous fiscal year 2019/20, with 2,727,986 tonnes handled in 2020/21. This increase in freight handled, as well as a significant increase in cargo yield, also saw the carrier’s cargo revenues more than double, which will surely secure Doha International Airport a spot in the top ten busiest cargo airports.
To help the airline through the crisis, Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive Akbar Al Baker acknowledged that its shareholder, the Government of Qatar, bestowed on them a $3 Billion lifeline.
During the pandemic, Qatar Airways continued operating to key cities, including Amsterdam, Dallas-Fort Worth, London, Montréal, São Paulo, Singapore, Johannesburg, Sydney and Tokyo.
“Whilst our competitors grounded their aircraft and closed their routes, we adapted our entire commercial operation to respond to ever-evolving travel restrictions and never stopped flying, operating a network our passengers and customers could rely on,” Al Baker said.
“I am extremely proud of our people across the Qatar Airways Group who have remained agile and adapted quickly to this new reality, displaying the tenacity, versatility, and commitment to excellence so often associated with everything we do.”

Status of Contributory Pension Scheme in South East (June 2021)

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Business Journal

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01/10/2021

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Abia State
• Enacted Law on the CPS in 2017.
• Yet to establish Pension Bureau.
• Yet to register the State Employees with PFAs.
• Yet to commence remittance of Pension Contributions.
• Yet to conduct an Actuarial Valuation.
• Yet to open a Retirement Benefits Bond Redemption Fund Account.
• Yet to commence funding of the Accrued Pension Rights.
• Yet to institute a Group Life Insurance Policy.

Anambra State
• Enacted Law on CPS in 2013 (amended some sections of the Law in 2014).
• Registered Employees with PFAs Remitting 10% employer & 5% employee contributions. Remitted employer pension contributions up to December 2017 and remitted employee pension contributions up to April 2021 for some State employees.
• Remitted employee and employer pension contributions up to August 2018 for Local Government employees.
• Opened a Retirement Benefits Bond Redemption Fund Account with a PFA, for the Local Government employees in line with the State Law
• Yet to conduct an Actuarial Valuation.
• Irregular funding of Accrued Pension Rights for Local Government employees.
• Yet to establish Pension Bureau (implementation being driven by Office of the Head of Service & Joint Account Allocation Committee).
• Yet to open Retirement Benefits Bond Redemption Fund Account for the State employees.
• Yet to commence funding of the Accrued Pension Rights for State Employees.
• Yet to institute a Group Life Insurance Policy

Ebonyi State
• Enacted Law on CPS in 2017 (amended the Law and forwarded to the Commission and the Commission communicated its observations on the Law to the State).
• Yet to establish a Pension Bureau.
• Yet to register its Employees with PFAs.
• Yet to commence remittance of Pension Contributions.
• Yet to conduct an Actuarial Valuation.
• Yet to open a Retirement Benefits Bond Redemption Fund Account.
• Yet to commence funding of the Accrued Pension Rights.
• Yet to institute a Group Life Insurance Policy

Enugu State
• Enacted Law on CPS in 2014
• Yet to commence funding of the Accrued Pension Rights.
• Yet to establish Pension Bureau.
• Yet to institute a Group Life Insurance Policy.
• Yet to register the Employees with PFAs.
• Yet to commence remittance of Pension Contributions.
• Yet to conduct Actuarial Valuation.
• Yet to open Retirement Benefits Bond Redemption Fund Account

Imo State
• Enacted Law on CPS in 2008.
• Yet to establish a Pension Bureau.
• Yet to register the Employees with PFAs.
• Yet to commence remittance of Pension Contributions.
• Yet to conduct an Actuarial Valuation.
• Yet to open Retirement Benefits Bond Redemption Fund Account.
• Yet to commence funding of Accrued Pension Rights.
• Yet to institute a Group Life Insurance Policy

EU Data Solutions Spend to Reach $50bn in 2021

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Business Journal

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01/10/2021

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European spending on Big Data and Business Analytics (BDA) solutions is forecast to reach $50 billion this year, an increase of 7% over 2020, according to a new update to the Worldwide Big Data and Analytics Spending Guide from International Data Corporation (IDC).
The forecast also shows that BDA spending will gain strength over the next five years as the European economy recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic. The compound annual growth rate (CAGR) for European BDA spending over the 2021–2025 forecast period will be 11%.
“To move toward the hyper-automated enterprise model, investments in BDA will continue to accelerate across all industries as the technologies help to achieve key business outcomes and increase customer experiences,” said Andrea Minonne, Senior Research Analyst at IDC U.K. “Big Data gives enterprises a competitive edge and has become a game-changer that is helping all industries achieve their business priorities.”
Most European companies are very familiar with the tech, and big enterprises in particular have many Big Data–related use cases in place. Big Data remains a key tech to enhance customer journeys, reduce costs, and streamline complex business processes.
Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, the Big Data and analytics market continued to grow in 2020, highlighting that Big Data is not just a nice-to-have technology but a must-have asset that can help companies fuel digital resilience to move out of critical situations faster.
In 2021, banking and discrete manufacturing will account for a quarter of overall spending on BDA. This is due to continuous interest in use cases such as fraud analysis and process automation. If we look at the long term, industries such as professional services and healthcare will have the fastest five-year CAGRs. Healthcare in particular owns a lot of patient data and will use BDA to gain insights from data, optimize and improve their performance, and understand their patients.
The Worldwide Big Data and Analytics Spending Guide is designed to address the needs of organisations assessing the Big Data and business analytics opportunity by geography, industry, and company size.
The guide provides subscribers with revenue projections for 20 technology and service categories across 19 industries, five company size bands, and 53 countries. Unlike other research in the industry, the guide was designed to help IT decision makers to clearly understand the industry-specific scope and direction of the Big Data and business analytics opportunity today and over the next five years.

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