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With the Central Banks recent stand on a Cashless (Nigerian) Society, what problems are our traders likely to face?

PAPER REVIEW

MINIMUM WAGE: AT LAST, FG CONCEDES TO LABOUR

After several weeks of negotiation between the Federal Government and organised labour following the disagreement on the mode of implementation of the National Minimum Wage Act, the former Tuesday agreed to demands of the latter that all cadres of civil servants should benefit from the new wage regime. Consequently, workers on grade levels 1 to 17 in the federal civil service are to have some money added to their current salary, as an increment arising from the new National Minimum Wage Act. Both parties also agreed, after a two-hour closed door meeting, that the implementation of the new pay structure would commence this month. In a communiqué read by the Minister of Labour and Productivity, Chief Chukwuemeka Wogu, the Federal Government gave the assurance that the new wage would be implemented and the issue of relativity would be taken care of. “The detailed negotiation on relativity adjustment with respect to the implementation of the minimum wage has been sorted out and agreed upon. Modalities will be worked out and these modalities that will be worked out will be worked out by the joint committee and will be tabled before the national executive councils of NLC and TUC,” he read. Briefing newsmen after the meeting, President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) Abdulwahed Omar said the discussion on relativity would have been concluded by July 31, but unfortunately, it was segmented because of one or two areas of non-agreement. “Majorly in the area of adjustment across the board, as a result of compliance with the new Minimum Wage Act, this adjustment now cuts across board in order to maintain some reasonable relativity,” he said. He said all labour centres would make formal presentations to their respective organs in a meeting by today and would communicate to the government whatever agreements were reached. President-General of the Trade Union Congress (TUC) Peter Esele also confirmed that the issue of relativity would be discussed at the National Executive Council (NEC). ThisDay

FRSC BEGINS NEW NUMBER PLATES THIS MONTH

The Federal Road Safety Corps is to commence the issuance of new vehicle number plates this month in its renewed determination to harmonise all existing modes of licensing of vehicles nationwide. The FRSC, which said Nigeria was currently losing over N15bn annually to vendors of fake vehicle licences, also planned to introduce a new driving licence, with new security features, to make it difficult for fraudsters to continue to forge the document. A statement by the corps on Monday said that the new plates would be attached to vehicle owners with an identification tag bearing the number affixed to the windscreen for ease of security checks. It quoted the FRSC Corps Marshal and Chief Executive, Mr. Osita Chidoka, as saying the new vehicle number plates formed part of corps’ strategies towards restoring order and sanity in the nation’s motor vehicle administration scheme. On the features of the number plate, the Corps Marshal said that beside the improved security features, the number plates would come with bolder embossed character and the 50th Nigerian anniversary commemorative logo. Chidoka also said that the FRSC had completed an upgrade of its Lagos production plant, especially in information and communications technology to ensure a hitch-free unveiling of the number plate. Other measures for the smooth production of the new number plates, according to him, are the establishment of two new plants in Gwagwalada, Federal Capital Territory, and Awka in Anambra State; cleaning up and updating of central database on motor vehicles in Nigeria.  To pave the way for the new arrangement, Chidoka said that the corps had initiated a quality management system and total overhaul of the national vehicle identification scheme, which would require vehicle owners to exchange their present number plates for the new ones. The statement was, however, silent on when the FRSC would commence the new driving licence.  The corps marshal had earlier said that the new regime would take effect from April this year. He said that the organisation was disturbed by the growing number of syndicates engaged in the illegal production of driving licences and other vehicle documents. The FRSC chief executive added that drivers below 25 years would be required to renew their provisional driving licences until they clocked 25. Similarly, those above 65 years would undergo strict verification every year at states’ vehicle inspection offices before being issued with the licence. He, however, warned that any driver under 25 years would not be allowed to drive at night.

PAPER REVIEW

VICTORY FOR LABOUR AS WAGE TALKS CONTINUE TODAY

The Federal Government and organised Labour appear to have adopted a waiting game in their bid to resolve the crisis generated by the delayed implementation of the minimum wage. At the resumed talks on Sunday which lasted five hours, Minister of Labour and Productivity, Emeka Wogu, who briefed the media on the outcome of the meeting, said the parley would resume for further discussions on the way forward. Wogu said: “Both government and Labour have agreed to meet again on Tuesday (today) for further discussion.” But speaking outside the venue, Acting General Secretary of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Owei Lakemfa, claimed government has agreed to pay the wage bill across board. Lakemfa hinted that what would be discussed today would be the modalities for the implementation of the minimum wage. He said: “There are no contentious issues now. Government has agreed to pay across board and everybody will benefit from the wage. It is a very simple thing. We are having negotiation. It is not about dictatorship and so we will agree on some facts and we need to further look at what to do. There is nothing strange about that. We are human beings.” Lakemfa dispelled the notion that workers might lose confidence in the NLC leadership for not standing firm on the negotiation so far. He stated: “The people know we are representing them and Nigerian workers know that we will never sellout.” But there were conflicting signals as to what transpired at the meeting since no concrete agreement was reached.

MARKET OPENS WITH 0.37% RISE

The Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) All-Share Index rose by 0.37 per cent to close at 23,916.90 just as some companies reported impressive results for the half year ended June 30, 2011. The benchmark gauge, which fell for three days last week, closed at 23,916.90 when trading opened for the week Monday. Similarly, the market capitalisation of equities added N28 billion, rising from N7.622 trillion to close at N7.650 trillion. Market operators attributed the positive move partly to investors’ reactions to some of the results announced by the companies, which showed higher profitability. Meanwhile, investors traded 268.308 million shares valued at N2.143 billion in 5,080 deals led by the banking sub-sector with 180.051 million shares worth N1.639 billion exchanged in 2,901 deals. The Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) All-Share Index rose by 0.37 per cent to close at 23,916.90 just as some companies reported impressive results for the half year ended June 30, 2011. The benchmark gauge, which fell for three days last week, closed at 23,916.90 when trading opened for the week Monday. Similarly, the market capitalisation of equities added N28 billion, rising from N7.622 trillion to close at N7.650 trillion

FG MOVES TO ACTUALISE $28BN GREENFIELD REFINERIES

The Federal Government is making moves to begin the construction of three Greenfield refineries worth $28bn, as its representatives will in the next two weeks meet with consultants in the United Kingdom to discuss the projects’ detailed feasibility study, which was completed last month. The Group Managing Director, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, Mr. Austen Oniwon, said that after discussing the study, financiers of the projects would be engaged, while the contractors would also have access to the feasibility study. Oniwon, who disclosed this in Abuja on Monday at the opening of the Society of Petroleum Engineers’ Annual Conference and Exhibition, said that there were huge opportunities in the monetisation of the nation’s abundant oil and gas resources through joint ventures with partners. The NNPC had last year signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the China State Construction Engineering Corporation for the construction of three Greenfield refineries and a petrochemical plant in Nigeria. Under the terms of the agreement, 80 per cent of the projects’ cost will be funded with a term loan to be provided by the China Export Credit Insurance Corporation and a consortium of Chinese banks led by the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, the world’s largest bank. On the rehabilitation of the existing refineries, Oniwon said, “We have given ourselves 24 months to rehabilitate the three refineries.  “We are starting with the Port Harcourt refinery, and we have engaged JGC of Japan, which is partnering Tecnimont of Italy, and they are at present in talks with the hope that by the second or third quarter of next year, they will move into the Port Harcourt refinery and commence rehabilitation.”