NAIJAFEED

Monday, March 4, 2024

Nigeria tightens security as food theft continues amid soaring inflation

Nigeria's National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) announced Sunday (Mar. 3rd) it was increasing security at its facilities, Amid increased cases of attacks on warehouses.

The Director General of NEMA has instructed Zonal Directors and Heads of Operations to strengthen security in and around the Agency’s offices and warehouses nationwide “to forestall any breaches”.

Africa's largest economy is also the continent's most populous country.

Nigerians are living through one of the west African nation's worst economic crises in years with inflation rising to nearly 30% and the consequences of monetary policies that have pushed the Naira to an all-time low against the dollar.

One of the nation's most powerful trade unions launched protests last week demanding immediate measures to quell hunger.

In a letter to the president, it notably called for the “Opening of all food storage silos across the country,” to ensure equitable distribution.

The decision by the National Management Agency comes after residents broke into a facility in the capital Abuja to steal food items including bags of maize.

The incident reportedly went on for hours.

Africa News

Video - Rising Food Prices spark protests and smuggling in Nigeria

Friday, March 1, 2024

Heineken sells stake in Nigeria's Champion Breweries

Heineken has agreed a deal to sell its interest in Champion Breweries, the Nigeria-based beer business.

The Dutch giant is to offload its majority interest in the Champion Lager owner to EnjoyCorp, a local holding that says it is “building a portfolio of food, beverage and hospitality brands”.

Heineken is selling The Raysun Nigeria Company Limited, which owned an 86.5% stake in publicly-listed Champion Breweries, a business centred around one brewery and based in Uyo.

The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed by Heineken, Champion Breweries nor EnjoyCorp.

A Heineken spokesperson said: “The decision will allow greater focus on our core business in Nigeria, while finding a local investor with the ability to allow Champion to continue its development in the best way to suit local market conditions.”

In 2023, Heineken saw its sales volumes in Nigeria decline at a rate “in the high teens”, the Amstel owner said last month when it reported its annual results.

The group, which owns a 56.7% stake in the also publicly-listed Nigerian Breweries, said the devaluation of the Nigerian naira had fuelled inflation and hit consumers’ spending power.

Heineken’s group beer volumes dropped 4.7% in 2023 and the Amstel owner said two markets “represented more than 60% of the decline” – Vietnam and Nigeria.

In December, Champion Breweries promoted general manager Dr Inalegwu Adoga – a former Coca-Cola HBC and Heineken executive – to the positions of MD and CEO.

The most recently published set of financial accounts for the brewer covers the nine months to the end of September last year.

Revenue during the period fell 6.7% at N8.36bn. Champion Breweries made a loss from operating activities over the nine months of N46.7m ($28,881) – versus a profit of N1.76bn a year earlier – due to the lower sales and higher selling, distribution and admin costs.

It ran up a nine-month net loss of N77.7m, against a profit of N1.26bn in the first nine months of 2022.

The Heineken spokesperson added: “Champion has strong brands and talented people and we believe that the transaction will help secure a sustainable future for the business.”

In a brief statement on the Nigerian Exchange, EnjoyCorp said it expects the deal to be closed in the second quarter.

“The proposed acquisition will mark EnjoyCorp’s strategic entry into the beverage category underpinning the company’s long-term commitment to the African consumer,” it said.

Global Data

Portuguese Peseiro quits as Nigeria coach

The 63-year-old Portuguese coach met the target of guiding the Super Eagles to the semifinal of the tournament set for him by the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), but opted to move on.

Peseiro said it was a great privilege to work with Nigeria and he and his staff will miss both the officials and players they have worked with over the past two years.

"It has been 22 months of immense dedication, sacrifice, emotion, and enormous enthusiasm. We feel a sense of fulfillment," Peseiro posted on X, formerly Twitter, after his contract with the NFF ran out Thursday.

"Guys, we are thankful; it has been a privilege to be part of this family.

"We will miss you, but we will always be there for you, no matter where you are. A big hug to all of you."

Peseiro was appointed Nigeria coach in May 2022 amid concerns he would not make a success of the job going by his past record.

He helped the country qualify for the delayed 2023 Africa Cup of Nations, which was staged in Ivory Coast last month, when the Super Eagles went all the way to the championship game.

His critics knocked his defensive tactics even though the team reached the final against most expectations.

His extended contract covered only the Africa Cup of Nations after which officials said he was offered a new deal with the same monthly salary of $50,000, which he earned when he took a pay cut last year to keep his post.

Widely travelled Peseiro has said he has received several offers after Nigeria were beaten in the final by hosts Ivory Coast.

His departure will signal what could possibly be a long-drawn search for a replacement with growing calls for the often cash-strapped NFF to hire a local coach, who they can afford, in his place.

Peseiro, a former Real Madrid assistant coach, previously managed Saudi Arabia and Venezuela and clubs including Sporting Lisbon, FC Porto, Panathinaikos, Rapid Bucharest, Al-Hilal, Al-Wahda, Al-Ahly Cairo and Sharjah FC.

AFP

Central Bank of Nigeria revokes licences of 4,173 exchange bureaus

Nigeria's central bank said on Friday it had revoked the licences of 4,173 exchange bureaus that failed to comply with its guidelines and directives, including rendering returns of transactions and payment of required renewal fees within the due period.

The central bank, which resumed dollar sales to exchange bureaus this week, outlawed street-trading of foreign exchange and raised minimum capital levels for exchange bureaus to at least 2 billion naira ($1.3 million) under new guidelines released on Feb. 23.

The moves are part of broader reforms to Nigeria's forex market which has been grappling with chronic foreign exchange shortages.

Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) spokesperson Hakama Sidi Ali said the licences of the affected exchange bureaus were also revoked due to non-compliance with anti-money laundering and terrorism finance regulations.

"The CBN is revising the regulatory and supervisory guidelines for Bureau de Change operators. Compliance with the new requirements will be mandatory for all stakeholders in the sector when the revised guidelines become effective," Sidi Ali said in a central bank statement.

By Elisha Bala-Gbogbo, Reuters

Advocacy Groups Call for Halt to Shell's Planned Exit from Nigeria

Advocacy groups are calling on the Dutch oil giant Shell to halt its plans to divest assets from Nigeria's Niger Delta region unless proper cleanup and decommissioning of its infrastructure is complete.

This week, a Netherlands-based nonprofit released a report accusing Shell of trying to avoid responsibility for oil spills. The Center for Research on Multinational Corporations' report, entitled "Selling Out Nigeria — Shell's Irresponsible Divestment," said the Dutch oil giant's divestment in Nigeria must be suspended until clean-up and decommissioning of assets are complete.

The group accused Shell of trying to avoid responsibility for decades of oil spills in Nigeria's Niger Delta region that have polluted bodies of water and farmlands. It said Shell's assertion that it cleaned up polluted oil spill sites is flawed and cannot be trusted.

Faith Nwadishi, founder of Center for Transparency Advocacy, agrees with the report.

"The contract that they have signed that talks about the issue of remediation, protection of the environment and all of those things have not been done," said Nwadishi. "We should be looking at the contract and interpreting it accordingly — this is international best practice. This is what happens everywhere."

Shell operations grew controversial

Shell pioneered Nigeria's oil and gas explorations in 1937, but its operations have been subject to controversy and lawsuits from local communities.

Shell often blamed sabotage and vandalism by locals for busted pipelines, oil spills and environmental pollution.

In January, the company announced plans to sell its onshore operations to a local consortium of five companies for $2.4 billion.

Shell said the move would allow it to focus on more lucrative offshore businesses and that it was also proof that local companies are able to take on a larger share of Nigeria's oil and gas industry.

But Nwadishi said if the pollution issue is not addressed, Shell's exit could set a bad example for other multinationals operating in Nigeria.

"Once one person sets a precedent — especially the bad precedences — once they're set, you see other people following up," said Nwadishi. "When they do that, what it will mean is that they set a wrong template for other multinationals to do the same thing. And unfortunately, we have this judicial system that takes forever to take care of issues like that."

Law mandates funding for cleanup

Under Nigerian law, Shell is expected to provide funding for cleanup and decommissioning of its infrastructure before exiting.

But the report says the implementation of the law is flawed and said there is no sign that Shell is trying to comply with the law.

The company has not commented on the report but recently released a list of eight cleanup operations it plans to carry out in Nigeria this year, all for spills of less than 100 barrels of oil.

Emmanuel Afimia, founder of Enermics Consulting, said Nigerian authorities must take the Shell divestment plan seriously.

"Nigeria should implement the following measures: establish a robust regulatory framework that holds multinational corporations accountable for the environmental damage caused by their operations; ensure that affected communities are consulted and involved in the cleanup process and that their concerns and needs are addressed," said Afimia. "We need to monitor and evaluate the cleanup process regularly to ensure that it is being done properly and transparently."

VOA asked Nigeria's National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency for comment on the Shell issue but has not received a response.

Before Shell can sell the assets in question, it must get approval from the Nigerian government. The government has not said whether it will authorize the sale.

By Timothy Obiezu, VOA