Business News
BIPC Justifies Sack of 44 Staff
From Chris Gaga, Makurdi
The Managing Director of Benue Investment and PropertyCompany (BIPC), Alex Adum has said that the company will not tolerate redundancy under his watch.
Adum stated that he disengaged some staff of the company because they had no clear mandate to work for the organization.
The BIPC MD was speaking at a Press briefing Tuesday, in Makurdi when he reacted to the trending sack issue in the state.
DAILY ASSET recalls that the controversial sack of about 44 staff of BIPC by the current MD, Alex Adum has generated much concerns and criticism by people of the state.
But the MD told our correspondent that his decision was to flush out redundancy out of the system and restructure the company to realize the dreams and visions of its founding father, late Aper Aku.
Adum insisted that BIPC was not established to be a employment agency, but help in the speedy development of the state especially in the area of commerce and industries, hence the move to “offload the wage” on the company.
“Essentially, the staffing strength of BIPC is 12 but we have staffs now that the huge financial burden of the workforce has placed on the economy of the state was such that if allowed to thrive would gradually kill the company in particular and the state economy at large.”
Adum hinted that more staff would be disengaged to free the organization.
The MD said a situation where over 30 million worth of salary was expended on only 204 staff alone was counter productive, especially now that the income of the company was below expectations.
“The BIPC Abuja Plaza is performing at 10 percent income, 4.1million is spent monthly on personnel staff only, the BIPC guest house only has over 50 Staff, so you see that we lost 66 million every year.”
Adum dismissed the allegations by one of the disengaged staff that BIPC was controlled by people from governor Ortom’s immediate constituency and exonerated the governor. He said both governor Orton and former governor Gabriel Suswam did not influence employment of people from their Local Government Areas at the company.
“Both governor Ortom and Suswam did not influence employment of people from their local government because the statistics of staff shows that only 3 BIPC Staff are from Guma where governor Ortom is from, Logo LG where former governor Suswam is from has only 2, while vandiekya, katsina-ala, Ushongo, Ukum, Kwande, Gwer-west have the highest number of slots out of the total 204 staff of BIPC,” said the MD.
On the allegations by one Sandra Akume that the new MD, Alex Adum sought sexual gratification from some female staff, but sacked them upon refusal, he said that was “libelous on his personality” and he was ready to take a legal action against her.
Our correspondent learnt that Sandra Akume was before her disengagement, the recruitment officer two, at BIPC. She took to her facebook page to disclose the revelations in reaction to her sack, but the MD explained specifically that the Sandra has false and complicated credentials that shouldn’t have earned her appointment with the Company.
Adum said he did not start the reforms as a personal decision, but the collective resolve of management of BIPC, stating that, “I want to build on everything that is right but not wrong thing. I require three years to recreate BIPC and I am committed to make BIPC work.”
He berated the immediate past MD of BIPC, Alfred Adem, for being largely responsible for the rot and problems the company was going through at the moment, but assured Benue people that he will weather the storms.
“We will do everything to revive our properties, we ensure the take -off of the Makurdi International Market and other industries. ”
The Managing Director called for patriotic partnership from the business community and all Benue citizens to ensure that the vision of the “visionaries” of BIPC was not killed.
“Don’t kill BIPC because you didn’t create it. The visionaries did, so don’t kill it,” Adum cried.
Late Apollos Aper Aku, a former governor of Benue State is said to have established the Benue Investment Property Company since 1982 with the vision to speedily facilitate development of the state and safeguard it’s investments.
Alex Adum was appointed Managing Director of BIPC by governor Samuel Ortom on the 20th of August and resumed duty on the 29th August. And he said he has come to “wash the plates that have been eaten from by his predecessors and left dirty outside”
By Tony Obiechina, Abuja
The Commissioner for Insurance and CEO, Mr. Olusegun Ayo Omosehin, and his management team have met with the members of the Constitutional Committee on “Mobilisation and Diversification” of the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission ( RMAFC) led by Engr.
Sani Mohammed Baba, to explore ways of diversifying the Nigerian economy.During their working visit to NAICOM Headquarters, Mr.
Olusegun Ayo Omosehin, in his opening remarks, reaffirmed the critical role of the insurance sector regulator in supervising, regulating, and safeguarding the interests of insurance policyholders.He highlighted insurance’s pivotal role in mobilising savings for long-term developmental projects and enabling businesses to thrive while managing risks effectively.
He also stressed the Commission’s commitment to ensuring insurance companies meet their obligations, thus contributing to the sustainability of the economy.
Speaking, Mohammed Baba emphasised the importance of revenue generation, institutional expansion, and employment creation for Nigerians through collaborative efforts.
The Commissioner for Insurance also acknowledged President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s ambitious goal of growing the Nigerian economy to One Trillion United States Dollars ($1 trillion) by 2026.
He expressed the insurance sector’s intent to significantly contribute to this objective. Additionally, he mentioned ongoing efforts to embed insurance within the National Credit Scheme to ensure its sustainability.
Omosehin stressed the need for continuous advocacy and sensitization of government institutions about the vital role of insurance in national economic development.
By Tony Obiechina, Abuja
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has activated plans to double foreign-currency remittance flows through formal channels by granting 14 new International Money Transfer Operators (IMTOs) Approval-in-Principle (AIP).
This was disclosed in Abuja on Wednesday, by the Bank’s Acting Director of Corporate Communications, Mrs.
Hakama Sidi Ali, who stated that the initiative will help increase the sustained supply of foreign exchange in the official market by promoting greater competition and innovation amongst IMTOs to lower the cost of remittance transactions and boost financial inclusion.She said, “This will spur liquidity in Nigeria’s Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX), augmenting price discovery to enable a market-driven fair value for the naira.
“It will be recalled that the CBN Governor, Mr. Olayemi Cardoso, had recently declared: “We’ve set ourselves a target to double remittance flows into Nigeria within a year, a goal I firmly believe is within reach.
“We are wasting no time driving progress to remove any bottlenecks hindering flows through formal channels permanently. We have a determined pathway and a sequenced approach to tackling all challenges ahead, working hand in hand with key stakeholders in the remittance industry,” she stated.
Continuing, Sidi Ali, said that the CBN viewed increasing formal remittance flows—one of the major sources of foreign exchange, accounting for over 6% of GDP—as a means of reducing the historical volatility in Nigeria’s exchange rate caused by external factors, such as fluctuations in foreign investment and oil export proceeds.
The increase in the number of IMTOs is one of the primary actions initiated by the CBN’s remittance task force, overseen by Governor Cardoso as a collaborative unit pulling together specialists to work closely with the private sector and market operators to facilitate the ease of doing business in the remittance ecosystem in Nigeria.
The task force was established as a direct result of an executive learning session with IMTOs during the World Bank/IMF Spring Meetings held in Washington DC, United States of America, in April 2024. The task force will meet regularly to implement strategy and monitor the impact of its measures on remittance inflows.
By Matthew Dadiya, Abuja
President Bola Tinubu has reassured investors in the energy sector of his administration’s resolve to further enhance the business environment and ensure investment convenience.
The President spoke Wednesday at the inauguration of three milestone projects, including the expanded AHL Gas Processing Plant; the ANOH Gas Processing Plant, and the 23.
3km ANOH – Obiafu-Obrikom-Oben (OB3) Custody Transfer Metering Station Gas Pipeline.In a speech during the virtual inauguration of the projects at the State House, Tinubu also assured citizens that his administration is stepping up its coordination of other landmark projects and initiatives that will ensure the earliest realization of gas-fueled prosperity in the country.
The President, according to a statement by Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Ajuri Ngelale, noted that the projects were fully in line with the Decade of Gas Initiative and his administration’s vision to grow value from the nation’s abundant gas assets, while concurrently eliminating gas flaring and accelerating industrialization.
“This event is highly significant to our country as it demonstrates the administration’s concerted efforts to accelerate the development of critical gas infrastructure geared at significantly enhancing the supply of energy to boost industrial growth and create employment opportunities.
“It is pleasing that when these projects become fully operational, approximately 500MMscf of gas in aggregate will be supplied to the domestic market from these two gas processing plants, which represents over 25% incremental growth in gas supply.
“In practical terms, this is more gas to the power sector, gas-based industries, and other critical segments of the economy. I, therefore, commend the strategic vision of the NNPC Limited and its partners, Sterling Oil Exploration & Energy Production Company Limited (SEEPCO) and Seplat Energy Plc, for this laudable and value-adding projects,” President Tinubu said.
The President said his government remains determined in its bid to leverage the nation’s vast gas capacity to drive economic growth.
“Aside from the presidential CNG initiative which is aimed at moving the good people of Nigeria away from petrol and diesel as vehicular combustion fuel, significant progress has also been recorded in incentivizing gas development through Presidential Directives.
“The theme of this inauguration – ‘From Gas to Prosperity; Renewed Hope’, must be adopted by all gas-sector participants and would-be investors as a clarion call to ramp up efforts to accelerate investment and developments of projects in the gas sector on a win-win basis.
“I would once again commend the efforts of NNPC Ltd, alongside SEEPCO and Seplat Energy, on this business partnership initiative, and congratulate you all on the successful implementation of the three projects,” the President said.
President Tinubu also reiterated his government’s resolve to continue to provide support in deepening domestic gas utilization, increase national power generation capacity, revitalize industries, and create multiple job opportunities for economic growth.
“Today, I have the singular honour to inaugurate the expansion of the AHL Gas Processing Plant, the ANOH Gas Processing Plant, and the 23.3Km ANOH to Obiafu-Obrikom-Oben (OB3) Custody Transfer Metering Station Gas Pipeline Projects in line with my administration’s resolve to provide energy for Nigerians, and to use our vast natural gas resources to transform Nigeria,” the President stated.
May 15, 2024
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