BUSINESSDAY
Oceanic to integrate customers with Ecobank by 2012
Tuesday, 15 November 2011 16:23 (NAN)
Oceanic Bank Limited on Tuesday said it would fully integrate its customers with Ecobank Nigeria the first quarter of 2012. This was contained in statement signed by John Aboh, managing director of Oceanic Bank, and Jibril Aku, managing director, Ecobank Nigeria.
The statement is quoted as saying that the full integration would allow customers to conduct teller transactions at over 230 locations of Ecobank Nigeria, adding that customers would be allowed to use their Automated Teller Machine (ATM) cards at Ecobank machines with no extra transaction charge.
It said that all banking services like credit facility, standing orders, collection arrangements and international trade would be maintained subject to the usual terms and conditions.
The statement reiterated that Oceanic Bank and its subsidiaries were now part of Ecobank Group following the completion of the acquisition. Oceanic Bank promised to improve on the management of its customers’ accounts and ensure superior service delivery. It would be recalled that the Ecobank Transnational Incorporated (ETI), in October, completed 100 per cent acquisition of Oceanic Bank. (NAN)
FG wants equidistant fare as BA offers 20% slash
Wednesday, 16 November 2011 00:00 Sade Williams
* Arik gets seven slots at London-Heathrow *FAAN to charge for slot at Lagos airport
Following BusinessDay’s reports last week that foreign airlines are ripping- off Nigerians through huge fare differentials in Accra and Lagos, to passengers on the West Africa - Europe route, British Airways (BA) yesterday offered to cut the lowest Business class fare between Nigeria and the United Kingdom, by 20 percent. An offer the Federal Government promptly rejected.
By the BA offer, the ‘i-class’ (the lowest business class cartegory) which costs N918,234 for Lagos-London-Lagos and N776,223 for Abuja- London-Abuja, would have been reduced to N734, 587 and N620, 978 respectively.
Also Arik Air won the war for slots for the Abuja - London route, as the Federal Government secured seven slots for the airline at London Heathrow Airport.
The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) is also going to start collection of payment for slots at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, which before now, was free to airlines. A slot is the permission that an airline has, to land at an airport at a particular time and is paid for, in most busy airports worldwide.
These were some of the outcomes of a two-day meeting between top UK government officials and Federal Government officials, on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Joe Obi, senior adviser on media, to the Aviation Minister, said there was no conclusion yet on these issues.
“The Nigerian government and the British authorities held high-level negotiations yesterday and this morning (Wenesday). These discussions are still on-going.
“With respect to the high fares charged by British Airways and the associated regional imbalance, the airline made an offer of a 20% reduction on the lowest Business Class fare, between Nigeria and the UK.
“The Nigerian side considered this as insufficient. The Nigerian government is still very concerned about the regional price disparity. We still strongly believe that this regional imbalance should be dismantled. In other words, BA should offer the same, or similar fares from Nigeria to the UK, as is the case in any other equidistant destination within West Africa”, he said in a statement.
He said the British authorities at the meetings, requested to be given an opportunity to carry out an independent study of the regional pricing disparity in the UK/Nigeria aviation market, to enable it decide what to do about the fare disparity.
“We expect the conclusion of this study by the end of the year, to facilitate a conclusion on the subject”, Obi said.
On the slot issue affecting Arik Air, he said government had secured seven slots for the airline, on the Abuja-London operations at London Heathrow.
“With respect to slots at Heathrow Airport, seven slots per week from Abuja have been secured for Arik Air at prevailing commercial rates.”, he added.
Kola Olayinka, country commercial manager for BA said the company was grateful for the outcome of the meeting, adding that there was still some work that needed to be done between now and December, since the flights are back to status quo.
Regional politicking kills PIB
Wednesday, 16 November 2011 00:00 OLUSOLA BELLO Energy, Editor
*Strong disagreement over 10% royalties to oil communities
The petroleum industry bill (PIB), the omnibus oil and gas bill that has languished in the National Assembly in the last four years, can be presumed dead as it is, analysts have said. Strong disagreements, driven by perceived regional interests, rather than national, nailed the coffin of the bill, during the last session of the National Assembly.
Expectations that the bill would finally pass in the last days of the last session of the National Assembly, were dashed due to ethnic rivalries on the basis of the additional 10 percent royalties going to oil producing communities. National Assembly representatives from the northern part of the country had refused this clause, on the basis that no additional royalties should go oil producing communities, since they already take 13 percent as derivation.
This pattern of argument is similar to what has stalled the reforms of the ports that would allow the different ports in the country to compete. Analysts believe that northern representatives will not give on this clause, and the bill will only pass as it is, if the clause is removed from it. The other alternative for the passage of the bill, is for the government to withdraw the bill and pass it in a piece meal fashion, ensuring that the aspects of the bill consented by all, are presented first.
The initial thought and hesitation by the international companies has since given way to more intractable sectional and ethnic rilvaries. Indeed, most of the international oil companies which were initially opposed to the bill, have since indicated their support for it, after some grey areas were clarified. The companies were antagonistic to the bill, because of concerns regarding the fiscal regime. Mutiu Sunmonu, managing director of Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) says the company is not opposed to the bill.
Meanwhile, the failure of the National Assembly to pass the bill is hurting the Nigerian oil and gas industry, as the sector is witnessing a dearth of investments, against the anticipated surplus. On the basis of the present rate of production of just over 2 million barrels per day, Nigeria will exhaust her reserves before long.
Fellow oil and gas producer, Angola has attracted more than four high value, foreign direct investments (FIDs) in the last three years, while Nigeria has got none in the last four years. Industry watchers say the problem is that investors are unwilling to put their money where the fiscal regimes that will govern operations are uncertain.
As a result, there are no new exploration or production activities in the country’s oil and gas sector, and this has been going on for more than four years.
Analysts further say that Nigeria is thus continuing to deplete its’ crude oil reserves, without resourse addition, which should come through new exploration.
Babajide Soyede, managing director of Free Zone Plant Fabrication International, said the damage done by the failure to pass the bill, was incalculable, in terms of investment. He said oil companies would not take any investment initiatives, if the bill was not passed. “But if it is passed, it would enrich local content development. It is in the interest of everybody that the bill is passed.”
The lack of investment in the upstream sector of the oil and gas industry, is also stalling employment among the population. A lot of the service companies have laid off staff, for lack of work to do, while others are on the verge of closing down, on account of the stalled bill. For instance, the Free Zone Plant Fabrication International at Onne has been closed down.
Industry watchers further say that the success of the power sector, which is largely dependent on gas supply, is also being geopardised.
There is broad consensus on the need for reforms in the governance of the petroleum sector, which has over time been plagued by secrecy, corruption and inefficiency, leading to poor economic and social returns from the industry, for the Nigerian government and people.
Building African bridges through financial intermediation
Wednesday, 16 November 2011 00:00 JOHN OMACHONU, FINANCE EDITOR
If there is anything that Eco Transnational Incorporated, ETI, prides itself for, it is being truly a pan-African bank that has succeeded in mending fences and building bridges for the flourishing of trade across borders.
With presence in 35 countries and Africa accounting for 32, and with another addition by the first quarter of next year in Equatorial Guinea, Arnold Ekpe, group chief executive, ETI, believes that they are running a very large banking outside Nigeria, attesting to the fact that the acquisition of Oceanic Bank, which will eventually be merged with the Nigerian subsidiary, Ecobank, will make it a stronger outfit, with the attendant rise in ranking.
ETI has offices in Paris, Dubai and London. The acquisition of Oceanic bank was its fourth experience after similar deal with Hallmark Bank, Allstates Trust Bank and African International Bank, while across Africa it has done 13 acquisitions in the last four years. These deals are basically aimed at improving the bank’s services in the various countries in line with its overall strategy.
According to Ekpe, “our vision in ETI is to build a world-class pan-African bank and to contribute to the development of Africa. We do several interesting things. We employ currently over 23,000 people more than any other bank. We dedicate 1 percent of our profit after tax to Ecobank Foundation.
“It is a foundation that supports in health, children projects, culture and education across a number of countries. We have set up a $50 million technology centre in Accra, and that is the number one technology centre in Africa. We connect our branches across the continent via Ecobank communications system and it is the largest company telecommunications system, apart from investing in developing and training of our people.”
Ecobank board has nine nationalities, while the senior management is made up of people from 14 different nationalities. “So, Ecobank is an embodiment of Africa and that is why it is an exciting institution, because in our opinion we represent the future of Africa. Whether we like it or not, we have to see ourselves as one, we have to break barriers to trade so that business will be able to move across the countries seamlessly. That is the future of Africa. If we leave Africa to be fragmented the way it is fragmented, that is not a good future,” Ekpe stated.
The bank’s presence in the whole of African countries has continued to make it have competitive edge over its peers. For instance, when the Nigerian banking industry was going through a difficult time, Ecobank Nigeria, according to Ekpe, “we were still making money in other subsidiaries.”
The ETI chief disclosed that the group was planning to open in China and the United States, subject to all the necessary regulatory approvals, but that in all its ambitions the focus was on African markets, to bring more trade and investments.
Ecobank started in the mid 1980s by the West African Chamber of Commerce, with the support of ECOWAS. The reason why it was started particularly in Togo, according to Ekpe, was to provide a regional banking platform for African businessmen and women doing business across the sub region.
He posited that “Ecobank invented pan-African banking. We took the view a long time ago before it became popular that Africa is one continent and will continue to live together. So, what we did was to start opening subsidiaries in Africa long before everyone else, and other banks joined after us including the Nigerian banks, Moroccan banks and others.
“Our mission/vision in Ecobank is to build a world-class outfit to contribute to the development of Africa. So, we do several interesting things. We employ currently over 23,000 people in over 1100 branches, more than any other bank.”
Speaking further at a parley with some select journalists in Lome, Togo, he said “in many of these countries, we are the leading bank. Ours is a good financial institution and very committed to the growth of Africa. When we go to these countries we do what we can to improve the economy of such a place. We support the banking institutions; we support the public and private sector.
“We are African institution and we are very committed to Africa. For example, in Togo, we are currently the number one bank. In Benin next door, we are number two. In Cote d Voire we are number three, In Guinea Conakry, we are number one.
“So, our experience has been a good one and as you know, we have over 25 years of running banks across a lot of countries. In the case of Nigeria, we are number 14, so it was important for us to improve our situation or strategy to be among the leading banks.
“We believe the way to achieve that strategy is by adopting acquisition strategy. You need to bear in mind that we had done three other acquisitions in Nigeria before now.”
Reeling out impact created within their environment, Ekpe noted: “We have invested in technology infrastructure and in transportation. In fact, we were one of the leading groups that helped the Lagos State government in its transportation projects. We invested in infrastructure in Cross River State, the Tinapa project, and quite a number of them.”
As far as Nigeria is concerned, the Oceanic Bank transaction is transformational because it will move us into top five banks in one go, so it is important to us, he stated.
Rise in claims on government, banks drive discount houses’ assets to record high
Wednesday, 16 November 2011 00:00 Iheanyi Nwachukwu
…As banks’ credit to core private sector falls by 0.2%
The total assets and liabilities of discount houses stood at N317.1 billion at end-August 2011, showing an increase of 21.5 percent over the level at end-July 2011.
Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) economic report for August noted that the rise in discount houses assets was accounted for, largely, by the rise in claims on federal and state governments, and on banks and fixed assets. “Correspondingly, the increase in total liabilities was attributed, largely, to the increase in money at call, borrowings and other liabilities,” the CBN stated in the report recently released.
In the review period, discount houses’ investment in Federal Government securities of less than 91-day maturity rose to N34.1 billion and accounted for 18.7 percent of their total deposit liabilities.
“There was no investment by discount houses in treasury bonds during the month. Thus, investment in Federal Government securities was 41.3 percentage points below the prescribed minimum level of 60 percent for fiscal 2011. At that level, discount houses’ investment on Nigerian Treasury Bills (NTBs) rose by 26.3 percent above the level at the end of the preceding month.
“Total borrowing by the discount houses was N40.8 billion, while their capital and reserves amounted to N49.9 billion. This resulted in a gearing ratio of 0.8:1, compared with the stipulated maximum target of 50:1for fiscal 2011,” according to the report. In a related development, available data indicated that total assets and liabilities of the deposit money banks (DMBs) amounted to N19.482 trillion, showing an increase of 4.3 percent above the level at end-July 2011.
“Funds sourced mainly from increased capitalisation, draw-down on reserves and increased in unclassified liabilities were used, largely, to extend credit to private sector and purchase of Federal Government securities. At N12.140 trillion, DMBs’ credit to the domestic economy rose by 12.5 percent above the level in the preceding month.
“The breakdown, on a month-on-month basis, showed that credit to states and local governments and credits to the core private sector rose by 11.5 percent and 9.8 percents, respectively, above their levels in July 2011,” the report stated.
The CBN’s credit to the DMBs, largely, loans and advances, fell marginally by 0.04 percent to N384.61billion at end-August 2011, while specified liquid assets of the DMBs stood at N3116.62 billion, representing 21.5 percent of their total current liabilities. This level of liquid assets was 12.9 percentage points above the preceding month’s ratio, but 8.5 percentage points below the stipulated minimum ratio of 30 percent for fiscal 2011.
Banks’ loan-to-deposit ratio was 43.6 percent and was 36.4 percentage points below the stipulated maximum target of 80 percent.
20 killed in S.Africa highway crash
Tuesday, 15 November 2011 11:42 Reuters
At least 20 people were killed and about a dozen others injured when two van-taxis and a truck slammed into each other on a South African highway in the predawn hours of Tuesday, police said.
Two children were among the dead and the cause of the accident that took place northeast of Cape Town is under investigation. "This is an appalling tragedy.
There are whole families that get wiped out in these accidents," Western Cape transport official Robin Carlisle told news website Eyewitness News.
CPC chieftain wants National Merit Award modified
Tuesday, 15 November 2011 16:33 (NAN)
Dennis Aghanya, a chieftain of the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), has called for the modification of the process of the National Honours Award to make it more credible.
Aghanya, in an interview with newsmen on Tuesday in Abuja, commended the Federal Government for honouring some eminent Nigerians, noting that many of the recipients were government officials.
He noted that this is not the objective of the exercise, which is to honour deserving citizens for their contributions to national development.
``If you watch the calibre of recipients of the award, they are government officials and political associates. Does it imply that there are no morally-sound common men in the society who have contributed to nation-building?’’ Anghanya queried.
He said there was nothing wrong in honouring people for achieving laurels, but such exercise should be done ``without losing focus.'' ``More so, such achievements should be classified as benefits to the country. Let us learn to improve on a heritage rather than diminish it,’’ Aghanya advised. (NAN)
Airports’ transformation… no more lofty promises
Wednesday, 16 November 2011 00:00 Jogbenayon Ogunrounbi
The much-desired transformation of the nation’s airports has continued to be a mirage with successive administrations. It has been incessant promises of imminent changes in the poor state of airports’ infrastructure across the country and their management to no avail. Invariably, tales of woe have pervaded the airports and environment. We are always inundated with stories of stagnant revenue, increasing debt profile, no allocation for the maintenance of the airports, delay in the payment of salaries of workers, pensioners and contractors, poor billing systems, and loopholes or leakages in revenue collection system among others. The much-touted concessions of most operations in the aviation sector to firms in the private sector, under the Federal Government’s Public Private Partnership initiative, are regrettably not adding any profit to the business. With the concessions in Nigeria, it’s been stories of clever entrepreneurs outsmarting the machineries of government and using the same to impose self-drafted agreements on the state’s agencies/parastatals. For instance, with the lopsidedness of most concession agreements between the managers of the nation’s airports, the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), and its business associates, no remarkable improvement has been recorded from the revenue profile.
FAAN is today hamstrung by massive debts owed it by concessionaires, government agencies and airlines, mostly in its domestic operations. It is really in a financially precarious position, with its debt profile standing at over N22billion as at October 2011 as I learnt. If nothing is done with alacrity on the part of those at the helms of affairs, that agency will definitely go the way of our liquidated Nigeria Airways.
Interestingly, we seem to have a responsive and sensitive government this time around. And fortunately again, Nigeria can also boast an aviation minister in the person of Princess Stella Oduah, who is ready to do all within her powers to change the overwhelming negative impression about our airports.
The Anambra-born Oduah, we learnt is a woman of action, and is bent on ridding the aviation industry of its rot. She did not mince words to say that the state of the nation’s airports is not acceptable. With her private sector orientation, she is determined to put the Federal Government’s transformation to work in the industry, particularly at the airports. It’s her utmost heart’s desire to remodel 11 out of the 22 airports managed by FAAN in the first phase of the transformation agenda. The airports include the International Terminal (MMA), General Aviation Terminal (MMA), Abuja International Terminal, Port Harcourt International Airport Terminal, Kaduna Airport Terminal, Calabar Airport Terminal, Benin Airport Terminal, Enugu Airport Terminal, Owerri Airport Terminal and Yola Airport Terminal.
Her swiftness in disengaging three aviation chiefs early this October and replacing them with some three other aviation professionals or technocrats attests to her no-nonsense style of administration. She has been defensive enough to tell the world that the disengaged chiefs had actually finished their tenure of office.
Having gotten the certificate of no objection from the Due Process Office, Oduah is leaving no doubt about her determination to really turn around the fortune of the airports. She has, in fact, succeeded in removing the skepticism we normally had on the heaven and earth promises of most of her predecessors, who at the end of the day had nothing meaningful to show for such pronouncements.
Invariably, of interest to us is the avant-garde approach the new helmsman at the Federal Airports Authority, George Uriesi, is putting in place to change the face of the dilapidated airports. Most of the infrastructure at all the airports have marked over 30 years of age. Like some aviation pundits, I really have no doubt about the competence of Uriesi to turn around the airports, having critically examined his antecedents. His career spans more than 20 years, mostly in airline and airport operations as well as both the safety and economic regulation of the industry.
Sub-Sahara African region’s economy to grow above 5¼% in 2011 – report
Wednesday, 16 November 2011 00:00 IHEANYI NWACHUKWU
…Wants oil exporters to buffer against price volatility
This year, 2011, looks set to be another encouraging one for most sub-Sahara African (SSA) economies, according to the latest regional economic outlook.
Recently released by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the report noted that reflecting mainly strong domestic demand but also elevated commodity prices; the region’s economy is set to expand by 5¼ percent in 2011.
It also noted that for 2012, its baseline projection is for the region’s economic growth to be higher at 5¾ percent, owing to one-off boosts to production in a number of countries.
There are encouraging signs that the quality of the region’s recent high-growth episode has been fairly good.
According to the report, “there are specters at the feast. Helpful as commodity prices can be to the region, the increase in global food and fuel prices, now amplified by an acute drought in some parts, has hit the budgets of the poor and in a number of countries sparked rising inflation. And beyond this, hesitations in the global recovery threaten to weaken export and growth prospects.
“In particular, our projection for 2012 is highly contingent on global economic growth being sustained at about 4 percent. If growth in advanced economies slows further and curtails global demand, the region’s ongoing expansion is likely to face significant headwinds, with South Africa and others that are more globally integrated likely to be affected the most.”
This disclosure in the regional economic outlook comes amid increasing advice from experts at international organisation for oil exporting countries in the region, like Nigeria to leverage on the opportunities created by oil price movement for better terms of trade to cushion against price volatility in the near future.
The report stated: “For oil exporters, better terms of trade are providing a good opportunity to build up policy buffers against further price volatility.
“Policies in the coming months need to tread a fine line between addressing the challenges that strong growth and recent exogenous shocks have engendered, and warding off the potentially adverse effects of another global downturn. As usual, much depends on country circumstances, but some broad guidelines can be advanced. Some slower-growing, mostly middle-income countries, including South Africa, without binding financial constraints, have yet to see output and employment return to pre-crisis levels,” the IMF stated in the report.
Policies here should clearly remain supportive of output growth, and even more so if global growth sputters.
“Most low-income countries are currently on a faster growth trajectory, but policies have been slow to move out of the accommodative mode set during the global slowdown. Some are so far behind the curve that inflation is now rising sharply. Against this backdrop: Provided that the global economy keeps to the World Economic Outlook (WEO) baseline scenario of steady but slow growth, these countries should focus squarely on medium-term considerations in setting fiscal policy while tightening monetary policy wherever nonfood inflation has climbed above the single digits,” the regional report stated.
Furthermore, it noted that in the event of a global downturn, subject to financing constraints, policies should focus on maintaining planned spending initiatives, while allowing automatic stabilisers to operate on the revenue side.
“If, however, the global slowdown looks to be persistent, there will be a need to revisit spending plans to ensure that they are consistent with lower growth and financing assumptions. Where non-food inflation is high, monetary policy support for activity should wait for inflation to fall to single digits,” it stated further.
Only a handful of countries have tightened monetary policy in response to the price shocks. Some flexible exchange rate countries experiencing strong growth and high or rising non-food price inflation have increased policy rates. These are Burundi, Kenya, Nigeria, and Uganda. But in most countries, interest rates are little changed from the low levels set during the global financial crisis.
And playing off the loose monetary stance, many countries in the region with floating exchange rates have seen their nominal effective exchange rates weaken, appreciably over the past year. This process has been more marked than in other regions. Low-income oil-importing countries in the region have generally avoided declines in reserves, even in the face of pressures on the exchange rate.
With the notable exception of Nigeria, which has both lost reserves and seen its nominal effective exchange rate depreciate, oil exporters have seized the opportunity presented by sharp improvements in oil prices to replenish or accumulate foreign exchange reserves.
The report also looked at the risk aspect of the region’s projected growth, stating that 2011 is a year of two contrasting storylines in the region. On the one hand, growth is as strong and broad as it has been for many years for many countries. On the other, global and domestic developments in 2011 have brought to the fore the fragility of economic conditions in sub-Sahara Africa.
In particular, the surge in global food and fuel prices is causing dislocation in many parts of the region, particularly among the urban poor, and the drought in east Africa is causing untold human hardship including the displacement of close to a million people from Somalia into Ethiopia and Kenya. Furthermore, the renewed turmoil in global financial markets and the weaknesses exposed in advanced economies are likely to heighten downside risks to our central projections.
Top seeds gear up for ATP World Tour finals
Wednesday, 16 November 2011 00:00 Vincent Egboigbe
British number one Andy Murray will play world number one Novak Djokovic in the group stages of the ATP World Tour finals at the O2 Arena in London.
Murray will also play David Ferrer and Tomas Berdych in the round-robin group which starts on Sunday.
World number two Rafael Nadal will take on Roger Federer, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Mardy Fish in group B.
The top two from each group will qualify for the semi-finals at the seasonending tournament.
World number three Murray was beaten by Djokovic, who is chasing an 11th title in 2011, in the final of the Australian Open in January but the Scot won their last meeting in the final of the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati in August.
The 24-year-old, who was beaten in last year’s semifinal by Nadal, also faces Berdych, the man who ended his 17-match winning streak at the Paris Masters.
Czech player Berdych qualified for the tournament by reaching the quarter- finals in Paris.
Reigning champion Federer, who beat Nadal in last year’s final, is in good form, having won last week’s event in the French capital with a victory over Tsonga.
Eagles struggle to win over Zambia
Wednesday, 16 November 2011 00:00 Vincent Egboigbe
Goals from the Uche brother either half made the difference as a disjointed Super Eagles laboured to a two goal victory over Zambia in an international friendly Tuesday in Kaduna.
Stephen Keshi got his first win in charge of the team, in a match in which the goals did not even begin to tell the true story, after having replaced Samson Siasia as coach of Nigeria, but it is obvious the man known widely as the ‘Big Boss’ has a lot of work to do to take the team to the height so desired by Nigerians.
The Zambians who are using the Nigeria tie as tune up for their African Nations Cup challenge in January, at some point completely dominated the home side, enjoying more possession.
The Southern Africans created several chances after the early exchanges, with TP Mazembe star Rainford Kalaba been so lively. But for the alertness of Vincent Enyeama in goal, they would have gone ahead.
Nigeria however, got the opener after some beautiful run down the right flank by Ahmed Musa, whose low cross was converted by a lurking Kalu Uche. Musa was one of the few bright spots in a Nigerian side bereft of ideas for the most part.
At the interval, the territorial dominance of Zambia became more pronounced, enjoying 65-35 of possession at some point, but for their lack of composure in front of goal, they should have won comfortably.
With a completely porous midfield, an attack that was no better, Keshi made several changes, giving new kids Ugo Ukah and Nigeria Premier League top goalscorer Jude Aneke their debuts.
Zambia continued to ask all the questions and made several changes with Clifford Mulenga, Isaac Chansa and James Chamanga thrown into the fray, but the Joseph Yobo led backline managed to survive.
As the match wore on, the younger Uche, Ikechukwu who started on the bench, again showed his brilliance as he fired in a trademark goal from close range late in the second half to hand Nigeria a flattering goal margin.
Eagles struggle to win over Zambia
Wednesday, 16 November 2011 00:00 Vincent Egboigbe
Goals from the Uche brother either half made the difference as a disjointed Super Eagles laboured to a two goal victory over Zambia in an international friendly Tuesday in Kaduna.
Stephen Keshi got his first win in charge of the team, in a match in which the goals did not even begin to tell the true story, after having replaced Samson Siasia as coach of Nigeria, but it is obvious the man known widely as the ‘Big Boss’ has a lot of work to do to take the team to the height so desired by Nigerians.
The Zambians who are using the Nigeria tie as tune up for their African Nations Cup challenge in January, at some point completely dominated the home side, enjoying more possession.
The Southern Africans created several chances after the early exchanges, with TP Mazembe star Rainford Kalaba been so lively. But for the alertness of Vincent Enyeama in goal, they would have gone ahead.
Nigeria however, got the opener after some beautiful run down the right flank by Ahmed Musa, whose low cross was converted by a lurking Kalu Uche. Musa was one of the few bright spots in a Nigerian side bereft of ideas for the most part.
At the interval, the territorial dominance of Zambia became more pronounced, enjoying 65-35 of possession at some point, but for their lack of composure in front of goal, they should have won comfortably.
With a completely porous midfield, an attack that was no better, Keshi made several changes, giving new kids Ugo Ukah and Nigeria Premier League top goalscorer Jude Aneke their debuts.
Zambia continued to ask all the questions and made several changes with Clifford Mulenga, Isaac Chansa and James Chamanga thrown into the fray, but the Joseph Yobo led backline managed to survive.
As the match wore on, the younger Uche, Ikechukwu who started on the bench, again showed his brilliance as he fired in a trademark goal from close range late in the second half to hand Nigeria a flattering goal margin.
Wilshere emerges as Real target
Tuesday, 15 November 2011 13:03 Espnsoccernet
Arsenal and England star Jack Wilshere has been named as one of five transfer targets on a leaked Real Madrid document.
Wilshere, who pledged his future to the Gunners only last week and has a contract which runs until 2015, features alongside Lille's Eden Hazard, Borussia Dortmund's Mario Gotze, Barcelona's Rafinha Alcantara and Iker Muniain of Athletic Bilbao.
Spanish newspaper Marca published the shopping list of long-term potential signings under the headline 'Operation Madrid 2014', with Los Blancos clearly planning for the next batch of young stars to be brought in to complement the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo.
The report claims Real's technical team would rather spend £30 million on the youngsters in the next two years than be quoted fees of more than £50 million when they are fully developed.
Marca is the unofficial mouthpiece for Real and the publication of the list has raised concerns that the Spanish club have taken the first step in a calculated approach to unsettle their transfer targets.
Arsenal fought a long battle with Barcelona over their public pursuit of Cesc Fabregas and eventually sold their skipper to the European champions in the summer for around £29 million.
The Gunners could now be set to face a similar media campaign regarding Wilshere.
Nigeria gets extra Bonny oil cargoes in December
Tuesday, 15 November 2011 15:19 Reuters
Three extra tankers of Nigeria's Bonny light crude oil stream are due to load in December, traders said on Tuesday, adding nearly 3 million barrels to the loading programme.
The three extra cargoes of 950,000 barrels each are expected to load Dec. 8-9, 15-16 and 25-26, although traders said that they are waiting for final confirmation of dates.
The volumes amount to around 92,000 barrels per day and were allocated to Nigerian energy group Oando, trading house Vitol and Nigerian oil group Sahara, traders said.
"These are injection cargoes. They were probably there all along, just not put in the original programme," said a west African oil trader.
The revisions to the December programme left planned Nigerian supplies at 1.99 million barrels per day (bpd) and the highest forecast level since September, Reuters data showed.
The original loading programme forecast exports of 1.9 million bpd. Monthly oil loading programmes are often subject to change since they are based on production forecasts.
Bonny supplies have been variable in the past few months due to supply disruptions, prompting operator Royal Dutch Shell to declare force majeure in August.
The extra supplies were offset by lower expected volumes of the other main Nigerian grade Qua Iboe. A tanker of the Qua Iboe grade has been dropped from the programme and at least one other cargo has been delayed, traders said on Monday.
Operator Exxon Mobil declined to comment. Nigeria is Africa's top oil exporter and its high quality light, sweet crude oil is exported to Asia, Europe and the United States.
Inflation edges higher, GDP growth dips
Tuesday, 15 November 2011 11:33 Reuters
Nigeria's headline inflation edged up to 10.5 percent year-on-year in October, from 10.3 percent the previous month, while GDP growth dipped to 7.4 percent in the third quarter this year, from 7.72 percent in the second quarter, the statistics bureau announced on Tuesday.
Growth in food prices, the largest contributor to the consumer index, rose to 9.7 percent year-on-year in October from 9.5 percent the previous month. The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has said it would prefer consumer inflation to be kept in single-digits. The CBN monetary policy committee meets next week to set interest rates.
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