High Profile Burial Sets For Prince Adeniji Adele

                           
Lagos social establishment, top politicians and party vultures are now in anticipation to attend the burial of former Lagos Island Local Government Chairman, Prince Adeniji Adele. According to informed sources, he would be laid to rest as soon as his remains arrives from India. Adele, fondly called Papa is a Prince of Lagos and was very prominent in the politics and sports administration in the state and Nigeria. He also served as a deputy gubernatorial candidate under the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, a political platform he swayed high before joining the All Progressives Congress, APC. The late Lagos popular princeis survived by wife, Tawakalitu and several children.

Photo News: SENATE MAJORITY LEADER, SENATOR ALI NDUME BRIEFING STATE HOUSE CORRESPONDENTS IN ABUJA

ENATE MAJORITY LEADER, SEN. ALI NDUME  BRIEFING STATE HOUSE CORRESPONDENTS AFTER A MEETING WITH VICE-PRESIDENT YEMI OSINBAJO AT THE PRESIDENTIAL VILLA IN ABUJA ON THURSDAY (5/5/1

Photo News: EU HEAD OF DELEGATION VISITS PRESIDENT ON DIASPORA IN ABUJA.

SPECIAL ADVISER TO THE PRESIDENT ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS, MRS ABIKE DABIRI-EREWA (R), PRESENTING  DIASPORA  MAGAZINE TO THE HEAD OF
DELEGATION, EUROPEAN UNION (EU), MR MICHEL ARRION WHO VISITED HER OFFICE  IN ABUJA ON THURSDAY (5/5/16).
3388/5/5/2016/EO/CH/NAN

Photo News: PRESIDENT MUHAMMADU BUHARI RECEIVES DIRECTOR UNODC IN ABUJA

PRESIDENT MUHAMMADU BUHARI (R) WELCOMING THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, UNITED NATIONS OFFICE ON DRUGS AND CRIMES, MR YURY FEDOTOV 
TO THE PRESIDENTIAL VILLA IN ABUA ON THURSDAY (5/5/16)

AMCON Revs up recovery effort, appoints professional debt resolution firms as partners

                        

As part of its renewed strategy to resolve over six thousand accounts with loan balances of N100million and below, the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) has flagged off its induction programme for successful firms that qualified as its Asset Management Partners (AMPs). The AMPs are consortiums with specialist skills required to ensure recovery and debt resolution; banking, legal, valuation and accounting.

Speaking at the event in Lagos yesterday, Mr. Kola Ayeye, AMCON Executive Director, who represented Mr. Ahmed Kuru, Managing Director/CEO said collaborating with AMPs had become necessary because the Corporation has a total loan portfolio of over twelve thousand loans of various sizes and sectors that are still lingering six years after AMCON was established. According to him, when this is compared to AMCON’s staff strength of approximately three hundred, it was obvious AMCON surely needs a strategic approach to improve coverage and results.

Ayeye explained that this trend to strengthen recoveries is the rationale for appointing AMPs stating that, “That is the reason we are all here today to work together in resolving the over six thousand accounts with loan balances of N100million and below. We are convinced that the AMP programme is key to the success of AMCON, and we will give you all the necessary support to make you succeed in this exercise.”

While reminding the participants that the job of debt recovery was never an easy task, he promised that AMCON would during the course of the event share a set of rules, practices and processes, which would help each AMP deliver optimally, adding, “We will provide you with a feedback channel that will attend to all your professional needs and also provide necessary guidance.”

Assuring that AMCON will not let them walk alone in this assignment, the Executive Director urged the AMPs to take this novel initiative seriously because AMCON intends to nurture its transformation into the preferred model for recovery and resolution of non-performing loans in the banking sector and financial services industry. A new sub-sector should emerge with desirable job creation and multiplier impact.

A statement from the Corporate Communications Department of AMCON said the AMPs would among other things work with AMCON in tracing, identification and location of obligors with the intent to resolve their outstanding indebtedness. They would also be involved in tracing, identification and location of assets of obligors (both pledged and unpledged) to enhance the Eligible Bank Assets (EBAs) value and achieve set recovery objectives, negotiation of settlement and restructuring terms with identified obligors in line with approved guidelines. The AMPs will be vested with the wide powers granted AMCON by its enabling Act.   

Recently, AMCON called for applications from reputable and qualified entities with the requisite experience to collaborate with it as AMPs to resolve these debts. AMCON was established in 2010 as a resolution vehicle to purchase the non-performing loans from banks, inject liquidity into the banks and subsequently recover the purchased bad loans. Over the last five years, AMCON has successfully stabilised the Nigerian banking sector by restructuring and collecting some of these loans.

Photo News; GOVERNOR AMBODE SIGNS 3 BILLS INTO LAW.

FROM LEFT: MAJORITY LEADER, LAGOS STATE HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY, SINAI AGUNBIADE; GOV. AKINWUNMI AMBODE OF LAGOS; ATTORNEY GENERAL AND COMMISSIONER FOR JUSTICE, MR ADENIJI KAZEEM AND SPECIAL ADVISER TO LAGOS GOVERNOR ON CIVIC ENGAGEMENT, MR KEHINDE JOSEPH, AT THE SIGNING OF 3 BILLS INTO LAW BY THE GOVERNOR  IN LAGOS ON THURSDAY (5/5/16).

Leading in Africa: UBA to expand footprint to 25 African countries

                                

The United Bank for Africa (UBA) Group recently held its first ever Senior Leadership Forum reflecting the strategic importance and growth potential of its pan-African business. UBA Group Chairman Mr. Tony O. Elumelu convened the Forum to review the impressive growth that the bank’s African network had made over the past 11 years and to provide a platform to reaffirm and embolden its strategic goals.

 

The Forum brought together 90 participants, including the entire Board of UBA, all Chairmen and all CEOs of UBA subsidiaries across Africa and the United Kingdom. It was timed to coincide with UBA’s Annual General Meeting and Group Board Meeting.

 

“We are one bank, the United Bank for Africa", Mr. Elumelu said as he opened the Forum. “Bringing together our senior leadership talent from across the continent and the distinguished leaders who chair our subsidiary businesses is a powerful demonstration of our commitment to forge one bank for Africa.”

 

“As long-term investors and, may I say, pioneers in pan-African commercial and investment banking, we are deeply committed to the markets in which we operate and to harnessing the potential represented by the wider African economy. Our intention is to be the leader in African financial services, and our recent transactions show this. We see clearly the potential of Africa” said Mr. Elumelu.

 

UBA subsidiaries operate in 18 African countries and now contribute more than 25 per cent to Group operating revenue. UBA is increasingly recognized as a strong pan-African brand, hailed for democratising banking in its countries of operation whilst participating in landmark financial transactions, including:

 

·                     A USD$1.2 billion oil financing agreement with NNPC and Chevron where UBA provided funding for Chevron and NNPC to develop 36 new oil wells that will significantly expand Nigeria’s oil production capacity

·                     A USD $315 million facility to the Government of Ghana for road projects on the strength of Road Fund levies domiciled with UBA Ghana

·                     A US$250 million Crude pre-payment facility for Democratic Republic of Congo-based Orion Oil representing the largest reported transaction structured by an African investment bank in 2015 involving fresh capital within the African market.

·                     A 234 million Euro oil and gas financing deal with Société Africaine de Raffinage (SAR) of Senegal, which underscored its capacity to fund big ticket transactions across Africa

·                     A USD $180 million to Delta Energy Zambia for the procurement and supply of petroleum products to marketing companies in Zambia

·                     A USD$90m University of Dakar hostel construction project financed solely by UBA Senegal – African capital, building African infrastructure for African education

 

 

“We have done a lot but in many senses we are only beginning to reap the rewards of our network and potential. We are a truly pan-African institution and after this period of consolidation, we know that the continuing expansion of our Africa footprint is a key goal. We must ensure that we have presence in at least 25 countries in the near to medium term, starting from the UMOA and CEMAC zones,” said Mr. Fogan Sossah, Chairman of UBA Senegal during the Forum.

 

In keeping with the objective of creating an institution worthy of the patronage of clients and the trust of regulators and governments, the three day forum focused on the critical issues and drivers for success across the continent. Seminars were held on Corporate Governance, Corporate Institutionalisation, Board Effectiveness, Compliance, Accountability and more.

 

Speaking on the breadth and depth of the Forum’s individual sessions, Mrs. Gisele Mudiay, Chairman of UBA Democratic Republic of Congo said: “! Our aspiration for the next five years is to pool knowledge of our individual operating environments and leverage that knowledge to help our customers realize their business goals.”

 

Noting the difficulties that exist in operating in the diverse economic environments across the African continent, Mr. Ekoto Mukete, Chairman UBA Cameroon said: “While we operate in challenging business environments, we benchmark ourselves against global standards, which means we are able to add real value to our stakeholders. This forum has ensured that we are an army of one, working in each corner of Africa and driving toward one common goal.”

 

The approval of additional injection of capital into its East African subsidiaries in Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania was communicated at the forum as the group re-affirmed its committment to growth in its countries of operations across the continent.

 

Commenting on the importance of consolidating pan-African financial expertise and exporting the successful Nigerian model, incoming Group MD/CEO and previous head of UBA Africa, Kennedy Uzoka said: “I have experienced the potential of our pan-African businesses. I know that we can and I commit to ensuring our leadership across Africa. The Senior Leadership Forum reaffirms UBA’s ambition to be the leading pan-African Bank across key indices – brand equity, human capital, customer service and profitability.”

 

Other items on the agenda at the forum included Know Your Customer (KYC) and Anti-Money Laundering (AML) policies and compliance standards across the Group. The Group Compliance Officer  Uche Ike stated that “compliance is non-negotiable. We operate as a global bank, in global centres. We have seen how swiftly internationally and within Africa banks have lost hard earned reputations through laxity in policy compliance and we will not tolerate this in UBA Group“.

 

The Forum coincided with the 54th Annual General Meeting of UBA(where participants were also able to celebrate the Bank’s strong financial performance) as the week long activities culminated in the dedication of staff at the annual UBA CEO awards ceremony.

 

UBA reported strong financial results in 2015, in what is largely recognized as a challenging macro environment. Gross earnings were N315bn whilst operating profits stood at almost N70bn. UBA Africa operations currently contribute approximately 25% of these earnings but are expected to grow significantly and over time contribute as much as 50% to overall Group profitability.  

 

 

ABOUT UBA

United Bank for Africa (UBA) is one of Africa's leading financial institutions, with operations in 19 African countries and 3 global financial centres: London, Paris and New York.

 

From a single country operation in Nigeria, Africa's largest economy, UBA has evolved into a pan-African provider of banking and related financial services, to more than 11 million customers, through diverse channels globally.