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THE NATION TUESDAY, APRIL 28, 2015 PROPERTY/ENVIRONMENT THE Association of Estate Agents of Nigeria (AEAN) has been urged to caution its members against misconduct. It also urged agents to imbibe ethics and operate according to the laws of the Estate Surveyors and Valuers Board of Nigeria (ESVARBON). Chairman, ESVARBON, Mr. William Odudu, gave the advice at the first yearly conference of AEAN in Lagos. It had as theme “The public perception of estate agency practice in Nigeria”. According to Odudu, the conference, was timely considering that the practice of estate agency by estate agents, estate brokers, property companies, home finders, among others, had been haphazard and fraught with all shades of unethical conducts and unhealthy rivalries. “Estate agency business became an open field for the floatsan and jetsam of the society with poor public esteem,” Odudu said. He said ESVARBON can penalise any erring estate agent who fails to comply with its regulations. Besides, he said, the body would produce a register of estate agents or companies. To check estate agents, he said registered estate agents are expected to attend Mandatory Continuing Professional Development (MCPD) workshops, training, seminars and conferences. This is to enable them develop and maintain capabilities to perform competently within a professional environment. To this end, credit points will now be awarded to operators for attendance and participation in approved MCPD, as this will form part of the prerequisites for the yearly renewal of licence for registered estate agents. “The business of estate agency is no more business as usual. Today’s annual general conference carries three points and you require about 20 points to qualify for an- IT was joy galore for owners of Block 6, in Progressive Es tate, Iponri, Lagos, when the Lagos State government handed over a brand new house to them. The old edifice was dilapidated and had to be pulled down. The new building, a block of three-bedroom, six flats, was rebuilt by the Governor Babatunde Fashola administration and haned to the owners free. The old structure, built during the administration of former governor of the state, Alhaji Lateef Jakande, under the administration’s low cost hous- •From left: Principal Partner, Unigwe and Co., Mr. Azuidike Unigwe; Managing Director, Verdant Zeal, Mr. Tunji Olugbodi; First Vice-President, Nigeria Institute of Estate Surveyors and Valuers (NIESV), Mr. Bolarinde Patunola-Ajayi; AGM, Real Estate Transaction Department, Lagos State, Mrs. Linda Patunola-Ajayi; Odudu; Registrar, ESVARBON, Mr. Thomas Audu, and others at the AEAN First yearly conference in Lagos. Surveyors caution agents on misconduct Stories by Muyiwa Lucas nual licence renewal,” Odudu explained. Similarly, the Chairman, Conference Planning Committee, Mr. Boye Ajayi, noted that in the last one year, members of have undergone series of training programs, workshops and seminars. Ajayi said the attention being directed at estate agency practice had raised the hope that issues of Lagos hands over rebuilt block ing scheme, had defects. According to the owners, the handing over of the new building ended a tortuous journey of 27 years. Recounting their experience, the owners said they sent their first complaints about the defects in 1988, via a letter to the General Manager of the Lagos Building Investment Company Limited (LBIC). Ten years later, another letter was sent to the then Military Administrator of the state, Col. Buba Marwa; this was followed by another letter in September regulation and control of the sector were receiving attention. Specifically, he noted quackery as serious. “It is as serious as fake drugs! Most times, we have read in the newspapers the incidence of fake agents who made away with their clients’ funds,” he said, adding that the conference had helped to focus on re-inventing and re-positioning the estate agent towards achieving global best practices. ‘It is as serious as fake drugs! Most times, we have read in the newspapers the incidence of fake agents who made away with their clients’ funds... The business of estate agency is no more business as usual’ •From left: Senior Special Assistant on Housing to Lagos State Governor, Michael Akindele; Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Housing, Odunlami Olatunji handing over keys to beneficiaries. 1998. But a glimmer of hope appeared on the horizon when on July 21, 2007, a letter they sent to Fashola was acknowledged. “The governor (Fashola) acted promptly by sending our file to the Commissioner of Physical Planning for investigation and inspection of the building. From that time, the administration never left our matter; and the result is what you are all seeing today,” the allotees said. They expressed appreciation to those who assisted in making their dream a reality. Architects hold conference May 6u ARCHITECTS will con verge from May 6-9, this year on the Eko Hotel & Suites, Victoria Island, Lagos to fashion out modalities for growth. The event, held by the Nigerian Institute of Architecture (NIA), Lagos State Chapter, has as theme: Lagos 6.0 – The business of architecture. Chairman, Lagos NIA, Mr. Ladipo Lewis, said this year’s theme is aimed at discussing key issues and exposing the participants to methodologies and strategies that can be deployed in setting up and running an efficient architectural practice; types of partnerships architects can go into; design and build in the construction industry; office management; joint ventures; marketing of architectural services; winning local and international architectural competitions; architectural practice in foreign countries. It will also expose them to learning being a sole practitioner as an architect, including the new trends in architectural practice, among others. To this end, experts in the Business of Architecture from across the country and the world over have been shortlisted to share their breakthrough ideas and wealth of experience with the THE organisers of the Second Africa Urban Infrastructure Investment Forum (AUIIF) have shortlisted entries for the inaugural African Mayor Awards. The awards, which showcases excellence in urban development, will take place in Luanda on Friday. Ana Cândido and Audrey Mpunzwana, said in the ‘Large Metropolis’ category, with one million residents or more, Accra, Ghana; Cape Town, South Africa and Dakar, Senegal were shortlisted. In the intermediate, or mediumsized cities category, localities with less than one million and more than 200,000 residents, Kinondoni, Tanzania; Asunafo, Ghana and Bissau, Guinea-Bissau were selected. In the small cities category, for cities with up to 200,000 residents, Arua, Uganda; Bangangte, Cameroon and Praia, Cape Verde made the shortlist. The finalists were selected by a panel, which includes Jean Pierre Elong Mbassi, General-Secretary of United Cities and Local Governments-Africa (UCLG-A), Tokunbo Omisore, Chairman of the African Union of Architects, Aisa Kirabo Kacyira, Assistant Secretary-General and Deputy Executive Director for UN-Habitat, Vitor Leonel Miguel, Chairman of the Angolan Architects Union and Gaetan Siew, Chair, Construction Industry Sector of Mauritius. They are held with the Second Africa Urban Infrastructure Investment Forum (AUIIF) which discussed post-conflict reconstruction and turning African cities into economic power houses. Pedro Pires, former president, Cape Verde and Mo Ibrahim laureate will deliver the Keynote Address at the Forum. Under Pires’ leadership, the capital city of the island state grew and expanded, with investment in urban infrastructure, supported by appropriate housing designed to manage the transition from rural to city life. Examples of such innovation and transformational development will be among the themes 49 participants. The rapporteurs include Mr. Femi Falana (SAN), Paolo Zilli, Theodore Liebman, Ade Yusuf, O.P.A Ladega, Ibare Akinsan, Tayo Babalakin, Arc. Roti Delano, Olawunmi Agbaje and a host of others. The group’s Public Relations Officer, Samson Akinyosoye, said the forum would also provide the participants the opportunity to network with developers, architects and key players in the industry. He further said it would position architects to understand the economic climate, learn about best practices in sustainable development, get leads to developing quality business models, network with key players in the built environment and position their business for the new wave of development opportunities and technology available, and discover innovative methods of development within the current economic climates These include product launches, display of products and services, exhibition of architects works, workshops, seminars, advertisement, partnership opportunities, post-conference site tours and others. A communiqué will be issued at the end of the three-day event. Accra, Cape Town, Dakar, others for African Mayor Awards By Bola Olajuwon of the second AUIIF, which seeks to propose the concrete steps to be taken to maximise the effectiveness of urban infrastructure development, from finance through design to implementation. The forum will be incorporated in the programme of the Seventh Edition of the Africities summit in December, this year, in Johannesburg, South Africa. Publisher of African Business magazine Omar Ben Yedder, who are organisers, said he was impressed with the calibre of conference speakers. He said: “Urbanisation is the development challenge of the next 20 years. Functioning cities create wealth. Unless we plan and think properly about what the future will look like and where our cities fit into this future, we will face immense problems and any retroactive action will prove costly and ineffective. The cities shortlisted today are being led by people who understand this and who are making great strides in creating livable cities that are creating wealth. He added: “We are also delighted to have so many dignitaries with us this year which shows that policy makers are taking this issue very seriously, starting with our hosts the government of Angola.” •Angolan President, Jose Eduardo dos Santos
50 THE NATION BUSINESS ENERGY fects the industry negatively often has serious impact on the country’s revenue. Also, all over the world, electricity drives economic and industrial activities. But, in the past few decades, successive administrations have not been able to fix the power problem. Will the incoming Buhari administration get it right to meet the people’s expectations? Oil, gas exploration and production The government has been aspiring to attain reserves of 40 billion barrels and four million. It slated 2010 to achieve these targets, but, unfortunately, rather than growing on what has been achieved earlier, there has been decline. Oil reserves has fallen over 38 billion barrels to less than 37 billion barrels while production has also dropped from 2.5 million barrels per day (mbpd) to 2.1 million bpd. Aside the challenges of oil theft and pipeline vandalism commonly known to be the cause of these setbacks and which the government always blame, the issue of undue lengthy contracting cycle makes operations in Nigeria expensive by altering the initial project budget and delivery schedule. In other oil producing countries, the period between tender for a job and commencement of work on the project, doesn’t exceed six months, but in Nigeria, it takes between two and three years often leading to upward reviews of tenders at the end of the day. For instance, the Group Chief Executive, Oando Plc, Wale Tinubu, at a global oil and gas forum in Abuja, stressed the need for the government to put in place attractive fiscal policies and incentives. He also urged the government to ensure that good governance and transparency are entrenched, tackle insecurity, find alternative to Joint Venture (JV) funding, reduce or eliminate the bureaucratic bottleneck that exist in contracting cycle, improve infrastructure and give support where and when necessary to operators. The President, Nigerian Association of Petroleum Explorationists (NAPE), Chinwendu Edoziem, also expressed concern over the declining oil reserves and the need for the government to put in place policy that would encourage aggressive exploration to make new oil discoveries boost reserves and production. According to the operators, no major exploration has taken place in the country between the last five and six years, which is not good for an oil producing country, such as Nigeria. Corruption is another major setback. The sector is riddled with corruption. The allegation of missing $20billion in which the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) was fingered has not fully been resolved despite the PricewaterhouseCoopers forensic audit report. There are instances where government officials allegedly connive with foreign companies to inflate the cost of contracts for projects to get ‘kick-backs.’ In the downstream, some marketers were alleged to make claims for petroleum products not imported and sometimes full claims for importations that are far less than their claims. A Professor of Energy Economics and President, Association of International Energy Economics (AIEE), Wunmi Iledare, said the country deserves a more transparent oil and gas industry especially the NNPC, which is the national oil company. He said the new government must put in place an accounting process would make the NNPC more transparent. Iledare said the sector should be re-jigged to pave way for meaningful developments, adding that the only way to do that is to make people accountable for money spent in all oil and gas contracts. He said the national economy is largely dependent on oil and gas TUESDAY, APRIL 28, 2015 E-mail:- energy@thenationonlineng.net The oil, gas and power sectors are critical to the economy. But, over the years, they have not been doing well. Some of their problems are oil theft, pipeline vandalism, oil reserves depletion, dwindling production and inadequate gas supply to thermal power plants. Experts would like President-elect, Munhammadu Buhari to address these challenges, write EMEKA UGWUANYI & AKINOLA AJIBADE. Task before Buhari on power, oil and gas THE oil and gas industry is Nigeria’s foreign exchange earner. Anything that af- •From left: Business Leader, Sahara Power, Rotimi Onanuga; Energy Project Manager, French Agency Development, Maitane Concellon; Managing Director/CEO, Ikeja Electric, Abiodun Ajifowobaje; and Deputy Country Director, French Agency Development, Mr. Hugo Pierrel, during a visit to the headquarters of Ikeja Electric Distribution Plc in Lagos. and as such, the nation cannot afford to toy with its major source of income. He said the country must put in place policies that are driven by sense of honesty and commitment before it can fully realise its oil potential. He said: “The administration of the NNPC and other oil firms must be structured in such a way that there would be transparency and accountability. People must be made to be accountable for anything they do. Accountability here means that people or institutions in the oil and gas must be answerable for decision taken, especially when it comes to fiscal issues. The Board of the NNPC must not be personalised. Emphasis must be placed on achieving the collective goals of the industry and not on individuals that are seeking for their own needs. By this, the institutional strength should be recognised and not the personal empowerment of people at the helm of affairs of petroleum agencies.” Iledare said accountability and transparency must follow a topdown structure to enable the government know how every kobo is spent for activities, such as the implementation of contracts and other activities needed to move the industry forward. He said nothing must be shrouded in secrecy among the highest and lowest cadre of workers in the Petroleum Ministry and its agencies. This would help the industry attain its potentials and further enable the government to get the values required for growth, he said. “Given the fact that the nation’s revenue is fast depleting amid crisis in the global oil market, there should be a conscious effort on the part of the Federal Government to double crude oil production. To achieve this, the government must take proactive measures to tackle problems such as pipeline vandalism, crude oil theft and others. “When local oil production improves activities in the sector and the economy would follow similar trend,” he added. He said the government and priprogrammes through which it provides treatments to communities in the Niger Delta region, the people need functional hospitals. The passage of the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) is another area the incoming government should concentrate energy on. Operators, including Iledare, urged the National Assembly to expedite action on the passage of the bill into law. They said the PIB would enthrone transparency and accountability. The non-passage of the bill has stalled a lot of activities in exploration and production as well as in oil service segment. The President, Petroleum Technology •Buhari Association of Nigeria (PETAN), Emeke Ene, said local vate operators should try and improve production of oil, advising oil companies to step up exploration. Iledare advised Buhari to provide policies that would pave way for more activities in the industry. As a result of crude oil theft, Nigeria has lost over $10 billion in the past years. Though the Chairman, Presidential Committee on Oil Theft Proliferation and Control, operators needed a vantage position to participate in the industry, adding that this will help to stimulate growth. He said the Local Content Act has provided opportunities for domestic operators to develop. He urged the in-coming government to continue to create a conducive atmosphere for businesses in the sector. Governor Emmanuel Ene said oil producing commu- Uduaghan of Delta State said the level of stolen crude oil has declined by 50 per cent to about 50,000 barrels from the initial 100,000 bpd when the activities of the thieves were at peak, many operators believe that it is higher than 50,000 bpd. At the peak of oil theft in 2012, nities are by law entitled to get certain fiscal benefits from the government. The benefits, he said, must be promptly paid to those communities to ensure seamless oil exploration activities in the Niger Delta region. The President, National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas the Minister of Petroleum workers (NUPENG), Igwe Achese, Resources, Mrs. Diezani Alison- urged the government to Madueke said Nigeria loses about eradicate issues associated with $7billion yearly to crude oil theft importation of petroleum at the rate of 180,000 bpd, adding that another $5 billion was spent on repairs of vandalised pipelines in one year. To stem the tide, a new industry joint task force (JTF) was set up. The task force comprises the Police and the Armed Forces, in collaboration with the Ministry of Petroleum products totally by deregulating the downstream. He said this can only be achieved by reviving the nation’s refineries, while at the same time building new ones. He said the issue of workers’ interest in the industry must be protected by the government to prevent a repeat of industrial actions which Resources, NNPC, as well as paralysed activities in the multinationals and indigenous operators. Therefore, crude oil theft and pipeline vandalism is a major problem that require due attention from the incoming government. The Commander, Joint Task Force (JTF), Maj.-Gen. Emmanuel Atewe, said oil theft and pipeline vandalism are problems for the government. He urged the government to tackle these problems. He said sustained and committed campaign against oil theft and pipeline vandalism is what is needed to eradicate the problem. He said the fight against crude oil theft is an on-going activity, advising incoming governments to give it the desired attention to encourage the growth of the industry. Atewe said: “Besides, the government should develop the Niger Delta region by providing infrastructure such as hospitals, schools, and other facilities that would make life conducive for its residents. Job creation is another area which the government must look into to keep the residents busy and discourage them from taking arms, breaking pipelines among other criminal activities. Though JTF is organising health industry in recent past. “The oil and gas sector can only reclaim its lost glory when concrete efforts were made by the government to revive the four refineries which have a combined capacity to refine 450,000 bpd, build new ones, create avenues for the resumption of exploration activities, check crude oil theft and others,” he said. The President, Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, said: “Nigeria must increase its local processing and consumption. This has been a goal of the Nigerian government for many years. But progress has been impeded by lack of investment in the downstream petroleum sector as well as a very outdated policy and regulatory environment for the oil and gas sector. The much anticipated and long awaited Petroleum Industry Bill needs to be passed as it affects the source of the bulk of national foreign exchange earnings. This is critical to the transformation of the sector and its repositioning to play an effective role in the new economy. The removal of Petroleum Fuel Subsidy is also critical because it benefits the more affluent, which is small minority of the •Continued on page 19
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