Over 1500 employees of Erisco Foods limited are about losing their jobs as the company has begun the process of winding up its tomatoes paste factory in the country sequel to relocating to China. The Company’s President, Chief Eric Umeofia, who announced the plan Tuesday in Lagos, said they are being forced to take the decision due to the refusal of the Central Bank to allocate FOREX to them for importation of raw materials as well as collaboration between some government agencies and importers from Asia to flood the market with substandard paste.

The Company’s President, Chief Eric Umeofia, who announced the plan Tuesday in Lagos, said they are being forced to take the decision due to the refusal of the Central Bank to allocate FOREX to them for importation of raw materials as well as collaboration between some government agencies and importers from Asia to flood the market with substandard paste.

“It is saddening and painful that we have started the process of relocating our factory out of the country, thereby forcing us against our wish to create jobs in foreign lands due to the evil and wicked desires of unpatriotic Nigerians who frustrate every effort we have made to create jobs in the country and earn foreign exchange.”

It will be recall that the Wife of the President, Hajiya Aisha Buhari, in February this year inaugurated the company’s N4 billion tomato paste processing plant that can process 450,000 tonnes of tomatoes in Oregun, Lagos State. According to Umeofia, the idea of the new plant was borne out of the need to resolve the glut in the tomato products from farmers, particularly in the northern part of the country, who are losing about 75 per cent of their produce due to the absence of storage or processing facilities.

While disclosing that it will be taking the company about six months to complete move its factories out of Nigeria, Chief Umeofia said “CBN refused to give us approval till date to use our own deposit of USD460, 000.00 generated from our foreign operations, but the same CBN approves Nigeria’s scarce FOREX to other companies to continue to import sub standards products into the country.”

He added “CBN refused to give us FOREX to import machineries, machine spare parts and raw materials to be used for processing of Nigeria fresh tomatoes into tomato paste in our Lagos factory. In addition, CBN refused to give us enough intervention funds after several promises to import agricultural tractors, improved tomato seedlings, fertilizer, and chemicals for our Katsina Project. Umeofia said it is regrettable that the same CBN approved intervention loan and FOREX to companies mostly owned by foreigners to import finished tomato paste at cheaper rate and other items like frozen fish and other items that can be produced in Nigeria.

“Recently, USD 15.1 million was allocated to an Indian company among others in one bidding at the exchange rate of N280.00 to a dollar and the CBN claimed it was for future contract, while, Erisco Foods is running its big company with FOREX sourced from parallel markets at the exchange rate of over N450.00 to a dollar.” Chief Umeofia said they expected the government to place a ban on the importation of tomatoes paste into the country as they did in banning importation of cement and fruit juice, but regretted that that was not done. He added that the company with over 2, 000 workers has the capacity to meet all the tomato needs of Nigeria and even export if they produce at full capacity. “But since inception, we have been producing fewer than 20% because of dumping of substandard products by Indians, Chinese and some unpatriotic Nigerians.”

The Erisco Foods’ boss noted that the tactical supports given by some government agencies to importers of sub standards tomatoes paste into the country is forcing them to close their factories and join the importers to flood the market with finished goods as they have lost over N3.6 Billion due to dumping of finished products in the past. “We have over N6billion of finished products not sold due to the activities of nefarious activities of importers and over N13 billion of raw materials in our warehouses. Also, our foreign supplier bills for collection line worth over US$20m were cancelled due to CBN frustration.”

Over 5000 workers have lost their jobs in the Apapa area of Lagos. This followed the closure of over 50 companies including banks and entertainment outfits located in Apapa who depend on the activities from the wharf.

On Wharf Road alone, Daily Sun counted over 10 banks  and two eateries that have closed their branches because of the lull in the ports. Unity Bank which used to have four  branches, has two now and Ecobank with eight  branches has reduced to four. Similarly, Access Bank with seven  branches also cut down to four Eateries like Tetrazini and some ‘mamaput joints’ have been  shut down, while a  popular Kingstone Joe – a fast food company – that had two  outlets at Warehouse Road and Wharf Rood  are closed down.

Tantalizer with three outlets has been reduced to one while the only Mr Biggs eatery in Apapa on Creek Road is now out of the market. Major hotels like Rockview, Excelsior and many others are groaning for lack of patronage as most of their rooms are empty. Chains of events that require renting their halls no longer come with faster frequency. A room rate which used to be between N25,000 and N30,000 can now be negotiated to between N8,000 and  N10,000 because of the low patronage.
Other businesses that collapsed on Burma Road include, grocery shops, shipping companies, haulage outfits, freight forwarding firms, clubs and other recreational outlets.  It was gathered that each of the outfits has between 20 and 50 staff while one of the biggest brothels which harbours over 200 inmates in the area has equally closed shop and the inmates relocated to other parts of Lagos where they can get ‘customers’.

The entertainment outfit, according to the president of Association of Maritime Journalists (AMJON), Mr. Ismaila Aniemu, said that the brothel served as a relaxation spot for sailors but since there is no activity in the ports, the brothel lost patronage and had to close shop.
Beside the bank and entertainment workers that lost their jobs, some ancillary businesses like the provision stores and food vendors that supply the low-end workers also ceased to be active.
The popular Eleganza complex that used to house over 1000 offices is virtually empty because the tenants have relocated or are out of business. The few tenants who are still hanging on are owing several months rentage. The complex which used to be the centre of activities is now a ghost of itself—empty, deserted dilapidated.

The popular Nnewi Building where over 800 offices were located is  now empty, abandoned and lonely.Generally speaking, property owners in Apapa are all lamenting because nobody occupies their property. Daily Sun gathered that since this year, only five ships had berthed in Apapa port, a situation that now makes maritime business unattractive and boring.
The situation is worsened by recent high foreign exchange rate which is almost N500  to a United States dollar from what used to be about N160 to a dollar in 2015.

The high exchange rate  and the ban on  41 items by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) contributed to the low  activities in the ports. The 41 items include, rice, cement, margarine, palm kernel/palm oil products/vegetable oils, meat and processed meat products, vegetables and processed vegetable products, poultry chicken, eggs, turkey, private airplanes/jets, indian incense, tinned fish in sauce (Geisha)/sardines, cold rolled steel sheets, galvanized steel sheets, roofing sheets, wheelbarrows, headpans, metal boxes and containers, enamelware, steel drums, steel pipes, wire rods (deformed and not deformed), iron rods and reinforcing barbedwire mesh, steel nails, security and razor wine, wood particle boards and panels; wood fibre boards and panels, plywood boards and panels; wooden doors, toothpicks,  glass and glassware, kitchen utensils, tableware, tiles-vitrified and ceramic textiles, woven fabrics, clothes, plastic and rubber products, polypropylene granules, cellophane wrappers,  soap and cosmetics, tomatoes/tomato pastes, eurobond/foreign currency bond/ share purchases.
The CBN policy implies that, those who import these items can no longer buy foreign currency from the official window to pay the overseas suppliers. Rather, they will have to source forex from the parallel market or Bureau De Change to pay for their imports.

Most businesses in the area were heavily dependent on the state of the ports in Apapa Complex and Tin Can Island. President General of Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria, Comrade Tony Nted Emmanuel,  had announced in August that the government policy has led to more than 3000 dockworkers losing their jobs.

Investigations show that over 50 per cent of these dockworkers are from Apapa Port. The chains of food vendors and other ancillary service providers who hitherto enjoyed their patronage have been shut down.

Knowing where you stand in terms of compensation compared to your coworkers can help you understand your value to the company, whether or not it’s time to ask for a raise, and if you should potentially be looking for a new gig.
It can be quite tricky to figure out how your salary stacks up, but lucky for you, there are many options these days for gathering financial intel.
Glassdoor, the jobs and recruitment website, highlights five ways to know if you’re making less than your work colleagues.

1. Know Your Worth
Get your free, personalized salary estimate with Glassdoor’s latest tool. When you enter in your current job title, employer, current salary, location and years of relevant work experience, you will see the median estimated market value, or the base pay you could command in today’s job market.
That’s right. It’s a real-time tool to see what colleagues with your same qualifications can earn, and the number changes as the job market fluctuates. This allows you to see if you’re underpaid or overpaid, and allows you to determine if you want to ask for a raise. It also allows you to think through the other portions of your compensation package, like how much you value benefits, equity or stock options and the perks of the job.

2. Job Listings
Many job listings, including ones on Glassdoor, list the salary or salary range for the position they’re advertising. This practice is most common with government jobs, but is also seen in other industries frequently — especially if you’re accessing job postings through a recruiting service.
If you’re able to find a few listings for positions that are similar to yours, take the average and see where your compensation falls. You can also use job listings as a tool to evaluate if people with similar titles have the same duties that you do. If you’ve got way more on your plate than what job descriptions for positions like yours indicate, you’re probably being under compensated.

3. Your Coworkers
While many experts caution against getting too specific with your coworkers about your salaries, speaking in generalities can help you figure out a broader idea of where you stand. Barry Maher, career consultant, speaker and author, noted: “both within the industry and with fellow workers, you have to show them yours before you ask to see theirs. I always advise using the idea of a pay range rather than specific numbers.”

He suggested that a way to broach the subject could be to say something like “I’ll be talking with my boss about compensation at some point soon, and I’m just trying to get a rough idea of what I should be looking for. I know the company doesn’t want us to compare salaries and I can see how that benefits them, but I can’t see how it benefits us. To give you an idea of I’m getting right now, it’s roughly (whatever you feel like sharing). Is that the kind of range you’re in as well?”
“It’s important to note that you may or may not get an answer, and if you do, it might not be 100% true. “But if you’re at all perceptive,” said Maher. “And you carefully watch their reaction, you can often tell from that reaction if they think your number is low or if they’re a bit jealous because it seems high or if it’s just about what they’d expect because they’re in the same range.”

4. Salary Reports/Reviews
Glassdoor and other recruitment sites have a vast database of self-reported salaries available for browsing.
If you aren’t into the idea of asking your coworkers about their compensation in a general way, give our crowdsourced intel a try. Not only can you research pay rates at your current company, but you can also check out your competitors’ stats. Who knows, maybe your company’s rival is more generous with compensation, making a jump over there a no-brainer.

5. Your Network
Personal and professional coach Rachel B. Garrett emphasizes the importance of using your professional contacts to get the full picture on your industry. “Mine your professional network for former colleagues and others who may be hiring managers for positions like yours.” she said.

“Try to set up informational interviews with these folks and ask about salary range as part of your conversation. I would aim to set up these conversations with a wider context in mind, beyond the topic salary. You never know — you could get a new job out of one of these conversations so you may not need to revisit your less than exciting salary du jour.”

Kemi Adeosun, minister of finance, on Friday opened the London Stock Exchange (LSEG) to celebrate the business ties between Nigeria and UK, while promoting the 3rd ‘London and Lagos Capital Markets in Partnership’ conference.

The minister, who was joined by Greg Hands, a member of the UK parliament and the UK minister of state for international trade, said Nigeria is good for business.

Adeosun, who explained how Nigeria intends to fund its budget deficit, said  Nigeria’s low-interest lending rate remains on course. She said the country has a headroom for borrowing, since it has a low debt-to-GDP ratio.

Speaking on Nigeria, Hands said: “I know from my own time in Nigeria that the UK and Nigeria have long enjoyed a close and prosperous business relationship.
“The UK is one of Nigeria’s largest investors and the government is committed to boosting trade between our two countries.

“We are actively helping British companies export to Nigeria and Nigerian businesses to locate and expand in the UK. I welcome this initiative as a further step to deepen the commercial links between our nations.”

Amina Mohammed, minister of environment, gave a keynote address discussing the Nigerian government’s green agenda.

The event, hosted in collaboration with the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), was attended by senior Nigerian policymakers, including Chinelo Anohu-Amazu, director-general, Nigerian Pension Commission; Oscar Onyema, chief executive officer of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE); and Roger Brown, CFO of Seplat Petroleum.

“Our collaboration with London Stock Exchange is deliberate and strategic,” Onyema said.

“It is geared at encouraging seamless cross-border access between our capital markets to ultimately drive deeper capital markets that enable capital formation for businesses and Governments.”

“We are actively helping British companies export to Nigeria and Nigerian businesses to locate and expand in the UK. I welcome this initiative as a further step to deepen the commercial links between our nations.”

Amina Mohammed, minister of environment, gave a keynote address discussing the Nigerian government’s green agenda.

The event, hosted in collaboration with the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), was attended by senior Nigerian policymakers, including Chinelo Anohu-Amazu, director-general, Nigerian Pension Commission; Oscar Onyema, chief executive officer of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE); and Roger Brown, CFO of Seplat Petroleum.

“Our collaboration with London Stock Exchange is deliberate and strategic,” Onyema said.

“It is geared at encouraging seamless cross-border access between our capital markets to ultimately drive deeper capital markets that enable capital formation for businesses and Governments.”