Category: Business

Indian companies’ financial commitments to their subsidiaries and joint-ventures in Nigeria reached $1.44 million (N591.84 billion) in the first two months of this year.

Data from Reverse Bank of India (RBI) obtained by Ripples Nigeria revealed that the investments were made in construction, agriculture, mining, retail, restaurants, and hotel.

However, all the financial commitments made are in form of loans.

Analysis of the data revealed that $596,000 worth of loan was issued out by Damodar Agro Industries Private Limited, Lloyd Insulations (India) Limited, and Transrail Lighting Limited to their Nigeria subsidiaries in January.

Transrail Lighting Limited gave another $750,000 loan to its subsidiary, Transrail Lighting Nigeria Limited while Ecovista Industries Pvt Limited got $100,000 from its parent company in India, Damodar Agro Industries Private Limited, in February.

For year-on-year, the total transactions for February represent a 175 percent increase over the $308,000 transaction recorded in February 2020.

The leadership of the Northern traders’ group under the aegis of Amalgamated Union of Foodstuff and Cattle Dealers of Nigeria has agreed to resume the movement of food items from the northern to the southern part of the country.

The decision was taken at Wednesday’s meeting between the leadership of the traders’ group and the Kogi State governor, Yahaya Bello, in Abuja.

The traders stopped the movement of food items including cattle to the southern part of the country last week following the crises generated by activities of Fulani herdsmen in the region.

The development led to an increase in the price of food items such as yam, beef and tomato among others.

Several groups and individuals in the South-West had demanded the exit of the Fulani herdsmen over killings and abductions in the region.

There have been pockets of violence in some states particularly in Oyo where at least four people were killed during a recent clash between Yoruba and Hausa traders at Shasha market in Ibadan, the state capital.

Over 2,000 drivers of Peace Mass Transit Ltd. are currently undergoing the annual retraining and recertification program of the Federal Road Safety Corps, FSRC, in Enugu.

Statutorily, corporate commercial transport operators, with a fleet of three vehicles and above, are required to undertake the cost of, and provide enabling environment for retraining and recertification of its drivers by the FRSC,as a mandatory condition for renewal of its operational license.

Peace Mass Transit is on record as having the best possible record on this score.

It regularly ensures drivers in its employ get these refresher courses on schedule, mostly handled by experienced FSRC operatives, at the beginning of every year, and intermittently within the year, by equally knowledgeable PMT safety and training officers.

Head of the Education Department at the Enugu FSRC sector command, Azubuike Oti, who flagged off the training on Monday, has also led other resource persons from the regulatory agency to drill the drivers.

Participating drivers are taken in batches of 50 to 70, in the exercise which is billed to last one full month.

Depot managers have been guided on how to route drivers to the Emene, Enugu headquarters of the company, on different days, in a seamless order, to ensure normal PMT operations are not disrupted while the program lasts.

PMT Safety Manager, STO Sunday Igwegbe,rtd., and Head, Training and Development, Emmanuel Ujam, are coordinating matters with the FSRC marshals to guarantee a hitch free exercise.

Founder and CEO of PMT, Dr. Samuel Maduka Onyishi, has regularly won accolades for the maintenance and safety infrastructure put in place for the smooth and safe operations of his fleet.

This year’s exercise, as in previous years, dwells on passenger/ customer relations; vehicle and driver maintenance; defensive driving techniques, and highway safety protocols.

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