Economic hardship: Elumelu harps on unified action for socio-economic devt for Nigerians

COMFORT EKELEME

Founder, The Tony Elumelu Foundation, Mr. Tony Elumelu has stressed the need for corporate organizations and the government to act in unison in order to catalyse significant social-economic development for Nigerians.

Elumelu who is also the Chairman of United Bank for Africa (UBA) Group, however, affirmed  that times are hard for Nigerians everywhere, hence the need for togetherness to salvage the situation.

Speaking Tuesday in Abuja at the Ministry of Finance Incorporated (MOFI) public wealth management conference, he commended the Ministry of Finance for this initiative of bringing together the key players and stakeholders to chart a course to position MOFI as the strategic institution that will support the federal government’s efforts to address economic challenges and drive growth in the Nigerian economy.

He said, “Let me begin with a very important point. There is no rush to see immediate profits; we must have that mindset if we are to fully unlock the value contained within these state-owned assets.

“First set the strategic intent, prepare the milestones, know how you will be judged, and then execute, execute, execute, with discipline and always with that strategic intent in focus,” he said.

Using TEMASEK as a case study, Elumelu said, “when I was told of the subject, I instantly drew a parallel with TEMASEK in Singapore. TEMASEK started out in 1974 with the same aspirations as MOFI.

“TEMASEK was established with state-owned assets worth $300 million, today those assets are now worth approximately $300 billion. How did this happen?

In 1974, following independence from the British, the Singaporean government found itself as the owner of a variety of new state-owned enterprises.

“The Singaporean government felt that it was necessary to separate governance from business management.             This stemmed from the principle that it was not the business of the government to operate the businesses it owned.This principle led to the establishment of TEMASEK in 1974 to own and manage the assets held by the Singapore government.The arrangement allowed the government to focus on its core role of policymaking and regulations.

“Today, TEMASEK has investments in the strategic sectors of its economy to unlock significant value: Transportation, industrial, financial services, technology, telecommunications, real estate and consumer goods.TEMASEK typically owns significant stakes in companies, often with a focus on strategic investments that align with Singapore’s economic development goals.TEMASEK also actively manages its investments, engaging with portfolio companies to drive growth and value creation,” he said.

While speaking on the turnaround success in the Heirs Holdings Group, Elumelu said the Group is known for how to turn around businesses.

According to him, the Group’s expertise is in unlocking the value in the assets it hold.

He said, “and our track record speaks for itself.The turnaround of a defunct Crystal Bank birthed into Standard Trust Bank, which is now part of today’s UBA.

“This was not a state-owned enterprise but the same principles for turnaround occurred here.

“We had a clear vision from day one of what we wanted to achieve in the financial services industry.

“We set out clear goals which we labelled our strategic intent and worked assiduously to ensure we met them.Today, UBA Group operates in 20 African countries, the UK, France, the UAE and the USA.

“We are the only African bank with a deposit taking license in the USA. In 2010, following my retirement as the CEO of UBA, and in looking for new opportunities and ventures, the Heirs Holdings Group, my family’s investment firm acquired Transcorp Plc   At the time, Transcorp was formed to lead the industrialisation of Nigeria.The only asset Transcorp Group had back then was this hotel in which we are all gathered today.

“Today, Transcorp plays in the hospitality, power (both in generation and distribution) and in the oil & gas sectors.In Power, we acquired the 972MW gas-fired Ughelli Power Plant and ramped up its generations from 160MW to 701MW within four years of taking over the plant.

“Our Ughelli Power Plant is the first privatized power company to be discharged from post- privatization monitoring having surpassed all set targets by the BPE and the National Council on Privatisation.

Elumelu further noted that the Group has partnered with the FG to unlock the value of state-owned enterprises and have shown how private sector efficiency translates into profitability and increased prosperity.

He maintained that the Group stands ready to support and partner with MOFI in whatever way it can to ensure that this initiative is a long-term success.