Yemisi Izuora
May & Baker Nigeria Plc has accessed N2.5 billion from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) N100 billion intervention fund for the healthcare sector to cushion the COVID-19 impact.
The Managing Director, May & Baker Nigeria Plc, Mr Nnamdi Okafor, disclosed this in a meeting on Friday in Lagos to announce his retirement after 35 years of service.
Okafor said that the company used the sum of N2 billion for capital projects and N500 million as working capital.
The managing director, who acknowledged that the intervention fund would help the industry, stressed the need for fiscal measures to make locally made products more competitive.
Okafor said that scarcity of foreign exchange was affecting the industry with many entrepreneurs finding it difficult to import.
He said that foreign exchange challenge had increased the company’s cost of business and exchange loss, thereby making products more expensive.
Speaking on his achievements, Okafor said that the company’s balance sheet size had doubled to N14 billion from N7 billion in 2011 when he took over.
According to him, total shareholders’ equity has grown by over 100 per cent from N2.9 billion in 2010 to N6 billion by 2020.
“We achieved all these by investing in key infrastructure, research and innovation.
“Over this period the cash-flow of the company which was a critical issue when we assumed office has been turned around.
“We have strengthened the foundation for future growth with investments in new projects,” Okafor said.
Okafor, who was appointed in February 2011, will retire on Dec. 31.
The Board of Directors of the Company has notified the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) and the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC), of the impending retirement of Okafor.
It also notifies NSE and SEC of the commencement of a succession process by Mr Patrick Ajah, a vastly experienced pharmacist and business manager of nearly three decades experience.
Ajah, who resumed on Dec. 1 as an Executive Director, will work with Okafor for one month transition period and assume the leadership as Managing Director with effect from Jan. 1, 202