THE MINT INTRODUCES NEW INVESTMENT PROGRAMME… MD/CEO

INTERVIEW WITH MR. EHI OKOYONMOH, THE MANAGING DIRECTOR/CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER OF NIGERIAN SECURITY PRINTING AND MINTING PLC IN HIS OFFICE AT THE HEADQUARTERS IN ABUJA-FCT.

(Q)    How would you describe Ehi Okoyonmoh?

(A)     I am the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Nigeria Security Printing and Minting PLC. I am an average regular normal person who tries to live life to the fullest and thank God for it.

(Q)    Let us into your background?

(A)     I started my working carrier as a Management Trainee with Guinness Nigeria Plc in the early 1980s. I had proper development and training that moved me up to most senior levels in that organization. I also worked overseas and I had responsibilities of overseeing business activities in companies in most of East Africa and parts of the Caribbean as well as some of our sister companies in the United Kingdom. I am from Edo State and I attended the famous Edo College in Benin City. I went to the University of Ibadan for my Bachelors Degree and University of Lagos for my Masters Degree. I attended several other courses in Nigeria and Abroad.

(Q)    What was growing up like?

(A)     My childhood was quite interesting. I was privileged to have attended one of the best schools in the Mid-Western State at that time funded by the state government. That actually set me up on the right pedestal to help build the foundation of my carrier. My parents were very serious Catholics and they helped put me in the straight and narrow path. That also helped to shape me up.

(Q)    How would you describe the operations of the Mint since you assumed the mantle or leadership there?

(A)    The Mint is responsible for printing Nigeria’s currency. The operations are quite wide that many people do not know about but the nature of the Mint is such that we do not go into unnecessary or undue publicity. We do not advertise because we operate in a highly secured environment and it is a highly secured organization and our job is quite complex.

The Mint has been operating for over forty years and we have achieved certain levels of success. Lately, we have worked on some strong investment programmes that are yielding dividends for the Mint so the Mint is on the part of growth. As the leader of the team, if the Mint is doing well, it means that I have led the team to do well.

(Q)     What is the most tasking aspect of your job?

(A)     The most tasking aspect of my job is managing inter-relations with some people. Managing the machines and equipment for our job is not very difficult because it is all technology based and knowledge is required in doing that. But managing human resources, managing people’s expectations, people’s personalities, ego and everything about them is not easy. There are many things to manage about human beings and that is a big challenge. Even if you have the proper equipment and the human beings handling them are not in the proper frame of mind, you don’t achieve the expected level of success.

(Q)    What is pressure like when you have deadline to meet in currency printing?

(A)     The pressure to meet the deadline is all dependants on the management of the human beings. The equipment is not as bad but if you don’t have the right people to do it, then it is a problem. If you have the people but they are unable to perform well, you will not be to get the kind of success you want.

(Q)    What are the other challenges that you face in the Mint?

(A)     There are some challenges with technology because in the country, we are not that technologically advanced. So there are a number of challenges we face. We don’t have many highly skilled Information Technology Personnel. We have a shortage of highly skilled engineers. However, at the end of the day, we do our best. With the right man at the right place, we are able to get across. We are doing well at that. Hopefully we will do better than we are doing right now.

(Q)    Which countries does the Mint print their currencies and which countries also assist the Mint in printing Nigeria’s currency?

(A)     Well we print only for Nigeria at this stage because the demand for bank notes in Nigeria is very high. It is about the 5^th or the 6^th largest demand in the world after the USA, China, India, Russia etc. It is quite huge and we are having cash based society. So the volume or bank notes that we need to print in Nigeria increases yearly and the volume of notes in circulation is high because our population is huge and many of our transactions are cash based. The Central Bank of Nigeria is trying to put a little bit of break on it by introducing cash policies and that will hopefully bring some sanity into the institution.

(Q)    Do you always meet the deadline?

(A)     So far, we are doing well. There is a new expansion programme being lined up by the Board of Directors in order to meet the complete demand of the Central Bank of Nigeria and of perhaps the demand of some West Africa countries because we are the only Security Printing and Minting company in the whole of West Africa.

(Q)    You have not mentioned the countries that you print their currencies?

(A)     Well at this stage, it is very confidential because we are trying to explore some possibilities by being confidential.

(Q)    How is the relationship between the Nigerian Mint and De la Rue of U.K.?

(A)     The relationship between the two organizations is there and it is still very good. De la Rue came into this country as technical partners to the Mint over forty years ago. They have served their time.

          They have trained our people, they have built up capability here and the relationship is good. They are still shareholders with the Mint. It is just that their shareholding is presently low compared to the past. They still attend our Annual General Meetings and everything is going on well.

(Q)    How do you solve the problem of some badly printed bank notes?

(A)     We have what is called Waste To Sort. During the process of printing, if there are partial wastes in the last sheet of the fourteen sheets, rather than throwing all the sheets away, we have an opportunity to remove the bad notes and reprocess them.

(Q)    Sometimes, the Mint is summoned to the National Assembly. What is it like?

(A)     There is a new set of law makers. So far, I’ve dealt with two different sets. They have a genuine interest to see that things work well in this country. They have called us on several occasions to understand what we are doing and how they can add value to our operations. They also want to perform their oversight responsibilities to ensure that we’re doing the right thing.