THEWILL JAN 16 - 22 EDITION

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AS RACE TO 2023 PRESIDENTIAL POLL BEGINS:

Political Horse-Trading to Succeed Buhari Hots Up •Why Wike is Pushing For Zoning in PDP •Cacophony of Voices in APC •Strengths and Weaknesses of Major Contenders •Tinubu, Osinbajo, Fayemi Supporters Dim South West Chances

State of The States

This special publication of THEWILL x-rays the potentials of the 36 states and the FCT to achieve a quantum leap in development through investment and job creation. The prevailing cash crunch in the country makes the project more compelling for policy-makers, investors and other stakeholders.

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Let’s take back the odds one vaccination at a time.

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COVER AS RACE TO 2023 PRESIDENTIAL POLL BEGINS:

Political Horse-Trading to Succeed Buhari Hots Up •Why Wike Is Pushing For Zoning In PDP •Cacophony of Voices in APC •Strengths and Weaknesses of Major Contenders •Tinubu, Osinbajo, Fayemi Supporters Dim South West Chances

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BY THEWILL CORRESPONDENTS here is no doubt that 2022, the year preceding the highly anticipated general elections, will definitely be an interesting but busy one for politicians, watchers of political developments and political analysts.

As many discerning Nigerians eagerly await the resolution of the controversial parts (mode of conduct of party primaries) in the Electoral Act as amended by the National Assembly and pending presidential assent, as well as the long-awaited national convention of the governing All Progressives Congress (APC), presidential aspirants have started emerging across political parties, ahead of the 2023 general election.

Many aspirants, who have been, through their body language, trying to express their interest in succeeding President Muhammadu Buhari, are now coming out openly to declare their ambitions.

intentions to contest the presidential election scheduled for February 2023.

continue to dominate headlines; they are the governing APC and the opposition Peoples Democratic Party, (PDP).

Earlier, a former Senate President, Anyim Pius Anyim, had been going round the country for consultations on his interest to succeed Buhari.

In a year in which both parties will witness the exit of many state governors, who have done second terms in office under their platforms, and lingering controversies over unresolved congresses, the intrigues and power play are aplenty as presidential aspirants will have to take more than a passing interest in ensuing intrigues involved in producing governorship candidates in their localities.

Others who have either indicated their interest openly and through proxies include Vice President Yemi Osinbajo; former Vice President Atiku Abubakar; former President of the Senate, Bukola Saraki; former Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Dr Kingsley Moghalu; Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi State; Governor Aminu Tambuwal of Sokoto State; Governor Bala Mohammed of Bauchi State; former Kano State governor, Rabiu Kwankwaso; Ekiti State governor, Dr Kayode Fayemi; the Publisher of Ovation Magazine, Dele Momodu; former Abia State governor and Senate Chief Whip, Dr Orji Kalu; Sam Ohuabunwa and former Presidential spokesman, Dr Doyin Okupe. Of all these names, only Bala Mohammed, Kwankwanso and Tambuwal are yet to openly declare their interest.

Among the 24 governors on the platform of the APC, only Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State and his Gombe counterpart, Inuwa Yayaha, will be going for a second term.

Both of them emerged in 2019. Also, Ekiti and Osun States will witness off-cycle polls, which all the political parties will contest between June and July, 2022.

Interestingly, and from all indications, the political party amongst the two leading entities that presents a presidential candidate that appeals to stakeholders and voters across party lines will likely win the election.

NO LEVEL PLAYING FIELD Although it is too early to say who will emerge victorious or not, certain trends have started emerging to show the contending forces that would test the mettle of the aspirants.

A few of these forces are political and geo-political, some are power centres and others are the war chest to fund elections, which is often a do-or-die affair in Nigeria.

APC’s Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu of Ondo, who was re-elected in October 2020, still has two years to complete his tenure. For the PDP, only Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State and his Adamawa counterpart, Umaru Fintiri, will go for a second term out of the 12 state governors on the party’s platform. They, too, were elected in 2019. PDP’s Governor Duoye Diri of Bayelsa State was sworn into office on February 15, 2020 after the Supreme Court annulled the election of David Lyon of the APC. He still has two years to run. The stakes are high on who succeeds the outgoing governors in almost 30 states of the country.

Last week, within the space of two days, two presidential aspirants, a former Governor of Lagos State and National Leader of the APC, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the Governor of Ebonyi State, Dave Umahi, told Nigerians they had visited Aso Rock to inform the President of their

In the area of political and geo-political contests, almost all the six zones in the country have challenges that would test and try aspirants and even candidates hoping to succeed President Muhammadu Buhari. For now, 18 parties are known on paper, but in reality, two are active in the public domain and

Moreover, both rival parties are struggling with intra-party crises. The PDP recently overcame its stormy leadership crisis when it successfully organised its national convention to elect new executive officers. The APC, on the other hand, is still grappling with convention-related issues and court cases over

Though who succeeds Buhari next year remains very unclear and fluid at this time, feelers coming from the power brokers and those who would influence how the parties chose their candidates have given a bit of clarity to who the real contenders are.

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JANUARY 16 - JANUARY 22, 2022 T H E W I L L N E W S P A P E R • www.thewillnigeria.com

COVER the suitability of its interim exco headed by Governor Mai Mala Buni of Yobe State.

Investigations by THEWILL show that power is changing hands in both political parties, so fast that aspirants may wake up the next day and find their aspirations go up in smoke.

In the PDP, the governors are said to be bent on producing one of their own, especially after Makinde, Fintiri and their Rivers State counterpart, Nyesom Wike, orchestrated the exit of former National Chairman, Uche Secondus, accused of fronting for former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, who is bent on running for the presidency in 2023.

In reality, it turned out that the real motivation to kick out Secondus was to pave the way for Wike to aspire to the presidency or the position of Vice President, which Secondus' presence would have made difficult. Secondus hails from Rivers State, just as Wike, a factor that could also pave the way for him among advocates of a president from the SouthEast. But political analysts believe that though Wike has the money to push his way through, his stance on the controversy over who collects the Value Added Tax between the states and the Federal Government might be his albatross as he might face opposition from the North.

Not to give anything to chance, Atiku’s men, led by the Chairman of African Independent Television, Alegho Raymong Dokpesi, are canvassing their principal’s presidential interest by reaching out to potential delegates across the states.

In the APC where Buni and the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abukakar Malami, are calling the shots, antagonising either or both men may spell doom for aspirants. Indeed, Buhari’s revelation in a TV interview a fortnight ago that his preferred presidential candidate may be eliminated if he named him, is said to have prompted Tinubu’s presidential consultation so that the former Lagos State governor’s dream to fulfill his life-long ambition is not stalemated after the president’s candidate has been revealed.

THEWILL gathered that Governor Umahi’s meeting with President Buhari to notify him of his ambition, less than 24 hours after Tinubu met the President, was part of the hirewired politics currently playing out in the party and meant to reduce “undue attention and continued interest through analyses and reportage,” which Tinubu’s meeting with Buhari and his declaration would continue to attract.

Both parties are playing cat and mouse with the zoning of the presidential ticket, just to try and hold their houses together and prevent quarrels that may escalate to a point where aggrieved stakeholders and their hired supporters would defect to lesser platforms often presented by smaller parties during elections.

Unless the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) sticks to its plan on electronic transmission of results and executes it clinically and transparently, the influence of power blocs in determining who emerges as candidates of the two major parties would play out as has often happened in the past. That was what former military president Ibrahim Babangida did recently when he passed a vote of confidence on Osinbajo.

As one of the movers and shakers of Nigeria since he led the military power brokers to spring former President Olusegun Obasanjo from Yola Prison to contest and win the presidency in 1999, it appears that Babangida and his fellow power brokers are still determining the fate of aspirants and the choice of candidates for political parties in Nigeria. That is where the consultations come in. Serious aspirants will have to contend with these powers, who know beforehand who among the lot they want. Then there is how politics in the geo-political zone play out as well. In the Southwest Tinubu, Osinbajo and Fayemi will fight it out with support from within and outside their party, the APC. Tinubu has declared his presidential ambition, but Osinbajo is still sitting on the fence.

But a senior journalist and one-time Head, Media and Publicity of Governor Peter Odili’s campaign team in 2006, Richard Akinnola, believes that Osinbajo will run for president. Reacting to questions on the issue last week, he told THEWILL that he parted ways with Tinubu on his 2023 ambition because he thinks Osinbajo stands a better chance for character, preparation and knowledge about the enormous task to govern Nigeria. Reminded that the VP has

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Political Horse-Trading to

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THEWILL gathered reliably that Osinbajo’s presidential aspiration has angered and frustrated Tinubu so much that he has sworn that if he does not get the APC ticket he would ensure that Osinbajo too does not get it

not declared any ambition for the presidency, he repeated his position: “This is a movement that has taken a life of its own beyond PYO (Prof Yemi Osinbajo), who has been so much engrossed in state duties. There are larger interests involved, but l can’t go into details. As far as this project is concerned, I’m fully persuaded and fully involved.”

To show how the Osinbajo train was moving from station to station, apart from the footsteps of its foot soldiers all over the country, Senator Babafemi Ojudu, Special Adviser on Politics to the President, Office of the Vice President, disclosed last Thursday how 40 Nigerians of substance who visited him the previous day came to inform the VP they had formed a group called Integrated Supporters for Osinbajo.

He said, “Some of them are former speakers, House of Assembly members, retired military officers, businessmen, academics, retired top civil servants, etc. Led by Otunba Odewale, who worked with President Obasanjo at the Aso Rock Villa, the group said it was motivated by Osinbajo’s exceptional qualities and ready to campaign for him across the country without asking for anything other than a platform to do so. It was a pleasant surprise.”

THEWILL however notes that the fierce and bitter infighting in the South West amongst the campaigns of the three prominent aspirants - Tinubu, Osinbajo and Fayemi - could cost the zone the presidential ticket of the APC. The intrigues and consultations will become quite rough in the days ahead.

The South-East is another geo-political zone where the clamour for the presidency has been risen to a higher decibel since the APC once claimed it would zone the presidency to the region in 2023. Apart from the refrain that it is the only zone that has not produced a candidate for the country’s plum job, particularly if the old political tripod of North, West and East is followed, not much has happened there in terms of real organisation.

Umahi painted the picture of division when he answered questions from journalists after meeting Buhari. He said the apex Igbo socio-political organisation, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, should not be “involved in politics,” and that his state, Ebonyi, “is not part of Biafra.”

“That is the pomposity of a governor speaking,” Chief Willie Ezugwu, National President of the South East Revival Group, told this newspaper in reaction to the question about the readiness of the South-East for the presidency in 2023.

“Governors are like tin-gods in their states. That is why they all stood against the direct primary in the Electoral Act Amendment. In the political contest ahead, anybody can say they want to be president, but when the chips are down, we will know who in Igboland we will support. We are among those that will determine those who can emerge as candidates

to vie for the presidency. No one, I repeat, no one, without character, intellectual ability and technical know-how, will pass the test.”

Supporting this position, President General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Prof George Obiozo, said on Friday, “To be candid, we in Igboland are also ready to give you candidates and presidential aspirants that are competent, nationalistic, with the capacity to perform, with evidence of what they have done and what they can do for the rest of the country."

The retired diplomat said that “Igbo are ready and are asking the nation to obey the law of rotation in our history, which has been North and South and which created the balance – a political balance that has held our country together.”

He added, “In order words, if you look at the Nigerian political calculations, it is designed in such a way that we are the last in everything and we are also going to be the last among all the zones in taking the presidency.

“The whole idea of accusing Igbos of not being united is a gimmick and, in fact, a frivolous criticism because people who are very universal and individualistic cannot be controlled like cattle. Igbo have their strategy. When they find what they want, they unite.”

The same cry of marginalisation is being echoed in the NorthEast where Atiku and Governor Mohammed come from. The people are saying that the zone is yet to produce a president.

ENTER THE ASPIRANTS APC: BOLA TINUBU Since 1992, when he joined the Social Democratic Party (SDP) and was elected to the Senate to represent Lagos West Constituency in the short-lived Third Republic, through his membership of the pro-democracy National Democratic Coalition (NADECO), a group which mobilised support for the restoration of democracy and recognition of Chief M.K.O. Abiola as the winner of the June 12, 1993 presidential election to 1999 when he became governor of Lagos State on the platform of the Alliance for Democracy, Tinubu has been a major stakeholder in the Nigerian project. His determination of the outcome of the APC presidential primaries in Lagos and subsequent emergence of the party in government not only raised his national political capital, but also put him in reckoning for the highest office in the land.

But Tinubu’s fortunes appear to have dipped. His firm grip on the politics of the South-West political zone has been considerably reduced by a combination of factors, including disloyalty by former acolytes who got federal appointments and joined his ‘enemies,’ against him, particularly those “who trashed him” after APC’s victory in 2015, as his wife, Oluremi, once described in an interview.

He said he would soon make public his intention to run for President in 2023 after officially informing President Buhari about it last week.

His notable achievements as a two-term governor of Lagos State put him in a good position to realise his ambition of becoming Nigerian president.

Many, however, believe it will be inappropriate for him to contest the Presidency in 2023 because of old age (69 officially though believed to be older), his unexplained source of stupendous wealth, his crude grip on the resources of Lagos State and his recent health challenges. Only last year, Tinubu spent a long time in London and the United States where he had gone for medical treatment and Nigerians are wary of having another ‘sick president,’ after Buhari.

Analysts also believe Nigeria needs a younger and digital President, who is conversant and understands the language of the modern age and is in tune with trending world events, not one dependent on feedback from his acolytes.

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Succeed Buhari Hots Up YEMI OSINBAJO Oluyemi Osinbajo, SAN, is a lawyer by profession and a politician, who has served as the Vice President of Nigeria since May 2015. The former Commissioner for Justice and Attorney-General of Lagos State between 1999 and 2003 is cerebral and he is generally believed to have no dirty baggage, being also a Senior Pastor at the Redeemed Christian Church of God. His supporters say he will ensure continuity of Buhari’s policies and programmes. This may turn out to be a big campaign issue, if he were to base his campaign on ‘continuity,’ considering the worsening insecurity, poverty, hunger, unemployment in the country and the mistrust unleashed among Nigerians by the Muhammadu Buhari administration. His shortcoming is that he lacks a formidable political structure having risen to prominence from the Tinubu political machine and this may work against his ambition.

Also, there are divisions in the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) on Osinbajo's candidature as many believe that a Christian from another denomination, aside Redeemed Christian Church of God, especially a Catholic, should step into his shoes to represent the interest of Christians.

Then there is the Tinubu factor. THEWILL gathered reliably that Osinbajo’s presidential aspiration has angered and frustrated Tinubu so much that he has sworn that if he does not get the APC ticket he would ensure that Osinbajo too does not get it.

ROTIMI AMAECHI The Minister of Transportation, who was a two-term governor of Rivers State, first on the platform of the PDP and then the APC, to which he defected before the 2015 general election, is said to be nursing an ambition for the presidency, given the likelihood of the APC zoning the ticket to the Igbos, who are majority in the South East and minority in the South South.

Sources say the minister’s Igbo heritage even though he is from the South South zone presents a bridge between the two zones, a political strategy that some party hawks who do not like Amaechi are adopting in their bid to woo ex-President Goodluck Jonathan into the race for the APC’s ticket.

Amaechi enjoys chummy relations with the president and has been exceptional in his performance as Transport minister.

NIYI ADEBAYO Adebayo, the cerebral Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, has caught the interest of the party because of his link with the military establishment, courtesy of his late father, General Olayinka Adebayo, a one-time military governor of the Western Region. The former governor of Ekiti State on the platform of the Alliance for Democracy from 1999 to 2003 and former Deputy National Chairman of the ruling party, is an establishment man who the current power brokers within the party think would make a good team player. He has not openly declared his interest for the presidency.

GODWIN EMEFIELE The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Mr Godwin Emefiele is said to be in the good books of the APC leadership and he is being considered for the position of president on the party’s platform because of his good understanding of monetary policies and the politics of allocation of resources in a way that satisfies all interests across the political and business worlds. For those who are calling for space to be given to technocrats willing to step into the political arena and get the business of governance going without unnecessary politicking, Emefiele fits the bill.

Emefiele, an Igbo from Delta State in the South South region, is also a hybrid choice and a bridge to the South East.

DAVE UMAHI Umahi made his intention known when he visited the President at the Aso Rock Villa, 24 hours after Tinubu made the same visit. He is banking on the possible zoning of the presidency to the South-East by the APC. The governor, who was elected on the platform of the PDP, from where he defected in 2020 to the APC, is sounding so THEWILLNIGERIA

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desperate to prove his aspiration that he is paying no respect to groups in the South-East and their viewpoints. He thinks Ohanaeze Ndigbo should abstain from politics, not to talk of partisanship. Also, he contends that Ebonyi State is not “part of Biafra.’ Such reactions by Umahi may haunt him in the days ahead as exemplified in the zone’s interest in presenting a united front for negotiation, with the total commitment of collective interests to resolve IPOB related issues.

GOODLUCK JONATHAN Former President Goodluck Jonathan is said to be nursing an ambition to return to the Aso Rock Villa. A former MD of a defunct national newspaper based in Lagos confirmed to a source of the THEWILL that the former President is giving serious consideration to pressure to return to Aso Rock.

“Dr. Jonathan consulted me. He is very interested and will run only if the ticket is given to him,” the senior journalist categorically told our source.

However, his spokesperson, Ikechukwu Eze, has denied the speculation.

Eze said, “Defection issue and presidential ambition are all rumours. It has no foundation. We do not want to be reacting to such (things) again. We have issued statements on this before.

“Former President Jonathan went to the Villa to brief the President on the forthcoming ECOWAS meeting in Ghana.

The meeting will discuss the political happenings in Mali. So, as a special envoy, he was at the Presidential Villa to brief President Buhari.

“There are issues in Mali and at the forthcoming meeting, ECOWAS leaders are to look at the transition timetable proposed by the Malian rulers and take a position on it. It is also at this meeting that a decision would be taken on whether to sanction the Malian military ruler or not. This is the issue that took oga (Jonathan) to the villa.”

PDP: ANYIM PIUS ANYIM Anyim has remained one of the most vocal aspirants from the South-East. He has begun to lobby for support across the country, starting from the South-East. He is banking on the expected zoning of the presidential candidacy of his party, the PDP, to the South.

Anyim, who was former Senate President, declared his intention to run in October 2021, but many believe he lacks the financial muscle required to contest the office of president in Nigeria. He is also seen by the younger elements in the country as one of the old politicians who should quit the stage for the younger generation.

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Both parties are playing cat and mouse with the zoning of the presidential ticket, just to try and hold their houses together and prevent quarrels that may escalate to a point where aggrieved stakeholders and their hired supporters would defect to lesser

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ATIKU ABUBAKAR Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar unsuccessfully contested in the 2007 presidential election on the platform of the Action Congress (AC) and lost to PDP’s Umaru Yar’Adua. In 2019, he ran on the platform of the PDP and lost to the incumbent President Muhammadu Buhari. His age may be a disadvantage, but he has proved to be of good health in the past years. He is believed to have a great chance of doing well in the election and has substantial wealth to pursue his ambition. But it remains doubtful if he would be able to survive the onslaught and dominance of key state governors in his party, who have forged a formidable alliance with Rivers state Governor, Nyesom Wike, who is seriously opposed to Atiku’s candidacy, as its arrowhead.

BALA MOHAMMED The Bauchi State governor is one of those governors in the PDP who strongly believe that it was about time the governors played dominant roles in the party, including vying for the presidency on its platform. As Chairman of the committee that recommended that the contest for the country’s highest office be thrown open to all zones in the country, he is said to be showing great interest in contesting for the presidency as he, in addition, thinks the North-East has been unjustly treated in the politics of the North because the zone is yet to produce a president. His major weakness is his structure, war chest and clout nationwide, compared to that of Atiku Abubakar, who also hails from that geo-political zone.

NYESOM WIKE The Rivers State Governor is one of the leading voices in his party demanding that the PDP zone the presidential ticket to the South and he is pressuring other key leaders of the party to ensure it happens. As a major financier of the main opposition party, Wike has been able to persuade the party leadership to do his bidding in the past.

As one of the governors that dictate the tunes in the PDP, Wike will be rounding up his second term in office and if performance is a yardstick for the job, he would grab the ticket, given his involvement in policy planning and execution in Rivers State. He is nursing the ambition to run for President and if that does not work out then the Vice President ticket will suffice.

Part of his strategy to consolidate on his ambition includes inviting state governors from within his party and his friends in the APC, such as Senator Rochas Okorocha, to commission projects in Rivers; making donations for causes like the whopping sum of N500m donated to the Sokoto State Government in January 2021 as his contribution to the rebuilding of the burnt Central Market. One of the reasons he joined Oyo’s Makinde and Adamawa’s Fintiri to kick out Secondus, from Rivers State as PDP National Chairman was to pave the way for the realisation of his ambition.

IFEANYI OKOWA Governor Okowa has gathered some clout for himself, apart from running the Delta State Government without much friction. His knack for detail and organisational skills have endeared him to party members and leaders alike and his counterparts across political parties. Such feats as his headship of the PDP National Convention Committee, which successfully organised the presidential convention in 2019, as well as the revived Southern Governors Forum in Asaba in May last year, have counted well for him at a time he is doing his second term in office. The zoning of the party ticket will finally decide when this versed and experienced administrator, who once served as senator, Secretary to State Government and one- time local government chairman in Delta State, will formally decide to run.

A source close to the top hierarchy of the PDP told THEWILL that the opposition party is determined to return to power in 2023 and it will tighten up all loose ends in achieving this.

"We are putting our house in order and settling all the differences within the party. We believe that only an organised party can beat the APC to the game and we are determined that we resolve all our differences and agree on which zone to produce the presidential candidate by March," the source, who craved anonymity, told this paper.

Okowa and Akwa Ibom State governor, Udom Emmanuel, THEWLL learnt, are already beating their drums and preparing themselves as alternative candidates from the South, should Wike be frustrated by the North because of his stance on VAT.

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JANUARY 16 - JANUARY 22, 2022 T H E W I L L N E W S P A P E R • www.thewillnigeria.com

NEWS Apapa Customs Command Generates N870.39bn in 2021

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Chief Rasaq Akanni Okoya (m); The Oniru of Iruland, HRM, Oba Abdul-Wasiu Omogbolahan (2nd left); his wife, Olori Omogbolahan (left); Mrs Shade Okoya and Mrs Moji Okoya-Tejuoso, at the 82nd birthday party of Chief Okoya, held at the Oluwanisola Estate, Lekki, Lagos on January 12, 2022.

PHOTO: Peace Udugba

INEC Fixes Date For By-Elections

BY AYO ESAN

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he Independent National Electoral Commission has fixed Saturday, February 26, 2022 as the date for the conduct of six by-elections in Ondo, Plateau, Cross River and Imo States to fill elective positions left vacant due to the death of the previous occupants and substantial disruption of the electoral process.

The Commission, in a statement signed by the National Commissioner and Chairman of the Information and Voter Education Committee, Barrister Festus Okoye, said the elections would hold in Akure North/Akure South Federal Constituency, Ondo State; Jos North/ Bassa Federal Constituency and Pankshin South State Constituency in Plateau State; Ogoja/Yala Federal Constituency and Akpabuyo State Constituency in Cross River State; and Ngor-Okpala State Constituency in Imo State.

INEC said the elections will hold in February so as to enable it focus on the Ekiti and Osun governorship elections, as well as its preparation for the 2023 general election.

The statement reads in part, “The Commission considered the issues that led to the vacancies and the rescheduling of some of the elections, as well as the security situation in some of the states. It decided to combine the Ekiti East 1 State Constituency election with the governorship election in Ekiti, which will hold on June 18, 2022.

“The Commission is consulting with security agencies and the critical stakeholders relating to the vacancy in Shinkafi State Constituency of Zamfara State, while the Speaker of the Kaduna State House of Assembly has not declared a vacancy in relation to Giwa State Constituency of Kaduna State.”

It further said that the official notification for the elections will be

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published on Monday, January 24, 2022.

INEC said, “Political parties shall conduct their primaries, including the resolution of disputes arising from the primaries between January 26 and February 56, 2022, while the last day for submission of the list of nominated candidates is 6pm on February 9, 2022. This must be done through the Commission’s online nomination portal. Political parties shall submit the names of their polling agents for the election to the Electoral Officer of the local government area on or before February 12, 2022 and campaigns by political parties shall stop on February 24, 2022. The Access Code for the nomination forms shall be available for collection as from February 5, 2022 at the Commission’s headquarters.

“Political parties fielding candidates for the bye-elections must comply with the activities and timelines set out in the timetable and schedule of activities for the conduct of the byeelection and conduct transparent and valid direct or indirect primaries, in accordance with the dictates of sections 85 and 87 of the Electoral Act 2010 [As amended]. Political parties must note that the aspirant with the highest number of votes at the end of voting shall be declared the winner of the primary of the party and the aspirant’s name shall be forwarded to the Commission as the candidate of the party.

“Political parties that present to the Commission the name of a candidate who does not meet the qualifications stipulated in the Constitution and the Electoral Act shall be guilty of an offence and upon conviction they shall be liable to a maximum fine of N500, 000.00. The detailed timetable and schedule of activities has been uploaded on the Commission’s website and social media platforms.”

Tinubu's Ambition Can't Stop Our Presidential Candidate – Ogun PDP chairman FROM SEGUN AYINDE, ABEOKUTA

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he Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party in Ogun State, Hon. Sikirulai Ogundele, has said that the presidential ambition of the National Leader of the All Progressives Congress, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, will not affect his party’s chances of winning the 2023 presidential election.

THEWILL recalls that Tinubu recently met with President Muhammadu Buhari in Abuja to inform him about his intention to contest the highest elective position in Nigeria.

But, Ogundele, while speaking in an exclusive interview with THEWILL boasted that Tinubu's ambition would not stop whoever emerges PDP presidential candidate from taking over the reins of power at the centre, come 2023.

He said the APC would not give Tinubu its presidential ticket because it was built on lies and deceit and used to cajole Nigerians into voting for Buhari in 2015 and 2019, respectively The chairman added that Nigerians would decline voting for the APC national leader because his party had failed them, noting that the Economic Crime and Financial Commission(EFCC) allegations leveled against him would also affect his ambition negatively.

He said, "Tinubu has the constitutional right to contest for president. It is now left for Nigerians to decide whether they want Tinubu or not. Let me tell you, APC was built on deceit, lies and propaganda. Nigerians are tired of their lies.

"Nigerians will not vote for Tinubu, considering all the allegations against him. In fact, INEC will not even consider him for the presidential election. I don't see him passing through the screening of INEC," he added.

he Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Apapa Area Command, says the command generated N870.39 billion revenue from January to December 2021.

News Agency of Nigeria reports that the Area Controller, Comptroller Malanta Yusuf, said this at a news conference on Thursday in Lagos.

Yusuf added that the command during the period intercepted contraband goods worth N31.23 billion.

He noted that the revenue generated had been remitted to the federation and non-federation accounts of the Federal Government respectively.

Yusuf said that the revenue profile of the command had significantly increased by about 68 per cent when compared with N518.4 billion generated in 2020.

“The year 2022 is a year of hope and high expectations, particularly with an increase in the service revenue target of N4.1trillion.

“For us in Apapa area command, we have already boarded and fastened our seat belts toward the realisation of this revenue target and we will leverage on deployment of digital transformation.

“The transformation will further harmonise the activities of our stakeholders toward a seamless ease of doing business in the port,’’ he said.

Yusuf noted that the command in line with the provision of extant circulars, trade guidelines and enforcement of government policy measures strengthened its anti-smuggling operations against economic saboteurs.

MAPOLY Proposes N5m Agric Technology Department

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he Acting Rector of Moshood Abiola Polytechnic, Abeokuta, Dr Adeoye Odedeji says the institution has proposed a sum of N5 million to establish the department of agricultural technology.

Odedeji stated this when a group known as Ogun State Journalists in Agriculture recently paid him a courtesy visit at his office.

The acting rector, who lamented that paucity of funds had hindered the school from establishing the department, said the institution was liaising with the state government through the Ministry of Agriculture to make the dream a reality He said the creation of the department was capital intensive, which includes procuring tractors, bulldozers, harvester, among other expensive agricultural equipment that were needed to teach the students modern agricultural technology.

Odedeji noted that the department would cover other departments, such as Departments of Engineering and Fishery, among others, as well as educate students on how to be consultants to agric businessmen and guide them toward enhancing food security in the state and Nigeria as a whole.

He stated that the proposed agricultural technology department was a good project to commence in the institution because the management had shown the minister the demonstrated plantation farm as part of the conditions to create the department.

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Yakubu

POLITICS

Big Task Before INEC

BY AYO ESAN

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he Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) successfully conducted three governorship elections between 2020 and 2021 in Ondo, Edo and Anambra States, respectively, but it will need to roll up its sleeves and get ready for the big task ahead.

Although many Nigerians have in the past given the electoral umpire pass marks for its handling of off-cycle elections across the country, the question is, will it sustain this and perform creditably well in 2022, which is the year preceding the 2023 general election?

Starting from this month (January), INEC will monitor primaries conducted by political parties for the June 18 governorship election in Ekiti State. Two major parties, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the All Progressive Congress (APC) have fixed their primaries for January 26 and January 27, respectively.

The INEC will also shift its attention to the primaries preceding the Osun State governorship election, which is scheduled for July. The Commission will be quite busy involving itself in monitoring the programmes of the various political parties and their preparation for both off-cycle governorship elections.

Apart from monitoring the progress of the presidential assent to the all-important Electoral Bill amendment, which is still pending, it is INEC’s duty to keep an eye on the long-awaited National Convention of the APC scheduled to hold in February 2022.

This year, the presidential primaries of the APC and the other 17 opposition political parties will hold and they must be monitored by the electoral body. The latter will have a lot of work to do in 2023 when governorship elections take place as scheduled in about 29 states. While states like Edo, Ondo, Bayelsa, AnamTHEWILLNIGERIA

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With such a busy schedule, many wonder how INEC will be able to cope with pressure and ensure that it delivers acceptable election results that will receive the approval of Nigerians bra, and Kogi have had off-cycle elections, Ekiti and Osun will have their governorship elections this year.

So in the 29 states where governorship elections will hold in 2023, political parties will conduct primaries to pick their candidates for the elections and INEC is duty bound to be present in those states to monitor the events.

With such a busy schedule, many wonder how INEC will be able to cope with pressure and ensure that it delivers acceptable election results that will receive the approval of Nigerians.

INEC’s hands will, no doubt, be full with activities.

This is in addition to its preparation for the forthcoming general election, which will take place in the first quarter of 2023. The electoral body is saddled with the task of supervising the importation of ballot papers and ballot boxes, which are usually produced abroad.

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Many Nigerians believe that 2022 presents INEC with an opportunity to plan properly and prove to the world that it is capable of conducting credible elections that will usher in the kind of leaders that the people have always yearned for.

Speaking with THEWILL, Comrade Sola Olawale, a member of the Campaign for Democracy in Ogun State said INEC must sustain the tempo of good performance, which has earned it applause from Nigerians in recent times.

“INEC has presented a huge budget, which I believe will be approved. So the Commission will not have any excuse for failure. They are not new to the conduct of elections and so they should bring in their experience over the years and ensure that we have well accepted elections.

“Nigerians are impressed that INEC under Prof Yakubu Mahmood has improved our electoral processes and the INEC must translates the success in the off season elections to the general elections”.

A Chieftain of the APC and Director-General of the Voice of Nigeria, Mr Osita Okechukwu, has described the performance of INEC in recent elections as excellent .

“INEC has tremendously improved since the exit of Prof Maurice Iwu. Prof Jega did well and Prof Yakubu Mahmood is doing well. That is my honest assessment. The last Anambra State governorship election is a case study,” he told THEWILL. He particularly commended the deployment of BiModal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) in the Anambra election, saying that BVAS is the vaccine to •Continues on page 12

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POLITICS/INTERVIEW

Nigeria Too Large For Centralised Police Force – Cobham A stalwart of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), who is also aspiring to govern Cross River State in 2023, Efiok Cobham, speaks with BASSEY ANIEKAN about his dreams for the state and other issues. Excerpts:

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Some observers feel the state governor, Professor Ben Ayade was not given the leverage to lead the party by some stakeholders and that led to his defection to the APC. How much credence should we draw from this assumption?

That is very wrong. The governor has always been in charge.

The governor had made up his mind to go to the APC. Not many people can manage being in opposition. That has been the governor’s problem. Under our constitution the governor is the leader of the party, but the question is how was he able to manage his relationship with other leaders of the party? Being the leader of an organisation does not make you a sole administrator.

You must consult and confer with others before you arrive at a decision. That is what leadership is all about. The buck has always stopped at the governor’s table. Maybe he thought there were more attractions in the APC. Otherwise, for me, there is no reason to defect to that party. I am still wondering what could have caught his fancy in the APC. The fact that you are the leader of the party does not mean that you own the party, you lead the party.

One impression I want to clear is that power comes from God. I have been involved in the emergence of governors between 1998 and today. The issue of someone being anointed is not true in most cases. It is a question of perception. For a state governor to say he is anointing or putting this man so that he will protect him is all hogwash. Has it worked in many areas? So those peddling that story are doing so maybe to give credence to the ingratitude that the current governor has displayed towards the PDP, having enjoyed the goodwill of the party at the highest level in the state.

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Cobham

s it true that you have joined the Cross River State 2023 governorship race?

Yes, I am running for the governorship of Cross River State, under the Peoples Democratic Party. If you ask me why, I think I have met all the constitutional requirements to run for that office.

Secondly, I feel I have the capacity. I think I have more capacity than all of the other aspirants gunning for the position because I know Cross River. I have been involved in the emergence of governors from 1999 till date. In 2019, I ended up as the director-general of the campaign organisation of my party, which brought in the incumbent governor, who later defected to the All Progressives Congress. Between 1999 and 2007, I was in charge of the party’s secretariat. We midwifed Donald Duke’s election, the first one in 1999 and the second one in 2003. Also, between 2007 and 2015, I was the Deputy Governor of Cross River State.

For me, it is untenable.

Zoning is still a very topical issue in the state today and a large number of candidates have emerged from Cross River South. Don’t you think this will overheat the polity?

You journalists are the ones overheating the system, not politicians.

What is wrong in having many aspirants? Is it not democratic?

The ultimate power of selection through voting belongs to the people. So you want a situation where only one man comes out so that the system will be cool? I even feel that it is the more the merrier, so that the people can look at the contestants and then determine who they think will be the best to lead them. I don’t see any overheating there. Are people getting killed, houses burnt and cars destroyed? It has been very quiet and decent. When you look at the resume of all the contestants, you will find that they are very decent people. The mere fact that a position is keenly contested for should not be interpreted as heating the polity.

That is where you must put the distinguishing factor, that many aspirants have come out of our party . I am very excited because it means that people still have confidence in the ability of the party to deliver them.

As 2023 draws near, what are your thoughts on zoning? Do you subscribe to it?

We had it and I believe in it, but that is not why I am running for governorship. In the Cross River for instance, let us act with a sense of proportion because if you do, justice and equity will come out to play. The south had it from 1999 to 2007, the central had from 2007 to 2015, the north has had from 2015 and will be anchoring in 2023. Don’t forget that we are a very plural state, diverse and in managing the polity, we must evolve certain mechanisms that will rather put us together and will not emphasise our diversity.

Which zone ultimately should it go back to? I think it is the south.

I am not saying within the three zones at any given time there are no competent people, but somehow it has worked for us. Why do we want to truncate it now, particularly with the high level of insecurity everywhere? For me, we should institutionalise what we have done. Even our party constitution recognises zoning anywhere, but I have decided not to make zoning the focal point of my campaign because I know that within the south, there is sufficient capacity. The south can produce the next governor of Cross River State without any pronouncement on zoning.

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POLITICS

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As of today, we don’t have a PDP governor and we are the only dark spot in the SouthSouth geo-political zone. I am quite sure other PDP governors will support any person that emerges as the flagbearer of the PDP in the state because we want to get as many states as possible, even with the incumbent governor being a member of the APC

As of today, we don’t have a PDP governor and we are the only dark spot in the South-South geo-political zone. I am quite sure other PDP governors will support any person that emerges as the flagbearer of the PDP in the state because we want to get as many states as possible, even with the incumbent governor being a member of the APC. You saw the number of APC governors from the North flocking into the state just to give him support. So what is wrong? Governor Wike is a party man. I don’t think he is supporting an individual but his party to win. We must make it very clear there.

What is your development agenda for Cross River State?

There are so many things, but for now I am concentrating on how to win the primaries. We need total reforms in Cross River State.

As of today, our state is in comatose and nothing is working. If you ask me what I am going to do, first of all we need to create a new mindset in our youths. We need to revive all the institutions that are no longer functioning. We need to do a lot more because there is so much rot in the system. I can imagine what the situation is like because I feel them myself. In Cross River State, the very first thing I will do is try and give the youths a new reorientation and create a new set of values because some of the problems we have today are due to a breakdown in our value system. That is why I am saying there will be major reforms. We need reforms in the health sector, educational sector and even in the way government is run, as well as the way properties belonging to the government are handled. We need those reforms if we are to get back on track.

This is the first time since 1999 that the state will be under an opposition party. Where did the PDP get it wrong?

We git it wrong in the kind of choices that we made. Whether we go forward or backward in 2023, it will still boil down to the choices that we will make. I think we backed a wrong horse and that is why we are where we are. Simple. If you had known Cross River State before 2015, you will certainly ask if this is the Cross River State we used to know. We got it wrong because the man we reposed the goodwill of the party on, who was supposed to lead us, did not lead us well. That is where we got it wrong. It’s not that the party was wrong; it’s just that the man we gave the mandate has not utilised it in the manner his two predecessors did. There are so many projects in the state today that exist only on social media. This is January 2022, a number of these projects are just sites. When will they take off?

When you become governor, what will happen to some projects or sites like the ongoing rice and cocoa processing factories?

You see, we are not like the APC who shouted change and when they had the opportunity to effect the change, they rather effected very negative changes on Nigerians. I always believe and strongly, too, that government has no business being in business.

All government needs to do is to create the enabling environment for the private sector to thrive. If I become governor, a project like the Cocoa industry is a laudable project, but it should not be publicly managed. I still believe this because at some point I was the chairman in charge of the monitoring and evaluation of cocoa projects.

Ondo is reputed to be the highest producer of cocoa in the country.

Have you seen the size of Ondo State and that of Cross River?

Most of the cocoa we produce here are sent to Ondo and graded as belonging to Ondo because we do not have any processing factory. Do you know there was a time they said Cross River was not a rice producing state because all our rice were being milled at Abakaliki? My concerns are that you must draw a line between politics and the economy. The two don’t go together.

It is rumoured that Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State is backing Prof Sandy? Don’t you think the wrangling over zoning may destabilise the PDP in Cross River, considering the fact that some external factors are also interested?

I will not join that fray. Does it mean that we in the state are not mature enough and we have lost all political sophistication that the governor of another state will float a candidate for us? That is a kind of colonialism. Cross River State is not a colony of any state. So I refuse to believe that story. The fact that Senator Onor Sandy is a friend of Governor Wike should not be interpreted that way. You know they were in ALGON together. Very few people have been able to maintain friendship even in power and I commend their friendship. Let us not be presumptuous. Wike has his own problems in Rivers State. Does he want to carry that of Cross River and add to his own? I don’t think so. He reportedly denounced any interest in the governorship ambition of his friend.

Didn’t he also reportedly pledged to support any candidate who emerges after the primaries?

That is not out of place. Don’t forget that he is a PDP governor.

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If I become the governor, I will look for competent hands and try to divest government attention from them because they are businesses. No government business has ever been successful.

In other climes, most of those government businesses that are functioning are heavily subsidized. That is the truth. We will look at them, but they will be run privately by very credible people in a very transparent manner, such that there will be no doubt as to their efficiency.

Should the party leadership or delegates settle for your fellow contestant, how will you react to it? Will you defect to another party?

If I had wanted to defect I would have defected long ago. I am a founding member of the PDP. We had a group here that joined G36 to form what metamorphosed into the PDP. It was called the Cross River State Democratic Platform. I was the one who moved the motion for us to join the PDP and that was at Mercantile Bank Guest House, which is now Channel View, as far back as 1998. I don’t destroy houses that I built and I am running the race, hoping seriously to win, and putting everything I have to ensure that I win. If at the end of the day, my best was not good enough, there will be no need to bring the house down.

I am not wired that way. I will accept the position of my party.

In every contest there must be a winner. I have presided over several meetings from which winners emerged and others lost. I have tried to enforce the supremacy of the party and urged others to work for the success of the party. Contesting at the individual

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level is a battle. I will rather that my party wins and I lose the primaries than win the primaries and because of my winning the primaries, my party loses. I will rather lose the battle than lose the war. It is not a question of do or die. I have been a beneficiary of the goodwill of the people of Cross River State. I have sat back and looked at the entire scenario. I have looked at my fellow contestants who have come out and I believe I can fix most of the problems of Cross River State better than some of them because I have had the experience.

Direct or indirect primaries have been a major issue in the country recently. What is your take on it?

There is this English author called Frederick Forsyth. In one of his books titled 'Devil’s Alternative', there is a story about the secret service going on a mission. The head of the service is trying to see how he can minimise the loss of lives and his deputy says, “Sir in whatever way we go, there will be loss of lives for us to get to that target.” That is where we have found ourselves now. Why the people opted for direct primaries is that they wanted to remove power from those who they felt with their resources can manipulate indirect primaries, but the danger in direct primaries is that we are not new to the security challenges in the country today. Take for instance where we are today is Calabar Municipality, we have 10 wards. So on the day of primaries we are going to have 10 centres and those are 10 flashpoints which results will come that you will accept while with indirect primaries we are going to have only one centre. So you look at the pros and also look at the cons. Either way we will have trouble. But the point is that we can control the indirect primaries, if we the people are truly determined to exercise our constitutional rights, irrespective of whose ox is being gored.

That is the situation. You apparently can know the capacity of an individual, but he comes with some money, you collect the money and do his bidding, tomorrow he expresses that lack of capacity you turn back to complain over something you knew and of course, he came with money. So that’s a problem. It’s like a child waking up one morning, killed his father and mother, then claim to be an orphan. For me, given the security situation in the country today, I think the best option will be indirect primaries.

Already our security system is overstretched and in some cases they have not been able to meet the security needs of the country.

In my party, there are 196 wards, so on the day of primaries, you will be talking about 196 centres. What is the strength of your police force or are you going to draft in the Army? Soldiers are not trained to maintain civil peace but to maintain the territorial integrity of this country. The level of their patience and that of the civil police are not the same and I always frown at taking soldiers from the barracks to tackle civil uprising. The Army should come in at the extreme where the civil police has shown demonstrable lack of capacity to handle the situation. Can you imagine direct primaries in the South-East, what it will boil down to? First, I was very excited because if you want to be a governor for instance you should be able to go to the 196 wards.

Today we have people who are governors and have never been to some villages and wards. I have had the opportunity of traversing the 196 wards of Cross River State. That was why I said in my opening statement that I know Cross River State. None of my fellow contestants can say that. I have been to all the wards and helped to establish the party in some of them.

What are your thoughts on state police?

That is where we have problems. The key to resolving most of our security challenges lies in state police. What are their fears?

The governor’s will hijack them, but who are the people who are maintaining even the police here? I know that while in office, we bought the police over 200 cars, fixed their barracks and the only thing the Federal Government did was pay their salaries.

The country is too large for a centralised police force. The state police is necessary because we are evolving. Even what we have now is still a police force that was established by the colonialists, something that came from the West Africa Frontier Force. This force was formed to protect the white colonialists and they built barracks for them so that at any point the whites want them, you go there and fetch them. Show me any first world country that has a police barracks. When you remove the police from the populace and congregate them in a particular environment how will they detect the criminals among them? The police should live with the people because they are civil police. So there is something structurally wrong with our policing system. Create state police and when you do, it will be under the command of the state governor. You can fight an Army with an Army, but you can never fight the people with an Army. It is the determination of the people that matters. How long will we continue to have one police force that will take care of 200 million people? We have come to a level where we cannot run away from state police.

What is your message to the electorate in Cross River and other stakeholders ahead of 2023?

It is not going to be first or last in this state and we should continue in peace. For us the contestants, we should be civil with each other and run an issue-based campaign, avoid mudslinging and instigating people to do that which is not civil. Cross River State is noted for peace and I urge all to continue maintaining peace. The 2023 general election will come and go but the state will remain.

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POLITICS Big Task Before INEC

•Continued from page 9

election rigging.

INEC also submitted, “The BVAS has come to stay.

So is the uploading of results from polling units on the INEC Result Viewing (IReV) portal in real-time on Election Day. We are convinced that the introduction of technology in voter accreditation and result management is better than the best entirely manual process. It also increases public confidence in the process. We will continue to deepen the use of technology in our elections.”

Tinubu

In an interview with THEWILL, INEC’s National Commissioner in charge of Voter Education and Information, Barrister Festus Okoye, has said that, in terms of the electoral process, technology is the way to go.

Tinubu Will Turn Nigeria Around – Group

BY AYO ESAN

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Group, Tinubu Support Organisation, TSO has called on Nigerians to rally round the National Leader of the All Progressives Congress, APC and former Lagos State Governor, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu in his aspiration to succeed President Muhammadu Buhari in 2023.

Speaking with THEWILL at the weekend, the Lagos State Coordinator of the TSO , Otunba Akinduro Ibesanmi said the recent declaration by Tinubu to contest the 2023 presidential election gladden the hearts of many Nigerians.

He said: “Tinubu’s recent declaration for 2023 presidency gladdens our hearts. It was received with joy.

We thank God for that. What we require now is for all Nigerians to pray for him to succeed in his ambition to become the next president of the country. This man has helped many people to their desired positions and now, we should all rally round him too and ensure that he succeeds in the next election as president of Nigeria”.

As to why the group is backing Tinubu for the 2023 presidency, Ibesanmi said “We are backing him because we believe in him .We are backing Tinubu because we believe in his competence, we believe in his capability and we believe in his pedigree.

“Somebody who has governed Lagos before. Somebody who has been able to turn Lagos around and made Lagos a safe haven for investors throughout the world, deserves to be Nigeria next president. There is no business man in Nigeria today who doesn’t want to have a stake in Lagos.

Asiwaju is the hope for common man. He has done it before. He has the Midas touch to turn things around.

If he could turn Lagos around to what Lagos is today, we believe if he is given the opportunity to govern the country, he will turn around the country for the better”.

On what Nigeria should expect if Tinubu becomes the next president, Ibesanmi said “Nigerians should expect a better Nigeria. Buhari is doing well in term of infrastructural development but what Nigeria should expect from

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Asiwaju is turnaround of Nigeria. Things can be better.

The only thing we require is that leader that has passion, commitment, the vision, the zeal to turn things around in Nigeria. And since Asiwaju had done it in Lagos, Nigerians should be rest assured that he would do it in Nigeria.”

On the position of some people that Tinubu should remain as a king maker and should not contest for position, Ibesanmi wondered whether there was any law that said a Kingmaker cannot be a king.

“My response is to ask whether it is written in any constitution in Nigeria even in local family setting that a kingmaker cannot be king.

“Somebody who has build men, somebody who has helped put people in positions of authority, now he decided that he wants to be president, what is wrong in that. What is expected from the people is to give him support instead of asking him this question. Somebody who has been supportive to others while don’t we rally round him. If he has been supporting others to get to their desired positions, why don’t we also support him? We need to rally round him to become the president of Nigeria and achieve his lifetime ambition”, Ibesanmi said.

He said the response to Tinubu’s aspiration at the grassroots has been wonderful.

“It has been wonderful. Recently we were in Osogbo to launch TSO. We were also in Oyo to launch TSO and on the 28th of this month we will be in Ogun State. On the 3rd of February we will be in Ondo. What we need is to support him to realize his ambition. In Lagos here, Tinubu is a father figure and everybody in Lagos - Yoruba, Igbo, Hausa, Fulani are all rallying round him. The Director General of TSO, Hon. Aminu Sulaiman is not a Yoruba man. He is an Hausa man from Kebbi state.

He started this campaign a long time. If an Hausa man can discovered the potentials in Asiwaju, why can’t we support him. There is no where you go in the north, they are all clamouring for him to be the next president”, Ibesanmi said.

He said, “Technology is the way to go. Technology reduces human interference in electoral process. It also makes the conduct of an election much more transparent and accountable. So we apply technology in terms of party’s nomination process. We are applying technology in terms of the application of election observers and of the media. We will apply technology in terms of the electoral process because that is the way to go.”

Okoye advised politicians to assist INEC by embracing democratic ideals in order to make the commission’s job easier as the country moves toward 2023.

“I believe politicians should embrace democratic ideals. When they embrace democratic ideals, they will operate within the confines of the rule of law and due process. They will conduct themselves and their campaigns in such a manner that benefits the electoral process. Party's nomination processes must also be done in a way that is as accountable and transparent as possible. Only validated and nominated persons must be presented to the election management body as candidates by the political parties.

“Democracy is a work in progress and we must continue to cultivate it, nurture it and protect it. We must also continue to guard it because if we don't do that, democratic forces will be on ascendancy.

I believe all the stakeholders must stand firm with democracy, for it to succeed,” Okoye said.

Speaking with THEWILL, a prominent female politician, Prof Oluremi Sonaiya, urged INEC to listen to Nigerians on the way forward.

“I believe Nigerians have been expressing their opinions in this regard. They are urging INEC to engage more technology in the conduct of elections. I agree with that. Let us begin to start thinking outside the box. I am even of the opinion that we don’t have to run our elections in the same way in every part of the country.

“There are places in the world where elections are conducted on state by state basis. A state may decide that it will not use physical ballot paper on Election Day. Let us not force ourselves into an unworkable system. It is because we are trying to be uniform that we have problem,” Sonaiya said.

She said the use of technology will reduce the cost of elections and ensure transparency in elections.

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FEATURE Rise And Fall Of NaijaCem After the military struck, everyone was chased out of office.

Colonel Robert Akonobi emerged as the Military Administrator of Anambra State and appointed Prof L.O Ocho as the General Manager of Nigerian Cement Company Limited. By that time, the company was no longer producing cement. It had started importing the commodity from abroad.

After Ocho’s tenure ended, Enugu State was created and from it, Ebonyi was born. By the time Navy Commander Walter Feghabo was appointed first military governor of Ebonyi State, NaijaCem was already empty.

The first Executive Governor of Ebonyi State, Chief Sam Egwu, appointed Chief C.C Ogbu the General Manager of the company. Ogbu was a sales superintendent in the functional years of the company. All the governor needed was smebody to resuscitate the company and guide it to produce even one bag of cement.

However, Ogbu encountered serious challenges from nearly every angle and he was unable to produce cement. This led to a meeting between the governors and other stakeholders who asked Egwu to either appoint someone who would revive the company or forfeit the right to do so. Icha Ituma, the Secretary to the Governor, however suggested Engr. M.A Ogbugo to him as the most suitable person for the job, having studied Cement Production at Crown Field University, London.

Ogbugo was appointed by the governor as the sole administrator of the company to work without any board in the year 2000. Despite attempts in some quarters to frustrate his efforts, the newly appointed sole administrator went on to revive the company to produce about 15 lorry loads of cement.

BY JOY ONUORAH

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he Nigerian Cement Company Limited was established in 1964 by a foreign firm called F.L.S Smith of London, following the British colonial administration’s discovery of limestone deposits in the present day Ishielu Local Government Area of Ebonyi State.

The company was jointly owned by the Federal Government, the public, the south-eastern states and Sir Louis Odumegwu Ojukwu. The Federal Government had 10 per cent of the shares, the public controlled 30 per cent, while Sir Ojukwu had 20 per cent and the south-eastern states owned 40 per cent.

Meanwhile, a feasibility study carried out long ago showed that if the company were to be run in full capacity, the limestone deposit would last for 150 years.

The colonialists managed the company till the creation of Anambra and Imo States from the old East Central State. The arrangement was such that Anambra, one of the host states, would appoint the general manager of the company and the other, which is Imo, would produce the chairman of its board.

So it was until Chief R.B.K Okafor became the General Manager and Chief Iheanacho was appointed as Chairman of the company’s board. Both men were alleged to have introduced politics into the company, which drew the attention of the governors of the states.

In an interview with THEWILL, Mr Emmanuel Onyerioha, an Ex-staff of NaijaCem, confirmed that things changed almost immediately the running of the company was handed to the two south-eastern states.

Onyerioha said that everyone began to look out for his interest and became enemies with anyone who wouldn’t protect such interests. Corrupt practices also became the order of the day.

Confirming this, Engr Sunday Irualla, told THEWILL the story of a co-worker who took advantage of every available opportunity to embezzle money. According to him, this colleague was once asked to supply bulldozers valued at N5 million each and he went to buy old ones, renewed them and presented them as the new ones he was asked to buy.

Those bulldozers lasted only a few months before they packed up.

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“

A serious crisis erupted in the company, which led to a decision to lay off all the workers and its temporary closure. As a result, many people suddenly found themselves without jobs

A few years later, a Technical Committee on Privatisation was appointed by the south-eastern states and it was headed

by Chief Erundu of Imo State. The committee’s task was the privatization of NaijaCem. Soon it called for bids and so many companies responded. Eventually, Eastern Bulk Cement (EBC), the producers of Eagle cement, won the bid and became the major investor in the company.

EBC promised to resuscitate NaijaCem. Meanwhile, during the privatisation process, all the south-eastern states relinquished their shares to EBC. Going forward, the Federal Government relinquished its 10 per cent shares to Ebonyi State, making her the only state that still has shares in NaijaCem. The shares belonging to Sir Louis Ojukwu and the public are still intact.

As was observed, the EBC did nothing after procuring the factory. For reasons best known to it, the EBC made no attempt to resuscitate the company as promised.

THEWILL spoke with another former staff of the Nigerian Cement Company, also known as NaijaCem, who craved anonymity. According to him, corruption and bad management practices killed the company. Everyone was loyal to someone and not the company. In his words, everyone was loyal to ‘his or her stomach.’

Some years later, EBC relinquished its shares to Chief Cletus Ibeto of Ibeto Cement.

In no distant future, the attention of some politicians was drawn to the company and that was in 1983, under the Shehu Shagari administration. Chief Sam Mbakwe and Chief Jim Nwobodo were in charge as governors of Imo and Anambra States, respectively.

The company had approximately 1,200 staff at its inception across the country with over six lines of production and each line producing about 5,000 bags of cement daily. Some of the top technical workers earned about N1 million in the late 1960s to 1970s.

A serious crisis erupted in the company, which led to a decision to lay off all the workers and its temporary closure. As a result, many people suddenly found themselves without jobs.

Some suffered depression, some returned to their farms, which they had long abandoned and others went in search of better prospects elsewhere.

As expected, the then East Central State Divisional Police had a station in the company’s estate. Also, there were branches of some commercial banks, hospitals, marketplaces and clubs, all of which created even more employment.

When NaijaCem was eventually resuscitated, the responsibility fell upon Governor Nwobodo of Anambra State to appoint a new General Manager for the company, in keeping to a laid down structure.

Although Nwobodo appointed Engr M.A Ogbugo in 1983, that administration lasted only three months, following the military coup d’etat of 1983 led by the current Nigerian President, Muhammadu Buhari.

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NaijaCem was easily one of the biggest and most lucrative companies in the country, producing one of the best, if not the best, quality cement in Africa.

In an interview with THEWILL, Mr Harry Ezeulor said the death of NaijaCem brought the host community to a standstill as no meaningful development was recorded ever since. He added that he attended primary and secondary school in the NaijaCem Estate when it was still active. Some of his classmates include a former governor of Anambra State and the governor-elect of Anambra State, Prof Charles Chukwuma Soludo.

Nicknamed ‘small London’, NaijaCem was a source of funds to its host communities at its peak.

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EDITORIAL

Time to Accord AFCON Deserved Respect

T

he 33rd edition of Africa's most coveted football competition, which suffered two postponements in the past, finally got underway on Sunday, January 9, 2022 with a colourful opening ceremony at the brand new 80,000-capacity Olembe Stadium in Yaounde, Cameroon.

That the ceremony itself held to herald the commencement of the continental football showpiece was a victory for the Confederation of African Football (CAF) and the Cameroonian Local Organising Committee as the tournament was still under the dual-pronged threats of interference from separatists agitators in western Cameroon and the health and safety challenge posed by the Omicron variant of COVID-19.

Yet, there was an even more stringent threat that could have denied the competition of its brightest and biggest stars and by implication, either forced it to be postponed once again or forced to hold without footballers of African descent, who ply their trade within the Union of European Football Association region. The appearance of Egypt's Mohamed Salah, Nigeria's pair of forwards Victor Osimhen and Emmanuel Dennis, Guinea's Naby Keita and Senegal's Sadio Mane for their respective countries was directly threatened by the unfavourable disposition of their clubs and managers towards being denied the services of their players at a crucial juncture of the 2021/2022 domestic and the European football calendar.

This was made indubitably unambiguous when the European Club Association (ECA), the recognised body representing the interests of professional association football clubs in UEFA, voiced their concerns about sending their African players to represent their countries at AFCON while penning an official letter to FIFA. They raised concerns about the danger Omicron posed and the period of time these clubs will be without key squad players, who will be required to also self-isolate upon their return from international duties, before they can return to club competitions.

On the one hand is the merit of their argument in the classic club-versus-country debate in football. These clubs scout the best talents in the game to help them achieve their set objectives, which are often hinged on winning domestic and European titles, while ensuring they qualify for continental competitions, at the top of the standings, or ensure they are not relegated, at the other end of the log. To achieve these, they offer the juiciest contracts to keep these players comfortable and fit to execute their responsibilities and collectively help the club remain competitive.

However, the clubs argue that what a mid-season tournament, such as the 2021 AFCON, does is disrupt their tactics, game play and strategy by denying them of the players they require to apply these for the purpose of reaching set targets. If Senegal and Egypt go the length of the competition, for instance, Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool could be without crucial players, such as Salah and Mane, until the first week of February. Already 11 points behind leaders, Manchester City FC, in the title race, it was a

circumstance that Klopp, like other managers facing a similar tough turn across Europe, was wont to avoid, as his belittling of the competition made manifest.

While fears around COVID-19 apply generally to European clubs and their reluctance to release players for international commitments, which evoked the South American Football Federation (CONMEBOL) to seek FIFA's sanction on defaulting clubs, the concerted efforts to overwhelmingly hold African footballers from answering the call for international duty is reprehensible.

As laid out in Principle 1.1. of Annexe 1 of the "Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players", FIFA regulation on the subject is straightforward: "Clubs are obliged to release their registered players to the representative teams of the

The AFCON, which predates even the UEFA Euro, is sanctioned by FIFA's regional Confederation, the Confederation of African Football (CAF) and as such reserves the authority to organise its competition accordingly

country for which the player is eligible to play on the basis of his nationality if they are called up by the association concerned. Any agreement between a player and a club to the contrary is prohibited."

As the major international men's association football competition in Africa, the AFCON, which predates even the UEFA Euro, is sanctioned by FIFA's regional Confederation, the Confederation of African Football (CAF) and as such reserves the authority to organise its competition accordingly.

While the debate to regularise the calendar to ensure that AFCON is held after the regular European season, the way the UEFA Euro is organised, continues, it must be borne in mind that climate considerations between seasons in Europe and Africa differ and the resulting burnout from a tiring football season can have a debilitating impact on performance, if held at the end of a regular season in Europe.

The club versus country tussle will continue to be a thorny subject and while representing one's country remains one of the highest honours for most footballers, more and more today, players are forced to weigh their commitments and brutally protect the longevity of their careers whilst standoffs between international team bosses and club managers over the availability of players for games rage on, as was the case with Dennis and Watford. However, until changes are made to the calendar, it behoves the clubs to respect the provisions of FIFA regulations and allow their players the honour of the prospect of achieving history for their respective countries by according the AFCON the respect it deserves as an association competition recognised by FIFA.

Publisher/Editor-in-Chief

Austyn Ogannah Editor – Olaolu Olusina Deputy Editor – Amos Esele Politics Editor – Ayo Esan Business Editor – Sam Diala Copy Editor – Chux Ohai Cartoon Editor – Victor Asowata Entertainment/Society Editor – Ivory Ukonu Photo Editor – Peace Udugba Head, Graphics – Tosin Yusuph Circulation Manager – Victor Nwokoh Nigeria Bureau: 36AA Remi Fani-Kayode Street, GRA, Ikeja. Lagos, Nigeria. info@thewillnigeria.com / @ THEWILLNG, +234 810 345 2286, +234 913 333 3888.

EDITOR: Olaolu Olusina @OLUSINA [Letters/Opinions: opinion.letters@thewillnigeria.com]

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OPI N ION

Christianisation of Nigeria by President Buhari

BY FREDRICK NWABUFO

I

n the heat of the 2018 killings, I received a deluge of broadcast messages steeped in conspiracy theories of how the Federal Government was backing certain criminal groups in their orgy of bloodletting. According to one of the well-noised fibs, the government was paving the way, through militias, for the occupation of Nigeria and for the domination of ethnic nationalities by the Fulani.

One notorious conspiracy theory claimed the killings were the surreptitious agenda of a powerful clique in government, who were working at conquering territories and forcibly converting Nigerian locals to Islam. Another canard said the government was contriving how to take over lands of citizens and hand them over to the Fulani by stoking the crisis. Too many lies.

Doctored videos and photos rippled on social media purportedly showing the military dropping arms and supplies from helicopters to bandits. The criminals were alleged to be enjoying protection as ancillaries of the government.

Conspiracy theories in Nigeria come with the ethnic origin of the leadership of the day. The administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan, who is Ijaw and from the South-South, was accused of sponsoring Boko Haram to depopulate the North. Murtala Nyako, former governor of Adamawa State, at a meeting with Susan Rice, former US national security advisor; US officials and some northern leaders, at the White House on March 8, 2014, said Jonathan was eternalising the Boko Haram crisis to whittle down the voting power of the North ahead of the 2015 general election.

Former Chief of Army Staff, General Azubuike Ihejirika (retd.), who was the first army chief of Igbo extraction since the civil war of 1967-1970, was also accused of sponsoring

Boko Haram as a way to exact vengeance for the perils the Igbo suffered in the war. He was alleged to be deploying arms and ammunition to the insurgents. Nigeria has always been fertile with conspiracy theories.

Since 2017, the Muhammadu Buhari administration has been accused of angling to Islamise and Fulanise Nigeria. In fact, the allegation was so intense that some Nigerians wrote to foreign bodies asking them to sanction the country.

In September 2017, the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) claimed the Federal Government's issuance of N100 billion Sukuk bonds (an instrument of Islamic financing) was an attempt to pawn the country to Arab nations. According to the association, the government was accelerating the process of islamising the country.

Islamic financing is celebrated globally for its interestfree and equitable fundamentals and it has been advanced as a better financing alternative for developing countries.

Ironically, the Sukuk funds over, for which CAN raised a hue and cry, have been used to finance the construction of a road (Kolo-Otueke-Bayelsa Palm road) in former President Jonathan's hometown. About 44 other road projects have also been funded with Sukuk.

Instead of uniting against the bogey of kidnapping and banditry, Nigerians were divided – and some coloured the tragedies in ethnic complexions. Ethnic knights rose up, threatening the survival of the country. Nigeria was in chaos.

Only the heavens know how the country escaped the plunge to certain doom.

What is all this for? Politics? Is it because the President is of Fulani ethnic origin? I believe our predatory and

pernicious politics was at the heart of the labelling and conspiracy theories. It is nearly seven years in the life of the Muhammadu Buhari administration and about a year to the next presidential election, but the conspiracy theories of Islamisation and Fulanisation appear to be vapourising.

Perhaps because the government is inching towards the departure lounge and the ruses no longer serve any political purpose.

The Buhari administration is at its twilight, but Sunday is still a ''holy day'' for Christians. The foundational Christian elements on which Nigeria is built are still the same – and Islamisation has not happened. There is no Fulanisation or Islamisation of the civil service, the military or anywhere. It has been all propaganda.

As I have always said, Nigeria is a Christianised country.

This is largely due to British colonialism. Islam had made an in-road into northern Nigeria by the 11th Century – before Uthman Dan Fodio's Jihad of 1804, which was the climactic denouement. Borno was among the first disciples of Islam in the 11th Century. There was a literate population, a well defined system of government and codified laws. But the British yanked off a prodigious part of this heritage, imposing its own systems, which were fore-grounded in Christian values and practices.

We have become so used to our Christian ways that any blip of the obverse sends us, top gear, into panic and revulsion.

President Buhari has left the orthodoxies the way he met them – and by dint of that, I think he has contributed to the Christianisation of Nigeria.

• Nwabufo is a writer and journalist.

Sanwo-Olu And Magodo Estate Fiasco

BY ADEMOLA ORUNBON

G

eorge Orwell’s novella, Animal Farm, was one of the best books of the 20th century not only because of the well articulated story line, but also because of the deep political message it carried. The book is banned in some countries, such as Russia, Cuba and North Korea because it criticises the communist ideology.

All the characters in the book are representative of real human actors in a typical modern political setting anywhere in the world, although Orwell originally had the Russia revolution under Stalin's dictatorship in mind when he was writing the book.

In my opinion, the two opposing groups of people in the book, the upper class and the lower class – also known as the bourgeoisie and the proletariat or the rich and less privileged – can be likened to the Nigerian society:.

The upper class, represented by Old Major, Napoleon and Snowball are like the few Nigerian leaders that have access to power and the national treasury. They are the ones that make the important decisions that affect the economy of the nation for good or bad.

Characters like Benjamin the donkey and Boxer belong to the lower class. They represent the ordinary and long suffering masses, the flotsam and the jetsam on whose shoulders lie Nigeria's future, even though they are regarded and often treated as the scum of the earth.

Indeed, Animal Farm read so much like the story of Nigeria, the country’s eternal struggle against corruption, especially in official circles, tribalism, nepotism, divisiveness, religious bigotry, terrorism, mass murder, hunger, poverty, disease and a general lawlessness that is currently eating up the soul of the country.

In Nigeria, some people are above the law, while those under the law don't even know a thing about the laws of the land. The legislature makes laws that members of the National Assembly members don't obey. The judiciary is confused and the police do not know a thing about enforcing the law. It is an abysmal situation.

Constitutionalism means strict compliance with the provisions of the constitution by the leadership of a country and the supremacy of the law over everyone. Under this, we were taught that no one is the law and the law is supreme. But I think this law only applies to the poor and less privileged. These things are not in practice on this side of the globe. We are only deceiving ourselves when we talk about the rule of law. In Nigeria all you need to have is money and power.

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Power is one of the reasons why Nigeria is a lawless country.

These who are in power can do whatever they want. For instance, some highly placed individuals in the country have at different times boasted that their candidates would win elections, even if it meant going the extra miles to rig the elections.

The false narrative in the social media, regarding the action of the Nigeria Police in Magodo Estate, Lagos confirms that indeed, the media can be truly manipulated to mobilise citizens against the authorities, especially by those who have the means and the power to do so. Like I said earlier, like Nigeria, like Animal Farm.

The insinuation that the police were in Lagos illegally or that the scene wherein Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu personally went to question the presence of policemen in the estate in negation of his role as the Chief Security Officer of Lagos State, does not apply to the facts of the matter. I have taken time to situation and I dare say that the governor is an interested party in the entire shameful display of lawlessness in Magodo.

By obstructing the police from executing a valid order of the Supreme Court, it is clear that there is conspiracy to hinder law enforcement agents from doing their job. It is the height of our collective descent to anarchy.

A military governor of the state in the 1980s forcefully and deceitfully evicted the lawful residents and landowners in the Magodo area of Lagos from their ancestral lands under the guise of public interest, claiming that the state government wanted to build an international hospital on the land. No compensation was paid to the original landlords. Instead, they watched helplessly as the government converted the land to an housing estate, shared it among friends and families of their cronies.

The victims approached a court to seek redress. The court issued an injunction to stop all parties from further development of the land, but the Lagos State Government then ignored the injunction as usual. Development of the land continued until the matter was finally settled by the Supreme Court of Nigeria in 2012.

In the final judgement, the Supreme Court restored the rights of the Magodo Landlords Association over the land and awarded costs against the Lagos State Government. It also directed the litigants to repossess their land. Mind you, Supreme Court is the apex court and both the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) and the Inspector-General of Police must abide by its judgement. So why castigate them for doing their jobs?

The Supreme Court judgement was ignored by the Lagos State Government. It went to a High Court to initiate another process

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to stop the execution of the order of the Supreme Court. Then it invited the judgement creditors for a negotiated settlement. It offered them another parcel of land in Epe Local Government Area as a replacement. The creditors refused the offer and insisted that the order of the Supreme Court should be obeyed and Magodo should be vacated. Lagos refused to give effect to the judgement. There was a stalemate.

The litigants approached the Supreme Court and the Inspector General of Police was directed to enforce the judgement to enable the litigants repossess their land.

The above explains why policemen were mobilised from the Force Headquarters in Abuja to accompany the judgement creditors to repossess their land in Magodo. On getting there, the occupants of the property, who, by virtue of the court order, are now deemed as illegal occupants, staged a fierce resistance against the police. They barricaded the estate, mobilired themselves into a strong army to resist attempts by the police to enforce the order of the Supreme Court. They have feigned victims and are using all sorts of tactics to stall the execution of the order. We have to note that the same residents previously used their connection within the society and government at different levels to stall the execution of the court order from 2012 to date.

If I may ask, what sort of country would we have if a judgement of the Supreme Court – the highest court in the land – cannot be executed because some powerful people are involved? Between the illegal occupants and the restored owners of the property, who should cry of being wrongly treated? Did we take a look at that old blind man on the television? He must have been lucky to be alive. Others I learnt have died seeking justice over the Magodo matter. The police is absolutely right to have gone to that place to give teeth to the order of the highest court in the land. Unfortunately, those who illegally coveted the land are the ones crying victim today, while the police, which is doing its job, is being hounded.

The only remedy available to the Lagos State Government is to relocate the illegal occupants of the Estate to another place so that the judgement creditors may take their rightful property. All the theatrics and rigmaroling, including seeking injunction in a High Court and inviting parties to settlement is diversionary.

It is an exercise in futility. The judgement of the Supreme Court MUST be enforced to the fullest at a heavy cost to those who created the mess.

The Magodo matter should be a lesson for those who believe in absolute power. There comes a time when a Daniel would come to judgement. That time is now.

• Orunbon wrote in from Abeokuta, Ogun State.

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w w w. t hew i llni g eri a. c om VOL .2 N O.0 3

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UBA, Ecobank Among Topmost Investment Channels in Q3 2021

BY SAM DIALA

U

nited Bank for Africa Plc (UBA) and Ecobank Nigeria Plc were among the topmost financial institutions through which foreign investments totaling $1.73 billion were channeled into the Nigerian economy in the third quarter of 2021 (Q3 ’21). The topmost financial institutions, totaling six, received a total of $1.60 billion.

According to a recent report by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) entitled ‘Nigerian Capital Importation (Q3 2021)’, the total value of capital importation (investment inflow) into Nigeria during the period (totaling $1.73 billion) exceeds the $875.62 million recorded in the preceding quarter of 2021 with $858 million. This shows an increase of 97.73 percent.

When compared to the corresponding quarter of 2020, the Q3 2021 capital importation figure also shows an increase of 18.47 percent from $1.46 billion in that year. The topmost financial institutions served as conveyors of 92.48 percent of the total capital importation for Q3 2021. A total of 18 banks were involved in the Q3 2021 investment inflow with each of the top six recording $100 million and above. UBA received $200.00 million while Ecobank had $126.02 million channeled through it.

The others are Stanbic IBTC Bank Plc ($537.92 million), Standard Chartered Bank Nigeria Limited ($326.01 million), Citi Bank Nigeria Limited ($248.30 million) and Union Bank of Nigeria Plc ($162.05 million). Providus Bank recorded the least investment inflow of $0.003 million.

New Appointments, Re-deployments in Aviation Agencies, Parastatals, Others

BY ANTHONY AWUNOR

M

anpower development is critical to the growth of Aviation business. It is on that note, that the Federal Government made changes in the administration of the agencies, parastatals and other departments in the system recently.

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Experts had earlier warned that unless the necessary steps are taken, the aviation industry in Nigeria would be left with a dangerous vacuum in the workforce, which may affect the system adversely.

Continues on page 33

By type, Portfolio Investment of $1.21 billion topped the list, accounting for 70.30 percent of total capital importation. This was followed by Other Investment with a total of $406.35 million which accounted for 23.47 percent. Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) of $107.81 million amounted to 6.23 percent of total capital imported in Q3 2021. By Sector, capital importation into Financing had the highest inflow of $469.17 million amounting to 27.10 percent of total capital imported in the third quarter of 2021.

This was closely followed by capital imported into the Banking Sector valued at $460.39 million or 26.59 percent and Production sector $323.83 million representing 18.70 percent.

Capital importation by country of origin revealed that the United Kingdom ranked top as source of investment into Nigeria with a value of $709.8 million accounting for 40.99 percent of total capital importation in the review period. This was followed by capital imports from South Africa and United States of America valued at $389.54 million (22.50 percent) and $257.12 million (14.85 percent) respectively.

Agriculture came a distant 7th by sector, an indication of that sector’s continued decline in recent years. Recent GDP reports revealed a significant decline in Agriculture in recent times.

“The agricultural sector in the third quarter of 2021 grew by 1.22 per cent (year-on-year) in real terms, a decrease of 0.17 per cent points from the corresponding period of 2020, and a decrease

MORE INSIDE JAMB’s Is’haq Oloyede is NextMoney Person of the Year PAGE 41

Economic Sector Gulps 48.89% of Plateau’s 2022 Budget PAGE 41

Continues on page 33

FMDQ Admits MeCure Industries Commercial Paper

BY SAM DIALA

I

n a remarkable start to the new year, FMDQ Securities Exchange Limited has approved, the MeCure Industries Limited N0.49 billion Series 1 and N1.44 billion Series 2 Commercial Papers (CPs) for quotation under the N20.00 billion CP Issuance Programme on its platform.

MeCure Industries Limited is a leading human therapeutics company in the pharmaceutical industry in Nigeria. MeCure pioneered the Continues on page 41 THEWILLNIGERIA

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JANUARY 16 - JANUARY 22, 2022 T H E W I L L N E W S P A P E R • www.thewillnigeria.com

AVIATION/FINANCE New Appointments, Re-deployments in Aviation Agencies, Parastatals, Others

UBA, Ecobank Among Topmost Investment Channels in Q3 2021

Continued from page 16

Continued from page 16

L-R: Head, Aviation Management School, Nigerian College of Aviation Technology (NCAT), Zaria, Dr.Kazeem Bakare; Deputy Rector NCAT Mr. Joseph Imalihew; Rector/CEO, NCAT, Capt. Alkali M. Modibbo; Special Assistant to Rector NCAT, Mr.Dauda Yahaya, and Acting Registrar NCAT, Imoh Effiong Ekok, at the Interactive Session by the Rector of NCAT with League of Airport and Aviation Correspondents, during 2022 LAAC Training Course at NCAT Zaria on January 13, 2022.

The Secretary-General of the Association of Nigeria Aviation Professionals, Comrade Abdulrasaq Saidu, who made the observation, has warned that the union is disturbed about the vacuum that will be created by the mass retirement of workers in the aviation industry.

However, the Federal Government on Wednesday took a bold move and made changes in the system. In the exercise, some directors were reappointed, some were eased out of the system while others got redeployed to other departments.

Also affected are aides to the Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika.

The Managing Director of the Nigeria Airspace Management Agency (NAMA), Capt. Fola Akinkuotu, was replaced with a former Director of Operations in the agency, Mr Lawrence Pwajok, after Akinkuotu’s five-year tenure ended on Sunday, January 9, 2022.

Pwajok, who retired from the service in December 2021, is expected to oversee the Office of the Managing Director. He was directed to do so in a letter emanating from the Ministry of Aviation, Human Resource Management FMA/ PS/ APPT/ CEO/014/1/23 and addressed to the managing director/ CEO of the agency.

The letter, titled, ‘Appointment of Director to Oversee the Office of the Managing Director/ CEO’ and signed by A.D Muhammad for the Honourable Minister reads, ”I am directed to inform you that the Honourable Minister has approved that Mr. Pwajok, Mathew Lawrence, Director of Operations oversee the Office of the Managing Director/ CEO, pending the appointment of a substantive MD/CEO” Addressing the immediate past managing director, the letter continued, “You are to kindly accord the director all the necessary support and cooperation he needs while overseeing the office. While thanking you for your usual cooperation, please accept the esteem regards of the Honourable Minister.” It concluded.

The letter signed by the Director, Human Resources Management, S.D. Muhammed and dated January 12, 2022, with reference number FM/PS/APPT/CEO/014/1/12 addressed to the Managing Director of FAAN, Capt. Rabiu Yadudu and obtained by Aviation Metric, also stated, ‘I am directed to inform that the Minister of Aviation has approved the re-appointment and redeployment of Directors and Special Assistants in the office of the Minister and the agencies as indicated in the attached list.

“Officers deployed to the Minister’s Office are to continue to draw salaries and other entitlements from the agencies of deployment. I am also requesting that all handing and taking over THEWILLNIGERIA

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exercise where applicable be completed before the close of work on January 21, 2022”.

In the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, Adamu Wakili has been appointed Director, Human Resources, Capt Chris Najomo, Director Air Transport Regulation whose appointments took effect from January 7, 2022.

Bahagio Agio, who was first appointed as Director, Operations, Licensing and Training Standards on September 2, 2017, retained his position; Odunowo Tayib ,who was first appointed as Director of Aerodrome and Airspace Standards in 2017, also retained his position.

The same goes for Sani Bilikisu and Ajiboye Isiaka, who both retained their positions as Director of Finance and Accounts and Director, Airworthiness Standards, respectively.

Musa Mai Sallau, who was first appointed as director in May 1990 got reappointed as Director, Human Resources in the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA).

Alhaji Umar Farouk Ahmed retained his position as Director, Engineering and Electronics, NAMA, while Pwajok Lawrence Mathew, who retired after 35 years of service, was re-appointed as a director and he has been asked to oversee NAMA days after Capt. Akinkuotu’s first tenure of five years ended last week.

Hauwa Usman Usara was posted to head the Legal wing of the airspace agency.

In FAAN, Anozie Hanarius was reappointed Director, Human Resources, while Aboderin Adenike retained her position as Director, Finance and Administration.

Abdulkadir Rafindadi and Capt Yusuf Muye take Commercial and Business Development and Operations, respectively, while Alli Maina has been appointed Director, Engineering Gold Bridget Iwinose heads the Legal Unit.

At the Accident Investigation Bureau (AIB), Capt Dayyabu Danraka, who was first appointed as Director of Operations, got his appointment confirmed and retained his position.

Mohammed Wali is Director, Engineering, while Salisu Auwal is now Director, Human Resources and Kakangi Aliyu is Legal Adviser.

At the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMET), Director, Human Resources retained his position, Charles Anosike was appointed as Director AMS, Abdul Ahmed, Director, Legal; Saad Bashie, director, Director, Engineering and Technical Services; Abba Mailabi Yusuf is Director, Weather Forecasting Services; Effiom Essien Oku appointed Director, Research and Training and Hamza Sani Hamza as Director, Finance and Accounts.

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of 0.08 per cent points from the preceding quarter which recorded a growth rate of 1.30 per cent. It grew on a quarter-on-quarter basis at 39.83 per cent. However, the sector contributed 29.94 per cent to overall GDP in real terms in Q3 2021, lower than the contribution in the third quarter of 2020 and higher than the second quarter of 2021 which stood at 30.77 per cent and 23.78 percent respectively,” the NBS reported in its Q3 2021 GDP report.

As noted, Financing and Banking topped the investment by sector with $469.17 million and $460.39 million respectively, followed by Production and Trading which recorded $323.83 million and $216.39 respectively.

Shares received $160.91 million while Telecoms recorded $50.84 million.

Agricultural sector received only $32.93 million investment inflow during the reporting period. By destination, Lagos recorded $1.48 billion while Abuja received $249.49 million. Anambra came third with $0.44 million.

Industry experts believe that the environment must be conducive for investments as no one would be willing to invest in a hostile environment.

They maintain that investment drought reduces employment opportunities, ignites illegal revenue collection and kills the economy by instalment.

Furthermore, they attribute the rise in Q3 2021 investment inflow mainly to the traditional practice of investors taking positions in quoted companies, especially in the financial services sector, towards the end of the year ahead of dividend season. UBA has increased its offshore presence in recent times, especially in the African continent which has contributed significantly to its growth in revenue, profit and assets.

A recent report by NextMoney magazine revealed that UBA ranked third by Assets and No. of Employees, fifth by Profit and Revenue, seventh

by Tax Payment and eleventh

by Market Capitalisation among selected top 100 companies listed on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) in 2020. “The analysis is restricted to publicly-held companies in the country. The reason for this is that accounts of listed companies are easier to access than those of private companies. Moreover, accounts of publicly-held companies are more believable because they are usually subjected to regulatory scrutiny and approval,” the report stated.

A stockbroker and investment analyst, Dr Anthony Omojola said that UBA and Ecobank have strong offshore subsidiaries and maintain strong links with other countries; this helps to attract investment inflow through those channels.

He noted that a huge portion of the capital importation represents returns on investments among other sources.

“The banks have links with other countries in term of branches, subsidiaries and products that are accessible to them. The capital importation represents returns

“

“Stakeholders predict further decline in capital importation as the 2023 general election draws closer when investors take momentary departure from Nigeria citing policy and political uncertainties that constitute a setback to the economy”

on investments, contributions by foreign-based branches or other nationals that invested in their products.

“Part of these could also represent repatriations by our citizens in diaspora to their families. Others are export proceeds routed through these banks. We pray such returns continue to grow as it will affect our economy positively and induce a better exchange rate in future,” Omojola, CEO, Credible Associates Limited told THEWILL in a note.

Stakeholders predict further decline in capital importation as the 2023 general election draws closer when investors take momentary departure from Nigeria citing policy and political uncertainties that constitute a setback to the economy.

Two major economic victims of declining investment inflow are tax revenue and employment. The government had embarked on a huge tax reform in the past five years when it introduced the historic tax amnesty called Voluntary Assets and Income Declaration Scheme (VAIDS) which came into effect in July 2017. The scheme allowed more Nigerians to pay taxes by not punishing them for tax evasion. According to the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), the government recorded N17 billion through the scheme while the existing 14 million tax payers doubled during the two-year period of the scheme.

It is on record that the reform brought remarkable changes to the tax space with robust gains in revenue, increase in the number of taxpayers and reduction in compliance gap.

The initiative was a boost to foreign investment inflow at the time.

This was, however, momentary as other harsh environmental factors, especially unfavourable foreign exchange policies, combined to erode the gains of the scheme leading to investors fleeing the economy.

Regarding employment, the slump in investment inflow also explains the concerns of the World Bank which observed that Nigeria’s unemployment crisis in recent times is the worst in the nation’s history. According to the bank’s research paper published in July 2021, Nigeria’s expanding workingage population, combined with scarce domestic employment opportunities, is creating high rates of unemployment, particularly for the youth.

•Continues online at www.thewillnigeria.com

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JANUARY 16 - JANUARY 22, 2022 T H E W I L L N E W S P A P E R • www.thewillnigeria.com

CAPITAL MARKET

Global Investors and The January Effect

BY SOLA ONI

A

s we ascend the ladder of 2022, global investors are pre-occupied with the issue of asset allocation and stock pick. January, the first month of the year is symbolic in investment parlance. The month is globally associated with general rise in stock prices. January is characterized by many variables, including consumer sentiment, tax-loss harvesting in December, and employees’ investing of year-end bonus on stocks in January, thus causing spike in stock prices.

The theory of the January effect emanated in 1942 when a celebrated investment banker Sidney Wachtel noticed that stock prices tended to rise in January more than other months. Academics are believed to have later confirmed the theory, following the behaviour of stocks and other asset classes in every January.

The January effect is also driven by the perception that some astute portfolio managers and fund managers “window dress” their portfolios by dumping laggards in December to avert disclosure in the fund’s annual report and invest heavily in January to drive returns.

January effect is also said to impact more on small cap stocks than their large cap counterparts as small caps are largely illiquid.

At the beginning of the year, many investors begin on a clean slate to invest for the future. This can lead to an upswing in demand with attendant effect on the stock prices. The average return for stocks during January was approximately five times greater than any other month according to a study that analyzed data between 1904 and 1974. This is corroborated by Salomon Barney’s analysis between 1972 and 2002 which revealed that small cap stocks outperformed large-caps during January.

But popular as the theory appears, it is not without some inherent weaknesses. In every market, institutional investors tend to have stronger capacity

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“

As we anticipate what the market will post in this new month, investors should move closer to their stockbrokers for sound investment advice to hedge against risks associated with investment decision

to influence the market direction. It is therefore debatable that the aggregate sell-off by individual investors in December or purchase in January can alter the market equilibrium. In the United States, the January effect is no longer consistent with the markets. Asset classes behave differently in January.

The All-Share Index of The Nigerian Stock Exchange (Now NGX ) ended bullish in December 2020, as the best performing worldwide according to Bloomberg which monitored 93 global equity indices. The Exchange posted +50.03 per cent to surpass S and P 500 ,-16.26 per cent, Dow Jones Industrial Average, +7, 25 per cent, among other global African markets.

But The Exchange’s performance in January 2021 proved the January effect theory wrong, The total transaction value amounted to N232,46 billion, a 13.7 5 decline compared to N269.24 billion recorded in December. Similarly, total foreign equities transaction in the review period was N47.52 billion,

a decline of 32 per cent compared to N69.92 billion posted in December and 32.4 per cent recorded in the corresponding period of 2020.

The uninspiring performance has nothing to do with the market’s strong fundamentals. It only reflected profit taking by investors in an operating environment characterized by uncertainties.

However, the uninspiring performance is at variance with the January effect theory. Some investors have argued that if the January effect was real, every investor would buy stocks in December and sell in January to take advantage of capital gain. Others have fingered the long-term data flaunted to defend the theory as misleading as it relied on occurrences of many years ago.

A frontline provider of Online financial analyst certification Programme, Corporate Finance Institute (CFI), in a recent study noted that January 2020 meant different things to investors. According to the Institute, while investors realised positive returns in 10 out of 23 countries within the World Index of Global Developed Market, they lost in 13 others.

The study stated that in January 2020, Portugal was up 6.2 per cent while Austria was down, 5 per cent. It offers a timeless investment advice on January effect saying : “As an investor, it is important to understand the fundamentals of a company to be better equipped when making decisions during the January spike.

It involves researching the company’s financial health, such as revenues, growth potentials, and profit margins, along with other aspects such as management, market position and more”.

As we anticipate what the market will post in this new month, investors should move closer to their stockbrokers for sound investment advice to hedge against risks associated with investment decision.

Oni, an integrated communications strategist, chartered stockbroker and commodities broker, is the Chief Executive Officer, Sofunix Investment and Communications THEWILLNIGERIA

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Okanlawon

•Adeyemi

•Kosoko

•Ighodaro

•Adeoluwa

•Egbuson

•Benjamin •Isime •Osifeso

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SET TO DOMINATE IN 2022 THEWILLNIGERIA

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ENTERTAINERS TO WATCH IN 2022

Deyemi Okanlawon

The year 2021 was fantastic for some entertainers who made satisfactory progress in their careers while also proving that they have the capacity to take 2022 by storm. SHADE METIBOGUN writes on 20 entertainers D who will likely keep their fans yearning for more THE ACTORS

Timini Egbuson

Lateef Adedimeji

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lthough Lateef Adedimeji started acting in 2013, 2021 was his year. He played lead roles in a number of movies, starting with his appearance in Ayinla, a film about late Apala music star, Ayinla Omowura. The movie placed his career on a higher pedestal and opened more doors to other blockbuster movie roles. Lateef also acted in Progressive Tailors Club, Love Castle, Breaded Life, A Naija Christmas, etc. The year ended on a positive note for him with his marriage to actress Adebimpe Oyebade. Hopefully, he will be putting his best foot forward as he begins his career as a married man in 2022.

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eyemi Okanlawon started facing the camera from an early age and honed his skills over time to become a force to reckon with in 2021 and getting roles in top-notch movies. He showed the stuff he is made of in several movies, such as Prophetess, King of Boys: The Return of the King, Swallow, Lock down, Mimi, The Carpet, Omo Ghetto: The Saga, etc. The father of two, who runs a film and production, consulting and talent management firm was named on the list of 100 Most Influential People of 2021. Fans should expect more from his stable in 2022.

Nosa Afolabi

T

he early part of 2021 was a bit challenging for Timini Egbuson. He had a running battle with his then girlfriend, Lydia Balogun, who opened a can of worms after their love affair hit the rocks. Many thought this would be his undoing careerwise. Fortunately for him, he was able to live beyond the controversy and forge ahead with his career. He became the toast of producers with high budget movies. He appeared in Breaded life, Country hard, Dwindle, Superstar and Juju Story. He also got himself a Range Rover SUV. Timini was able to prove that he could hold the ice without riding on the fame and name of his older sister, actress Dakore EgbusonAkande. All eyes are on him this year to see what he has up his sleeves.

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osa Afolabi, better known as Lasisi Elenu, started out as a skit maker known for a wide mouthed filter for his performances posted on social media, but he has successfully built an acting career through this. Unknown to many, Lasisi is also a talented music artiste and a songwriter, who has recorded a single titled, ‘What is the matter with a stage name Nature’ to his credit. In 2021, his fame spread when he explored acting and appeared in movies such as Ghost and the Tout, Razz Guy, Banabas. Lasisi Elenu looks set to take his acting career to the next level this year.

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Uzor Arukwe

Nancy Isime

Sharon Ooja

A

ctress, model and media personality, Nancy Isime is certainly one of the entertainers to watch out for in 2022.

Although she never had the intention of being an actress, she has proved that she knows her onions when it comes to acting.

She has made tremendous progress and pitched her tent among top Nollywood practitioners. She featured in major movies in 2021, such as Superstar, Sore Heart, The Razz and Alejandro. She also bagged endorsement deals, which projected her as one of Nollywood favourite actresses. The multi-talented lady also ensured her talk show, The Nancy Isime Show was the buzz by featuring top entertainers.

U

zor Arukwe started acting in the early 2000s, but it wasn't until 2021 that the spotlight shone on him, despite winning several awards. Known for his ability to blend into any genre ranging from comedy to high-paced action movies, he is also a voice-over artist and MC. Uzor acted in several high grossing movies in 2021 such as Prophetess and Dwindle. He also acted in Head Over Bills, Chief Daddy 2, Progressives Tailors Club, Lost But Found, Flip Of Alice and several others. The happily married actor will definitely blow the minds of movie lovers this year with his impeccable acting skills.

Osas Ighodaro

B

Sohie Alakija

S

ultry Lebanese-Nigeria born actress, Sophie Alakija gained prominence after appearing in Wizkid’s video, Holla at your Boy in 2010. She further proved her acting prowess after featuring in television series Assistant Madam.

Sophie has not rested on her oars since then. She appeared in a few movies last year, which placed her on a higher pedestal in her career and made her one of the entertainers, who will rule the screen in 2022. She featured in Muddled, My Village People, Dinner in my place and Gone. She was named as the Box Office breakthrough actress of 2021 by Film One Production company.

N

igerian-American actress, Osas Ighodaro, enjoyed a robust career in 2021. she features in many movies ranging from Ghost and the Tout, King of boys: Return of the King and Bad Comments, which were all high grossing films of 2021. She also featured in Mamba’s Diamond and Keeping Promise. She was recognised in the same year by Eko Star Film and Television Award as one of the actors with Impact.

She also got an endorsement deal with Throne Home. The deal came with a large parcel of land. Indeed, the mother of one had a fulfilling year, which many believe will spill over to 2022, hence her name made the list of entertainers to watch out for this year.

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eautiful Sharon Ooja’s career has grown since she came into the limelight in 2013 after featuring as Shalewa on Ndani TV’s Skinny Girls in Transit. She gained more prominence in 2018 after her role in Kemi Adetigba’s King of Boys. But Oloture firmly placed her on the list of actresses to watch out for. 2021 was a great year for the actress as she featured in successful movies of the year, such as Still Falling, Bad Comments and Tough Love. She also clinched the 2021 Best Supporting Actress in the series, The Men’s Club at the Hollywood and Africa Prestigious Award.

Anthonieta Kalunta

A

nthonieta Kalunta put the mandatory national youth service on hold for a year to make a debut in the movie industry and that decision paid off as she won the hearts of movie fans. Her ability to interpret her role as a young fiery central character, who endures captivity, manages to escape and selflessly returns to find her younger sister in the movie, The Milk Maid transformed her career and placed her on the list of entertainers to watch out for in 2022. She also won the Most Promising Actress of the Year at the 2021 Best of Nollywood Awards. Movie fans are eagerly waiting to see her performances this year.

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JANUARY 16 - JANUARY 22, 2022 T H E W I L L N E W S P A P E R • www.thewillnigeria.com

THE MUSIC ARTISTES Daniel Benson

S

tanley Omah Didia, professionally known as Omah Lay, is a singer cum producer who emerged in 2020 with a dynamic Afro-fusion sound that draws from pop, rhythm and blues, hip-hop and high life. He is one of the fastest growing music artistes in Nigeria. 2021 was a good year for him as he performed at many shows and also headlined his own show in London and Port Harcourt. He was also among the talented music acts to thrill guests at Burna Boy’s O2 London concert.

He has had the opportunity to work with other artists, such as Wizkid, Olamide and Ajebo. His song, Understand, topped the music charts and had millions of views on YouTube last year. As the Next Rated Award winner at the 2021 Headies Awards, music fans should watch out for spectacular performances and hit singles from him this year.

Lekan Osifeso

Adekunle Kosoko

A

lthough Adekunle Kosoko otherwise known as Adekunle Gold has been doing music professionally for five years, winning hearts with his unique blend of highlife, pop and a mixture of Yoruba, English and Pidgin, 2021 was the year he entered a transition embodied in the person of AG Baby.

His genre of music also switched to pop-centric. He had an impressive outing last year with hit singles such as, It is what it is, Sinner and High.

Aside from the success of his music last year, Adekunle Gold also improved on his looks, which his fans are quite impressed with. Music fans are eagerly waiting to see what he will unleash this year.

D

aniel Benson, professionally known as Buju, is a fast rising Nigerian singer, songwriter and pianist, who won the hearts of music fans in 2021 with his unforgettable tunes.

He was one of the most featured music artiste in 2021. He performed at Wizkid’s concert, which was held at the O2 Arena in London. He also had his Sorry I’m late London concert and the Lagos version as well.

He was featured by Wizkid in his single, Mood; Valvin’s No Worry, King Joel’s Zombie, Zlatan Ibile’s video Alubarika and a host of others. The video of his song, Outside had 3.9 million views a few weeks ago on YouTube. Some of his hit songs include Feeling and Never Stopped. The success of Buju’s career in 2021 makes him one of the artistes to watch out for this year.

Stanley Omah Didia

L

ekan Osifeso, also known as Lojay, became a professional musician in 2016 but rose to prominence in 2021 after his collaboration project with Sarz (Osabuohien Osaaretin). He has proved that he is a force to reckon with in the Nigerian music scene with the song, LV N ATTN. The song was produced by Sarz and it had Grammy award winning artiste, Dayo Adedeji Balogun, also known as Wizkid. The project produced hit songs such as Monalisa and Tongolo. The success of his Extended Play, EP made him one of the musicians to watch out for in 2022.

Oyinkasola Sarah Aderibigbe

B

orn Oyinkasola Sarah Aderibigbe, Arya Starr started her career as a model before venturing into music. She released her debut single in 2019 after covering a number of popular artiste’s songs and uploading them on her Instagram account. She got the attention of Mavin Records boss, Don Jazzy (Michael Collins Ajereh), who later signed her. Her single, Bloody Samaritan, made the top 50 charts a few weeks after its release. It also made it as the first solo song by a female artiste in the history of the chart to reach the number one position. Ayar Starr has been on an upward movement career since then. It would be interesting to see her rule the music world this year.

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B

ig Brother Naija reality show star, Maria Chike Benjamin, may have courted controversy in 2021, following her entanglement with a married man, but she managed to remain focused and is the only housemate so far, who has bagged the most influencing deals within a short period of time. From premium eyewear brand Lunettes, to beauty company, Get Glowng, Mapia Tea, Hushd, a skincare brand, Havilah Real Estate company, cable company, DSTV etc. Maria cashed out as a brand influencer no doubt last year and her endorsements earned her a place on the list of influencers to watch out for in 2022.

THE INFLUENCERS Adeola Adeyemi

Bukunmi Adeaga Ilori

Abike Halima Raheem

A

bike Halima Raheem, otherwise known as Papaya X or Abike Arab is a fashion model, beauty therapist, vlogger and an actress. Her 2020 feature in a short movie titled Two Way Street placed her in the league of entertainers making waves in the industry. However, she made THEWILL's 2022 list of influencers to watch out for with the number of brands she showcased using her influence. Notable among which are consumer brands, the likes of Spedy weight loss, a weight loss brand, Weston's place, Eat with Mimi, Shaw Exchange, Darryl homes and properties, Beautiful body, and a host of others.

2021 was indeed wonderful for the lady despite the controversies surrounding her. Many claim the brand influencer feeds on controversy and clout chasing. In July last year, ahead of the premiere of Big Brother Naija reality show, she announced on TikTok that she was one of the contestants chosen for Big Brother Naija reality show which turned out to be a lie. She also once showcased someone else’s house and called it her own, she was later called out for her action. These controversies drew more attention to her and suprisingly, further endeared brands to her. She made so much money she was able to buy herself jewelry worth N15m for her extravagant birthday which she celebrated last weekend. Fans are waiting to see what 2022 holds for the controversial influencer.

B

eauty entrepreneur, Adeola Chizoba Adeyemi, otherwise known as Diiadem started her journey as a beauty entrepreneur when she was a teenager. She was also a video vixen before training as a make-up artist at MUD. She is the founder of Beauty by AD, a fast growing cosmetic company that produces a wide range of beauty products. For this, she was awarded Beauty Entrepreneur of the year by ELOY awards in 2021.

She is one of the brand influencers to watch out for this year as she has successfully projected the image of several fashion and beauty companies to the next level. She is a brand ambassador of Hush D Range of beauty products, Zerna and Zara fashion House, she has also worked with Payporte, Shona House of Beauty, Goodfella automobile company, and a host of others.

Maria Chike Benjamin

B

ukunmi Adeaga Ilori, also known as Kie Kie, has established herself as a social media influencer of repute. A fashion stylist and enthusiast, she runs her own female fashion brand, Accost collection. She has also worked with several brands to promote their products and services and continues to grow in popularity as most top brands are willing to associate with her. All through December, Kie Kie was considered the top choice as a concert host and boy did she clean out. She was named among 100 most influential people of 2021.

Enioluwa Adeoluwa

E

niolawa Adeoluwa, also known as lip gloss boy, has become one of the most popular influencers in Nigeria.

He has succeeded in advocating a good relationship while creating conversations around skincare, beauty and how men can look fabulous. Smart and creative Enioluwa is a brand influencer to notable and reputable companies, such as Gala, ASUS, Golden Morn Nigeria, Fenty skin, MTN, Samsung, Tecno and a host of others. He smiled to the bank as a result of his creativity and he is certainly one of the main beauty influencers to watch out for this year. His unique and relatable casual way of passing his messages across to fans has continued to endear brands to him.

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Additional report by Ivory Ukonu.

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JANUARY 16 - JANUARY 22, 2022 T H E W I L L N E W S P A P E R • www.thewillnigeria.com

STORIES BY IVORY UKONU

Friday Osanebi Shuts Down Asaba For Brother’s Wedding T

JACKIE APPIAH DISPLACES EX-REPS MEMBER, STEALS HEART OF PRESIDENT

Appiah

W

hatever relationship existed between the president of a West African country and a former member of the House of Representatives, from a prominent family in Edo State, has obviously come to an end as this president has allegedly found solace in the arms of Ghanaian actress, Jackie Appiah.

Before Jackie’s enthronement, this ex House of Representatives member was undoubtedly the apple of this president’s eye. So in love were they, that at the height of their relationship years ago, long before he became

the leader of his country, they almost walked down the aisle. Unfortunately, their joy was cut short when the lawmaker’s father, a wealthy businessman, put his foot down and insisted that his daughter had to marry from her country, specifically from their home state. She obeyed, did her father’s bidding and married a prince from her community.

Unfortunately the union, which produced a child, hit the rocks, no thanks to the lawmaker’s feelings for this president. While her ex-husband has since moved on and gone into

oblivion, she is yet to remarry. So when this former international star won the presidential election in his country, she was beside herself with joy. She grabbed every available opportunity to celebrate and eulogise the president-elect, especially on social media.

On the day of that president’s inauguration, she chartered a private jet and in company with her retinue of friends, all decked out in the aso ebi they specially picked for themselves, arrived in his country and made their presence really felt.

All that frenzy has since ended as the president now only has eyes for Jackie Appiah. While they may have tried to shield their affair from the public for several reasons, it is glaringly evident that they are both smitten with each other. More so, this president lavishes Jackie with some of the best things that money can buy. He picks up the bills for her numerous trips abroad, often flying first class or using private jets.

Through her presidential lover, Jackie has invested heavily in real estate in her home country. She owns

a couple of fabulous houses in East Legon and Accra, which she rented out, including her residence at Pergola in the Trasaco area of Ghana. This particular house, which sits on a large expanse of land, is an architectural delight. A sprawling edifice, it comes with an Olympicsize swimming pool. The 38 yearold actress used to be married with a son until the marriage collapsed like a pack of badly arranged cards.

How Tunji Alapini, Kema Chikwe Chose to Celebrate Their Birthdays

L

ast week, renowned criminologist and security consultant, Aare Akogun Tunji Alapini, waltzed into the 70s club in style. The youthful looking former police chief threw a classy but private party to celebrate his eventful sojourn on earth at the Civic Centre, Victoria Island, Lagos. The party was graced by some of Nigeria’s political, social and business elite. Regarded as one Nigeria’s finest police officers while in office, the Ogun Oluwo Adimula of Ile-Ife and the Bobadara of Egbaland would later proceed to the University of Wales, United Kingdom to get a Masters Degree in Criminology after retiring from the police force as an Assistant Inspector-General of Police.

However, unlike Alapini, former Minister of Aviation, Kema Chikwe, chose not to throw a huge party when she clocked 75 on Wednesday January 12. Instead, she chose to hold

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a modest house party at her Abuja home where she played host to some political elites and socialites, which includes ousted Imo State governor,

Emeka Ihedioha, Grace Ebagbe, Valentine Ozigbo, PDP governorship candidate for Anambra 2021 governorship election and others.

Alapini

Chikwe

Makinwa

TOKE MAKINWA DENIES ROMANTIC DALLIANCE WITH AA ABUBAKAR

wo weekends ago, Delta State lawmaker and socialite, Hon Friday Ossai Osanebi threw a lavish wedding party for his brother, Mathias Osanebi who got married to his longtime girlfriend, Amarachi Okereke. In his characteristic manner, Friday made sure that Asaba and environs felt the impact of his brother’s wedding.

The nuptials kicked off with a mass at St Patrick Catholic Church, followed by a reception party at the Dome Events Centre, both in Asaba. The money bag who likes to throw money around like a drunken sailor, made sure his fellow money bags attended the ceremony. It was a commotion of private jets at the Asaba Airport as each of his guests struggled to find parking spots for their chartered flights.

They also didn’t disappoint with their show of love. Others who made their presence felt at the nuptials were captains of industries, government

functionaries and business moguls. People like Obinna Iyiegbu, Emeka Okonkwo, Chief Mmerigwo Henry Iyke, Ned Okonkwo, Ayiri Emami, Evangelist Micheal Diden Ejele, Ugochukwu Harvey etc, all made their presence felt at the ceremony. As a wedding gift, Friday presented a four-bedroom duplex apartment in an estate called Victoria Lestry, located just before Victoria Garden City, Lagos to the new couple.

He equally dumbfounded the couple and guests with the presentation of two brand new Toyota Camry saloon cars as souvenirs to any invited guests of the couple’s choice, as a way of thanking them for attending their wedding. On hand to thrill the couple and guests was Iyanya, who dished out tunes from his repertoire of songs while comedian, Justice Nuagbe, otherwise known as Ushbebe, anchored the wedding reception.

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edia personality and influencer, Toke Makinwa, has denied that she is in a romantic relationship with wealthy businessman, Alhaji Aliyu Abubakar. She also denied insinuations that she dragged him to court over his unfulfilled promises to her. She was forced to make these denials when AA, as he is fondly called, allegedly threatened a lawsuit against her for the false allegations made against him.

AA allegedly gave Toke a 48-hour ultimatum to retract the false allegations or face a N50 billion defamation lawsuit. He based the premise of the lawsuit on the fact that he never met her, not to mention having a relationship with her. But Toke, through her legal counsel, advised AA to direct his threats and lawsuits to the source of the allegation and not to his client, who never made the allegations in the first place and who also has no business with the source of the allegation.

The legal counsel further stated that the threats were uncalled for, especially after Toke had personally spoken to Femi Falana SAN on the same issue, distancing herself from the businessman as she had never, prior to the threat, heard of him before or aware of his existence. In addition, her counsel further said that the fictional association of AA with Toke, his client, demeans her self- worth as a woman and insults her psyche as a human.

The Osanebis

Much Ado About Dayo Kujore, Adebayo Alao-Akala’s Death

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t is no longer news that the entertainment industry and the political circle lost two prominent individuals recently: Juju artiste, Dayo Kujore and former Oyo State governor, respectively. What is news is that their exit has left the families they both left behind in deep sadness.

While Kujore, who died at 63, had got married to his US-based lover three weeks before his death, Alao-Akala, who would have clocked 72 in a few months, had made elaborate plans to celebrate Florence, his first wife’s 70th birthday. Florence remained in the background throughout her husband’s tenure as governor, leaving the second wife, Kemi to occupy the office of the First Lady. Preparations for the birthday party, which was scheduled for Saturday January 15, was already in top gear when death struck. The untimely death of Alao-Akala, who suffered no prior ailment, may perhaps explain why billionaire industrialist, Chief Razaq Akanni

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Okoya didn’t throw his usual loud party to celebrate his 82nd birthday. Known for hosting very huge parties with the creme de la creme of society in attendance, the Octogenarian chose to have a small in-house gathering with only family members and very close friends in attendance.

The Okoya are in-laws to the Alao-Akalas. Olamiju, Florence’s son with the late former governor, is married to one of Okoya’s daughters, Zainab. Olamiju is the Chairman of Ogbomoso North Local Government Area of Oyo State.

Alao-Akala

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BUSINESS NEWS JAMB’s Is’haq Oloyede is NextMoney Person of the Year

BY ANTHONY AWUNOR

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he Editorial Board of NextMoney, Nigeria’s foremost financial magazine, has selected the Registrar/Chief Executive Officer of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), Prof Is’haq Olanrewaju Oloyede, as its Person of the Year 2021.

In a statement signed by the Editor-InChief, Mr Ray Echebiri, the magazine stated that its choice of Oloyede as Person of the Year was informed by his relentless and uncompromising pursuit of academic excellence in Nigeria, and his unwavering sense of transparency and accountability in public service.

As Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ilorin, Oloyede pursued academic excellence as though his whole life depended on it. Concomitantly, Unilorin became the most sought-after institution by candidates seeking admission into tertiary institutions in Nigeria. And soaring on the Alhaji Aliko Dangote, chairman of Dangote Group (3rd right), accompanied by former chairman of Forte Oil PLC, Chief Femi Otedola (3rd left) and others, wings of academic excellence feathered during Dangote's the Sura Drivers License Centre, to renew his license in Lagos on January 12, 2022. by him, Unilorin’s ranking among world universities has remained on the upward trajectory.

As Registrar/Chief Executive of JAMB, Oloyede is leaving no stone unturned as he relentlessly and avowedly pursues academic excellence by ensuring that admission into tertiary institutions in Nigeria is transparent and credible. omas Electrical Meters Continued from page 16 Manufacturing Company Ltd. Quietly and steadily, he is leading a (MEMMCOL) Metering School has revolution in the Nigerian educational development of novel products and and will assist in bolstering its working said it will train about 4,000 Nigerian youths system, with the intention of implanting launched the pharmaceutical industry’s capital. Hence, positioning it as a leader on meter installation and manufacturing in academic excellence, especially at the 2022. first tablet in a capsule formulation called in the Pharmaceutical Industry”. tertiary level. The overall objective is to ‘Liquitab Floatcap’.

As issuers tap the Nigerian DCM to The Chairman of MEMMCOL, Mr Kola ensure that no candidate without the Commenting on the successful CPs meet their funding needs effectively Balogun, made this known in a meeting with requisite academic qualification and quotation, the Chairman/CEO, MeCure and sustainably, as well as contribute to journalists held in Lagos at the weekend. competence will find himself or herself on Industries Limited, Mr. Samir Udani, the development of the nation through Balogun noted that the huge metering gap the campus of any tertiary institution in the stated that “the issuance will help the their activities, FMDQ Exchange said in the electricity sector was an opportunity country as a student. company meet its short-term working it will continue to work collaboratively to create employment for young Nigerians to He is doing this by conducting a capital and funding requirements. It with market stakeholders to align the enable them to contribute to nation building. very credible, transparent and fraudwill also strengthen our commitment nation’s DCM to international standards. to building and shaping positively, the It added that through the promotion of He said, "We trained more than 2,000 free Unified Tertiary Matriculation healthcare Industry in Nigeria”. product and service innovation and the young Nigerians on meter manufacturing, Examination (UTME) and by ensuring installation and maintenance in 2021. championing of key market development that admission into tertiary institutions in Also speaking on the transaction, the initiatives, it will take commendable steps Nigeria is based on merit. sponsor of the CP and a registered to ensure that growth and development "Our projection is to be able to double that member (Quotations) of the Exchange, opportunities abound for the markets capacity in 2022. We are expanding our Oloyede was appointed Registrar/ school now because of the support of our Cordros Capital Limited, represented by under its purview.

Chief Executive of JAMB by President foreign partners. its Executive Director, Mr Femi Ademola, Muhammadu Buhari in August, 2015, for CFA, stated, “Cordros Capital is proud FMDQ said it will continue to avail its "They want us to train young females, a term of five years in the first instance. He to have sponsored the quotation of the credible and efficient platform as well as especially those at the Internally Displaced was reappointed for a second term of five MeCure Industries Limited N0.49 billion tailor its listing and quotation services Persons (IDP) camps. years in 2021, based on his outstanding Series 1 and N1.44 billion Series 2 CPs to suit the needs of issuers looking to performance during his first term. under the N20.00 billion CP programme. seamlessly raise finance from the debt "We hope to train 4,000 Nigerians this year.

Once we are able to do that, those from the This transaction has provided an capital market (DCM).

Five years or so down the line, he has not IDP camps will have something to do going alternative source of funding to the Issuer only turned around JAMB, but also clearly forward. indicated that he will take it to the very height of international standard and make "Training anybody, especially in the it non-secondus in managing admissions power sector and getting them engaged immediately, means you have taken them out into higher institutions of learning in of the streets."

Nigeria.

FROM UKANDI ODEY, JOS Balogun said those who were trained in Quite significant in his list of achievements rom UKANDI ODEY, Jos breakdown works, health, water resources, energy 2021 came from various parts of the country, so far is JAMB’s new sense of public of the Plateau State 2022 budget and sanitation, lands and housing, as well with some of them already working with accountability and transparency tagged, ‘Budget of Economic as science and technology. Others include electricity distribution Companies. manifesting in the annual remittance of Recovery and Consolidation of Inclusive tourism, information and communication, surplus revenue to the Federal Government Infrastructural Growth,’ has indicated that women, youths and sports development, He said President Muhammadu Buhari had the economic sector will gulp N17, 234, commerce and industry, as well as in the last five years – a phenomenon always championed the call to empower 272, 407. 68, representing 47.89 per cent of environment and solid minerals not associated with the Board in the past Nigerian youths, stressing that this was the total budget. development.

Momas contribution to national development. decades. With this, JAMB has become a role model in public accountability, Presenting a breakdown of the budget With a zero opening balance, Wallangko Balogun said, "We are creating wealth transparency and effective management in Jos last Friday, the Commissioner added, “The vision of the budget is aimed because those trained already are training and administration of human and material for Budget and Economic Planning, at consolidating on the achievements others and engaging them positively. We resources.

Sylvester Wallangko, said further sectorial of the ‘Rescue Administration’ in order believe that engaging our youths positively allocations show that the administrative to improve our stewardship towards will curb restiveness and insecurity in the Another significant achievement of sector is second with an allocation of accelerated socio-political and economic country.

Oloyede is the introduction of technology in N8, 440, 542 337.82, equivalent to 23.45 development of the state." the conduct of the annual Unified Tertiary "We don't just train but we kit them.

We also percent of the budget, while the social He urged all ministries, departments and educate them and change their attitude to the Matriculation Examination (UTME) and sector and law and justice received 24.41 agencies (MDAs) to adhere strictly to the job because Momas represents good product, administration of admission processes. and 4.24 percent for the same 2022 fiscal basic principles of budgeting and budget good character and good thinking.

Through this revolutionary approach, period, respectively. implementation, just as he called on all the embarrassing examination "Our training and the curriculum are Explaining the whopping allocation to stakeholders to "take responsibility and malpractices hitherto associated with endorsed by the Council for the Regulation of the economic sector, Wallangko said the ownership of all projects that are in their Engineering in Nigeria (COREN) and Nigeria the UTME are now becoming historical projects captured for execution in this domain in terms of maintenance culture footnotes.

Society of Engineers (NSE).

FMDQ Admits MeCure Industries Commercial Paper

MEMMCOL To Train 4,000 Nigerians On Meter Manufacturing, Installation

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Economic Sector Gulps 48.89% of Plateau’s 2022 Budget

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as the primary beneficiaries."

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JANUARY 16 - JANUARY 22, 2022 T H E W I L L N E W S P A P E R • www.thewillnigeria.com

STATE OF THE STATES

BY SAM DIALA & OLAYEMI SHABA

Introduction:

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here are concerns that Nigeria’s worsening revenue challenge may escalate into a financial implosion, with the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (subnationals), being the worst hit. The situation is aggravated by the nation’s escalating public debt stock (now over #35 trillion). The debt stock comprises domestic and external loan obligations of the Federal Government and the sub-nationals.

With over 70 percent of the nation’s revenue committed to debt servicing annually, governments at all levels are struggling to survive. There is little left for capital budget, pay salaries and undertake other priorities to grow the economy.

Moreover, there is a limit to which the people and corporates could be taxed. Yet, profligacy and waste take the centre of our governance space while frugality assumes the back seat.

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asarawa is a state in North-Central Nigeria. Its capital is Lafia. It was created on October 1, 1996, split from the old Plateau, which previously had contained both territories.

Nasarawa is bounded in the north by Kaduna State, in the west by the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), in the south by Kogi State and in the east by Taraba and Benue States.

The wet season is oppressive and overcast, the dry season is humid and partly cloudy and it is pretty hot during some months of the year. The hot season lasts for about four months, from around January to April 14. The hottest month being March, while December is the coldest. The cool season lasts from around June to October.

Nasarawa lies in a lowland region, which is very fertile for agriculture. As such, the primary occupation of the inhabitants is farming, with the production of varieties of cash crops, such as cassava, yam, rice, maize, guinea corn, beans, soya beans, beniseed, asha and millet. Others are sorghum, millet, soybeans, shea nuts and cotton. Other agricultural activities involve fishery development, wildlife and forestry conservation. The people also engage in craft such as cloth dyeing and calabash carving.

As such, the sub-nationals are hemorrhaging huge resources in paying salaries and other emoluments of a bloated bureaucracy. To survive, they are urged to diversify their revenue base, embark on aggressive internally generated revenue (IGR) and depend less on the shrinking federal allocations.

The purpose of State of the States project, is to present evidence-based alternatives. These include avenues for the sub-nationals to become more viable and less dependent on the Federal Accounts Allocation Committee (FAAC) – referred to as Abuja handout.

State of the States, a bi-weekly publication, features two states per edition. It endeavours to unearth hidden treasures in each state and ascertain, through consultations and evidencebased survey, areas of comparative advantages and economies of scale. The publication will show-case, in no exaggerated

NASARAWA STATE

tree. These can be used as raw materials for industries in timber processing like furniture factories and allied wood manufacturing ventures. The vast network of roads which link the rural areas and major towns complement the services of the Nigerian Railway Corporation between the state and Maiduguri in Borno State.

The government has thrown open some investment opportunities to interested persons, including a number of the government owned ventures to revamped on an equity-sharing basis or other arrangements. This include Nasara Sacks and Packaging Company at Akwanga, Fertiliser Blending Plant at Lafia, and the Nasara Spring Water of Nigeria (NASWAN) also at Lafia, and the waste to energy conversion project.

terms, the socio-economic status of each state and highlight the opportunities and threats.

Furthermore, State of the States will examine existing realities that hinge on sector-specific areas of competitive advantage – Agriculture, Tourism, Transportation, Education and Skill Acquisition, Wellbeing and MSMEs. Ultimately, the project seeks to create the desired spotlight on the subnationals to motivate them to venture into something different for better results.

We have featured Lagos and Ogun, Kwara and Kogi, Anambra and Enugu, Benue and Taraba, Kebbi and Sokoto, Cross River and Akwa Ibom, Edo and Delta, Ekiti and Osun, Bauchi and Gombe, Rivers and Bayelsa, Kano and Jigawa, Imo and Abia Borno and Yobe.

This week periscopes Nasarawa and Kaduna.

Total Revenue: N113.89 @ 2020 Total Tax: N9.9bn Total IGR: N12.47bn @ 2020 {22.45% of total revenue) FAAC: N43.10bn @ 2020 (55.43% of total revenue) Domestic Debt: N59.39bn @ 2020 External Debt: $58.59m @ 2020 Unemployment rate: 29.83% @ 2020

FACT-FILE: LGA: 13 Land Area: 10,4701q mi.

Registered businesses: 201 Public primary schools: 1,391 Public secondary schools: 483

Solid Minerals The state is rich in barite, coal, clay, lead-zinc, salt, gemstone, silica sand, iron ore, granite, tantalite, marble, mica, cassiterite, limestone, aquamarine, columbite, barite and bauxite. Most of these have been confirmed to exist in commercial quantity. Many of these are exploited by artisanal miners.

University (4): Federal - 1, state - 1, private - 2

Tourist Sites Nasarawa has a host of tourist locations. These include the Farin Ruwa Falls, Captain Maloney Hill, Pepe Ruwa Lake, Doma Dam, Awa Eggon Hill and Efugogiri Hills at Doma.

Nursing School/Health and Science (5): Federal - 1, state - 3, private -1

Polytechnic (3): Federal 1, military - 1, state - 1 College of Education (5): Federal - 1, state-1, private - 3 College of Agriculture (5): Federal - 3, state - 2

Technical School (2 ): Federal - 1, state - 1

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Lead-zinc ore

It is also exploiting the resources of economic trees such as Mahogany, Shea tree, African Balsam, Coffee tree, Locust Bean tree and Iron

Farin Ruwa Falls

Agriculture, Rural and Industrial Development Nasarawa is pursuing some projects aimed at maximising the potential of its enormous land and grazing resources found suitable for cattle rearing and poultry. The state has established the Nasarawa Beef Processing Company at Masaka-Karu in the FCT Abuja to take advantage of the available huge market there. It also established the Keffi Modern Abattoir to augment the operations of the Beef Processing factory in Masaka-Karu.

Sule

Others are the National Gallery of Arts, Numa Rock at Akwanga, Akpa Rock and Cave, Akiri Salt Village, Mail Rumba Rock, Doma Mada Hills and Rukubi Hills.

There is also the Keana Salt Processing Centre, Hunku Lake, Akuriwari Warm Spring and Crocodile Lake, Gizar (all at Akwanga). Doka-gide Ria at Doma, Tunga Nupawa Lake at Assakio, Natural Spring Water at Lafia and Ogani Fishing Water make the list.

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JANUARY 16 - JANUARY 22, 2022 T H E W I L L N E W S P A P E R • www.thewillnigeria.com

STATE OF THE STATES

Nasarawa Intensifies Entrepreneurship, Human Capital Drive

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asarawa is renowned for its special entrepreneurship and human capital development schemes. It has reached out to qualified and competent hands who are not indigenes of the state. The focus is to develop a strategic development scheme that will eventually be manned by the state indigenes when they have gone through the rigours of training. One of such schemes is the Entrepreneurship Development Centre of the state university.

creativity, and for planning, marketing, and financing that are needed for a successful venture. The guiding principle of the entrepreneurship development programme is the development of creative minds, innovative and entrepreneurial personalities who are prepared for leadership responsibilities in industry, government and non-profit organizations, create new jobs, add social and economic value and nurture a sustainable enterprise culture.

Strategically created in Nasarawa State University, entrepreneurship education has become popular for several reasons. First, it integrates other disciplinary fields study with an enriching, integrative educational experience. Second, promotes the establishment of new businesses by graduates, enhances the employment prospects and success in the job market. Third, it promotes technology transfer from the university to the market.

Finally, it forges links between the business and academic communities.

Goals of the Programmes The Entrepreneurship Programme of the University is designed to assist undergraduate and graduate student-entrepreneurs start and grow their businesses, and to serve as a catalyst for the creation of sustainable and globally competitive enterprises in Nasarawa State, Nigeria, and beyond. This will be achieved by promoting entrepreneurship across the campuses and in the community through entrepreneurship education, enterprise development services, knowledge transfer experiential programme community engagement, business technology incubation, research and publications.

The Entrepreneurship Development Centre has three coordinating units: (i) Enterprise Development and Knowledge Transfer, (ii) Entrepreneurship Education, and (iii) Experiential Programmes.

The Management is supported by a team of resource persons and administrative staff. The Management team is unwavering in fostering a cohesive community support network that creates entrepreneurial opportunities for everyone.

Philosophy and Rationale for the Programmes Micro and small-scale enterprises in Nigeria produce a significant number of new jobs and can make a tremendous contribution to the economy. Students and trainees enrolled in the University’s entrepreneurship development programmes will develop an appreciation for the spirit of entrepreneurship, innovation,

The Entrepreneurship programme of the University is made up of three (3) main components: Structure of the Programmes The Entrepreneurship Development Centre (EDC) coordinates the entrepreneurship programmes of the University. The EDC is managed by a Director and an Advisory Board. Its focus includes: Entrepreneurship Education: the centre provides an introduction to the values and basics of creating and running businesses It covers the Faculty and Graduate entrepreneurship education program Certificate and Diploma programmes in Entrepreneurship Other

areas include entrepreneurship training Workshops, research and publications in the form of Journal, monograph, case studies, newsletters, seminar and workshop series, etc.

Enterprise Development Services and Knowledge Transfer: providing supports and services that incubate and help the students and the University develop new ventures. These programmes go beyond entrepreneurship education by assisting in accessing small loans or grants that are needed to begin business operations and by providing more individualized attention to the development of viable business ideas. This encompasses the development of a business plan, feasibility studies, simulations of business start-up and operation business incubation, management and knowledge transfer.

Experiential Programmes: This includes providing trainees with placement and experience in the day to day operation of a business.

In many cases, these programmes involve the development of student-run businesses in which the trainees are engaged in order to acquire practical experience. It also provides placement in apprentice or internship positions with role model entrepreneurs in the community. This includes vocational/trade engagements of students.

The state’s proximity to Abuja and the FCT is a huge investment advantage in terms of the rapidly growing population and high cost of living in the FCT. Challenging factors: Insecurity, high population of uneducated, unkempt youth and teenagers, multiple taxes, excesses of government and military officials, religious dichotomy.

ENDOWMENT AND INVESTMENT OPPORTUNITIES

Cattle Rearing

Low-Cost Housing

Rice Production

Poultry

Water Packaging/Bottling

Salt Packaging

Road Transportation/Haulage

Hotel Business

Food Packaging

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STATE OF THE STATES

Kaduna is a trade centre and a major transportation hub as the gateway to northern Nigeria, with its rail and a wide network of roads. The state’s natural vegetation consists largely of savanna woodlands. It produces cotton and peanuts (groundnuts) for export.

Other cash crops include shea nuts, ginger and peppers. Vegetables are grown in the riverine floodplains; brown sugar is processed locally from sugarcane; onions and soybeans are produced in abundance.

Tobacco used to be a major cash crop around Zaria (where cigarettes are made), and sorghum is utilised by a brewery in Kaduna town.

Sorghum and millet are staple foods. Cattle, chickens, guinea fowl and sheep are raised; hides and skins are tanned for export.

The people also engage in traditional crafts, especially cotton weaving and dyeing (with locally grown indigo), leather processing, raffia weaving, and pottery designing (notably among the Gbari), which also retain considerable economic importance.

The state is popular for hosting the highest population of military and paramilitary institutions, including the Prisons Training School, Nigeria School of Artillery in Kachia, Nigerian Navy School of Armament in Kachia, Nigerian Army School of Military Police, Nigerian Military Training School in Basawa, Zaria, the popular Nigerian Military School, Zaria, Air Force Institute of Technology, the prestigious Armed Forces Command and Staff College, Jaji and the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA) are all located in Kaduna.

The state is also home to the Nigerian College of Aviation Technology in Palladan, Zaria.

Being a major route to the North, Kaduna is included in the planned Lagos–Kano Standard Gauge Railway, which has been completed between the national capital of Abuja and Kaduna. Trains for Abuja depart from the Rigasa Railway Station. At Kaduna, a branch rail line connects the Lagos-Nguru Railway to the Port-HarcourtKaduna (the state capital) route.

Agriculture, Rural and Industrial Development To ensure food security and youth empowerment, the state government has created a scheme for the training of 5,000 youths annually for five years on agricultural projects. The agricultural programme is designed for youths in the age bracket of 18 to 35, who will be equipped with starter packs at the end of the training programme.

The Kaduna State Government has embarked on aggressive urban renewal project to attract investors, improve the state’s competitiveness, support economic dynamism and promote the well-being of the people. Governor Nasir el-Rufai said the renewal project will begin from Kaduna the state capital and extend to two other main cities, Kafanchan and Zaria.

FAAC: N63.12bn @ 2020 (55.43% of total revenue) Domestic Debt: N68.75bn @ 2020 External Debt: $551.94m @ 2020 Unemployment rate: 12.4% @ 2020 Inland Dry Port: 1 Airport: 1

FACT-FILE: LGA: 23 Land Area: 17,781q mi.

Registered businesses: 1,826 Public primary schools: 4,350 circa Public secondary schools: @ 2009 University (6): Federal - 1, military - 2, state - 1, private-2 Polytechnic (3): Federal 1, military -1, state – 1 College of Education (3): Federal - 1, state - 2 College of Agriculture (5): Federal - 3, state - 2 Nursing School/Health and Science (9): Federal -3, state - 6 Technical School (4): Federal -1, state - 3 Institute of Petroleum Resources: Fed - 1.

Research Institute: Federal - 1 Total Revenue: N113.89bn @ 2020 Total Tax: N27.65bn Total IGR: N50.76bn @ 2020 (44.57% of total revenue)

El-Rufai

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aduna State was created in 1967 with Kaduna as the capital and major city. It used to be called the North-Central State.

It is located in north-western Nigeria and bordered by Zamfara, Katsina and Kano States to the north; Bauchi and Plateau State to the east; Nasawara State to the south and Niger to the west.

Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory, also borders Kaduna to the south-west. Its major river is the Kaduna River which is a tributary of the Niger River. It flows roughly east to west through the centre of the state.

KADUNA STATE

Some educational centres in Kaduna State include the Ahmadu Bello University, with its associated Institutes of Education, Economic and Social Studies, Administration and Health, the Institute for Agricultural Research and Special Services and the Leather Research Institute of Nigeria. The Nigerian Civil Aviation Training Centre and a branch of the Katsina College of Arts, Science, and Technology are also located in Zaria.

Tourist Sites Matsirga Water Fall, Kajuru Castle, Gen. Hassan Usman Katsina House, Kaduna Museum, the Lugard Foot Bridge, Kamuku National Park, Emit of Zazzau Palace, the Nok Village, Trappco Ranch and Resort, St. Bartholomew’s Church, Bishop’s House (for Northern Nigeria Diocese).

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Kaduna Museum

The beautiful road in Kaduna

Solid Minerals Cassiterite, Nickel, Lithium, Molybdenum, Tantalite are found in the state.

Kaduna State Minning Development Company

Zaria is the commercial nerve centre of the state, which served as a major collecting point for cotton, tobacco, groundnuts, shea nuts, and hides and skins processed locally and sent by rail to Lagos for export.

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STATE OF THE STATES Kaduna State Unveils KADA Hive Innovation, Technology Hub

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he Kaduna State-sponsored KADA Hive Innovation and Technology hub in partnership with the Bank of Industry (BoI) was commissioned in August 2021. The Hub, according to the state government, is an initiative that helps to expand the access of young people in Kaduna State to the acquisition of ICT skills. The government said the project also seeks to increase technology and innovation adoption by businesses in the State.

“The success of this project, the Deputy Governor said, clearly demonstrates the endless potentials of partnerships in turning innovative ideas into concrete realities,” said Dr. Hadiza Sabuwa Balarabe, deputy governor of Kaduna State She said that as a government that believes in partnerships and collaborations, Malam Nasir el-Rufai-led administration will continue to work with its partners in the private and public sectors in birthing innovative ideas that create opportunities for the people.

Dr. Balarabe said the Technology Incubation and Innovation Centre was one of the six funded by the Bank of Industry in the country. It is designed to provide workspace, dedicated power supply, internet connectivity and office facilities for individuals and groups in the technology and innovation business.

Experts and stakeholders believe that this will increase productivity and enable individuals and businesses without

office buildings and facilities to pursue their dreams and create products and services. Additionally, KADA Hive Hub will improve Kaduna State’s Technology and Innovation ecosystem as it seeks to build the skills sets of those involved in technology businesses in Kaduna state.

TechNews quotes Kaduna state government as saying it is desirous of creating a favourable business clime that would enable the birth and growth of businesses across the broad spectrum of the economy. Along with other initiatives of KDSG, KADA Hive will serve as an enabler in making ICT entrepreneurs in the state to tap into the huge potentials of the global digital economy.

“As we pursue the vision of making Kaduna a destination of choice for private businesses, we are investing significantly to build the productive capacities of our youths, especially in ICT. “Through the support of World Bank and Rockefeller Foundation, we successfully conducted the Click on Kaduna program; a Digital Jobs Africa Initiative to train youths in Kaduna on how to use digital technologies to drive innovation, obtain digital skills and acquire jobs. This program is very much in line with the State’s vision to develop its digital economy and reduce youth”.

She further said “It is heart-warming to see that this program launched in July 2018 has trained these 360 young men and women in programming and technology, graphic design, digital marketing, and digital entrepreneurship over the last 6 months.

This is in addition to the over 900 citizens that were trained in the first phase of the programme.

“Some have gained internship opportunities through placement in tech companies, some have even gone on to gain formal employment in tech hubs and Start-ups within the State. We believe that investing on the youths is the surest path to create a safer and more prosperous future which is driven by technology and innovation.

“As managing partners, we thank you for deploying resources to promote innovation and technology in Kaduna state and the nation at large.

“As we have continued to stress, the vision is to make Kaduna State a leading ICT hub in Nigeria. To this end we have committed to the establishment of various ICT Hubs and technology villages across the State for the purposes of improving the capacities of our people and enhancing their responsiveness to the growing and more dynamic digital age.”

She also commended the Bank of Industry (BoI), Roundstone and Vatebra for partnering with Kaduna State government to deliver the hub in Kaduna.

“We are delighted that KADA Hive has been set up to contribute to this by providing the necessary skills and knowledge to put Kaduna State on the radar of emerging digital economies.”

Challenging factors: Insecurity, high population of uneducated, unkempt youth and teenagers, multiple taxes, excesses of government and military officials, religious dichotomy and upheaval.

ENDOWMENT AND INVESTMENT OPPORTUNITIES

Corporate Cleaning Business

Petroleum Products Distribution

Cattle Ranch and Meat Processing

Groundnut Production/Processing

Mobile Phones, Computer & Accessories Shop

Standard Bookshop

Supermarket

Restaurant and Catering

Boutique and Fashion House

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Mama Roz’s Chronicles

The Dark Side of Love Prison Series (4)

“I will come around 6pm” she said.

“My parents will be going for their prayer meeting by that time”.

BY ROZ AMECHI

Mr Isaac could not believe his good fortune. As soon as he got home, he cleaned his house and bought some suya and drinks while he waited for Amaka. She didn’t disappoint him.

At ten minutes past six, there she was, standing at his door looking very different from the school girl he picked up and dropped off every day.

Amaka’s Story

I Part 1

n the month of May 2004, Amaka celebrated her 16th birthday and was admitted to SS1 in a secondary school near her home in Abuja.

Amaka lived with her parents and two elder sisters. Now in the senior year, she could be trusted to make the journey to school alone as opposed to being accompanied by an older sibling. This was quite a feat for Amaka who felt an added sense of responsibility walking alone to the bus stop to join the teeming crowds of people also making their way to work or school.

At the bus stop it was always a struggle to get on a bus ready to leave. The buses filled up quite quickly and there were no defined queues. Often times one would have to fight their way through the crowd to get on the bus. It was survival of the fittest.

The buses were often packed full and all available space, standing or sitting would be completely occupied before the buses moved. Amaka always gave herself extra time to ensure that the waiting time at the bus stop did not make her late.

Even though it was early in the morning and most people would have taken their morning shower before they ventured out, with people packed like sardines in the bus, one would still be subjected to a cocktail of pungent body odours. Needless to say, the daily bus trip to and from school, was not a particularly enjoyable experience and once the novelty of her new found freedom wore off, it became a dreary daily experience again. For this reason, it was not surprising that Amaka was quick to jump at the opportunity for an alternative as soon as it presented itself.

Amaka was at that precarious age when a young girl becomes aware of her sexuality and the effect of it on the opposite sex, without knowing what to do with it. As she walked, she gently swayed her hips, her skirts sewn an inch higher than the school approved length and where possible she applied light make up, (eye pencil and lip gloss) which was not so easily detected except by the very keen eye of an overzealous teacher.

Amaka, fair skinned, beautiful and slim, was like all other young teenage girls, excitable about everything in the world around her. Sometimes she would meet her friends on the way to school and they would travel the distance together and other times she would walk alone.

On this particular morning, Amaka was walking alone when she sensed a car slowing down beside her. She quickly glanced sideways to see who it was without showing any interest. She was careful to avoid strangers because her father had warned her repeatedly about people especially young girls being kidnapped for rituals. Since the advent of democracy and with the desperation of politicians, this was becoming rampant. Several girls had gone missing after talking to men they thought had a love interest in them. It turned out the interest was something more sinister, and in many cases, they were never seen again.

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Amaka was excited about her date with Mr Isaac. She knew that eventually he would ask her to visit him and she had been looking forward to it. Even though she had never had a boyfriend, she was well aware what went on between men and women.

Some of her friends in school had boyfriends and talked about them and what they did. She couldn’t talk about Mr Isaac because he wasn’t really her boyfriend yet but perhaps, he would soon be.

Only one or two managed to return alive to tell the story of their harrowing experience at the hands of ritualists. So, Amaka was always on her guard and avoided strangers as much as she could.

However, the person in the car cruising beside her was not a stranger as such. She had seen him several times as they lived on the same street. His name was Mr Isaac and he had a nice car.

He lived in the block of flats at the bottom of the road but he was building his own house right next door to her father’s house. She had seen him watching her before and the other day he had even smiled. She wasn’t sure if he was actually smiling at her so she looked around but there was no one else there; he was smiling at her. Still, she didn’t smile back, she wanted to but she was shy so she looked away.

The car was crawling beside her as she walked on. The

“

Amaka was excited about her date with Mr Isaac. She knew that eventually he would ask her to visit him and she had been looking forward to it. Even though she had never had a boyfriend, she was well aware what went on between men and women

window opened and there was Mr Isaac with a wide toothy grin on his face like he had just won the lottery.

She stole another quick glance and looked away again. She didn’t want to seem eager. “Can I give you a ride?” he asked. He stopped the car and she got in without saying a word.

From her uniform, he could tell which school she attended. He drove past it every day.

Mr Isaac drove straight to her school talking all the way. It was a monologue, Amaka was too shy to speak. “What would she say anyway?” she wondered. “What could a small girl like her have to say that would interest a knowledgeable man like him?”. He stopped near the school gate, so she could get out of the car. She said “thank you Sir” and got out and then rewarded him with a very shy smile. That made his day.

Every morning after that, Mr Isaac would wait for her at the bottom of the road and drive her to school. And then he started rescheduling his time so that he could drop her again after school in the evening. Amaka loved the car rides. Any escape from the awful packed and smelly bus was welcome. She was still too shy to speak but she loved to listen to him.

He had an opinion about everything.

He would get cross if someone drove on the wrong side of the road or cut into his lane. He would shout and scold them as if the other person could hear him. Amaka never said anything, she was in awe of him.

Mr Isaac was a happy man. He had been watching Amaka for some time now but he never thought she would be interested in him or even give him the time of day. He had had several sleepless nights thinking of how to lure her into his car and he had expected her to put up more resistance like that useless girl, Bola from the next street who had rejected him repeatedly for so long, only to ask him for money and then had disappeared again when she got it.

Amaka was his type of girl. She was fresh and pure unlike most of these materialistic Abuja girls. He was sure she liked him too. She was rather quiet but that was a good thing. He didn’t like women who talked too much like his wife. That one was always talking, he had sent her away to the village so he could get a break from the talking. Actually, she had given birth to twins and since her mother could not come to the city to assist her, he had sent her to the village to stay with her mother. His plan had been to leave her there just for a few weeks but since Amaka came into his life, he had decided to make it a few months. Let her stay there in the village for now so he could have peace.

Amaka! Amaka! That was all he could think about at the moment.

This was definitely love. These days he woke up earlier than usual, taking time to make himself look and smell nice for Amaka. When he wasn’t with her, he was thinking about her. He idly wondered how he could move the relationship from the daily trips to and from the school, to his house and ultimately his bedroom. Amaka was very quiet so it was difficult to know what was in her mind. He hoped an invitation to his home would not put her off but he could not leave it any longer. He really desired to be with Amaka.

One evening after he brought her back from school, Mr Isaac asked Amaka if she would like to visit him in his house. He had some snacks he would like to share with her and there was something he wanted to tell her. To his surprise, she said ‘yes’.

“When can you come?” he asked eagerly.

She was already dressed and waiting before her parents left the house for their prayer meeting. She wore a skirt she took from her elder sister’s ‘box’.

It was a very short tight skirt and she noticed that the boys always admired her sister when she wore it. As soon as her parents left the house, she slipped out of the back door while her two sisters washed the plates from their evening meal in the kitchen.

So here she was in Mr Isaac’s house.

She had imagined this moment for so long and now she was here with him. As usual she was tongue tied and remained silent. That was okay though because Mr Isaac did the talking for both of them. He brought out the drinks and suya and they sat on the sofa eating and watching the television.

When the food and drinks were gone, Mr Isaac started talking again “You know Amaka, I have loved you for a very long time, even before that day you entered my car. I love everything about you. Will you marry me?”.

Mr Isaac himself was more surprised than Amaka by that last question.

What could have possessed him to add that? It was as if he was no longer in control of his tongue. But he had said it now and could not take it back.

He quickly followed the words up with action by taking her into his arms.

His words were like music to Amaka’s ears. Exactly what she wanted to hear.

She loved him too but was too shy to say it. Since she could not say it, she would show him just how much she loved him. In her heart she had said yes to his proposal and in her mind, they were now engaged, so she did not stop him from doing all he wanted to do with her.

To be Continued

Roz Amechi © 2021. No part of the story/documentary may be copied, photocopied, reproduced, translated or reduced to any electronic medium or machine-readable form, in whole or in part, without prior written consent of the author, Roz Amechi.

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AFCON: First Round Goal Drought, VAR And Unforgettable Referee decisions and game management. Yet, this was exactly what Zambian referee Janny Sikazwe did in his handling, or mishandling, of the AFCON first round fixture between Mali and Tunisia, which the Malians won by a lone goal. Sikazwe had begun by overseeing a penalty each for both sides, with one being a debatable call and the other forced upon him by VAR after he had wrongly called for a free kick. But, the worst decision he made was one that will be remembered for infamy when he blew the game over in the 85th minute, first, and when he was made to realise his error and the game resumed, he still blew the final whistle with 10 seconds of regulation time left just as the assistant referee with the time board was preparing to display the extra time allotted, due to drink-breaks and other delays in the second half. There was also the harsh red card shown to Mali forward El Bilal Toure without recourse to VAR.

BY JUDE OBAFEMI

A

The excitement of the round leather game is not entirely dependent on goals but as every ardent football fan will admit, there is no shortage of excitement and rush of adrenaline when goals are involved. Not just one, but multiple goals that leave supporters at the edge of their seats, biting their fingers, mimicking striking opportunities with air kicks and holding their hands to their heads at missed chances or letting go of all inhibitions in celebrating goals scored. Goals definitely spice the game. In fact, by this stage at the most recent AFCON, when Egypt hosted the continent three years ago in an expanded format that increased the number of participating teams from 16 to the current 24, there were 27 goals already accounted for and celebrated, as compared to the measly 12 so far recorded in the Cameroon tournament.

There are easy pointers as to why the Goal Drought has persisted across the first round of Group stage football and it is still early days with so much football left to play. Yet, it is tellingly noteworthy that many of the top talents, predicted to set the continent ablaze with the same vigour that have made them highly indispensable for their foreign clubs, seemed to be like fish out of water, removed as they were from the regular settings of club football. The dour opening game of Egypt's Mohamed Salah, who was inhibited by the Super Eagles, the ineffective play of Ghana's Thomas Partey in their loss to Morocco, the slim victory of AFCON favourites Senegal that required a very fortunate and late Sadio Mane penalty, the 1-0 victory of Naby Keita's Guinea against Malawi and the stalemate of the defending champions Algeria, with Riyad Mahrez and Said Benrahma against the less-rated Sierra Leone are but a few examples of the first round results not living up to their initial billings based to the quality on paper.

There are arguments hinged on the fact that there was very little bonding time between squad members ahead of their opening games. This is said to have impacted heavily on cohesion and team play. Whatever the teams produced as performance in these first matches could therefore be said to have relied mostly on the individual capacities of the players than on executing any sort of tactical infusion from the bench. As arguably tenable as this line of reasoning may be in excusing the uninspiring displays of some big names while some playing in their very first AFCON impressed, the conclusion is that, given more time to practice and train together under the tactical nous of their coaching crew, linking play will improve, understanding between the players will show and the keepers will begin to pick more balls out of their nets than they did in the first 12 fixtures.

For this optimistic outcome, the maiden tournament-wide employment of video assistant referee (VAR) will play a most significant role. As a system that applies video footage and headphone communication to assist the match officials and head referee examine decisions made so as to reduce human errors that can bear a significant impact on match results, it has been a welcome development for football match officiating.

Many a football player had perfected the art of simulation to fool unassisted referees into awarding free-kicks, penalty kicks, yellow and red cards when the reality of the play did not actually warrant any of those as replays often revealed. It was to curtail the human errors that inevitably creeped into significant and result-altering refereeing decisions that formed THEWILLNIGERIA

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fter 12 matches of the ongoing TotalEnergies 2021 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), the showpiece of African football has earned itself the inevitable connotation of suffering from a Goal Drought. The tournament, which began with a brace by Cameroon captain Vincent Aboubakar, seemed to promise a generous serving of multiple goal-scoring results but the subsequent games that followed the opener between Cameroon and Burkina Faso did not live up to that billing in the first round is matches. As at Wednesday, January 12, as many as nine fixtures had only managed to witness lone goal results, with a third of them being via penalty kicks. This head-scratching circumstance has left many football fans on the continent, and even match analysts on the review programmes asking where the goals have gone.

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The Tunisian coach, Mondher Kebaier, could have been speaking for the majority of those who witnessed the ensuing embarrassment when he reacted by describing the bizarre refereeing of Sikazwe as outrightly "inexplicable"

part of the rationale for the introduction of VAR. The technology has been applied accordingly from the very first match as reflected in the pair of penalties that Aboubakar netted against Burkina Faso. Both times, the referee consulted with the VAR team and, arguably, made the right call. Apart from the penalty calls, other refereeing decisions were as correct as the technology allowed. To a considerable extent, VAR use in the continental competition has been sans some of the egregious calls that have characterised its application in Europe, especially in the English Premier League that have played to the tribal sentiments of fans to claim bias against their clubs to the point of calling for the scrapping of VAR. At AFCON, common sense application of VAR, as applied in the Ivory Coast versus Equatorial Guinea tie, where when a blatant, inadvertent handball in the box was overruled likely due to no imminent danger or advantage created, has helped to advance the benefits of the technology.

What has not helped, however, is a blatant refusal to employ the benefits that the system brings to the game coupled with an intransigence to stick to error-strewn calls in refereeing

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The ignominious refereeing, particularly distasteful for the wanton disregard of the assistive technology, constituted a pale reminder that in the end, no matter how effective the technology, it will rise and fall on how optimally employed the human beings who operate it apply it. The Tunisian coach, Mondher Kebaier, could have been speaking for the majority of those who witnessed the ensuing embarrassment when he reacted by describing the bizarre refereeing of Sikazwe as outrightly "inexplicable". This was made even worse so when match officials determined that the remaining time for the fixture should be played, 40 whole minutes after the controversial "final whistle". While the Malians returned, the Tunisians, who claimed they were already taking post-match ice baths, did not and, for the third time, the Zambian referee, Sikazwe, blew the match over.

The turn of events and complaints led to the opening of an investigation. On Thursday, the Confederation of African Football (CAF) confirmed that it was probing the circumstances of the farcical and controversial scenes of the tie.

In his defense, Sikazwe, whose officiating experience includes having officiated at the 2018 World Cup in Russia, was taken to hospital after the game. Early reports claim that he lost focus due to the effects of heatstroke and dehydration he suffered while handling the game management duties of a centre referee. Yet, rather than die doing the job, the professional that he was, he ought to have called attention to his condition and taken immediate precautions rather than persist in his duties to the point of heatstroke, dehydration, poor officiating, a massive dent on his reputation and a CAF investigation.

The Confederation issued a statement on Thursday that read: "In relation to the TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations match between Tunisia and Mali played in Limbe on 12 January 2022, CAF is gathering all the necessary reports from the officials at the match. CAF is forwarding these documents to the competent bodies of CAF. At this stage, CAF is not in a position to make further comment until the responsible bodies indicate the way forward." That will not look pretty on Sikazwe's record however the investigation ends.

The controversy aside, there have been a lot of positives about the competition. In the grand scheme of things, fears of massive COVID-19 outbreaks have not manifested and CAF has worked together with the Local Organising Committee to enforce strict health and safety protocols to avoid viral infections.

Furthermore, the quality of the infrastructure has been matched by the quality of the transmission as well. Both have received very high marks and have seen Cameroon taking plaudits for the organisation of the competition. There had been an incident of theft at knife-point against some journalists covering the competition among threats from armed, militant separatists West of Cameroon but, by and large, the security arrangements have held as promised by CAF and the government.

There is still so much football to play and Nigeria's odds as title contenders was vastly improved by the decidedly proper display against the Salah-led Pharaohs of Egypt. With the expected improvements that will result from stronger bonding and more trainings together, the Super Eagles, under caretaker coach Augustine Eguavoen, are expected to claim Group D and make their path towards the 2021 AFCON trophy less cumbersome. Hopefully.

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JANUARY 16 - JANUARY 22, 2022 T H E W I L L N E W S P A P E R • www.thewillnigeria.com

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