THEWILL MAR 06 - MAR 12 EDITION

VOL 2 NO.10 • MARCH VOL 2 NO.10 • MARCH

No Room For Indiscipline In Cross River APC – Eba

06 - MARCH 12, 2022

06 - MARCH 12, 2022

Zenith Bank Defies Headwinds, Grows Assets 60% in 5 Years

NAL WOME N'S DAY NATIO INTER INTER NATIO NAL WOME N'S DAY

Br eaea kin kin gg Br Th ee Th

16

IASS BBIA

PAGES

A S CONSCIENTIOU A MPT AT ATTE CONSCIEN ER TIOU GEND S ATTEMPT LITY AT EQUA GENDER EQUALITY

PAGE 10

Price: N350

MARCH 06 - MARCH 12, 2022• VOL . 2 NO. 10

– PAGE 16

IFE DUROSINMI-ETTI

EMPOWERING WOMEN – PAGE 37

T H EWI LLNI GERI A

T H EWI LLN G

THEWILLNIGERIA

www.thewillnigeria.com

CONSTITUTION REVIEW/AMENDMENT:

Advocates Intensify Lobby for Inclusion of State Police, Gender Parity

•Why NASS Rejected State Police •Women Groups Vow To Fight On •Aisha Buhari Urges NASS To Revisit Bills ART:

LARI WILLIAMS:

A Stickler For Perfection

MARCH 06 - MARCH 12, 2022 T H E W I L L N E W S P A P E R • www.thewillnigeria.com

Think ...

Break The Bias

ACCESS BANK PRESENTS

International Women’s Day Conference 2022 THEME

the bias LIVE SPECIAL PERFORMANCES F E A T U R I N G

anuel Winifred Ememssion Etiquette S

Loud - Music

March 10th, 2022

ormance rf e P s rd o W n Spoke reak The Bias B : s n io t s e u Q

10:00am - 1:00pm

Register now to attend

Visit www.accessbankplc.com/Women Limited attendance

PAGE 2

THEWILLNIGERIA

THEWILLNG

THEWILLNIGERIA

MARCH 06 - MARCH 12, 2022 T H E W I L L N E W S P A P E R • www.thewillnigeria.com

WE MARCH! Why we want Emefiele!

A man from the South-South of South East heritage. Born and bred in the South West and a champion of Northern Renaissance.

In this month of March, We march for Godwin Emefiele.

A true Nigerian Original!

Now it's time for Nigeria!

Now it's time for a Technocrat!!

Now It's time for Emefiele!!!

Peace.

THEWILLNIGERIA

THEWILLNG

Security.

THEWILLNIGERIA

Prosperity.

PAGE 3

MARCH 06 - MARCH 12, 2022 T H E W I L L N E W S P A P E R • www.thewillnigeria.com

PAGE 4

THEWILLNIGERIA

THEWILLNG

THEWILLNIGERIA

MARCH 06 - MARCH 12, 2022 T H E W I L L N E W S P A P E R • www.thewillnigeria.com

THEWILLNIGERIA

THEWILLNG

THEWILLNIGERIA

PAGE 5

MARCH 06 - MARCH 12, 2022 T H E W I L L N E W S P A P E R • www.thewillnigeria.com

COVER Constitution Review/Amendment: Advocates Intensify Lobby for Inclusion of State Police, Gender Parity •Why NASS Rejected State Police •Women Groups Vow To Fight On •Aisha Buhari Urges NASS To Revisit Bills

BY AMOS ESELE or advocates of state police and gender parity, timing is of essence as their advocacy may stall once the National Assembly transmits the constitution review recently undertaken by members of the National Assembly to the 36 State Houses of Assembly for concurrence.

F

While state police advocates, like many state governors, have since resorted to inventive ways to arrive at their ultimate demand for decentralisation of the police in the country, the gender equity advocates have mapped out stages of their struggle to consummate their demands right after the constitution amendment by the National Assembly and beyond.

“I think Nigerians have to disabuse themselves of the notion that state police would be hijacked by state governors because the underlying issue is about security of life and property,” Governor Duoye Diri of Bayelsa State said at a town hall meeting organised in Yenagoa by the state government in collaboration with the Police Service Commission on Friday, March 4, 2022, adding, “The federal police is now overburdened by the country’s growing population.”

Diri’s statement was a direct response to Hon. Muhammed Wudil, a legislator from Kano State, who on January 27, 2022, during the debate on a bill seeking to establish state police at the House of Representatives, had said: “There are lots of things as regards the creation of state police. There is a lot of apprehension, most especially the nature of the country now.

We are almost, in some cases, divided and any state governor can decide to take out whatever security measures against his political opponents.”

Apparently doing the bidding of his constituents, on that Wednesday at the House of Representatives, Fred Agbedi, a lawmaker from Bayelsa State, raised the motion that the bill, which was sponsored by Onofiok Luke, lawmaker from Akwa Ibom, and had passed second reading at the lower legislative chamber in July 2021, be put to a vote by the House Committee on Constitution Amendment, chaired by Deputy Speaker, Idris Wase. Wase had to put the bill to a vote.

The legislation, which sought to move security powers in section 214 (c) of the Constitution from the exclusive list to the concurrent list, to empower, “both the National Assembly and Houses of Assembly of states to legislate on police and other security matters,” was voted down by 14 legislators as against 11 others who voted in favour of the amendment. Following that voting pattern, the bill failed to secure further legislative attention.

Coming a few weeks after President Muhammadu Buhari had ruled out state police as an alternative to solving the worsening insecurity in the country, the lawmakers killed any further legislative action on the demand for state police, which had reverberated throughout the country in the preceding years.

THEWILL investigation shows that the rejection of the bill is part of the ongoing war between the National Assembly and the state governors.

When the lawmakers failed to prune the powers of the governors through the provision for direct party primary bill in the Electoral Amendment Act, they decided to scuttle the call for state police, fearing that the governors might use it to terrorise their rivals.

When THEWILL sought his reaction, Senate spokesperson, Senator Bashiru Ajibola, refused to answer several calls put across to his phone. But Mr James Oloko, Special Adviser to Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue State, thinks the rejection of the bill for state police is nothing but politics.

PAGE 6

Oloko told THEWILL, “We like to politicise everything in this country, mostly from the selfish angle. The argument that governors will misuse state police is unrealistic, given the fact that the Federal Government has lost control of security matters in the country.”

His Taraba counterpart, Mr Bala Dan Abu, is more frontal in his response.

He told this newspaper that Governor Dairus Ishaku was very disappointed when he heard of the rejection of the bill by the lawmakers.

“He had stood firmly, arguing vehemently in favour of state police. Rejection by the National Assembly is a setback.

Considering the insecurity challenge facing Taraba, we believe it can only be resolved by constitutional provision to allow for state police. Yet my governor does not see this as an end to the struggle. We will continue to put the facts on the table before the lawmakers, whether it is the current National Assembly as we are doing or the one after it. Until they do the right thing about state police, the struggle continues,” Dan Abu said.

THE LONG, NATIONWIDE AGITATION FOR STATE POLICE What the lawmakers cut down in one legislative session took

many years to grow. In May 2018, Governor Nasir el-Rufai of violence- prone Kaduna State, said nine governors were in support of state police. In the same year, the then National Chairman of Nigeria Governors Forum, Governor Abdulaziz Yari, during the National Security Summit organised by the Senate in Abuja, said 36 state governors had endorsed the creation of state police to tackle the rising insecurity in the country.

In April, 2021, participants at a town hall meeting on national security organised by the Federal Government in Kano, recommended that state police should be supported by federal and state lawmakers.

According to Alhaji Lai Mohammed, Minister of Information and Culture, the participants drawn from the academia, civil society and private sector, called for urgent attention and consideration of the nationwide demand for state police to give governors better control over security matters in their states, among other recommendations on autonomy for local government, reformation of judiciary and compulsory and free education to every children of schooling age.

Vice President Yemi Osinbajo threw his weight behind the growing call for state police on March 6, 2021. At an international Conference on Patriotism, Security, Governance and National Assembly organised by the Global Patriot THEWILLNIGERIA

THEWILLNG

THEWILLNIGERIA

MARCH 06 - MARCH 12, 2022 T H E W I L L N E W S P A P E R • www.thewillnigeria.com

COVER Newspaper in collaboration with the Nigeria Consulate in New York and Nigeria Diaspora Organisation, New Jersey Chapter, he said, among other things, “We must accept that there is a need for greater decentralisation of the Nigeria Police Force. I have been an advocate of state policing. The National Assembly is in a position to consider some of the proposals that have gone to them for the purposes of devolving powers to the states for security purposes and for addressing security challenges.”

All through 2021, 17 governors of the country’s southern states, at their meetings in May of that year in Lagos and Enugu in September, called for state police as against the Federal Government’s current policing model.

THEWILL could not reach the Chairman, Southern Governors’ Forum and Governor of Ondo State, Arakunrin Rotimi Akeredolu, on phone on Friday and the message sent to his email line was not returned.

However, his Chief Press Secretary, Olatunde Olabode Richard, told THEWILL that Akeredolu’s views on state police remain unchanged. ‘’His views remain unchanged despite the current position of the proposal at the Constitution Review. The governor is a man of his words and he has always stated that one of the ways to achieve true federalism is through devolution of power,” the Ondo CPS told THEWILL. Just like the long walk for state police, the struggle for gender equity has seen many years.

WOMEN’S STRUGGLE FOR GENDER EQUITY It took last Thursday’s protest at the National Assembly Complex in Abuja by women groups to internationalise what they had been doing through advocacy for many years.

Their current quarrel with the lawmakers revolved around four major areas that they considered contentious and “inhuman, inconsiderate and calculated to embarrass us,” as Barrister Ebere Ifendu, Executive Director of Women In Politics Forum, put it in her brief interview with THEWILL. The four areas are citizenship, indigeneship, affirmative action and reserved seats. Following the transmission of the 68 harmonised proposed Constitution amendment bills by the Joint Constitution Review Committee of both chambers, members of the National Assembly voted on the four areas affecting women empowerment.

On citizenship, the bill was to amend Section 26 of the 1999 Constitution, which grants a foreign woman married to a Nigerian man the right to become a Nigerian citizen.

This citizenship by registration forbids the same right of citizenship for a Nigerian woman whose husband is a foreigner.

In the voting done by the lawmakers last week Tuesday, March 1, 2022, the outcome of the vote was: Senators: 33 Yes, 2 No; House of Representatives (HoR): 135 Yes, 143 No. For Indigeneship, the case was no different. The bill which was to alter Section 31 and 38 (1) (Interpretation of the 1999 Constitution to allow a woman to become an indigene of her husband’s state after at least five years of marriage) was voted for, thus: Senators: 90 yes; No 5; HoR:133 yes, No 58.

Reserved seat bill was another thorny area that drew widespread public attention because it was considered to mean conferring women with ‘special privileges,’ constitutionally.

It was meant to amend Sections 48,49 and 71 of the 1999 Constitution by creating a total of 111 seats for women representatives of senatorial districts and constituencies both at the National Assembly and State Houses of Assembly. Voting was Senate: Yes-30, No-58. House of Reps: Yes-81, No-208.

The Affirmative Action bill drew widespread concern because it was backed by international instruments to which Nigeria is a signatory. An example is the 1995 Beijing Conference in China, which urged states to reserve 35 per cent administrative and political seats for women globally. The bill was meant to amend Section 223 of the 1999 Constitution to provide for 35 per cent Affirmative Action to ensure that women occupy at least 35 per cent of party administrative and appointive seats across the federal and state offices. Voting was as follows, Senate: Yes-34, No- 53 and three abstentions. House of Reps: Yes-195, No-107.

Also included in this bill on affirmation for women was the amendment of Section 147 and 192 of the 1999 Constitution to provide a minimum of 20 per cent for women ministerial THEWILLNIGERIA

THEWILLNG

and commissioner nominees. This portion of the bill was however eventually passed by both chambers of the National Assembly. Voting was as follows, Senate: Yes- 93, No- 1 and 14 abstentions. House of Reps: Yes-225, No-70.

She said FIDA has instructed its state chapters to sensitise women at the grassroots to their rights and refused to be intimidated.

WHY WOMEN ARE ANGRY AND CONTINUE TO LOBBY Barrister Ifendu is miffed by the action of the lawmakers. She told THEWILL, “After years of government’s refusal to put affirmative action in place, following several international instruments it had signed, we decided to devise a means to create special seats for women that will be used during four election cycles, after which they will be able to stand on their own and contest elections. We did the costing, which came to one per cent of the budget of the National Assembly. This is nothing, really. The bill had over 80 male supporters who cosigned it. From the beginning we had meetings with members of the National Assembly at their retreats and they showed support, showed no reservations. So at what point did they change? Ah, this sort of leadership cannot be trusted.”

In continuation of her lobby for gender parity before the lawmakers voted on the bills, President Buhari’s wife, Aisha, who visited the National Assembly during the laying of the amendment bill, penultimate Thursday , has waded in again in support of women. On Thursday, she wrote a strongly worded letter to principal officers of the National Assembly, demanding a revisit and reversal of the bills on gender balance.

Explaining further, she said the amendments, if allowed to stand, would strip women of their dignity and impose injustice.

“Look at the indigeneship matter. Women cannot benefit from her husband’s place and if you go to your father’s you would be told you are no longer part of us. Then there is the marriage to a foreign husband. Her children cannot be citizens? What kind of injustice is this? Speaker Femi Gbajabiamila even explained to them about the need to get women in leadership roles for inclusive governance, yet they voted the way they did. These men do not understand development issues. They think they are doing us a favour and yet they have daughters who would be mothers one day. So we want the National Assembly to define who we are,” she said.

Mrs Rhoda Tyoden, until recently the National President of International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA), believes that tradition and religion was at play during the voting by the lawmakers and made them fail to display the political will needed to do the right thing.

She told THEWILL, “These men know the issues involved.

They know the issues affect almost half of the population, including their daughters, mothers, wives and sisters. They just believe that women should be seen and not heard. During the election, you would see how domineering many of our men are. I used to vote in a polling booth in front of my father’s house. Many of the men would follow their daughters and wives to watch them vote.

WAY OUT OF DEMAND FOR STATE POLICE AND GENDER EQUITY With the amended bills yet to be transmitted to the 36 states of the federation, women think they can still get the lawmakers to make changes.

“We will follow events as they develop. Until they transmit the bills to the State Houses of Assembly, we will continue to intensify our efforts to see the lawmakers revisit the bills,” Ifendu said.

When asked if she supports the view of some women groups that plan to identify the lawmakers who voted against the gender equity bills and mobilise against them in the general election next year, she sighed and said, “We will not let the lawmakers go scot-free, I tell you.”

“

From the beginning we had meetings with members of the National Assembly at their retreats and they showed support, showed no reservations. So at what point did they change? Ah, this sort of leadership cannot be trusted

THEWILLNIGERIA

“We once had women nationalists that fought for women’s rights and the development of the country, women like Gambo Sawaba, Margaret Ekpo and Funmilayo Ransome- Kuti. So we can still walk out and talk again,” she said.

In a letter titled, ‘RE: National Assembly and the Quest for Affirmative Action’ and addressed to Senate President Ahmad Lawan and Speaker, House of Representatives, Femi Gabjabiamila, Aisha Buhari said, “The recent decision of the NASS to ignore the long- standing clamour for affirmative action for Nigerian women was contrary to the very high expectations of forward-looking Nigerian men and women.

The anger of Nigerians in the circumstances is therefore understandable, more so that not a single concession was made to women, contrary to the global practices of give-and-take for which people’s parliaments are noted for. ‘’Notwithstanding the temporary setback, however, I, on behalf of the wife of the Vice President, HE, Mrs Dolapo Osinbajo, join the multitude of Nigerian men and women to thank relevant UN agencies and individuals, local and international non-governmental organisations, faith-based groups and all other stakeholders, individuals and management of political parties. ‘’I am of the opinion that our esteemed National Assembly can still review its decision and pray that our compatriots will deeply reflect on this political but emotive matter. ‘’I call on both the Senate and the House of Representatives as husbands, fathers, brothers and grandfathers to revise and reconsider reversing their conclusions so that no group, especially mothers, wives, daughters and partners will suffer discrimination or be denied opportunities to contribute to the process of nation building.”

Also, Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo State, who lamented what he called a missed opportunity by the National Assembly to promote inclusion and deepen democratic governance through upholding the women-related bills, urged the lawmakers to rethink their stand and heed the plea by the women lobbyists.

“This is because the legislature is the bastion of democracy and a critical platform for fair representation and inclusion in government,” the governor said.

For the state police, Dan Abu, Special Adviser on Media to Government Darius Ishaku of Taraba State, thinks the demand will never go away until it is granted, “If not by this National Assembly but by the ones which will come after it.”

For both the advocates of state police and gender equity, they may have to resort to weaponising their lobby and struggles until they achieve success.

Many state governments are already doing so by starting local security outfits to complement the efforts of the police, either as individual states or on a regional basis. The women groups thinking of sensitising women to vote against gender hostile lawmakers during the upcoming general elections may have to start early enough if their lobby to revisit the bills fail.

THE WOMEN ARE MARCHING ON AND UNRELENTING As of Friday, March 4, 2022, their protests had spread from Abuja to Kwara and Bauch States.

In Bauchi, three women NGOs, namely Federation of Muslim Women Association of Nigeria, FOMWAN, led by Hajiya Aisha Kilishi; Attah Sisters Helping Hand, ASHH, led by Comfort Attah, and Fahimta Women and YouthDevelopment Initiative, led by Hajiya Maryam Garba, and CBOs representative, Hajia Binta Adamu, told journalists that they support the occupation of the National Assembly until the lawmakers revisit the gender bills.

The Global Hope for Women and Children Foundation (GLOHWOC) is leading the fight in Kwara State.

PAGE 7

MARCH 06 - MARCH 12, 2022 T H E W I L L N E W S P A P E R • www.thewillnigeria.com

NEWS Motorists Decry VIO Extortions in Jos FROM UKANDI ODEY, JOS

M

First batch of stranded Nigerians in Ukraine arriving Abuja, on March 4,2022.

Osinbajo Applauds CIBN, Inaugurates Bankers' House

'I'll Use My Political Appointees as Scapegoats Over Illegal Logging'

BY JOY ONUORAH, WITH AGENCY REPORT

FROM BASSEY ANIEKAN, CALABAR

V

ice President Yemi Osinbajo has applauded the professional conduct of the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN), saying it aided the resilience and continued growth of the banking industry in Nigeria.

Osinbajo said this while speaking at the Bankers’ House inauguration held in Abuja .

At the event, he noted that the banking industry contributed about N34.6 trillion to the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2017, N37.8 trillion in 2018, N42.7 trillion in 2019 and N53.3 trillion in 2020.

The Vice President said the strict adherence to professional and ethical conduct by CIBN also helped to guide the evolution of the banking industry, which had grown to become the envy of the African continent.

Osinbajo also said the Federal Government would do everything possible to support the private sector as the drivers of the nation’s economy.

“We understand that the realisation of our country’s potential at this crucial moment will require the careful choreography of government policies that would remove every impediment in the way of those determined to pursue their dreams and build their businesses.

“This is why in the past six years, we have aggressively pursued, under the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC), the creation of an environment that allows Nigerian businesses to operate at every level without any bottleneck.

“The CIBN has remained, through thick and thin, a professional organisation that believes completely in the strength, potential and future of the Nigerian economy,’’ he said.

In his address, the President/Chairman of CIBN, Dr Bayo Olugbemi, said that

PAGE 8

the new Banker's house building would house the institute’s office and the secretariat of Alliance of African Institute of Bankers (AAIOB).

Olugbemi said that CIBN, as the conscience of the banking industry, had continued to foster the observance of ethics and professionalism among practitioners.

“We will not leave any stone unturned toward ensuring that all banks and bankers imbibe and abide by the ethical standards of the profession.

The protection of consumers of banking products and services is very important to us, and this we promise to keep in focus continually."

He added, “We have worked very closely with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Bankers’ Committee on the implementation of the Competency Framework in ensuring that fit and proper persons occupy various positions in the banking industry.’’

Meanwhile, the Chairman, Bankers’ House, Abuja Implementation Committee, Mr Tony Elumelu, said that the inauguration of the building was a `dream come true’.

According to a report by the News Agency of Nigeria, (NAN), Elumelu, represented by Mr Emmanuel Nnorom, Chief Executive Officer, Heirs Holdings, paid N25 million for a space in the building to accommodate a branch of United Bank for Africa (UBA).

Also, the Group Chief Executive Officer, Nigerian Exchange Group Plc, Mr Oscar Onyema, said that his organisation would continue to collaborate with CIBN to improve the financial system in the country.

The inauguration event also attracted chief executive officers of various banks and other stakeholders in the financial sector.

G

overnor Ben Ayade of Cross River State has threatened to use his political appointees who engage in illegal logging as scapegoats.

The governor disclosed this in Calabar while reacting to the massive logging that has depleted the huge forest and biodiversity endowments of the state.

The governor also said his government was all out to fight illegal wood loggers in the state.

"From today, anybody caught with illegal wood, your vehicle, the driver, the occupants of that vehicle, the destination of the stolen wood, the government official, the security operatives and forest guards who are colluding will be picked up and dealt decisively with.

"We will ensure that we involve the entire global community to sit and watch and monitor your prosecution to ensure that justice is done.

"We are ready to use as scapegoats one or two people who are holding top government offices or people who feel they are connected to the Governor or those who feel they are politicians and then create an impression that by the appointments they have, they can now collude with illegal wood loggers.

"My administration has no interest in any person who thinks that by their status, they can deplete the forest and put the futures of generations unborn into such catastrophic and cataclysmic danger. This is unacceptable," the governor threatened.

He said his administration was tired of setting up conventional task forces and committees to tackle the menace and will henceforth explore other options, including a special espionage.

otorists have decried the activities of the Vehicle Inspection Unit of the Plateau State Ministry of Transport on the highways and streets of Jos in the name of vehicle inspection.

There is fear among road users that the prevailing tension between officials of the VIO on one hand and commercial drivers and operators of tricycles, popularly known as Keke Napep, on the other hand, will degenerate into full blown confrontation and protest if the Plateau State Government fails to intervene and call the VIO personnel to order.

VIO officials come to the roads as early as 8am, from Monday to Friday, and harass motorists by stopping them in the middle of the road to check their vehicle particulars for genuineness and currency.

THEWILL investigation shows that in the course of such checks, men of the VIO charge 'defaulters' varying sums of money as fine without any law enabling them to do so.

Without any enabling law, they often extend their working time to 5pm or 6pm, especially during festive periods, under the guise of shoring up internally generated revenue.

It was confirmed that the VIO normally charge any amount between N500 and N25,000, depending on the class of the vehicle and its 'offence', or impound the vehicle and impose a fine on the owner, which must be offset before the vehicle or tricycle is released. The VIO however will not issue the offender receipts for such payment made to them.

The VIO however bit more than they could chew last week Monday when they charged and collected N5,000 from a journalist and failed to provide an invoice for the payment.

The journalist took the matter up to the State Ministry of Transport where a deputy director of transport caused the head of the VIO Area Office along the Old Airport Road, Jos to issue their victim a sheet of paper using a fake TIN, and without reflecting the name of the payer or the number of his vehicle.

Religious Body Donates Wheelchairs to Disabled, Hospital

A

religious institution, the Jesus Christ Church of Latter Day Saints, have donated wheelchairs to disabled Nigerians in Cross River State.

Besides, a public health institution, the General Hospital, Akamkpa also benefited from the donation.

The gesture by the church which commenced right from 1830 but formalised in 1985.

Speaking in Calabar while donating the wheelchairs, Alex Ngoro, the Calabar Nigeria Stake President of the church said the donation is aimed at meeting the needs of the less privileged in the society in line with the commands of Jesus Christ.

On his part, Ekong Akwaowo, president of Calabar Nigeria North Stake said the exercise happens almost quarterly in different parts of Nigeria and the world.

Also speaking, Charles Adebayo the Regional Manager for Welfare and Self Reliance Services of the church, said the donation is not limited to church members but to every human being and charged the beneficiaries to make good use of the items.

Responding, Shaaban Abdullahi, the Secretary of Muslim Community in Cross River State, commended the church for the gesture saying it shows religious tolerance.

THEWILLNIGERIA

THEWILLNG

THEWILLNIGERIA

MARCH 06 - MARCH 12, 2022 T H E W I L L N E W S P A P E R • www.thewillnigeria.com

Buhari

POLITICS

Electoral Act 2022: Implications For 2023 General Elections

BY AYO ESAN

P

resident Muhammadu Buhari finally signed the Electoral Act Amendment Bill 2021 into law on Friday, February 25, 2022 after much hesitation and this action got him accolades from many Nigerians, especially politicians and watchers of political developments in the country who believe that the new Act will enhance Nigeria’s democracy.

Reacting, a member of the Board of Trustees of the Peoples Democratic Party, Chief Olabode George, described the President’s signing of the Electoral Act as a right step in the right direction.

He said, “The much debated, much discussed and much delayed Electoral Bill has finally been signed into law by President Muhammadu Buhari.. This is a triumph for all Nigerians and for all advocates of genuine representative governance. I congratulate President Buhari for being courageous and forward looking enough to append his signature to this very significant Bill which has now become part of our law.

“This Electoral law is quite significant in many ways. It will forever remove the democratic process from the shackles of godfatherism and money bags who continue to sabotage the will of the people. It will equally reduce a great deal of electoral malpractices through the brazen forging of figures and other manipulative processes that hinder the growth of democracy.

“The Nigerian democracy is now on the path of liberation and emancipatory importance. The will of the people will now triumph over the shenanigans of a dirty few. This, no doubt, will deepen our democratic values and ensure the endurance of freedom and liberty. It is indeed a right step in the right direction.

“Nigerians have suffered a lot for this dawn of democratic. We must all applaud every opportunity that enhances our collective freedom. The next agenda that needs the attention of President Buhari is the devolution of powers, where all sections of our nation will be empowered to develop at its own pace without the overbearing intervention of the centre”.

THEWILLNIGERIA

THEWILLNG

“

This Electoral law is quite significant in many ways. It will forever remove the democratic process from the shackles of godfatherism and money bags who continue to sabotage the will of the people

The question one needs to ask is how will the new Electoral Law affect or shape the much-awaited 2023 general election.

One contentious provision in the new law is the one that disallows ministers, commissioners and political appointees from participating as delegates in the primaries of political parties, which also requires them to resign their appointments three months before the primaries take place, if they want to be delegates or contest the elections.

Clause 84 of the Act states, “No political appointee at any level shall be a voting delegate or be voted for at the convention or congress of any political party for the purpose of the nomination of candidates for any election.

“Where a political party fails to comply with the provisions of this Act in the conduct of its primaries, its candidate for election shall not be included in the election for the particular position in issue.”

What this connotes is that some key ministers in President Mu-

THEWILLNIGERIA

hammadu Buhari’s cabinet believed to be nursing political ambitions will be barred from seeking the nominations of their parties, just as it means that ministers, commissioners and other political appointees must resign ahead of their parties ‘primaries in order to be eligible to contest in the primaries.

President Buhari alluded to the contentious clause while signing the bill into law when he said, “The practical application of section 84(12) of the Electoral Bill, 2022 will, if assented to, by operation of law, subject serving political office holders to inhibitions and restrictions referred to under section 40 and 42 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended).

“It is imperative to note that the only constitutional expectation placed on serving political office holders that qualify, by extension, as public officers within the context of the constitution is resignation, withdrawal or retirement, at least 30 days before the date of the election.

“Hence, it will be stretching things beyond the constitutional limit to import extraneous restrictions into the constitution on account of practical application of section 84(12) of the bill where political parties’ conventions and congresses were to hold earlier than 30 days to the election.

“Arising from the foregoing, with particular regards to the benefits of the Bill, industry, time, resources and energy committed in its passage, I hereby assent to the Bill and request the National Assembly to consider immediate amendments that will bring the Bill in tune with constitutionality by way of deleting section 84(12) accordingly.”

Also, the Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC) called on lawmakers to initiate the process of expunging the contentious clause 84 (12).

IPAC National Chairman, Engr. Yabagi Yusuf, insisted that Clause •Continues on page 12

PAGE 9

MARCH 06 - MARCH 12, 2022 T H E W I L L N E W S P A P E R • www.thewillnigeria.com

POLITICS/INTERVIEW

No Room For Indiscipline In Cross River APC – Eba The Cross River State Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Alphonsus Ogar Eba, speaks with BASSEY ANIEKAN about his plans for the party and the potential benefit of his position in the party to Cross River. Excerpts:

Y

You would recall that from that day, we all became elected officials for our respective offices, but we lacked the legal and constitutional powers to act in accordance with this constitution. So, whatever we have been doing overtime is just like testing the microphone, but on February 3, 2022, I was clothed with the constitutional and legal powers to take over the full functions and duty of this office and by the mandate given to me on that day, I have inaugurated the remaining 35 members of the state executive committee.

What’s your charge to the 35 other members of the Cross River State executive committee of the APC? The simple charge I have given to them is to learn to love one another. As a Christian, I hold sanctimoniously to the Holy Bible. Muslims among us hold sanctimoniously to the Koran.

The third religion that has come to exist in a very administrative form is the APC religion. You know both Islam and Christianity preach peace and today.

APC is preaching peace, love, unity and growth.

PAGE 10

Eba

ou were recently inaugurated as a member of the Cross River State Executive Committee of the APC. How do you feel about your new position?

Let me use this opportunity to thank God Almighty for making this day again a reality for us. Again special thanks to His Excellency, the Governor of Cross River State, Prof. Ben Ayade and all members of the All Progressives Congress, who in their kindness and magnanimity gave us overwhelming support on October 16, 2021.

So it is coming like a religion. One of the letters in this PLUG mantra, which is Peace, Love, Unity and Growth is love.

If we go to the field while others are preaching hatred and we are preaching love, peace, unity, people will see the difference between us and our other brothers and sisters in the other party. So, take your work very serious. I came to this office with the training of due process and we are bringing due process to run the affairs of this party.

Beside your PLUG agenda, which you earlier unveiled, what will be the directing principle of your administration?

Discipline is going to be our watchword. We

lost elections in Abuja few days ago because of indiscipline. There will be no room for indiscipline in the party under my watch and that is the message I have passed to the people. Hard work, loyalty and honesty will be the order of the day as the fundamental objective and directing principle in the running of the party. The message is clear to all the persons that we have today inaugurated.

How are you going to achieve this, considering the fact that in the past excos have been torn apart by discord?

I sit down here as a man you all know is enjoying the grace of God, the first political evangelist in the world and I know that when the children of God are gathered the devil will always try to come in, but with THEWILLNIGERIA

THEWILLNG

THEWILLNIGERIA

MARCH 06 - MARCH 12, 2022 T H E W I L L N E W S P A P E R • www.thewillnigeria.com

POLITICS/INTERVIEW

We have heard some politicians say that they will be matching pound for pounds and dollar for dollar in future elections in the state. Are you also going to toe this line?

That is the language you hear on the other side which is the Papa Deceive Pikin Party. What they think is that money plays a role in politics. We are saying that the people matter and that is why we have always been with the people. Governor Ayade came from day one and started a sustainable human-centred development paradigm that is pro-people, pro-poor, pro-women, pro-nature and pro-widows. Today, we have an amalgam of over 7,000 appointees at the state level earning income. We have over 20,000 people at the local government level and I recently concluded arrangement on how to bring another 32,000 persons from the entire polling unit structures that I have put in place with 10 from each polling unit times the 3,200 polling units that will be earning salaries. So, you can see that the structure is always about the people.

But people are still claiming to be hungry You can never satisfy everybody. Even after the children of Israel were liberated, they could not withstand hunger until manna had to fall from heaven. Manna is still falling in Cross River State.

Governor Ben Ayade is rumoured to be interested in the presidency, come 2023. What is your take on this?

He has not said so, but I have told people that Nigerians should be looking forward to the best material for presidency in the person of Senator Ben Ayade. You can allude to that, with all the magical works he has been doing and his lean resources.

“

If we go to the field while others are preaching hatred and we are preaching love, peace, unity, people will see the difference between us and our other brothers and sisters in the other party. So, take your work very serious THEWILLNIGERIA

THEWILLNG

What is your final message for the electorate as we warm up to future elections in the state?

The message is very simple: We have come to appeal to the people that Cross River State is APC and our future is better off with the APC. Don’t forget that the presidency has pledged its commitment to the deep-sea port and the super highway and I should be going to a NEC meeting to enforce that because I will be going with the pride to say that Cross River State is APC, so give us our due. For the first time the state is earning money from what it is producing under Governor Ayade’s watch. Cross River has about 30 industries. Now you can see toothpicks from Ekuri. Under the PDP government, they said we cannot produce pencils and toothpicks. Go to Akamkpa you have the Piles and Pilon. Come to Calabar you have Rice city, pharmaceuticals and noodles. The number keeps increasing, all thanks to Governor Ben Ayade.

THEWILLNIGERIA

APC National Convention Should Be Rancour-Free - Udah

A

retired Deputy Inspector General of Police, Barrister Azubuko Udah has called on the Mai Mala Buni – led Caretaker /Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee, CECPC of the All Progressive Congress, APC to ensure that the convention of the party coming up on March 26, 2022 is successful and free of rancour.

Udah who is also a Chieftain of the APC in a chat with newsmen said “My advice to the committee is that they must not disappoint us. Everybody is looking forward to the convention and it will be good, if they organise it very well, just like the way the other rival party did. Members of the party should be united. What we are trying to do now is to get ourselves together. Let us put everything well together and our members should act like people of the same family at the convention. We should shun crises and remain united. ”Our convention should be organised like a carnival. We should not be at war with ourselves. We need peace and I think the Planning Committee should do what they can to make the APC Convention a huge success. I know the convention Planning Committee is made up of people of good qualities. They must not disappoint us”.

He also commended Chief Edwin Clark over his recent comment that the South East should be allowed to produce the next president of the country.

Udah said “that is a fantastic suggestion. The APC which is my party should ensure justice by zone the presidential ticket to the South East. We are expecting the PDP also to do the same. It happened in 1999, when the two major presidential candidates, Chief Olu Falae and Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, two of them from the South West, were the presidential candidates. So we want a situation where both APC and the PDP will do the same and ensure genuine reconciliation and bring about the happiness of everybody in the country. They should know that what the elder statesman has said is full of wisdom .

He said for the benefit of equity and fairness, the South East deserves to produce the next president.

He said the next Nigerian president should be somebody who understands Nigeria’s diversity.

Udah also called on the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC to brace up and continue the good work it is currently doing.

“INEC should continue the good work. If somebody is doing well, he should continue to do well. I called on the federal government, the state governments and the local governments as well as all Nigerians to support INEC as it is preparing to give us a credible election in 2023”.

Buni

God on our side, the devil will try and fail. I will carry this family as my own. I will be open to them.

I know that what spoils the leadership of every party is corruption and indiscipline. It is when the man in charge becomes arrogant overnight. I was born humble and will remain humble, fair, just and provide a broad shoulder for every member of my exco to lean on. I am sure that if I do this and with God’s grace on my side, I will not have that problem which you are afraid of.

PAGE 11

MARCH 06 - MARCH 12, 2022 T H E W I L L N E W S P A P E R • www.thewillnigeria.com

POLITICS “It is quite succinct to state that by the dint of the provisions of Section 318(1) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as highlighted above, a political office holder is not a public servant or in the public service.

“It is apposite to note that the position of the law is that the express mention of one thing in a statutory provision or schedule, excludes the other. Since the Constitution expressly states that a public servant must resign within a period of 30 days before the conduct of the election, the said section does not include political office holders. Hence, political office holders cannot take coverage under these provisions of the Constitution.

As to whether Section 84(12) of the Electoral Act, 2022 disenfranchises political office holders as guaranteed under the provision of Section 40 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended), Ajulo said :

Gbajabiamila

Lawan

“It must be stated pronto and very clearly too that the right to assemble freely and associate with other persons as provided in Section 40 and the right to form a political party as provided for under Section 221 of the Constitution has not been derogated from by the provision of Section 84(12) of the Electoral Act.

Implications For 2023 General Elections •Continued from Page 9

84 (12) was contrary to the provisions of Sections 40 and 42 of the Constitution.

He said, “We share the views of the President on the clause, which makes it mandatory for political appointees to resign from their positions before participating as delegates at political party congresses and conventions or, as aspirants to elective offices.

“To us in IPAC, this clause runs contrary to the provisions of Sections 40 and 42 of the Constitution on the inalienable fundamental rights of every eligible citizen to participate in the electoral processes.”

IPAC also said that expunging the contentious clause would also bring the Act in tune with the Constitution, which categorically stipulates that political office holders are only to vacate their positions or appointments 30 days before the elections.

But a Constitutional Lawyer based in Abuja, Dr Kayode Ajulo, differed with Buhari and IPAC, when he said that literal interpretation of the provision of Section 84 (12) is that an appointee of the Executive should not and must not, be a delegate in primary elections while still in office, just as an appointee must not contest as a delegate while still in office at the convention or congress of any political party.

While looking as to whether the provision of Section 84(12) is in contravention with the provisions of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended)., Ajulo said, “First, it must be noted that the provision of Section 84(12) of the Electoral Act derives its validity from the Constitution and same does not contravene the provision of the Constitution. By the provision of *Section 228 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended) the National Assembly has the power to provide guidelines and rules to ensure internal democracy within political parties, including making laws for the conduct of the party primaries, party congresses and party convention.

“Suffice it to note that varying provisions of the Constitution provide for the disqualification of persons from vying for the post of the senate or House of Representatives if he is a person employed in the public service of the federation or of any State and has not resigned, withdrawn or retired from such employment, thirty days before the date of election.

“

The implication of this is that it is too late to register new political parties before the next election.

Those who are creating different political movements in order to turn them into political parties that will participate in the 2023 elections will not fulfill their ambitions

“By virtue of Section 318(1) of the 1999 Constitution, public service of the federation means the service of the federation in any capacity in respect of the Government of the Federation and includes: the Clerk of other staff of the National Assembly or of each House of the National Assembly; member of staff of the Supreme Court, the Court of Appeal, the Federal High Court, the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, the Sharia Court of Appeal of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, the Customary Court of Appeal of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja or other courts established for the Federation by this Constitution and by an Act of the National Assembly; a member of staff of any commission or authority established for the Federation by this Constitution or by an Act of the National Assembly; the staff of any area Council; the staff of any statutory corporation established by an Act of the National Assembly; the staff of any educational institution established or financed principally by the Government of the Federation; the staff of any company or enterprise in which the Government of the Federation or its agency owns controlling shares or interest; and members or officers of the Armed forces of the Federation or the Nigeria Police Force or other government security agencies established by law. The section also makes similar provisions for public service of the State.

“It is also instructive to note that a public servant is also disqualified from contesting the position of President, Vice President, Governor and Deputy Governor respectively if same has not resigned from that position within a period of 30 days before the date of election.

“One can argue that the reason for the requirement of resignation of a public servant before election is to ensure neutrality of persons in the Executive Administration of the Government at all levels and to prevent partisan politics in the civil service. Notably the Public Service Rules prohibits a Civil Servant from being involved in partisan politics. So if you want to be involved in partisan politics, you must resign.

“Having stated the above, the perdurable question to ask is whether a political office holder is a public servant under the provisions of the Constitution.

“Section 4 article 030402(g) of the Public Service Rules categorically states that “engaging in partisan political activities” is one of the significant examples of serious misconduct.

PAGE 12

“The said provision has not precluded political appointees from becoming a member of a political party or to vote at general elections. It only precludes them from voting as a delegate at the party’s convention and congresses. This regulation only deals with the internal affairs of political parties. More so, a political appointee does not hold the office as of right but at the pleasure of the Chief Executive.

“Having established the legality of the provision of Section 84(12) of the Electoral Act, 2022, it is pertinent to state that most of these political appointees have ended up using their offices to intimidate political opponents of their principals during party primaries in a bid to retain their jobs.

“More so, the section of the Act was designed to create a level playing ground for all aspirants during congresses and conventions. It is instructive to note that the Section does not in any way undermine the rights of political appointees to hold office or participate in primaries or main elections.”

Another issue in the new Electoral Act is the provision that has to do with the registration of new political parties.

The Electoral Act states that “Any political association that complies with the provisions of the Constitution and this Act for the purposes of registration shall be registered as a political party: PROVIDED however, that such application for registration as a political party shall be duly submitted to the Commission not later than 12 months before a general election.”.

The INEC recently announced that Presidential and National Assembly elections have been slated for February 25, 2023, while the governorship and state assembly elections will now be held on March 11, 2023.

The implication of this is that it is too late to register new political parties before the next election. Those who are creating different political movements in order to turn them into political parties that will participate in the 2023 elections will not fulfill their ambitions.

The Act has put a stop to their ambition.

Another provision of the Act is the one that creates room for the use of technological devices to accredit and transmit election results.

Many believe that the electronic transmission of results will ensure credible elections as they believe that manipulations between the polling units and the collation centres will be eliminated.

The Act makes the use of card readers or any other technological devices adopted by INEC as mandatory for accreditation before voting.

The Act states, “To vote, the presiding officer shall use a smart card reader or any other technological device that may be prescribed by the Commission, for the accreditation of voters, to verify, confirm or authenticate the particulars of the intending voter in the manner prescribed by the Commission “Where a smart card reader or any other technological device deployed for accreditation of voters fails to function in any unit and a fresh card reader or technological device is not deployed, the election in that unit shall be cancelled and another election shall be scheduled within 24 hours if the Commission is satisfied that the result of the election in that polling unit will substantially affect the final result of the whole election and declaration of a winner in the constituency concerned.”

THEWILLNIGERIA

THEWILLNG

THEWILLNIGERIA

MARCH 06 - MARCH 12, 2022 T H E W I L L N E W S P A P E R • www.thewillnigeria.com

THEWILLNIGERIA

THEWILLNG

THEWILLNIGERIA

PAGE 13

MARCH 06 - MARCH 12, 2022 T H E W I L L N E W S P A P E R • www.thewillnigeria.com

EDITORIAL

Imperatives of Actualising CBN ‘RT200 FX’ Policy

T

he Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has published the implementation guidelines for the ‘RT200 FX’ programme it unveiled on February 10, 2021. The ‘RT200 FX’ stands for the “Race to $200 billion in Forex Repatriation.” It constitutes a blueprint that will enable Nigeria to attain the sky-high goal of $200 billion repatriation, exclusively from non-oil exports over the next three to five years.

The Bankers’ Committee created the scheme to ultimately address the knotty challenge of liquidity in the foreign exchange market, which is the root cause of the dwindling fortune of the naira. The CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, had disclosed at a special briefing in Abuja that the initiative followed a careful consideration of the available options and wide consultation with the banking community.

He made reference to the African Centre for Supply Chain Practitioners’ report that Nigeria loses about $14.2 billion annually due to congestion at our ports. He also cited a Financial Times report in December 2020, which revealed that the congestion had become so bad that while it costs $3,500 to ship a 40-feet container from China to Lagos, which is a distance of 22,000 kilometers, it costs $4,000 to move the same container from the port to mainland Lagos, a distance of only 12 kilometres.

Emefiele stated the obvious. There are myriads of issues impacting negatively on the export trade at Nigerian ports. Those in commodity export have sad stories to tell.

Besides the hurdles of importing into the country, more complicated roadblocks have been mounted by government agencies in the form of extortions, harassment and multiple

charges on export goods, causing international cargo airlines to prefer flying out of Nigeria empty.

Cargo agencies explain that among the 16 sundry charges tracked for goods coming in or departing the country via airports, only five are officially recognised. The chaotic situation of our ports, especially in Lagos, remains a threat to the non-oil revenue drive.

The implication includes at least $250 billion loss on agro-export produce to the country. This constitutes a huge constraint in export business.

If Nigeria is to attain the sum of $200 billion in non-oil exports, this problem cannot be wished away. It must be confronted head-on and appropriate solutions provided.

We commend the Bankers’ Committee for this worthy and timely initiative.

We also applaud the practical approach adopted in the planned implementation as exemplified in the action steps articulated by Emefiele: “That is why we are today throwing a challenge to all state governments that have existing ports and are willing to partner with the Bankers Committee to establish not only a dedicated export terminal but also the entire ecosystem of world-class infrastructure needed for non-oil exports.

“Over the next three months, the Bankers Committee will be collecting and analysing detailed proposals from interested State Governments in order to decide which one we can partner with. The Bankers Committee will be arranging a significant part of the financing that will be needed for this port while the selected State Government will have responsibilities that will be spelt out in due course.”

We urge the CBN to give the scheme all it takes to succeed. The promoters should adopt an aggressive campaign for effective awareness. At a time the drum beats of politics have begun to sway the Nigerian political

atmosphere, politicians and their ilk should be kept away from the scheme.

There should be a defined boundary between governors and the scheme, especially in the aspect of developing redundant or potential sea ports in their territories.

The scheme must not suffer the fate of the CBN Commercial Agricultural Credit Scheme which some governors allegedly meddled with and frustrated the implementation in their states.

This is why ‘RT200 FX’ must be separated from politics.

It is important to stress that no project, no matter how lofty, can fly where the enabling environment is lacking.

The ‘RT200 FX’ might not succeed under the unbearable weight of the existing order, so the operators must be determined to do things differently.

Subjecting exporters to the pains of multiple taxes and exposing them to the excesses of crude revenue collectors is a sore thumb to excise from the system.

For businesses to engage in finished or semi-finished products, there must be adequate electricity supply.

The electricity sub-sector is going

We see the RT200 FX as one great window of opportunities to harness the countless openings that exist in the export value chain towards building a sustainable economy that creates hope for the realisation of the lofty objectives of the scheme.

through fundamental reform through legislation and policies.

The ‘RT200 FX’ should tap into the opportunities the process provides.

The wide margin between the official and parallel exchange rates is a disincentive to the repatriation of export proceeds. We believe that appropriate economic imperatives will be adopted to permanently resolve this monetary policy quagmire.

The ‘RT200 FX’ scheme has a Biannual Non-Oil Export Summit as one of its implementation anchors, the first of which would be organised during the first week of April 2022.

The forum should be a problemsolving event to discuss the issues, challenges and opportunities in this segment of the economy. The recommendations should be put into use.

The pronouncement that “This Summit will bring together all the relevant stakeholders in the export business including bankers, customs officials, the Nigerian Ports Authority, the Nigerian Export Promotion Council, clearing agents, cargo airlines, shipping lines, logistics companies, insurance practitioners, etc.” is encouraging, but must not share neighbourhood with mere rhetoric.

We therefore believe that “This gathering will be one where for every complaint, problem, issue, challenge or difficulty that is presented or identified, there will be one or several agencies or practitioners that can articulate options for solving that problem”, as Emefiele promised.

We see the RT200 FX as one great window of opportunities to harness the countless openings that exist in the export value chain towards building a sustainable economy that creates hope for the realisation of the lofty objectives of the scheme. The imperatives of its successful execution cannot be overstated.

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]

PAGE 14

THEWILLNIGERIA

THEWILLNG

THEWILLNIGERIA

MARCH 06 - MARCH 12, 2022 T H E W I L L N E W S P A P E R • www.thewillnigeria.com

OPI N ION

NNPC’s Import of Killer Fuel: Can Mele Kyari Say Something Else?

BY IFEANYI IZEZE

I

t is pitiable that people occupying positions of trust in this country always find it difficult to own up responsibility when things go wrong by omission or commission in spheres where they hold sway. \In the recent importation of toxic fuel and the scandal that followed as a result of the attendant chronic petrol scarcity that has persisted across the country, Nigerians have waited to see both the technical and political administrators of the NNPC take responsibility for misdemeanour in the domain they oversee. But this has not happened; rather the nation’s apex oil concern and the celebrated sole importer of petrol and also sole beneficiary of the humongous subsidy doles have only been trying very hard to shift the blame of the atrocity to minors who operate as independents around the oil giant.

remained till today over three weeks after the alarm was raised?

Was it not an outright self-deceit for the President Muhammadu Buhari to say that those responsible for importing and dispensing bad fuel (fuel laced with methanol) to motorists would be held accountable? Without mincing words, that very statement, as credited to the President, was at best a callous pronouncement and a devious outburst that only diminished the Office of the Honourable Minister of Petroleum who should know the exact situation in the crucial ministry he supervises.

MRS MT Bow Pioneer LITASCO Terminal, AntwerpBelgium;

Of course, we know that Buhari never directly says anything on any issue not even when people from his home local government were massacred in their hundreds on daily basis by armed bandits. Tragically, all sorts of people under the gang name “Presidency” tell Nigerians what they want us to believe and hang it on the muted president.

Why should Buhari, as the Petroleum Minister that directly supervises the NNPC or even the Group Managing Director, Mele Kyari, not own up responsibility for the tragedy that struck this nation few weeks ago and which effect has

On the wake of the controversy surrounding the alleged importation of the off-specification premium motor spirit and the attendant scarcity that has persisted for three weeks running now, just hear what Kyari, the NNPC helmsman told Nigerians in a statement issued in Abuja: “On January 20, 2022, NNPC received a report from our quality inspector on the presence of emulsion particles in PMS cargoes shipped to Nigeria from Antwerp-Belgium.

“NNPC investigation revealed the presence of Methanol in Four (4) PMS cargoes imported by the following DSDP suppliers namely:

Emadeb/Hyde/AY Maikifi/Brittania-U Consortium MT Tom Hilde; Oando MT Elka Apollon;

So according to the NNPC boss, four or more layers (firms) of quality assurance gates plus the NNPC’s inhouse checks did not discover any wrong with the quality of the fuel consignments before it was discharged and introduced to the Nigerian market? It took the consumers’ complaint for the NNPC to start to retest the product. Haba, what kind of story is that?

As stipulated in the ISO procedures, before PMS is imported into the country, a quality assurance certificate is provided by the refinery and this analysis is usually witnessed by the importer/trading company. Then the vessel management carry out their own analysis and this time samples from the vessel.

The owners of the product in this case the NNPC also pick samples from the vessel tanks and carry out analysis too.

The depots where this will be dropped also pick samples and carry out another analysis. Then anybody buying from the owners of the product picks samples from sample tanks and also does analysis.

Duke Oil MT Nord Gainer.”

Is it not curious that everybody in this quality test matrix failed to detect this fraud?

As he said, “cargoes quality certificates issued at load port (Antwerp-Belgium) by AmSpec Belgium indicated that the gasoline complied with Nigerian specification.

Quality compliance and assurance tests are done at the point of delivery, as an irrevocable condition for payment and release of cargo to sail to destination.

“NNPC quality inspectors including GMO, SGS, GeoChem and G&G which conducted tests before discharge also showed that the gasoline met Nigerian specification.

Obviously, Kyari’s story did not add up at all and it was a pure lie to deceive the entire Nation.

“As a standard practice for all PMS import to Nigeria, the cargoes were equally certified by inspection agent appointed by the Nigeria Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority has met Nigerian specification.”

From Kyari’s narrative, it means the four companies accused by the NNPC imported fuel from the same refinery abroad. Is this possible, except the four companies are creations of one entity called “the cabal”?

•Izeze wrote from Abuja

*Continues online at www. thewillnigeria.com

Soludo’s Planned Visit to Okpoko

BY CHIKE ANYAONU

E

ach time somebody does or says things that amaze me, I shudder. That was my reaction when the governor-elect of Anambra State, Prof Chukwuma Soludo, announced that he would visit Okpoko shortly after his inauguration. I had my reservations about any governor of the state electing to include Okpoko in his agenda.

Anyone that is familiar with Okpoko will share my concerns.

It is not that the layout is not worthy of the state government’s attention, but the problem is that the decay in the area has reached such a monumental level that it would be better to steer clear of the community.

For a newly elected governor, going on a visit to Okpoko portends disaster, especially if there is a slip along the line. However, Soludo’s resolute stand has not only received outstanding commendation, even for having such initiative at all in mind, but also drawn the attention of the world to the plight of the people living in the area.

Soludo’s planned visit to Okpoko has several implications. It marks him out as a liberal democrat, someone that is quick to eschewing bitterness and recognising the fact that everyone should be given equal treatment under the law. Elsewhere, the idea would have been cancelled since he did not get a significant number of votes from Ogbaru Local Government Area where Okpoko is located. Therefore, if Okpoko has been chosen for this kind of treatment, one does not need the services of a diviner to tell what awaits Anambra State as a whole.

Apart from its pre-war obscurity, what is today known as Okpoko Layout was a desolate and swampy suburb on the southwest of Onitsha with less than one hundred inhabitants in 1970. That was after the end of the Nigerian Civil War. Strikingly, the early inhabitants were feared in those days for whatever they represented. Popular among them was Isaac Ichu, also known as ‘Commander-in-Chief of Okpoko Jungle’ and the Ede of Obosi. To visit or enter Okpoko at the time, you had to seek his consent. Otherwise, whatever you see, you take.

Nobody ever visited Okpoko in those days without telling one horrifying tale or another. Many people presumably joined their ancestors prematurely by undertaking a visit to Okpoko, an enclave where human beings were reportedly being used for ritual sacrifice. It was the scene of many crimes, such as murder, kidnapping, rape, vandalism, cultism, gangsterism and many others. Once you got lured to the place, you automatically fell victim and may not be lucky enough to live to tell your story. The THEWILLNIGERIA

THEWILLNG

government of the then East Central State under Ukpabi Asika, turned its eyes the other way.

Of course, the state government had too much on its hands, coming on the heels of a devastating civil war. The three Rs (reconciliation, rehabilitation and reconstruction) policy was implemented in Enugu, Onitsha, Aba and other major towns in the state. Okpoko was non-existent at the time. Even if it were, government officials would not have bothered to enter the community because of its notorious inhabitants. As a young student at Christ the King College, Onitsha in those days, this author had his own personal encounter in Okpoko, but that story will be for another day.

By 1973, the Ede of Obosi had found another lucrative trade in the form of sale of land. Thus, gradually, he started selling parcels of land available in Okpoko to willing buyers. This attracted more people to Okpoko. Being an unplanned layout, it became a slum in no time. Seeing the progress recorded by Ede, Onitsha indigenes invaded the layout towards the end of 1974 and claiming ownership of the same area, they started demanding rent from the settlers. Reluctantly, the latter started making a second payment for the land they had already bought from Ede, this time to Onitsha indigenes. The scramble for Okpoko land later spread to a place called Nkitaku.

Between 1976 and 1980, Okpoko, though still a slum, recorded growth in population. At a point, the military regime that overthrew the civilian government of Shehu Shagari had to declare Okpoko unfit for human habitation and by implication, a slum waiting to be evacuated and demolished. But that was not to be. Although the declaration generated fear and panic among the residents of the layout, it did not stop the settlement from growing in population. What it stopped was the provision of government facilities such as schools, hospitals, power supply, etc.

The above position persisted until the advent of Dr Chukwuemeka Ezeife’s government in 1992. Through subtle manoeuvres by its newly organised leadership, the Okpoko Community Development Union, the community managed to endear itself to the state government, which proceeded to issue Certificates of Occupancy (C of O) to land owners in the area. Very few people benefitted from the exercise as the Ezeife government did not last beyond two years, thereby leaving Okpoko at the mercy of the military once again.

Not much developmental activities occurred in the layout

THEWILLNIGERIA

throughout the period that the General Sani Abacha military regime was in power. However, with the return of democratic rule in 1999, Okpoko once again gained the attention of Governor Chinwoke Mbadinuju. This time, government’s interest was largely informed by the revenue potential of the large population of Okpoko, together with the highly promising outlook of Ogbaru Main Market, founded in the early 1980s to give way to reconstruction work at Ochanja Market, which was gutted by fire.

Successive governments in Anambra after Mbadinuju discontinued processing and issuing C of O to Okpoko land owners. The provision of basic amenities by the state government was still slow, until Governor Peter Obi constructed the first set of roads in the area between 2009 and 2012. During Obi’s tenure, government commissioned a study in partnership with the United Nations Settlement Programme, UN-Habitat, to assess the needs of the layout as a precursor to its rehabilitation.

Till date, the report of that study has received more of bookshelf attention than actual execution of the recommended rehabilitation schemes.

At the moment, the roads constructed by Obi and his successor, Willie Obiano, have been literally washed away by flood and Okpoko has become increasingly squalid.

A glimpse at the condition of the layout during his electioneering campaign visits to the area, his belief in what he can do to make Okpoko better and a kind of divine push, must have resulted in Prof Soludo’s decision and promise to lift Okpoko out of its current state.

Soludo’s planned visit to the area will most likely signpost the beginning of better things coming to Okpoko. As stated earlier, somebody else would have adopted a retaliatory approach to back out of the promised visit to Okpoko, having failed to win in the local government area where the community is located during the November 6, 2021 governorship election.

The five per cent controversial statement credited to President Muhamadu Buhari in 2015, alluding to the percentage of votes scored by his party, All Progressives Congress (APC) in the South-East, as justification for denying the geopolitical zone the Federal Government’s patronage is still fresh in the minds of many. But Soludo is towing the line of nobility and decency.

•Anyaonu is the Director, International Centre for Human Development and Rule of Law in the FCT, Abuja.

PAGE 15

MARCH 06 - MARCH 12, 2022 T H E W I L L N E W S P A P E R • www.thewillnigeria.com

•

w w w.t hew i llni g eri a. c om VOL .2 N O.1 0

Onyeagwu

MA R CH 06 - MA R CH 12, 2022 T H E W I L L N E W S P A P E R

Zenith Bank Defies Headwinds, Grows Assets 60% in 5 Years

BY SAM DIALA

Z

enith Bank Plc defied a challenging macroeconomic environment that witnessed the worst recession in a quarter of a century and exacerbated by the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, to grow its assets 60 percent within five years. A review of the bank’s performance between 2017 and 2021, when it emerged from the economic uncertainties of 2016 recession and deepening effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, revealed a culture of resilience that confirms its market leadership.

on a life support is a measure of the bank’s confidence to achieve organic growth that is devoid of “soft” incomes common with seasonal investments. “It is bank credits that really grow the economy; many banks are not too willing to advance credits to the real sector because of the risks involved. Few financial service institutions behave differently and such lenders are marked for high performance. This is where Zenith Bank stands out,” said Anthony Okunnuga, a financial analyst.

This unusual posture resulted in a significant assets growth that hit almost a trillion Naira in 2021, supported by continued impressive performance in virtually all the key parameters in the lender’s balance sheet. Analysts note that the performance did not reflect the general downturn in the economy when inflation, GDP growth and unemployment rates hit their worst points. This they attribute to the bank’s ability to carve out a niche for itself in the financial service industry.

Zenith Bank’s reports showed a steady growth in Gross Loans to N2.30 trillion in 2019 from N1.82 trillion in 2018, a 26.38 percent.

Apparently, in a bid to support the economy to wriggle out of COVID-19 pandemic, the bank grew its Gross Loans to N2.91 trillion in 2020 reflecting 26.5 percent rise from N2.30 trillion recorded in the preceding year. Gross Loans hit N3.51 trillion in 2021.

A glean into the results showed that Zenith Bank’s Assets base rose 6.5 percent from N5.59 trillion in 2017 to N5.95 trillion in 2018.

Evidently, this reflected the post-recession recovery environment that also impacted on the total Loans and Advances, which recorded a drop of 13.4 percent -- from N2.10 trillion to N1.83 trillion in 2017 and 2018 respectively. Significantly, Gross Loans rose to N3.51 trillion within the five year period or 67.15 percent from N2.10 trillion in 2017.

Net Interest Income, which largely derives from banks’ core activity of lending, rose steadily to N295.6 billion in 2018 from N258 billion; then N267 billion in 2019 and N299.7 billion in 2020 when COVID-19 pandemic ravaged the economy and created severe health challenges. The N320.8 billion Net Interest Income recorded in 2021 was a significant growth of 24.35 percent during the review period.

As a result of the focused drive to increase retail deposits in the

Expanding credit in an economy that was described as surviving

Worsening Airfare Hike Amid High Cost of Fuel, Forex

BY ANTHONY AWUNOR

T

he cost of Jet A1, otherwise known as aviation fuel, has remained a major challenge for airline operators in Nigeria. As of February 2021, aviation fuel was sold for N190 per litre. By February 2022, the price rose to N440 per litre at most

PAGE 16

airports across the country.

With the rapid fluctuation in the cost of aviation fuel, the industry has witnessed a lot of hiccups in the past year. For instance, when Jet A1 was sold for N190 a year Continues on page 33

MORE INSIDE Nissan Nigeria Introduces New Navara to Customers PAGE 36

Dobi AgriCo Boosts Operations With 12 New Greenhouses

Continues on page 38

Seplat/ExxonMobil Deal Puts PIA to Test

BY SAM DIALA

R

ecent developments in the Seplat/ ExxonMobil share acquisition deal have confirmed fears that the transaction might hit the brick wall of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC). Coming on the heels of the newly enacted Petroleum Industry Law, analysts had warned that the NNPC as a limited liability company might throw in the “right of first recusal” clause to truncate the deal.

PAGE 36

Continues on page 33 THEWILLNIGERIA

THEWILLNG

THEWILLNIGERIA

MARCH 06 - MARCH 12, 2022 T H E W I L L N E W S P A P E R • www.thewillnigeria.com

AVIATION/BANKING Worsening Airfare Hike Amid High Cost of Fuel, Forex

Zenith Bank Defies Headwinds, Grows Assets 60% in 5 Years

Continued from page 16

Continued from page 16 past three years, the bank’s Customer Deposits jumped 51.8 percent between 2019 and 2021, hitting all time high of N6.47 trillion in 2021 against N4.26 trillion in 2019. Zenith Bank recorded Customer Deposit rise of 88.63 percent between 2017 and 2021.

Supporting the emergence of its strong asset base is the surge in Gross Earnings which hit N765.55 billion in 2021 against N696.45 billion in the preceding year, reflecting a 10 percent rise. Again, the pandemic year of 2020 did not witness a drop in Gross Earnings. Instead, it was a 5.17 percent rise against N662.25 billion in 2019. The figure for 2018 was N630.34 billion which is 5 percent lower than the 2019 record. Overall, the bank’s Gross Earnings rose 2.74 percent.

ago, a flight ticket for a one-way economy trip cost N23,000. That has changed now.

AIR PASSENGERS TO PAY MORE With the current trend, there is an indication that before the current month (March 2022) runs out, the cost of Jet A1 might hit N500 per litre. The implication is that air passengers may be forced to pay more than the current N50,000 base cost of a one-way ticket due to increase in operational costs.

Suggesting a possible increase in the cost of flight tickets in the near future, the Vice-President of Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON), Mr Allen Onyema, has said that airlines get as small as less than N5, 000 in a single ticket purchase.

Noting that airline operators hardly make profit, Onyema said, “There are many factors responsible for the high cost of flight tickets. The cost of Jet A1 has risen by 200 per cent in one month. There is the issue of forex and the ground handling companies have also increased their charges.

“We get less than N5,000 from each ticket. The N50,000 is not even enough. Airline business is additive. It doesn’t give anybody money. Nigerians should not be envious of airline operators because it doesn’t give money as much,” Onyema explained.

DELAYS, CANCELLATIONS Aside from the high cost of aviation fuel, operators have equally lamented the unavailability of the product, citing it as part of the causes of delays. For instance, Dana Air partly attributed the recent flight disruptions that it experienced to fuel scarcity.

Addressing the airline’s customers in a statement, Deputy CEO, Dana Air, Sukhjinder Mann said, “On fuel scarcity, we are working with our partners to significantly mitigate the challenge and I am pleased to announce that we have made major inroads in this area with our key suppliers. We will continue to do our best to minimise any foreseeable challenges while hoping that the situation improves generally for all carriers as soon as possible.

“I accept that our recent disruptions are due to ramp congestion, bad weather, and most recently, scarcity of fuel”, he said.

FG PROBES FARE HIKE Already, the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC), in collaboration with the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), has commenced an investigation into the recent airfare increase by domestic airline operators in the country.

Condemning the increase of air fare to as high as N50, 000 for a one-way economy ticket, the Executive Vice Chairman and Chief Executive of the FCCPC, Mr Babatunde Irukera, said the action of the operators was in flagrant violation of Section 107 (1)(a) and Section 108 of the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Act, 2018 ( FCCPA).

THEWILLNIGERIA

THEWILLNG

Irukera said, “Coordinated increase in airfares by certain scheduled operators Section 107 (1) (a) forbids competitors from fixing prices, and Section 108 prohibits any conspiracy, combination, agreement or arrangement between competitors in any manner that unduly restrains or injures competition.

According to him, the current Nigerian Civil Aviation Regulations Air Transport Economic Regulations 18.15.2 (i) and (iii) “prohibits airlines from engaging in any contract, arrangement, understanding, conspiracy or combination in restraint of competition which includes directly or indirectly fixing a charge, fee, rate, fare or tariff and any collusive action”.

But in a swift reaction, AON debunked the allegations by the FCCPA boss, stating that they never came together to fix fare prices.

Speaking through Onyema, AON stated, “AON never got together to increase airfares. We debunk that insinuation. The N50,000 fare had always been there. In December 2021, basic fares cost between N60,000 and N70,000. Airlines did not come together to decide that. It is a matter of unit cost per seat ,which is the basis of increase.”

SUBSIDY TO THE RESCUE Speaking recently on the effect of Jet A1 and forex, the Chairman, United Nigeria Airlines (UNA), Dr Obiora Okonkwo, said that high cost of fuel and forex adversely affect ticket prices, adding that what the airlines do as a way of cushioning the effect of the high cost of aviation fuel, is just to subsidise it for passengers.

Okonkwo said, “When aviation fuel was N190 per litre and the official rate of the naira to a dollar then was N340, but today, if forex is available, it is N450 thereabouts. When it is not available, in the alternative market the exchange rate is N570 to a dollar.

“But, it might surprise you to know that while over a year ago at the foreign exchange of N340,00, today, because of the market situation, you can still buy your ticket at N20,000 to N21,000. What this means is that as long as all the airlines are buying from the same market and selling tickets at the current rates, any ticket that you buy is being subsidised by the airlines”.

“Why did I say this? Aviation fuel, depending on the aircraft type you are flying, could take up to about 30 to 40 per cent of your cost components.

As you know, for every ticket you sell, you have five per cent of Ticket Sales Charge (TSC) rendered to the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA). You have other deductions to the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA), the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) and to other airport owners. As a matter of fact, by the time you remove these deductions from the N20,000 that you charge, you have to use your money to take care of other operational needs”.

THEWILLNIGERIA

There is a steady rise in the bank’s profit during the five-year period. Profit before tax (PBT) rose to N280.37 in 2021 from N199.31 in 2017, a jump of 40.68 percent. Profit after tax (PAT) also reflected an upward trajectory hitting N244.6 billion in 2021 from N173.79 in 2017, a 40.8 percent improvement.

As in the bank’s performance trend, PAT performance in 2020 was not decelerated by COVID-19. It rose to N230.56 billion from N208.84 billion in 2019 or 10.4 percent. Earnings Per Share increased steadily from 5.53 in 2017 to 7.78 in 2021, reflecting a 40.6 percent.

At the Conference Call held on March 3, 2022, to present the 2021 Financial Year Earnings (FYE), the Group Managing Director/CEO, Mr Ebenezer Onyeagwu, said that Zenith Bank beat market expectations with double-digit growth in Gross Earnings and impressive performance in other parameters. He added that the growth was achieved in the face of growing macroeconomic instability which saw the bank sustain strong earnings growth and improved liquidity.

Commenting on the significant of assets growth, Professor of Finance and Accounts at the Nasarawa State University, Keffi, Muhammad Mainoma said, “It signifies that they take advantage of the environment.

They act strategically. In business you will continue to study the environment and take advantage.

You invest in areas that thrive. For a bank there is no period that people will not need money. So once a business is focused and invests in areas that people always need, you will not lose at all. This explains the continuous growth despite different circumstances for the past five years”.

Commenting on the bank’s continued impressive performance, the Chairman, Trusted Shareholders Association of Nigeria, Alhaji Mukhtar Mukhtar said that Zenith Bank has lived true to its name, adding that the financial institution has become ‘investors’ pal’ due to its surging growth over the years across virtually in all parameter.

“As an investor, the bank’s consistent profit and dividend pay-out even in harsh economic situation is unbeatable. They have continued to make investors smile. Investors are happy with the bank’s performance.

Zenith Bank does serious banking because the people in charge are passionate about success and excellence. Therefore, the name ‘Zenith’ has continued to reverberate

“

For over three decades, Zenith Bank has distinguished itself in the Nigerian financial services industry through superior service offerings, unique customer experience, and sound economic indices

in our memories. Almost a trillion Naira record in Total Assets and over N240 billion in profit after tax – in just one year, is truly a spectacular performance,” Mukhtar told THEWILL in a note.

He added that the founders of the bank had a vision and that the current board, management and staff have embraced the vision which leads to greater landmarks every year. “I must single out the bank’s management and staff for their hard work, commitment and resilience over the years. We (the investors) truly appreciate them and we will continue to give them maximum support.”

The Chairperson, Pragmatic Shareholders Association of Nigeria (PSAN), Mrs Bisi Bakare, commended Zenith Bank for the impressive performance despite the tough times occasioned by the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I am particularly happy about this report; Zenith has always made us proud. Remember they paid an interim dividend in the year and now they are paying us a final dividend. It is always joyful when shareholders receive dividends on their investments,” Bakare told THEWILL in a telephone conversation.

Zenith Bank through its resilience in a challenging environment had outranked Guaranty Trust Holding Company to become Nigeria’s biggest bank by market value. The bank also belongs to the exclusive ‘Premium Board’ league of the Nigerian Exchange Limited, a platform that separates the ‘men from the boys’.

For over three decades, Zenith Bank has distinguished itself in the Nigerian financial services industry through superior service offerings, unique customer experience, and sound economic indices. The Bank remains a clear leader in the digital space with several firsts in deploying innovative products, solutions, and an assortment of alternative channels that ensure convenience, speed, and safety of transactions.

However, the lender’s operating expenses shot up by as much as 22.1 percent to N180.6 billion, heaping pressure on profit, with spending on IT mostly responsible for this, which contributes to the sustained robust Asset base. In accordance with extant regulations, Zenith Bank made a provision of N59.9 billion for credit facilities that may go bad relative to the N39.5 billion it devoted to the same purpose in 2020, which weakens earnings.

PAGE 33

MARCH 06 - MARCH 12, 2022 T H E W I L L N E W S P A P E R • www.thewillnigeria.com

CORPORATE GOVERNANCE

Shareholders and Agents of Corporate Frauds

BY SOLA ONI lated Shareholders of Cadbury Nigeria Plc woke up on Friday, April 11, 2008 to discover that they had bought the company’s shares on the basis of cooked audited financial statement.

The African leading maker of confectionery overstated its accounts by a whopping 13.25 billion through stock buyback, cost deferrals, trade loading and false stock certificates of suppliers to manipulate its reports that were filed with SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) and The Nigerian Exchange (now NGX) and issued to the public.

On that fateful day, SEC fined the company N21.2 million and its share price tumbled by 68 percent, from N57 before the fraud to N34 on The Exchange. I was then The Exchange’s Spokesman and the story made headlines. Cadbury Nigeria fired its respected Managing Director, Bunmi Oni, regarded as an apostle of corporate governance, shortly after it was discovered that he connived with the external auditors, the company registrars, some directors and staff of the company to doctor the account. The sordid deed hurt Cadbury’s British parent Company, and there was a mass sack up to directors’ level. This is the outcome of creative accounting.

Global history is replete with corporate failures. In October 2021, America’s seventh largest company, Enron, suffered reputational damage through accounting fraud in which its shareholders lost $74 billion, leading up to its bankruptcy. Its employees lost their jobs. An issue of corporate fraud in Nigeria is not limited to Cadbury. In the recent past, Cresta Bank, Intercontinental Bank and Oceanic Bank among others were rocked by financial scandals.

Last year, the World Bank debarred nine Nigerian individuals and firms from executing any contract with it due to corporate governance issues, including corruption, fraud and collusive practices.

World Bank’s President, David Malpass, said: “The World Bank Group is firmly committed to placing governance, anti-corruption, and transparency front and centre in our work.”

At the basic level, creative accounting is a practice that follows normal accounting principles, required laws and associated regulations, but subtly presented in a clear deviation from what the normal standards intend to achieve. At the centre of every corporate fraud are the board, management, auditors and other parties that have some roles to play in a company’s financial report.

A creative account is a major risk to investment decisions, especially when it is based on fundamental analysis which includes a thorough review of a company’s financial statement among other variables.

Globally, many companies present a false trajectory of strong earnings and robust dividend payout to attract unsuspecting shareholders, lending institutions, investment advisers and other users of financial statements, perhaps apart from the government because of tax evasion.

Innocent shareholders and other stakeholders are at the receiving end of fishy accounts. Companies’ share prices that were driven by phony financial statements on the securities market fall to their normal level upon discovery. It is a market of equity, justice and fair play.

Reuters published a story, entitled: “UK watchdog says all top accountants fail audit quality test”. By the story, the financial reporting council (FRC) of United Kingdom announced that all the Britain’s leading four accounting firms – EY, KPMG, Deloitte, and PwC alongside with BDO, Grant Thornton and Mazars from the next tier down, failed to hit a target of 90 percent of audits reviewed by the regulator. “Only 75 % of the sample of audits from among Britain’s 350 top listed companies for the year ending December 2017 met the 90 %

E

PAGE 34

“

Globally, many companies present false trajectory of strong earnings and robust dividend payout to attract unsuspecting shareholders, lending institutions, investment advisers and other users of financial statement, perhaps apart from government because of tax evasion target overall as accountants failed to challenge information clients gave to them “, according to Reuters.

The Britain’s experience is a wakeup call for the Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria (FRC).

There is a knowledge gap in the practice of audit in Nigeria. Many accountants have not fully grasped the application of International

Financial Reporting standards (IFRS). Corporate governance challenges still characterise many companies’ board and management. Auditors should exercise diligence and professionalism to win public confidence in the audited accounts.

Every company should change its auditors after three years to prevent much familiarity with the management and to avert connivance to falsify accounts for monetary reward. This can be addressed through a review of the Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA).

There should be stiff penalties for an audit firm involved in accounts scandals. But are auditors independent? Are they not at the mercy of the executives who can hire and fire? Often, there is no linear relationship between the fees charged by an audit firm and its professional duties? An extraordinary professional fee makes an audit firm subservient to the company’s executives. Nigeria’s FRC, should do a lot more to enforce the codes of conduct on the auditors to save the prestigious profession from integrity issues.

•Oni, an integrated Communications Strategist, Chartered Stockbroker and Commodities Broker, is the Chief Executive Officer, Sofunix Investment and Communications.

•Continued from Back Page

Rising Crude Oil Price And Nigeria’s Wasteful Subsidy on Petrol Nigeria’s silly decision to continue expending hundreds of billions of naira annually on the wasteful and fraudulent subsidy on petrol scheme makes me fume in anger whenever I realise how much infrastructural development we could have achieved with these funds, with crude presently trading over $110 per barrel as a result of the Russo-Ukrainian conflict.

I am reliably told that amongst the decision makers on this matter only President Muhammadu Buhari is opposed to the scrapping of this scheme. His reason according to my sources is that the country’s refineries must be operational first before doing away with it.

I do not agree with the President on this.

First, the country has no business subsidising what it does not produce. It is just bad economics. Secondly,

we all know that the scheme is fraught with fraud.

Even the President said this during his campaign in the 2015 presidential election where he was first elected. There is no way we consume more than 10 million liters of petrol daily in the country yet, we are paying subsidies for over 40 million liters daily. This scheme is the biggest fraud ever perpetrated against Nigerians.

President Buhari must immediately make a six months plan to end this fraud. The solution is simple.

The government must sit down with labour and CSOs to develop a plan that will see government transfer mass transit buses (150 per state or there about, depending on the population) to the unions free of charge. The unions will operate the buses and charge commuters discounted fares that will cover the cost of maintaining their fleet. This is the kind of subsidy that gets to those who truly need them.

It is heartbreaking that Nigerians are not reaping any benefits from the rising price of crude oil. Such a shame.

THEWILLNIGERIA

THEWILLNG

THEWILLNIGERIA

MARCH 06 - MARCH 12, 2022 T H E W I L L N E W S P A P E R • www.thewillnigeria.com

ICT

Assessing Microsoft 5-Year Plan for African Start-up Market

BY ANTHONY AWUNOR

T

he opportunity for digital advancement in Africa is immense, but there is a pressing need to adopt digital platforms in order to accelerate Africa’s economic growth and better enable Africans to participate in the global digital economy.

Through the Africa Transformation Office (ATO), Microsoft has focused on four essential development areas, including: digital infrastructure, skilling, SMEs and startups, supported by strategic partnerships with industry alliances and coalitions, to fuel investment in Africa and further establish the continent’s export of digital services.

In line with their focus and to accelerate the growth of 10,000 African startups and fast-track investment in Africa’s startup ecosystem over the next five years, Microsoft has announced new initiatives under the cover of its recently established Africa Transformation Office (ATO).

Recently, Microsoft launched global Founders Hub, which will now be available to African startups through the ATO. The Founders Hub is a self-service hub that provides startups with a wide range of resources, including access to mentors, skilling content, tools like Microsoft Azure and GitHub, and go-to-market and business support.

Microsoft is also creating new partnerships with accelerators and incubators across Africa, including Grindstone, Greenhouse, FlapMax and Seedstars to provide industry-based startups with access to markets, technical skills and funding opportunities.

These partnerships will provide Africa startups with access to skilling programs, access to markets, including opportunities to co-sell with Microsoft, and access to technology, with support from Microsoft’s engineering and product teams for co-innovation opportunities.

To enable startups to rapidly scale using investment funding, Microsoft is establishing industry alliances and partnerships with venture capital investors that will facilitate access to $500 million in potential funding for African startups. This funding will come from a network of venture capital investors, who will dedicate a portion of their financial support to startups THEWILLNIGERIA

THEWILLNG

“

To enable startups to rapidly scale using investment funding, Microsoft is establishing industry alliances and partnerships with venture capital investors that will facilitate access to $500 million in potential funding for African startups

in the Microsoft network.

Microsoft has already established partnerships with several key venture capital investors, including Banque Misr, Global Venture Capital and Get Funded Africa, and the intention is to grow this network of venture capital investors in the next five years to increase funding and enable them to scale up and drive economic growth.

BOOMING AFRICA’S STARTUP MARKET Microsoft believes the vibrant African startup market is well placed to become a cornerstone of the continent’s digital economy, supporting local innovation through relevant solutions to societal challenges.

Commenting, Wael Elkabbany, Managing Director, Microsoft Africa Transformation Office said “Investments into Africa’s startup ecosystem are growing at an exciting pace. According to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), there are more than 640 active tech hubs across Africa, accelerating innovation and creating employment, particularly among the youth”.

Explaining further Elkabbany added “currently the African startup market represents less than one percent of total investments worldwide. This needs to change.”

THEWILLNIGERIA

Elkabbany reveals that Microsoft’s endeavour to dramatically scale its impact will be driven by an overarching strategy with three key focus areas.

THE FOUNDERS HUB The Founders Hub includes opportunities for startups to sell to Microsoft’s corporate and enterprise customers. Microsoft will also support startups in geo-expansion activities, where startups can scale up by selling in new countries or regions.

Also commenting, Gerald Maithya, Startups Lead, Microsoft Africa Transformation Office said “The Founders Hub allows Microsoft to engage with accelerators, incubators and tech hubs across the continent. Our partnerships with key African accelerators provide crucial support to accelerate growth-stage startups with their business development and market expansion plans”.

PARTNERSHIPS WITH KEY STARTUPS Microsoft will partner with B2B-focused startups, scaleups, “soonicorns” (businesses with the potential to become unicorns) and unicorns across a range of leading African industries, and those concentrated on working with SMEs. According to Maithya, “we understand that each startup is unique and exists beyond the limitations of a one-size-fits-all partnership model. This is why Microsoft will tailor each partnership to the needs of individual startups, providing support and access – whether to technology, markets and co-sell opportunities, funding or digital skills – to enable them to grow and contribute to the wider economic growth of Africa”.

The primary goal of these partnerships, Maithya informed will be, to provide support in one or more of the following areas: Access to technology: Spanning from the provision of cloud credits and developer and productivity tools like GitHub to access to Microsoft’s traditional partner ecosystem, technical support and enablement. This also includes contact with Microsoft’s engineering and product teams for the purpose of co-innovation.

Access to markets: Including the opportunity to cosell with Microsoft from the SME Marketplace and the ability to partner with Microsoft on expansion activities, together with access to relevant enterprise and government partners. Microsoft will empower startups to scale to new levels through geographical expansion into new countries and co-selling opportunities.

Access to funds: Microsoft’s partnerships with venture capital investors will provide qualified startups with access to funding.

Access to skilling enablement: Microsoft will provide a seamless, self-contained package of high-quality skilling content. From a single interface, startups will be able to access multiple technical, self-paced training, workshops, instructor-led sessions and virtual training. This platform will also offer growth learning tracks aimed at empowering startups to achieve more. As part of the engagement model to reach as many startups as possible, Microsoft will also be looking at partnering with government startup programmes, regional ecosystems of startups networks and associations, and accelerators.

PARTNERSHIPS WITH VENTURE CAPITAL INVESTORS According to Maithya, Microsoft is establishing partnerships with venture capital investors, primarily those with global reach and regional bases, who are interested in one or more regions within Africa.

“Our goal in establishing these partnerships with venture capital investors is to extend the network of potential partnerships between Microsoft, venture capital investors and startups, thereby increasing the funding made available to eligible startups,” Maithya added.

Elkabbany, however, concludes that “there is huge potential for Africa to become a thriving hub of digital innovation on the global startup landscape. Our ambition is to see an explosion of local inventions that will contribute positively, not just to Africa’s digital economy, but to global society”.

PAGE 35

MARCH 06 - MARCH 12, 2022 T H E W I L L N E W S P A P E R • www.thewillnigeria.com

BUSINESS NEWS Nissan Nigeria Introduces New Navara to Customers

S

Seplat/ExxonMobil Deal Puts PIA to Test

Continued from page 16

Seplat Energy Plc had announced an agreement to acquire the entire share capital of Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited from ExxonMobil Corporation, Delaware for $1.28 billion.

The announcement had excited industry watchers who saw the deal as one that would boost the local content policy and launch the Nigerian energy industry into a new frontier of development while creating a large number of jobs.

The transaction entails the acquisition of ExxonMobil Nigeria’s entire offshore shallow water business. According to the notice, ExxonMobil Nigeria’s shallow water business is an established, highquality operation with a highly skilled local operating team and a track record of safe operations, producing 95 kboepd in 2020 (92% liquids).

However, the announcement that the deal would only materialise on the successful issuance of ministerial consent revealed the huddle that awaited the transaction.

But some stakeholders and industry watchers thought otherwise, arguing that the ministerial consent would be an easy sail for the deal.

The NNPC, has reportedly notified Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited of its intention to exercise a Right of Preemption on ExxonMobil’s planned sale of its entire asset in Nigeria’s onshore and shallow waters. The state-owned oil firm, which is the major shareholder in the Joint Ventures with ExxonMobil, may have exercised its right of first refusal on the assets as part of a new era which will focus solely on building the long term profitability of the now NNPC Ltd. In a letter signed by Group Managing Director, Mele Kyari, and addressed to ExxonMobil, the NNPC reiterated its resolve to take over the ExxonMobil’s share of the assets, meaning that the whole process of sale and purchase agreement between ExxonMobil and Seplat Energy may have been discontinued.

It stated, “We are aware that you reached an agreement to divest from onshore

PAGE 36

and shallow waters JVs, clearly we are interested.”

Reports have quoted NNPC as having the right to exercise its Right of First Refusal which means that the expected ministerial consent is dead on arrival.

“Apparently, the parties to the Seplat/ ExxonMobil did not consider the implications of this in the newly enacted Petroleum Industry Law and that is what is playing out now,” said Ben Ekemennah, an energy expert.

TBI Africa, a Business Intelligence outfit, had reported late December 2021 that the acquisition plan of ExxonMobil’s 40 per cent interests in all the joint venture assets with the NNPC by Seplat Energy Plc, was experiencing hiccups as its partner in the transaction had pulled out.

“Seplat’s partner – Trident Energy, it was gathered, withdrew from the deal because its financier, Warburg Pincus, that backed it at the beginning of the business later developed cold feet about committing huge capital to African oil and gas, especially in a high-risk jurisdiction like Nigeria.

“Trident may also have deemed the execution risk too high, given the propensity of national oil company, NNPC, which is the senior partner in the assets to be acquired, to oppose the deal in the long run. NNPC holds 60 per cent in the joint venture oil assets in which ExxonMobil is divesting its 40 per cent interests. Therefore, NNPC has right of first refusal in the deal and may withdraw its approval at any point in the deal” TBI Africa said.

The RFR is reportedly contained in the Joint Operating Agreement (JOA) of the Joint Venture (JV), which represents NNPC’s position on the planned sale of the shares to Seplat Energy Plc. THEWILL gathered that a meeting of NNPC and ExxonMobil is scheduled for March 17 to discuss the new development.

There are fears that the same fate would befall the Shell’s ongoing divestment by its subsidiary, Shell Petroleum Development Company, which similarly had ruled out pre-emption.

Dobi AgriCo Boosts Operations With 12 New Greenhouses

A

s part of its business expansion strategy and to meet growing demands from its customers, Dobi AgriCo has launched 12 newly constructed greenhouses.

This expansion is in line with the overall ambition of the business, its growth strategies as well as its continuous effort to improve the nutritional well-being of its immediate community and Nigeria as a whole.

Speaking at the launch event of the new greenhouses, Ayodeji Ibosiola, General Manager, Dobi AgriCo, stated that the expansion is an offshoot of the overall strategy.

“We are excited about this expansion programme because it enables us to meet the market demands while also satisfying out large customer base.

With the growing expectations for the future in terms of export, this strategic expansion places us in the right path towards achieving this feat; without a doubt.”

“At Dobi AgriCo, we model our process with cutting-edge technology to cultivate high-quality crop produce. In 2020, we set a goal of expanding our production line, which we accomplished in 2021 by adding 12 greenhouses”, he stated.

Further elaborating on the expansion’s objective, Abayomi Adepoju, Group Head, Human Resource, LATC, stated that “This expansion demonstrates our commitment to positively impacting the agricultural industry and people’s lives through job creation”.

“Building on this milestone, we will expand our agribusiness footprint through a variety of initiatives that will have a long-term impact on food security, business growth, job creation, and nation-building in general,” Adepoju said.

tallion NMN Limited, Nigeria’s exclusive representative of Nissan brand, has officially revealed the new Navara pickup truck to its Nigerian customers.

The unveiling which was held recently at the Oriental Hotel, Lekki, Lagos, attracted corporate, government and individual customers from across the country.

In his keynote address at the occasion, the General Manager of Stallion NMN Limited, Mr Amit Sharma, described the launch of the new Navara as a continuation of his company’s journey towards transforming Nigeria into a notable hub for manufacturing and distribution of Nissan vehicles.

According to him, Stallion-Nissan is ever conscious of what he described as Nigeria’s incredibly huge potential, hence its resolve to keep investing in the nation’s automobile industry.

Sharma said, “In 2013, Stallion NMN Limited, a subsidiary of Stallion Group, partnered with Nissan Motor Corporation with the aim of transforming Nigeria into a notable hub for manufacturing and distribution of Nissan vehicles.

“Barely a year after the Stallion-Nissan agreement, Nigeria’s then newly revived auto policy received a boost of a Nissan Assembly plant located at our VON Automobiles complex in Lagos.

“From the plant, the first locally assembled Nissan Patrol was rolled out in 2014. Since then, we have significantly invested in local production of other vehicles, including Nissan Almera, NP300 Pickups and Urvan NV350.

“The foregoing have meant enormous economic benefits to Nigeria and Nigerians, especially in terms of 100s of direct and indirect jobs and enhanced technical skill for a good number of Nigerian workers via provision of world class training.

“As a result, the Nissan brand recorded a significant boost in market share.

And, in 2015, Stallion NMN won the prestigious Nissan Global Sales Award for exceptionally growing the market share by 18 per cent.

Explaining further, Sharma disclosed that Stallion-Nissan Alliance also yielded vast Corporate Social Responsibility benefits for Nigerians.

These, according to him, include supporting the government’s efforts to reduce the effect of COVID-19 pandemic on citizens as well as far-reaching donations towards government’s efforts at tackling insecurity in the country, chiefly government security agencies in Lagos and its surroundings.”

Notwithstanding the prevailing global economic set-back occasioned by the pandemic, Amit assured Nigerians that Nissan would not relent in its efforts to bring the best of the auto innovation and affordable tropically modified vehicles to Nigerians.

“With our esteemed customers, we are ready to take the brand to the next level,” he said.

THEWILLNIGERIA

THEWILLNG

THEWILLNIGERIA

MARCH 0606 - MARCH MARCH - MARCH12, 12,2022 2022 T H E W I L L N E W S P A P E RT H• Ewww.thewillnigeria.com WILL NEWSPAPER • www.thewillnigeria.com

IFE DUROSINMI -ETTI Empowering Women PAGE 41-46 THEWILLNIGERIA

THEWILLNG

THEWILLNIGERIA

PAGE 37

MARCH 06 - MARCH 12, 2022 T H E W I L L N E W S P A P E R • www.thewillnigeria.com

Ifedayo Durosinmi-Etti is the Managing Partner of Herconomy, a social enterprise and cooperative focused on connecting women to various opportunities such as scholarships, grants,fellowships and job opportunities. In commemoration of theInternational Women’s Day, she tells IVORY UKONU why she is passionate about helping women attain financial literacy and building capacity. Excerpts:

Durosinmi-Et

ti

MY LIFE’S PURPOSE IS MAKING WOMEN FINANCIALLY LITERATE, INDEPENDENT – DUROSINMI-ETTI I

n layman’s terms, what is Herconomy all about?

Herconomy is a community for empowered women combined with a financial platform to enable the success of women. On our platform, you will not just save and earn high interests, but you will also save as you spend on things that you need on a day-to-day basis. We believe that women cannot be empowered through bank accounts alone, they need community, capacity and access to opportunities that can move them, their businesses or careers to the next level and we are providing just that through our platform. We are building a world where women can connect, save, earn and thrive.

What is the vision behind it and what motivated you to start it?

My mum is a lawyer by profession. As soon as she started having children, she put her career on the back burner and focused on looking after her family. When we were old enough and she wanted to start a business, she realised that she had no savings at all and she couldn’t make any meaningful financial contribution towards it and at this point in time, my parents were no longer together anymore. This situation put my mum in an extremely tough financial situation. She went through a lot to get back on her feet. I also saw so many other women go through the same thing. Many of them could not contribute financially to not just their families, they couldn’t make strong contributions politically, socially or even towards the education of their children, just because they were not empowered financially. But I noticed that this situation was not peculiar to my mum alone.

It is typical for most African women. According to the International Monetary Fund, only 37 per cent of women in sub-Saharan Africa have bank accounts and almost none have any savings. This situation leads to all kinds of unfortunate situations and research has proven that when

PAGE 38

women are given a seat at the table, better decisions are made, and this is in all aspects of the society. Let us take the COVID-19 pandemic as an example. The countries led by women did a Durosinmi-Etti lot better than the countries led by men. Women need to know that they can be all they want to be and if person A could achieve it, they can too, hence Herconomy.

You also run something called the enterprise challenge. What is it about?

The Herconomy Enterprise Challenge, formerly known as (AGS Enterprise Challenge), is a flagship initiative launched in 2018 to showcase, mentor, and fund femaleled businesses in Nigeria. Since its launch, at least 18 female entrepreneurs have received grants through our online pitch competition with many other women empowered with resources to scale their businesses. The applicants send in their pitch decks and the top pitch decks are screened and selected by an independent panel of judges. Then there’s a live pitch done in front of a panel of judges and the top three winners are selected. Since we started, we have given grants out to 20 women.

Entries for the most recent enterprise challenge kicked off in December 2021 and was on till February 15, 2022.

This year, Herconomy is bringing a twist to how the winners of the Enterprise Challenge will be unveiled. The Herconomy Enterprise Challenge is two-fold. There is the conference, which brings together stakeholders to discuss issues that affect women as well as co-create solutions that accelerate the attainment of gender parity. It is a platform that bridges the gaps in the gender sector, driving the need for mainstreaming gender into all developmental programs. Then there is the gala night which is a

celebration of women who are doing great work in their various professional fields or impact work in the society.

The awards and gala night gives attendees the opportunity to network and celebrate the successes achieved in the course of the year.

In what specific ways have you helped women to become financially literate and build capacity?

We are able to help women become financially literate by actively educating them. We have bi-weekly capacity building sessions where we bring thought leaders in various spheres of influence to speak to our community members. We also have other initiatives such as Untold Stories of Failures, How She Does It and many others where we bring on successful individuals to share their journeys.

How would you assess the impact of Herconomy on the average Nigerian woman since you launched it?

Since we launched, our impact has been tremendous. We have been able to train over 80,000 women online and offline and we hope to impact 1 million women by 2025.

Can you share an instance where Herconomy made a huge and sustainable impact that made you feel you are on the right track?

Let me give you an example. An example of our impact would be the story of one of our beneficiaries, Maryam Salami, founder of Mobaby Care, an organic skincare THEWILLNIGERIA

THEWILLNG

THEWILLNIGERIA

MARCH 06 - MARCH 12, 2022 T H E W I L L N E W S P A P E R • www.thewillnigeria.com

brand for children. We met in 2018 when she was a struggling business owner. Under our tutelage, she’s been trained on how to run a successful business. She was the first runnerup during our 2019 Challenge, so she also won a $5,000USD grant from us which she used to purchase equipment to ease production. Since then, her income has quadrupled, her products have also been certified by the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control, and in a year, she grew from producing in her home to a production space. She also has distributors in over seven countries. Maryam now has her own income; she is contributing to the education and wellbeing of her three children. She has also moved houses to a better area and her standard of living is also better as a result of her improved income. She is also contributing to the economy by providing employment and paying her taxes.

This is just one example. We have thousands of women who have gone through our training with similar testimonials. We are creating a ripple effect of empowered women who will not just get jobs but create jobs and contribute positively to their communities and nation as a whole.

So I wanted to do a one-off video to answer the questions people were asking me. The day I called the videographer to do the recording, I gave her my notes and she begged me to give it to her, that she really needed it. She would later advise me to turn it into an e-book. I had known her for years and had also supported her work. So I obliged her. I cleaned up the notes and turned it into an e-book, shared it with three friends and they were like, ‘Ife, this book is extremely valuable, please, turn it into a hardcover book that can be in schools.’ At this point, I was upset because I felt I was pushing my timelines. This was already two days to the launch of the book. We had already engaged a public relations company and all was set.

But they convinced me. I withdrew the e-book, added two new chapters and I ended up having 191 pages of content I had typed all by myself. It all seemed like a dream, but here I am today. I wrote a book that is in the hands of over 10,000 people all over the world.

More women are beginning to take better control of their finances, without waiting on any man. Some people argue that this new wave of financial awareness has negatively impacted on the marriage institution where men are the breadwinners. What do you think?

This is a tricky question. In my opinion, anyone that has challenges in marriage because the woman now has financial independence is a marriage that probably didn’t have a strong foundation. Let us look at things logically right. If the woman now has income to support the household and you both can now do more together, is that a bad thing?

Now, let us look at it spiritually or let me say, Biblically, the woman is meant to be the help-meet.

How will she be able to help if she has no income?

With a strong foundation, it will never be a bad thing for the woman to have an income. Things have changed and most homes can no longer be sustained by one income. Women stepping up to take control of their finances is a win win for the family and for the society at large. This is because Durosinmi-Etti women are not only contributing to the income in their homes but also to the socio-economic development of Africa. The only time I always see What was it about your growing up years that may this come up as an issue is when the men have a huge ego have significantly shaped you to be who you are and cannot imagine women making their own decisions. today?

This mindset is already a disaster waiting to happen. That Seeing women I loved going through all they went through because they weren’t both financially literate and man in particular will not only bully the woman, but will independent, broke me. I swore that it will never be me. also abuse her financially, emotionally and maybe even I’m not near where I hope to be, but I am glad that as I physically, but this has nothing to do with the woman. It’s am paving the way for myself in the world, I’m carrying him. If it gets to this point, then he needs help. Women are thousands of other women with me. This is my life’s human beings and should be treated with equal respect purpose. and should have access to equal opportunities.

You deviated from your course of study in school.

Any particular reason why?

Oh! I was very young when I got into the university.

I was very confused at the time about what I wanted to study. My Dad is a chemical engineer. So my mum picked out Chemical Engineering for me on the form when I was applying. I got in after two years.

I knew I didn’t like it and if I continued, I would have failed woefully, mostly because I did not like Engineering Math. I loved Biology and Chemistry, so my next instinct was to change to Biochemistry which I studied at Covenant University. I also have an MBA in Global Business from Coventry University, United Kingdom. During my internship with May and Baker, I realised that even though I loved the theoretical part of the course, I didn’t enjoy it in practice. I didn’t enjoy laboratory work or mixing medicine or office work. I preferred building relationships, meeting people, branding, sales, etc. I did so many internships before I found what I really enjoyed doing. Today, my job doesn’t feel like work.

I honestly enjoy what I do today and I’m grateful for all the learning on the way. Many don’t actually find what they really enjoy doing, not to talk of earning an income from it.

What is your assessment of women entrepreneurs in Nigeria, particularly small business owners, and how best do you think the government can support them?

Women entrepreneurs are doing amazingly well. One of the major challenges is funding and talent management.

Government should be able to provide funding and a better business environment to enable the success of women.

You have a very impressive curriculum vitae and an even more impressive career progression. What more hurdles do you hope to scale and where do you see yourself in the next five years?

It’s funny that you say ‘impressive career progression’…

I do not even see it like that at all. There was a time I was in the same position for years, even after entering the organisation as a young African talent from the United Kingdom. In the next few years, I would like to build the largest, most accessible and convenient Neobank that will make life softer for women globally. I like to call it a ‘Wakanda’ where women can thrive because they have it all.

THEWILLNIGERIA

THEWILLNG

What life philosophy do you live by?

My philosophy in life is to ‘Do it Afraid’. Sometimes I get hurt in the process, loose a lot of money, but in the end, things always work out and I wonder why I was so scared in the first place.

What would you consider to be your greatest achievement in life and why?

I would say my greatest achievement in life is my ability to remain true to myself, no matter what life throws at me - an absolutely happy go-lucky girl who never gives up.

Looking back and how far you have come, is there anything you would have done differently?

Nope, nothing at all. I love my life. Looking back, every pain has been worth it.

You are also an author. What is your inspiration behind your literary work, Accessing Grants for Startups?

This is a funny question because I actually never ever wanted to write a book. It was never on my to-do list.

I also never considered it to be a big deal till I wrote one and I got reactions from the world. I was honestly so confused because I didn’t think people would really rush to buy it the way they did. I only did it for my convenience. At the time, I knew a lot about grants and several opportunities and people kept on asking me questions about it. Naturally, I like to help people.

THEWILLNIGERIA

You wear many hats. Which is your favourite and why?

My favorite hat is being me - Ife Durosinmi-Etti. A kind human being making a positive impact in the life of whoever I come across.

How do you unwind?

I hang out with my family and friends. I swim, I dance.

I’m extremely playful and I’m thankful that most times, my work feels like play.

IFE DUROSINMI-ETTI’S BIO-DATA She has broken several glass ceilings by being part of the Africa Startup Initiative (ASIP) Accelerator Programme and becoming a recruitment partner with Amazon. She is a recipient of the Women’s Advocacy Award from the West African Leadership Organisation for her exemplary leadership and dedication to socio-economic development in West Africa. An alumnus of the Tony Elumelu Foundation, she was named a Peace Scholar by the Dutch Ministry of foreign affairs and appointed as a Youth Advisory Group Member for Solutions for Youth Employment (S4YE), a global coalition formed by the World Bank, aimed at providing catalytic support to employment and productive work for 150 million youth by 2030

PAGE 39

MARCH 06 - MARCH 12, 2022 T H E W I L L N E W S P A P E R • www.thewillnigeria.com

STORIES BY IVORY UKONU

NBA RECEIVES PETITION AGAINST WOLE OLANIPEKUN’S AMBITION TO CHAIR BODY OF BENCHERS

A

Modele Sarafa-Yusuf Eyes Ogun Governorship Position

B

Olanipekun

Senior Advocate of Nigeria and a former president of the Nigerian Bar Association, Wole Olanipekun, may likely not fulfill his ambition to chair the Body of Benchers, if a petition written against him to the NBA is anything to go by.

The Body of Benchers is a professional body concerned with the admission of prospective students into the Nigerian Law School. The body also regulates the call of Law School graduates to the Nigerian Bar and the regulation of the legal profession in Nigeria.

Lucius Nwosu, a fellow SAN, petitioned the NBA to restrain Olanipekun from bidding for the position. In a letter addressed to Olumide Akpata, the NBA president, Nwosu accused Olanipekun, who clocked 70 in December, of engaging in unprofessional conduct contrary to the provisions of section 3 of the Legal Practioners Act Cap L 11, which provides that a BOB

member should be of the highest distinction in the legal profession.

Nwosu is therefore asking the NBA to withdraw Olanipekun’s candidacy. According to him, Olanipekun has unfortunately, over the years, progressively carried on a practice, which has culminated in his condemnation in unanimous decisions of the Supreme Court and final court of the land in the strongest of terms.

In one instance, Nwosu referred to a situation where Olanipekun sought for a review of the Supreme Court judgement on the Bayelsa State governorship election of 2019.

Olanipekun and Afe Babalola SAN, who both represented David Lyon, the Bayelsa governorship candidate and the All Progressives Congress (APC), were fined N30 million by the apex court over the application.

Nwosu claims Olanipekun defiantly refused to pay the fine, adding that his refusal is even more complicated, given the

fact that the Chief Justice of the federation and all the learned law lords of the Supreme Court are statutory members of the Body of Benchers, including all the heads of strategic courts in Nigeria. For this reason, Nwosu considers Olanipekun’s refusal to pay the fine an act of indecency enough for him not to even think of applying to sit as chairman of the highest policy body where ethics and regulation of the legal profession will be discussed and formulated.

Besides, Nwosu avers that there will certainly arise an ugly and irreconcilable situation where young legal practitioners will be citing the judicial precedent of the condemnation by the highest court of the member of the bar who signed their legal certificates. Nwosu thus urged the NBA president to avoid a situation where this tragic occurrence of having Olanipekun emerge as chairman of BoB will be ascribed to his tenure.

n Monday, March 28, THEWILL exclusively reported the death of the only son of the Oba of Ikateland, Oba Saheed Ademola Elegushi Ikusenla II. THEWILL also reported

that the toddler, who was a few months shy of clocking two years, was his only son from his second wife, Kano-born Hadiza Elegushi, nee Tanko, whom he married in 2019. However, unknown to many, the late toddler who was the heir apparent to the Elegushi throne was a twin but his twin brother was lost at birth.

The surviving toddler unfortunately had had to deal with some health challenges right from birth and despite getting the best medical care that money can buy, the young lad gave up the ghost in the early hours of Monday.

Olori Hadiza has remained inconsolable ever since. Her husband had to jet out to London where the child allegedly

breathed his last to console his wife. The Lagos State Head of Service, Hakeem Muri Okunola, allegedly jetted out with the monarch to lend him a shoulder to lean on. He was seen in company with Oba Elegushi, who seem to be taking the sad event in his stride.

othered by the inability of Governor Dapo Abiodun of Ogun State to fulfill his campaign promises to the people of the state, broadcaster and journalist, Modele SarafaYusuf, has decided to run for the governorship position in the state, with a vision to turn the state to an Eldorado.

Modele made her intention known formally at a small gathering of market men and women at the Adire/ Kampala Market in Abeokuta.

She disclosed that she would be vying for the number one seat on the platform of the ruling All Progressives Congress.

She added that her goal

How Kessington Adebutu’s Son, Ladi Marked 60th Birthday N

ot only is he the first son of Chief Kessington Adebutu, business magnate and Premier Lotto promoter, Ladi Adebutu is also a former member of the Federal House of Representatives.

He was a governorship candidate in Ogun State in the 2019 general elections under the Peoples Democratic Party.

Ladi recently clocked 60 and to

How Oba Saheed Elegushi Lost Heir Apparent O

The Elegushis

PAGE 40

would be to make Ogun the state of choice for people to live, work and play in because of the educational, economic and cultural opportunities, safety, livability, vibrancy and connectedness.

Modele who has no political pedigree before now, worked with the Nigerian Television Authority as a newscaster and rose to become the controller of news. She joined American University of Nigeria as a director of marketing before moving to Globacom as Head, Sponsorships.

She joined Arise TV as an Executive Director, Distribution and Licensing, as Sarafa-Yusuf well as an anchor.

Adebutu

celebrate the milestone, he chose to host a series of activities in different parts of Ogun State to enable him properly fete friends, business and political associates. The birthday activities kicked off a day after St Valentine’s Day with a symposium titled ‘The Ladi Adebutu Good Governance Symposium’ at an events centre in Ota. Three days later, on Friday February 18, a Jumat Service was held in his honour at the Central Mosque, Ijebu Ode. A reception party followed immediately after.

On Sunday, February 21, a church service was held in his honour at the Christ Apostolic Church, Odogbolu while a reception party followed immediately after. On Monday, February 22, an event titled ‘Celebrating Six Decades Of Overflow’ was held in his honour at the Honda Place in Ota and thereafter, he entertained his political party faithful. A similar event was held on Wednesday February 24 at Odogbolu where he also entertained party faithfuls

thereafter.

On Friday 25, he took a break from partying to expand his business empire with the formal commissioning of his ultra modern meat processing plant. He resumed partying on Saturday 26 with the continuation of the event, ‘Celebrating Six Decades Of Overflow’ which took place at Abeokuta Sports Club. An even bigger reception took place immediately after for party faithfuls at the Peoples Democratic Party secretariat in Abeokuta. He rounded up the long line of activities on Sunday, March 6, with a thanksgiving service at the Celestial Church of Christ, Sagamu.

Considered one of the pillars of the PDP in the South-West zone of Nigeria, Ladi, unlike others who lack the basic principles of loyalty, has remained true and faithful to the party despite the many disappointments he has gone through as a party member. He has also stayed true to his vow to govern Ogun State one day, refusing to jettison his dream despite several challenges like the power play between him and the late Senator Buruji Kashamu, which cost him victory in 2019.

Justice Oguntade Finds Love Again at 82 A nyone hoping for a reconciliation between Justice Adesola Oguntade (retd.), a former High Commissioner to the United Kingdom and his estranged partner, Modupe Haastrup, should discard that thought as the retired Supreme Court Justice, has found love in the arms of another woman simply known as Rosemary.

The woman said to be a little past middle age is reportedly a source of joy and succour to Oguntade who did not enjoy the best of times with Modupe.

Despite putting up a front as a happy couple, Oguntade was not only unhappy and forced to allegedly endure the marriage, his children from his first marriage had opposed his relationship with Modupe.

Due to family squabbles to back-biting, distrust and a myriad of allegations bordering on stealing, extortion and infidelity, the relationship finally collapsed in late 2020 like a pack of badly arranged cards. Modupe was thrown out of the home she shared with Oguntade after an

altercation. With the end of their relationship also came an abrupt end to her envious friendship with Shade Okoya on the instructions of her husband, Chief Razak Okoya who is Oguntade’s best friend and who was shell shocked at the myriad of allegations against Modupe.

Hopefully, Ogunatade’s new love interest will remain the level-headed person she is and not eventually go overboard like her predecessor. There is an indication that the retired Justice’s children approve of her as their father’s companion.

Rosemary & Oguntade THEWILLNIGERIA

THEWILLNG

THEWILLNIGERIA

MARCH 06 - MARCH 12, 2022 T H E W I L L N E W S P A P E R • www.thewillnigeria.com

STORIES BY SHADE WESLEY-METIBOGUN

Joy Chico-Ejiro Celebrates Children’s Graduation

MEET EMMANUEL UDUAGHAN,THE MARRIED MAN WHO STOLE NATASHA AKPOTI’S HEART

Akpoti & Uduaghan

F

ormer Kogi State governorship aspirant under the Social Democratic Party (SDP), Natasha Akpoti, has found love again in the arms of married father of three children, Emmanuel Oritsejolomi Uduaghan, the Alema of Warri Kingdom after many years of being a single mother. The beautiful mother of three married the love of her life as his second wife in a flamboyant ceremony that took place on Saturday March 5, 2022 at her father’s house in

Okehi Local Government Area of Kogi State.

The politician and her lover dated for a while before they decided to get married. Before then, the wealthy businessman spoiled her silly with some of the best things that money can buy, including financing her political campaign for the 2019 governorship election in Kogi State and gifting her with a white Rolls-Royce car. Even her three children benefitted from his generosity.

The groom, who is cousin of the past governors of Delta State, Chief James Ibori and Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan, is also the Chief Executive Officer of Webster Group of companies.

He was crowned Alema of Warri kingdom in a grand ceremony held in 2017 because of his love for the Itsekiri and contribution to the welfare of the people in terms of poverty alleviation and youth empowerment.

Last year, one of his companies, Webster Global Ventures was the subject of a controversy. It was alleged that the National Assembly influenced the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) to pay an undisclosed sum of money to the company.

Beyond the controversy, which had expectedly rocked his business, Uduaghan is a great philanthropist, who has provided grants for research in some universities and instituted commendable welfare programmes such as scholarships and loan schemes for enterprising market women. He was also Special Assistant to Ibori. He joined partisan politics as a member of the defunct Grassroots Democratic Movement (GDM) and later became a foundation member of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Delta State.

Uduaghan is beleive to have split from his first wife, Vero.

Steve Babaeko Named as Visiting Fellow of Henley Business School

T

he founder and Chief Executive Officer of X3M Ideas, Steve Babaeko, has been named Visiting Fellow of the Henley Business School, University of Reading in the United Kingdom.

The Advertising and Marketing Communication expert was chosen based on his knowledge and experience working with entrepreneurs and innovators in Africa over the past years. His wealth of experience is expected to complement Henley Business School’s belief in the power of creativity to develop industry and communities internationally. The fellowship programme will run for two years, from 2022 to 2024. It will see Babaeko shuttling between Nigeria and the United Kingdom because he would engage in research in business cases that will further the development and optimisation of the creative industry in Nigeria and across THEWILLNIGERIA

Africa. An excited Babaeko has expressed his gratitude for the opportunity, which he believes will set a new standard for the Nigerian creative industry. He has been the President of the Association of Advertising Agencies of Nigeria (AAAN) since 2020. He was the Chairman of the board of Lagos Advertising and Ideal Festival and a member of the board of International Advertising Association of Nigeria. He is also the Chairman, Public Relation Committee of the NigeriaAmerican Chamber of Commerce.

For more than 23 years, Babaeko has helped to create some of the iconic marketing campaigns in Africa. He served on the Grand Jury of the New York Advertising Festival for over three years and was the keynote speaker at the 2018 International Advertising Association Conference.

THEWILLNG

Babaeko THEWILLNIGERIA

J

Peters

SUSAN PETERS ENDS HER MARRIAGE N

ollywood actress cum entrepreneur, Susan Peters has quit her marriage.

She has moved on and deleted everything that would remind her of her short-lived romance with her former husband, Dr Koen Croon. The beautiful actress got married to her Dutch lover in a traditional wedding ceremony held in 2015 in Benue State. The couple later had a civil marriage at Ikoyi Marriage Registry, Lagos State in the presence of some of the bride’s colleagues in the movie industry.

Trouble began when Susan and her husband had to begin their married life living miles apart from each other. The actress was already pregnant with their first child when it was rumoured that the marriage had collapsed. She lost the pregnancy. Being a very private person, Susan kept her lips sealed and continued to enjoy her marriage. Not long after, the marriage finally hit the rocks.

One of the reasons for the breakup was the long distance separating the couple. Susan Peters was busy facing her career as an actress in Nigeria and neglected her husband abroad. The actress was not willing to sacrifice her robust acting career and fully settle down. This forced her husband to indulge in extra marital affairs in her absence. The actress got to know about this and despite the fact that they tried to patch things up, the marriage collapsed.

Susan kept many, except close friends and relatives, in the dark about her failed marriage. She has since moved on with her life.

oy Ejiro, wife of late veteran movie producer Chico Ejiro has every reason to smile again after her traumatic experience in 2020/2021.

The entrepreneur had cause to smile again when her two eldest children, Kome and Ruke, graduated from Caleb University.

She celebrated them on social media and thanked all those who stood by her in her trying moments.

THEWILL recalls that Joy lost her movie producer husband, Chico Ejiro, on Friday, December 25, 2020 to complications arising from high blood pressure. The deceased had just completed the production of his new film on the eve of Christmas before the sad event took place. He was buried

in Ozoro, his hometown in Isoko North Local Government Area of Delta State.

Until his death, Chico Ejiro had an unbroken record of being the Nigerian film director with the greatest number of home videos produced for public viewing.

Eleven months after his passage, his youngest son, Viano, died of cancer. The seven-year-old boy passed away on November 15, 2021. Viano had been battling cancer for some years and his parents committed their financial resources to his treatment. His mother had to move to the United States to get the best health care for him as he was diagnosed with the ailment when he was still a toddler. He was buried in the United States.

Chico-Ejiro

Yetunde Oduwole Unveils First Book, Wins Award

P

opular socialite and actress, Yetunde Oduwole, also known as Yetunde bustline, has unveiled a new book titled, Single Motherhood: The Success Manual. The book, her first published work, is

Oduwole

based on her experience as a single mother and how she struggled to raise her children all by herself. Yetunde has also started a tour of the United States where she hopes to sign autographs and hook up with her fans. She has also intensified a radio campaign for her book in that country.

She was recently presented with the Black Entertainment Film, Fashion Television Award (BEFFTA) for her contribution to the entertainment and fashion industry abroad. Apart from her career in the media and publishing industry, she is the Convener of Diamond Special Recognition Awards and owns a thriving fashion store.

PAGE 41

MARCH 06 - MARCH 12, 2022 T H E W I L L N E W S P A P E R • www.thewillnigeria.com

FAITHIA WILLIAMS FINALLY FULFILLS DESIRE FOR LAVISH BIRTHDAY BASH Nollywood actress, Faithia Williams, celebrated her birthday on Sunday, February 27, 2022 at the Balmoral Hall of the Federal Palace Hotel, Victoria Island, Lagos.

The event, no doubt, lived up to its billing as one of the most anticipated parties of the year. SHADE METIBOGUN captures the highlights of the party, which was tagged #Faithiaunusual

A

bout the celebrant Faithia Williams has no doubt paid her dues as an actress and movie producer. She became one by chance when her uncle, Alhaji Fatai Teniola, asked her to stand in for an actress who failed to show up during one of his movie productions.

Faithia played the role so well that she was applauded for her performance. She has never looked back ever since and has appeared in many Nollywood movies in the Yoruba genre, despite being from Delta State, receiving accolades in the process.

She also owns a restaurant where a full English breakfast is served, a chic beauty parlour and a wine store in Abeokuta, capital of Ogun State.

Controversy surrounding her real age Faithia Williams’ real age appears to be shrouded in controversy.

While many believe she can’t be less than 53 years-old, Faithia insists she is 51. This she revealed during her birthday celebration. She had her age emblazoned at the venue of the party.

Williams the country, had an altercation with a young man at the event. The man mistakenly stepped on her as he passed by. The actress was quick to express her displeasure and it led to a mild drama between the two. Some of her colleagues had to intervene before it all got out of hand.

They were able to pacify the actress who was obviously annoyed with the young man and was ready to throw caution to the wind and engage in a public show of shame.

Between Remi Surutu and Saheed Balogun Saheed Balogun, the celebrant’s ex-husband and father of her two children, was conspicuously missing at the party. This is despite the fact that they share the same birth date and had supposedly buried the hatchet that led to the The expensive Aso-ebi breakdown of their marriage. They had reconciled with Ahead of the grand celebration, Faithia released the price list of Saheed even featuring in a movie Faithia produced, on her the clothes her guests were expected to wear to her party. It was invitation. But alas, the party happened and Saheed didn’t in two categories. The gold category had five yards of white lace show up. As for Remi Surutu, her animosity towards her material, which was sold to both men and women for N60,000 colleague still burns deep and it explains why she wasn’t at and the platinum category had a colourful lace fabric which was the party. Sometime ago, Remi accused Faithia of running sold to women for N150,000 and to men for N120,000. Not her down in the presence of some of her colleagues despite The birthday cake, replica Williams only were the fabrics sold out, many of her guests turned up for all she had done for her in the past. Remi was instrumental of left white ball gown the party in lovely designs made from the fabric. The branding to Faithia meeting her ex husband Saheed and she of the Aso-ebi was equally top notch. They came in customised accommodated the couple at her Magodo home when they white and yellow boxes, which had the picture of the celebrant on it. greeted their public declaration of love behind them. This is just as were still struggling.

Adekaz’s estranged wife, Funsho, equally accepted her fate.

The Egyptian themed party Iyabo Ojo and her disappearing act One of the actress’s bucket list as a child was to stage a costume/ Desmond Elliot left legislative duties to party Many were disappointed when they didn’t see Iyabo Ojo at the party. themed party and this she did when about two weeks before the Nollywood actor turned lawmaker, Desmond Elliot took time off They questioned the motive behind her absence as she just settled grand finale, Faithia threw a strictly Egyptian costume/themed party legislative duties to unwind. He stormed the venue looking handsome her age long rift with the celebrant. Iyabo Ojo is currently holidaying that was well attended by her friends and colleagues in the movie in his brown traditional attire. with her children in Turkey. However, many wondered why she industry. couldn’t shift her journey till after the birthday or even weeks before The celebrant’s car gift the birthday.

The celebrant’s grand entry Foremost real estate company, Kayode Obembe and Co Limited, Grand entrances have become a major attraction at high-profile offered an ambassadorial deal to the celebrant, which was officially Tayo Odueke’s grouse with Faithia Balogun events. Faithia didn’t miss out on the trend as she made a spectacular announced at the birthday party. Her position as the brand Tayo Odueke, also known as Sikirat Sindodo, who used to be in entrance during the party. She was the cynosure of all eyes as she ambassador of the real estate company came with a brand new the good books of Faithia Williams did not attend the party. Ever was ushered into the venue by eight maidens dressed like Egyptian car. A prototype of her car key was presented to her on stage by since her lover, Musiliu Akinsanya aka Mc Oluomo, boss of the royal servants. They sprinkled rose petals on the floor as the movie representatives of the company in attendance.

Lagos State Chapter of the National Union of Road Transport star and two of her children marched into the venue of the party.

Workers reconciled Faithia and Iyabo Ojo, she has been avoiding the Her first son, Oluwatosin Akanbi, couldn’t make it to the party as The naira rain celebrant who allegedly dated the transport boss at one point. Tayo he lives abroad. The young man, who is married, made Faithia a As with most parties of such nature, naira rain featured prominently isn’t comfortable with the role her lover played as she is not ready grandmother a few years ago. and the celebrant got a huge dose of it. The singer of choice, King to lose him to another actress. This perhaps explains why she has Wasiu Ayinde Marshal aka KWAM1, who hates to be sprayed cash since been trying to stay away from the celebrant and also keep her Welcome dance by cultural dancers on his forehead, changed his mind when he sighted actress Laide lover away from her, too. Incidentally, MC Oluomo was at the party Cultural dancers added spice to the party. They were stationed at the Bakare moving towards him with mint dollar notes. He intensified and his table was a Mecca of sorts as many, both male and female red carpet to welcome the celebrant and her guests. They danced his praise singing as the actress kept plastering dollar notes on him. trooped to his table seeking his attention. beautifully while chanting the celebrant’s praise as she arrived the Faithia’s colleagues however didn’t make it rain on her. Except for venue of the party. They didn’t stop praise singing until some guests Yinka Quadri and Bimbo Akinsanya, who graciously made it ‘rain’ Funke Akindele-Bello’s kind gesture sprayed them cash on the red carpet. on her briefly, most of them shunned the dance floor where it kept Nollywood actress, Funke Akindele-Bello is one of the most ‘raining’. However, only Mercy Aigbe’s husband made it ‘rain’ supportive movie practitioners the industry is blessed with. Ahead Joke Silva honoured Faithia’s invitation thunderously on the celebrant. of the party, she sent her financial support to the celebrant. Faithia Seasoned actress, Joke Silva, made it to the party looking elegant didn’t take Funke’s kind gesture lightly as she took to her social and graceful. The actress, who is known for being selective when The gospel touch media space to acknowledge and thanked the actress for her it comes to the events she attends, especially one that involves Gospel artiste, Tope Alabi was at the party to belt out gospel tunes to generous contribution to her ceremony. And in her characteristic her colleagues in the Yoruba genre of the industry, took many by the delight of guests and the celebrant. Those close to the celebrant manner, Funke who has developed a reputation for shunning events surprise when she arrived at the venue. Her presence proved just know that Tope Alabi is her favourite female gospel artiste and the put together by her colleagues in the Yoruba movie genre, didn’t how important Faithia is to her. She took time off from her usual celebrant couldn’t resist the urge to dance. She stepped on the dance disappoint. She was absent from the party. routine of caring for her ailing husband to honour Faithia with her floor singing along with Tope joyfully. Faithia couldn’t help but presence and stayed on for a long time. rain naira notes on the singer. Her mother and her two children later Roll call of guests joined her on the stage as they all danced to the gospel songs.

From members of her immediate constituency, the movie industry Mercy Aigbe and husband make second public appearance who turned up in large numbers to business moguls and politicians, Mercy Aigbe and her wealthy movie producer husband, Kazim How Yetunde Wumi almost marred the party Faithia Williams’ party accommodated them all.

Adeoti, aka Adekaz, were all loved up to the envy of many in Hassan Akinwande, also known as Yetunde Wumi, the actress who attendance at the party. The couple has since put the controversy that escaped the gulag years ago for attempting to ferry hard drugs outside Additional report by Ivory Ukonu

PAGE 42

THEWILLNIGERIA

THEWILLNG

THEWILLNIGERIA

MARCH 06 - MARCH 12, 2022 T H E W I L L N E W S P A P E R • www.thewillnigeria.com

SHOTS OF THE WEEK Photo Editor: Peace Udugba [08033050729]

L-R: Ogun State Governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun; General Overseer, Redeemed Christian Church of God, Pastor Enoch Adeboye; Secretary to Ogun State Government, Mr. Tokunbo Talabi and the Governor's Chief of Staff, Alhaji Salisu Shuai, during the 80th birthday of Pastor Enoch Adeboye at the Redemption Camp, Lagos-Ibadan express road on March 3, 2022.

Country Representative, United Nations (UN), Women, Nigeria and ECOWAS, Ms Comfort Lamptey (2nd R); UN, Resident Coordinator, Mr Mattias Schmale (3rd L); Minister of Women Affairs, Dame Pauline Tallen (L); rep of the Permanent Secretary Ministry of Women Affair, Prince Adetokunbo Adebanjo (2nd L) and others, during a news conference on 2022 Women's Day in Abuja on March 1, 2022.

Speaker, House of Representatives, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila (right) at a meeting with officials of the Ministry of L-R: Foreign Aircraft Safety Assessment Programme (FASAP), Coordinator, NCAA, Capt. Godwin Akosim; Founder/ Foreign Affairs led by the minister, Geoffrey Onyeama (left) on the measures taken so far to help Nigerians caught CEO Green Africa, Mr. Babawande Afolabi and Flight Operations, Green Africa, Capt. Sunday Arome, during the Media Launch of Future Initiative by Green Africa, in Lagos March 2, 2022. in the Russia-Ukraine conflict at the National Assembly on February 28, 2022.

L-R: Country Director, Nigeria and Ecowas, GIZ, Ms. Ina Hommers; Lagos Deputy Governor, Dr. Obafemi Hamzat; Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu; Chairman Ecobank Nigeria Limited and Board Chairman LSETF, Mrs. Bola Adesola; Senior Country Manager for Nigeria, International Finance Corporation (IFC), Mr. Kalim Shah; Executive Secretary, LSETF, Tejumola Abisoye and Commissioner for Economic Planning and Budget, Mr. Sam Egube, during the Lagos State Employment Summit in Lagos on March 3, 2022.

THEWILLNIGERIA

THEWILLNG

THEWILLNIGERIA

Imo State Governor, Sen Hope Uzodimma (2nd left); his Deputy, Prof Placid Njoku (right); Imo State APC Chairman, MacDonald Ebere (2nd right); Federal Commissioner representing South-East and North-East Development Commission, Dr TOE Ekechi (1st right), as the new member for Ngor Okpala State Constituency, Hon. Blyden Amajuruonwu (3rd right), was presented to the Governor at the Sam Mbakwe Expanded Exco Chambers, Government House Owerri on February 28, 2022.

PAGE 43

MARCH 06 - MARCH 12, 2022 T H E W I L L N E W S P A P E R • www.thewillnigeria.com

NEWS XTRA Ogun Partners Micro-Finance Banks to Empower MSME Operators FROM SEGUN AYINDE, ABEOKUTA

T

he Ogun State Government is partnering with the National Association of Microfinance Banks (NAMB) to enable 200 Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) access capital to start and grow their businesses.

The Commissioner for Industry, Trade and Investment, Mrs Kikelomo Longe, disclosed this during a meeting with MSMEs operators in Abeokuta, the state capital, with the theme, "Funding Opportunities for MSMEs in Ogun State."

Speaking at the event, Longe said that the meeting was held to build on the gains of the last Ogun State MSMEs Business Clinic and further assist beneficiaries to overcome the challenge of accessing fund which had continued to hinder businesses globally.

She noted that the Dapo Abiodun led administration had instituted several policies and executed initiatives aimed at fostering economic growth, adding that the government was working on establishing six Economic Development Clusters.

"I also appreciate you for executing this timely intervention targeted at empowering 200 entrepreneurs in the state to potentially access capital required to start, grow and scale-up their businesses," the Commissioner stated.

Longe called on entrepreneurs to avail themselves the opportunity by registering for their Business Premises Permits on the state’s database, adding that it would enable the government to plan better for their business.

Also speaking at the event, the Special Adviser to the Governor on Industry, Trade, and Investment, Mr. Remi Ogunmefun, said the present administration is focused on sustaining businesses by linking entrepreneurs with fund providers and building their capacity.

A representative of Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), Mr. Victor Obaleze, said the German company had reached an agreement with the state government to train 10,000 entrepreneurs to help them start, expand and attract investments.

In his address, the State Chairman, National Association of Microfinance Banks (NAMB), Mr Samusideen Sodiya, said the programme was organised to expose the participants to various funding opportunities available for MSMEs in the State and also educate them on how to judiciously invest their capital.

Sodiya added that NAMB is ready to sustain its collaboration with the State government to improve funding opportunities for businesses.

Earlier, the State Manager, Small and Medium Enterprise Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN), Mr. Biodun Awoliyi assured that the organisation is ready to train beneficiaries of loan facilities accessed through the programme to enable them acquire soft skills which would help manage the funds effectively.

PAGE 44

L-R: Lagos State APC Chairman, Cornelius Ojelabi; Speaker, House of Representatives, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila; Oloja of Epe, HRM, Oba Kamarudeen Animashaun; Rep. Wale Raji and others during the commissioning of projects facilitated by Rep. Raji in Epe, Lagos on March 3, 2022.

CACOL Decries Lawmakers’ Vote Against Gender Bills

Obaseki Charges Individuals, Corporate Bodies, Others on PWD's Welfare

BY AYO ESAN

overnor Godwin Obaseki of Edo State has called on religious organisations, well-meaning individuals and corporate bodies in the state to prioritise the welfare of persons with disabilities.

Obaseki made the appeal when he received the board and members of the Network for the Advancement of People with Visible Disability (NAPVID), who were on a courtesy visit at the Government House, in Benin City.

He noted, “I want to use this as an opportunity to call on Edo people, religious organisations and social clubs to have a very clear policy to support persons with disabilities. If you are in a club, group, society or organization and don't have persons with disability in your gathering, try and make it a policy to attract them to be members of that gathering.

“It will create opportunities to know them more as well as understand their needs and challenges and equally provide support for them in line with our Making Edo Great Again (MEGA) agenda.

"We should reach out to more corporate bodies and individuals to contribute. We can show what you have gotten from what you are given and have bases to ask for more.”

“As a society, we should continue to support vulnerable people and those living with disability in our society. It should be a moral and divine commitment as these people need our collective responsibility to protect and support them,” he stated.

The governor commended the group for its transparency and accountability, adding, “What you have done this afternoon is what encourages people to do more. You have come to account transparently for what you have received from the government.

“This is the kind of conduct we want to encourage. I wish more Nigerians will behave this way to account for public resources given to them to work, as it will give one the justification to ask for more.”

He further said, "I really commend this group. You have started working with our Health Insurance Agency in enrolling your members into the State Health Insurance Scheme. I am aware that you have a database of persons with disabilities. We have also done enumeration with our ‘Data to MEGA’ project. We have data but will like to corroborate it with what you have and work together for our common good.

T

he Centre for Anti-Corruption and Open Leadership, CACOL, has taken a swipe at the members of the National Assembly for voting against gender bills in the constitutional amendment process.

A statement issued and signed by Tola Oresanwo, the anti-corruption organisation’s Director of administration and programmes, on behalf of its Chairman, Mr. Debo Adeniran, said, “As an anti-corruption and transparency in leadership organization received with rude shock and embarrassment, the news that members of the National Assembly voted against gender bills in the constitutional amendment process.

"We found it funny that the national assembly voted against bills seeking to give women more opportunities in leadership and governance at this age of our national life.

"Their action has sparked a protest by some women at the national assembly, who accused the lawmakers of bias.

Similarly, Pauline Tallen, Minister of women affairs, said the male lawmakers who voted against the gender bills have no respect for women.

“We are aware that when it comes to voting, more women vote than men and we believe that the quality of leadership in the country will not change if the scope of selection is not widened to accommodate more youths and women. We believed that setting aside 35 percent of the elective positions for women would have made a lot of sense because right now, the level of underrepresentation of women in key positions and decision making is alarming. Even at political party level, women should not be given only the position of women leader while all other positions are occupied by men.

“Instead of ‘gender parity’ or ‘gender equality’ gender equity would have been more appropriate because it may be very difficult to achieve gender parity or gender equality but if we use ‘gender equity’ it will make a lot of sense to several people. Also, instead of ‘Gender

balancing’, ‘Gender justice’ ought to have been used.

“We are of the opinion that affirmative actions should be limited to appointive positions rather than elective. The polity should not insist on affirmative actions for elective positions because if there are no candidates of a particular gender contesting, you can't force people of that gender to contest elections but it is easier to apply it for appointive positions.

“We must also encourage political parties generally to encourage gender affirmative actions, meaning that there should be significant motivations for all genders to contest elections just like the different demography that exist within the parties. It will not be right to insist that if a political party does not have 30 percent or does not succeed in having the percentage stipulated for different gender the party cannot contest election.”

“It is against this background that CACOL has come out to seriously frown at the action of those lawmakers, who threw the gender bills overboard without considering the effects on the psyche of our womenfolk in particular and the nation in general.

The contributions of some notable women like Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and late Prof Dora Akunyili, to mention a few, to the development of the country cannot be easily overlooked. By voting against this bill, these set of lawmakers are inadvertently denying the country of more capable hands of womenfolk who can contribute positively to the greatness of our nation.

“Clearly, Nigerians will be shortchanged and greater harm will be done to the country by denying us the opportunity of allowing more competent and capable womenfolk to serve their fatherland in various capacities. We have reduced women only to the role of voters, who are only relevant for the purpose of election. It is quite unfortunate that this is coming at a time when many other countries, even in the African region, are opening up their political space for more women participation.”

THEWILLNIGERIA

G

THEWILLNG

THEWILLNIGERIA

MARCH 06 - MARCH 12, 2022 T H E W I L L N E W S P A P E R • www.thewillnigeria.com

ART Lari Williams: A Stickler For Perfection from his base in Ikom. The last time we spoke on a contract he wanted me to make was just on February 24. I promised to get positive feedback from him this Monday, February 28 and today, I heard the sad news of his passing!! Kai!”

BY MICHAEL JIMOH

I

f Fela Anikulapo Kuti had won the 1983 election as the presidential candidate of Movement of the People (MOP), Lari Williams would have been the vice president because he was Fela’s running mate. But of course MOP was never registered by the Federal Electoral Commission (FEDECO) let alone contest.

“My colleagues Adebayo and Rafiu Aderemi would recall that Uncle Lari called me thrice as I was driving and I parked, returned the call and we spoke for about 30 minutes. The Uncle Lari I spoke to never sounded as though he would transit. We talked about everything around the arts and moviedom and he asked when I was going to update the piece I did on him in my book on the ‘Pioneers of Nollywood.”

In that sense, you could say Mr. Williams’ career as a politician never really took firm root, like Fela himself, two political minnows who, in the estimation of Nigerians, should concentrate on their artistic duties rather than seeking public office. Both of them did and excelled, though in their own different ways.

Born in 1940 to a father who was a working class father in Lagos, Williams attended CMS Grammar School and then proceeded to London School of Journalism where he read journalism. Drawn irresistibly to acting, he went to Morley College, Mountview Theatre School in London and then University of Iowa in the U.S. In 1977 when he was 37, something epochal took place in his own country Nigeria. The second Black and Arts festival FESTAC held in Lagos that year. There was no way a young and idealistic dramatist like Williams would be left out of all that continental fun including blacks in the diaspora. He returned to Nigeria and has remained ever since, delighting audiences and viewers with his suave performance in soaps, sitcoms and on stage.

The peak of his career as a stage performer was not within an enclosed theatre hall or auditorium. It was in the open, right on top of Zuma Rock in Abuja – 1, 200 feet high – where, alone, he performed “The bird that sings in the rain,” a poem by soldier-poet, Mamman Jiya Vatsa. No Nigerian actor has equaled that feat till date.

It is possible, just possible that devotees of sitcoms like Village Headmaster, soaps like Ripples or Mirror in the Sun would have had to watch actors like Williams mesmerize them up to now. But times have changed.

First, Nollywood came and robbed television of their previously loyal viewers. Next was the Internet and then the death blow was delivered by Cable TV. Soaps and sitcoms have since been aired out of Nigerian television stations, making professionals like Williams who acted in them look elsewhere.

There were a few roles in Nollywod flicks but not quite as exciting as the era of soaps and sitcoms. As creative as ever, Williams turned to teaching, first at the National Theatre, Iganmu where he had drama classes.

University of Calabar was next where he had a twoyear contract to mentor drama students, particularly on acting techniques and speech. By the way, Williams is from Ikom in Cross River state from where his first son, Femi, announced the passing of the veteran actor.

In an interview with NANS shortly after Williams Snr died, Femi insisted his father was a “perfectionist” who “impacted the lives of many young artistes through training and mentorship.”

THEWILLNIGERIA

THEWILLNG

“He wanted me to reflect on the fact that his national award has been upgraded from Member of the Order of Nigeria (MON) to Officer of the Order of Nigeria (OON). He was awarded a MON by the time the book was published.”

Williams

As an actor Williams had a long stretch, a long reign on the stage and on screen covering more than four decades of active performance. Whether in Village Headmaster, Ripples or Mirror in The Sun, Williams was always a delight to watch – admired for the middle-class characters he played which, in real life, he was.

“

The peak of his career as a stage performer was not within an enclosed theatre hall or auditorium. It was in the open, right on top of Zuma Rock in Abuja – 1, 200 feet high – where, alone, he performed “The bird that sings in the rain,” a poem by soldierpoet, Mamman Jiya Vatsa. No Nigerian actor has equaled that feat till date Continuing, Femi said, “he was quite a determined perfectionist who never compromised the profession; he lived and died loving the theatre instead of financial gains…Even when he was given a short notice to go and perform on stage, he would gather his troupe, train the dancers and make them perform at their best.”

The professional body Actors Guild of Nigeria (AGN) which the deceased actor belonged also spoke of his professionalism, calling Williams’s death “a colossal loss to Africa’s creative industry.”

“Chief Lari Williams was a thoroughbred thespian, poet, playwright, and a teacher,” Ejezie Emeka Rollas president of the AGN said. “He stood apart from whatever vantage position. We knew him as someone special.”

Film critic, journalist, scholar and Deputy Director National Troupe, Shaibu Hussein considers Williams someone special. Indeed, Hussein communicated with the veteran actor days before he died. In a Facebook post early last week, Hussein recalled to a journalist that “I had been in touch with Uncle Lari Williams

THEWILLNIGERIA

Though not as widely known as the Achebes and Clarks and Soyinkas, Williams also wrote books and poems.

But it was his acting skills that endeared thousands of adulatory fans across Nigeria to him, including the Federal Government of Nigeria who made him a Member of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (MFR) and since updated to Order of the Niger (OON) in 2008.

Three years before, the actor went public with a plea for kind-hearted individuals to come to his aid.

What was his reason? He was, he said at the time, going progressively blind. Of the award itself, there was no cash attached. “I was only conferred with a Member of the Federal Republic (MFR) honours by the government without any cash backing.”

At about the same time he had health challenges, Wiliams also could not meet up with his rent, for which his landlord shooed him out. At that point news made the rounds that Lagos state or the Federal Government had built a two-bedroom apartment for him, which was not true anyway, as the man himself later disclosed.

“I have heard people say that the Lagos state or the federal government had given me a two-bedroom flat somewhere, it is all lies.”

In his reckoning, government – state or federal – don’t much care for the arts let alone the welfare of actors like him. “We served this country and helped to build the entertainment sector that a lot of people are benefiting from today,” Williams rued then, “but there is nothing for people like me to show for it.”

“Most of us are left unsung because of the kind of structure that is being run; we should be having benefits like the civil servants. In other climes, artists live on government subventions and are structured in such a way that they earn from their creative works.”

His twilight years, say those who know, was filled with sadness, sadness on account of the very neglect he complained of by governments who should do otherwise for its artistes. Of course, his relocation from Lagos to Ikom shows how difficult life had become for someone who lived a greater part of his life in the metropolis.

It is true that, no thanks to FEDECO, Williams never occupied any political office in Nigeria. Even so, he was the president, the very first, of AGN when it came into existence years ago. That is something, at least.

PAGE 45

MARCH 06 - MARCH 12, 2022 T H E W I L L N E W S P A P E R • www.thewillnigeria.com

TOURISM Ugwudoro Festival Beckons to Investors “Every society without a culture is a decaying society. The way we eat and dress is part of our culture. For example, the Igbo eat pepper very well and I can say there is no health benefit in eating pepper, but I cannot eat without pepper. Any society without a culture doesn’t exist.”

On investing his personal funds on rebranding the festival, Abumisi stated, “I am going to commit my personal resources into the development of the Ugwudoro Festival. I want to show the way and let other people fellow. I have a number of young people, who are billionaires in my clan that I can persuade to invest their money on the festival and they will do so. One of the things I did this year was to raise public awareness of the festival. I promised to cook for anybody that would go to Ekeagu and return without buying water. To the glory of God, most of them respected that and on my side I kept to my promise. I spent money and that was money well spent. It is an inheritance and you grow up witnessing it, as the older ones are withdrawing, the younger ones are taking over.

“It does not involve ritual sacrifice. It is a cultural heritage that does not involve ritual sacrifices. There is a particular family at Amube that is saddled with the responsibility of unveiling the dates and activities with palm fronds or branches of the palm tree at Ezianu Square, which is a symbol of victory. This does not change the fact that from inception the people already had fixed dates for the celebration of the festival. Nobody else can tell the people when the festival will take place apart from this same family at Amube.

“When the family comes out at Eziani and throw the palm frond, the festival begins immediately.”

BY JANEFRANCES CHIBUZOR or four days, illustrious sons and daughters of Evazu from far and near, fun seekers and culture enthusiasts gathered to celebrate Ugwudoro Festival and showcase their rich cultural heritage. The occasion also provided an opportunity for indigenes of Evazu to map out strategies for investment and development of the clans.

One of the indigenous festivals in Enugu State, the Ugwudoro Festival was celebrated with various cultural activities at different locations within the community. Some of the activities include rites exclusively performed by the men folk, as culture demands. Still this did not affect the thrills and frills of the annual event.

In the past, the festival was celebrated on every third month of the Igbo annual calendar, but due to rural and urban migration among the youths, the organoisers decided to celebrate on every first Saturday in January.

This year’s event lasted four days, beginning as usual on Orie, the first day of the traditional Igbo week. It is called Orie achicha because in the days gone by, if someone paid homage to any family they would be served achicha delicacies. That is how achicha became the delicacy for the day.

On Afor Ugwudoro, which was a Friday, revelers and masquerades danced and chanted round the streets of Ekeagu.

Guests, fun seekers and people from neighbouring communities all participated in the celebration that apparently left many with sweet memories.

On Nkwo Ugwudoro, which is the main day of celebration, there was dancing, wrestling and a hiking competition amongst the young men who have been fully incorporated into the masquerade family.

During the event, the National President, Nigerian Union of Pensioners (NUP), Chief Godwin Abumisi, said that except the community invests on the festival, there would be no headways, while describing the people’s cultural heritage as an income earner, if well harnessed. According to him, the development of the community’s cultural products could attract foreign investors and investments in the hospitality industry, holiday seekers, outbound tourists and inbound tourists, thereby creating job opportunities for the unemployed.

As a result, there will be boom in transportation and trading will experience significant growth, among other businesses.

Abumisi said, "For me, the festival has become an inheritance for the people of Evazu community and it is one of best organised festivals that the people enjoy and respect. The festival has it dos and donts, though the custom of the people has been affected by modern civilisation, education, Christianity

F

PAGE 46

Recalling an event that took place in 1986 and its significance to Ugwudoro Festival, he added, “In 1986, Jude Ikechukwu Ani was ordained a priest. I was the chairman of the Ordination Committee. After the ordination and before the worshippers in the church, he knelt down and the bishop blessed him. Other priests hugged him and he went ahead to hug members of his family. A big masquerade named Ejiero from his clan Amube suddenly walked into the church and hugged the priest.

“To a large extent, that act showed to the world that our masquerade had nothing to do with ritual sacrifice and there was no conflicting interest between Christianity and our culture.

“Any priest that comes to Ekeagu and talks about the people of Evazu withdrawing from Ugwudoro Festival is absolutely talking nonsense and the people won’t listen to him because Ugwudoro festival does not indulge in any form of ritual sacrifice. During the festival masquerades only enforce their authority with whips."

and the activities of the youth themselves. The fact that the masquerades have a way of enforcing its own laws terrifies the opposite sex.

“During my speech in Eziani, I told them to shun the idea of packaging our masquerades and giving them out free-ofcharge. The Evazu people must invest in it. This year, I saw how it went. I am very much interested in culture and I wouldn’t want the festival to die in my presence. Come 2023, I shall be completely involved in rebranding the festival by getting unique outfits that could make the day more attractive to woo international tourists and investors and in doing so, there will be job opportunities for residents of the community.

‘Outside Ugwudoro, which is the most outstanding cultural festival, there are festivals such as Ugwudoro Udummiri and Ogugochi, as well as Oku Ezi.

Preserving Endangered Pangolin Species From Extinction

BY JANEFRANCES CHIBUZOR s the World Wildlife Day was celebrated on Thursday, March 3, 2022, the Nigerian Conservation Foundation (NCF) has called on all Nigerians to take urgent steps toward protecting the surviving species of Pangolin. NCF earlier joined the rest of the world in commemorating the World Pangolin Day (WPD) on Saturday, February 19, 2022.

Described as the most hunted and trafficked mammal globally, all the eight species of pangolin stand the danger of going extinct unless drastic steps are taken to protect it from the activities of poachers.

The World Pangolin Day is created to raise public awareness on the endangered status of pangolins, who are threatened by poaching and deforestation of their natural habitats.

An estimated 1 million pangolins have been illegally taken from the wild across the world. If actions are not taken urgently, the earth might lose its only scaly mammal and soil aeration to the incessant cruelty of pangolin smugglers.

The Nigerian Conservation Foundation is seeking help from all concerned Nigerians to raise awareness of the need for conservation of pangolins.

The World Pangolin Day is also an annual historic event committed to raising civic awareness of proactive

A

actions aimed at conserving and combating trafficking in specimens of pangolins, while also appraising and celebrating milestones attained in the global push towards pangolin conservation.

Pangolins play a critical role in the ecosystem by providing the earth with natural pest control. A single pangolin eats as much as 70million insects per year, which is important to keep soils aerated, tender and fertile.

In recent times, the rate at which pangolins were locally sourced, packaged and routed through Nigeria for the international market and the scale of occasional seizures reported are cogent to motivate the earnest support and participation of identified stakeholders.

According to MONGABAY - Nigeria’s emergence as a trafficking hub for illegal wildlife appears unhindered by the coronavirus pandemic. Between 2016 and 2019, more seizures were made by law enforcement worldwide, with more than half of this linked to Nigeria. In July 2021, officials of the Nigeria Custom Service (NCS) made the third-largest seizure of pangolin scales inside the country.

This year, several seizures have been made.

The recklessness of human activities against pangolin and other wildlife will not only drive the species into extinction but continue to bring an epidemic and eventual pandemic.

THEWILLNIGERIA

THEWILLNG

THEWILLNIGERIA

MARCH 06 - MARCH 12, 2022 T H E W I L L N E W S P A P E R • www.thewillnigeria.com

SportsLive

Sporting World Kicks Against War his players. It was the first sign of a developing series of events that will lead to monumental changes at Stamford Bridge. The ramifications of the impact of Russia’s invasion within the sporting world were reverberating across borders and were affecting those with Russian passports, whether they favoured the invasion or not. Abramovich, whose ties extended to the corridors of power in Moscow, was already feeling the heat in the UK, with the noose of sanctions and asset seizures loosely hanging around his neck.

BY JUDE OBAFEMI

T

he sporting world responded overwhelmingly to the global calls for sanctions against Russia, Russian interests and entities after President Vladimir Putin rejected a diplomatic solution to its conflict with neighbouring Ukraine and on Thursday, February 24, ordered a military invasion of the former constituent of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR).

Calls for FIFA to add their weight to global actions against Russia continued with the current Best FIFA Men’s Player for 2021, Robert Lewandowski supporting Cezary Kulesza, the president of the Polish Football Association, in the country’s decision not play Russia in their qualifying match for the Qatar 2022 FIFA World Cup as scheduled on March 24. FIFA was considering the disruptions to the schedules and the determination of countries to stick to their decisions to avoid Russia when news broke that Abramovich had ceded control of Chelsea to the club’s Trustee Foundation in a calculated move to avoid those uncertainties that Tuchel pointed out from adversely affecting performance and results, while ensuring that any sanctions on his person will not tell on his investments in the club. In the immediate aftermath of the handover, there were some sports investors and private equity firms, including those from the United States, that quickly started to put up proposals for a potential buy out but the club’s stance, at the time, was that Abramovich had no intention of selling.

That invasion, the first open declaration of war across Europe, apart from the wars in the Balkans, was met by open and direct pushback from every side. The United States, European Union (EU) nations, Japan, and South Korea introduced new financial sanctions over the last weekend, which caused the Russian ruble to fall to a record low and the Russia’s Central Bank to double interest rates.

It all began before the threats escalated to a full-scale invasion by Russia’s ground and air forces. With a worsening situation between Ukraine and Russia on the horizon, the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) began to consider striking out St. Petersburg as the site of the season’s UEFA Champions League final. The schedule for Europe’s most prestigious club championship had the final set to take place on May 28 in Russia’s second-largest city.

Before February 28, UEFA was already under mounting pressure to change the location after Putin revealed his plan to send soldiers into Ukraine’s eastern Donbas region. UEFA officials began backup options while it continued to “constantly and closely” monitor the situation. When the attacks began on Thursday, pressure was brought to bear on UEFA to effect the change of venue and the Executive Committee, led by President Aleksander Ceferin, convened a meeting for the next day to address their reaction to Russia’s invasion. Simultaneously, FIFA also faced requests to exclude Russia from the World Cup qualifying playoffs, which were set to take place at the end of March and will pit Russia against Poland.

While continental and world bodies dithered, individuals and clubs were leading the way. First, a number of F1 race drivers, such as Sebastian Vettel and Max Verstappen, urged that Russia should be banned from the Formula One calendar. Vettel stated that if the Russian Grand Prix in Sochi was held as scheduled on September 25, he would not compete. At pre-season testing in Barcelona, Vettel did not mince words: “My own opinion is I should not go.

I will not go. It’s wrong to race in the country. I’m sorry for the people, innocent people who are losing their lives, getting killed for stupid reasons.”

Also reacting, F1 World Champion Verstappen said, “When a country is at war, it is not right to race there.”

German football club, Schalke 04 also was among the first to demonstrate exemplary resolve and action when they decided that the Gazprom logo would be removed from their shirts. Gazprom is the Russian majority state-owned multinational energy corporation, which has been a sponsor of FC Schalke 04, one of the most popular Bundesliga teams, since 2007. With the partnership, the Gazprom emblem was emblazoned on the sporting clothing of the club.

Following intensified military activity against Ukrainian forces by Russia, UEFA’s emergency meeting on the Friday that followed confirmed the decision to change the venue of the UCL Final, which was scheduled to take place on May 28 at the Gazprom Arena, to Paris, with the Stade de France designated as the new venue. Alternative cities such as London, Munich, and Istanbul were considered before Paris was chosen.

UEFA also decided that no European competition games will be played in Russia or Ukraine, with teams from both countries compelled to play their home games at neutral grounds. FIFA was yet to act but countries were piling pressure on the body.

In a joint statement after the invasion, Poland, Sweden and the Czech Republic demanded that FIFA transfer play-off games out of Russia and calls for an outright ban of the country from any participation in international football began to grow.

THEWILLNIGERIA

THEWILLNG

Infantino

For the first time too, the EU agreed to arm a third-party country to help Ukraine stave off the impact of a full-blown Russian attack.

The sporting world decidedly got involved and has systematically and effectively done much to contribute to the pressure on Russia as the consequences of war are laid bare.

“

On Sunday, FIFA rose from a meeting of its Council’s Bureau, which includes the presidents of the six regional football confederations, convened to decide a way out and backed down from an instant expulsion of Russia from World Cup qualification, while acknowledging that it was still a possibility Taking a cue from Schalke, Manchester United terminated their sponsorship agreement with Aeroflot, a Russian airline that same Friday. United and Aeroflot have been partners since 2013, when United became one of the club’s global partners. The contract was extended in 2017 and the value of the contract was in the range of £30 million. The Red Devils were going to take a different carrier to and from their Champions League Round of 16 first-leg encounter against Atletico Madrid. It was still Friday when Formula One released a statement that effectively cancelled the race in Russia for this year. The September 25 race was set to take place for the final time at the Sochi Autodrom this year before returning to its roots in Saint Petersburg in 2023. That was no longer happening with the FIA completely striking it off the calendar. By evening on Friday, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) was mulling the idea of pulling all of its events away from Russia and Belarus had found itself mired in the pressure sports was bringing to bear on Russia. This was because Belarus, a Russian ally, allowed Russia use the country as a launching pad for its assault on Ukraine over its borders.

By Saturday, the conflict in the East of Europe came with consequences to knock on the doors of English football when Chelsea FC manager, Thomas Tuchel, confessed that calls in the British Parliament for penalties against club owner, Roman Abramovich, had admittedly produced “many uncertainties” at the club. The German gaffer was preparing his side for Sunday’s Carabao Cup final against Liverpool at Wembley, where he was hoping to win his third trophy of the year, after winning the Champions League and Club World Cup, but the first domestic title of his time at the London club.

Tuchel agreed that increased scrutiny on Abramovich, who had owned Chelsea since 2003, was “worrying” and “distracting” for

THEWILLNIGERIA

Amidst the blanket bans on Russia, her athletes and her entities, there was also a case of a personal ban against Putin himself. It came from the International Judo Federation (IJF), which suspended Putin’s title as its Honorary President and Ambassador. In 2008, the worldwide governing body had bestowed the Honorary President title on the Russian President, who is a judo black belt.

A consummate judoka, Putin had received the eighth dan from the IJF in 2012, making him the first Russian to do so. Going beyond the personal ban, the European Judo Union cancelled competitions in Tula and Orenburg.

On Sunday, FIFA rose from a meeting of its Council’s Bureau, which includes the presidents of the six regional football confederations, convened to decide a way out and backed down from an instant expulsion of Russia from World Cup qualification, while acknowledging that it was still a possibility. Instead, it decided to allow Russia compete under the “RFU” name of its football federation, the Russian Football Union even though the Russian flag and anthem could not be connected with the RFU. However, the Czech Republic had joined Poland and Sweden in refusing to play Russia. This swell of countries wanting nothing to do with Russia included English whose Football Association stated that its national teams will refuse to play Russia for the “foreseeable future.” These countries were at the forefront of chastising FIFA’s decision, with the consensual position being that it was unacceptable.

However, by Monday after the IOC called on sporting groups to disqualify Russian competitors from international competitions, and the weight of global pressure on FIFA, the football body changed its decision and completely banned Russian teams from competing in all FIFA or UEFA events until further notice.

UEFA went further to also end its relationship with Gazprom, the Russian state-owned energy giant that was a major sponsor of the Champions League. The gas company was at the heart of European football and has long-standing economic ties with UEFA. It stated last summer that its sponsorship agreement with UEFA would be expanded to cover the European Championship, as well as the Champions and Europa Leagues. It also owns the naming rights to the Gazprom Arena, where the final is scheduled to take place.

On Tuesday, tennis players of Russian and Belarusian origins were suspended from competing in the Davis Cup and Billie Jean King Cup, although they will be able to compete on the ATP and WTA tournaments as individuals. By Wednesday, video Game developer EA Sports had initiated plans to have the Russian national team and all Russian clubs removed from FIFA 22, FIFA Mobile, and FIFA Online games. Outside of football, the National Hockey League (NHL) is one of the numerous leagues that have suspended business relationships with Russia. But, in a FIFA-esque move, the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) first cleared Russian and Belarussian paralympic competitors to compete as neutrals at the Beijing Paralympic Winter Games before the weight of pressure forced them to make a complete U-turn and barred them as well.

PAGE 47

www.thewillnigeria.com MARCH 06-MARCH 12, 2022

Russia-Ukraine War: Will Nigeria Seize This Opportunity to Supply Natural Gas to Europe?

A

s with every other time of crises in human history, every period of strife presents an opportunity for the intuitive and foresighted to find levers to pull that will guarantee both short-term and long-term benefits to them.

The current global climate, affected as it is by the Russian invasion of Ukraine, is another vivid exemplification of this evergreen truism. Since the invasion began on Thursday, February 24, the most perceptive of leaders in the business, economic, political, social and technological spheres have concerned themselves with seeking opportunities unearthed by the crisis to better position themselves as leading lights in the eventual and corresponding process to seek solutions to these crises at the appropriate time. It is in this class of solution-providers that I believe Nigeria ought to belong in the response to the Russo-Ukraine War of 2022 and I believe that the best bet for the country’s role in the picture is as an alternative source of gas supply for Europe.

This is apposite for a plethora of reasons, but the most pertinent is how the Vladimir Putin-led invasion of Ukraine once more highlighted the overarching need for Europe to wean itself from over-dependence on Moscow for the bulk of its energy supplies. In the debates over which sanctions to impose on Russia, Europe could not decide on crippling Russia’s mainstay, her energy sector, because several countries rely on energy imports from Russia, at differing percentages, to keep production levels optimal and survive the wintry chill of the current climate. Yet, without that back-breaking sanction, Putin can keep up his ambitious “Greater Russia” project going for the foreseeable future while seeing out other economic sanctions by transacting business with the world’s second largest economy and partner, Xi Jinping’s China.

Remarkably, foresighted European leaders, who have always seen the dangers of over-reliance on Russia for energy needs but have belaboured over bureaucratic redtapism, have become even more determined to seek alternatives to the Russian supply as quickly as possible. Working on a state-by-state basis and under the umbrella of the European Union, these leaders are initiating measures to change their strategic energy policies in order to reduce their vulnerability to energy security and Russian one-upmanship. The objective is to cut down Europe’s current one-third dependence of its natural gas from Russia, which varies from one country to another with Italy (40 per cent), Germany (50 per cent), Estonia and Finland (100 per cent), while Spain and Portugal have zero gas imports from Russia.

Although, a blanket ban on Russia today will not immediately spell doom for European states that are heavily reliant on Russian gas, because they have reserves in stock believed to be sufficient for the current wintertime, the goal is to ensure that a fresh Putin incursion into another sovereign country can be met with crippling sanctions that do not compromise their no-nonsense stance or present domestic energy challenges.

Herein lies the Nigerian opportunity and, with it, the means to seize the chance opening before us. On Wednesday, February 2, at the 2022 Nigeria International Energy Summit (NIES) held in Abuja, the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) revealed that Nigeria’s proven natural gas reserve had risen to 209.5 Trillion Cubic Feet (TCF) as of January 1, 2022. Farouk Ahmed, NMDPRA Chief Executive, who was represented by Ogbugo Ukoha, executive director, Distribution Systems, Storage and Retailing Infrastructure, (NMDPRA), made this known and noted that the new figure represented a major increase of 2.97 TCF in proven natural gas reserves, which, of itself, represented a 1.42 percentage increase from the 206.53 TCF recorded on January 1, 2021. Such cheering growth, together with the prospects for continued increase, come at the most auspicious moment, given the possibility of buying into the current European need for alternative sourcing of gas.

Furthermore, not only is Nigeria primed to offer a vi-

PAGE 48

+13107950457 ◆ AUSTYN.OGANNAH@THEWILLNIGERIA.COM

able option for Europe, there is already in place a means to bring this viability to life.

In January 2002, the idea of a Trans-Saharan Natural Gas Pipeline that was first mooted in the 1970s, came alive when the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and the Algerian national oil and gas company, Sonatrach, signed a Memorandum of Understanding for preparations of the project. Aimed at enabling Europe to tap into West Africa’s abundant natural gas supplies, the pipeline included the northernmost Nigerian neighbouring country of the Republic of the Niger for two excellent rationales. The pipeline was going to link through its borders to get from Nigeria to Algeria and it was expected to boost exploration in Niger and expand its energy industry. The 4,128-kilometre pipeline, with 1,037 kilometres in Nigeria, 841 kilometres in Niger, and 2,310 kilometres in Algeria, and a capacity of 30 billion cubic metres of natural gas per year, will connect the Warri region in southern Nigeria, through the length of Niger to the town of Hassi R’Mel in northern Algeria, where it will connect to existing Trans-Mediterranean, Maghreb-Europe, Medgaz, and Galsi Pipelines, allowing Europe to tap into West Africa’s abundant natural gas reserves and diversifying its supply.

Should the trio of Nigeria, Niger and Algeria tarry, Europe will waste no time getting their needs met either of their own accord or through other options that exist on the African continent and that are ready to expedite action as required The process to get the project off the ground began in June 2005 when the NNPC and Sonatrach signed a contract with Penspen Limited for a feasibility study of the project. The feasibility study was completed in September 2006 and it found the pipeline to be technically and economically feasible and reliable. Yet, it was not until 2009, when after a February 20 meeting, the NNPC and Sonatrach agreed to proceed with the draft Memorandum of Understanding between three governments and the joint venture agreement. The intergovernmental agreement on the pipeline was signed by Energy Ministers of Nigeria, Niger and Algeria on July 3, 2009 in Abuja. The pipeline was expected to be built and operated by the partnership between the NNPC and Sonatrach, both of whom will hold a combined share value of 90 per cent and the Nigerien Government, which will hold the remaining 10 per cent. It was to be operational by 2015 and cost approximately USD 10 billion to get running.

Yet, it was not until February 16 this year, six whole years after it was supposed to be running, that the development of the multi-billion-dollar pipeline began, following the signing of the Declaration of Niamey by the Republic of Niger’s Minister of Petroleum, Energy and Renewable Energy, H.E. Mahamane Sani Mahamadou; Algeria’s Minister of Energy and Mines, H.E. Mohamed Arkab; and Nigeria’s Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, H.E. Timipre Sylva. The signing of the Declaration took place during the third edition of the Economic Communities of West African States Mining and Petroleum Forum in the Republic of Niger’s capital city of Niamey. Despite this unfortunate setback, work must be accelerated especially now that Europe is looking at Africa’s gas potential, with the continent known to possess approximately 8 per cent of the world’s natural gas reserves that have remained largely untapped with very minimal local consumption levels.

This is the most opportune moment to take advantage of a gas market that is ripe for harvesting. The rising gas reserves of Nigeria and Niger and Algeria’s strategic position along the Mediterranean coast, as well as the continent’s connections with existing pipelines and those already under construction in Spain and Italy, combine to make the Trans-Saharan Natural Gas Pipeline a most strategic resource to serve as a long-term alternative gas supply option for Europe countries in their determination to wean themselves off Russian energy subservience and a more belligerent Putin. The importance of the pipeline solution was laid bare when the Russian multinational natural gas company, Gazprom, sought to negotiate with Nigeria, regarding its possible participation in the project. It highlighted the unambiguous value of the pipeline and put its profitability, as confirmed by the feasibility studies, in starker relief, if it ever were previously in doubt. All obstacles towards an accelerated completion of the project must therefore be surmounted to get it operational at the earliest possible time and present to Europe the alternative it seeks and the dollars Nigeria urgently needs.

The need for urgency cannot be overemphasised. Europe’s energy needs cannot wait forever for the typical African bottlenecks to development and growth that bedevil progress on the continent.

Should the trio of Nigeria, Niger and Algeria tarry, Europe will waste no time getting their needs met either of their own accord or through other options that exist on the African continent and that are ready to expedite action as required. Already, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has declared that the country was shifting course “in order to eliminate our dependence on individual energy suppliers” with the construction of two liquefied natural gas import facilities in Brunsbuettel and Wilhelmshaven, as well as accelerating the construction of renewable energy capacity in order to achieve 100 per cent renewable power generation by 2035. For European countries still needing gas supply options, there are alternatives like Senegal, where 40 trillion cubic feet of natural gas were discovered between 2014 and 2017 and where production is expected to start later this year.

Following the EU’s announcement that natural gas projects will be labelled as “green” investments, the TransSaharan Natural Gas Pipeline must be seen as an opportunity for the EU to not only diversify its energy mix, but also to help address the continent’s ongoing energy crisis, with rising natural gas prices driving up demand and putting supply at risk. This is an opportunity that Nigeria cannot allow to go to waste and the Ukrainian invasion, which has united Europe in the search for thirdparty alternatives to their over-reliance on a hostile Russia, presents a clear chance to take full advantage of for a guaranteed future of foreign exchange earnings that will complement earnings from other sectors of the economy. It will mean that Nigeria will have seized the moment and gained from a crisis of far-reaching implications for Russia-EU relations in a way that has never been recorded previously.

•Continues on page 34

THEWILLNIGERIA

THEWILLNG

THEWILLNIGERIA