Thursday 24th Noverber 2016

Hotel Occupancy Drops Below 35% as Recession Bites Obinna Chima Nigeria’s hospitality sector has been hit hard by the economic slowdown, with occupancy rates in hotels falling below 35 per cent this year due to the contraction of economic activities in the country.

Findings by THISDAY

showed that hardest hit were the four and five-star hotels in Lagos and Abuja, where bookings have dropped significantly as individuals and companies now prefer to book rooms at cheaper boutique hotels due to the

economic crunch.

THISDAY gathered that while the occupancy rate of Southern Sun Hotels, Ikoyi has dropped to about 45 per cent, the occupancy rate at the Intercontinental Hotel, Victoria Island, a five-star

hotel and the second largest property in Lagos, is as low as 25 per cent.

Also, the occupancy rate at Wheatbaker Hotel in Ikoyi is currently estimated at 30 per cent, Eko Hotel and Suites, Victoria Island,

which boasts a combination of four and five-star sections in its sprawling property, is down to 40 per cent, while the Federal Palace Hotel, also in Victoria Island, has dropped to 35 per cent.

In Abuja, the Transcorp

Buhari to Present 2017 Budget Dec 1… Page 11

Hilton, the largest property in the federal capital city, which over a year ago boasted an occupancy rate of 70-80 per cent, has seen a slight drop to 65 per cent.

A company source said the reason the Transcorp Hilton has continued to attract guests Continued on page 8

Thursday 24 November, 2016 Vol 21. No 7889. Price: N250

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Military Launches Operation to Free Remaining Chibok Girls… Page 49

Jubilation in Akure as INEC Declares Jegede PDP Candidate Party, Ekweremadu, Fayose, others hail A’Court ruling Jimoh Ibrahim says it’s not binding on him President pleads with Ondo State residents to vote for Akeredolu TobiSoniyi,Onyebuchi Ezigboin AbujaandJamesSowoleinAkure It was jubilation galore

yesterday in Akure, the Ondo State capital, after the Court of Appeal reinstated Mr. Eyitayo Jegede (SAN)

as the rightful candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to contest Saturday’s governorship election in the

state.

Following the ruling, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC)

last night complied with the order of the court by reinstating Jegede as the candidate of the PDP.

However, the factional candidate of the PDP, Mr. Continued on page 8

Obasanjo to Buhari: Stop the Excuses, Nigeria Needs Result-oriented Policies Insists N’Assembly stinks, supports action against S’Court judges Obinna Chima Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has advised President Muhammadu Buhari to stop blaming past administrations for the current economic woes and focus on implementing result-oriented policies and programmes that will turn the economy around.

He equally cautioned

that if Buhari fails to fix the economy to relieve the pain and anguish of many Nigerians, the “gains of fighting the insurgency and corruption will pale into insignificance”.

The former president, who said this yesterday while delivering the keynote address at the first Akintola Continued on page 8

MOVES TO REPOSITION ITS ECONOMY Amnesty International: 150 Pro-Biafra OGUN L-R: Head of the defunct Interim National Government, Chief Ernest Shonekan; Ogun State Governor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun; Ogun State House of Assembly, Hon. Suraj Adekunbi; and former Military Governor of Ogun State, Lt.-Gen. Oladipo Diya Activists Killed in Nigeria… Page 50 Speaker, (rtd), after the governor presented the 2017 Appropriation Bill to the State House of Assembly, in Abeokuta, Ogun State… Tuesday

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THURSDAY, november 24, 2016 • T H I S D AY

PAGE EIGHT JUBILATION IN AKURE AS INEC DECLARES JEGEDE PDP CANDIDATE Jimoh Ibrahim, faulted the Appeal Court’s ruling for failing to give a consequential order. He said it was not binding on him and would await the judgment of the Supreme Court on the matter today.

However, Akure residents who had gathered yesterday morning at the Eyitayo Jegede campaign office at Ijapo to await the decision of the Justice Ibrahim Salauwa-led panel, spontaneously burst into jubilation immediately they heard that the Court of Appeal had ruled in Jegede's favour.

The crowd moved in a motorcade around the state capital singing and dancing to music with the popular jingle used by Jegede for his electioneering, leading to a traffic snarl on two major roads in Akure.

The wife of the governor of the state, Mrs. Olukemi Mimiko, whose motorcade ran into the jubilant crowd at the popular Oja Oba market, could not hide her joy as she and her entourage joined the jubilant crowd to celebrate the Appeal Court’s ruling.

Some market women hurriedly closed their shops and joined the procession while some state civil

servants abandoned their jobs to join in the celebration.

On the other hand, the mood at the Jimoh Ibrahim campaign office was sombre, as the place was under lock and key. Also, the flag of the PDP in front of the office had been removed while security operatives at the office had vacated the premises.

Similarly, the office of Biyi Poroye, the factional chairman of the PDP in the state, was deserted.

Earlier yesterday, the Court of Appeal in Abuja had declared Jegede as the rightful candidate of the PDP for the Ondo governorship election billed to hold on Saturday.

In a unanimous judgment, the panel vacated the June 29 judgment of Justice Okon Abang of the Federal High Court, Abuja, which directed INEC to recognise Ibrahim as PDP governorship candidate for the poll.

The battle for the PDP candidacy in Ondo turned out to be a proxy war between the two factions laying claim to the national leadership of the party.

While the Ali Modu Sherrif-led faction continued to claim to be the authentic leadership of the party, the

Ahmed Makarfi -led group said it had the mandate to lead the party.

Ibrahim belongs to the Sherrif group, while Jegede who enjoys the backing of the incumbent governor of Ondo State, Dr. Olusegun Mimiko, is loyal to the Makarfi's faction.

Jegede, who was dissatisfied with the judgment of the Federal High Court, applied for leave of the court to challenge it on appeal because he was not a party in the case at the high court. He had earlier applied to Justice Abang to be made a party but his application was turned down.

However, his appeal to the Court of Appeal was successful, as the appellate court granted him the right to appeal against the high court’s judgment.

His lawyer, Chief Wole Olanipekun (SAN), had argued that his client was denied fair hearing at the lower court, which the Court of Appeal accepted.

While the appeal was being heard, those loyal to Ibrahim sought to frustrate the hearing.

First, they accused the judges on the appeal panel of collecting bribes. The allegation forced them to step down.

When the President of the Court of

Appeal, Justice Zainab Bulkachuwa, constituted a new panel, Ibrahim’s team also challenged her powers to set up the new panel.

But when the new panel insisted on going ahead with the appeal, Ibrahim’s team quickly went to the Supreme Court. They filed an application to stay hearing on the appeal and also listed the justices hearing the appeal as respondents.

However, the Supreme Court in a ruling on Tuesday dismissed all the applications and ordered the Court of Appeal to go ahead and determine the appeal.

Delivering judgment yesterday in the appeal filed by Jegede, Justice Ibrahim Saulawa who presided held that Justice Abang’s refusal to allow Jegede to participate in the trial amounted to a breach of fair hearing.

He held that the denial of fair hearing “rendered the entire proceedings before his court a nullity”.

He further held: “Indeed it is obvious from the records that the appellant’s name had been duly published as the governorship candidate of the 11th respondent

(PDP) for the November 26 Ondo governorship election.

“The lower court was in grievous error when it ordered the publication of Ibrahim’s name. The decision of the high court was in total breach of the provision of Section 36 of the 1999 Constitution, which forbids any court from denying fair hearing to a party likely to be affected by the final decision of the court.”

Justice Saulawa held that the action of the court violated the legal doctrine of audi altarem partem (hear the other party).

“The tenets of natural justice entails that a party ought to be heard prior to the determination of case against him,” he added.

The appellate court also noted that Justice Abang ordered INEC to “immediately” recognise Ibrahim who was never a party in the suit that culminated in both the June 29 and October 14 judgments.

“The court below had no jurisdictional competence to make such order. I have no restriction in the circumstance in resolving this issue equally in favour of the

appellant,” he held.

The Court of Appeal also noted that Justice Abang “unilaterally” raised issues that were not included by the plaintiffs, an action it said amounted to “a violent attitudinal disposition to the rule of law”.

Besides, the Appeal Court held that the primary election that was conducted by the state chapter of the PDP loyal to Sheriff, which produced Ibrahim, was a nullity, stressing that the law was very clear on which organ of a political party should conduct governorship primary elections.

“It is worth reiterating at this point that any primary election by a state chapter of a party, be it the PDP or any other party, is undoubtedly, in the eye of the law, an illegal contraption that carries with it no legal or equitable right at all. It is in its entirety a nullity,” the Appeal Court held.

Prior to the delivery of the judgement, Justice Saulawa had said that the panel was at a time “subjected to intimation and brow-beating by the counsel to the respondents”.

region of 3% to 4%. The bunching of debt service will be a problem to confront other administrations in future.

“If we do not fix the economy to relieve the pain and anguish of many Nigerians, the gains of fighting

the insurgency and corruption will pale into insignificance.

“All in all, everybody must be held accountable. There should be no sacred cow or witch-hunts or untenable excuses to let the camel through the needle’s eye,” he added.

Continued on page 10

OBASANJO TO BUHARI: STOP THE EXCUSES, NIGERIA NEEDS RESULT-ORIENTED POLICIES Williams Annual Lecture in Lagos, said no administration can, nor should be comfortable with the excruciating pain of a debilitating and crushing economy.

“Now that we have had change because the actors and the situation needed to be changed, let us move forward to have progress through a comprehensive economic policy and programme that is intellectually, strategically and philosophically based.

“I am sure that such a comprehensive policy and programme will not support borrowing US$30 billion in less than three years. It will give us the short, medium, and long-term picture.

“Businesses are closing, jobs are being lost and people are suffering.

I know that President Buhari has always expressed concern for the plight of the common people but that concern must be translated to workable and result-oriented socioeconomic policies and programmes that will turn the economy round at the shortest time possible.

“We cannot continue to do the same thing and expect things to change. That will be a miracle which normally doesn’t happen in normal national economies. We have people inside and outside who can be brought together to help device the right economic policies and programmes to get us out of the pit before we fall over the precipice into a dark cave.

“The economy requires a great element of trust to get it out of the doldrums, let alone out of negativity.

That trust and confidence has to be created,” Obasanjo said.

Continuing, the former president noted that it is easier to win an election than to right the wrongs of a badly fouled situation, adding: “When you are outside, what you see and know are nothing compared with the reality.”

Also commenting on current issues in the polity, Obasanjo supported the action of the federal government on the alleged corrupt judges.

“If what I have gathered is anything to go by, there may be not less than two scores of judicial officers that may have questions to answer. That will be salutary for the judiciary and for the nation.

“While one would not feel unconcerned about the method used, one should also ask if there was an alternative. The National Judicial Council (NJC) would not do anything, as it was all in-breeding.

“As contained in our constitution,

the president of Nigeria cannot influence or make any appointment to the judiciary at the Court of Appeal or Supreme Court level.

“He can only transmit the decision of the NJC to the Senate, even where Senate confirmation is required. The constitution which was heavily influenced by the judiciary ensured that. And yet a drastic disease requires drastic treatment.

“When justice is only for sale and can only be purchased by the highest bidder, impunity and anarchy would be the order of the day and no one would be safe.

“In this regard, drastic action was needed to save the situation, albeit one would have preferred an alternative that would serve the same purpose, if there was one.

“In the absence of that alternative, we must all thank God for giving the president the wisdom, courage and audacity for giving the security agencies the leeway to act.

“And where a mistake was made in the action taken, correction must take place with an apology, if necessary. There is virtually no corrupt judge without being aided by a member of the bar. The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) has the responsibility to clean up its own house and help with the cleaning of the judiciary.

“It is heartening though that some members of the NBA have recently called for judicial reforms. Such reforms must be deep, comprehensive and entail constitutional amendments as far as the appointment and disciplines of judges are concerned.

“May God continue to imbue the executive with the necessary wisdom and courage to clean the dirty stable of the judiciary and the bar for the progress and the image of our nation.

“It must also be said that the good eggs within the judiciary must be proud of themselves and we must not only be proud of them but also protect them and their integrity,” he said.

Obasanjo also beamed his focus on the National Assembly which he said stinks more than the judiciary.

According to him, “Budget padding must not go unpunished.

It is a reality, which is a regular and systemic practice. Nobody should pull the wool over the eyes of Nigerians.

“Ganging up to intimidate and threaten the life of a whistle blower is deplorable and undemocratic.

What of the so-called constituency

projects which is a veritable source of corruption?

“These constituency projects are spread over the budget for members of the National Assembly for which they are the initiators and the contractors directly or by proxy and money would be fully drawn with the project only partially executed or not executed at all.

“The National Assembly cabal of today is worse than any cabal that anybody may find anywhere in our national governance system at any time.

“Members of the National Assembly pay themselves allowances for staff and offices they do not have or maintain. Once you are a member, you are co-opted and your mouth is stuffed with rot and corruption that you cannot opt out as you go home with not less than N15 million a month for a senator and N10 million a month for a member of the House of Representatives.

“The National Assembly is a den of corruption by a gang of unarmed robbers. Like the judiciary, the National Assembly cannot clean itself.

Look at how the recurrent budget of the National Assembly with the so-called constituency projects has ballooned since the inception of this democratic dispensation.

“What were their budgets in the 2000, 2005, 2010 and 2015?

The revelation was both alarming and scandalous. Once, when I was president, I asked outside auditors, both normal and forensic, to audit the account of the National Assembly, they frustrated it on the basis of separation of powers.

“They claimed they had oversight responsibility for their corruption and misdemeanour and nothing could be done. It is like asking a thief to watch over himself. There must be full disclosure of all relevant fiscal information in a timely and systematic manner at all levels.”

He insisted that the National Assembly stinks and stinks to high heavens. “It needs to be purged. With appropriate measures, the budget of the National Assembly can be brought down to less than 50 per cent of what it is today. God will help Nigeria, but we must begin by helping ourselves,” he maintained.

Also, he expressed displeasure over the fact that in the last seven or eight years, the military had experienced a decline.

“It is sickening! When the military is corrupt, it affects its fighting ability in many ways. Poor, used and inappropriate equipment

and materials are purchased by the military for the military at the expense of the lives of fighting troops at the warfront. In some cases, nothing at all is purchased.

“How callous, for a General, an Air Marshall or a Naval Admiral to be so cruel and unpatriotic as to buy such inappropriate weapons, equipment, ammunition and materials for men facing the rigour and ruthlessness of an enemy force like the Boko Haram!

“It is more damnable for nothing to be bought and yet the money disappears into their private personal pockets. I can only say to these officers that I am not proud of them, rather I am ashamed of them.

“Whether they are alive or dead, their family members should also be ashamed of them,” Obasanjo said.

He said the military procurement system needed to be streamlined and taken back to what it used to be.

The former president also supported the goal by the federal government to secure foreign loans, saying they are necessary to stabilise foreign reserves and embark on infrastructure development, warning, however, that borrowing $30 billion over a period of less than three years could be counter-productive.

“That was about the magnitude of cumulative debt of Nigeria which we worked and wiped out 10 years ago. Before that debt relief, we were spending almost $3 billion to service our debt annually and the quantum of the debt was not going down.

“Rather, if we defaulted, we paid a penalty which was added on. The projects listed for borrowing are all necessary in the medium and long-term for our economy but we have to prioritise.

“Railway is a necessary service but it is not profit-making anywhere in the world today. We need steady and continuous but manageable funding on the railway project.

“The Mambilla hydro project is the same; necessary but it cannot pay itself, especially with the global energy sector of shale revolution, hydrogen fuel and increasingly cheap renewable energy such as solar energy.

“OPEC itself has projected that the price of oil will be hovering in the region of $50 per barrel for the next 15 years or so. So the argument of concessional mixed with commercial loans does not hold water.

“When the concessional and the non-concessional borrowings are put together, interests alone will be in the

HOTEL OCCUPANCY DROPS BELOW 35% AS RECESSION BITES is because it had anticipated that the change in government last year and dwindling oil prices would impact on the number of guests booked in the hotel by the federal government, so it changed its marketing strategy by targeting guests from the private sector.

The source, however, admitted that weekend occupancy rate at the Transcorp Hilton has dropped significantly, but is offset by improved room bookings on week days.

He said the remodelling project currently being undertaken by the Hilton in Abuja has also helped the hotel to remain relevant in the city.

Nigeria’s third quarter real gross domestic product (GDP) growth data released on Monday by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed that the country sank deeper into recession, contracting by 2.26 per cent from -2.06 per cent in the second quarter of this year, and -0.36 per cent in the first quarter.

The contraction in GDP was largely driven by the militancy in the Niger Delta, which resulted in a drop in oil output during the third quarter to 1.63 million barrels per day (mbpd) and the decline in the oil sector’s contribution to GDP, notwithstanding the rebound recorded in the agriculture sector.

The latest GDP growth data further confirmed the level of weakness in the economy, which has been hobbled by rising unemployment and job losses, declining capacity utilisation, and acute foreign exchange shortage.

Owing to the sharp drop in hotel occupancy rates, a lot of the hotels have been forced to shed staff as they struggle to remain afloat.

“The point is that a lot of the big hotels have continued to lay off their workers. Like the Southern Sun and Intercontinental Hotel, they had to lay off some workers because of the recession. Today, more people prefer to go to cheaper boutique hotels, not exceeding N50,000 a night.

“They now go to hotels which

are rated two to three stars such as the Protea chain in Lagos and Abuja. With less money, people would be booking them more,” an operator who pleaded to remain anonymous said.

Speaking on the development, the Chief Executive of Financial Derivatives Company Limited, Mr. Bismarck Rewane, explained that the average drop in the occupancy rate across the large hotel chains could even be far below 35 per cent.

“If you discount the flight crew rate, it’s even lower. That is because flight crews are always offered cheaper rates. For instance, when a British Airways is booking hotels, if a room is $200, they would pay maybe $100 or even $65 because they are paying for the whole year.

“So, the cabin crew rate is always cheaper. If you discount the cabin crew rate, if occupancy rate is about 40 per cent, they are down actually by 28 per cent.

“The economic recession has finished them (hotel operators) completely. With three consecutive quarters of increasing negative growth, that means some things are not working right,” Rewane added.

TOP GAINERS NGN NGN STERLINGBANK 0.04 0.74 OANDO 0.20 4.20 FLOURMILLS 0.89 18.74 PZCUSSON 0.71 15.20 FIDSON 0.06 1.36 TOP LOSERS NGN NGN FORTEOIL 4.62 70.00 JBERGER 1.90 36.10 AFRIPRUD 0.12 2.66 TOTAL 10.58 245.00 LIVESTOCK 0.02 0.74 HPE Nestle Nig Plc ₦810.00 Volume: 165.7 million shares Value: N1.127 billion Deals: 2,484 As at yesterday 23/11/16 See details on Page 47

% 5.7 5.0 4.9 4.9 4.6 % 6.1 5.0 4.3 4.1 2.6

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Art by Nigerian-born Njideka Akunyili Crosby Auctions for Record $1.1m at Sotheby’s A new auction record was set for the Nigerian-born artist Njideka Akunyili Crosby in New York last week when “Drown” soared to sell for $1,092,500, over three times the high-estimate ($200,000-$300,000), in Sotheby’s Contemporary Art Evening Sale. No fewer than 11 bidders competed for the work that was eventually sold to an anonymous buyer on the telephone.

This was the second time in less than two months that the auction record for Njideka Akunyili Crosby had been broken at Sotheby’s. The previous auction record for the artist was $93,750, set by her “Untitled” work from 2011 at Sotheby’s New York in September 2016.

“Drown” is an intimate self-portrait of the artist with her husband, Justin, and demonstrates

beautifully how the layers of Njideka Akunyili Crosby’s work reference the layers of her own identity.

In May next year, Sotheby’s will launch its first dedicated sales of “African Modern and Contemporary Art” in London, led by Hannah O’Leary, Sotheby’s recently-appointed Head of Modern and Contemporary African Art.

'Drown' by Njideka Akunyili Crosby

JUBILATION IN AKURE AS INEC DECLARES JEGEDE PDP CANDIDATE “Most regrettably, the respondents have deemed it expedient to shoot themselves on the foot. Instead of adhering to the wise counsel of the court to file their brief within the time limit, even the extra day that was granted to them, they refused to do so.

“The consequences of the respondents by failing to file their brief by virtue of Order 18 of the Court of Appeal Rules is very obvious and we have made it clear in our judgment,” he said.

Justice Saulawa noted that instead of filing their brief of argument, the respondents insisted that the appellate court had lost its jurisdiction to entertain Jegede’s suit by virtue of the appeal they lodged at the Supreme Court.

He held: “I have most critically appraised the preliminary objection

by Nwofor (SAN) and I found that it is most grossly lacking in merit and it is accordingly dismissed.

“Having effectively dealt with the preliminary objection, I now proceed to determine the appeal on its merit.”

INEC Declares Jegede Candidate In compliance with the ruling of the Court of Appeal, INEC last night declared Jegede the candidate of the PDP in the Ondo governorship election scheduled for Saturday.

A statement by the commission said that Jegede would now fly PDP’s flag in the Ondo election.

“In compliance with the judgment delivered on Wednesday, November 23, 2016 by the Court at Appeal, the Independent National Electoral Commission hereby declares that Mr. Eyitatyo Jegede is now the candidate of the PDP for the Ondo State governorship election scheduled for Saturday, 26th November 2016.

“It will be recalled that in compliance with the order made by the Federal High Court on Friday, 14th October 2016, the commission recognised Mr. Jimoh Ibrahim as the PDP candidate for the governorship election.

“However, with today‘s judgment by the Court of Appeal, the commission hereby recognises Mr. Jegede as the candidate of the PDP for the said election.

“The commission wishes to appeal to the good people of Ondo State to come out and exercise their franchise on the election day in a peaceful manner.

“All the political parties and their candidates participating in the election are also presumed to play by the rules and cooperate with the commission to ensure the smooth conduct at the election,” INEC said.

Ibrahim Faults Ruling However, Ibrahim faulted the Court of Appeal verdict, saying that the ruling given by Justice Saulawa that nullified

the proceedings of October 14 when Justice Abang ruled in his (Ibrahim’s) favour was without a consequential order and therefore not binding on him.

Addressing journalists after the ruling, Ibrahim described the Appeal Court verdict as “one day ruling”, given that the Supreme Court is scheduled to sit on the same case today.

“I have read the decision of the Court of Appeal delivered today (yesterday) without a consequential order,” an unruffled Ibrahim said.

“The ruling failed to specifically say that my name should be substituted by INEC. Since there is no consequential order directing INEC to do so, the judgment is therefore not binding on me and INEC cannot remove my name and as such I remain the PDP candidate for Saturday’s election.

“But we are optimistic that we have nothing to lose, as the Supreme Court sits on same case tomorrow. We shall get the justices at the Supreme Court decide and if PDP wins Saturday’s election, we shall have our four-year mandate to rule Ondo State.

“Let me advise the good people of Ondo State and my supporters nationwide not to abuse anyone or fight over this one day ruling which was paid for from the state’s treasury.

“Mimiko will not succeed himself with Jegede. This is too sure as we continue with our work and remain in our great party, PDP. I love the great people of Ondo State and I thank you all for your continuous support,” Ibrahim added.

Jegede, PDP, Others Hail Judgment In his reaction to the verdict, Jegede thanked the people of the state for their support and prayers during his travails.

He said: “There is no doubt that the past few weeks have been very challenging and trying for us as we contended with anti-democratic and evil forces who tried to subvert the will of God and the mandate of the people freely given to us.

“It was a tortuous journey that tested our faith in God and our conviction in the refreshingly different days ahead of us as we were taunted and harassed by hired propagandists while we tenaciously forged ahead and submitted our grievances to the court despite the contraband and manipulation of those who are opposed to democracy “We insisted we would explore all legal means in our avowed belief in the rule of law and judiciary. Today our mouths are filled with laughter and hearts with praise, our resilience has paid off and our conviction to this doggedness of purpose has made our case another judicial precedence in the country.”

He expressed his gratitude to the judiciary for remaining the bastion of the democratic process and refusing to be “blackmailed, brow beaten and intimidated by those who do not mean well for our state and nation”.

The PDP in the state also commended the people of the state and members of the party for their loyalty and thanked God for the outcome of the ruling.

A statement by the Publicity Director of the PDP in Ondo, Ayo Fadaka, said: “The PDP in Ondo State uses this opportunity to thank God for this victory that we attained in the Court of Appeal over the substitution of Mr. Eyitayo Jegede’s name as the party’s candidate on the order of Justice Okon Abang, a development that the Appeal Court judgment described as fraudulent and a charade.

“We use this opportunity to appreciate the President of the Court of Appeal and the judges who sat on the matter for being professional and dedicated to their callings. We also thank the Supreme Court judges who also sat on this case and did justice in the most dispassionate manner.”

Joining its state chapter, the PDP at the national headquarters said it received the judgment of the Appeal Court reinstating Jegede as the party’s candidate for the Saturday’s governorship election in Ondo State with great relief and appreciation.

However, PDP said that it was not yet done and that INEC should heed its call for the postponement of the Saturday’s poll in the interest of justice and fair play.

PDP described the judgment as sound and well-researched, adding: “That it has rekindled the hope of the common man that justice might be delayed, but will surely come to be.”

The party’s spokesman, Mr. Dayo Adeyeye, said the PDP applauded the judiciary for rising to the occasion and for righting the wrongs done by the lower court in the PDP governorship candidacy.

A statement by Mr. Uche Anichukwu, media aide to the Deputy President of the Sentate, Ike Ekweremadu, also described the decision as “just, courageous, and expeditious”.

Ekweremadu commended the Supreme Court and the Court of Appeal for their promptness in handling the matter, noting that democracy could only thrive where there is respect for the rule of law.

He added: “The freeness, fairness, and credibility of an election goes beyond what happens on an election day. The process, especially the right of the party faithful to choose a flag bearer of their own freewill unhindered by subterfuge, manipulation, intimidation, and abuse of any form, are equally as important and indeed foundational to the soundness of the

election itself.

“I am therefore happy that the Court of Appeal has spoken loudly, and in a speedy and just manner that raises hope for the nation’s democracy. This judicial victory is good tonic that will unite the PDP family the more and spur us to a more resounding victory in the Ondo governorship race.”

He called on the people of Ondo State to vote massively for the PDP. In addition, a former Aviation Minister, Femi Fani-Kayode, congratulated Jegede, Mimiko and Makarfi on what he described as “our historic victory at the Court of Appeal”.

He said: “Shame on Ali Modu Sheriff, Jimoh Ibrahim and their Justice Okon Abang. The usurpers, spoilers and agents of darkness have been exposed, justice has been done, the PDP is back and we are now on the rise.”

In his reaction, Ekiti State Governor, Mr. Ayodele Fayose, also commended the verdict, but was pessimistic about PDP’s chances at the poll, saying that time was against the party to be able to make a headway in the poll.

Fayose, who called for the postponement of the election, added that INEC in cahoots with the All Progressives Congress (APC) had succeeded in undermining the strength of the party through this unwarranted judicial impediment.

The governor maintained that the postponement of the election remained the best option, if INEC was truly an unbiased umpire.

Fayose said: “The judgment shouldn’t have been otherwise, because you can’t cover the truth.

I have said it ab initio that charlatans in the PDP are colluding with INEC and APC to undermine our party.

“INEC had no reason in the first instance to change Jegede’s name. So, this mistake was caused by INEC. It was INEC’s making and the best way forward is for the election to be postponed. This is not the best of time for us in the PDP and the good people of Ondo State. This is not the best time this judgment should have come.

“But we are still looking at Nigeria as our own, I mean Nigeria where there will be fairness and equity. It is regrettable that some charlatans can be colluding with INEC and APC to destroy our party.

“This is very regrettable and unfortunate. But they will still be defeated. The commission has no reason not to postpone this election, because what the INEC did was a deliberate action to weaken our party.

“This judgment coming at this time is a major setback for our party, which I believe can only be cured if this election is postponed.”

He appealed to members of the

PDP in Ondo State to remain calm and resolved in the party’s leadership to weather the storm and come out stronger out of this political imbroglio.

He further noted that the judgment of the Court of Appeal, de-recognising Senator Sheriff as the National Chairman of the PDP was getting rid of a “bad smelling onion that wants to pollute the entire lot”.

He said getting Sheriff out of the national chairmanship seat of the party was good riddance to bad rubbish, adding that Sheriff misused the opportunity given him and wanted to pull down the party.

“It was later we got to know Sheriff’s true colours. He came and wanted to kill a party that gave him a rare opportunity. All the entreaties made to him, even though he didn't deserve them, fell on deaf ears.

“That the Court of Appeal described him as an impostor was very apt. We are happy that our party has been liberated from the claws of those that wanted to kill it. We are going to come out stronger. We are the party to beat,” he said.

Also, the Delta State Governor, Senator Ifeanyi Okowa, hailed the Court of Appeal ruling which declared Jegede as the authentic gubernatorial candidate of the PDP for Saturday’s election.

Okowa described the decision of the court as the triumph of good over political bitterness aided by selfish interests.

Okowa, in a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Charles Aniagwu in Asaba yesterday, urged the Sheriff-led faction of the party and its candidate, Ibrahim, to stop distracting the party and support Jegede to deliver for the party in the Ondo election.

He blamed some “elements within the presidency” who were determined to prevent Jegede contesting the election.

Mimiko Wants Poll Shifted

Also, sounding confident of its chances at the ballot yesterday, the APC informed the PDP that its victory at the Appeal Court by getting its preferred candidate back in the race, would not stop its imminent defeat at the polls.

The Deputy National Secretary of APC, Ogi Ngorfa, who congratulated Jegede for his victory at the Court of Appeal, dismissed the view that the ruling had turned the tables of the governorship election in Ondo State.

He said the campaign of the APC from the beginning was to displace the PDP from Ondo State Government House.

Ngorfa said: “The ruling is a welcome development; it shows that our judicial system is working and it has continuously proved that it is the hope of every person, especially the so-called common man.

“However our party is ready for Jegede. Even if you put them together, we are prepared. Come Saturday, the Ondo State chapter of the APC would be the party to celebrate.”

The Ondo State governor, on the other hand, called for the postponement of the election is his state to give Jegede to to meet with the electorate.

The governor, who returned to Akure airport to a tumultuous crowd that welcomed him, said his suggestion was in line with the provisions of Electoral Act. He said the law provides that an election should be held at least one month before the swearing in of a new governor.

Mimiko said since he would not be leaving until February next year, the INEC could conduct the election in January 2017, observing that there was no need for the commission to be in a hurry.

He also exonerated President Muhammadu Buhari from all that happened within the last few weeks, saying the president was sincere on the two occasions he was compelled to visit him on the Ondo election.

Buhari Begs Ondo Residents But as the PDP and its leadership hailed the Appeal Court ruling, Buhari yesterday called on all residents of Ondo State to go out to the polling stations on Saturday and cast their vote for change.

In a last minute pitch for the APC governorship candidate, Rotimi Akeredolu (SAN), Buhari said the right to vote was not only a civic responsibility, “but the opportunity to determine the course of our lives as a people”.

According to him, a vote for APC in the forthcoming gubernatorial election in Ondo State, is a vote for progressive and people-oriented policies.

In a statement signed by his media aide, Mr. Garba Shehu, Buhari said since the creation of Ondo State in 1976, the people of the state have contributed immensely to the growth and development of Nigeria, especially in the domain of agriculture and education.

He said: “A vote for Rotimi Akeredolu, a renowned lawyer of guileless reputation who rose to the peak of his profession as the President of the Nigerian Bar Association, is a vote for the continued development of Ondo State.”

The president said he looked forward to a free and fair election and true representation for the good people of Ondo State.

APC: We’ll Beat Jegede

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 24, 2016 • T H I S D AY

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NEWS

News Editor Davidson Iriekpen Email davidson.iriekpen@thisdaylive.com, 08111813081

Buhari to Present 2017 Budget Dec 1 Senate terms 2017-2019 MTEF fraudulent

Omololu Ogunmade in abuja All things being equal, President Muhammadu Buhari will on December 1 present the 2017 budget before a joint session of the National Assembly, the Senate disclosed yesterday.

This disclosure was made by the Minority Leader, Godswill Akpabio, at the conclusion of the debate on 2017-2019 Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) and Fiscal Strategy Paper (FSP) yesterday.

Taking into cognisance the vehement criticism of the document by senators as well as submissions by senators that the document should again be returned to the executive, Akpabio said doing so would be counter productive in view of the planned presentation of 2017 budget on December 1.

Akpabio therefore urged his colleagues to rather send the document to relevant committees with its flaws and leave such committees with the task of addressing the flaws.

“We can see that we don’t have a perfect document in our hands but of course we are looking at assumptions and assumptions may not necessarily be correct. I want to suggest that we send it to the committee.

Of course, the committee will invite the relevant agencies and ministries of government. And they will come up with a more realistic MTEF/FSP because I believe also that looking at the date that this was submitted to the Senate - it was submitted to the Senate on the 4th of October - and we are debating it today on the 22nd (of November). So, a lot of indices must have changed.

“Yesterday, you (Saraki) made reference to the fact that the president may be coming to the chambers to submit and read the 2017 budget on December 1.

If that is the case and we send this back now and wait for it to come and debate it, it means that we will not be able to meet that deadline. But if we send it to the committee level, they may come up with something within the next three days that will be more realistic.

“So, my appeal will be that the committee members should

take into cognisance all the submissions and observations made today so that we can come up with a more realistic MTEF and FSP,” Akpabio said.

However, during the debate on MTEF and FSP yesterday, there was a consensus among senators that the document was flawed as they vehemently condemned the document, describing it as a compedium of fraud, dishonesty, lies, deceit and one which lacked the basis to project the 2017 fiscal year.

Leading debate on the document yesterday, Deputy Senate Leader, Bala Ibn Na’Allah, described it a statutory document which articulated government revenue and spending plan as well as its fiscal policy objective over a stated period.

Na’Allah said presentation of the document which was in accordance with Section 11 of Fiscal Responsibility Act (FRA) 2007, consisted of proposed $42.5 oil benchmark, projected 3.02 per cent gross domestic product (GDP) growth in 2017 and moderated inflation rate of 12.92 per cent.

He said the GDP growth would be driven by strong performance in agriculture, wholesale and retail, construction and real estate sectors among others.

The lawmaker added: “Similarly, the GDP growth for the medium term is based on assumptions of average oil production of 2.2 million barrel per day (mbpd), 2.3 mbpd and 2.4 mbpd for 2017, 2018 and 2019 respectively with average benchmark oil price of $42.5 bpd, $45bpd‚ and 50bpd for 2017,2018 and 2019 respectively as well as an average exchange rate of N290 per dollar. It is also based on an average growth rate of 9.69 per cent during the period.”

Na’Allah also said the 2017 budget would be guided by six principles which he listed as realism, credibility, allocative strategy, prioritisation, transparency and accountability and social safety nets.

In his contribution, Senator Dino Melaye (Kogi West), recalled how Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) last Monday admitted that the nation was

Saraki: Why I Won’t Tag Nigeria a Corrupt Country Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki, has said he will not tag Nigeria a corrupt country because he prefers to market it.

Saraki, in an interview with the BBC Hausa service, though admitted that there were cases of corruption in the country, said he would not label Nigeria as such.

He said: “My take is that I must market my country, so I am not going to be able to label the country as such.

“Yes, there are issues that we must address, but I am not going to dwell so much on that because I need to market my country so that I can get private sector in flow.

“I must create an enabling environment that will encourage growth, because

without that, it will be difficult for us to be able to see the kind of growth that we are talking about.

Government alone cannot do it.”

On whether he had witnessed cases of corruption in the country, the Senate President said: “Of course there are; that is why we have oversight functions.

Like many other countries, we have those kinds of challenges, but we have moved a long way.”

Saraki, who is facing charges of false declaration of assets at the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT), also said he acquired 95 percent of his wealth before he became a public servant.

plunged into recession by Nigeria’s huge debt.

Melaye who demanded the performance of 2016 to 2018 MTEF/FSP also criticised the proposed N290 to $1 exchange rate in the MTEF, describing it as a factual lie moreso that the official exchange rate is N305 to $1 and over N400 to $1 in the parallel market.

Melaye said: “If we speak the truth, we will die, if we lie, we will die. So, I have chosen to speak the truth and die. Mr. President, just this morning,The Punch Newspaper carried on its front page boldly an assertion from the CBN that huge debt is responsible for recession and there is no other factual factor

responsible for recession than our huge debts. I want to say this document that I have before me, this MTEF proposal and projections of the 2017 to 2019, is a lie. This document is not truthful. It is not honest. It is not transparent and It is not factual.”

Also speaking, Senator Usman Nafada (Gombe North), while speaking on imminent consequences of the flawed document, noted that the trouble with the current 2016 budget might have been laid by the 2016-2018 MTEF. He echoed Melaye that N290 to $1 exchange rate contained in the document was a farce, explaining further that pegging

the exchange rate at N290 to $1 would run the 2017 budget into defict.

Nafada added that a situation where the nation was producing only 1.5 million bpd as against the projected 2.2 million bpd would continue to create forex crisis adding that a situation where only oil is the product being exported in Nigeria is unhelpful.

Nafada took on Senator Ahmad Sani (Zamfara Central) who had claimed that nothing was wrong with the document and that within three months, the economy could recover. Nafada challenged him to “tell us the magic you want to do in three months.” Sani had claimed that he had a masters

degree in Economics.

In the same vein, Senator Mohammed Hassan (Yobe South) said the 2017 projection was not realistic as he argued that there was no basis for the projections in MTEF. Hassan also lamented lack of co-ordination between the fiscal and monetary policies of the government, pointing out that a situation where the government keeps borrowing while banking is unattractive is not healthy for the economy.

In his submission, Senator Sam Anyanwu (Imo East) lamented a situation where oil pipelines are being destroyed in Niger Delta without a decisive attempt to stop the trend.

HONOURING THE DOYEN

L-R: Former President/Guest Speaker, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo; Doyen of accounting profession in Africa, Akintola Williams, Chairman, Board of Trustees, Akintola Williams Foundation, Olutoyin Olakunri; and Alake of Egbaland, Oba Adedotun Gbadebo, at the Akintola Williams Foundation inaugural lecture with the theme: ‘Nigeria Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow: Governance and Accountability’, in Lagos....yesterday SuNday adiguN

FG Can’t Pay ASUU N284bn Allowances Because of Recession Approves N464m for FRSC to buy 67 vehicles Says economy will do better in 4th quarter

Tobi Soniyi in abuja

The federal government has told the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) that in view of the current recession, it cannot afford the N284billion earned allowances being demanded by the union.

The Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige, disclosed this to State House correspondents at the end of FEC chaired by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo.

He was with the Minister of Information, Lai Mohammed, and Minister of Budget and National Planning, Udoma Udo Udoma.

According to him, out of the eight demands made on the federal government by the union, the earned allowances could not be trashed out because the country is in recession.

He said: “If we are in recession, and you are asking us to pay you N284 billion, nobody will pay it because the money is not there.

“So, they and the National

Assembly also agreed, but the government offered them some amounts pending when we finish auditing the first tranche of money that has been given to them in that same area of earned allowances.

“That tranche of money that they collected is being audited, but the auditing process is very slow because some people, for some strange reasons, are not allowing auditing to take place. So, a time frame has been fixed, of six months, within which the auditing will be done.

“Within those six months, the government has offered something that it’ll be paying on a monthly basis, and ASUU has also made a counter proposal to government.

Next week, they will come back with their counter proposal.”

However, Ngige said the federal government conceded to ASUU, the right to exclude endowment funds that accrued to universities from the Treasury Single Account (TSA).

He said: “TSA makes for

accountability. You pay in whatever you derive from government funds; ask for it back and you get it. The only thing is that you must do the paper work for the accountability aspect of it to be there and for any institution, they should be able to look at first glance, see the monies they have in account A, B or C at the CBN, add up and know what they have.

“Government agrees to ASUU’s demand but limited it to only endowment funds. But that doesn’t also mean that at the end of the day, the university councils will not have the right to audit such an account. That is really the only area that is still contentious.”

Also yesterday, FEC approved the purchase of 67 vehicles at the cost of N464 million for the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC).

The vehicles included 40 pick ups vans to be sourced from Innoson Motors at a cost of N299 million and 27 Peugeot 301 cars at the cost of N165 million.

They are meant to strengthen

the capacity of the FRSC. Ngige said: “The council approved purchase of some vehicles to strengthen the capacity of the FRSC. It approved that 40 pick up vehicles be added to the commission’s fleet. Another 27 Peugeot 301 cars were also approved for the commission.

“The pickups vans are to be sourced from Innoson Motors while the cars will be sourced from Peugeot Automobile Nigeria (PAN), Kaduna. This is in line with our local content and procurement act. ”The total purchase is N464million. Innoson vehicles will cost N299 million; while the Peugeot cars will cost N164 million.”

Meanwhile, the federal government has assured Nigerians that the economy will improve in the fourth quarter.

The Minister of Budget and National Planning, Udoma Udoma, who spoke after FEC meeting, said the FEC reviewed the numbers released last Monday by the National Bureau of Statistics (NSA).

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THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 24, 2016 • T H I S D AY

NEWS

Nigerian Army Officially Declares 46 Soldiers Missing Rescues 5,235 persons from Boko Haram terrorists

The Nigerian Army has officially declared one officer and 45 soldiers missing in major Boko Haram attacks five weeks ago.

Consequently, the army authorities have formally informed the families of the 46 personnel of the fate of their loved ones and requested that their next of kin forward bank details for onward remittance of accrued payments, military sources told Premium Times.

The sources said the

declaration and notification were contained in a November 20 notice sent by M. Jimoh, the new Commander of the Nigerian Army 145 Task Force Battalion in Damasak, Borno State.

Jimoh, a Lieutenant Colonel, sent the signal to the 145 Battalion base in Ohafia, Abia State, and copied the Army 7 Division Headquarters in Maiduguri and 82 Division Garrison in Enugu.

Also copied were 5 Battalion

in Kano; 20 Battalion in Serti, Taraba State; 103 Battalion in Enugu and 119 Battalion in Malam Fatori, Borno State.

Also in receipt of the signal were 143 Infantry Battalion for special forces in Borno State; 144 Battalion in Asa, Abia State; and 146 Battalion in Calabar, Cross River.

Each of the battalions copied in the signal had soldiers that were part of the 83 missing.

Jimoh recently replaced K.

Military Launches Operation to Free Remaining Chibok Girls Michael Olugbode in Maiduguri

The Nigerian Army yesterday launched an operation tagged: ‘Operation Rescue Finale’ targeted at rescuing the remaining Chibok schoolgirls from Boko Haram insurgents.

The military revealed that the assault operation would finally free the girls abducted on April 14, 2014.

Addressing a press conference in Maiduguri yesterday, the head of the counter-insurgency operation in the North-east (Operation Lafiya Dole), Major General Lucky Irabor said the military was more determined than ever to free the remaining Chibok girls.

He noted that the new operation which commenced early this month, was a continuation of Operation Crackdown, with a sole target of rescuing all the Chibok school girls and other hostages being held by the terrorists in Sambisa

forest.

According to him, the operation has so far started yielding fruitful results as a total of 5,232 persons, hitherto under the custody of Boko Haram militants were rescued within the past one month.

He said: “Preliminary bombardment of selected targets by own Artillery and Air Component is in progress.

The subsidiary operations allied to Operation Rescue Finale, are ongoing and would be touched subsequently.”

He also said the troops are determined to unveil aggressive modalities to stem the recurrence of the recent suicide bombings in Maiduguri and environs, saying effective surveillence and intelligence gathering were being put in place to trace the hide-outs of the bombers.

He explained that the recent àrrest of a supposed female suicide bomber, who failed to detonate the explosive strapped on her body, helped

the troops to have a clue on the hide-outs of the terrorists, who are coordinating the suicide missions.

“The impact of the recent bombings in Maiduguri, though sad and unfortunate, was minimal due to the alertness of troops and other security agencies. Apart from the one wherein two members of the Civilian JTF killed and some others wounded, only the terrorists died, while one was captured alive.

“The captured suicide bomber is assisting in the investigation into cases of suicide bombings.

The incidents are only indicative of a weakened and defeateted insurgents,” Irabor declared.

On the various successes recorded by the military, Irabor revealed that the troops conducted series of clearance operations and fighting patrol, during which hundreds of insurgents were killed, with large quantity of assorted arms, ammunition and vehicles recoverd.

FG to Roll out Tax Incentives, Shares N420bn with States, LGs Ndubuisi Francis in Abuja The federal government has unfolded its plan to roll out tax incentives for the manufacturing sector in a bid to stimulate the economy.

The Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun, said the proposed incentives were aimed at stimulating the economy and get it out of recession next year.

Briefing journalists at the end of the monthly Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) meeting in Abuha, she regretted that the manufacturing sector was challenged because of foreign exchange issues triggered by inconsistencies in forex policies.

Describing forex as a major issue for manufacturing, she noted that “they will do better if there is consistency in forex policy.” She stated that manufacturing remains very critical to the growth of the economy and getting the country out of recession.

Adeosun acknowledged that settling domestic debt was critical to getting the economy of the woods.

Meanwhile, for two

consecutive months, allocation to the federal, states and local governments remained stagnant as the three tiers shared N420 billion at the monthly Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC), for October.

The same amount was shared for the month of September after they distributed N510.2 billion in the previous month (August).

A breakdown of the October figures shows that from the statutory revenue, the federal government received N96.674 billion (52.68 per cent); states N49.035 billion (26.72 per cent); local governments N37.804 billion (20.60 per cent); while the oil producing states received N13.548 billion as 13 per cent derivation revenue.

According to the figures released by Office of the Accountant General of the Federation after the monthly FAAC meeting in Abuja yesterday, the gross statutory revenue of N238.716 billion received for the month was lower than the N279.746 billion received in the previous month

by N 41.030 billion.

Crude oil export volume also decreased while the average price

of crude oil dropped, resulting in revenue loss of about $51million in federation export sales.

Force majeure was also declared at Qua Iboe Terminal and the NGL lifting programmes with the force majeure at Forcados Terminal still in place. shut-in and shut-down of pipelines for repairs and maintenance due to attacks on delivery pipelines also contributed to the low revenue.

There were decreases in volume of import duty and Companies Income Tax (CIT) while Petroleum Profit Tax (PPT) and oil royalty recorded marginal increases.

The distributable Statutory Revenue for the month is N203.952 billion while the sum of N6.330 billion was refunded by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) to the federal government.

The sum of N109.108 billion was proposed for distribution from Excess PPT Account just as an exchange gain of N 37.319 billion was proposed for distribution, bringing the total revenue distributable for October (including VAT) to N420 billion.

Yusuf, a Lieutenant Colonel, who Premium Times exclusively identified as the commander of the 145 Task Force Battalion who was among the missing soldiers.

The admission by the army that 46 personnel are missing came exactly five weeks after the soldiers were dislodged from their base in Gashigar, Borno State by Boko Haram terrorists.

The aftermath of the attack was exclusively reported, including how several soldiers drowned in River Yobe and how at least 83 troops went missing with Yusuf.

The troops were on deployment in Gashigar, which sits on the northernmost edge of Borno State, as part of the ‘Operation Gama Aiki’ aimed at displacing insurgents hibernating around the Nigerian border with Niger and Chad.

The operation was launched in June 2016.

They were manning the Forward Operation Base when Boko Haram terrorist pushed towards them with superior firepower in the evening of October 16, senior military sources familiar with the encounter said.

After initial resistance, the troops soon abandoned their base and scampered for safety.

At dawn on October 17, the leadership of the Nigerian Army was informed that Boko Haram attacked the troops when they jumped into River Yobe, where the sect opened fire and left unknown number of them fatally wounded.

Twenty-two of the fleeing soldiers were rescued by the Nigerien troops and transported to a hospital in Diffa, southern Niger, for treatment, the Army also learnt at that time.

Yet, for several days, the spokesman for the army, Sani Usman, maintained that the report was false.

But on the same day that he spoke, the Theatre Commander of Operation Lafiya Dole in the North-east, Major General Lucky Irabor, claimed only 39 soldiers were missing.

The army also opened a secret inquiry into the attack after some brigade commanders raised questions about the conduct of the soldiers.

For instance, the commanders said it was difficult to explain

how utility trucks were used to dispossess soldiers of their armoured vehicles especially when the soldiers said they were alerted in their various positions.

Senior military officials also found it curious that some of the soldiers were rescued by their Nigerien counterparts with their bullets still largely unspent.

Meanwhile, General Irabor has said a total of 5,235 people have rescued from the Boko Haram terrorists in the last month.

While briefing the media about the activities of Theatre Command yesterday, he reminded the public to be more alert and security conscious with their environment, especially when a strange face comes around.

“I also commiserate with all the victims of the recent suicidebombings

by Boko Haram terrorists within the Theatre. We shall continue to work to ensure the safety of lives of every citizen. Let me once again use this medium to remind the remnants of Boko Haram terrorists that their miserable days are numbered because their future is going to be disastrous if they fail to surrender and lay down their arms.”

T H I S D AY THURSDAY NOVEMBER 24, 2016

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T H I S D AY • THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 24, 2016

COMMENT

Editor, Editorial Page PETER ISHAKA Email peter.ishaka@thisdaylive.com

EL RUFAI AND HIS SCHEMES

Azibola Omekwe argues the Kaduna State Governor is overstepping his bounds

T

he African proverbial world has taught us so many wise sayings to guide us in our daily ventures. If an African man tells you, “you do not bite the fingers that fed you”, another one would tell you, “do not break the calabash that you once fetched water with because next time that same calabash may be of same importance or assistance to you as before”. There is so much wisdom to pick from in everyone’s adventure in life. The two singled out here pertain to the show of appreciation and continuous show of references to one’s background, and according recognition to the machinery that was instrumental to one’s growth. It attracts further affections and blessings for you when you exhibit these virtues of appreciation, gratefulness, etc., mostly when it is not in demand.

The right words might have been forgotten here but there is a popular saying that your boss who introduced or employed you to your first job remains your boss forever as you soar in related events of that same job. It is still related to the saying that you do not bite the hands that fed you.

But one evil that does not care about the virtues in question is the evil called betrayal.

Betrayal has made a ground-breaking record in the history of mankind. It is the precipice of a cordial relationship, capable of destroying bonds. The death of the famous Julius Caesar of the old Roman Republic was borne out of betrayal by the person he least expected to partake in such a move.

Brutus, Caesar’s friend, has seen that Antony had offered Caesar the crown, indicating that Antony desired and the rest people of the republic had desired to see him as king.

Even though Caesar refused it, Brutus began sensing that Caesar was entertaining the idea. If he had not, he would not have allowed Antony to offer him the crown three times. At the point where he was stabbed to death he used the word, “Et tu Brute?” meaning, “and you, Brutus?” signifying the utmost unexpected betrayal from a friend.

Religious books like the Bible also have records of betrayal: Peter and Judas committed the same sin of betrayal of Jesus, but one of them, Peter repented and the other did not. The one that repented his sins was forgiven, he reconciled and made heaven. The other refused to repent and you can always guess the end of an unrepentant sinner, suicide is just one of the many options.

One of the foremost pan-Africanists, Patrice Lumumba, was betrayed by politicians he made, people he least expected to offer themselves to plot his fall. Need we mention Thomas Sankara? History has it that the worst sin in politics is the sin of betrayal and it is mostly masterminded by greedy friends.

Sometime in November 1999 during the administration of Olusegun Obasanjo, Atiku Abubakar and some of his peers picked Nasir El-Rufai, a new kid on the block in the Piccadilly circus of Nigeria politics, to come manage the affairs of the Bureau of Public Enterprises. He had since become the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory and now the governor of Kaduna State. Besides, he has grown to be using

EL-RUFAI HAS TAKEN IT UPON HIMSELF TO PERSONALLY NAIL THE FORMER VICEPRESIDENT BY ALL MEANS EVEN THOUGH NO COURT OF LAW OR AGENCY - DOMESTIC OR INTERNATIONAL - HAS FOUND HIM DIRTY

self-authorising terms, raising irrelevant objections without substantiating them.

In his so-called reply to Atiku’s interview one would curiously look for a paragraph or sentence where El- Rufai denied Atiku’s instrumentality to his political career, but it is a lost bet if you tried it. Instead, Governor El- Rufai took his time to christen the former vice-president as a corrupt personality that needs to clean his records. It is amazing how El-Rufai is running his self-styled inquisitorial system when the country’s adversarial system has not found the former vice-president guilty of any of the allegations orchestrated by the machinations of El-Rufai and his ilk.

It is rather funny how El-Rufai is already jittery of 2019 when, whether expressly or impliedly, Atiku has not made any intention. Obviously, El-Rufai has taken it upon himself to personally nail the former vice-president by all means even though no court of law or agency - domestic or international - has found him dirty. The governor is invariably asking the United States to step aside since they have not been able to detonate their legal arsenal on Atiku since then. No prudent thinker would take El-Rufai serious for this desultory feat of his, crying more than the bereaved.

Truth is, without even announcing, El-Rufai’s circle is already suffering indescribable mastitis at the fear that an overwhelming force is rolling out a campaign come 2019.

Obviously, rather than being a concerned patriot, El-Rufai is running a sugarcoated blackmail, singing praises of President Muhammadu Buhari, and pitting Atiku against the president. That style of politics is desperate and really low. If El-Rufai is sincerely wishing the president well in 2019 and he is not scheming right under the nose of the president, he should have responded to questions of whether he would contest in 2019 should PMB decide not to run. But he has decided to use Atiku as a smokescreen as he evaded the question.

El-Rufai reminds one of a young boy who closes from school, and in the desperate quest to get home quickly under the heavy rains, runs and hides under any available tent. And after a while he runs to another tent with his body still drenched and soiled with mud, but what matters to the young boy is that he desperately gets there whether clean or not.

As illustrated earlier, El-Rufai has decided not to repent and has continued to bite the hands that fed him. Nuhu Ribadu in his wisdom has long repented. Even Obasanjo has long been forgiven and the former vice-president still maintains cordial relationship with them and still accord Obasanjo the maximum respect befitting a boss despite the untold torture he underwent under the latter.

Since the Cassiuses and the Brutuses are hell bent to use their machinations to paint Atiku evil, it is worthy of note that he has never lost the affection of the people. But unlike the Caesar’s case, Atiku should not ignore the warning signals from El- Rufai.

Hon. Omekwe is a former member of Bayelsa State House of Assembly

TOWARDS MINIMISING DOMESTIC CRIMES A social security contributory system will curb the inclination of many to committing crime, contends Sunny Ache

O

ver the years, I have conducted a tremendous amount of research on how to achieve a solid, peaceful solution to the issue of the embarrassing and frightening violent crimes of armed robbery, kidnapping, drug trafficking and fraud which are on the rise in Nigeria. My focus has been to drastically minimise the number of such crimes, trying to reach the United Kingdom’s record low levels, by attacking the root cause, which as we all know is widespread poverty.

I have deeply investigated the poverty control programmes of the United Kingdom as well as those of the United States to determine how they are funded and allocated accordingly to social service departments [for payments of weekly allowances to the unemployed], the councils [for provision of basic homes to the destitute], and healthcare departments to provide every born and naturalised citizen access free medical care.

I have conducted my research with enthusiasm, bearing in mind the system of governance and our mind-set in Nigeria while compiling a lengthy but feasible proposal for the new Nigerian government to create national employment and healthcare insurance.

The result will enable us give out financial assistance and food stamps to the unemployed and disabled while setting up and replenishing food banks throughout Nigeria.

This social security contributory system would make us independent of Nigeria’s federal revenues so long as it is federal law that [as done in Western nations, where 25% in the UK and 35% in the US of all sought gross earnings go to the government for such programmes.] Every single employee, employer, and business owner in Nigeria earning above minimum wage must commence making a lifetime monthly contribution of 5% of their net earnings to the government. Failure to pay, delays in payments, or avoidance of payment of this social service

contribution would normally result in penalty. The goal is to ensure the spreading of wealth and provision of free medical care to all while preventing crime; so there’s no excuse.

Half of the funds collected from the working public would be allocated to an integral part of any Nigeria government department or a new non-departmental public body of the Nigeria’s Ministry of Health [as practiced in the UK in particular] to successfully provide free upper-class medical care to every single Nigerian citizen, whether born or naturalised, who are not subject to immigration control. The other half of the funds would pass through the Ministry of Labour and Productivity to facilitate social service departments’ payments of monthly allowances to the unemployed above the age of 17, housing for the homeless above the age of 25, and replenishments to food banks to enable lifetime relief from poverty - which is and has always been the backbone of crimes that make us feel

insecure and turn efforts to bring in affluent foreign investors into an uphill battle.

Not only would this new system elevate the image of Nigeria with the highest respect globally, but it would also eliminate the resentment Nigerians continue to nurse against politicians, thereby preventing many of our citizens from causing international embarrassment due to their involvement in international transgression.

Indeed, it would become evident that they stand to lose a lot in Nigeria if caught and imprisoned abroad. Such a programme would also help reduce the brain drain we suffer as a result of losing our highly educated, intelligent and talented citizens, who are relocating to other nations as economic migrants.

I feel strongly about dedicating myself to making this constitutional contribution towards the welfare system of Nigeria, my beloved motherland. sunnysunny555@yahoo.co.uk

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T H I S D AY • THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 24, 2016

EDITORIAL CURBING EXTORTION IN PUBLIC SPACES

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Begging is not only demeaning but could be dangerous. It’s in our interest not to encourage it

rom airports to supermarkets to hotels, banks and the major highways across the country, a serious social disease afflicts many otherwise engaged Nigerians: begging while on duty. While this is not a new practice, as it has been going on for several years, the situation seems to have worsened in recent months. Of course the economic downturn in the country could be a convenient excuse for this disgraceful conduct but the malaise runs far deeper as the culture of begging predates the current challenge. That is why we enjoin the relevant authorities to find a way to deal with the situation that compromises both our national image and security.

At most of the important desks, at practically all levels of government in our country, “anything for your boys” has almost become the accepted language of official interaction. Yet, this pervasive and shameful conduct not only dehumanises the perpetrators but also makes our country vulnerable since unscrupulous elements can get away under a situation where a little tip would make officials shirk their responsibilities.

WHEN PEOPLE ARE PUT IN And that is why the UNIFORM BY THE STATE TO administration of SERVE THE PUBLIC, THEY President MuhamARE MEANT TO EXHIBIT madu Buhari that A CERTAIN STANDARD OF came to power on BEHAVIOUR THAT OUGHT the platform of “Change” must TO MIRROR THE HIGHEST CODE OF CONDUCT FOR THE begin to build a new ethos that SOCIETY places emphasis on self-respect and dignity of labour.

What makes this deplorable situation even more noteworthy is that in several of the critical places where this official begging occurs in the full glare of the public, there are also CCTV cameras installed to capture such unsavoury conducts. But in instances where the cameras do work, there is hardly anyone to keep track of what’s happening and where there are, they are mostly watching Nollywood movies or sport channels on cable television! Even at that,

Letters to the Editor

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there seems to be some form of complicity in which nobody is ever punished for what has now become an acceptable behaviour.

Nigerians will recall the ugly incident in 1994 when Mr. Mike Wallace, then of the American CBS news programme “60 Minutes”, secretly recorded some officials openly soliciting for bribe at our major international gateway, the Murtala Muhammed Airport, Lagos. When aired, the programme was a major scandal that had serious dent on our image as a nation and ultimately led to some house cleansing.

But that lasted only for a few years before the rot returned. That is why it is important that someone at the higher end of political authority with a sense of national pride intervene to stop this shameful racketeering that gives our country a bad name and makes us vulnerable to disasters.

T H I S DAY

EDITOR IJEOMA NWOGWUGWU DEPUTY EDITORS BOlAJI ADEBIYI, JOSEpH USHIGIAlE MANAGING DIRECTOR ENIOlA BEllO DEPUTY MANAGING DIRECTOR KAYODE KOMOlAfE CHAIRMAN EDITORIAL BOARD OlUSEGUN ADENIYI EDITOR NATION’S CAPITAL IYOBOSA UWUGIAREN

T H I S DAY N E W S PA P E R S L I M I T E D

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF/CHAIRMAN NDUKA OBAIGBENA GROUP EXECUTIVE DIRECTORS ENIOlA BEllO, KAYODE KOMOlAfE, ISRAEl IWEGBU, EMMANUEl EfENI, IJEOMA NWOGWUGWU GROUP FINANCE DIRECTOR OlUfEMI ABOROWA DIVISIONAL DIRECTORS pETER IWEGBU, fIDElIS ElEMA, MBAYIlAN ANDOAKA, ANTHONY OGEDENGBE DEPUTY DIVISIONAL DIRECTOR OJOGUN VICTOR DANBOYI SNR. ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR ERIC OJEH ASSOCIATE DIRECTORS HENRY NWACHOKOR, SAHEED ADEYEMO CONTROLLERS ABIMBOlA TAIWO, UCHENNA DIBIAGWU, NDUKA MOSERI GENERAL MANAGER pATRICK EIMIUHI GROUP HEAD fEMI TOlUfASHE ART DIRECTOR OCHI OGBUAKU II DIRECTOR, PRINTING PRODUCTION CHUKS ONWUDINJO TO SEND EMAIL: first name.surname@thisdaylive.com

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owever, we also need to take a closer look at the sociology of a begging culture. There is a possibility that dire economic conditions have lowered the self-esteem of most Nigerians who ordinarily would feel too proud to be found begging or it could just be a popularisation of an unfortunate phenomenon that has become profitable. It may as well be the product of an underlying psychology of income redistribution in a society that has islands of stupendous affluence in a sea of crushing poverty. Whatever may be the cause, it is something that has to be dealt with and very quickly.

Indeed, the fact that most of the beggars are gainfully employed persons makes it a matter of urgent public policy concern. The fact that a significant segment are in uniform makes it even more frightening. When people are put in uniform by the state to serve the public, they are meant to exhibit a certain standard of behaviour that ought to mirror the highest code of conduct for the society. Therefore, since this matter touches at the very ethical roots of our society, we urge the Buhari administration to work towards putting an end to what has become another emblem of shame in Nigeria.

TO OUR READERS Letters in response to specific publications in THISDAY should be brief (150-200 words) and straight to the point. Interested readers may send such letters along with their contact details to opinion@thisdaylive.com. We also welcome comments and opinions on topical local, national and international issues provided they are well-written and should also not be longer than (9501000 words). They should be sent to opinion@thisdaylive.com along with the email address and phone numbers of the writer.

CURTAILING STREET BEGGING IN LAGOS

igeria is Africa’s most populous nation with more than 170 million people out of which Lagos State boasts of 20 million inhabitants, thus making the city state the nation’s biggest urban agglomeration.

The rapid population growth in Lagos metropolis results in shortage of housing and ultimately the evolvement of slums. Lack of housing and the failure of the urban community as a whole to adapt to changing socio-economic conditions have continued to be a huge burden to succeeding governments in the state.

Population surge in Lagos is largely occasioned by the influx of people from different parts of the country and, indeed, the world in search of the proverbial good life. Like cities such as Kaduna, Kano, Johannesburg, South Africa, Shanghai and others, Lagos has to contend with various socio-economic challenges peculiar to cities with exponential growth and metropolitan composition.

Like most cosmopolitan cities, Lagos is confronted with diverse and complicated problems. One of these is the menace of street begging. Begging is an age-long activity prominent in urban centres where it is common to see the physically challenged, visually impaired, deaf and even supposedly stranded visitors (famously referred to as corporate beggars) throng walkways, street corners, religious centres, etc., begging for alms. While some of these beggars are genuinely in need, others simply want to catch in on the legendary generosity of Lagosians to eke out a living.

With the current economic downturn in the country, the trend of

begging in Lagos has now become quite worrisome with able bodied men actively engaged in begging. The increasing population of beggars in the Lagos metropolis has become an eyesore and the situation has become alarming because they now constitute environmental hazards as well as security threats. There had been instances when a few of these so-called beggars were discovered to be agents of dare devil criminals.

No doubt, the menace of beggars and destitute on the streets of Lagos had reached an alarming dimension. This is in spite of regular rescue operations carried out by the rescue team of the state’s rehabilitation department. Beggars of different categories and destitute have continued to be common sight across the state with resultant negative effects on traffic management. As earlier mentioned, some of the beggars have been found to be accomplices to certain crimes for which they sometimes hide weapons as robbers believe they would not readily be suspected. While others under pretext of being beggars have dispossessed members of the public of their valuables on the roads.

Despite being prohibited by section 166 sub-section 1(b) of the criminal code which prohibits street begging with adequate penalty for defaulters, many have continued to see in begging a veritable source of livelihood. According to studies, people opt for begging for diverse reasons. These include harsh economic condition, chronic health challenges, cultural or traditional factors, laziness, greed, among others. In contemporary time, people take to begging for sundry reasons which include substituting begging for hard work,

allegiance to tradition as in the case of parents of twins who still hide under the cloak of tradition to beg for alms.

In order to tackle the nuisance of street begging in the state, the Lagos State Government has put in place several strategies. Indeed, the State Governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode recently revealed that it has become imperative to tackle the act of begging in the state in the interest of public security. He said: “We’ve had security reports on the activities of persons who pose as beggars, especially in traffic, but their sole aim is to perpetrate evil. We are putting a search light on this trend and one way to do that is to ensure that we take preemptive measures to forestall this development.” To this end, he said efforts will be made to rid the state of street beggars and the homeless.

One of such efforts is the construction of rehabilitation and training centres across the state. Through the centres, about 590 rehabilitees have been re-united with their relations for re-integration. Similarly, many of the rehabilitees were subsequently placed on vocational training to make them contribute positively to the society. Drug related rehabilitees, who probably had lost hope, were restored back to their functional ability while some of them were placed under vocational training at the Rehabilitation and Vocational Training Centres across the state. The Okobaba Resettlement Centre, with a population of over 2,000 beggars and destitute collectively occupying the place, is another helpful initiative of the state government in addressing the nuisance of street beggars and destitute in the state.

Dennis Ezeri, Ministry of Information & Strategy, Alausa, Lagos

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THURSDAY NOVEMBER 24, 2016 T H I S D AY

T H I S D AY THURSDAY NOVEMBER 24, 2016

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T H I S D AY • THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 24, 2016

POLITICS

Group Politics Editor Olawale Olaleye Email wale.olaleye@thisdaylive.com 08116759819 SMS ONLY

PERSONALITY INTERVIEW

‘This is My Last Shot at Ondo Governorship’

The governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress in Saturday’s election in Ondo State, Mr. Rotimi Akeredolu addressed some of the issues in the election in an interview with journalists in Akure, the Ondo State capital. Shola Oyeyipo presents the excerpts: This is your second attempt at the governorship in Ondo State. What has been driving this ambition?

Seriously, when I ran in 2012, I ran because the people of Owo were convinced that I was someone who had a chance giving the governorship a shot. When they came over and over that I should give it a shot, I yielded to their calls and by His grace through caucusing in the then Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), I was picked to run for governor. Yes, I don’t believe that we lost. We were just victims of electoral fraud promoted by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the outgoing governor - hand in glove.

We fought the matter to the Supreme Court as you know. And we thought the Supreme Court was going to uphold our case because we believed we were walking on sound ground; we believed our case was good because there were some fundamental errors in the voters’ register. Once, for instance, we were able to prove that there was some injection of names in the voters’ register. There was nothing left because voters’ register remains the basis of any election, so, if there were errors in it, there was nothing to be substantially complied with.

We took it like that and went back to work.

But the people are still convinced. Owo people believe that it is our turn to produce the governor. They still believe that I am someone, who can pull it through. So, again I yielded to the clarion call of our people and I became interested in Ondo State people. I believe they are not having the best as we would expect of an oil producing state. The state capital, there is nothing to write home about it. You need to get to Imo State and see how developed the state capital is and I don’t believe our people have had the best. They have been on the wrong side of everything.

So, I am convinced that if given the opportunity, we would turn the lives of our people around. Why not give it another shot again? So, I came back. In 2012, by the grace of God we won in spite of shenanigans here and there. And again, moving on, we are trusting in God that we will win again. So, we are here.

Between then and now, has there been transformation in your political personality; have you become more of a politician because we see less of you in the courts?

There has been definitely. As you have rightly observed, I have not been going to court that much, particularly in the last one year. I have only concerned myself by handling a few cases and at this age, I don’t need more than one or two cases in a year. It is enough for you to live on and the younger ones will keep going to court. So, because of my political pursuit I just felt like giving it all because it is the last time.

If I win this election, I will thank God and I will serve my people. If I don’t win, I am back into my practice. This is the last shot in politics except if I am convinced and I want to run for a higher office because I am getting old. So, this is my last shot at it and I am giving it all I have. So, there has been tremendous change, seriously.

What has been your experience in the last four to five years since you dabbled into partisan politics?

My experience has been very nice. I have had good relationship with the people of Ondo State because when I ran I knew we had our limitations. I came into a political party that was virtually non-existent in Ondo State and I knew that we had to put everything into it; not only myself, we had many aspirants in ACN – all of us made our contributions in one way or the other but when I became a

Akeredolu...Mimiko, INEC rigged me out in 2012

candidate, it became my own sole responsibility to make sure that the ACN is known.

I came up as former president, Nigerian Bar Association (NBA). I had that high level of visibility in the country and nobody can deny it. I am proud of my pedigree. The fact that you have risen to that pedestal could assist any political party whatsoever and that lifted the party. The votes we garnered in spite of all the riggings was one that the ACN of that time never had one quarter or let me be fair to them, they never had a third of it. So, it has been like that; bringing up a party and being part of that party growing

So, because of my political pursuit, I just felt like giving it all because it is the last time. If I win this election, I will thank God and I will serve my people. If I don’t win, I am back into my practice. This is the last shot in politics except if I am convinced and I want to run for a higher office because I am getting old. So, this is my last shot at it and I am giving it all I have. So, there has been tremendous change, seriously

up into APC, which is a bigger party.

My experience has been that people love you; people respect you but there are other low sides of politics that I don’t buy. That is where people get treacherous. Treachery in politics is not one of my ways of life and this is what is happening. And it gets on my nerves as a person that you will see people at the highest level involved in shenanigans and they have no respect for themselves. They are treacherous people and cannot be trusted by anybody. It is an unfortunate thing but you see it. Though they will think they are playing politics, they are not playing politics, they are more or less going to destroy themselves at the end of the day and we will watch them.

Politics, to me, is loyalty. Politics should be like a love affair in which whatever it is you love you hold on to it. Friendship is something that you take dearly. It’s been my life but this is not so in politics. This is what I have experienced. People that you think are your friends are the people that will stab you in the back. People you toil for don’t even appreciate it. It is just like people you lay your life down for; you will just be surprised they are the people that will turn their backs against you. I don’t believe it is good experience when I remember what we go through these days and people say it is in the name of politics.

Is that what it is – that they don’t value friendship? Is it politics that you are not loyal to your party? You just mouth it. As if you are everything; people want to play God but they forget they are men with clay feet. But by the grace of God, I can assure you they will be washed away.

Have you reached out to those that felt aggrieved after your party primary?

I am not sure that there were people that are really aggrieved. We went into a primary, someone emerged from the primary and some of them were sunburned. It is not their belief. They knew we had free and fair primaries but because people cannot accept defeat they sunburned about three of us, encouraged them to file unmeritorious appeal, their appeal was thrown away and yet they do not want to stop at that. They still went

ahead to encourage them to get involved in anti-party activities. Yes, one of them did the right thing and went to another party. Fair enough! But there is still one or two others, who pretend to still be in the party but they are working against their party’s interest.

So, when you say they are aggrieved, how do you say they are aggrieved? You cannot talk to them any longer – somebody who has left your party to another party and is being sponsored by leadership of the party in the South-west. It is unfortunate. What do you want to say to those people? You try to appeal to the leadership; you try to send people to them – you don’t do this to your party and they don’t want to hear.

They are spending stupendous amount of money and giving money out. Not in hundreds of millions but in billions because you want to fight your party. So, do you still say those people are aggrieved? They have left. There is nothing we could do. Every other person that believes in the APC has returned to the party.

Almost immediately we won we met with people. Those who believe in the party remained but those who do not have left. Some are still here pretending because they are holding offices in the name of the party and they know that if they go out and say they have defected to another party they would lose their seat, so they are pretending. There is nothing we can do about it. We have tried our best.

We have made efforts to see whether we can bring them back to see reason but since they are being propelled from areas that I least expected; people that you took as leaders of the party are the ones encouraging this.

They are the ones sponsoring this and they are encouraging anti-party activities. There is nothing anybody can do. If they want to continue, what can we do? We have left everything in the hands of God. That is that on that. So, I don’t believe anybody is aggrieved.

Those who have left have left. I am not sure those encouraging them have not left.

NOTE: Interested readers should continue in the online edition on www.thisdaylive.com

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T H I S D AY • THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 24, 2016

PERSPECTIVE

How Politicians Destroy Nigeria’s Diplomatic Service Politicians have in no small measure contributed to the decimation of Nigeria’s diplomatic service, writes Saleh Abdulwahab

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n many mega cities around the world, the slogan is ‘Si ves algo, di algo’. If you see something, say something to protect the cities. In our own beloved mega country, where many things are going wrong, it is necessary and timely to say something in the national interest. In a country where injustice, corruption and impunity prevail, it is very difficult if not impossible for that country to attain peace and greatness and become a member of the comity of prosperous nations.

Nigerians at home and abroad today, continue to suffer from insurgence and terrorism of Boko Haram due to injustice perpetrated by some unpatriotic greedy Nigerian Leaders. That injustice is still prevalent today. For example, in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, about 85 seasoned Career Diplomatists have been unjustly rendered redundant and pushed aside in favour of non-career political ambassadors.

The political loyalists are unjustifiably favoured to take over the job of professional Diplomatists, who have been on the line of succession for the past 30 to 35 years to reach the pinnacle of their chosen profession and to be appointed ambassadors of this great nation. These are not just ordinary officers, they are fine extraordinary diplomats, who have been trained, tested and trusted in the strategic diplomatic business for over three decades either in bilateral or multilateral fora.

Some powerful politicians just decided that they should be grounded like Nigeria Airways without any blemish or fault of their own. But we should note according to George Washington that ‘The true administration of justice is the firmest pillar of good government.’

In normal circumstances, those officers should have been appointed ambassadors when on Grade Level 16. Therefore, no officer is expected to attain Grade Level 17 before being appointed ambassador. But due to injustice, nepotism and irresponsible negligence since 2000 to date by the political class, these officers have been allowed to suffer the consequences of aberration in the appointment of ambassadors. This class of civilized Nigerians has been disappointed, demoralized, dehumanized and demotivated.

As a result of this unprecedented accumulation, it was recommended that officers, who have been affected since 2007 to date should be conferred with the exalted title of Ambassador-in-situ to fulfill their lifelong ambition and in appreciation of their long but loyal service to the nation. This appointment has no financial commitments for the government.

To prevent such accumulation in future, there was a decision by the Federal Executive Council in which it was approved that officers should be appointed Ambassadors on Grade Level 16. Unfortunately, this was not fully implemented. In 2013, instead of clearing the backlog, President Jonathan appointed only a few of them mostly working then in the Villa, promising to do the rest in batches and there was never another batch.

Regrettably, some of these officers have died while waiting for the appointment.

I, therefore, strongly appeal to President Muhammadu Buhari as a leader who stands firmly for justice and fairness to kindly approve with immediate effect the appointment of all the affected officers as Ambassadors-in-situ. May the Lord of Justice give him the wisdom and strength to do it. We should stop rewarding the evil and punishing the good. Nigeria should be a grateful country to its patriotic citizens.

It was a great shock that while the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was anxiously waiting for this approval, the government forwarded the names of 47 nominees to the Senate for appointment as NON-CAREER

public money to purchase titles. With this title inflation, care should be taken to prevent corruption and attenuation of the ambassadorial title.

Buhari...making change count in diplomatic service

Ambassadors. This is a diplomatic disaster for Nigeria.

In a country where the rule of law is abused and applied to pervert the law in the interests of the lawmakers themselves and against the interests of the nation and its citizens, what do we expect from such a country in interpretation and application of internationally recognized guideline on the appointment of NON-CAREER Ambassadors?

The guideline is indeed very clear. It is to regulate the appointment of few prosperous, noble and honest Nigerians for a specific purpose and certain target. Unfortunately, the appointment of Ambassadors became highly politicised since 2004 requesting career professional officers to go back to their states and kneel down in front of their governors to facilitate their nomination. What a diplomatic mess! The governors saw themselves as tiny gods, seized the opportunity of this aberration to nominate their political loyalists, cousins, housekeepers and other sycophants for appointment as Non-Career Ambassadors.

The rest is history: we witnessed in some

For goodness sake, when will the Nigerian political class be able to differentiate between textbook diplomacy and functional diplomacy or between nominal ambassadors and practicing ambassadors? The truth is bitter and constant. The point is that are those in charge interested in the truth?

Are they listening and reasoning? It is worthy of observation that diplomacy is a serious business in which there is no room for mediocrity

of our Missions ‘Kabukabu’ Diplomacy while in others, there was ‘Area Boy’ Diplomacy. The question is why don’t we appoint non-career pilots, doctors and generals to fly our planes, manage our hospitals and fight our wars???

The demobilisation of highly qualified diplomats and mobilisation of non-career inexperienced political nominees send wrong signals of contradiction, confusion and complication.

And the implication is that Nigerians who want to become ambassadors simply need to join the politics instead of joining the diplomatic service, where they must remain on line from 30 to 35 years only to be deactivated and disappointed.

Today, our diplomatic service is proud of highly graded scholars from the best universities in the world. That will no longer be the case if this problem is not addressed. Trust Nigerians, by finding an easy way of becoming ambassadors through the back door, they easily join the politics and remain loyal sycophants to a political leader, who nominates them ambassadors from two to three years only and these are the ones posted to plum missions leaving the hardship posts for the careerists.

Foreign Bodies in the Foreign Service To be sincere, we had in the past, some non-careerists who performed creditably well. Some of them were patriotic and honest Nigerians, who had done many great things for the country. They brought various experiences of academic excellence, maturity, intelligence into the foreign service. While those were very successful, many others did not either because they were not ambassadorial materials or they were ‘foreign bodies in the foreign service.’

For goodness sake, when will the Nigerian political class be able to differentiate between textbook diplomacy and functional diplomacy or between nominal ambassadors and practicing ambassadors? The truth is bitter and constant. The point is that are those in charge interested in the truth? Are they listening and reasoning? It is worthy of observation that diplomacy is a serious business in which there is no room for mediocrity. Diplomacy is the same but it’s mode of practice has changed due to information communication technology ICT and other phenomenal factors.

So, non-career appointees based on experience cannot understand the role of a modern Ambassador within a short time and perform effectively or face the challenges of modern diplomacy with efficiency and efficacy. They are probably more interested in the aura of elegance of the ambassadorial job, the exotic social life and the coveted title than in its risks and challenges. In a country where people are obsessed with various titles, they steal

How to Save Our Diplomatic Service It will be highly rewarding that government should implement the decision of the Federal Executive Council on this issue. As it is within the prerogative of Mr. President, we humbly appeal to our President, who stands firmly for justice and fairness to confer without further delay the exalted tittle of Ambssador-in-situ on all affected officers from 2005 to date. Regrettably, some of them have died while waiting for the approval.

We also urge the Senate to work together with the Executive to accelerate the appointment of Career Ambassadors to enable them assume duties in our Missions abroad as soon as possible. It is un-protocol, unintelligent and uneconomical to leave our Missions without substantive Heads for so long in this critical history of our country.

This is a time our diplomats should be very busy to promote and project our national image throughout the four corners of the world and pursue development diplomacy. It will also be in the national interest that the Executive should withdraw the current long list of non-career nomination for a downward review to 10 per cent only. As witnessed in the past, some nominees themselves, who did not like to be ‘foreign bodies in the foreign service’ honorably decided to withdraw their names to protect their integrity.

In order to meet the burgeoning needs and our rising diplomatic responsibilities all over the world especially in reasserting our role as leader of Africa and the black race, it is necessary to initiate legislative proposals by the National Assembly to establish a separate Nigerian Foreign Service and set a limit to the ambassadorial appointments by Mr. President from outside occupations to 10 per cent only.

The arguments and recommendations which I made to this effect in my Thesis in 1987, is even more relevant today than ever before. (M.S, Abdul-Wahab, Management of Human Resources In Nigerian Foreign Service: Motivation & Reform, A.B.U. Zaria, 1987 Unpublished, pp. 162-165), in some other studies, it is indicated that countries like America, Britain, Egypt, India and China had similar challenges in their diplomatic services but were able to resolve them in the interest of the institution without corrupting the system.

With the high caliber of APC party leadership, no one expects this kind of long list of outsiders for the best diplomatic positions to find its way to the Senate and render many senior officers idle in our Ministry! Where is the positive change the world has been waiting for? You are singing change while you are doing the wrong things over and over again. Whether you are APC or PDP members, it does not matter. We should all come together to fight for the soul of Nigeria.

Where are our elders? What is your legacy? Where are members of the Presidential Advisory Committee on Foreign Relations and Retired Ambassadors? This is a great challenge to members of the Association of Retired Career Ambassadors of Nigeria, all diplomats who are members of the National Institute for Policy & Strategic Studies, and the Defence College.

We should all come together.

This is a battle we must all fight and win if necessary in a court of law. If Nigeria succeeds, Africa will succeed. We will not attain greatness until Nigeria as a nation starts to do the right thing, by the right person, at the right time, at the right place, in the right manner. That is Nigeria’s path to greatness. God bless Nigeria.

-Ambassador Abdulwahab wrote from US

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THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 24, 2016 • T H I S D AY

FEATURES

Acting Features Editor Charles Ajunwa Email charles.ajunwa@thisdaylive.com

Nigerian Ports Authority

Opening Nigerian Ports to Public Scrutiny The Nigerian Ports Authority has signed an MoU with BudgIT to promote budget transparency, making it the first revenue-generating agency of government to open its books to public scrutiny. Is this the beginning of reform of public service finances as promised by the President Muhammadu Buhari administration, asks Peter Uzoho

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hen Ms Hadiza Bala Usman, was appointed Managing Director of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) by President Muhammadu Buhari in July, she promised one thing at the ports: transparency. Revenue generating agencies in Nigeria often operate an opaqueness that is difficult to decode. If anyone took Usman's promise with a pinch of salt, it would be in order. "Transparency" and "Nigerian ports" are hardly found in the same paragraph, much less in the same sentence, or even next to each other.

However, Friday, November 11, 2016, was not just one of those days at the NPA. It may just be the beginning of another era in the management of public agencies in Nigeria.

On that day, NPA signed a Memorandum of Understanding with BudgIT Information Technology Network for the development of an open budget system platform and implementation of a public data dissemination programme. The aim is to open up the income and expenditure of the agency to public scrutiny, to demystify the secrecy around the operations of the agency which earns a lot of money for the country.

For those who don't know, BudgIT was instrumental to the unravelling of the padding of the 2016 federal budget. The national outrage forced President Buhari

to withdraw the Appropriation Bill and present a re-worked replacement. This was

The NPA can create more wealth for Nigerians. The NPA is committed to making operations at Nigerian ports seamless, efficient and world class. We are moving rapidly towards a 24 hours port operations and 72 hours cargo clearance. We are automating payments.

We are committed to increased investment in port marine infrastructure and improving traffic on Port access roads

a first in Nigerian history. Although it caused national and international embarrassment for the country, the right thing was done in the end. The budgeting process is now being sanitised and Nigerians would expect a more transparent and credible process henceforth.

In her speech at the signing ceremony, Usman said: "The significance of the role of the Nigerian Ports Authority in the efficient management of all 24 Port Terminals for the development and economic good of Nigeria cannot be overemphasised.� She underlined the critical position the agency plays in the national economy. Nigeria is import-dependent, and in this era of low oil prices which is affecting the way government does its business, there is a heavy revenue burden of expectation on the NPA to efficiently manage the ports and generate alternative revenue for the government. Much more, though, is the expectation that Nigerian ports would be transformed to be among the biggest and best in Africa.

Usman employed interesting statistics to drive home the point that transparency at the agency is a matter of urgency. As at close of 2014, she said, Nigeria, in terms of Ports and Maritime activities ranked fourth in the industry in Africa by size with more than a million annual 20-Foot Equivalent Units (TEUs). Over the last five years, Nigerian Ports have seen a Gross Tonnage of 144.2 million.

In spite of the economic recession, an annual

growth rate of about 2% is expected through the next five years. The direct contribution to GDP presently stands at 0.01%. Revenues have seen growth from N57 billion in 2005 to N184 billion in 2015. It could be more, she said.

"The NPA can create more wealth for Nigerians. The NPA is committed to making operations at Nigerian ports seamless, efficient and world class. We are moving rapidly towards a 24 hours port operations and 72 hours cargo clearance. We are automating payments. We are committed to increased investment in port marine infrastructure and improving traffic on port access roads. In the same vein, we are in advanced collaboration on several Greenfield Port developments. The industrial outlook and prospect for maritime transportation and logistics in Nigeria is both ambitious and positive," she said at the ceremony.

Usman, in seeking to justify the need for openness at NPA, tied her resolve to the recent changes in the governance direction of Nigeria. She said: "Since the ascension of the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari, the Government has set out to change how our governance systems run and instill a new culture of integrity, transparency and accountability in public administration. Our institutions have been poorly managed and we are all guilty. Today, we are out to walk our talk and depart from the morally flexible and

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• T H I S D AY THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 24, 2016

FEATURES

opaque practices of the past administrations by moving towards information democratisation, budgeting transparency and open governance."

BudgIT started operations in 2011 and has been credited with achieving revolutionary feats in the space of socio-technological advocacy towards opening up of public budgets for citizens’ comprehension and information.

This is raising the bar on accountability and transparency in government and facilitating simplification of data for public good. "While serving in the Government House in Kaduna, we embraced the noble technological concepts of BudgIT many months ago. And I must say

Deploying technological tools, BudgIT will help NPA to open its budgets to the public, instill a framework for transparent budget provisions of the Authority, encourage participatory governance by way of feedbacks and stakeholders’ inputs, and create an enabling and transparent environment to encourage foreign investment

Managing Director, NPA, Hadiza Balla Usman (1st right) and Executive Director of BudgIT, Seun Onigbinde, after signing an MoU to promote budget transparency...recently

that we were better off as an administration for it," she explained, recalling her days as Chief of Staff to the Governor of Kaduna State, Malam Nasir el-Rufai.

Deploying technological tools, BudgIT will help NPA to open its budgets to the public, instill a framework for transparent budget provisions of the Authority, encourage participatory governance by way of feedbacks and stakeholders’ inputs, and create an enabling and transparent environment to encourage foreign investment. The collaboration is also expected to ensure that "key researches, industry policies and innovations are effectively communicated" — in the words of Usman, who also said the critical data generated are made accessible for policy makers, private sector actors, stakeholders and the public.

She promised to do more "as necessary" in the direction of transparency, accountability

and proactive disclosure of public data and information.

The partnership is at no cost to NPA and BudgIT, which is a non-profit organisation.

BudgIT's aim is to "redefine participatory governance" by presenting government data in engaging formats: simple tweets, interactive format or infographic displays.

BudgIT says it believes that in a democracy, "every citizen has the right to know how taxes are expended in the delivery of public infrastructure and services." The organsation offers mobile, online and offline solutions, to trigger discussions around the budget "and take the budget beyond being a news item, to becoming a focal point of debate among Nigerians."

With this agreement, BudgIT will develop an online portal for the Open Agencies Budget System with a “Follow the Money”

approach, providing linkages with other civic tools, as identified by both partners.

It will also identify key public policy issues in NPA focused areas relevant to private and public sector stakeholders, effectively communicating the transparency initiatives of the NPA. It will identify relevant initiatives and channels (media programmes, policy dialogues, policy briefs, interactive websites etc) to engage policy makers, private sector stakeholders and the general public with the achievements/programmes of the NPA concerning transparency and accountability.

BudgIT will lead conversion of research and analysis of these initiatives into relevant engagement formats for the general public, the media and civil society, as well as the development sector, as well as encourage the NPA to take steps to institutionalise proactive disclosure of public data and information, including the enactment of relevant laws such as the Fiscal Responsibility Act, Freedom of Information Act, Public Procurement Act and also an Open Data system. The two bodies will develop and execute relevant engagement programmes.

Branded an "activist in public service" when she was appointed, Usman made history as the first female chief executive of NPA. At 40, she is also the youngest to be MD since she was born. Initial opposition to her appointment has died down as she has quietly gone about doing her job at the NPA, reshuffling the top management for greater efficiency and outlining her vision for where she hopes the ports would be during her time in office.

The memorandum with BudgIT is a major signal of her intention. As she said at the signing ceremony, "This collaboration will ensure key researches, industry policies and innovations are effectively communicated. It will also ensure that critical data are generated and made accessible for policy makers, private sector actors, stakeholders and the public.

As we progress, we will be doing more as necessary in the direction of transparency, accountability and proactive disclosure of public data and information."

22

IMAGES

L-R: Executive Director, Marketing, Dynamiss, Sola Ajadi; Chief Operating Officer, Dynamiss, Mrs. Valerie Sodeinde; Head, Education, Microsoft, Jordan Belmonte; Chief Executive Officer, Dynamiss, Mr. Roland Sodeinde; Head of Sales, Dynamiss, Mrs. Angela Oyekanmi; and Country Director, Dynamiss, Mr. Lolu Elegbe, at the digital education and IT funding conference in Lagos...recently ETOP UKUTT

T H I S D AY • THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 24, 2016

Photo Editor Abiodun Ajala Email abiodun.ajala@thisdaylive.com

L-R: Speaker, Ebonyi State House of Assembly, Mr. Francis Nwifuru; President General, Ndigbo, Lagos, Prof Anya O. Anya; Governor David Nweze Nnahi of Ebonyi State and his wife, Rachael, during 2016 Ebonyi State Cultural Day at National Stadium, Surulere, Lagos...recently KOLAWOLE ALLI

L-R: Grand Kadi, Kwara State Sharia Court of Appeal, Justice Sheu Abdulbaqi; member, Kwara State House of Assembly, Hon. Aishat Ibrahim; Kwara State Governor, Alhaji Abdulfatah Ahmed; Group Managing Director, Harmony Holdings Ltd., Mr. Tope Daramola, and others during the groundbreaking of Harmony HUB (Computer Village) in Ilorin...recently

L-R: President, Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN), Mr. Titus Soetan; council member, Mr. Wale Raji; and the Registrar/CEO, Mr. Rotimi Omotoso, at a press conference by the council in Lagos... recently SUNDAY ADIGUN

L-R: Brand Representative, Knorr, Mr. Abiola Oparinde; student, Carm Wisdom College, Makurdi, Miss Ogbu Agnes; mother, Mrs. Kate Ahar; and Dean of Student Affairs, Mrs. Grace Tyoaan, during the 2016 phase 2 celebration of the Knorr green food steps programme, at Carm Wisdom College, Makurdi, Benue state... recently

Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed; Director General, National Film and Video Censor Board, Ms. Patricia Bala; and veteran film producer and Chairman, Board of Trustees, Producers Guild, Chief Eddie Ugbomah, at a consultative meeting with stakeholders on the National Enhanced Exhibition and Distribution System in Lagos...recently

L-R: Executive Director and Head, Debt Capital Market, Stanbic IBTC Capital Ltd, Mr. Kobby Bentsi-Enchill; Chief Executive Officer, Nigeria Mortgage Refinance Company, Dr Charles Inyangete; and Deputy Managing Director, Stanbic IBTC Bank, Dr Demola Sogunle; at the GFC Media Group forum on Bonds, Loans & Sukuk sponsored by Stanbic IBTC in Lagos...recently

L-R: President, Student Union Government, ABSU, Mr. Alugo Victor Uche; winner of the Glo Campus Data Diva, Okwuosa Uju; Globacom’s National Sales Coordinator, South-east, Mr. Gabriel Okoli; and the winner of the Glo Campus Data Dude, Ejike Daniel Chukwuemeka, during the Glo Campus Storm music concert at the Abia State University, Uturu...recently

T H I S D AY • THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 24, 2016

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BUSINESSWORLD NIBOR OVERNIGHT 1-MONTH

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Quick Takes ALM Buildmart Goes Digital

FOR A FRIENDLY TAX REGIME

L-R: Partner, Tax and Regulatory, Deloitte Nigeria, Mr. Yemi Olugbenro; Executive Chairman, Lagos Internal Revenue Service (LIRS), Mr. Ayo Subair; Chairman, Federal Inland Revenue Sevice (FIRS), Dr. Babatunde Fowler; President, Nigerian Association of Small and medium Enterprises (NASME), Prince Degun Agboade; and Chairman, National Tax Policy Review committee, Prof. Abiola Sanni, during the Deloitte Coalition of MSME Stakeholders Public-Private Dialogue (PPD) on Tax & Regulatory Policy Framework for micro, small & medium enterprises in Nigeria, held in Lagos …recently

Ask Buhari to Withdraw Proposed MTE, External Borrowing Plan, CSO Tells N’Assembly Ndubuisi Francis and Kelvin Okofu in Abuja A civil society organisation (CSO), Centre for Social Justice (CSJ) has enjoined the National Assembly to ask President Muhammadu Buhar to withdraw both the proposed 2017-2019 Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) and the Medium Term Borrowing Plan (2016-2018) in order to revise both to align with the capital projects that should demand a staggering $30 billion loan.

It also urged the lawmakers to ask the president to provide a detailed borrowing plan that shows at what point in the

ECONOMY three-year period a particular amount will be borrowed and from what sources.

This, CSJ argued, will help to show if the request for the approval of medium term borrowing plan is a critically thought-out plan or not.

These were part of the recommendations of the CSO in its “Review of the 2016-2018 Medium Term Borrowing Plan of the Federal Government of Nigeria: Implications for Debt Sustainability.”

In the review, the Lead Director, CSJ, Eze Onyekpere, said a lot of issues still needed to be clarified in the request for the

approval of the Medium Term Borrowing Plan (2016-2018) submitted by President Buhari to the National Assemly. One of such issues, CSJ said, bothers on the disagreement between the total value of capital projects in the proposed MTEF (20172019) and the amount proposed to be borrowed between 2016 and 2018. “Assuming the federal government would spend all its annual revenues on recurrent expenditure items throughout the two-year period and all capital projects will be financed with proceeds from the proposed loan, it is clear from our discussions that the proposed loan is still higher than the capital projects that

the Federal Government of Nigeria has identified so far in the 2016 approved budget and 2017-2019 Medium Term Expenditure Framework,” the CSO observed.

CSJ also advised that the Director General of the Debt Management Office be invited to proffer policy recommendations on the basis of the pessimistic scenarios observed in the findings of the Debt Sustainability Analysis exercise of the debt management technical team.

It recommended that the National Assembly asks Continued on page 24

NASS Begins Public Hearing on Telecoms Task Bill Soon Emma Okonji Having successfully scaled through the first and second readings at the floor of the National Assembly, the proposed telecoms task bill, which seeks to increase telecoms tax by 9 per cent, will be presented for public hearing soon, the Chairman, House Committee on Communication, representing Ibadan South West Federal Constituency, Honourable Saheed Fijabi, has said.

Fijabi who spoke to THISDAY during the recently concluded International Telecom Union (ITU 2016) conference in Bangkok, Thailand, said the lawmakers had concluded arrangements and the neces-

TELECOM sary proceedings to present the bill for public hearing, and that the date would soon be communicated.

“The telecommunications bill that seeks to increase telecoms tariff is a private bill that has passed through the second reading and the next stage is for it to go through public hearing where Nigerians will be invited to make their inputs, and our recommendation will be based on the outcome of the public hearing,” Fijabi said.

He added: “Although the bill is an executive bill, and not a private bill, it will soon be presented for public hearing and the outcome of the public

hearing, will help the legislators take decision as to whether to pass the bill at 9 per cent task increase, or to amend the bill by reducing the proposed tax to a percentage that will be pleasing to government, the telecoms operators and the subscribers.

Even though there had been public outcry from the telecoms sector, condemning the bill because of the proposed increase in telecoms tax, the National Assembly members are of the view that the revenue that will come from the increase, will help government to finance government projects that are of public interest.’’

Reacting to public comments on the proposed bill, Fijabi said: “People are too quick to

condemn the bill, whereas the government wants to use the bill to derive at something in the area of money generation to support certain government projects. The bill on its own is looking at catering for some aspect of the economy.

There is another bill called the Citizen Bill, which is designed to finance unemployed youth in the country. So some bills are designed to raise money to fund government projects.

The bill is not meant to ground the operations the telecoms sector. The bill in itself, has its own advantages because money generated from it will be used to finance government Continued on page 24

ALM Buildmart Limited, a real estate service provider with keen interest in the emerging clusters in the South East and South South region of Nigeria has officially unveiled its property listing portal www.easternproperties.ng in Nigeria.

The company with over 10 years of experience in real estate development has moved to fill the missing link in the real estate value chain within the southern region of the country.

During the launch, Managing Director, ALM Buildmart Limited, Mr. Obinna Onwunali said “we had two different strategies when we entered the market and this was based on our unique understanding of the market terrain in the south east region.

First, we sort to develop and sell modern habitable real estate assets and also to lighten the hassles inherent in hunting and placing a property in the market”.

Onwunali further explained that “as an established player in the real estate market, we understand that information and timely access to it is key to securing and leveraging on juicy opportunities in the real estate market.”

According to him, “The knowledge of who is selling, what is selling and where to sell or buy coupled with the ability to compare options and connect with intending sellers is key to unlocking the potentials in the sector especially in the eastern region which is currently undeserved. Hence, we have launched our property portal www.easternproperties.ng for every one interested in getting the best deals at the tips of their fingers.”

Yudala Signs Brand Ambassador

Yudala, Africa’s pioneer composite e-commerce outfit has signed on multiple award-winning gospel artiste, Frank Edwards as a brand ambassador.

The announcement, which was officially released by Yudala recently, comes on the heels of the Yudala Zero Gravity Rock Gospel Concert, held at the Federal Palace Hotel, Lagos, recently.

By virtue of the agreement, Frank Edwards, who is renowned as a talented singer-songwriter, worship leader, musician, producer and sound engineer, is expected to prominently represent the Yudala brand and feature heavily in the company’s marketing campaigns and consumer-focused strategies, while leveraging his considerable, following his popularity on social media to further deepen the brand’s growing impression in the market. In addition, Frank Edwards is expected to play a more significant role in Yudala’s future events, specifically the Rock Gospel Concerts which formed a major part of Yudala Zero Gravity Mega Music Concerts.

Speaking during the concert signing ceremony which held at the Yudala Headquarters in Lagos, Edwards expressed his excitement at being selected to represent the Yudala brand, which according to him, is one of the most visible brands in the country today.

COPA Mobilses for Beach Clean-up

Kinetic Sports, organisers of the annual beach tournament, COPA Lagos on Saturday November 19 mobilised Nigerians from all walks of life for a clean-up of Lagos coastal area of Elegushi Beach in Lekki.

The exercise, which has become a part of the yearly COPA Lagos calendar is aimed at conserving the beach. It encourages cleanliness in the environment as a way of preserving marine life. About 150 people took part in this year’s edition of the exercise, including popular celebrities, staff of Kinetic Sports, and top officials from corporate sponsors of COPA Lagos including FCMB, Pepsi, Wakanow and Hero; with SuperSport and Cool FM as partners.

Speaking during exercise, Managing Director, Kinetic Sports, Samson Adamu, said beach clean-up exercise was one of the corporate social responsibility activities for COPA Lagos.

He disclosed that the target for this year was to collect at least 750kg of trash during the exercise, with each participant required to collect at least 15kg of trash. The target was, however, surpassed with the participants collecting 772kg of trash.

“Indigenous alternative energy solutions companies must find innovative ways to provide the constant electricity required to increase productivity in Nigeria”

CEO, Cloud Energy Photoelectric Limited, Theophilus Nweke,

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T H I S D AY •THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 24, 2016

BUSINESSWORLD ASK BUHARI TO WITHDRAW PROPOSED MTE, EXTERNAL BORROWING PLAN, CSO TELLS N’ASSEMBLY the President to follow the stipulations of the Fiscal Responsibility Act (FRA) to wait for the full approval of the submitted MTEF (2017-2019), which should serve as the basis for any proposal to borrow.

It also asked the lawmakers to request that Buhari follows the FRA to revise downwards the proposed amount in the Medium Term Borrowing Plan (2016-2018) in order to allow same to correspond to the total budget and proposed capital expenditures within the years.

It equally urged the lawmakers to ask President Buhari to provide detailed repayment plan in accordance with the FRA as well as provide forecast (with justification) of the sources of revenue that will be used in servicing the debts at maturity.

Also analysing the 2017-2019 MTEF and Fiscal Strategy Paper (FSP), CSJ recommended that future MTEFs should be submitted to the National Assembly immediately after endorsement and must be done by the Federal

NASS BEGINS PUBLIC HEARING ON TELECOMS TASK BILL SOON projects like taking care of the unemployed and aged people in the society,” Fijabi stressed.

Following agitation by members of the public, especially stakeholders in Information and Communications Technology (ICT), concerning the proposed telecoms bill, President of the Association of Telecoms Companies of Nigeria (ATCON), Mr. Olusola Teniola penultimate week, met with the Senate President, Bukola Saraki, where he presented a paper, advising the Senate to drop the bill, which he said has received public condemnation, because it is perceived as overburden to telecoms operators who are already paying too many and too high taxes.

He is of the view that the additional 9 per cent telecoms tax will cripple the telecoms sector, despite government’s intention to raise money from it for developmental projects.

Group Business Editor

Chika Amanze-Nwachuku AgriBusiness/Industry Editor

Crusoe Osagie

Comms/e-Business Editor

Emma Okonji

Capital Market Editor

Goddy Egene

Senior Correspondent

Raheem Akingbolu (Advertising) Correspondents

Chinedu Eze (Aviation) Linda Eroke (Labour) Eromosele Abiodun (Cap Mkt) Ejiofor Alike (Energy) James Emejo (Nation’s Capital) Obinna Chima (Money Mkt) Reporters

Nume Ekeghe (Money Market) Nosa Alekhuogie (Maritme)

NEWS

Expert Blames Poor Service Quality on Weak BTS Connectivity Emma Okonji New facts have emerged as to why Nigerian subscribers still suffer from poor service quality, despite measures put in place by the telecoms regulatory body, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), to address the issue of drop calls and other sundry issues associated with poor service quality.

According to the telecoms expert, only 10 per cent of the total 16,000 Base Transceiver Stations (BTS), otherwise known as base stations, currently controlled by IHS Towers in Nigeria, is connected via fibre optic cable, for voice and data transmission, while majority of the operators preferred to use microwave connectivity because of its ease and speed of deployment.

The Chief Marketing Officer of Broadbased Communications Limited, Mr. Chidi Ibisi, who made the disclosure during an interview session with THISDAY at the recently concluded ITU Telecom World 2016 conference, which held in Bangkok, Thailand, revealed that microwave connectivity is a weaker channel for voice and data transmission, hence the reason for the continuous poor service quality experienced in the telecoms industry. He however said that most operators preferred microwave to fibre connectivity because it is cheaper and and faster to deploy.

Ibisi who manages a telecoms company that provides fibre optic cable connectivity services in Nigeria, insisted that unless telecoms operators begin to connect base stations with fibre

connectivity, subscribers would continue to suffer from poor service quality across networks.

Although some telecoms experts had complained that the 16,000 telecoms base stations across the country were not enough to provide quality telecoms services to subscribers, and had suggested 60,000 BTS to address the situation, but Ibisi told THISDAY that the issue was not with the number of BTS installed in the country, but with the channel through which the base stations were connected.

“Nationwide, only 10 per cent of the base stations are connected via fibre. The nature of 3G service offering is such that each of the service requires that the operator has fibre to the base station, but what the GSM operators are using today is microwave, which does not have the capacity to provide the high bandwidth requirements of customers,” Ibisi said.

Nigeria has 97 million internet users and all of these depend on connectivity. But the traffic that is growing on the internet is huge and it is

mostly video. So even though video content are compressed these days, video downloads and uploads put tremendous pressure on the network and consequently, the quality of service will drop. So if operators increase their transmission links to the base stations, via fibre optic cables, the quality of service will definitely improve, Ibisi insisted.

“Even with 4G service that is characterised by high speed connectivity, there is still need for fibre connectivity because if the highway channel going

into the base station is clog, then the subscriber will not be able to download and gain internet access at high speed,” Ibisi further said.

According to him, “There are several factors that affect service quality and one of them is occupancy of the base station site. There are several customers connected to a base station, and not all operator have higher carrier aggregation to address the traffic surge. So operators need metropolitan fire optic networks to offer good service quality at high speed.”

BOOSTING POWER SUPPLY

L-R: Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Fashola SAN; Deputy Governor, Akwa Ibom State, Moses Ekpo; a former Special Adviser to former President, Prince Olusola Akanmode and the Managing Director, Cartlark International Limited, Princess Mariam Akanmode, during the official commissioning of Essien Udim/Ikot-Ekpene 330kv switching station built by Cartlark International for NDPHC, in Akwa Ibom State… recently

Cross River, Huawei Sign Contract to Make Calabar Nigeria’s First Smart City Nosa Alekhuogie The Cross River Government and Huawei Technology of China have signed a contract to make Calabar Nigeria’s first smart city.

Governor Ben Ayade, who was excited at the development, said the execution of the contract will herald the full digitalisation of Calabar and the entire state.

The Governor, while commending the Chinese firm for being favourably disposed to doing business with the state, expressed his gratitude to the company for offering to sponsor some aspects of the 2016 Carnival Calabar.

Ayade disclosed further that the smart city project will ensure availability of cheap wifi services everywhere in Calabar.

“This will be the first time that data would be provided from the cloud. With this digital cloud, it will offer opportunity to get information with ease and comfort, including boosting research and academic works.

“The project which is in partnership with Huawei of China, the equipment manufacturer, with Sino Infrastructure Development company Limited as the technical partner in Nigeria for the project,” said Ayade. He maintained that “this partnership will provide cheap access to connectivity; Cross Riverians will know that Huawei is bringing the best technology to us. They are a

known name in the world and a pace setter in the industry.

“Cross River deserves only the best which they have to offer. The whole state is going digital as the Cross River super highway will have superconnectivity where all the best internet and technology services will be offered to users of the super highway. This will be the first fully smart city in Nigeria. Cross River will be the model for Africa and we are proud to be associated with this”, Ayade stated.

He reminded the firm that part of its responsibility is not “only providing 3g and 4g network connectivity but also fibre to home, which will afford the opportunity to download music, news, movies and even research materials.”

Earlier, the Commissioner for ICT, Chief Offu Aya explained that the smart city project is very dear to the governor.

“You have taken us to China to appreciate what Huawei has done in that country, a country with about 1.7 billion people, and how Huawei has turned China into a huge smart city and we have come back with a detailed report.

“Today is a very unique day for the ministry, as before the carnival the pilot scheme will be ready where there will be free wifi services. This will make Calabar the first smart city in Nigeria, it will benefit Cross Riverians and Nigerians as it will make communication

faster and easier.”

In his response, the Managing Director of Sino Infrastructure Development Company, Mr. Li Yamping expressed happiness that Huawei and the

Cross River Government are working with their company as technical partner on the project and assured that the expected goal will be achieved just as the standard required will be

maintained. He stressed that the company was proud to work with the state in line with the governor’s digital policy of making the state the number one digital state in Africa.

Obaseki Unveils N4.8bn Guinness Production Line in Benin Adibe Emenyonu in Benin City In line with its strategic plans to reduced spending on imports, increase exports and generate foreign exchange, Guinness Nigeria has opened a N4.8 billion spirits production line in Benin City, capital of Edo state.

The plant, which is one example of British companies growing their market share in Nigeria, would have raw materials for the production line sourced locally.

The production line has a design capacity of 1,200,000 cases and would produce brands such as Smirnoff X1 intense chocolate vodka, Smirnoff Extra Smooth vodka, Gordon’s Dry Gin, Moringa Citrus Blend, McDowell’s No. 1 Reserved Whisky, McDowell’s VSOP Brand and Royal Challenge Finest Premium Whisky.

Unveilng the production line, Governor of Edo state, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, commended the company for the vision to

expand its business in the state, stating that his administration was willing to partner with Guinness in its 200,000 jobs by ensuring the production of cassava that would meet the company’s raw materials needs.

Obaseki while relieving his personal relationship with the company, said he was pleased to perform his first corporate function by commissioning the spirits line of the company.

Recalling that years back, Guinness had spent £300 million to expand its plant in Edo, he noted that Edo government was pleased to have the firm in the state, just as he pledged to work with the brewery firm and other companies in the area of agriculture production.

Earlier in his welcome address Chairman, Board of Directors of Guinness Nigeria Plc, Mr. Babatunde Savage, said investments like the one being commissioned form part of a legacy of the company which will outlive it, noting that he feel honoured to be leading

the company at this particular moment in time.

According to him, “Guinness Nigeria has a long and prestigious history in Nigeria and in Benin since we built our brewery here in 1974, our history spreads throughout the world with the wonderful history and heritage of our strong portfolio of global brands like Guinness and Johnnie Walker.”

He announced that Diageo Plc, one of the FTSE 100 companies listed on both the London and New York Stock Exchanges is also the world’s leading drinks company with presence in over 180 countries around the world.

“Today, we add to that strong heritage with the commissioning of our spirits production line in Nigeria a first for Guinness Nigeria. With this line, we are now able to produce previously imported spirits locally. What this means is that we are able to offer a wider variety of products to our consumers at a more affordable price point.

25

T H I S D AY •THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 24, 2016

BUSINESSWORLD

E-BUSINESS

Globacom Making the Trusted Difference through Products Offering Chika Amanze-Nwachuku writes that Globacom is committed to going above and beyond to provide the best affordable and innovative telecommunications products and services for its customers In the 13 years since it was founded, Globacom has proven its position as a leader in Nigeria’s fast-growing telecommunications sector.

Since inception, the company has continued to provide a range of unique products and end-to-end services to its diverse customer base, strengthening the value it provides to its customers.

In line with its commitment to continually empower its subscribers with affordable and innovative telecommunications products and services, the telecoms giant recently launched four new products- Borrow Me Data; Double Free Tomorrow; New IDD Packs and 11k Per Second For All. Industry analysts argue that no one can offer the range of products Glo can. To them, this is the best time to be a Glo subscriber as they stand to enjoy a lot of value for money initiatives for voice and data subscribers.

Borrow Me Data The Glo Borrow Me Data, allows subscribers to borrow data credit of up to 2GB whenever their data bundles are exhausted and they have no airtime balance to recharge their data plan or in cases of unsuccessful subscription bundle activation due to low balance.

According to the telecoms giant, customers can subscribe to Borrow Me Data by dialling *321# and following the menu options. ’’The service will then push real time data credit to all eligible subscribers in line with the stated eligibility criterion. The customer will repay the data credit whenever airtime recharge is made’’, Globacom’s Head, Usage and Retention, Sola Mr. Arowogbadamu, said, adding eligibility criterion for the offer includes how long a customer has been on the network and average monthly data usage.

He said that the product has taken a big load of worry off the chest of its teeming subscribers. This, according to him, was because the challenge of running out of data at inconvenient places and time has been resolved once and for all with the introduction of the product, as the product will give its subscribers an edge in their business and personal lives.

Besides, Borrow Me Data, would guarantee subscribers continuous instant, efficient broadband internet offered by the Glo 4G. With the new product, subscribers can be able to download ultra-high definition videos in seconds as well as other high intensive data applications. Arowogbadamu explained: ‘‘A subscriber could be watching a movie on the network’s 4G LTE bundle and his data runs out but that would no longer be a problem with Borrow Me Data because with a few press of the buttons of his phone he can continue enjoying his movie without moving out the room or buying airtime.’’

Also, with this new product, Glo said a subscriber can continue his fun by simply dialling *321#, and following the menu options which will guide him till he loads the real time Data credit. The customer will repay the data credit when next he buys airtime.

With this facility, Globacom’s subscribers are assured of unbroken connection to the internet as they (subscribers) can borrow up to 2GB of data at a particular time.

Arowogbadamu added: “Nigerians are more and more depending on the internet for social connection and business and with this new product, online business transactions, academic activities, financial deals, and personal transactions are now guaranteed to be uninterrupted. “ Subscribers will always be in need of uninterrupted connectivity, that is why the company has moved to make data available for subscribers at all times” he said , adding ‘‘Borrow Me Data will help to promote business development by ensuring that subscribers stayed connected online 24/7 without the

Mike Adenuga Towers, Lagos

fear of being disconnected when they exhaust their data subscription.’’

The good thing also is that the facility is available to customers who have been on the Glo network for at least a month and use an average of N200 credit monthly. They will be able to borrow 20MB data, which is valid for a day, while subscribers who want to borrow 40MB which is also valid for a day, must have been on the Glo network for at least a month and should use an average of N400 credit monthly.

Also, subscribers will qualify to borrow 125MB of data, valid for five days, once they use an average of N800 monthly and have been on the Glo network for a month. Also available on the package are 1GB and 2GB of data which are valid for 7 and 10 days respectively. Globacom said subscribers can have access to borrow such data if they have been on the Glo network for three months and have used an average of N1000 and N2000 a month respectively.”

Double Free Tomorrow Repackaged to give subscribers unique experience, Glo’s much loved Double Free Tomorrow delivers even more value to its customers.

The reloaded Double Free Tomorrow was among the four products formally presented to the public by Globacom on November 1, 2016. Arowogbadamu said at the unveiling that the product gives back to the subscriber the following day, 200 percent of whatever is spent on calls, SMS or data on any given day.

When the product was initially introduced last year, it gave back to subscribers the next day whatever amount they spent on calls, SMS and browsing on any given day, he said.

In its reloaded format, the product doubles whatever a subscriber uses on calls, internet services and SMS on any given day and gives it back as free credit to the subscriber the following day.

The subscriber is free to use this bonus for virtually everything, including browsing, local and international calls and SMS to Glo and non-Glo lines, Arowogbadamu explained.

With this new offering, Globacom subscribers who want good value for money to take advantage of this product regardless of whether they are new or existing customers.

“With Glo Double Free Tomorrow, customers get back double benefits free the next day. In other words, when they spend more today, they get much more tomorrow. For instance, if a subscriber on the Glo network uses N500 credit in a day on calls, SMS and data, Glo will give back N1,000 credit to the subscriber the very next day to call all networks, SMS and browse free,” he said, adding, ’’To request for this service, customers are to dial *600#’’ New IDD Packs The new international direct dialing (IDD) packs, also one of the recently launched products by the telecoms giant allow subscribers on its platform to make calls to major destinations of the world at much more affordable rate.

The New IDD Packs, regarded as the best deal in the country, allow Globacom subscribers to make calls from Nigeria to 30 major international destinations for as low as N6.60 per minute.

“With the new tariff structure, we have empowered our subscribers to call their friends, relations and business associates in 30 countries at more convenient and affordable rates’’, the company said, adding that the new package was in line with its commitment to offer the best value to its customers. The 30 destinations covered by the new IDD packs, according to Glo include the United Kingdom, United States, Canada, South Africa, India, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, China, Hong Kong, Japan, Israel and Australia.

Others are Bangladesh, Brunei, Cyprus, Denmark, Finland, French Guiana, Guam, Luxembourg, Malta, Mongolia, Mexico, Netherlands, Norway, Puerto Rico, Reunion Island, Romania and Singapore.

The New IDD Packs are designed to match different recharge denominations, which include IDD 100, IDD 200, IDD 500 and IDD 1,000.

The IDD 100 gives subscribers 12 minutes of calls valid for 3 days, while IDD 200 gives 24 call minutes for seven days. The IDD 500 bundle gives 60 minutes of calls for 14 days, while the fourth bundle, IDD 1000, avails users with 150 minutes of calls valid for 30 days.

“Whichever bundle the subscriber chooses, he is assured of good value for money. He will not only benefit from the reduced tariffs,

which are the best in the market, but will also enjoy seamless connectivity and call clarity made possible by the Glo 1 international submarine cable,” Globacom explained at the unveiling of the product.

11k Per Second For All The quest to give its subscribers more talk time to communicate with family, friends and business associates locally and internationally prompted the introduction of Glo’s well received product, 11k Per Second For All. The product allows Glo customers who subscribe to it to make local and international calls at the flat rate of 11 kobo per second.

The new product was among numerous others carefully conceived and designed by the company to give its numerous customers unbeatable value for money.

Arowogbadamu explained that the product, which was conceived to reduce expenses on calls by Globacom customers, especially at these austere times, can be enjoyed by all prepaid and postpaid customers who pay a daily access fee of N5.

According to Globacom, ’’For international calls, Glo subscribers on the plan can call thirty destinations at 11 kobo per second.

The international destinations are Australia, Bangladesh, Brunei, Canada, China, Cyprus, Denmark, Finland, French Guiana, Guam, Japan, Hong Kong, India, Israel, Luxembourg, Malta , Mongolia, Mexico, Netherlands, Norway, Puerto Rico, Reunion Island, Romania, Singapore, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, UK, US. New and existing customers can migrate to the plan by dialling *777# and follow the guide to savour the benefits and unbeatable value for money.

With this unique product, subscribers who port to Globacom will have the additional benefits of receiving a welcome bonus of N500 Glo-to-Glo talk-time and 500MB of data upon first recharge and 500MB complimentary data for the next six months after porting to Glo. “This is the best deal ever and it is in sync with our forte of making life sweeter for our esteemed customers to enjoy our rich bouquet of offerings and products at pocket-friendly rates as they cope with the economic recession in the country,” Globacom added.

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Bridging Nigeria’s ICT Infrastructure Gap Further investment in information and communications technology infrastructure is necessary, if Nigeria must fully capture the benefits of the new digital economy, writes Emma Okonji

Broadband cable to drive infrastructural development

Global technology evolution, no doubt, has exposed Nigeria’s deficiency in the area of information and communications technology (ICT) infrastructure development. While developed countries of the world are coming up with new technologies that will drive the digital age, Nigeria and other developing countries are trying to play the catch-up owing to lack of adequate ICT infrastructure.

Experts and government officials, including Vice President Yemi Osinbajo have said that Nigeria needs a whopping $25 billion annually over the next 10 years to build and develop the necessary infrastructure to take the nation to the next level. The World Bank has projected that Nigeria will surpass the United States in population by 2050 and most likely become the third largest population by 2050 after China and India with a population of about 460 million people. These statistics signify the population that investors consider when they decide to invest in Nigeria.

Closing ICT infrastructure deficit More than any other sector, poor infrastructure has been the bane of ICT development in the country and a leading cause of deficiencies in quality of telecommunications services, from broadband penetration to reliability of mobile network services. This infrastructure deficit is preventing many Nigerians from gaining affordable and reliable access to ICT services.

These challenges notwithstanding, the private sector is striving to deepen ICT infrastructure in Nigeria to enable the country deliver better quality of service at lower prices to its teeming population.

One of the companies that have made investments in good quality infrastructure facilities to close the digital deficit gap is MainOne. Despite the challenging economic environment in the country, MainOne has defied the odds and is making a mark in broadband penetration in West Africa and Nigeria in particular. MainOne continues to

invest significantly in growing and covering the broadband ecosystem in West Africa and growing its leadership position in the industry.

From initial investments of over $240 million to deploy a world-class submarine cable system, followed by investments in a next generation IP NGN network, a growing regional and metro terrestrial fiber optics network and a Tier III Data Centre, MainOne intends investing over $100 million within the next five years as a sign of its commitment to improving

More than any other sector, poor infrastructure has been the bane of ICT development in the country and a leading cause of deficiencies in quality of telecommunications services, from broadband penetration to reliability of mobile network services.

This infrastructure deficit is preventing many Nigerians from gaining affordable and reliable access to ICT services

broadband services in West Africa.

In six years of operation, MainOne has become West Africa’s leading connectivity and data centre solutions provider to businesses and telecoms service providers.

The combination of sophisticated infrastructure and technical expertise that the company amassed during this period has propelled it to become West Africa’s internet backbone, driving the region’s internet revolution, with direct connections in Nigeria and Ghana and through partners, to seven other West African countries. During this period, innovative solutions deployed by MainOne have engendered significant impact and far reaching results across the technology industry and has significantly enabled the region’s digital economies.

InfraCos and ICT development In recognition of the company’s capacity, contributions and infrastructure commitments to developing the country, the Nigeria’s telecommunications regulator, Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), recently awarded a consortium led by MainOne, InfraCo Nigeria Limited, a licence as the fibre infrastructure provider for Lagos, Nigeria’s commercial capital.

The InfraCo licence covers the deployment of metropolitan fibre-optic infrastructure within Lagos on an open access, non-discriminatory and price-regulated basis, and is a strategic plan by the NCC to accelerate broadband penetration, delivering cost effective and reliable broadband services to households and businesses and facilitate the development of Nigeria’s digital economy. Already, in partnership with the Lagos State Government and other stakeholder groups, MainOne built fibre infrastructure to enable Nigeria’s first innovation hub in Yaba, dubbed the Yaba Silicon Valley, which houses Nigeria’s tech hubs and start up community. This hub has created thousands of direct jobs and tens of thousands of indirect jobs, by stimulation of

the Internet Service Providers (ISP), eCommerce and ICT sectors.

Last-mile infrastructure investment With increased technology investments in lastmile infrastructure, effective regulation, and increased regional participation in the global digital economy driving regional broadband growth, the data centre landscape in West Africa is also expected to grow significantly.

In response to this upsurge and in line with its innovative outlook, MainOne’s Lekki data centre subsidiary, MDXi, with a 600 rack capacity is addressing the growing demand for co-location, cloud, and disaster recovery services in Nigeria and West Africa.

The infrastructure encourages in-country data storage with further impact on easing the adoption of ICT solutions while simultaneously addressing critical factors associated with cost, quality service, data security, and backup.

Government role and collaborative efforts As Nigeria seeks to diversify the economy and make it less dependent on oil, experts believe there is need for government to proactively support initiatives aimed at deploying infrastructure to connect more people and businesses online via collaboration, scalable business solutions, and capacity development programmes.

The federal government should, as a matter of necessity work steadfastly towards closing the infrastructure deficit in the nation’s information and communications technology industry by expediting and deepening the implementation of the National Broadband Plan, which seeks to grow broadband penetration by 30 per cent in 2018. The critical issues and challenges in the sector are begging for attention and government must work earnestly to find ways to resolve them.

Government and the private sector must therefore rise to address the country’s infrastructure deficit in ICT in order to boost speedy development in the digital age.

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Danbatta: ITU is the Ideal Platform to Showcase Nigeria The Executive Vice Chairman, Nigeria Communications Commission, Prof. Umar Garba Danbatta, spoke with Emma Okonji in Bangkok, Thailand, on Nigeria’s investment opportunities and the need to showcase them before global investors. Excerpts: various government agencies, to achieve this.

What is unique about Nigeria’s active participation at the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) Telecom World 2016 conference, held in Bangkok, Thailand?

Nigeria has a long history of strong relationship with the ITU. In recent years, especially, Nigeria has actively participated in the ITU Telecom World events and 2016 is not different. We see the ITU Telecom World as an opportunity to lend our voice to the insightful discussions and exchange of experiences and ideas. Indeed we see the event as the most ideal platform for Nigeria to inform the global information and communications technology (ICT) community of the vast investment opportunities that abound in the nation’s ICT sector.

What informed NCC’s decision to have an outstanding national pavilion at ITU conference?

Nigeria has always had national pavilion at ITU global events, but the decision to have a national pavilion once again in ITU 2016 was predicated on the spirit of cooperation and the unified goal of both the government and the private sector of Nigeria’s ICT industry to ensure that every citizen of our great country has access to ubiquitous, resilient and affordable ICT services.

This was why we had different government agencies and the private sector organisations present at our national pavilion such as the Federal Ministry of Communications and its agencies, Galaxy Backbone, Nigerian Communications Satellite Limited (NIGCOMSAT), National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) and the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC).

We also had with us at the Nigeria pavilion, other drivers of ICT in Nigeria, which include operators and service providers, represented

by Etisalat, MTN Nigeria, Airtel, Broadbased Communications and Phase 3 Telecoms.

The Nigeria pavilion also hosted some brilliant technology start-ups and entrepreneurs who were privileged to showcase their innovative solutions to the world. The Nigeria pavilion hosted two ITU pitching sessions for innovators and two of our innovators were selected to pitch their innovations.

How would you describe the success of Nigeria’s participation at the ITU Telecom World 2016 conference?

It was highly successful in the sense that aside the official opening ceremony of the Nigeria pavilion, which attracted foreign investors, we also had the Nigeria Investment Forum that also attracted foreign investors. The former ITU Secretary-General, Dr. Hamadoun Toure, who was the special guest of honour at the investment forum, used the occasion to further showcase Nigeria’s potential before the global communities and the investors present. He gave good reasons why Nigeria remains a veritable ground for ICT investment, citing the Nigerian population as a big advantage for investment.

The success of Nigeria at ITU Telecom World 2016 was further enhanced by the consistent presence of the members of our National Assembly, the Executive Governor of Kaduna State, Mallam Nasir el- Rufai, the Chairman of the Governing Board of the Digital Bridge Institute in Nigeria, Professor Bawuro Barkindo, former Chairman of the Board of the NCC, Mallam Ahmed Joda, who were at the conference to lend their support and also enlighten other participants at ITU Telecom World 2016 of Nigeria’s drive to ensure ICT for ‘All Nigerians.

What specific message did NCC take to ITU 2016 conference?

We took the commission’s 8-point agenda to the conference, as well as the country’s vast opportunities for investment. We at the

NCC did so well to woo foreign investors to Nigeria during the ITU 2016 conference. To what extent has Nigeria addressed the issue of ‘ease of doing business’ in the country?

Government has a lot of initiatives to facilitate the ease of doing business in Nigeria because foreign investors will be willing to do business in any country where the return of investment is high, and where the policies are consistent and favourable to investors. There are opportunities for investment in Nigeria, aided by flexible regulatory policies. Government understands the importance of ‘ease of doing business’ in the country and it is putting every measure in place that will enhance businesses in the country. It is for this and other reasons that the NCC continually woos foreign investors to come and invest in the country’s broadband and other ICT infrastructure.

Danbatta

Nigerian Communications Commission have rolled out an 8-point agenda whose focus is in line with the change mantra of the government of President Muhammadu Buhari. The agenda is premised on facilitating broadband penetration, improving quality of service, optimising usage and benefits of spectrum, promoting ICT innovation and investment, facilitating strategic partnerships, protecting our consumers, promoting fair and inclusive growth and ensuring regulatory excellence and operational efficiency. We recognise the immense socio-economic importance of ICT to national development and will therefore seek to ensure that the necessary infrastructure to ensure ubiquitous broadband service is available and accessible to citizens of Nigeria.

What is NCC’s commitment to ICT development in Nigeria?

NCC has a mandate to drive technology development in the country through the identification of technology innovation and improve on it for the good of the entire country. It is for this reason and commitment that the NCC sponsored eight technology startups to this year’s ITU conference, among whom were

The Nigeria pavilion also hosted some brilliant technology start-ups and entrepreneurs who were privileged to showcase their innovative solutions to the world. The Nigeria pavilion hosted two ITU pitching sessions for innovators and two of our innovators were selected to pitch their innovations

four Small and Medium Enterprise (SMEs).

They were given the opportunity to showcase their technology solutions that cut across social services, health, eCommerce, education, medicine, telecommunications, among others.

The start-ups have exhibited ground-breaking innovative entrepreneurial skills that would go a long way to accelerate the change that we so much desired in Nigeria. Acceleration of innovation changes the way we do things in a more efficient way. Young Nigerians have come up with new innovation and we need to showcase them to the rest of the world, to enable them experience and invest in locally developed technologies that address specific challenges for organisations and individuals.

Aside giving the eight technology start-ups and entrepreneurs the opportunity to showcase their innovative solutions at ITU conference, what kind of financial support could NCC offer them?

We would collaborate with the relevant agencies of government like the National Office for Technology Acquisition and Promotion (NOTAP) and the Small and Medium Enterprise Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN), to provide the relevant funding that would enable them improve on their solutions and make them commercially available within and outside Nigeria. We were able to discover young Nigerians with innovative ideas and we will draw collaboration with the relevant agencies such as NOTAP and SMEDAN to assist in getting investors that will invest in their solutions.

ITU Secretary-General, Mr. Houlin Zhao, while responding to the hosting rights of ITU conferences by African countries, said Nigeria has never applied to host ITU and that he would be glad to bring ITU conference to Nigeria, if Nigeria indicates interest to host it. What is your take on this?

Zhao was only responding to a question raised by a Nigerian, who asked why ITU conferences have not been hosted in Nigeria. For me, his response will motivate the Nigerian government to put in place, what it takes to host global conference of such magnitude that attracts over 25,000 participants, regulators, entrepreneurs and big organisations from over 120 countries of the world. The truth is that Nigeria has infrastructure gaps and we need to fix our infrastructure to host global conferences like ITU Telecom World.

For instance, Nigeria lacks a single and robust data centre infrastructure and there is need to harmonise all the various data centres sitting at

Are you satisfied with the outcome of this year’s Nigeria Investment Forum at ITU 2016?

Highly satisfied because it offered NCC the opportunity to showcase Nigeria’s investment opportunities. We were honoured by the presence of several foreign investors at the investment forum and their responses were signs of willingness on their part to come to Nigeria to invest in the country’s ICT sector. The hall was full to its capacity with foreign investors who were interested in the Nigerian business opportunities that we outlined for them. The most important and fascinating thing was that we had conversations with foreign investors on the investment opportunities in Nigeria and that was the extent of participating actively at this year’s ITU Telecom World.

I will like to thank the Nigerian Ambassador to Thailand for the immense hospitality extended to the entire Nigeria contingent and to the Secretary-General of ITU, Mr Houlin Zhao, as well as to the entire management of the ITU for its continued support in ensuring that Nigeria benefits immensely from the opportunities that the ITU Telecom World provides.

NCC issued a warning recently to telecoms operators concerning telemarketing. What could have triggered the warning?

Yes we issued a warning letter recently to 13 telecom operators and telecoms service providers, because we have come to realise that in spite of several appeal letters sent to the operators in the past to put an end to unsolicited text messages, they still broadcast messages as telemarketing, and subscribers kept complaining.

After several meetings, including those we held with the network providers, it became necessary to issue the latest ultimatum to redress the menace of incessant unsolicited text messages and phone calls for telemarketing via the various networks, in order to protect the consumers’ right. The NCC has written to all 13 networks providers on whose networks it has received series of complaints from subscribers regarding the efficacy of the Do Not Disturb (DND) service.

The truth is that the commission had engaged mobile network operators on the subject and further explained that all network-generated SMS and calls from network providers, must be focused around information on emergencies such as national security, fire, notifications on network maintenance programmes, down times and notification regarding subscribers bundle usage and service renewals.

NCC insisted that all other text messages and voice calls informing subscribers of new products and service offerings, must not be regarded as network-generated and therefore regarded as unsolicited marketing messages. The menace of unsolicited text messages has been a nightmare to several millions of subscribers and the commission can no longer accept any excuses whatsoever from the network providers.

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Adekanmbi: Companies’Growth Will Depend on Data Science, Sharing Economy in the Future A boardroom guru and MTN C-Level Executive, Bayo Adekanmbi, who just return from sabbatical, spoke to Raheem Akingbolu on the dynamics of today’s businesses and the urgent need for companies to create back-to-school programmes for decision-makers What was the experience like; moving from being a C-level executive in a multinational company to a research student?

It was a most necessary break to unlearn and relearn. There are certain breakthrough insights you cannot get in a 21-day management programme. Although I have had a lot of executive education, I discovered that there are levels of learning you cannot unearth through short classes alone. I am referring to real, insightful research that requires executives to become full-time students and feel the academic rigour that is beyond simply a ‘certificate of attendance’.

I spent a lot of time criss-crossing countries to spend time with leading academia and research/ development teams of various world-class organisations, and I had the huge privilege of sharing my work around the world and receiving challenging feedback and perspectives. I had to go back to raw coding, build my mathematical model from scratch and spend a lot of time engaging with the established body of work. It was a really exciting experience because I could see immediately how every piece of academic research could have instant boardroom relevance. I saw instances where superstar ideas for commercialisation were not the exciting points for my professors. My executive experience really helped me to comb the world of doctoral-level learning with a high sense of expectation and curiosity.

My work was based on people’s unconscious behaviour. By using verifiable behavioural data it was possible to model the pattern of social influence and consequent social capital with likely incremental value. It was time well spent to work on bandwagon consumption behaviour – that is, the logic of how people influence others in social consumption – and I believe understanding this can be used to build predictable models to effectively monetise any industry. I also believe the same passion that drives our annual and quarterly targets must be applied to shift the frontier of executive education and application because it takes much more to dig deeper into the transformational themes that have huge consequences on our future.

My biggest takeaway was the realisation that leading companies should create Back-to-School programmes for decision-makers. If necessary, this can be limited to experts in research-based specialities. It’s essential that decision-makers can access latent knowledge that is not available in short programmes. These programmes will help academia’s transformational insights find full-scale operational application, where otherwise they may be restricted to publication in academic journals. I propose a model where academics have more direct access to organisations as ‘work-in experts’, while executives can also take long sabbaticals to work in academia. Truth be told, there is a huge gap between the two worlds.

I observed that most academics are content with seeing their work published, and do not worry whether their insights are operationalised.

Meanwhile, executives are in such a hurry that they seek helicopter summarisation with no time for the fine details. Herein lies the new frontier of opportunities.

Could that inform why you got global recognition at the INSNA conference in California?

Yes, the work was about using social relationships between people to determine effective price points, and how people can be used to influence others interms of product adoption.

In California, this was recognised for its application in telecoms as a social pricing tool, while in China it was noted for how it could be adapted to track online luxury counterfeiting as social behaviour.

I must also state that the world is always excited at emerging market solutions, especially those that make sense of the complexity of our socio-cultural nuances. My concept of social consumption addresses how we can quantify and

journey. Yet, of course, in order for this to work there must be a social validation system and accountability platform built on trust.

Could this be the trust of your new book, The Future Is Shared, which was recently launched in London?

Exactly. This is the thrust of the book. The shared economy philosophy extends to crowdsourcing, crowdfunding, disintermediation, on-demand services and recycling, with social, economic and, more importantly, environmental sustainability advantages. Businesses that will win tomorrow must understand how to become shareable experiences that enrich sociality and sustainability.

Businesses will be more accountable to the planet, and reuse will be a key element of future brand positioning. Today, companies are reinventing their business model. For example, Ford and China’s Baidu are jointly developing their driverless ride-sharing service, while the fast-moving consumer goods company Unilever acquired Dollar Shave Club, a men’s shaving subscription service, and also invested a whopping £500,000 in the on-demand beauty app Blow. This is why I can say confidently that data science and the sharing economy will the biggest disruptors of the 21st century.

Adekanmbi

monetise Africa’s collective essence effectively in product adoption and market valuation. If a business can model how people influence people, and connect with the social multiplier value of their brand, it may have a better view of the likely innovation adopter and subsequent social adopters in their valuation matrix.

In order to validate an emerging market reality, I used many of the well-tested global models, like Krackhardt’s ‘philo’ relationship theory, Simmel’s sociation theory and others.

The relevance was easy to test because I used an industry where data is generated every second. The telecoms model was tested in five emerging-market countries and the impact was proven undoubtedly. It was a most humbling recognition for me and, as my little contribution to knowledge and industry practice from an emerging market perspective, my next focus is how to operationalise the learning on a larger scale. I also need to mention that social influence dynamics are applicable in all industries, from banking to the government to FMCG consumption.

You kept emphasising the power of analytics and data science for business success. Do you think the Nigerian market is ready for this?

Data is the currency of the future. In the 21st century, data can be equated to what Oil was in the 18th century. It is the most valuable asset that will determine the future competitive advantage and operational survival of any business: it is an immensely untapped, valuable asset. The power of today’s machine can unearth what our best rational mind cannot logically link together. Like Sean Rad’s popular saying, ‘Data beats emotions. The only way to make sense of the complexity of today’s consumer is through use of data.’ This is beyond traditional research, where customers tell us what we want to hear. Data science takes it a step further by aggregating data on what customers post on social media, where they go, which ATM they used, which websites they visit, who they are seen with, etc. on a real-time basis to gain richer, contextual understanding of customers’ attitudes for profitable engagement. Any business that wants to win today must understand how a change in the weather, comments made on Twitter in a particular area, the traffic pattern, sensor information, etc. all influence purchases and help to predict future business risk and opportunities.

Every business is a business of people, and the more a business understands the complex web of interactions and interconnections between customers, locations and machines, the better it is positioned to maximise value. For a customer who banks with the hypothetical Bank A, how often do they use their bank’s ATM? What is the social context of the locations where they use their debit card? Who are the people they frequently receive funds from or send funds to?

How many unique phone numbers do they use on online channels to send or receive airtime credits? These insights can highlight a social network’s underlying spending and banking transactions, and how this can be leveraged for social loan validation or risk modelling. It is even more exciting in telecoms when you can understand the total unique numbers called, how many numbers called back and how a reduction in customers’ spending can be predicted by a reduction in activity from numbers that frequently call them. Churn can be better managed as a social event; rather than running after an individual with multiple offers, we can manage a cluster of customers who are socially connected and whose usage is socially interconnected. When a customer returns a flash call or a Call Me Back message, what does the response time say about the underlying emotional connection between the calling parties? These and many more examples are what the social theory of consumption can explain using the power of data science.

This takes me to the other issue of the sharing economy, where people have taken this logic to begin sharing their space, time and resources with friends and even unknown people in a socially connected and socially validated exchange ecosystem. This pushes the idea that social dynamics occurs not only with people you know but also with people you do not know who have extra capacity that they want to share on a real-time basis. This is the success story of Uber or Airbnb, and it may interest you to know that the sharing economy is growing faster than Facebook, Google and Yahoo combined. The sharing economy says that for every underutilised asset, like empty seats in your car on your way to Ibadan for the weekend, there are people who need it and are willing to pay for it. In the case of the empty-seat example, this goes beyond the social opportunity to meet new friends and have a mutually exciting

Do you think this whole concept of the sharing economy will work in Nigeria?

It is already here but not yet in the mainstream.

Nigerians are already living the essence of the sharing economy. They know how to rely on the crowd to pull resources for the collective benefit. Look at the traditional Esusu and see how banks like Diamond Bank and Access Bank are digitalizing it. I am sure you have heard of ride-sharing businesses models like Jekalo, GoMyWay and RideBliss.

Now there is Max logistics, which works on a crowdsourced delivery model, along with so many others. These are the businesses we shall be celebrating and showcasing to the world when I launch the book on 26 of this month in Lagos.

On a softer note, many people did not expect you to come back to the country after such an impressive global experience that may have brought new opportunities.

First and foremost, this is about MTN, a company that believes in its people and gladly supported my aspiration. It is good to work for a company that provides sabbatical support and I am glad to say I enjoyed the support and the commitment to my growth. Second, I have a bigger dream to add value where it will be most appreciated. The truth is that we must be driven by something much more than the comfort of life or money. I believe, I owe the next generation the opportunity to learn from what I have gained. This is the basis for setting up the Data Science Nigeria Network, a practitioner-led learning and mentorship platform to expose young Nigerian undergraduates, new graduates and young professionals to the huge opportunities in data science, which today is the number one career in the world. By MGI’s estimate, the US will experience a shortage of 1.5million data scientists. India is already tapping into this space and now leads on outsourced data science projects, and I believe we have smart Nigerians who can build new skillsets in data science to compete favourably and attract huge forex to Nigeria as data science entrepreneurs.

I am excited to mention that we have already kicked this off. On the afternoon of 26 November 2016, we shall be running an inaugural workshop led by the US-based Nigerian leading data scientist Dr Uyi Stewart, a chief Scientist with IBM and a man who holds ten patents. Experienced, Nigerian-based practitioners in the use of data will also participate in a panel discussion.

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Yuboss as Therapy for Youth Unemployment Ken Ugbechie writes on how Yuboss, a novel entrepreneurial scheme from the stable of Yudala, Nigeria’s online/offline composite retail outfit, is creating employment for youths Youth unemployment is a growing global concern. In Nigeria reputed to have a high youth population budge, it is even more worrisome.

It stands at 50 per cent. At last year’s World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland, youth unemployment became the epicentre of global discourse. That was a clear indexation of the seriousness of the matter. It is at the core of global restiveness, violence, crimes and banditry.

Placed side by side with global trends, Nigeria dips so low on the youth unemployment index.

At 50 per cent, it means that one out of every Nigerian youth has no job. It gets worse when you also stretch the statistics to parameters like underemployment and the rest. Among the employed youths, a good number of them are grossly underemployed; these are young Nigerians “just managing” the job they have, to use a local parlance.

There is therefore an immediate and overriding need to address this seeping cancer before it gets gangrenous. This is why Yuboss, a novel entrepreneurial scheme from the stable of Yudala deserves an insight. Yudala is Nigeria’s first truly composite retail outfit, combining online and offline product-to-people model of retailing. It is a model that has garnered global ascendancy with Alibaba and Amazon, two global giants in retailing, adopting same to cut deep into the global multi-billion dollar retail market. Yuboss is an entrepreneurial scheme which allows Nigerians to sign up and earn commission without investing their own money.

What a participant in the scheme invests is commitment and passion. It is a participation in wealth-creation.

Yuboss is tailored after a global trend where work is no longer the traditional sedentary template of 8.00 a.m to 5.00 p.m as the case may be. Yuboss gives you access and empowerment to create your own wealth from anywhere and at any time. In other words, the Yuboss scheme helps the youth to participate in the economy rather than bemoan their fate and the rising tide of joblessness. The bigger deal and main attraction is that housewives, students, graduates (fresh or old) and just about anybody can participate by simply signing up and selling to your network of friends, family members or peer groups on the Yudala platform and pronto, you are already earning money without even investing a dime. It’s more like profit-sharing and the legacy of integrity of the promoters of the Yudala movement guarantees zero default in payment. Again, there is no limit to how much one can earn; the higher the volume of your sales, the higher the yield.

Yuboss is a be-your-own-boss initiative and it is even more auspicious now in the 21st Century when traditional jobs are being taken away by machines, robots and intelligent technologies.

These days, traditional jobs are drying up because technology is on the ascendancy. Robotics, automation and 3D printing have sufficiently threatened the existence of conventional jobs and it has robbed many young people of opportunities. A few examples will suffice here.

According to reports, in the 1990s, the big three United States motor vehicle companies – Chrysler, Ford and General Motors – collectively hired 1.2 million employees, today with sophistication in automobile technology where robotics now perform the roles humans performed in yesteryears and even better, that number has shrunk.. Consider this: the big three ICT giants in Silicon Valley – Google, Facebook and Apple – together employ a total 134,000 people. Jobs are now shared between man and machine.

If global unemployment statistics is scary, the situation is scarier and direr in Nigeria. Data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) do not inspire confidence. Nigeria unemployment rate stood at 13.3 per cent in second quarter of 2016, up from 12.1 per cent in the first quarter.

The number of unemployed persons rose by 12.2 per cent to 10.644 million, employment barely rose by 0.06 percent to 69.04 million and labour force increased 1.78 per cent to 79.9 million.

Meanwhile, youth unemployment increased

Shittu to 24 per cent from 21.5 per cent, according to the NBS. Unemployment rate in Nigeria averaged 9.28 per cent from 2006 until 2016, reaching an all-time high of 19.70 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2009 and a record low of 5.10 percent in the fourth quarter of 2010.

NBS data showed that Nigeria’s employment crisis worsened in the first quarter of 2016, with unemployment rate rising to 12.1 per cent. The bureau said in its Unemployment Watch report that between December 2015 and

This is the ugly trend that Yuboss set out to address, to make more Nigerians of active economic age meaningfully engaged by being creators of wealth and not seekers of elusive jobs. Vice President of Yudala Online, Nnamdi Ekeh, said the scheme is already paying out returns to participants

March 2016, the population of unemployed Nigerians increased by 518,000 to over 1.45 million. Working age population, the NBS said, increased from 105.02 million in the fourth quarter of 2015 to 106 million by the end of March 2016.

But actual population of people willing, able and actively looking for work increased by 1.99 per cent, from 76.9 million in fourth quarter of 2015 to 78.4 million in the first quarter of 2016.

The NBS said its computations were based on the International Labour Organisation ( ILO,) definition, which described unemployment as the population of persons aged 15–64 who, during the reference period, were available for work, actively seeking for work, but were unable to find work.

Based on this, the NBS said the unemployed Nigerian population were those who were actively looking for work, but could either not find work, absolutely nothing at all for at least 20 hours, or did something but not for up to 20 hours in a week during the reference period.

It attributed this spike in unemployment rate to the failure of governments to meet the target of creating a minimum of 1.5 million yearly jobs required to keep the unemployment rate constant at 10.4 per cent.

This is the ugly trend that Yuboss set out to address, to make more Nigerians of active economic age meaningfully engaged by being creators of wealth and not seekers of elusive jobs. Vice President of Yudala Online, Nnamdi Ekeh, said the scheme is already paying out returns to participants. And to create more buzz around it, Yudala launched the Yuboss scheme on the sideline of its just-concluded nationwide musical concert aptly tagged Yudala Zero Gravity concert which held in Lagos, Abuja and Enugu.

The Zero Gravity Concert did not just entertain, it became a handy empowerment tool for all categories of Nigerian musicians, comedians, dancers and sundry supremely talented Nigerian youths. The Lagos show

featured huge entertainment brands in the mould of Ali Baba (comedian and compere), Olamide, Naeto C, Humble Smith and a host of other acts. With endorsements and support from Access Bank ad telecom giant, Airtel, the Yudala Zero Gravity concert was more than a entertainment stunt, it turned out to be one of the best investment and entrepreneurial mentoring platforms available to Nigerian youths.

To herald the Abuja Zero Gravity show, Minister of Labour and Productivity, Dr. Chris Ngige, formally launched the Yuboss scheme.

Also in attendance at the star-studded Abuja event were the Minister of Communications, Adebayo Shittu, Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, former Governor of Imo State, His Excellency, Achike Udenwa and his wife, former Deputy Speaker, House of Representatives, Hon. Emeka Ihedioha, former and serving members of the National Assembly, Bank CEOs, captains of industries and representatives of corporate Nigeria.

Ngige lauded Yudala for the giant strides recorded in the marketplace within a year of existence and the determination to empower the youths through YUBOSS. The Minister also showered encomiums on the Leo Stan Ekeh Foundation for the landmark investment of N1.5 billion in YUBOSS – a move which, in his opinion, will go a long way in aiding the government’s efforts at job creation.

Shittu said the Ministry of Communications would partner with Yudala and the Leo Stan Ekeh Foundation in the quest to create wealth.

“I must commend the management of Yudala for creating a viable platform such as YUBOSS to empower our youths and my good friend, Leo Stan Ekeh for his many pioneering efforts and for believing in Nigeria. The Ministry of Communications will partner with Yudala and the Leo Stan Ekeh Foundation to take the YUBOSS message to every nook and cranny of the country to ensure that not only the people of Abuja will benefit from this huge opportunity.

“Unemployment and poverty are two of the biggest challenges facing the country today and it is our hope that through this scheme, many of our youths will find a way to the top,” the minister said.

From Abuja, the Yudala Zero Gravity train moved to the coal city of Enugu where its promoters in concert with Enugu State University of Science and Technology (ESUT) organised one of the most experiential entrepreneurial summits in the country. The summit featured two iconic entrepreneurs: former Governor of Anambra State, Peter Obi, and Nigeria’s foremost digital entrepreneur, Leo Stan Ekeh.

They spoke on the nuggets of making a success out of entrepreneurship.

The summit had in attendance the Governor of Enugu State, Rt. Hon. Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, the Deputy Governor, Cecilia Ezeilo, Commissioner for Culture and Tourism, Rita Mbah and former Minister of Power, Prof. Chinedu Nebo who was Chairman of the occasion, among other dignitaries.

Founder/Vice President of Yudala, Ekeh cited examples of success stories from individuals who had signed up to the YUBOSS platform and already earning mouth-watering commissions as partners of Yudala. He urged Nigerians to take advantage of the stress-free wealth-creation opportunity which Yuboss offers. According to Ekeh, an effective private sector mobilisation that would engender a thriving small and medium scale enterprises sub-sector would help galvanise the nation’s sagging economy and engage the youths and all those fit and willing to participate in growing the economy.

“This is what Yudala has set out to achieve with Yuboss: to empower a new tribe of Nigerians who are not seeking for jobs but who are passionate about creating wealth that endures,” he said.

- Ugbechie is Publisher of Political Economist Magazine/ Executive Secretary, Africa Telecom Development Initiative

32

T H I S D AY • THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 24, 2016

BUSINESSWORLD

DEVELOPMENT

WaterAid: Advocating Universal Access to Sanitation Abimbola Akosile examines the vital highlights and recommendations contained in a new 2016 report on sanitation titled Overflowing Cities: The State of the World Toilets which was launched recently by WaterAid to mark the World Toilet Day on November 19, with a related release issued in Abuja by WaterAid Nigeria

W

aterAid’s Overflowing Cities: The State of the World Toilets report looks at the problem of urban sanitation and the health threats to the world, as the United Nations (UN) predicts that by 2050 two-thirds of the global population will live in towns and cities.

The 2016 global theme for World Toilet Day (celebrated on November 19) highlights the fact that improved sanitation impacts not only health but livelihoods too, and has the potential to transform societies and economies by amongst other things, creating new green jobs and a healthier, more sustainable future.

WaterAid’s State of the World’s Toilet 2016 report also focuses on some of the jobs that are created when the challenge is addressed head-on.

Universal access to water, sanitation and hygiene services would significantly contribute to growth, through greater productivity gained from less time wasted accessing water and sanitation, as well as reduced health care and mortality costs.

Other Nations Among the report’s other findings, India, the world’s fastest growing economy, ranks top for having the greatest number of urbanites living without a safe, private toilet - 157 million. It is also a world leader in having the most urban dwellers practising open defecation - 41 million.

War-ravaged South Sudan, the world’s newest nation, is the worst country in the world for urban sanitation by percentage; 84 per cent of urbanites have no access to a toilet and every other urban-dweller there practises open defecation.

Fast-growing China is making the most progress in reaching its urban population with sanitation.

It’s managed to build toilets faster than the pace of new arrivals, reaching 329 million people since 2000, and outpacing population growth by 9 million.

Focus on Nigeria The report highlights the challenges facing 700 million urban dwellers around the world living without basic sanitation, 58 million of whom are in Nigeria. According to WaterAid, the problem is so big that 13.5 million people living in Nigeria’s towns and cities have no choice but to defecate in the open using roadsides, railway tracks and even plastic bags dubbed ‘flying toilets’.

Nigeria also ranks top in the countries falling furthest behind in reaching people with urban sanitation. For every urban dweller reached with sanitation since 2000, two were added to the number living without, an increase of 31 million people in the past 15 years.

Nigeria too has a huge population and extremely rapid rural-urban migration; however, economic development and urban planning have not kept pace with the sheer volumes of people arriving - and being born - every day in its towns and cities.

A World Health Organisation (WHO) report reveals that in Nigeria almost a third (29 per cent) of hospitals and clinics do not have access to clean water and the same percentage do not have safe toilets while one in six (16 per cent) do not have anywhere to wash hands with soap. In Nigeria one woman in every 23 will on average lose a baby to infection during her lifetime; compared to one in 7,518 in the UK. When health workers have access to improved WASH facilities, they are able to carry out their jobs more effectively, protect themselves from infections and transmission of diseases and save lives of mothers and their newborns.

Local Assessment According to WaterAid’s recent assessment of WASH facilities in Primary Healthcare Centres (PHCs) conducted in its six focal states in Nigeria - Bauchi, Benue, Enugu, Ekiti, Jigawa and Plateau – 21.1 per cent of the facilities assessed did not have at least one toilet facility.

Improved sanitation, good recipe for better health Also, none of them met the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) minimum standard of separate toilet facilities for males and females, as well separate toilet facilities for staff and patients.

Only 27.6 per cent of the 242 PHCs assessed met NPHCDA minimum standard of access to a motorised borehole. Across the six states, only 49 (20.2 per cent) of the PHCs had handwashing facilities in toilet facilities. Handwashing facilities were observed in delivery rooms in only 133 (54.9 per cent) of the facilities assessed. The ward and consulting rooms had handwashing facilities in 64 (26.4 per cent) and 74 (30.5 per cent) of the facilities respectively, suggesting poor hygiene practices in the health centres.

Executive Call WaterAid Nigeria Country Director, Dr. Michael Ojo, said: “For the first time in history, more than half of the world’s population are now living in towns and cities. By 2050, that’s expected to rise to two-thirds. But for many, particularly the poor, they’re arriving or being born in overcrowded and rapidly expanding slums which lack safe, private toilets and

clean water sources.

“This World Toilet Day, we are calling on our leaders to deliver on their promises to meet the UN’s Global Goal 6 to bring water and sanitation to all, because everyone - no matter where they live - deserves affordable access to these life essentials.

Crucial Tips To mark the recent World Toilet Day, WaterAid Nigeria has called on the Federal Government to keep its promise to deliver universal access to sanitation, according to a release issued in Abuja by WaterAid Nigeria Communications & Campaigns Manager, Oluseyi Abdulmalik.

The non-governmental watchdog made the call following the release of new analysis showing that Nigeria ranks third in the world and worst in sub-Saharan Africa for having the most urban-dwellers living without a safe, private toilet.

WaterAid is calling for everyone living in urban areas, including slums, to be reached with a toilet to ensure public health is protected; more money, better targeted and spent, from governments and donors on sanitation, clean water and hygiene for the urban poor

Justice Yardstick It is often said that the wheels of justice grind slowly but surely. But for a seven-year-old boy who was brutally beaten and lynched for allegedly stealing garri in an action which went viral on social media recently, his justice was swift and fatal. Now match that gory incident against a scenario where some ‘untouchables’ steal and stash away billions of naira with impunity, and it appears that there are two sets of wheels of justice in Nigeria.

Although the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) readily flaunt incredible figures on convictions of citizens for various financial crimes,

The organisation also called for coordination from all actors in the sanitation chain including governments, city planners, NGOs, the private sector, informal service providers and citizens; and for sanitation workers to be given the respect they deserve with stable employment, safety and decent pay.

Without them healthy communities and cities are impossible.

It also enjoined the Nigerian Government to ensure that schools, healthcare facilities and birthing centres have safe toilets, clean running water and functional handwashing facilities, to reduce maternal, newborn and child deaths and strengthen children’s ability to attend school.

It also sought for WASH to be positioned as a crucial contributor to health and for policy makers and health sector stakeholders to become aware of the link and crucial role that sanitation plays in improving child survival rates and health outcomes To the organisation there is need for the inclusion of water, sanitation and hygiene into health plans, policies and programming and especially in plans to address under-nutrition and acute malnutrition.

RANDOM THOTS

there is still no former governor or deputy governor or high-ranking legislator in jail for corruption despite the mindboggling acquisitions linked to most of these public officials. The only jailed exgovernor who is from the Niger Delta was convicted outside the shores of this country for the same charges on which he was discharged and fully acquitted here at home.

Now the wheels are turning at a slightly different speed, thanks to a recent surprise kick up the EFCC’s backside which was delivered by a sister organisation, the Department of State Security (DSS), when the latter stormed the

homes of some top jurists in a brazen midnight raid to uncover some proceeds of corruption and bribery. Some top members of the Bench are now being arraigned in court by the federal government over alleged corruption charges. The problem, however, is that these corruption trials are not new, given the number of such high-profile cases which are now lying under the carpet. Until a big fish or sacred cow is nailed and jailed for a long time as a deterrent, the wheels of justice are simply on trial in this country…..just saying Abimbola Akosile

33

T H I S D AY • THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 24, 2016

BUSINESSWORLD

DEVELOpMENT/ISSUESINBOx

Some Nigerians deported from the UK and Italy

NIGERIANEYE

Can Skilled Returnees be Re-absorbed in Nigeria?

With the looming fallouts from the exit of Britain from the European Union (Brexit) and the upset victory of the United States President-elect Donald Trump, many skilled (and unskilled) Nigerians resident abroad - especially in the US and UK - are apprehensive about their status, and there are talks of some of them returning home to Nigeria to begin new lives in their fatherland. To you, does Nigeria have the required environment and capacity to re-absorb these skilled returnees, who have the potential to help turn around the economy positively? What can be done to ensure the right setting for the returnees to successfully deploy their valued skills?

Abimbola Akosile

THE FEEDBACK

* Nigeria is struggling with employing and empowering those on ground with little or no success, how much more people who are already used to a functional world where there is constant power supply to start with.

Truth be told, we failed to plan and at their return, they would discover they are on their own and can only survive on their own not by government assistance.

- Miss Nkeiruka Abanna, Lagos State

Yes, they can:

4

No, they can’t: `

0

Others:

7

Radical tip:

Don’t mystify them!

Total no of respondents:

11

* Of course yes. Nigeria is a country under development and the developed nations or countries used people to achieve their aims.

It is a privilege having them back to us, but like the adage says, ‘better soup na money kill am’. The government must be ready to absorb them (the returnees) with better welfare not to them alone, but to all citizens.

- Hon. Babale Maiungwa, U/Romi, Kaduna

Male:

9

Female:

2

Highest location:

Lagos (4)

* When a house becomes too small for increased population of a household, it gets expanded; or the family builds a second house, then “split”. Every country’s business environment is usually relentless, and strong enough to weed out the inefficient. But, Nigeria chases a mirage of wrong policy choice that is inconsistent with desired outcomes. Many of us at home seem boxed-in into a 1984 history note; hence can’t think, or act outside the box. It is obvious that the thoughts that created present debacles are not sufficient to bring us out. Fresh ideas, blood, and muscles are urgently needed to rescue our Nigeria Enterprise. But, I know that not all Nigerianexit from Britain or America will land at our shore. Some will go to Ghana, others South Africa, and the rest to Nnewi, Bini and Lagos. The impact will be positive to drive the real estate sector; sanitise the Civil Society mediocrity, as it were now, and mobilise ICT hub energy amongst the youth.

Consequently, crime narratives will change, and “this changeless change” mantra will shift. Let them come, those who are willing and able; or disabled. Home is home.

- Mr. Moses Iyobhebhe, Abuja * Yes, the skilled and even unskilled returnees can easily be re-absorbed back into Nigeria. All

government needs to do is build a conducive environment by building infrastructure, security and power supply.

- Mr. Feyisetan Akeeb Kareem, CDHR Coordinator, Ogwashi-Ukwu, Delta State * Yes, if Trump e.t.c. refuses to appreciate you and your worth even as you have truly seen it all out there, why not (if not) come home, invest wisely and better your life and those of fellow Nigerians with the vast opportunities waiting endlessly to be tapped and harnessed for true development and growth?

With sincerity, unity and patriotism, we shall get to the promised land someday too. Home is home and we must (with positive mindset) develop it ourselves without Mr. Trump’s bullying tantrums and archaic over-ambition.

Act now and fast. Welcome home and God bless Nigeria.

- Mr. Apeji Onesi, Lagos State * Those that prayed and prophesied that Hillary Clinton would win the US elections were disappointed because man proposes and God disposes. The will of God has been done in the US elections; the expectations of the people have been cut off. Trump is God-sent to bring the US out from the woods. African leaders should work hard to accommodate all our people that Trump will deport soon because of paper problems.

- Mr. Gordon Chika Nnorom, Public Commentator, Umukabia, Abia State

* Yes, both the skilled and unskilled returnees have one unique role (albeit economic) or another to play to uplift the good name of our dear fatherland using their invaluable wealth of various experiences. Obviously Nigeria is beclouded with complex challenges and disaffection e.t.c. now but this is where their (returnees) experience and prowess are paramount. It will be a symbiotic situation where every single stakeholder is a potential winner variously. This is that chance they must not miss especially with the very discriminatory and hostile environment against blacks out there. Nigeria must truly encourage returnees to come home. It is our home; we must tap and develop our vast wasting opportunities together as unity is strength. God bless Nigeria.

- Miss Apeji Patience Eneyeme, Badagry, Lagos State * Returnees are coming back to their own country Nigeria and I think the onus is on them to slot into society nicely. Why mystify them? If an American in, say, Japan decided to return home, would he/she get preferential treatment just because of that fact? I doubt it.

- Mr. E. Iheanyi Chukwudi, B.A.R. Associates, Apo, Abuja * What we need more than skilled labour is returnees who are ready to invest in our economy. We have an army of unemployed skilled labour already, so where do we place returnees? Skilled labour is not what we currently need, for example, even if all the nurses and doctors we have in the Diaspora are to return, our hospitals do not have the requisite facilities and equipment they need to make a difference. We need to start wooing our wealthy ones abroad to come back home to invest like Lebanon are currently doing.

Unlike Lebanon however, the investment climate is too unfriendly to attract even the most patriotic entrepreneurs. We need to invite God into our affairs just like Akwa Ibom are doing and prospering.

- Mr. Buga Dunj, Jos, Plateau State * As it is now it appears the government has not shown concern over even the skilled ones at home, how much more to settle returnees

and absorb them.

- Mr. Dogo Stephen, Kaduna * There are two sides to the situation. One, would the returnees be willing to leave an organised environment for the unstable environment back home in Nigeria, or rather stick with the unfolding hostility in the US and Europe? Two, does the federal government have the political will and resources to woo these skilled and unskilled Nigerians abroad back home to come and contribute their own quota? One thing is clear though; despite the high unemployment rates in the country, the integration of returnees with vital skills will do Nigeria a lot of good.

- Mr. Olumuyiwa Olorunsomo, Lagos State

Next Week: Will a Two-party System Improve Democracy and Devt?

Although Nigeria practices a multi-party system in her current political structure, some analysts believe a strict two-party system with different ideologies can help strengthen democracy and also promote overall development. Their thinking is that the party in opposition will keep the ruling party on its toes and hold it accountable to the people with constant monitoring, shadow cabinets and shadow reports, to ensure the latter delivers the dividends of democracy, while citizens will be free to choose or belong to either party based on personal preference. Do you agree to this two-party suggestion? If not, what do you recommend? please make your response direct, short and simple, and state your full name, title, organisation, and location.

Responses should be sent between today (November 24 & Monday, November 28) to abimbolayi@yahoo.com, greatbimbo@ gmail.com, AND abimbola.akosile@ thisdaylive.com. Respondents can also send a short text message to 08023117639 and/ or 08188361766 and/or 08114495306.

Collated responses will be published on Thursday, December 1

34

T H I S D AY • THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 24, 2016

BUSINESSWORLD

DEVELOPMENT

Yam market in Ibadan, Oyo State; still ensuring food security

ABIMBOLA AKOSILE

ASSAPIN: Small-scale Farmers Face Challenges in Accessing Agric Policies As stakeholders seek improved investment in agric

Segun Awofadeji in Bauchi The Association of Small-Scale Agro Producers in Nigeria (ASSAPIN), a non-governmental organisation (NGO), has stressed the need to build the capacity of small-scale farmers to effectively engage agricultural policy processes.

This was the main objective of a recent four-day capacity building workshop organised by the association for smallscale farmers, Agricultural Development Programme (ADP) officials, Civil Society Organisations and Media partners, among other participants.

The workshop, held at Balefi, Nasarawa state, was attended by over 50 participants from across 12 states of the federation including Bauchi, Benue, Edo, Katsina, Kebbi, Nasarawa, Plateau, Taraba and FCT and ASSAPIN staff members.

It was designed to strengthen the participants’ advocacy and communications capacity to demand for better policies and increased resource allocation to the agriculture

sector to enable farmers key into the federal government’s Agriculture Promotion Policy and ensure food security in the country.

The workshop with the theme ‘Agriculture Budget Monitoring and Advocacy Training’ sought to work towards the improvement in the quantity and quality of public investment to support small-scale farmers, and in the first instance meeting and sustaining the minimum 10 per cent of national budget in public investment in agriculture.

The National President of the Association, Hajiya Amina Bala Jibrin said ASSAPIN also focused on increasing women participation and representation in decision-making at all levels of agricultural governance and production.

Hajiya Jibrin who spoke on ‘Gender inequality in Agriculture’ noted that “Over 80 per cent of women living in rural Nigeria make a living from small-scale agriculture, yet no policies, legislation, or institutional intervention of government have specifically

addressed the plight of women in the sector.

Highlighting the various gender disparity and imbalance in economic activities between men and women in terms of access to facilities and ownership of assets in agriculture, she lamented that if small-scale farmers in general have restricted access to input, extension services, information, improved seeds, appropriate technology, credit, land, etc, access is even more restricted for women small-scale farmers, who are key to food security.

THISDAY checks revealed that although small-scale farmers comprise the majority of farmers in the country, accounting for over 80 per cent, because they scattered and isolated, they have faced marginalisation, exclusion and disempowerment over time.

Given this history of neglect coupled with the recent renewed global and national interest in small-scale agriculture and small-scale farmers, the ASSAPIN National President said the time has come for small-scale farmers from across

the country to get organised and link up in a national platform which can enhance their voice and increase their capacity to influence policies in the agriculture sector.

“It is in light of this that we have come together under the platforms of ASSAPIN and Voices for Food Security (VFS) campaign to organise and mobilise for actions to hold government accountable to their obligations to Nigerian farmers.

“We therefore call on all fellow small-scale farmers across the country to join hands with us to establish, build and strengthen these national platforms of small-scale farmers and civil society organisations as well as development partners to enable us engage actively and pro-actively with all stakeholders to influence policies agriculture sector”, she added.

ASSAPIN National Coordinator, Mr. Adu Yarima Charles while presenting a paper on ‘The Policy situation on Agriculture in Nigeria’, called on the

federal government to accord farmers needed recognition by implementing both the Maputo and Malabo declarations of 2010 and 2014 respectively.

The said document which Nigeria is signatory to, as observed by THISDAY, mandated all the signatory countries to always allocate ten per cent of their annual budget to the agriculture sector.

While calling on government to “work hard in the area of improving agriculture policies” he said the continuous relegating to the background agriculture extension services was uncalled for, stating that “government needs to look into the area of increasing the number of agriculture extension projects in the country.”

“We demand for 60 per cent of the agriculture investments in budgets as well as in any intervention facilities at federal and state levels to be earmarked for small scale farmers and small-scale agriculture, with the aim of making small scale agriculture commercially viable, and increasing household

incomes of small scale farmers”, he said.

He maintained that “Marginalised groups, particularly women, should be given special consideration in the National Agricultural Policy as well as in any sustainable economic development and investment plans for the agricultural sector. This is essential given the population and central role of women in agricultural production in most African countries in general, and in Nigeria in particular. Women are involved in production, processing and marketing of agriculture produce; and their role needs to be recognised, supported and prioritised.”

Participants also demanded public investment in agriculture and by extension private sector investment must target smallscale farmers and women in agriculture, while being focused on ensuring accessible support with respect to inputs, funds, appropriate technology, research, logistics support, roads, storage facilities, and processing facilities, among others.

‘26 National Social Schemes under Review by the FG’ Okon Bassey in Uyo In order to meet the reality of the moment, the Federal Government is presently reviewing about twenty-six social programmes and policies that were implemented by previous administrations in the country since the year 2000.

An officer in the Social Investment Office of the Vice President of the country, Mohammed Braimah disclosed this at a recent Forum for Accountable Society (FAS) organised by ActionAid Nigeria and the Africa Human Development Centre (AHDC) held in Uyo,

the Akwa Ibom State capital.

He said the federal government was currently reviewing some social polices of past governments including the SURE-P, YouWin, NDE and others for effective administration.

“All these are being handled by the office of the Vice President and the federal government is reviewing all social programmes about 26 of them by various governments since 2000.

“The Ministry of Budget and National Planning is handling them to get bio-metric capture of the beneficiaries to avoid any discrepancy in implementation”,

he stressed.

The federal government, he said, was about that about 58 million Nigerians live in abject poverty and expressed its determination to bail the situation through people-oriented programmes.

According to him, the federal government was committed to tackling the issues in line with its pre-election promises to Nigerians.

The President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration, he said, was committed to bridging the inequality gap by implementing key policies that would turn around the

fortunes of Nigerians, especially the rural poor.

He said under the scheme, the federal government has earmarked billions of Naira for the school feeding programmes, targeting no fewer than 5.5 million pupils in public primary schools from Primary 1 to Primary 3 in States including Osun, Kaduna, Enugu, Borno, Oyo, Akwa Ibom, Ebonyi and Zamfara, in the first phase of the programme.

He explained that the administration has budgeted N70 worth of meal per child for 200 days in a year, and urged States to complement

the federal government’s effort by feeding pupils in Primary 4 to Primary 6.

Braimah said the schemes expected to be managed by the Ministry of Budget and National Planning, would also ensure 1 million poverty-threatened households receive N5,000 monthly, while hundreds of unemployed graduates get training in various skills with a view to being reintegrated into the private sector.

Towards the easy access to the facilities, Prof. Gabriel Umoh, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of AHDC and Lady Suwaiba Yakubu of ActionAid Nigeria,

urged participants to form themselves into viable cooperatives.

They stressed the need for the rural poor to rise up to the challenges of getting out of poverty by embracing positive government programmes and policies, saying such action could go a long way towards bridging the inequality gap in the country.

Equally too, they charged Community Based Organisations (CBOs) and other NonGovernmental Organisations (NGOs) to work in synergy bring positive government programmes to the needy in rural communities.

35

T H I S D AY • THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 17, 2016

BUSINESSWORLD

DEVELOPMENT QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“To be honest, the government needs resources to spend and the delay in approving the borrowing is a problem. The lawmakers need to approve it for government to borrow quickly and put the money into capital project. That is very important. Secondly, a lot of the states are still not paying salaries.

The federal government has to find a way of supporting the states to pay salaries” - DIRECTOR GENERAL OF THE WEST AFRICAN INSTITUTE FOR FINANCIAL AND ECONOMIC MANAGEMENT (WAIFEM), PROF. AKPAN EKPO, SPEAKING ON THE DELAY IN APPROVING THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT’S $30 BILLION BORROWING PLAN

JDPC Empowers 150,000 South-west Women with Soft Loans Sheriff Balogun in Abeokuta

Stakeholders Task FG on Domestication of SDGs Paul Obi in Abuja As nations brace up to the challenge of implementing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) more than a year after they were adopted at a landmark event at the United Nations General Assembly in September 2015, various stakeholders in Abuja have tasked the federal government to formulate policies that will ensure the domestication of the SDGs. This call was made known at the recent launch of two books by Director of Caritas International, Rev. Fr. Evaristus Bassey, titled ‘Localising a Global Agenda: How Priests, Pastors, Imams and Ordinary People Can Mobilise to Enhance SDGs’ and ‘Issues in Church and Society in Africa: Tackling Growth and Inclusion’, which took place in Abuja.

Speaking, the author of the books, Bassey said: “We need to domesticate the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in order to make impact. Africa needs a framework for development. There is need for planning and not just seeing development goals as just relating with the World Bank as a framework.

“Every agency of government should focus on a particular target related to them. If government takes the SDGs as the framework for development, it will go a long way in solving our problems,” Bassey stated.

Also, Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Civil Societies and Development Partners, Hon. Peter Akpatason harped on the need to ensure accountability and transparency in the implementation of SDGs. The lawmaker identified corruption and mismanagement of resources meant for developmental projects as major obstacle to the actualisation of the SDGs. Akpatason stated that “those vices that led to the failure of the MDGS are being addressed, and the level of corruption

African women deserve empowerment too! and impunity has reduced. We have all the resources to achieve anything we want in this country but we misappropriated and diverted the funds.”

Guest speaker at the event and Professor of University of Uyo, Prof. Anthonia Essien said there was need for civil society and government to work out modalities that will ensure that the SGDs are attainable.

Essien, who applauded the author on the two books, called for concerted efforts in harnessing natural resources to reduce poverty, adding that the SDGs are strategic roadmap in fighting poverty and under-development.

Various stakeholders have expressed ap-

prehension over the speedy implementation of the new 17 SDGs, which have 165 targets and indicators.

This is coming against the background of Nigeria’s relatively poor realisation of the previous eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), which were adopted in 2000, with a 15-year lifespan and deadline year of realisation of 2015.

Nigeria, analysts believe, has made halfhearted efforts in the implementation of the new goals, which contain some stand-alone goals like poverty, hunger, water, sanitation, and inequality, which are crucial for Nigeria’s development process and growth.

The Justice, Development and Peace Commission (JDPC) has empowered 150, 000 women in the South-west with soft loans as a way of making life meaningful for the women in the zone.

The non-governmental organisation’s Director, Rev. Father John Patrick Ngoyi, during an empowerment programme organised by the Centre for Grassroots Economic Empowerment (CGEE) of Ijebu Ode Catholic Diocese, an arm of JDPC, said the programme focused on assisting small scale farmers and poor women.

Ngoyi, however, explained that the scheme, which was a savings and credit scheme, was established in 1992, calling on communities and traditional institutions to ensure that government at all levels make loans available for the masses, especially women.

He added that it was important not to ignore poverty as far as there are poor families that cannot feed their homes.

According to him, “we must come to realise that to live at peace in this world today. We must not ignore poverty as long as we have a family that is poor, that cannot feed, that cannot afford accommodation, the family that cannot go to hospital when they are sick, one family that cannot feel free around. Believe me, none of us will be at peace, there will be no security; so fighting poverty should be the responsibilities of each one of us.

The Director also pointed out that, “in every institution of our society whether church, mosque, or traditional, we must ensure there is no poverty in our midst.

“Granting loans to women, the way JDPC which is a church-based institution is a way of contributing to the eradication of poverty in our midst. We started in 1992 with 7,000 and today the startup now is 50,000.

“We just make sure that we keep the value of the money. All the money we gave out, we maintain the purchasing power if the rate of the inflation is 12 per cent plus three per cent as a cost of transaction.”

He said, the commission was not really interested in making profit, but what was of interest is to make sure that they have access to loans that will enable them undertake small scale businesses that can grant a leverage to the family.

“Right now we are functioning in all Southwest plus Kwara, we are having 150,000 women, including 500 staff members and they are paying tax. We are also funding the government because the government is collecting tax”, he added.

However, Catholic Bishop of Ijebu Ode, Rev Dr. Albert Fasina in his remark said “the commission tries to put in place the social teachings of the church, the social teachings that affect progress and development of the people as Christ taught us and that is what the church is trying to do.

“Through the JDPC, CGEE is trying to look at the economic situation of the people and see how we can develop people and that is they go into micro finance so that people can be helped”, he added.

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T H I S D AY THURSDAY,NOVEMBER 24, 2016

HEALTH & LIFESTYLE

Acting Features Editor Charles Ajunwa Email: charles.ajunwa@thisdaylive.com

Push to End HIV/AIDS by 2030 As Nigeria continues to push for an end to HIV/AIDS cases through effective screening and treatment, Paul Obi writes on efforts targeted at ending the scourge by 2030 Since the discovery of AIDS case in Nigeria in 1986, the government adopted ANC sentinel surveillance as the system for assessing the epidemic. According to figures releases by the National Agency for the Control of AIDS (NACA), sentinel survey data showed that the HIV prevalence increased from 1.2 per cent in 1991 to 5.8 per cent in 2001. After 2003, the prevalence declined to 4.4 per cent in 2005 before slightly increasing to 4.6 per cent in 2008, it declined to 4.1 in 2010 and further declined to 3.0 in 2014, according to the Federal Ministry of Health in 2014.

Nigeria’s HIV and AIDS epidemic is complex and comprises both a ‘generalised’ epidemic, affecting the general, including rural population, but also pervasive sub-epidemics with high prevalence among geographic and social groupings.

The most-at-risk populations contribute to the spread of HIV, heterosexual sex, particularly of the low-risk type, still makes up about 80 per cent. Mother-to-child transmission and transfusion of infected blood and blood products, on the other hand, account for the other notable modes of transmission.

Globally there are an estimated 34 million people who have the virus. Despite the virus only being identified in 1984, more than 35 million people have died of HIV or AIDS, making it one of the most destructive pandemics in history.

According to NACA Acting Director General, Kayode Ogundemi, to get familiar with efforts to end the spread of HIV/AIDS, there is need to showcase the journey of the country’s HIV and AIDS response from inception; through the journey that averted projected crisis. He added that it requires commitment to address present day challenges, where the country now has an opportunity to end the virus.

Ogundemi explained that “the national response to HIV in Nigeria is multisectoral in nature, involving multiple stakeholders and coordinated by the NACA. State Agencies for the Control of AIDS (SACAs) have been established in 34 states and FCT. HIV/AIDS Response programmes and interventions include HIV Counseling and testing (HCT), Anti-Retroviral Therapy (ART), and Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission (PMTCT), interventions for Orphans and Vulnerable Children (OVC), Family Life and HIV/ AIDS Education (FLHE), behaviour change interventions and Home Based Care and support (HBC) interventions.”

Most importantly, the response is funded from domestic public and private sources and external sources including the Federal and State Government, Global Fund, PEPFAR, DFID, CIDA, World Bank and the UN system.

The implementation of HPDP2 as part of the Multisectoral National Response commenced in 2010 and has made a considerable impact in implementation.

Ogundemi observed that “for all the work done, there is a need to articulate and showcase the achievements, discuss the lessons learnt and seek to set the pace for another phase to further tackle the epidemic and align Nigeria’s national response to the present global direction which focuses more on the youth and adolescents.” He further stated that “the collaboration of the Nigerian government with the World Bank has birthed the implementation of many interventions which has provided results. It is important that after the implementation of the HPDP 2, the activities and achievements should be adequately disseminated in a way that it will resonate in Nigeria and the HIV/AIDS response worldwide.”

To that effect, observers believed that identifying and transforming barriers into prevention opportunities is key to mitigating many of the difficulties associated with the treatment. The aim in following that pattern, according to officials is to reinvigorate and showcase the gains of HIV/AIDS multisectoral

NACA staff carrying out HIV/AIDS screening on some Nigerians

intervention to HIV and AIDS in Nigeria and to re-focus the national response.”

More so, to bring together experts to advance knowledge about HIV, present new research findings, promote and enhance scientific and community collaborations in Nigeria, an international conference is billed to hold this week in Abuja. The aim is to articulate and showcase the gains and best practice of the

There is the need to enhance community ownership and sustainability of all HIV/AIDS intervention in the country, build innovative networking and collaboration with the business community, government, youth organisations,in order to develop national and sectoral plan to strengthen HIV prevention and treatment efforts

national response and HPDP2 implementation in Nigeria. It also include building a strong partnership for HIV prevention research, using the PrEP study as a case study, create platform for discussion on possible development of national and subnational new strategies to tackle HIV/AIDS. According to officials, there is also the need to enhance community ownership and sustainability of all HIV/AIDS intervention in the country, build innovative networking and collaboration with business community, government, youth organisations, and science in order to develop national and sectoral plan to strengthen HIV prevention and treatment efforts.

In line with the push to end the pandemic, public awareness has to be keyed into the programme. Thus, last week also witnessed the launch and presentation of the simplified version of the Anti-discrimination Act and official launch of the strategic documents to help in the reduction of stigmatisation and elimination of the scourge.

At the unveiling, NACA Director of Coordination and Partnership Support, Dr. Emmanuel Hassan, explained that the new version has become imperative given the difficulties associated with the standardised version. Hassan maintained that fighting stigmatisation is crucial in ending the spread of the virus by 2030. He stated that there are several issues that drive stigma but ignorance is the basic fact that we cannot overlook. “The simplified version of the 2014 Act has broken it down for anybody to understand and know their rights when they are being violated. It also makes it easy for people to know that there are verses in the Bible and Q’uaran that supports that.

“You don’t need to discriminate against your neighbour or family or any other person in the society whether in the home or community or in the church or mosque that has HIV or

is affected by HIV/AIDS.That is why these verses have become important because we know that most Nigerians believe in God and most Nigerians belong to either the Christian or Moslem faith” he said.

He also added that they are bringing in the religious angle because it has a lot to do with faith and we know that majority of Nigerians belong to either of these faith groups and they respect and listen to their religious leaders, adding that, when these documents are actually interpreted into major languages across Nigeria, we are really hoping to meet the target of ending stigma by 2020 and also the overall bigger goal of ending HIV/AIDS by 2030.

The National Coordinator for Network of People Living With HIV/AIDS in Nigeria (NEPHWAN), Victor Omoshehin, observed that there were lots of laws in this country “but people don’t know the content”, explaining that the Act was signed into law since 2014 November but not many people were aware that they exist.

“Since 2014 till now, we still have lot of individuals who face stigma, rejection, sack from work places and are even rejected in public health centres because of their status. You see people’s rights being violated and denied access to healthcare and people don’t know that they can go to two years imprisonment or be jailed for violating or denying someone access to such services or denying someone admission or job or the right to service your fathers’ land.”

Omoshehin also stated that “launching the document is one of the beginning of the steps for people to beginning to know and internalise the use of the law adding that they will use all the mechanism to ensure that the 3.5 million Nigerians living with HIV/AIDS have access to these documents and then to the wider stakeholders,” he maintained.

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T H I S D AY THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 24, 2016

NEWS

Poor Eating Habit Cause of Diabetes in Children, Says Expert Martins Ifijeh With children increasingly becoming diagnosed of diabetes, health experts have called on parents and guardians to monitor the eating habits of their children, as poor dietary pattern could lead to obesity and diabetes in the children.

Speaking at the launch of Nova Max plus in Lagos in collaboration with Union Diagnostic and Clinical Service Plc and Nova Biomedical Company, Prof. Dr. Anthonia Ogbera, said the major types of diabetes are the type 1 and Types 11 diabetes, adding that the type I was mostly found in children when they inherit the disease from their parent, while the type 11 was mostly detected in adults who develop diabetes while growing up.

But the Professor, who wondered why the case was becoming the other way round, said type 11 diabetes was now being detected in children, especially of 14 to 15 years of age.

‘’Talking of children who are obese, we detect signs of insulin in them which are not working well. There is the general belief that people with type 1 diabetes don’t have enough insulin,- but these group of children have insulin, only that they are not working well just like we see in adults.

The sole reason for this is poor eating habit, and this is what parents and guardians must work on.”

She said even though Nigeria was yet to have a good and accurate percentage of people living with diabetes, the last survey carried out on diabetes in Nigeria was in the 1997 which put the percentage of people with diabetes at 2.2 per cent, noting that the country’s population was 90 million at the time.

“On figures, it is only Lagos that has good figure on diabetes. The last survey carried out was about four years ago and it was six per cent of the over 20 million population in the state, but

our estimate today will be between eight to 12 per cent of people living with diabetes in Lagos state.”

She said one of the major killers of people with diabetes was ketone, adding that there has been dearth of diagnostic facilities in the country to test for the disease. “But with the introduction of a Nova metre, patients can do quick diagnosis and know if they

are tending towards diabetes or not. And this will save millions of lives.”

Lending his voice, the Senior Director, International Sales for Nova, Mr. Keneth Lumm, said diabetes in children was very lethal and could lead to death if not managed on time.

He said, diabetes issue has been a major concern not only in Nigeria but in the world at large, adding that many

people were not aware that they were having diabetes.

According to the Managing Director, Union Diagnostic and Clinical Service, Dr. Olusola Akinniyi, diabetes in children was mostly cause by consumption of fast foods and lack of exercise.

He said the worry of every doctor was that people do not present their cases in time, adding that this was

mainly due to their lack of awareness of their health status. ‘’When they know they have diabetes, there is the likelihood of accessing health facilities for treatment.”

Akinniyi, who recommended Nova metre for diabetes screening, said about four per cent of deaths in the country were caused by wrong measurement and inaccurate metre.

Bauchi Govt to Eradicate Maternal, Child Health Issues Segun Awofadeji in Bauch Governor Mohammed Abubakar of Bauchi State has stressed the need for stakeholders in the health sector to place special emphasis on primary healthcare in order to eradicate problems associated with maternal and child health, which have over the years taken a great toll on the people.

The Governor, who observed that primary healthcare formed the bedrock of health activities for the people, said the involvement of traditional leaders and Ulamas in the campaign for immunization and other related activities have over the years contributed immensely in enlightening the local population.

Governor Mohammed Abubakar was declaring opened yesterday the Northern Muslim Religious Leaders Forum on Primary Healthcare workshop on Strengthening Religious Leaders as Advocates for Immunization and Child Nutrition held at Zaranda Hotel, Bauchi.

He acknowledged the immense contributions of Sultan Foundation for Peace Development, and Bill and Milinda Gate in the provision of healthcare services especially on immunization in the Northern part of the country.

Represented by the State Head of Service, Alhaji Liman Bello, the Governor commended the traditional leaders for their commitment and sacrifice on healthcare programme, saying the state government has been making efforts to improve the health condition of the people by playing emphasis on eradication of all diseases those affecting maternal and child health.

The chairman of the occasion and Emir of Bade, Alhaji Kyari

Ibrahim Ibn El-Kanemi has in a remark said the forum was to find more ways of improving the health care services of the people especially through routine immunization against diseases.

Alhaji Kyari El Kanemi who expressed concern on the lukewarm attitude of some parents on the fight against Polio, observed that the disease remains only in the northern part of the country due to the non-cooperation of some parents towards immunizing their wards.

He called on religious leaders particularly Imams to use their pulpits and educate the people on Polio immunization, saying that Muslim countries like Indonesia and Pakistan have all certified that the Polio immunization is free from all evils.

Also speaking, the representative of Qadiriyya sect, Dr. Mansur Datti Kabara, called on muslims to refrain from criticizing something they have little or no knowledge about.

Dr Kabara, who is the Chief Imam of Darul Qadiriyya Mosque in Kano, appealed to parents to prevent their children from fallen victims of Polio by allowing them to be immunized against the scourge. In their separate goodwill messages, Sheikh Hassan Abubakar Dikko from JIBWIS Jos and Alaramma Sanusi Abubakar from the National Qur’anic Research of Nigeria, called on stakeholders not to relent in enlightening the doubting thomases on the genuineness of the Polio immunization.

Bauchi State Commissioner of Health Dr. Halima Mukaddas disclosed that the state government plans to use traditional rulers and religious leaders in the ongoing fight against deadly diseases in the state.

RECOGNISING EXCELLENCE

L-R: Managing Director, Instinct Wave, Akin Naphtali; award recipient, CFO of the Year, Pharmaceutical Category and Chief Financial Officer, Fidson Healthcare, Mr. Oludare Adanri; and Group Editor, CFO Magazine, Kehinde Olesin during the 2nd CFO Awards presentation in Lagos ...recently

Incorporate Us inTETFUND,Tertiary Health Institutions Urge FG Bassey Inyang in Calabar The Committee of Chief Executives of Tertiary Health Institutions wants the Federal Government to incorporate tertiary health institutions in Nigeria into the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFUND).

In buttressing their demand, the heads of tertiary health institutions in the country disclosed that they have formally forwarded a letter to the National Assembly, urging the federal lawmakers to amend TETFUND Act of 2011.

At a press conference in Calabar, the chairman of the tertiary health institutions in the country, Dr. Thomas Agan, who is also the Chief Medical Director (CMD) of the University of Calabar Teaching Hospital (UCTH), said their demands have already been forwarded to the House of Representatives Committee on Health Institutions, through the Federal Ministry of Health.

Agan stressed that there was urgent need to amend the TETFUND Act of 2011 in order to include the funding of Tertiary/Teaching Hospitals in the law.“It is possible that formulators of the Act were not sufficiently informed at the time. It is however not late to address this pathetic situation.

The Act should be amended to incorporate Tertiary/Teaching Hospitals. Thus Section 7(1) Sub-Section 3 of the Act should read thus: “the distribution of the Fund, shall be in the ratio of 2:1:5:1: between Universities,

Tertiary Hospitals, Polytechnics and Colleges of Education.

“The Teaching/Tertiary Hospitals can be called the “workshop” of the universities.

This is so because over 80 per cent of all students graduating through any medical school of a university must have their training through the Teaching or Tertiary Hospital.

“I have always wondered why the proponent of TETFUND did not consider it necessary to recognise Teaching/Tertiary Hospitals in Nigeria as Tertiary Institutions.

A teaching hospital all over the world is considered both as a tertiary health institution as well as a tertiary training institution.

The activities intrinsic in a teaching hospital are obvious and can therefore be ascertained. I therefore with due respect believe that either the original advocates of this noble idea of TEFUND did not consult widely or must have been engulfed in ignorance of the mandates of a teaching/ tertiary hospital,” Agan stated.

Providing further explanation on their functions, Agan said Tertiary Health Institutions have three core mandates which were health service delivery, training, and research, adding that funding of tertiary institutions have always come from yearly appropriation given to the institutions as predetermined ‘envelopes’ by the Federal Government through the supervision of the Federal Ministry of Health.

“Institutions are required to share the contents of the

envelopes to accommodate all their needs,” he said.

Oba of Lagos Urges Doctors on Medical Mission, Govt to Equip Existing PHCs Rebecca Ejifoma The Oba of Lagos, Rilwan Akiolu, has urged medical doctors to go on medical mission in various Lagos communities for the down-trodden, as he urged the government to update public healthcare centres with trained medical personnel that will do the job rather than build professed “10,000” empty PHCs. He gave the call at the formal inauguration of the Magnetic Rosonance Imaging (MRI) at the Purple Ray Diagnostic Centre in Reddington Hospital Victoria Island ,Lagos. MRI is new hi-tech imaging facility in provision of Nigeria’s first ever 1.5 Tesla Signal Explorer MRI Scanner from General Electric (GE) Healthcare.

“The government should improve the state of our PHCs, fully polished with qualified doctors. And please, Onabowale alongside other doctors should help us with medical mission. The downtrodden people are really suffering in our communities,” Akiolu said.

Dr. Adeyemi Onabowale, is the Chief Executive Officer,

Reddington Group.

Meanwhile, the Group Medical Director, Reddington, Dr. Olutunde Lalude, noted that the device has technology to improve patients’ comfort.

“It also has the technology to significantly reduce the duration of a scan and give high image quality in patients.

“The technology here is second to none. It is a testament of how we think about the care of patients and quality citizens deserve to stop going abroad and get the quality treatment here. Reddington has taken a holistic view of what it takes to view almost every disease.”

Speaking at the launch, Dr. Onabowale, said the launch of the MRI was to create awareness to the public and their colleagues on the new medical equipment that delivers clearer, accurate digital imaging. “And it is able to ventilate the critically ill patient while undergoing scanning. So, the centre is open to all doctors in Lagos and in Nigeria as a whole.” According to him, despite the recession, Reddington will continue to strive in promoting excellence in healthcare delivery.

38

T H I S D AY THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 24, 2016

HEALTH MATTERS

goketakinrogunde@gmail.com

HEALTH

By Goke T. Akinrogunde 07036777348; 07029126776

That Stubborn Headache Could be Migraine odd sensations.

It is worthy of note that one of the above auras may develop, or several may occur one after each other. Each aura usually lasts just a few minutes before going, but can last up to 60 minutes. The headache usually develops within 60 minutes of the end of the aura, but it may develop while the aura is still present.

Sometimes, just the aura occurs and no headache follows.

Similarly worthy of note is that a number of people who have migraine with aura also have episodes of migraine without aura.

Headache comes in different forms and intensities; it can come throbbing, sometimes it is felt as a tension wrapped around the head and more commonly it is felt as a dull but disturbing ache.

A special type of headache that is highlighted in the passages below is migraine.

Migraine is a condition that causes recurrent episodes of severe headaches; it is commonly, though not always, a one-sided headache that is typically described by the victim as throbbing or pulsating.

Available epidemiological studies reveal that headache is one of the most common symptoms experienced by adults and migraine is the most common cause of headache in the general population. Migraines occur equally frequently in all countries and all races. They are slightly more common in male disabling children, but after puberty, are 2-3 times more common in women.

Causes of illness and types of migraine Migraine causes attacks of headaches, often with feeling sick or vomiting. One “good’ thing however is that between migraine attacks, the symptoms go completely.

Migraine attacks come in two forms: • Migraine without aura - sometimes called common migraine.

• Migraine with aura - sometimes called classic migraine.

Migraine is not an uncommon illness in the population common. World-wide, it is estimated that about 25% (i.e. 1 in 4 women) and about 1 in 12 men, develop migraine at some point in their life. It most commonly first starts in childhood or as a young adult.

Some individuals who suffer from migraine can have frequent attacks - sometimes several in a week. While others have attacks infrequently, that is only now and then. Some people may go for years between attacks. In some cases, the migraine attacks stop in later adult life.

However, in some cases the attacks persist throughout life.

Migraine without aura It is the more common type of migraine (about 75 per cent of all patients). Symptoms include the following.

The headache is usually on one side of the head, typically at the front or side. Sometimes it is on both sides of the head. Sometimes it starts on one side, and then spreads all over the head. The pain is moderate or severe and is often described as ‘throbbing’ or ‘pulsating’.

Movements of the head may make it worse. It often begins in the morning, but may begin at any time of day or night. Typically, it gradually gets worse and peaks after 2-12 hours, then gradually eases off.

Other symptoms that are common include:

Tests for migraine Ordinarily no laboratory or radiological investigation is required before a diagnosis of migraine is made. This is because there is no test to confirm migraine.

The physician can be confident that an individual has migraine if he/she has the typical symptoms. However, some people with migraine have non-typical headaches. Sometimes tests are done to rule out other causes of headaches.

Tension headaches A point to also note is on the more common tension headaches that are sometimes confused with migraine. These are the common headaches that most people have from time too time.

Although if an individual has migraine, he/ she can also have tension headaches at different times to migraine attacks.

feeling sick (nausea), vomiting, the victim may be provoked or get worse by bright lights or loud noises, and as such conditioned the individual to want to lie in a dark room.

Other symptoms that sometimes occur include: being off food, blurred vision, stuffy nose, hunger, diarrhea, abdominal pain, passing lots of urine, going pale, sweating, scalp tenderness, and sensations of heat or cold.

Migraine with aura About 25 per cent (i.e.1 in 4) of people with migraine have “migraine with aura”. The symptoms are the same as those described above for “migraine without aura”, but also include an aura i.e. a warning

sign before the headache commences.

Visual Aura: this is the most common type of aura. Examples of visual aura are: a temporary loss of part of vision, flashes of light, objects may seem to rotate, shake, or ‘boil’.

Numbness Feeling: numbness and ‘pins and needles’ are the second most common type of aura. Numbness usually starts in the hand, travels up the arm, then involves the face, lips, and tongue. The leg is sometimes involved.

Speech problems: problems with speech are the third most common type of aura.

Other types of aura include: an odd smell, food cravings, a feeling of well-being and other

Causes of Nausea The causes of migraine are not yet so clear, although there are some theories being postulated. One of the theories says that blood vessels in parts of the brain go into spasm and suddenly become narrower which may account for the aura. The blood vessels may then open wide (i.e. dilates) soon after, which may account for the headache. The blood vessels then gradually return to normal.

However, the above do not explain all that occur during migraine attack. It is now thought that some chemicals in the brain increase in activity in addition to any blood vessel changes.

It is not clear why people with migraine should develop these changes. However, something may ‘trigger’ a change in the brain to set off a migraine attack.

Is migraine inherited?

Migraine is not a strictly inherited condition.

However, it often occurs in several members of the same family. So, there may be some genetic factor involved, which makes one individual to be more prone to developing migraine.

One-on-One

I Need Help on my Duodenal Ulcer Sir, I have been a victim of duodenal ulcer since 2001, I went to my doctor recently who sent me for endoscopy and the result confirmed that I am still having duodenal ulcer. I went back to my doctor, he only recommended Gestid for me which I have been taking till now without cure.

I need your help, please send me the names of the medications that could be of help to cure the ulcer.

Thanks Dear Wale, In the light of your letter above, I should quickly note that your doctor acted well by sending you for endoscopy, which incidentally is the gold standard in the diagnosis of peptic ulcer and related disease conditions.

The is more so the case since the endoscope makes it possible to directly visualise any problem in the stomach and the intestinal tract; with this, the type of ulcer or otherwise can be seen and better described. This is unlike the result with the use of contrast X-ray of the stomach that is also use in the diagnosis of peptic ulcer.

However, I wish to make it clear that I am not in position to question the judgement of your doctor as per why he decided to limit your treatment to antacid medication like the Gestid you mentioned. Although, it is save to add that the mainstream in the treatment of duodenal ulcer these days involve using the combination of antacids and other related drugs with antibiotics.

It should however be noted that the use of antibiotics in ulcer treatment is informed

by the fact that most of the ulcers in the duodenum is thought to be related/caused by a bacteria (Helibacter pylori) infection in the duodenum. Hence, by eradicating this organism, most of the ulcers soon get healed and their reoccurrence become very limited.

So, it may be assumed that even if the use of antacids lead to the healing of the ulcer in the first instance, a permanent cure may not be achieved since the primary cause, which may be due to the presence of H. pylori in the upper intestine, is not eradicated with the use of potent antibiotics combination.

I should also add that there are many of such combinations of antibiotics and not just limited to two types of antibiotics as you mentioned in your letter. On the other hand, the converse can also be the case in medical settings where related tests can be carried

out to confirm the absence or otherwise of H. pylori; antibiotics usage may not be compulsory, if the test for the presence of the bacteria in the duodenum is negative.

In the light of the foregoing, my impression is that you should go back to inform your doctor of the unimpressive outcome of the initial treatment for your duodenal ulcer and I want to trust that he will act on the scientific line of the discussion above.

Meanwhile, it is unprofessional and unethical to prescribe ethical drugs like antibiotics by correspondence on a medium like this, more so the idea is not to overstretch the essence of this column as a alternative to interacting with the health professionals on a one-on- one basis in a clinical environment.

Accept my best wishes.

39

T H I S D AY THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 24, 2016

HEALTH

Fezoua: We are Committed to Improving Healthcare in Africa Dr. Farid Fezoua is the President, CEO of General Electric Healthcare Africa. In this interview with Martins Ifijeh, he talks about the need for Nigerian healthcare system to have a sustainability and maintenance plan towards its medical technologies, his organisation’s role in upgrading 255 PHCs and 23 General Hospitals in Kaduna State and other sundry issues On how maintenance culture can sustain effective use of medical equipment The first thing that struck me when I took the job of CEO for General Electric Healthcare was that the various Ministries of Health of some African countries were procuring their ultra sound, X-ray, MRI and other medical machines without putting into consideration servicing and maintenance plans for the machines.

No matter how good these machines are, if there are no maintenance and service plans in place, there is a likelihood that such machines will pack up within two years. And this is what has been happening in various countries, mostly in Africa. There is no way any country can optimally give service to patients this way.

Secondly, there are hardly provisions for training of users of purchased equipment. Why can’t radiographers, laboratory scientists, and other health personnel trained on how to maintain or service machines they are directly using. Sometimes, countries or establishments buy the machines for millions of dollars, and they will end up becoming idle and unusable because there are no maintenance system from either the supplier or the institutions’s health workers using the machines.

But with the culture of purchasing equipment with an embedded maintenance agreement in place, there is a high possibility that such healthcare equipment will serve its patients and the health facilities optimally.

That is why as a technology company partnering in different countries, we are talking to both the public and private partners to see the need to embed service maintenance into the healthcare machines they are getting. For instance, in Kenya, we are upgrading 98 PHCs and it is our responsibility to provide maintenance

for e-technologies in these centres. If any of the equipment is not working up to 90 per cent of its capacity, it is our responsibility to send engineers to fix it.

So we can reasonably say the equipment supplied to these areas will be functioning optimally for the next seven years, which is the duration of our partnership with the Kenyan government. Also for the seven years, all the users of the machines will be continuously trained. We also try to go beyond training users because we know people change jobs all the time.

We might end up training someone who within two years, leave the job, thereby creating a vacuum. So, we always ensure the next person coming in to take over is also trained. That is why we have the continuous training model for all users of our equipment.

This same model is what we are replicating in the Kaduna State partnership, and in the next three years, we are optimistic about optimal productivity in the health facilities in the state for the benefit of Kaduna residents.

Saving millions of lives through effective primary healthcare system If you look at most structures of many countries, especially in Africa, you will discover that about 70 per cent of their population live in rural and sub urban areas, and if one want to genuinely address healthcare challenges on a larger scale in such areas, the best thing to do is bring healthcare to the people, which is through the primary healthcare system. That way, it can reach the rural dwellers, which are more in terms of population.

We are proud that the Nigerian government is spearheading healthcare interventions on a larger scale through the ‘Saving One Million Lives’ launched by the

Dr. Fezoua

Federal Ministry of Health.

The best way to making this achievable is by making the primary healthcare level system effective. And this is where we have decided to come in, to help build the country’s primary healthcare system for maximum impact.

This makes healthcare affordable and accessible to the larger population.

GE healthcare role in upgrading PHCs Having identified that making the primary healthcare level effective will help in improving the healthcare system of the larger population, we have decided, in partnership with Kaduna State Ministry of Health and some other Non Governmental Organisations

(NGOs) to help in modernising and upgrading 255 PHCs and 23 General Hospitals in the state, such that these centres and hospitals will be very effective with affordable technologies like the Ultra-sound, ECG, Cardiac diagnostic and monitoring machines, anaesthesia, among others, to enable for safe delivery and other primary healthcare needs. Each PHCs will have all the required technologies to give effective treatments to people at the primary healthcare level in Kaduna State.

Assuming you take one of the Ultra sound machines, the V-scan, which is very portable and go to communities to screen pregnant women, and then you eventually discover

there is a pregnancy at risk, all you need do is take such a woman to a PHC with these facilities for surgery or other emergency treatments. When all these healthcare systems are put in place in PHCs, you will discover that people will access the centres for one form of treatment or the other.

The planning has been ongoing for over a year now, and we appreciate the Governor of Kaduna State, Malam Nasir el-Rufai for his commitment to bringing this to reality, as this will go a long way in saving several members of the Kaduna population.

As we are supplying the technologies to these centres, we are also training the users, which are the nurses and the health workers on how to use and maintain them.

There is a whole programme geared towards making them know how to use and maintain the technologies. There is also a system of funding, which is very convenient for the state to adopt, as it does not put a burden on them. For Kaduna State, the partnership to bringing all the 255 PHCs and 23 General Hospitals to life will span into a three year period, but with the possibility of extension when the model achieves desired result. And we know it will work because same intervention is ongoing in Kenya at the moment and it’s already achieving results by reducing number of deaths and increasing access to healthcare.

deaths targeted during the Millennium Development Goal era. The initiative is still on, but it’s now geared towards the Sustainable Development Goals three (SDG3).

This partnership entails monitoring very early stage pregnancy, the woman and the neonate, as well as post delivery condition, and this will ensure that any preventable death can be saved. This is a five year programme that is currently on going.

Another way of solving maternal and child issues in Nigeria is the need to train midwives and other health workers on the use and maintenance of diagnostic machines even in rural areas.

We have identified this, and it is part of our partnership with the Federal Ministry of Health.

On solving maternal and child health issues in Nigeria Just like I said earlier, you can’t solve healthcare issues relating to the grassroots without the inputs of the PHCs, and that is why we have signed a memorandum of understanding with the Federal Ministry of Health, and we have launched an initiative around PHCs, which is specifically aimed at reducing maternal and infant

On lack of inaccurate diagnosis in the country We can say one of the major reasons why this happen is because of malfunctioning medical equipments.

This is one of the reasons we are challenging healthcare service providers to put systems in place to be able to maintain their equipment. This would help curb malfunctioning of machines like inaccurate diagnosis, among others.

Impact of the partnership with the Federal Government We expect that this programme will benefit not less than 20,000 expectant mothers and it will have an impact in terms of curbing maternal and child mortality in the country.

This is a result we are sure of because we have done a pilot study in Tanzania. We believe if these combined solutions are implemented till the end and allowed to run on a continuous basis, they will increase tremendously the number of antenatal care, and by extension, save maternal and new born lives in the country.

World Toilet Day: Harpic Partners Lagos on Toilet Hygiene and Improved Sanitation

USAID Unveils Nigeria’s First Ultramodern Polio Modular Laboratory

Martins Ifijeh

Adedayo Adejobi

Statistics by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the 2015 report of the United Nations Children’s Education Fund (UNICEF), show that approximately 2.4 billion people live in poor sanitary conditions and one in every 10 people has no choice but to defecate in the open.

Nigeria ranks fifth in the world among countries where open defecation is still a major problem.

Accordingly, a large number of women and children in Nigeria are exposed to the risk of contracting infections

due to unhygienic and poor sanitary conditions.

As part of efforts to contribute towards reducing the menace in the country, Harpic, a toilet cleaning brand from RB and Lagos State Ministry of Environment have called on Lagosians to imbibe the culture of good public hygiene and improved general sanitation conditions in and around their environments.

Speaking at an event to commemorate the World Toilet Day, the Managing Director, RB West Africa,Mr. Rahul Murgai, said there was need to create scaled national awareness around the current national sanitation situation and core

issues like open defecation that lead to diarrhoea and other potential health issues.

He stated that individual and collective participation from like-minded players will strongly support the programme and efforts of the federal and state government in improving the general health, hygiene and sanitation conditions in Nigeria.

On his part, theCommissioner for Environment, Lagos State, Dr. Samuel Babatunde Adejare, said public awareness and the recent renovation of public toilets with support from Harpic was another step taken in the right direction to tackle the scourge.

The United States Government, in partnership with the Federal Ministry of Health and the World Health Organisation (WHO), has inaugurated a state-of-the-art polio modular laboratory at the University College Hospital, Ibadan, to improve the efficiency of polio diagnosis in Nigeria through reliable environmental sampling.

While examining the ultra-modern amenities with representatives of the Federal Government, the U.S. Consul General, John Bray observed that the new facility, which cost

an estimated $400,000, exists alongside a WHO accredited polio laboratory in Ibadan, but is the first one in the country equipped to detect the wild polio virus from waste water.

“This new facility will enhance Nigeria’s ability to respond to polio outbreaks quickly, by promptly diagnosing polio from samples received from the 48 environmental sewage sites across the country.”

Consul General Bray noted.

“The eradication of poliomyelitis will be accomplished only when polio laboratories provide convincing diagnostic evidence of the absence of wild poliovirus infections in humans

and prolonged circulation in the environment,” he added.

More than 70 participants attended the event, including Nigerian government officials, representatives of donor agencies, UN agencies and Rotary International.

To help Nigeria address its high mortality rates, USAID helps increase access to quality family planning and reproductive health services, immunisations, polio eradication, malaria prevention and maternal health services. USAID also provides technical support to immunisation campaigns through social mobilisation, and other activities.

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BUSINESS/MONEYGUIDE

IFAD Calls for Policies to Encourage Private Investment in Nigeria, Others Obinna Chima Youth unemployment, insecure land tenure and weak value chains are the main obstacles in the way of ending poverty and inequality in West and Central Africa, a new report by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), in collaboration with the African Development Bank (AfDB) has stated.

The report unveiled in Abidjan yesterday noted that youth under the age of 35 account for 75 per cent of the population of the region which also has the highest number of rural youth than any other region in the world. Empowering youth is the first step towards achieving prosperity in the region, says the report.

“The lack of social and economic opportunities for the large number of young people in the region is the principal driver of migration, Vice-President of IFAD, Michel Mordasini said.

“However, by making the

right investments – to improve infrastructure, secure land tenure and facilitate their access to finance and training – we can capture the labour and energy of the young generation to transform rural areas into vibrant places to live and work,” he added.

The Rural Development Report 2016: Fostering Inclusive Rural Transformation is a rallying call for policymakers and development practitioners to win the global war against poverty. This systematic and rigorous analysis of the rural sector gives a greater understanding of what key investments and policy reforms should be prioritized to transform rural areas in developing countries so that people and nations can benefit.

Attracting private investment into agriculture and the rural non-farm economy is vital, states the report, adding that many agricultural regulations in Africa, actually serve to deter rather than encourage such investment.

“Reforming the regulations that limit private entry and investment in value chains that serve smallholder farmers must be a priority,” the report emphasised.

According to the report, food systems are changing rapidly to meet the rising demand and shifting diets of middle-class urban consumers from grains to dairy, fish, meat and vegetables.

In addition, continued rapid growth of imports shows that there is space for local farmers to grow their businesses if they can produce competitively.

“Rural transformation is a powerful way to overcome poverty,” the Regional Director, West and Central Africa Division, IFAD, Ides de Willebois said.

“We need to develop rural areas in Africa where people are willing to invest, which then will enable them to produce more, to attain a marketable surplus that can be sold at a profit and provide them with the resources to improve their livelihoods and reinvest.”

KPMG Seeks More Collaboration Between Financial Institutions, Fintechs Nosa Alekhuogie One of the leading providers of tax, audit and advisory services in Nigeria, KPMG has called for the partnership between financial institutions and Fintechs in order to bridge the gap between the growing need of customers, their user experience and the institutions as a whole. This call was made at a one-day Fintech summit held in Lagos Nigeria.

According to them, this

collaboration is important as it is the key to lending, getting information in the credit registry, getting connected to BVN amongst others, as it is important to have an innovative mind set, which should be open to collaboration.

Partner and Head, Financial Services Sector, KPMG, Mr. Ayo Othihiwa, noted that regulators needed to be accessible particularly to enable regulations as there are some fintech themes like the block chain which are

very controversial He stated that: “The government is important as they need to understand that Fintechs bring value to the society and development to the nation as a whole. They need to roll out incentives in other to aid this space. They also need to support the Fintechs as they are fragile and still need nuturing “We believe if the incentives and regulations are right, this would bring significant investment to the economy.”

Heritage Bank Launches Biometric Identity Card for PMAN Accessibility, security, trust, convenience and cost effectiveness are key defining features of a new partnership between Heritage Bank Plc and the Performing Musicians Employers’ Association of Nigeria (PMAN) with the launch of an exclusive biometric identity card.

The development, which deepens an already existing relationship with the PMAN led to the introduction of the PMAN Membership Biometric Identity Card (PMBIC), a multipurpose card specially designed for Nigerian artistes and allied operators in the entertainment industry, thus

making Heritage Bank, Nigeria’s most innovative banking service provider, a pioneer in the biometric card services in the industry. Renewable annually, the PMBIC will serve as the official PMAN identification card that qualifies the holder as a genuine member of the association and entitles the artiste to enjoy the myriad benefits and privileges due to registered members.

According to a statement from the bank which explained these benefits, the scheme was to create a robust and protective platform for all Nigerian singers, back-up singers, instrumentalists,

dancers, comedians, script writers, film producers, actors and actresses, distributors, marketers, Disc Jockeys (DJs) and artiste managers among others.

“It is to globally authenticate each artiste’s involvement in the Nigerian music and entertainment industry. It also offers members the opportunity to encode and barcode their works and intellectual property through the Global System One (GSI), to prevent unauthorised duplications or usage. It further guarantees payment of royalties through the Nigerian Interbank Settlement System (NIBSS).

Diamond Bank Offers High Interest Yielding Savings Plan Diamond Bank has opened a window of money management opportunity that enables parents and guardians plan and save for the future of their children through a simplified and high interest yielding target savings plan.

The financial product, known as ‘Diamond Future’ according to a statement from the bank, does not only enable parents to save, but also to teach their children to develop healthy savings habit and build prudent

expenditure profile and diverse investment portfolio.

According to the bank, Diamond Future was created and launched into the market in 2014 but now refreshed to help parents meet set savings targets for their children and easily accomplish their future financial goals and needs with excitement. Information about the financial product revealed that it is a savings account designed for children between ages 0-17 years, and offers a

well guided and structured plan with the opportunity of earning high interest rates. The plan is known as Diamond Future Target Savings Plan.

The bank’s chief spokesperson, Chioma Afe, stated that a major reason for creating the product is to instill in children the value and dignity of starting early to chart healthy financial course in life, and also deepen financial inclusion by integrating the children into the banking community.

MARKET INDICATORS MONEY AND CREDIT STATISTICS

(MILLION NAIRA)

JUNE 2016 Broad Money (M2)

21,684,965.22

-- Narrow Money (M1)

9,125,933.16

---- Currency Outside Banks

1,379,187.93

---- Demand Deposits

7,746,745.22

-- Quasi Money

12,559,032.07

Net Foreign Assets (NFA)

7,105,663.47

Net Domestic Assets(NDA)

14,579,301.76

-- Net Domestic Credit (NDC)

24,318,143.03

---- Credit to Government (Net)

2,893,190.01

---- Memo: Credit to Govt. (Net) less FMA

2,893,190.01

---- Memo: Fed. and Mirror Accounts (FMA)

-2,111,487.25

---- Credit to Private Sector (CPS)

21,424,953.01

--Other Assets Net

-9,738,841.27

Reserve Money (Base Money)

5,370,199.87

--Currency in Circulation

1,684,725.89

--Banks Reserves

3,685,473.98 • Source - CBN

MANAGED FUNDS Initial Price (N) Stanbic Balanced Fund

Buying Price(N)

Selling Price

1,660.29

1,685.29

Stanbic IBTC NEF

1,000.00

11,002.32

11,326.67.11

Stanbic SIBond

20

120.47

120.47

Stanbic IBTC Ethical

1

1.10

1.13

Stanbic IBTC GIF

142.90

143.38

UBA Balanced Fund

1.2563

1.2493

UBA Bond Fund

1.3443

1.3443

UBA Equity Fund

0.8205

0.8074

UBA Money Market Fund

1.1510

1.1510

ARM Aggressive Growth Fund

N13.0544

N13.4480

ARM Discovery Fund

N288.2515

N296.9425

ARM Ethical Fund

N22.5268

N23.2060

ARM Money Market Fund

13.1030 (Yield % ) • Monetary Policy Rate - 14%

OPEC DAILY BASKET PRICE AS AT TUESDAY 22, 18 NOVEMBER 2016 The price of OPEC basket of fourteen crudes stood at $45.25 a barrel on Tuesday, compared with $44.34 the previous day, according to OPEC Secretariat calculations.

The new OPEC Reference Basket of Crudes (ORB) is made up of the following: Saharan Blend (Algeria), Girassol (Angola), Oriente (Ecuador), Rabi Light (Gabon), Minas (Indonesia), Iran Heavy (Islamic Republic of Iran), Basra Light (Iraq), Kuwait Export (Kuwait), Es Sider (Libya), Bonny Light (Nigeria), Qatar Marine (Qatar), Arab Light (Saudi Arabia), Murban (UAE) and Merey (Venezuela).

SOURCE: OPEC headquarters, Vienna

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MARKET NEWS

Stock Market Rebounds, Rises 0.22% on Bargain Hunting Goddy Egene and Nosa Alekhuogie The bear run at the stock market was halted yesterday on bargain hunting by investors, lifting the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) All-Share Index (ASI) by 0.22 per cent to close at 25,517.00.

Similarly, market capitalisation added N19.2 billion to close at N8.8 trillion. The market has been bearish in recent times,

sending the NSE ASI to a seven-month low on Tuesday.

However, the market rebounded yesterday on bargain hunting as investors capitalised on some of the highly discounted stocks to increase their portfolio. At the close trading, 19 stocks gained compared to 11 that depreciated.

Sterling Bank Plc led the price gainers with 5.7 per cent, followed by Oando Plc with 5.0 per cent. Flour Mills of Nigeria

Plc and PZ Cussons Nigeria Plc advanced 4.9 per cent each, while Fidson Healthcare Plc and Diamond Bank Plc garnered 4.6 per cent and 4.4 per cent respectively. AIICO Insurance Plc and Glaxosmithkline Consumer Nigeria Plc appreciated by 3.5 per cent and 3.4 per cent in that order. Conversely, Forte Oil Plc led price losers with 6.2 per cent to close at N70.00 per share. Julius Berger Nigeria

plc trailed with 5.0 per cent, just as African Prudential Registrars Plc and Total Nigeria Plc rose by 4.3 per cent. Value of stocks traded rose by 5.01 per cent to N1.19 billion invested in 165.72 million shares. The most actively traded sectors were financial services (141.23 million shares); Conglomerates (12.91 million shares) and Consumer Goods (6.19 million shares), while the three most active stocks were:

Diamond Bank Plc(34.42 million shares); Access Bank Plc (32.65 million shares) and FBN Holdings Plc (21.91 million shares).

In terms of sectoral performance, all the sectors closed in the green except the NSE Oil and Gas Index that shed weight.

The NSE Banking Index led sector gainers after appreciating 0.75 per cent following investors’ swoop on GTBank Plc(+1.2 per cent) and United Bank for Africa

Plc (+1.2 per cent). The uptrend in Nestle Nigeria Plc (+1.3 per cent), PZ Cussons Nigeria Plc (+4.9 per cent) and Nigerian Breweries Plc(+0.2 per cent) bolstered the NSE Consumer Goods Index by 0.50 per cent.

Also the NSE Insurance Index appreciated 0.2 per cent on account of AIICO Insurance Plc (+3.5 per cent), while the NSE Industrial Goods Index rose 0.1 per cent.

DAILY STOCK MARKET REPORT T H E

N I G E R I A N

STO C K

E XC H A N G E

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NEWSXTRA

Amnesty International: 150 Pro-Biafra Activists Killed in Nigeria Army denies report

Senator Iroegbu in Abuja and Ejiofor Alike in Lagos A new investigative report by the Amnesty International has accused the Nigerian security forces, led by the military, of embarking on a chilling campaign of extrajudicial executions and violence resulting in the deaths of at least 150 peaceful pro-Biafra protesters in the south-east of the country.

The report, which was the result of the analysis of 87 videos, 122 photographs and 146 eye witness testimonies relating to demonstrations and other gatherings between August 2015 and August 2016, consistently showed that the military fired live ammunition with little or no warning to disperse crowds.

Amnesty also found evidence of mass extrajudicial executions by security forces, including at least 60 people shot dead in the space of two days in connection with events to mark Biafra Remembrance Day. The Interim Director of Amnesty International Nigeria, Makmid Kamara, said the deadly repression of pro-Biafra activists was further stoking tensions in the South-east.

“This reckless and triggerhappy approach to crowd control has caused at least 150 deaths and we fear the actual total might be far higher.

The Nigerian government’s decision to send in the military to respond to pro-Biafra events seems to be in large part to blame for this excessive bloodshed. The authorities must immediately launch an impartial investigation and bring the perpetrators to book,” Kamara said.

The report noted that since August 2015, there has been a series of protests, marches and gatherings by members and supporters of Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), who

have been seeking the creation of a Biafran state.

According to the report, tensions increased further following the arrest of IPOB leader, Nnamdi Kanu, who has remained in detention since October 14, 2015.

Amnesty International said on September 30, 2016, it shared the key findings of this report with the Federal Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation, Chief of Defence Staff, Chief of Army Staff, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Minister of Interior, Inspector General of Police and the Director-General of the State Security Services.

According to the organisation, responses were received from the Attorney General and Inspector General of Police but neither answered the questions raised in the report.

Giving the details of the massacre, Amnesty International stated that by far the largest number of pro-Biafra activists was killed on Biafra Remembrance Day on May 30, 2016 when an estimated 1,000 IPOB members and supporters gathered for a rally in Onitsha, Anambra State.

The report added that on the night before the rally, the security forces raided homes and a church where IPOB members were sleeping.

“On the remembrance day itself, the security forces shot people in several locations.

Amnesty International has not been able to verify the exact number of extrajudicial executions, but estimates that at least 60 people were killed and 70 injured in these two days,” the report explained.

Amnesty International said it had also reviewed videos of a peaceful gathering of IPOB members and supporters at Aba National High School on February 9, 2016, stressing that the Nigerian military surrounded the group and

Thunderstorm Destroys Akanu Ibiam International Airport Chinedu Eze Flight activities were disrupted at the Akanu Ibiam International Airport, as thunderstorm in the early hours of yesterday destroyed the terminal building.

This was confirmed by the management of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), which informed the public that a natural disaster occurred at the Akanu Ibiam International Airport, Enugu.

According to the acting General Manager, Corporate Affairs, FAAN, Mrs. Henrietta Yakubu, “A very heavy thunderstorm occurred at Akanu Ibiam International Airport, Enugu in the early hours of November 23, 2016, destroying some parts of the airport terminal building and pilot lounge and general aviation

terminal. It also affected electric power lines to the airport, FAAN Staff Secondary and primary school buildings and private residential buildings.”

The agency said its management took immediate remedial action, which allowed flight operations in and out of the Airport.

“FAAN is doing her best to restore normalcy. There was no loss of life or injury and also flight operations were not affected in the airport.

The management regrets the inconveniences caused by this incident to airport users and the general public,” the agency said.

Some people who do business at the airport lament that their wares were also destroyed and lamented their failure to insure their businesses.

then fired live ammunition at them without any prior warning.

Citing eyewitnesses and local human rights activists, the report stated that many of the protesters at Aba were rounded up and taken away by the military.

On 13 February, 13 corpses, including those of men known to have been taken by the military, were discovered in a pit near the Aba highway.

“It is chilling to see how these soldiers gunned down peaceful IPOB members. The video evidence shows that this was a military operation with intent to kill and injure,” Kamara said.

However, the Nigerian Army

has denied the report describing it as a biased campaign of calumny.

The Director of Army Public Relations (DAPR), Col. Sani Usman, debunked the insinuation the Nigerian troops perpetrated the killing of defenceless agitators.

According to Usman, this is an outright attempt to tarnish the reputation of the security forces in general and the Nigerian Army in particular, for whatever inexplicable parochial reasons.

He said: “The attention of the Nigerian Army has been drawn to a planned release of a report by Amnesty International on an unfounded storyline of mass killings of

MASSOB/IPOB protesters by the military between August 2015 and August 2016.

“For umpteenth times, the Nigerian Army has informed the public about the heinous intent of this non-governmental organisation which is never relenting in dabbling into our national security in manners that obliterate objectivity, fairness and simple logic.

“The evidence of MASSOB/ IPOB violent secessionist agitations is widely known across the national and international domains.

Their modus operandi has continued to relish violence that threatens national security.

Indeed between August 2015 and August 2016, the

groups’ violent protests have manifested unimaginable atrocities to unhinge the reign of peace, security and stability in several parts of the South East Nigeria,” he added.

Usman stated that a number of persons from the settler communities that hailed from other parts of the country were selected for attack, killed and burnt.

He said such reign of hate, terror and ethno-religious controversies that portend grave consequences for national security have been averted severally through the responsiveness of the Nigerian Army and members of the security agencies.

POLICY MAKERS R-L; Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Babachir David Lawal; Chief

of Staff, Mallam Abba Kyari; and Head of Civil Service of the Federation, Mrs Winifred Oyo-Ita, at the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting in Abuja...yesterday STATE HOUSE

Rivers Rerun: INEC Has Handed over Original Result Sheets to Amaechi, Wike Alleges Ernest Chinwo in Port Harcourt Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, has alleged that the leadership of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has handed over original copies of result sheets to the Minister of Transportation, Chibuike Amaechi, for the planned rigging of the December 10 rerun elections.

Wike made allegation yesterday while flagging off the construction of the Ulakwo II-Afara--Nihi in Etche Local Government Area of the state.

Wike stated that Amaechi made the disclosure on Tuesday in Abuja during a meeting with the leaders of the state chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

The governor said he was possession of the proceedings of the Abuja “illegal meeting” of the APC

at Abuja.

Wike stated that Amaechi assured the state APC leaders at the Abuja meeting that the original result sheets supplied by INEC would be used for the December 10 rerun elections to facilitate victory for; unpopular APC candidates.

He said: “While we are working for the people of Rivers State to convince them to vote for us, the APC is busy working with INEC to rig the rerun elections.

“Amaechi told them at the illegal meeting that (Senator Ali Modu) Sheriff is working for them (APC) and that they have finished PDP. Sheriff cannot finish PDP, he can only finish himself .

“On December 10, follow your results bumper to bumper. Don’t allow anyone to swap results. I urge the Etche

people to follow their results.”

The governor disclosed that the state APC members who were arrested printing fake result sheets for INEC were transferred to Zone 6 Police Command headquarters in Calabar where arrangements had been concluded to take them to Abuja for the Director of Public Prosecution at the Federal Ministry of Justice to formally release them in line with the request of APC. He assured the people of Etche Local Government Area that he would stand with them to resist the rigging of the December 10 rerun elections in the state.

Wike declared: “Tell them, INEC you cannot rig election in Etche. Tell INEC, you cannot support another party to rig the election.”

However, Amaechi has

described the allegations as wild and baseless.

In statement by his media office, Amaechi said the allegations by Wike was a cheap ploy to intimidate and harass INEC into doing his bidding and whip up public sentiment against APC, its candidates for the elections and the President Muhammadu Buhari administration, ahead of the December 10, re-run elections in the state.

“The allegations by Wike was a cheap ploy by a failing garrulous talkative to intimidate and harass INEC into doing his bidding and whip up public sentiment against APC, its candidates for the elections and the President Buhari administration, ahead of the December 10, re-run elections in Rivers State. We know his game, this is an old worn out trick that will certainly fail.”

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 24, 2016 • T H I S D AY

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NEWSXTRA

House Appropriation C’ttee Increases N180bn Virement Request to N208.8bn Damilola Oyedele in Abuja The House of Representatives Committee on Appropriation has increased the 2016 budget virement proposal of President Muhammadu Buhari from N180 billion to N208.8 billion.

The report of the committee laid before the House yesterday contains a proposal of N25 billion to take care of debts and liabilities to local contractors.

Buhari in a letter to the Speaker of House, Hon. Yakubu Dogara, dated October 20, 2016, had however requested for the virement of N180 billion.

The Chairman of the House Committee on Appropriation, Hon. Mustapha Bala Dawaki, laid the report after the House passed a motion with a prayer to “receive and approve the request for virement of funds in the Appropriation Act, 2016, as follows...:” The report would subsequently be listed for consideration and its recommendations either adopted or rejected by the lawmakers.

Dawaki, noted that the committee observed that there are other areas of critical needs with potentials for development and stimulating the economy for which additional funds could be provided through virement from the Special Intervention Programme.

He added that the committee had met with the relevant stakeholders and the affected MDAs justified the need for intervention and approval of the virement for their respective agencies.

Breakdown of the N208.8 billion is as follows: Service Wide Vote: Public Service Wage Adjustment (PSWA)N71,800,215,270, Contingency

- N1,200,000,000, Margin for increase in Cost (MIC) - N2,000,000,000, Ministry of Interior: Cadet feedingPolice Academy, Wudil, Kano- N932,400,000, Amnesty Programme- N35,000,000,000, Internal Operations of the Armed Forces, - N5,205,930,270, Operation Lafiya Dole N13,933,093,000, Ministry of Youth and Sports Development: NYSC- N19,792,018,400, Ministry of Foreign Affairs: Foreign Missions- N16,349,647,078 and Federal Ministry of Education: Augmentation of Meal, Subsidy/ Direct Teaching & Lab Cost N900,000,000.

Others are Statutory Transfer: Public Complaints Commission, - N2,500,000,000, Ministry of Defence (capital): Nigerian Air Force (NAF)N12,708,367,476, Capital Supplementation: Presidential Initiative for the North-east (PINE) - N1,500,000,000, Payment of local Contractors Debts/Other Liabilities - N25,000,000,000.

“That the sum of 300 million appropriated in the 2016 Budget under the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) for the construction of 132 KVA Substation at Gwaram, Jigawa State be vired for the Reconstruction of Fallen Towers, Replacement of Glass Insulators, etc. for Gagarawa, Jigawa State (TCN01B021775),” the motion read.

The House also called for urgent action to ensure food security in the country amidst reports that the massive rate of export to Libya, Algeria, Brazil and other countries, could lead to shortage of grains by January 2017 in Nigeria.

The House therefore mandated its Committee on Agricultural

Ambode Redeploys Ashade as Commissioner for Finance Lagos State Governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode, has redeployed the Commissioner for Economic Planning and Budget, Mr. Akinyemi Ashade, to take over as the Commissioner for Finance.

In a statement signed by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Habib Aruna, the governor made the decision shortly after the State Executive Council meeting yesterday.

Ashade is expected to resume his new portfolio with immediate effect.

The governor however, said Ashade would still oversee the Ministry of Economic Planning and Budget pending when the State Executive Council would be reshuffled.

Ambode had October 19, 2016, carried out a cabinet reshuffle with the dropping of the Commissioners for Tourism, Mr Folorunsho FolarinCoker; Finance, Dr. Mustapha Akinkunmi and Transportation, Dr. Ekundayo Mobereola.

Ashade was until his appointment by the governor, a Partner at KPMG Professional Services, one of the big four international professional services firm with specialisation

in audit, tax and advisory services. With over 16 years of professional experience with KPMG Nigeria and extensive skills in financial services industry, project and quality assurance management and public private partnership, he is surely a round peg in a round hole.

A Chartered Accountant and Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN), Ashade was born in Badagry on October 6, 1975. He had his primary education at Anglican Primary School, Ilado, Badagry between 1981 and 86 and proceeded to Iworo Ajido High School, Badagry where he passed the West African School Certificate of Education in 1992 before proceeding to University of Lagos where he graduated with B.Sc (second class upper division) in Biology in 1997.

Ashade joined KPMG (then Arthur Andersen, Nigeria) in March, 1999 and this provided an opportunity for a career change to Accounting. He became chartered in 2004 and was admitted as a partner in KPMG 2013. In 2015, he was appointed a Fellow of ICAN.

Production and Services to investigate the situation with a view to ensuring that the Ministry of Agriculture synergises efforts with relevant MDAs towards developing an action plan to avert the unhealthy export at the expense of local demand.

Hon. Abubakar Danburam Nuhu (Kano APC) in a motion of urgent public importance said the troubling export is being facilitated in markets in Kano, Sokoto, Kebbi and Jigawa, with an estimated 500 truckloads of grains leaving the markets weekly.

The government, Abubakar

noted, is desirous of ensuring food security amongst other competing ends in order to affirm the objective of diversification while also enhancing export opportunities and self sufficiency.

In another development, the House Committee on Health Services has said the 15 per cent budgetary allocation goal to health as agreed by the Abuja Declaration of 2001, may not be immediately realisable in Nigeria as several sectors compete for scarce resources.

The committee lamented that the 2016 budgetary allocation to the sector fell by 33 per cent, indicating a paltry 4.7 per cent

decline from six per cent in 2013.

The Chairman of the Committee, Hon. Chike Okafor, speaking with THISDAY on the sidelines of a hearing on revitalising Primary Health Care (PHC) system in Nigeria, said stakeholders in the sector are eventually targeting 15 per cent allocation.

“There are several sectors begging for attention, but the journey of a thousand miles starts with a step. Health remains a priority so we want higher allocation particularly PHC, because 75-80 per cent of health issues are treatable at that level,” he said.

He noted that while the House does not implement budgets, it would enhance oversight of the relevant MDAs to ensure that funds for provision and running of the PHCs are not used for other purposes.

Okafor also advocated that PHCs be put on the exclusive list to enable the federal government employ and pay medical doctors and some health workers and post them to the wards.

He added that the committee is ready to partner with state governments for the promotion of PHC facilities and for alignment of their policies with national strategy.

DAY OF TRIBUTES FOR OLANIWUN AJAYI

L-R: Osun State Governor, Rauf Aregbesola; Ogun State Governor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun; Oyo State Governor, Senator Abiola Ajimobi; former Governor of Osun State, Chief Bisi Akande and Afenifere chieftain, Chief Ayo Adebanjo, at the Afenifere’s Day of Tributes for the late Sir Olaniwun Ajayi in Ibadan...yesterday

W’Bank, FG, Others Sign $40m Deal to Decongest Apapa Ports Dele Ogbodo in Abuja The Executive Secretary of the Nigeria Shippers’ Council (NSC), Mr. Hassan Bello, yesterday said the federal government, through the Nigeria Ports Authority (NPA), NSC and the International Consortium (IFC), the investment arm of the World Bank, has concluded a $40 million deal to de-congest Apapa, Lagos, gridlock by building automated truck landing terminals across the country.

While disclosing this at an interactive session with Transport correspondents in Abuja, Bello said the deal would be delivered through the National Freight Information and Transportation Hub (NAFITH), a Jordanian Logistics Service Consultant to IFC, in collaboration from with Lagos State Government and other interested stakeholders.

The entire project which THISDAY learnt will take 18 months to complete has commenced at different parts of the country to create truck landing terminal that will be

electronically driven.

The project, when completed, he said, would reduce the notorious traffic jam in Apapa, Lagos.

According to Bello, “The project is being done in collaboration with Lagos State Government, and they have started looking at locations across the country to build terminals that will be electronically guided.

“IFC, an arm of the World Bank, through NAFITH, did the study on behalf of NSC for the government, but also has contribution from Lagos State Government.

“In fact, it is in conjunction with NPA, therefore, we have started looking at locations to create stages and terminals as all these will be electronically guided so trucks won’t be at the port when they are not needed.

“It will take 18 months to complete the projects, and they will come in stages, getting the land took four months, the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC).”

The entire process, according

to the executive secretary, will be done with expression of interest, adding that willing investors in the park allocation will have to show their capability and expertise through selection process.

He stressed that it would be Build Operate and Transfer (BOT) and they will also sublease for other value chain of business that it will attract other interest.

On the National Shipping Line, he said government had signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Pacific International Line (PIL) of Singapore.

According to him, the national fleet which will be driven by the private sector, has 40 percent shares for PIL, while Nigerians will take 60 percent.

He said: “We are engaging a transaction adviser who will guide us on how Nigerians will buy the 60 percent. We need the expertise and the management capability of the PIL so that the national carrier will be sustainable.

“It is not only to have ships but their sustainability, and it

will be a purely 100 percent private sector as government will not have a hand in it.

Government is just the enabler without investing a kobo in the project.”

Bello stressed that the role of the government would be to provide the will and conducive atmosphere for the project to prosper, therefore, “we are looking at incentivising and encouraging Nigerians to drive it.”

According to him, the status of a national carrier means that all project cargos will be done by the national shipping line, adding that it means that all the rolling stock for the rail system will be done by the national carrier.

He said: “We have approached developmental banks for the 60 percent shares, and we are hopeful that Afriexim bank is ready to advance the 60 percent stakes for investors to access.

“Very soon, you will see it in the newspaper, because we want to make sure that everything is done properly and to avoid the mistakes of the past.”

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THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 24, 2016 • T H I S D AY

NEWSXTRA

CCB Says Raid, Arrest of Judges in Order Justice Liman laments damage to reputation Damilola Oyedele in Abuja The Code of Conduct Bureau

(CCB) has said the raid on the homes of judges and their arrests by men of the Department of

Yabatech Students Escape Death as Fire Razes Female Hostel Chiemelie Ezeobi Students of Yaba College of Technology (Yabatech), Lagos, yesterday escaped death as early morning fire destroyed about 25 rooms on the first floor of the female hostel located inside the school.

The affected hostel, a twostorey building known as Bakassi, was solely occupied by female students of the institution.

Four female students of the institution however escaped death by the whiskers in the fire outbreak which gutted property worth millions of naira.

While some students also sustained varying degrees of injuries in the confusion that followed the fire outbreak, others almost suffocated to death according to eyewitness.

One of the affected students said the incident was actually caused by fumes from a faulty generating set belonging to one of the students.

The student who identified herself as Funmilayo Olusegun, said: “There was power outage in the morning. Some of us normally switch on the generator by 5a.m. to prepare for classes.

“Suddenly, there was an outcry from one of the students who raised the fire alarm. A colleague whose room was very close to where the generator was located was the one who first noticed a spark but initially ignored it.

There was stampede when the second girl raised the alarm.”

It was also gathered that the second spark was noticed during the stampede and that that resulted in the fire which razed the entire floor.

THISDAY gathered that some of the students on the affected floor attempted to salvage what was left of their property, but couldn’t.

Some male students even attempted to put out the fire using water while those with fire extinguisher, tried to quench it from the ground floor.

When THISDAY visited the scene, officials of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), those from the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA) as well as officials of the federal and state fire services and policemen were on ground to salvage the situation.

State Services (DSS) were in order and within the mandate of the National Security Agencies (NSA) Act. The agency also disclosed that it had supplied the office of the Attorney General of the Federation (OAGF) with copies of the asset declaration forms of the affected judges at the behest of the AGF. The Chairman of the CCB, Mr. Sam Saba, said these yesterday, in his submission to the House of Representatives committee investigating cases of property invasion and arrest of persons for reasons outside the general duties of the DSS, since May 29, 2015.

The hearing was informed to a motion on the October 7-8, 2016 raid on the home of judges, and their arrests by the DSS, which raised concerns as to whether the agency acted within the confines of its mandates in line with the NSA Act. Saba said the AGF, in several letters, had requested for copies of asset declaration forms of several Nigerians.

“The requests were made in batches, some of them as far back as January, while some were as recent as two weeks ago.

He was however not specific as to the dates of the letters requesting the declaration forms of the affected judges.

“I was on leave when the letters came, but I was contacted and gave approval for the releases,” he said.

Saba’s position before the adhoc committee chaired by Hon. Mohammed Garba Datti (Kaduna APC), is that stealing and corruption constitute threats to the internal security of the country.

A mild drama occurred when Saba declined to supply the committee with copies of the AGF’s letters, requesting the asset declaration forms of the judges.

Hon. Kingsley Chinda (Rivers PDP) had requested that Saba submit the copies.

“Why don’t you ask the AGF for it? It is privileged information” Saba retorted.

Hon. Edward Pwajok (Plateau PDP) however drew attention to Section 89 (1) of the Constitution which allows the National Assembly to requests for any documents in futherance of its investigations.

The Committee Chairman intervened as it looked like an imminent exchange of words, ruling that Saba submits the copies of the letters by 10am on Thursday.

Meanwhile, Justice Mohammed Abdullahi Liman of the Federal High Court, Port Harcourt, in his submission

lamented that his name had been denigrated and smeared in the scandal.

He disclosed that his No.33 home in Port Harcourt, was never searched, nor any attempt made by the DSS to enter it. Rather, the SSS officers attempted to enter the home of his neighbour and colleague, Justice Uche Agomoh, a move thwarted by the arrival of Governor Nyesom Wike, Liman said.

“It was therefore shocking and frightening when the SSS released an official statement claiming to have attempted to search the house of an unnamed judge, but the judge when approached, resisted and mobilised thugs, and with the assistance of Governor Nyesom Wike, and the tacit support of a sister security organisation, removed $2 million which was stashed in his house to an unknown place,” he said.

Liman said an unending cascade of misinformation was triggered when the media set the tone of the narrative and identified him to be the unknown judge.

He added that he never received any invitation from the DSS, nor has he been queried in relation to the allegations against the judges.

“I feel pained by this

frightening event, especially the denigration of my reputation that followed the unending negative publications aimed at socially and professionally destroying me completely,” Liman told the committee.

Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike in his submission insisted that the DSS acted outside its mandate, particularly with the manner of operation.

He was represented at the hearing by the Attorney General and Commissioner of Justice, Mr. Emmanuel Aguma. “...Nigerian Machavellian fixation that the end justifies the means, but the means justifies the end, it is the method that we are saying was not within the ambits of the law. Nobody is out to defend rogue judges, but things must be done in accordance with the law,” he said.

The committee adjourned to Thursday.Those expected to appear include the Director General of the SSS, Colonel Lawal Daura, the AGF, Mr. Abubakar, the Acting Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission ( EFCC), Mr. Ibrahim Magu, his Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC), Mr. Ekpo Nta, and the Inspector General of Police, Mr. Ibrahim Idris.

BoI Earmarks N300bn for SME Development Crusoe Osagie The Bank of Industry (BoI) has earmarked N300 billion for the development of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in Nigeria over the next three years, noting that this move was to make funds accessible to entrepreneurs to start up and expand their businesses in the country.

The acting Managing Director, BoI, Mr. Waheed Olagunju, explained that the Development Finance Institution (DFI) had so far disbursed about N15 billion last year to SMEs, creating about 600,000 jobs in the country.

Indeed, BoI emphasised the need to develop the SME sector, adding that most economies of the world have been able to transform their economies paying serious attention to SME growth.

He noted that the Nigerian economy has underperformed over the past years due to the weak SME sector while urging entrepreneurs to take advantage of investment opportunities in the nation’s power, construction and other sectors begging for investment.

Olagunju, during the 20th annual public lecture organised by the Chartered Institute of Personnel Management of Nigeria (CIPMN), tagged: ‘SMEs as a catalyst for sustained

economic growth in Nigeria’, said Nigeria must promote SMEs using areas where the nation has competitive and comparative advantage.

He, however, commended the federal government policies instructing that certain percentages of government purchases must come from patronising SMEs in the country, saying this would bring some increased level of relevance to the sector.

“We are going to help in building capacity for those SMEs to ensure that they are competitive in terms of quality and in terms of price. Our products have to be competitive and of the right quality,” he said.

He stated that the sector is still faced with myriad of challenges ranging from market access, weak local patronage of made-in-Nigeria goods, power supply, finance, information and lack of technology as a result of over dependence on expensive sophisticated imported technology.

He said according to a report he attributed to Oxfam, the industrialised countries of the northern hemisphere bought cocoa worth a billion dollars from Nigeria, Ivory Coast, Cameroun and Ghana, investing another $3 billion on value addition and generated businesses worth about $60 billion.

THANK YOU FOR COMING

Senate President, Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki, receiving a souvenir from the President, Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Abubakar Balarabe Mahmoud (SAN) when the NBA team visited the Senate President in Abuja....yesterday.

NAAPE Debunks Claims of Any Danger with Caverton Helicopters Seriki Adinoyi in Jos The National Association of Aircraft Pilots and Engineers (NAAPE) has refuted the publication claiming that pilots and engineers at Caverton Helicopters are subjected to unfair treatment and exposed to poor working conditions, adding that “the said publication has absolutely no connection with the body either at national or branch

level.”

One Bola Yusuf had signed a purported petition to the federal government and the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC), lamenting the poor condition pilots and engineers are subjected to, and published in the dailies.

But a letter signed by Deputy General Secretary of NAAPE, Mr. Umoh Ofonime, strongly rejected the views of the publication, adding that

the said “Bola Yusuf whom the publication claimed to be the author of the petition is not a member of NAAPE either at Caverton or any other branch.”

He added that the reporter who wrote the said story has not had any form of contact or interaction with any officer of the union both at national and branch levels in any form.

“We wish to state that the

jaundiced views expressed in the publication are purely that of the writer, and do not relate with the view of NAAPE in any way at this time.”

Meanwhile, Ofonime reiterated NAAPE’s commitment “to the successful conclusion and implementation of ongoing discussions for the benefits of our members in Caverton’s Helicopters.

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 24, 2016 • T H I S D AY

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NEWSXTRA

Senate C’ttee Orders IOCs to Submit Details of Shortfall on Cash Call Operations

Omololu Ogunmade in Abuja

The Senate Joint Committee on Gas and Petroleum (Downstream) yesterday ordered international oil companies (IOCs) and Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) to submit details of the shortfall in their alternative funding of joint venture cash calls from 2011 to 2015 within one week.

The order was given at the

opening of a two-day public hearing on the implementation of the joint venture cash call obligations in the National Assembly.

Issuing the order, the Chairman of the Joint Committee, Senator Albert Bassey, asked the IOCs to submit their funding related documents such as the bank’s offer letter on credit facilities and bank statements on loan

account to operators for funding of the joint venture operations.

Bassey who described the public hearing as critical and expedient, said the report of the committee on the hearing would represent the position of the Senate on the issue of joint venture cash call.

He acknowledged the moves by NNPC and joint venture operators to restructure the funding of the cash

call obligations, saying the committee needed explanation on implementation of the cash calls within the period under review.

According to him, nonimplementation or diversion of the cash calls for which provisions were provided in various budgets passed by the National Assembly amounts to violation of the law.

Besides Chevron and

ExxonMobil which were represented at the public hearing by their chief operating officers, other IOCs sent representatives below the rank of executive directors.

This provoked the committee which said the attitude ran contrary to the rules of the Senate.

Answering questions from the committee, the Group Managing Director (GMD) of NNPC, Mr.

Maikanti Baru, described cash call system as an albatross to the funding of oil operations in the country.

He said NNPC was currently engaging stakeholders to exit the present cash call system with a view to creating an alternative funding system adding that discussions were ongoing to settle the cash call arrears owed by NNPC.

Lagos Cancels Monthly Environmental Sanitation Day Urges residents to comply with environmental laws The Lagos State Government yesterday terminated the monthly environmental sanitation exercise which hitherto held for three hours on the last Saturday of every month.

The state government, in a statement by the Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr. Steve Ayorinde, said the decision to cancel the monthly exercise followed a resolution arrived at yesterday’s executive council meeting which approved the need for a robust review of the environmental laws and procedures in the state in order to meet the present day challenges and to promote a clean and healthy environment.

The government noted that considering the present economic situation in the country, it was no longer appropriate to restrict movement of people for three hours in a mega city like Lagos at a time they should be pursuing commercial and entrepreneurial activities.

According to government, in the last two decades, Lagos has grown exponentially into a mega city with the attendant huge environmental problems associated with managing a population of over 20 million people.

But sadly, the environmental laws, policies and procedures being practiced in the state have not been able to match the phenomenal growth and the dream of a 24-hour economy,

hence the need for the reform.

Ayorinde said the state government was not unaware of a recent Court of Appeal judgment.

According to him, the thrust of the fresh initiatives, among others, is to promote holistic and modern solutions tothe unique environmental challenges confronting the state, while encouraging citizens to voluntarily partner with government to achieve the desired goals.

The statement said: “After a careful consideration, the state executive council has therefore resolved that the present economic climate can no longer support the continued lock down of a mega city like Lagos, when the citizens should be free to engage in commercial and entrepreneurial activities that can promote economic growth and prosperity.

“Furthermore, government will also accelerate the introduction of fresh reforms through the passage of the new harmonized environmental laws that will drive meaningful changes in areas of harmonised billing, waste management, modern landfill sites, noise pollution, introduction of an Environmental Trust Fund and an Environmental Advisory Council.

L-R: Company Secretary, Guinness Nigeria Plc, Mr. Rotimi Odusola; Managing Director/CEO, Mr. Peter Ndegwa; Chairman, Mr. Babatunde Savage; Vice-Chairman, Mr John O’Keffe; and Non-Executive Director, Mr. Bismark Rewane, at the company’s 66th annual general meeting in Benin City, Edo State...yesterday

Halt Airports Concessions, House Directs Aviation Minister Wants EFCC to investigate N120bn aviation intervention fund Damilola Oyedele in Abuja

The House of Representatives has directed the Minister of State forAviation, Senator Hadi Sirika, to halt the planned concession of four international airports in Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt and Kano.

This is as it called on the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to investigate the alleged diversion of the 120 billion aviation intervention fund provided by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in 2012.

The House took the position following the adoption of 2016, body will leave St. the report of its Committee Anthony’s Hospital Mortuary, on Aviation on the Need to Umuchima, Ihechiowa, Rescue the Airline Industry from Arochukwu for lying in state Imminent Collapse. at Chief OTK’s compound at 9:30a.m, while funeral services will hold at the Presbyterian church of Nigeria, Amakofia, Arochukwu L.G.A Abia State. Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja Interment follows National Working immediately after service The at 12 am prompt. There will Committee of the All be outing services on Sunday Progressives Congress (APC) at the Presbyterian Church of has upheld the suspension of Nigeria, Amakofia on Sunday, the Deputy National Publicity November 27, 2016. Madam Secretary, Timi Frank, in line Grace Orieji Kalu is survived with the party’s constitution.

The South-south Zonal by children, grand children and other relations among executive committee of the who is Chief Otah Kalu (OTK), party had earlier handed Executive Director, Client down its suspension to the Services, Lowe Lintas, deputy spokesman based on the recommendations of a Lagos.

Grace Orieji Kalu Azumah for Burial The death has been announced of Madam Orieji Kalu Azumah, whose sad event took place on October 7, 2016 after a protracted illness, aged 74.

Until her death, Madam Grace Orieji Kalu Azumah was a devout Christian and community Leader who exemplified truthfulness and good leadership.

According to the burial arrangement by the family, there will be a night of songs on Thursday, November 24, 2016 at Chief Otah Kalu’s (OTK) country home (eldest son of the deceased) at Ugwu Faith, Amakofia Ututu, Arochukwu Local Government Area of Abia State at 8p.m. prompt. On Friday, November 25th

PREPARING FOR SHAREHOLDERS

The report laid by the Committee Chairman, Hon. Nkeiruka Onyejeocha (Abia PDP), recommended a stay of action on the proposed concession of airports until the Minister has been able to brief the House and Nigerians on how the proposed concession will remedy the challenges facing the sector and benefit consumers.

Sirika would be expected to brief on his plans and programmes for the aviation sector, including the current status of the on-going remodeling of international airports, the reasons behind the scope and design of the remodeling and provide detailed drawings and specifications of the current design in order to enable the

ascertainment of the actual cost of ongoing remodeling, compared to the loan received.

The House also adopted the recommendation to invite the Asset Management Company of Nigeria (AMCON and explain its plan of action to resuscitate Aero Contractors Airlines.

“Invite AMCON, management of Aero Contractors Airlines and leaders of labour union in the airline industry to discuss the continuation of the redundancy negations between Management of Aero Contractors Airlines and labour union leaders, which was suspended by AMCON’s refusal to finance the outcome of the negotiation,” the report read.

The committee urged that action be refrained on the

concession agreement between Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) and Bi-Courtney till the case is determined by the Supreme Court.

“Invite the Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria and airline operators (Domestic and International) to deliberate on the possibilities of CBN’s intervention in the crisis of foreign exchange for the airline industry...urge the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) to as a matter of urgency make aviation fuel available regularly at affordable prices; and....also urge the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) to make effort to refine aviation fuel locally,” the report read.

APC’s NWC Upholds Frank’s Suspension disciplinary committee it set up to probe allegations of malfeasance against him.

Speaking yesterday on the position of the NWC regarding Frank, the Deputy National Secretary APC, Ogi Ngofa, said the party’s leadership had accepted the report of the disciplinary committee after reviewing it.

“The position of the NWC of the party on the issue of Frank, is that we have accepted the recommendation of the zonal

committee that sat on it after reviewing the report they gave to us yesterday,” he said.

The party’s scribe said the NWC had not acted in contempt of the court but had only upheld the provisions of the party’s constitution which stipulates that any member that take it to court stands suspended pending the outcome of the case.

“Frank did not appear at any of the sittings but he has rather gone to court so the position is that we will not jeopardise the

matter that is in court now as a law abiding political party, we will wait until the court decides.

“But technically by Article 13 (5) of our Constitution, he is no longer a member of the party until the court decides otherwise because it is stated clearly that the party will expel any member that takes the party to court. So, we have taken a decision to hold on with the report of the zonal committee and await the decision of the court.”

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 24, 2016 • T H I S D AY

CRIME&PUNISHMENT

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NAICOM Boss Taken into Protective Custody as Workers Protest Alleged Corruption James Emejo in Abuja Protesting staff of the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) under the Amalgamated Union of Public Corporations, Civil Service Technical and Recreational Services Employees (AUPCTRE) yesterday paralysed activities at the commission’s headquarters over allegations of corruption against the Commissioner for Insurance, Alhaji Mohammed Kari.

Following the rowdy agitation, operatives from the Department of State Security (DSS) and the Nigerian Police Force had to be called in to rescued the NAICOM boss from being harassed by angry workers.

Kari was appointed as CFI by President Muhammadu Buhari on July 30, 2015 following the exit of his predecessor, Mr. Fola Daniel who tenure saw little or no protest from workers.

Troubled brewed at the commission in the early hours Wednesday when the workers’ union shut the business premises of the commission and prevented access into the building-and wielding placards with various inscriptions including: “Mohammed Kari must go,” “President Muhammadu Buhari save NAICOM from collapse,” “NAICOM boss indicted for N54 billion scam and “nepotism and favoritism in NAICOM.” The Vice Chairman of the workers union, Mr. Mahmoud Usman, in a statement made

available to newsmen said they were protesting what he described as incompetence as well as financial abuse by Kari.

THISDAY efforts to get a reaction from NAICOM management proved abortive According to the protest letter: “The present Commissioner for Insurance, Kari was indicted chub the Justice Obiora Nwazota in May 2002 judicial panel report on the N54bn ‘loot’ of the liquidated Nigeria Airways.

“The report recommended that Kari who was the (then) Managing Director of NICON Plc and several others be held responsible for the sum of $13million transferred to Alexander Services Limited by NICON Plc.” It said: “The questions should be asked how he ran Unity Kapital Assurance Plc, Nigeria Re-Insurance Corporation, NICON insurance Corporation and Niger Insurance Plc. “Was a due diligence not done by the presidency before his appointment?”

The workers further accused the commissioner of failing in his duty to enforce the compulsory insurance as scuffed by various laws guiding insurance.

It claimed the situation had contributed to the low contribution of the insurance sector to the Gross Domestic Product of the country.

It alleged that under Kari, the commission had not been conducting routine inspection of all insurance institutions in the country.

IG: 128 Police Officers Killed at Duty Posts Dele Ogbodo in Abuja The Inspector General of Police (IG), Mr. Ibrahim Idris, yesterday has described as deeply worrisome the rate at which officers and men lose their lives in the course of discharging their statutory duties.

In a statement made available to the media by the Force Public Relations Officer, DCP, Donald Awunah, Idris said: “These line of duty resultant deaths, occasioned by unwarranted attacks by religious bigot, bandits, hoodlums and militants must be reversed and the trend halted.

In the past three months, the Force has lost 128 personnel in various parts of the country due to activities of these undesirable elements in our communities.

Also disturbing, according to him, is the wanton destruction of Police infrastructure and public assets, adding that the recent cases in Dankamoji village in Maradu Local Government Area of Zamfara State, Abagana in Anambra State and in Okrika waterways in Rivers State where personnel were killed, arms carted away, structures and equipment destroyed are cases in point.

EFCC to Arraign FUNAAB Pro-Chancellor,VC, Bursar for Fraud Senator Iroegbu in Abuja

The Ibadan Zonal Office of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has concluded plans to arraign three principal officers of the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta for fraud.

The source from the anti-graft agency said the three suspects including the Pro-Chancellor, Senator Adeseye Ogunlewe; Vice Chancellor Professor,

Olusola Oyewole and the Bursar, Mr. Moses Olusola Ilesanmi, would be arraigned tomorrow.

According to the source, “They will be docked on an 18-count charge bordering on stealing, abuse of office and obtaining by false pretence.”

The agency official said the trio had been a subject of investigation for alleged cases of abuse of office and misappropriation of funds.

The union also claimed the Deputy Commissioner for Insurance (Finance and Administration) Mr. George Onokhena appropriated the sum of $70,000 to himself on the disguise of medical treatment in the United States without necessary approvals.

The agitating workers also expressed dissatisfaction with

what they described as lack of succession plan as the commission was in the habit of filling vacancies of directors from outside instead of allowing workers under such department to grow professionally.

Meanwhile, in a statement released last night, NAICOM spokesman, Mr. Rassaq Salami, said Kari was never arrested

as being insinuated by media reports.

He said:”The National insurance Commission wishes to state that the Commissioner for insurance Mohammed Kari was at the senate today being November 23, 2016 to honour his earlier invitation from the Senate committee on Banking, insurance and other financial

institutions on the Commission’s 2016 budget performance.

“He was never arrested by the Department of State Services as is being circulated. The DSS and Police attached to NAICOM for security only paved the way for Kari to leave the office and avoid any molestation by staff at the entrance gate to the commission.”

SWEET VICTORY

Indigenes of Akure jubilating over the Court of Appeal judgment recognising Mr. Eyitayo Jegede (SAN) as the Ondo State Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate in Akure...yesterday

Amosu, 10 Others Ask Dasuki’s Aide, Eight Court to Disqualify EFCC’s Others Charged with Fresh Witness N36.8bn Fraud A former Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Adesola Amosu (rtd) and 10 others currently standing trial over analleged N22.8 billion fraud has asked Justice Mohammed Idris of a Federal High Court in Lagos to disqualify a witness of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Owobo Tosin, from testifying in the matter.

The accused persons raised their objections on the competence of the witness to testify in the case through their lawyers at yesterday’s proceedings.

EFCC’s lawyer, Rotimi Oyedepo, had already commenced the examination of the witness, an investigative officer with the commission, when Amosu’s lawyer, Chief Bolaji Ayorinde (SAN), expressed concern about the refusal of the anti-graft agency to attach the statement of the witness to the proof of evidence.

According to him, the witness would only be competent to give any evidence in the matter when copies of his statement were served on the defendants by the EFCC. Citing Section 379 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA) 2015, the

silk said it is mandatory for any witness who is to give evidence to have a statement.

He said the non-availability of the witness statement is a gross violation of the defendants’ right to fair hearing as enshrined in the Constitution. He then urged the court to disqualify the witness from testifying in the matter.

Oyerinde’s position was also adopted by other defence lawyers.

However, in his response, EFCC’s lawyer, Rotimi Oyedepo, while citing Section 175 of the Evidence Act maintained that the only time a witness can be disqualified by the court is when he cannot understand questions.

According to him, the proof of evidence served on the defence as far back as June 2016 substantially complied with the provisions of Section 379 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA) 2015.

He added that it is wrong to be asking for the statement of an investigative officer because he was merely investigating an incident.

Justice Idris will deliver his ruling on the issue today.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) yesterday arraigned the quartet of Nicholas Ashinze, a former Special Assistant to the embattled former National Security Adviser, Sambo Dasuki; an Austrian, Wolfgang Reinl; Edidiong Idiong and Sagir D. Mohammed before Justice Gabriel Kolawole of the Federal High Court in Abuja on a 13-count charge of corruption and money laundering to the tune of N36.8billion.

Ashinze, a colonel, and his co-accused were arraigned alongside five companies accused of allegedly diverting huge sums from the office of the former NSA. The companies are: Geonel Integrated Services Limited, Unity Continental Nigeria Limited, Helpline Organization, Vibrant Resource Limited and Sologic Integrated Services Limited.

The defendants pleaded not guilty to all the charges preferred against them.

In view of their plea, counsel to EFCC, I. Uket, expressed readiness for trial to commence immediately saying he had the witnesses present in court.

“If the court is ready, we are also ready to produce our first witness as we have our witnesses in court”, he said.

But Ashinze’s counsel, Ernest Nwoye, told the court that he had a pending application for the bail of his client.

He urged the court to grant the defendant bail on self recognizance having earlier been admitted to bail by an FCT High Court.

Afam Osigwe, counsel representing the second and fifth defendants, also prayed the court to admit Reinl to bail.

He stated that his client has been enjoying administrative bail from the EFCC since February. He said that his travel documents are in the possession of the commission. He added that the accused has lived in Nigeria for over 23 years and is married to a Nigerian.

Ruling on the applications, Justice Kolawole held that the charges are all bailable adding that, “since each of the defendants has been on one administrative bail or the other, my sixth judicial sense informs me that I adopt the terms and conditions of the bail granted to the defendants by the EFCC and my learned brothers in the FCT High Courts.

The judge added that the case would be granted accelerated hearing and urged the prosecution to pick five days in the new year for trial.

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thurSDAY, november 24, 2016 • T H I S D AY

THURSDAYSPORTS

Group Sports Editor Duro Ikhazuagbe Email duro.ikhazuagbe@thisdaylive.com

AW C O N 2 0 1 6

Super Falcons, Black Queens Share Points Femi Solaja Nigeria and Ghana rivalry in the Beautiful Game ended one-all yesterday in one of the group matches of the ongoing 10thWomen Africa Cup of Nations finals in Cameroon.

The Super Falcons who are on the same four points as the Black Queens remain top of Group B on goals difference.

Even as defending champion, Nigeria failed to crack the Black Queens from Accra with several missed chances despite taking the lead in the 19th minute of the clash at the Stade Omnisports Limbe when Asisat Oshoala scored her fifth of the tournament.

Head coach of the African champions, Florence Omagbemi, made just a change to the team that defeat Mali 6-0.

Uchechi Sunday dropped to the bench with Success Wogu taking her place. EA Guingamp striker Desire Oparanozie again started from the bench as he is said to have shaken off the minor injury she suffered before the start of the tournament.

On 19 minutes, Ghana failed to deal with a dead-ball whipped into their box by Faith Ikidi, resulting in Portia Boakye turning the ball into her own goal to give Nigeria a slender lead.

The final 10 minutes was more of a Ghana dominance as they broke forward in search of drawing level.

Six minutes before the break, Hasaacas Ladies forward, Samira Suleman, then tried her luck from range after cutting inside of her marker, but the Nigeria stopper Alaba Jonathan had her angle well covered.

Inside the last five minutes, Ghana equalised from the spot through Elizabeth Addo who the South African referee, Akhona Makalima adjudged was kicked on the ankle by Halimatu Ayinde in the Nigeria box.

Addo’s goal late in the first half meant the second half was finely balanced.

The second half got underway with the Nigeria captain Rita Chikwelu returning with a bandage on her head.

The Black Queens were surely the composed side in the early openings of the restart and on 58 minutes, Alaba in Nigeria’s goal had to be alert to save Boakye’s low cross from the right channel.

On the hour mark, it was the turn of Ghana goalkeeper Ama Nana Asantewaa to palm away Osarenoma Igbinovia’s free kick before the ref called for an infringement against Nigeria’s Super Falcons on the Police Ladies custodian.

Ghana’s goal scorer, Addo, proved to be a constant headache for the Nigerian backline with her guile and pace on the ball.

The Falcons will Kenya’s Harambee Starlets on Saturday while Ghana go up against Mali.

Both games will be played simultaneously.

Speaking at a post-match conference, Super Falcons Head Coach, Florence Omagbemi, admitted that the game was great and both teams played well. “Ghana gave us a good match and it was an impressive game. A draw (1-1) is not a bad result. We played well and were not expecting to draw. ” The ex international was however sad that the South African Centre Referee refused to award Nigeria a lastminute deserved penalty.

“The foul on Asisat Oshoala was a clear penalty in my own assessment. I was disappointed in the referee not making the call,” Omagbemi declared.

The Falcons coach is looking forward to Nigeria’s last Group B game against Kenya. “I’m looking forward to the game with Kenya and get a good result. We just want to play convincingly against Kenya and hopefully top the group.”

FIFA Gives Lazio Nov 29 to Pay Onazi World football governing body FIFA has handed Italian Serie A club Lazio a November 29 ultimatum to pay the Nigeria international Ogenyi Onazi his outstanding salaries or face their wrath.

A source close to Onazi told only AfricanFootball.com that FIFA have ordered Lazio to pay before end of this month.

“FIFA have given Lazio till November 29 to pay Onazi or face their wrath. He is being owed two months’ salary,” the source exclusively informed AfricanFootball.com In the summer, midfielder Onazi joined Turkish club Trabzonspor, but Lazio failed to pay him for the final two months of his contract.

He demanded for this payment

and after they still failed to pay, he took the case to FIFA. Meanwhile, four top German Bundesliga clubs as well as a Chinese Super League team have shown interest in securing the services of Onazi.

A top source told AfricanFootball.com that the German and Chinese clubs were even recently in Turkey to watch the workaholic midfielder in action for Trabzonspor.

“Onazi may soon quit his Turkish team Trabzonspor as top four teams in Germany as well as the Chinese team have shown interest in him,” disclosed the source.

“In fact two of the teams from Germany and a Chinese club watched him last weekend while in action for Trabzonspor.”

A midfield action in the Nigeria versus Cameroon clash at the ongoing AWCON 2016 in Libe... yesterday

StarTimes Acquires Ghana Premier League Media Rights for Next 10 Years Africa’s leading pay TV operator, StarTimes Group, on Tuesday signed a ground-breaking media agreement with Ghana Football Association (GFA), vowing to promote the influence of Ghana Premier League in Sub-Sahara Africa and help the development of Ghanaian football in the coming decade.

According to the strategic partnership agreement, StarTimes acquires all media rights of The Ghana Premier League, The Gala, The National Division One League, The Football Association Cup, The Ghana Women’s League and The Ghana Juvenile League in next 10 years.

StarTimes will invest more on programming production of Ghana Premier League and broadcast more matches of the league in Ghana and other African countries.

President of StarTimes Group, Pang Xinxing, told reporters on the signing ceremony: “The partnership between StarTimes

and Ghana Football Association is not only the cooperation between the two sides, but also a starting of cooperation between China and Africa on football industry.”

Pang noted that Ghana football

has stayed at a high level in world football by playing at World Cup finals three times in succession and winning African Cup of Nations four times.“We would like to bring more excellent football matches to

nearly nine million subscribers of StarTimes in Africa and may introduce Ghana Premier League to Chinese football fans in the future, being a bridge between Chinese and African sports industries. ”

DENCO Chairs Edo FA Awards Nite

As preparation for this year’s edition of Edo State Football Association Awards Nite enters top gear, the organisers of the awards have announced the appointment of Hon Dennis Idahosa popularly (a.k.a DENCO) as the chairman of the awards ceremony.

The Organising Committee Chairman, Percy Okogie, who made the announcement in Benin on Monday, said the appointment of Hon Idahosa is in recognition of his personality as a man of honour and high calibre.

“We’re excited to have him as the chairman of the occasion.

His coming on board is a cheerful

news to all of us because we all know the type of personality he’s bringing to the table.

“Mr Idahosa, aside being a philanthropist of note, he is also a great youth mobiliser and well-respected by all in and outside the state.”

On his part, Mr Idahosa expressed appreciation to the Edo Football Association and the awards committee for finding him worthy to “chair this all-important event.”

He added “to me, this is a great honour by a big and respected body like the Edo Football Association. I have known Frank

Ilaboya for a while now and he cuts a picture of a very serious, focused and creative person.

“I am proud of his achievements within a very short time; I think people like us should rally round to support him to bring back football to the height Edo State is known for.”

The Edo FA Awards Nite was initiated by the present FA board led by ace sport journalist, Frank Ilaboya, last year and its purpose is to reward those involved in the football development of the state.

This year’s edition comes up on Saturday, December 17, 2016 in Benin City.

Enugu, FCT, Kwara through to Etisalat School Cup Semis School teams representing the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, Enugu and Kwara states at the on-going National Finals of the season three of the Etisalat U-15 School Cup are through to the semi-finals of the age-grade competition.

The Kwara team represented

by Socrates Secondary School, Ilorin and FOSLA Academy representing the FCT earned the tickets after winning their opening two fixtures against Edo State and Sokoto States. Both will play today to determine

who tops the group.

In a related development, Enugu State recovered from the opening day loss to Oyo to thrash Bauchi State 10 nil in the second match for both sides.

Things started going wrong for the lads from General Hassan Usman Kastina Unity College, Bauchi as early as the 9th minute of play when Divine Nwachukwu put his side ahead. Sopuru Egesionu doubled the lead just two minutes after before going on to complete a hat trick. Gift Williams scored four in the encounter while Divine

Nwachukwu also had a hat trick.

The Enugu will walk over Akwa Ibom state which failed to show up for the National Finals.

Meanwhile, teams from Edo and Sokoto are effectively out of the competition after losing their opening two matches.

They will however play each other in the final group match on Thursday.

Matches continue on day three of the competition with Akwa Ibom taking on Enugu, while Oyo plays Bauchi. Edo faces Sokoto, while FOSLA

Academy, FCT will come up against Kwara.

The national champion of the 2016 edition will receive the Champions Trophy and a cash prize of N2 million educational award while its players will go home with N50,000 each.

The second-placed team will go home with N1 million with the players pocketing extra N30,000 each while the third-place winner will have the sum of N750,000.00 for its efforts with its players receiving N20,000.00 each.

T H I S D AY THURSDAY NOVEMBER 24, 2016

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MISSILE Agbonayinma to Presidency

“Don’t ask me that kind of question, go and interview Mr. President who is flying helicopters and jets...Don’t ask me about the House of Reps ordering Peugeot 305 or 508 when the special assistants and personal assistants of the president and ministers are driving Land Cruiser and Lexus jeeps” – Hon. Johnson Agbonayinma, dismissing critics of the vehicles bought by the federal lawmakers.

OLUSEGUNADENIYI THE VERDICT

olusegun.adeniyi@thisdaylive.com

Ondo, PDP and Judicial Shame O

ne and a half years after he left office as Governor of Enugu State, Mr. Sullivan Chime is still in court over the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) ticket with which he won the 2011 gubernatorial election. The case is currently before the Supreme Court where his opponent, Chief Alexander Chukwuemeka Obiechina is challenging the validity of the 12th January 2011 PDP primaries which produced Chime as the governorship candidate. Should he win his case, Obiechina will get a meaningless judgment, essentially because lawyers and judges have conspired to foist on our nation a system that no longer serves the end of justice.

It is for that reason that we must commend the Supreme Court led by the acting Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Samuel Nkanu Walter Onnoghen for the manner it has dealt with the PDP leadership crisis that had for several weeks cast a long shadow over the coming gubernatorial election in Ondo State.

Now that the Court of Appeal has settled the contention between Mr. Jimoh Ibrahim and Mr. Eyitayo Jegede, SAN, in favour of the latter, it is comforting that voters can exercise their franchise without any ambiguity.

While I have no dog in the fight since I am not from Ondo State, I consider it shameful that at every election cycle, Nigerians have been foisted a situation in which they would not know who exactly they were voting for, especially at the gubernatorial level. It is even more depressing that some senior members of the bar would behave like touts in open courts in the bid to upend the electoral process as one did last week at the Court of Appeal. Yet, in a milieu where political parties are not based on any ideology, it stands to reason that Nigerian voters would express their preferences for individuals, a right that is cynically taken away from them by our lawyers and judges, most often for dubious gains.

Therefore, if voting is to make any meaning in Nigeria, we must enthrone a system in which pre-election matters are settled before the polling day. Similarly, it is important that post-election matters be settled before the swearing in given the well-documented case of Alhaji Alhassan Abubakar Badakoshi who won the 1983 gubernatorial election in Niger State but was only so pronounced by the Supreme Court 20 years later and 19 days after his death on 16th March 2003.

Why should a court case drag on for two decades?

According to William Burger, the 15th Chief Justice of the United States, one of the things that could destroy confidence in the courts and do incalculable damage to any society is when “people come to believe that inefficiency and delay will drain even a just judgment of its value”. That explains why in most countries, the legal and judicial processes are being continually reviewed and reformed to ensure that the courts dispense justice that conform to the law and public expectations.

Acting CJN Justice Walter Onnoghen On the contrary, we have cases in Nigeria that last several decades though it is interesting that the PDP is today paying the price for its notoriety. While in power, the party had perfected the art of multiplicity of candidates not only because of the corruption that ensured party tickets were sold to the highest bidders but also as a rigging device.

In some situations, especially in Anambra State, as many as four PDP candidates could contest the same seat with all of them campaigning and expending huge resources so the battle could shift to the courts after the election for the determination of the actual winner. When you have such a situation, it is difficult for other parties to compete fairly.

It is therefore ridiculous that the PDP would blame INEC for recognising Ibrahim on grounds that the Ondo State primaries that produced him held in Ibadan. In case the PDP leaders have forgotten, before the last election, the party’s gubernatorial primaries for some Northern states were held in Abuja, essentially for the purpose of manipulation.

In one particular instance, I learnt that buses were taken to a football field in Nyanyan, a suburb of the FCT, where those on the field of play and others within the vicinity were assembled, tutored on their assignment, given money and driven to the venue of the so-called PDP gubernatorial primaries to act as delegates!

While the PDP is reaping the whirlwinds sowed, the main challenge today is that we imperil our democracy when the judiciary is open to the manipulation of politicians whose lawyers can conjure that pre-election matters remain perpetually unresolved. That explains why within a period of three months, between 12th May and 17th August, INEC received 11 different rulings and judgments, all from two courts of coordinate jurisdictions in Abuja, Lagos and Port Harcourt: The Federal High Court and the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). Of course there have been several other injunctions, exparte orders etc. also procured from our ever thriving judicial black markets across the country on the same PDP crisis.

In a ruling on 12th May in a case filed

by Ali Modu Sheriff against INEC and others, the Federal High Court in Lagos restrained PDP from conducting election into the offices of National Chairman, National Secretary and National Auditor.

INEC was also restrained from monitoring and recognizing the conduct of any such exercise. But in another judgement on 29th June in a case filed by Chief Joseph Jero against the PDP, the FCT High Court held that the amendment of Article 47 (6) of the PDP Constitution of 2012, at a Special National Convention held in December 2014 was unconstitutional, null, void and of no effect and that all persons parading themselves as PDP National Officers as a result of the exercise had been restrained from so doing any further.

The implication of that judgment is that a High Court sat in appeal over the judgment from a court of equal jurisdiction! But barely 24 hours later, in a case brought by Benson Akingboye against INEC and PDP, the Federal High Court, Abuja made several orders among them that only the primaries conducted by the Sheriff faction should be recognized with special emphasis on the nomination of gubernatorial candidates for Edo and Ondo States.

However, that was only the beginning of the sordid drama. A week later, in a judgment delivered on 4th July at the Federal High Court, Port Harcourt in the case filed by PDP against Sheriff and 4 others, INEC was ordered to recognize the Ahmed Makarfi-led National Caretaker Committee appointed by the National Convention held in Port Harcourt on the 21 May, 2016, especially for the purposes of the submission of candidates for any elections to be conducted by the commission. But in a bench ruling on 28th July in the case filed by Sheriff against INEC and others, the Federal High Court Abuja, held among others that the Port Harcourt convention was unlawfully held and that Makarfi’s team that emerged from the process cannot lawfully take decisions on behalf of the PDP. In another ruling on 15th August obtained

by Sheriff against INEC, the Federal High Court, Abuja ordered that the PDP National Convention scheduled for 17th August, at Port Harcourt be suspended. To counter that was a ruling from the Federal High Court, this time in Port Harcourt but on the same day, in the case brought by Senator Ben Obi, where INEC was ordered to monitor the PDP National Convention scheduled for the Rivers State capital. A day later, in yet another ruling in the case by Sheriff against INEC and others, the Federal High Court in Abuja restrained the Markafi group from sponsoring any person for election or holding any National Convention for the purpose of electing National Officers.

Twenty four hours later, Ben Obi was again at the Federal High Court, Port Harcourt where he obtained a judgment restraining INEC from refusing to monitor the said

Port Harcourt convention.

On 16th August, just a day after the Port Harcourt judgment, the FCT High Court in Abuja delivered another judgment in the case filed by Danladi Ayuba. The court ordered that Sheriff cannot legally continue to parade himself as PDP National Chairman. He was also restrained from convening any meeting, conducting any congress/primary for the purpose of nominating party candidates for election in the name of the party.

From Abuja to Akure to Benin to Port Harcourt and Lagos, the list of cases, rulings and judgments over the PDP crisis is almost endless but one disturbing fact is that Justice Okon Abang’s name features prominently in the matter and it was indeed very telling that the acting CJN, Justice Onnoghen, would on Tuesday say to Mr. Beluolisa Nwofor (SAN) in open court: “Nwofor, there was only one judgment by your Justice Okon Abang”. Putting YOUR before the name of the Judge is a strong statement indeed.

I am not a lawyer but I understand that by practice, cases in the Federal High Court are assigned only by the Chief Judge, in this case, Justice Ibrahim Auta. If that be the case, does it mean Auta has been assigning the same PDP case to different Judges in Abuja, Lagos and Port Harcourt? Or is it that the Judges are now on their own in which case, they no longer take instruction from their Chief Judge? The notoriety of the Federal High Court, Abuja in the PDP imbroglio was such that in one particular instance, lawyers from one firm were allowed to represent both the appellants and the respondents!

Whatever is the situation, Justice Auta has serious questions to answer on the disgraceful conduct of the Judges under him in this matter. And I wonder why the National Judicial Council (NJC) has failed to call him to order. It is all the more sad when one notes that Auta is also a member of the NJC that was once vibrant under the no-nonsense former CJN, Aloma Mariam Mukhtar who most lawyers and Judges speak glowingly about as being above reproach.

In their book, “The People’s Law Dictionary: Taking the Mystery out of Legal Language”, Gerald Hill and Kathleen Hill argued that “the imbalance between court privileges obtained by attorneys for the wealthy and the person of modest means, the use of delay and ‘blizzards’ of unnecessary paper by large law firms, and judges who fail to cut through the underbrush ort procedure, all erode justice.”

To the extent that such antics have become the standard practice by which lawyers and judges help to pervert the course of justice in Nigeria, it is my hope that President Muhammadu Buhari will send to the Senate for confirmation the name of Justice Onnoghen so he can begin the process of restoring sanity to the bar and bench in Nigeria. If this administration is serious about fighting corruption, that is where to start.

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