Tuesday 25th January 2017

Manufacturers List Challenges to Economic Growth Seek review of items banned from accessing Forex Tobi Soniyi in Abuja The Organised Private Sector (OPS) yesterday listed 12 factors retarding the growth of the nation’s economy, isolating the prevailing huge scarcity of foreign exchange as the major impediment to

economic recovery.

They also called for a review of the list of 41 items banned by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) from accessing forex in the

Budget minister enumerates strategies for economic recovery

interbank forex market with the aim of removing raw materials components that could not be sourced locally.

The OPS spoke in Abuja during the second meeting

of the Presidential Business Forum in Abuja, where the Minister of Budget and National Planning, Senator Udo Udoma Udo, listed the strategies the government

was deploying to drive economic recovery.

The Chairman of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), Mr. Frank Udemba-Jacobs, who spoke

for the OPS enumerated the challenges the real sector was facing which he said had made it difficult to revive the economy.

The OPS comprises the Manufacturers Association

House C'ttee Says Petrol Should Cost N70 per Litre‌ Page 9

Continued on page 8

Tuesday 24 January, 2017 Vol 21. No 7950. Price: N250

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Again, Buhari Tells Senate to Confirm Magu as EFCC Chair Court hears suit against nominee on Feb. 13 Davidson Iriekpen in Lagos and Omololu Ogunmade in Abuja President Muhammadu Buhari has resubmitted the name of Mr. Ibrahim Magu to the Senate for confirmation as Chairman, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

The letter containing the

president’s request, according to THISDAY check, was delivered to the Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki, on Sunday night, five weeks after the upper chamber of the National Assembly rejected Magu’s confirmation because of an adverse security report Continued on page 8

Kachikwu Starts Visits to IOCs on FG’s ‘7Big Wins’ in Oil and Gas Sector Italy’s Eni commits to revamp Port Harcourt Refinery Ejiofor Alike As part of the efforts to implement the “7 Big Wins� in the oil and gas sector, which were launched by President Muhammadu Buhari late last year, the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, has urged

International Oil Companies (IOCs) to invest in building refineries in the Nigeria.

This is coming as the Italian oil major, Eni has committed to deepen its participation in Nigeria's oil and gas sector by revamping the Port Harcourt Continued on page 8

PARTNERS‌ Northern Governors, Traditional Rulers Meet GLOBAL L-R: President/CEO, General Electric (GE) Africa, Mr. Jay Ireland; President/CE, Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote; in Kaduna over Incessant Killings‌ Page 9 and Global CEO, General Electric, Mr. Jeffrey Immelt, during General Electric officials’ visit to Dangote Group Head Office, in Lagos‌ yesterday

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PAGE EIGHT AGAIN, BUHARI TELLS SENATE TO CONFIRM MAGU AS EFCC CHAIR from the State Security Services (SSS).

The Senate president is expected to read the presidential communication at plenary today even as a Federal High Court, sitting in Lagos has fixed February 13, 2017 as hearing date for a suit challenging the propriety of Maguâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s discharge of the function of the office of the commissionâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s chairman without Senate's confirmation.

Magu had been functioning as the acting chairman of the commission since 2015. And the Senate declined last December 15 to confirm him because of the DSS report, which indicted him for corruption.

Following Senate's rejection of his nomination and indictment, the president directed the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr. Abubakar Malami (SAN), to investigate the allegations against Magu. He submitted his report two weeks ago.

But a lawyer and rights activist, Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa, went to court asking that Magu be restrained from parading himself as acting chairman of the commission until he is confirmed by the Senate.

THISDAY learnt yesterday that the president addressed a fresh letter to Senate President Saraki on Sunday night, asking the upper legislative chamber to reconfirm Magu's appointment as the substantive EFCC chairman.

Buhari's decision to resubmit Magu's name for Senate's confirmation followed the outcome of Malamiâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s investigation, which apparently absolved him of any wrong doing as claimed by the SSS. THISDAY also learnt yesterday that the president equally sent another letter to Senate president on his position over the Senate's call for the sack and prosecution of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Mr. Babachir David Lawal, on December 14, 2016, over allegations of mismanagement and diversion of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) funds in the North-east.

However, THISDAY's efforts to have a glance at the content of the letter did not yield any

fruitful result yesterday as the two letters were closely guarded by the Senate president.

But it was learnt that both letters would be read on the floor of the Senate this morning.

However, there appears to be a mystery surrounding the way and manner the president's two requests for Magu's confirmation arrived as the second letter came the same way the first arrived.

The president's first letter seeking Magu's confirmation was sent to the Senate in June last year when Buhari was on a 10-day medical vacation to the United Kingdom. The letter was sent by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo while acting as President at the time. The second letter coming barely seven months after, was also sent by the Vice President when the president proceeded on another 10-day medical vacation to the United Kingdom.

While the situations seemed to have been deliberately planned to work that way, some would argue that they were nothing but mere coincidence.

The Senate had on December 15, 2016, announced the rejection of the president's request for Magu's confirmation, after about two hours of closeddoor meeting, citing damning security report by the DSS which indicted Magu for massive corruption.

Senate's spokesman, Senator Sabi Abdullahi, said in view of the situation, the Senate had returned the president's confirmation request to him with the expectation that he would send another name.

Hence, it is expected that the president's decision to re-submit Magu's name will come as a rude shock to the senators today.

Abdullahi had said: "This is an official statement from the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. It's the statement on confirmation of the nomination of chairman and members of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

"The Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria wishes to inform the general public that based on security reports available to the Senate, the Senate cannot proceed and confirm the nomination of

Ibrahim Magu Mustapha as the Executive Chairman of EFCC. Accordingly, the Senate hereby rejects the said nomination and has returned the said nomination to Mr. President for further action."

In the 15-paragraph letter, DSS said an investigation conducted on Magu showed that in August 2008, following a search at his residence during the tenure of Mrs. Farida Waziri as the EFCC Chairman, some sensitive documents that were not supposed to be in his possession were found.

The report also said the discovery resulted in his detention and subsequent redeployment from EFCC back to the Nigeria Police after which he was suspended from the Force.

The report further said that in December 2010, Police Service Commission (PSC) found Magu guilty of "acting prejudicial to state security, withholding files, sabotage, unauthorised removal of EFCC files and acts unbecoming of a police officer and awarded him severe reprimand and punishment."

The report further said upon the appointment of the immediate past Chairman of EFCC, Ibrahim Lamorde, as EFCC boss, he made the return of Magu, who had earlier worked with him when he was EFCC's Director of Operations his top priority, a situation it said eventually culminated in his return to EFCC. The letter stated that Magu's return to EFCC at the instance of Lamorde was an attestation to his culpability in allegations of corrupt practices.

It further disclosed that Magu lives a flamboyant life to the extent of currently occupying a rented apartment costing N40 million at N20 million per annum which it said was not paid for by the EFCC but by a retired Naval officer, Commodore Umar Mohammed, which it described as a questionable businessman who was once arrested by the DSS. Mohammed was said to have lavishly furnished Magu's residence at the cost of N43 million.

He was also accused of proceeding on official and

private trips in a private carrier Easy Jet owned by Mohammed.

In one of such trips, he was said to have flown to Maiduguri along with Mohammed and the Managing Director of Fidelity Bank, Nnamdi Okonkwo, who was being investigated by the EFCC over complicity in funds allegedly stolen by former Minister of Petroleum, Diezani Allison-Maduke.

As an expression of his flamboyant lifestyle, DSS accused Magu of cultivating the habit of flying first class against the directive of President Muhammadu Buhari. For example, he was said to have once flown first class to Saudi Arabia to perform lesser hajj at the cost of N2.9 million.

The report also alleged that Magu lived dual-faced life, portraying himself as an anti-graft Czar on one hand and yet living a secretive life on the other hand. For instance, he was said to have divulged official secrets to Mohammed in view of the benefits he was deriving from him.

The DSS also said it discovered a number of official documents Magu made available to Mohammed when it searched the latter's house. One of such letters was said to be forged allegedly from the Office of the Vice President containing the report of a fictitious investigation

by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo to the president, requesting for approval to commence a probe into a matter claimed to be involving the Minister of State for Petroleum, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu and his brother, Dumebi Kachikwu.

The report further stated that Magu was fond of covering his shortcomings using police cronies to execute operations coupled with discoveries that such cronies have acquired a lot of landed property for themselves.

While concluding, the report stated: "In the light of the foregoing, Magu failed integrity test and will eventually constitute liability to anti-corruption drive of the present administration."

However, THISDAY learnt yesterday that whereas a security report ought to ordinarily come from the National Security Adviser (NSA), Baba Gana

Monguno, this report was written by DSS on the order of the Director-General of DSS, Lawal Daura.

As the Senate gets set to screen Magu, a Federal High Court in Lagos on Monday fixed February 13 to hear a suit against Ibrahim Magu, challenging his continued posturing as Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

In the suit filed on January 16, Adegboruwa is also asking the Senate not to entertain any further request for the confirmation of Magu as Chairman.

The defendants in the suit are the Senate, the Attorney-General of the Federation, the EFCC and Ibrahim Magu.

When the case was mentioned yesterday, Adegboruwa announced appearance for the plaintiff.

On the other hand, there were no representatives for the defendants.

The trial judge, Justice Mojisola Olatoregun consequently, adjourned the suit to February 13 and ordered service of processes on the defendants.

In a 39 paragraphs affidavit deposed to by Adegboruwa, he traced the appointment of Magu back to Nov. 9, 2015, contending that he had been functioning in acting capacity as EFCC Chairman, beyond the six months allowed by law.

Adegboruwa contended in his suit that since the Senate had rejected Magu as substantive chairman of EFCC, he could not thereafter be illegally functioning in acting capacity.

Citing the provisions of section 2 (3) of the EFCC Act,

Adegboruwa argued that the section makes confirmation by the Senate, a condition precedent to the appointment of the EFCC chairman.

He argued that since the provision of section 2 (3) of the EFCC Act was activated by forwarding the nomination of Magu to the Senate, he could not defy the decision of the Senate, which rejected him for the substantive appointment.

Adegboruwa stated that notwithstanding the clear decision of the Senate not to confirm Magu, he has continued to parade himself in office as EFCC Chairman.

He said that example of such act was when he met with representatives of the United States Embassy on Jan. 6, 2017, clearly defying the decision of the Senate.

Adegboruwa is therefore, asking the court to restrain the EFCC and all other authorities, from recognizing, treating or in any other manner, dealing with Magu as the Chairman of EFCC, either in acting or substantive capacity.

He also seeks a declaration that given his conduct in office so far, he is not a fit and proper person to function in office as chairman of EFCC. Consequently, Adegboruwa is asking the court to give an order forthwith directing Magu to vacate and relinquish his office as EFCC Chairman, whether in acting or substantive capacity.

The lawyer also wants the court to declare void, all actions taken by the EFCC under the tenure of Magu, especially charges and information preferred in court.

KACHIKWU STARTS VISITS TO IOCS ON FGâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S â&#x20AC;&#x153;7BIG WINSâ&#x20AC;? IN OIL AND GAS SECTOR Refinery and building phase 2 of the Okpai Power Plant in Delta State.

Speaking yesterday at a presentation to top Executives of ENI in Rome, Italy, at the beginning of his scheduled visits to IOCs to seek improved investments in the sector, Kachikwu enjoined the group to move beyond just the

business of crude exploration to firmly supporting the vision of enhancing local production of petroleum products in Nigeria by building refineries in the country.

Explaining further, the minister stated that the major plan of the Federal

but said non-payment of the debt, including interest had significantly limited the level of business activities in the economy, particularly in the manufacturing sector, which had both direct and indirect links to the contractors.

He urged government to give priority attention to defraying the legacy debts to enable the companies/creditors being owed to return to business and boost the economy.

Also speaking, the Minister of Budget and National Planning, Udoma, said various strategies had been mapped out to ensure the recovery of the economy in the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan, ERGP. The strategies according to him included: â&#x20AC;&#x153;Restoration of production to 2.2mbpd and to peak at 5mbpd by 2020; Privatize selected assets; Accelerate non-oil revenue generation; Drastically cut costs; Align monetary, trade and fiscal policies; Expand

Infrastructure especially power, roads and rail; Revamp the four existing refineries; Improve ease of doing business; Expand social investment programmes; Deliver on agricultural transformation; Accelerate implementation of National Industrial Revolution Plan using special economic zones and Focus on priority sectors in order to generate jobs, promote exports, boost growth and upgrade skills."

The event was also attended

by Minister of Trade and Industry, Mr. Okechukwu Enelamah, Minister of Finance, Mrs Kemi Adeosun, Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, Minister of Information, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, and Minister of Transportation, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi, amongst other dignitaries who made different inputs on the recovery of the economy through effective partnership between the government and the private sector.

Continued on page 9

MANUFACTURERS LIST CHALLENGES TO ECONOMIC GROWTH of Nigeria (MAN); Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA); Nigeria Employers' Consultative Association (NECA); Nigerian Association of Small and Medium Scale

TOP GAINERS NGN NGN FORTEOIL 6.68 71.94 TOTAL 25.35 276.15 OANDO 7.80 4.70 TRANSCORP 0.05 0.71 PORTPAINT 0.09 1.90 TOP LOSERS NGN NGN GUINNESS 8.67 80.33 VITAFOAM 0.12 2.28 REDSTAR 0.22 4.23 AXAMANSARD 0.08 1.64 NEIMETH 0.03 0.63 HPE Nestle Nig Plc â&#x201A;Ś820.00 Volume: 175.058 million shares Value: N3.1445 billion Deals: 3,048 As at yesterday 23/1/17 See details on Page 32

% 10.2 10.1 7.8 7.0 4.9 % 9.7 5.0 4.9 4.6 4.5

Enterprises (NASME) and Nigerian Association of Small Scale Industries (NASSI); the President of Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN).

He said there was inadequate foreign exchange in circulation and that the monitoring mechanism by the government was ineffective.

He listed about twelve challenges inhibiting business atmosphere in Nigeria.

They included access to foreign exchange; diversification of the economy and resource-based industrialisation; long term funding; EU/ECOWAS Economic Partnership Agreement; patronage of Made-in-Nigeria products and enforcement of the Procurement Act; and collapse of basic infrastructural facilities.

Others were challenges with policy environment; low investment in agriculture and agro-allied businesses; prohibitive gas pricing for industrial users and wrong

classification as commercial users; multiple levies by government agencies on same sales promotion; and invasion of premises of members for the purpose of collecting taxes.

Udemba-Jacobs said: "Collectively, we are the voice of the Organized Businesses in the Private Sector on issues on the Nigerian Economy in particular and the nation in general.

"We commend Your Excellency for giving us the opportunity to make this presentation, which we believe, would significantly improve the economy, while strengthening the relationship between the Private Sector and the Government."

He said OPS was aware of the current state of the economy and the effort the Federal Government was making to revive it.

He commended government for the effort at curbing the security challenges facing the country and the determination

to rid the country of corruption.

Udemba-Jacobs said: "We particularly commend your administration for the diversification initiative, and most especially, for the resource based industrialization policy which Government has adopted. These policies are pivotal to the resuscitation of the economy. The OPS is fully in support of government's efforts and would offer any assistance possible to get the country out of the current economic quagmire."

He called on the government to, as a matter of urgency, address their major concerns saying that is the only way to achieve the objectives of government towards reviving the economy; revitalizing the industrial sector; growing MSMEs and creating employment for its citizenry.

The OPS chairman acknowledged governmentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s efforts at ensuring that the outstanding debts owed to local contractors were paid,

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PAGE NINE

House C’ttee Says Petrol Should Cost N70 per Litre Accuses PPPRA of making consumers incur unnecessary costs Damilola Oyedele in Abuja The House of Representatives Adhoc Committee on the Review of Pump Price of Petrol, has accused the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA) of making Nigerians incur unnecessary costs through its pricing template, and insisted that the pump price of petrol should not be more than N70 per litre.

The committee, at a public hearing yesterday, said the 84k port charge and the 30k administration charge were fraudulent, particularly as the 84k was for services never provided by the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) and the 30k was provided for in the budget of the PPPRA. The committee members noted that the administrative charge was increased by 100 percent to 30k from 15k after the removal of subsidy in 2016.

In attendance at the hearing were officials of the PPPRA, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), the NPA, Major Marketers Association of Nigeria (MOMAN) and labour unions in the petroleum sector.

The Executive Secretary of the PPPRA, Mr. Victor Shidok, said the administrative charge was used to pay for the services of certified cargo inspectors, who are engaged by the agency.

His claim was however countered by the Chairman of the Committee, Hon. Raphael Nnanna Igbokwe, who disclosed that N1.3 billion was budgeted and approved for the PPPRA as cost of hiring six cargo inspectors.

Shidok, however said the budgetary allocation was inadequate for payment of the inspectors, and to take care of other overhead charges.

“The admin charge is to

cover their expenses and our staff, whom we send to depots across the country…I still maintain that the 30k charge is to cover our overheads. The N1.3 billion was insufficient to pay the cargo inspectors and also take care of our staff. The admin charge is to augment the budgetary allocation to take care of our overhead operations,” he said.

The committee directed him to provide documents on the total monies collected as admin charge from 2012 - 2016, and since subsidy was removed in 2016, in addition to expenditure of the monies.

Also responding to queries on why locally refined petrol pump price is not cheaper than the imported one since the charges apply to imports, Shidok said the PPPRA set two separate templates with a price range of N140-N145 per litre.

He noted that the NNPC is

actually expected to sell below N145 per litre.

Igbokwe however insisted that if the unnecessary costs were removed, Nigerians would not have to pay more than N70 per litre.

“In the 2017 budget, which is before us, PPPRA has a proposal of another N500 million for regulation, monitoring and supply of petrol.

This budgetary provisions have already taken care of the purpose for which you charge 30k on the template, yet Nigerians continue to bear the burden by paying N145 per litre,” the Chairman said.

He noted that the 84k per litre port charge, which is meant to be paid to the NPA are for services never provided. These services include port services such as dredging of the ports to accommodate large vessels.

“This has left Nigerians in a situation where they still pay for

lightering services for smaller vessels that go to Cotonou or Lome to offload products from mother vessels…but PPPRA will then add the cost to the pump price and ask Nigerians to pay", Igbokwe lamented.

Representative of the NPA, Mr. Okon Ephraim, in an interesting development, however told the committee that the agency is unaware of the modalities used by the PPPRA, to charge 84k for port charges.

The development led to the committee directing that the Managing Director of the NPA, Ms. Hadiza Bala Usman, appears at its next sitting, which is today.

The Executive Secretary of MOMAN, Mr. Obafemi Olawore, in his submission, said the insistence by the NPA and NIMASA, that importers pay all necessary charges in dollars, has contributed to the strain on

the Naira.

He lamented that the NPA’s 84k per litre charge and NIMASA’s 22k per litre harbor charge, are the highest in the sub-region, in addition to multiple levies by the federal and state government agencies.

“The NPA is not helping matters by collecting port dues in dollars. This puts pressure on the Naira. Why can't we pay with Naira in a Naira economy? A lot of revenue is lost to Lome (Togo), especially when it is true that port dues in Nigeria are the highest along the West Coast of Africa,” he said.

Responding to questions from the committee members, some of the marketers conceded that the pump price of petrol would reduce, if some of the charges built into the template for agencies are removed.

The hearing continues today.

Northern Governors, Traditional Rulers Meet over Incessant Killings PDP accuses Buhari's aide of politicizing Southern Kaduna crisis John Shiklam in Kaduna and Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja Northern Traditional Rulers Council (NTRC) and the Northern States Governors’ Forum (NSGF), yesterday met in Kaduna over the incessant killings and other criminal activities in the region.

Speaking at the opening ceremony of the meeting, which held at the Government House, Kaduna, Chairman of the NTRC and the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar III, noted that violence had continued to thrive in the north with impunity because people who committed crime were not being punished for any wrong doing.

The Sultan said traditional rulers in the region were worried about the killings in the north, especially in the southern part of Kaduna State even as the main opposition party, the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), has frowned on what it said was an attempt by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Malam Garba Shehu, to trivialize the murder of innocent civilians in Southern Kaduna.

Abubakar 111 called on the governors of the 19 northern states to strive to achieve lasting peace in the region and the whole country in particular, assuring that traditional rulers will take measures to bring peace lasting peace.

“We at the Northern Traditional Rulers Council are very worried

and sad with the situation of insecurity in the north, especially the happenings in Southern Kaduna, kidnapping, cattle rustling, the state of IDPs in the North East in particular and other parts of the country.

“We are more worried with the usage of places of religious worship to preach hatred, violence and other issues that tend to divide us, rather than strengthen our unity as a people created by one God. “We believe, one of the numerous reasons why violence continue to thrive in our midst is the impunity that is allowed to thrive in our midst. Nobody is punished for criminal wrong doings they commit.

“We are therefore strongly supporting more measures taken and to be taken by Governors of the Northern States, especially the Governor of Kaduna State.

“We look forward to a very robust, blunt and honest discussion today. Let us collectively as one people say enough is enough” he said.

Speaking earlier, the chairman of the NSGF and governor of Borno state, Alhaji Kashim Shettima said the meeting was the first of its kind, “convened for us to collectively deliberate and find urgent, practical but lasting solutions to the myriad of socio-economic and political problems besetting our region.”

According to him, the core challenges facing the region revolve around “intolerance, absence of

peaceful coexistence, poverty, illiteracy and lack of unity”.

“How can we address these critical concerns? We, the 19 Governors of Northern States believe that a gathering of some of the key leaders of the North, is more than able to provide solutions to our problems. As Governors, we are more determined than ever, to sincerely walk the talks generated from this important meeting” shettima said.

He lamented that “the North is a poor, pathetic shadow of its former self” in spite of well endowed, promising geographic space which accounts for 70 per cent of Nigeria's land mass and up to at least 60 per cent of its population as well as huge solid minerals resources, noting that the region, has literally conspired against itself to be reduced to the laughing stock of the world.

Also in his address, the host governor, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai said the meeting came at a time when all hands must be on deck to complement government effort in the restoration of peace in different parts of the North and Nigeria as a whole.

“I believe that one of the major issues that would occupy our time today is to discuss the security challenges bedevilling this part of the country, especially clashes between herdsmen and local communities, terrorism, kidnapping, cattle rustling, among others.

“As we all know, traditional institutions are the closest organ of government to the grassroots.

Your participation on issues of security therefore cannot be over-emphasized.

El-Rufai called on all political and traditional leaders to rise in condemning the incessant killings and destruction of lives and property in the region.

He said “The security situation has become ever more worrisome, as people who had co-existed peacefully for several years have now allowed some unscrupulous elements to instigate them to take up arms against one another, leading to the wanton destruction of the lives of innocent and law abiding citizens.

“This is not only reprehensible but most condemnable. It therefore, becomes incumbent on us to assist government and security agencies in bringing all kinds of criminal elements in our midst to justice, without regard to their ethnic and religious pretensions”.

He called for collaboration with the royal fathers to bring about peace and stability in the north.

A communique is being expected at the end of the meeting.

In a related development, the PDP has frowned on what it said was an attempt by presidential spokesman Shehu to trivialize the murder of innocent civilians in Southern Kaduna.

In a statement yesterday evening by its National Publicity

Secretary, Prince Dayo Adeyeye, the opposition party said such a narrow and jaundiced partisan approach to serious issue of the death of people smacks of insensitivity on the part of the federal government.

"We condemn in totality the statement credited to the Senior Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity (SSA), Garba Shehu, on Channels Television today, Monday, January 23, 2017 wherein he shamelessly alledged that the killings in Southern Kaduna is partly the fault of the PDP because it is the only Senatorial District in the North West with PDP Senator. How sad!

"We are baffled that such a callous, irresponsible and insensitive statement could come from a person who speaks for the President of Nigeria. This shows the extent to which every issue in the country today is viewed from the APC's and the Presidency's extremely narrow and jaundiced partisan political prism.

"Is Garba Shehu inferring that the hapless people of southern Kaduna were singled out for genocide because they elected a PDP senator? Or that the People invited such mindless violence upon themselves by choosing to be different in the sea of APC domination? Or is the Southern Kaduna massacre really an action to teach the people a bitter lesson for voting PDP and not APC? It is really unimaginable that any

reasonable person can make such a reckless statement.

"One really wonders when the APC would finally accept responsibility for its incompetence and maladministration and end the blame game. They have spent the last two years doing nothing but blame the PDP for their woes.

They will from all indications, spend the next two years doing the same. May be that's what they were elected to do after all. Even then, they need not descend to the gutter as Garba Shehu did on Channels TV this morning.

"It is high time those in authority learned that we cannot reduce everything to partisan politics. You do not play politics with the lives of millions of people. That's exactly what APC Governor of Kaduna State, Mallam Nasir el Rufai and President Buhari have been doing with the lives of the people of Southern Kaduna. Beyond politics, we are all accountable to God almighty.

"We once again call for an international inquiry into the Southern Kaduna massacre. We have little faith that those at the helm of affairs at the State and National levels will do justice in the matter.

"Finally we call on Garba Shehu to tender an unreserved apology to all Nigerians for his unguarded, reckless and irresponsible statement failing which we would call on President Buhari to relieve him of his duties".

priorities to grow Nigeria’s oil and gas industry.

The statement added that the meeting was rounded up with the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the ENI and Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) with ENI committing to the refurbishment of the Port Harcourt Refinery, building of Phase 2 of the Okpai Power Plant and further investments in Nigeria's oil and gas industry worth over several

billions of Dollars.

In continuation of the ongoing investment drive in Italy, the statement revealed that the minister will be meeting the Ministers of Foreign Affairs and Economic Development of Italy to formalise this new trend of cooperation between oil majors and Nigeria and will also meet with 10 other oil and gas companies in Italy to further expand the partners of investments in Nigeria’s oil and gas sector.

KACHIKWU STARTS VISITS TO IOCS ON FG’S “7BIG WINS” IN OIL AND GAS SECTOR Government is to stop importation of petroleum products in the long term and that it would be expedient that every IOC should invest in building a refinery with a çhain of distributions.

The Director of Press at the Federal Ministry of Petroleum Resources, Mr. Idang Alibi quoted Kachikwu in a statement yesterday as reiterating the urgent need for the building of refineries and power plants to drive the economy of the country.

The minister further clarified that the refineries could be built by the IOCs, and within a short period of time, investment in the venture could be recouped by direct sales model.

He gave a historical background of the challenges of the sector by stating that the investment is necessary now more than ever considering the fact that Nigeria’s refineries, which were built in the 1970s and 1980s are currently working at sub-optimal levels

and cannot sufficiently cater for local needs, hence the country is heavily dependent on product importation which creates instability in supply and price of products in the country.

“The attempt by previous governments to privatise refineries and attract investment in refineries failed to yield the required result.

The present government had promised to correct this by upgrading old refineries and building new ones, thus

increasing local production capacity with an objective to reduce importation of petroleum products by 60 per cent in 2018, and by 2019 to become a net exporter of petroleum products and value added petrochemicals,” Alibi quoted Kachikwu as saying.

According to the statement, the meeting is in furtherance to Kachikwu’s commitment to the full implementation of the #7BigWins; which is the roadmap that focuses on the short and medium term

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TUESDAY, JANUARY 24, 2017Ëž T H I S D AY

NEWS

Ă?ĂĄĂ? Ă&#x17D;Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x153; Davidson Iriekpen Ă&#x2014;Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x2013; davidson.iriekpen@thisdaylive.com, 08111813081

Okonjo-Iweala, Sanusi Begged Us to Save But We Refused, Says Obi

Urges detractors to desist from spreading rumours against him

Former Governor of Anambra State, Peter Obi, has said that state governors in the President Goodluck Jonathan administration refused to save for a rainy day.

Obi said the former Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi OkonjoIweala, and former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and Emir of Kano, Muhammad Sanusi II, Â Â begged the federal government to build its savings but the governors kicked against the idea.

Speaking on CNBC Africa, Obi said he was not against the President Muhammadu Buhari governmentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s plan to borrow,

but he was against borrowing without a plan. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I was in government when the likes of Okojo-Iweala, Aganga, Sanusi were crying letâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s save; we collectively said we donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t want savings, and we are now in this mess; so we cannot afford to increase it by going to borrow without a clear road map on what we would use it for. â&#x20AC;&#x153;People start saving in crisis.

Go and check, most nations that save, they start it in crisis situation, because they could see the point of not saving yesterday; and that is where we are.

Fulani Herdsmen Attack Benue Villages, Kill 10 George Okoh Ă&#x2DC; Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x2022;Ă&#x;Ă&#x153;Ă&#x17D;Ă&#x201C; Over 10 persons were feared killed in an outbreak of fighting between suspected Fulani herdsmen and farmers at Ipiga village in Ohimini Local Government Area of Benue State.

The crises is coming just as the state government and the Nasarawa State Government brokered a peace accord between the people of Agatu and Fulani herdsmen The crisis erupted initially last Sunday afternoon when some armed herdsmen stormed the neigbouring Ajegbe village where they grazed and destroyed farmland in the area. â&#x20AC;&#x153;From there they moved into Ipiga village on Monday morning, shooting sporadically, though they met a stiff resistance from the locals. â&#x20AC;&#x153;A bloody fight erupted, two of the herdsmen were killed while about 10 villagers were

also killed though many are still missing and unaccounted for.

When contacted, the Senior Special Assistant to the Benue State Governor on Fulani Matters, Alhaji Garus Gololo, said two herdsmen were killed in the crisis.

Gololo said: â&#x20AC;&#x153;I just came back from the area this afternoon, two herdsmen were killed by the villagers and many cows were also killed and many others were rustled. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I met the Ardo of the area and everyone has been warned against any form of reprisal attack and there was nothing like that because the government has warned against this kind of crisis in the state. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Though the body of one of the killed herdsmen has been recovered and itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s with the police but the search for the other is still ongoing.â&#x20AC;?

â&#x20AC;&#x153;I have said it before that even if we saved five percent of all our oil earnings from 1960 to date, which is about $1.2 trillion, considering a compound interest of about five percent, we should have about $150 billion today,â&#x20AC;? he said.

Obi said the country could put up a savings plan that helps prepare for tomorrow, and could possibly allow government to borrow today. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Imagine what would have been happening if we were in that situation. That was 56 years ago; we have 44 years to our 100th year of independence. â&#x20AC;&#x153;What I am saying is that if we decide today to save on 50 per cent of our own budgeted output of 2.2 million barrels per day, we decide to save on just 1 million barrels per day, with our earnings at $50 per barrel, in the next 44 years, we would be at 50 to 60 billion dollars. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I was in government when Okonjo-Iweala was crying at meeting after meeting, letâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s save money; we need to save for a rainy day. We said no. Some say this woman should not be found near this country,â&#x20AC;?

Obi added.

The former governor added: â&#x20AC;&#x153;We even went to court as a body to challenge savings, and look at where we are today. Instead of us realising from that mistake to say, today letâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s start. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Change that constitution that says we cannot save; what type of constitution is that? When we are talking about constitution amendment, we should amend things that are immediate. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Issue of savings should be included in our constitution today; oil is a depleting asset, and we are not even saving for tomorrow.â&#x20AC;?

He urged the federal government to embrace restructuring and let the countryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s strengths be found in its diversity.

Meanwhile, Obi cautioned those he identified as â&#x20AC;&#x153;Nigerians without a good conscience- rumour bearers,â&#x20AC;? to stop pitching him against President Buhari by putting words and implied actions into his mouth to achieve their premeditated and sponsored ends. portraying their machinations

as â&#x20AC;&#x153;immature, wicked and contemptible.â&#x20AC;?

Obi who was reacting to certain social media and news publications alleging he said his 2019 political war would start and end with the removal of President Buhari, and that he was the first person that had declared publicly for the mega party supposedly under formation for the sole aim of removing the president from power.

Speaking through his Media Aide, Valentine Obienyem, Obi, with particular reference to  the article published on page 17 in THISDAY Newspaper on, January 20, 2017  entitled: â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Buhariâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Burdensâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;, in which the writer claimed Obi was the first person to have declared for the mega party under formation â&#x20AC;&#x201C; described such publications as false and wicked. He challenged those that made the assertion to name the event where he supposedly made the pronouncement and to also make the tape public.

Obienyem noted that not too long ago, the media consultant to the incumbent Governor of Anambra State, Mr. Ikenna

Ezenekwe published a similar article which was refuted.

While doubting that such consultants acted on their individual capacities, Obienyem declared that such falsehoods were condemnable, and inimical to what Obi and people like him represent in politics.

Tracing the trends of such publications, Obienyem observed that certain elements were desperate for the former governor to transgress against morality and integrity like them; and since he has not fallen into their murky waters, have resort to fabricating tales of transgressions against him. â&#x20AC;&#x153;This was how they prayed and made practical moves to get him entangled in the electioneering and Bank crises, when they found out that he is above board, they started writing nonsense,â&#x20AC;? he said.

Obienyem further advised the affected newspapers some of which staff are used for such under-hand games to act swiftly and expunge the charlatans amongst them â&#x20AC;&#x201C; concluding that â&#x20AC;&#x153;Once the media is destroyed, the nation will plunge into bigger crisis.â&#x20AC;?

Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll Only List on NSE When the Conditions are Conducive, Says MTN Indications have emerged that the MTN Group will not list the shares of its Nigerian unit on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) in 2017.

This was made known by the Chief Executive Officer, Phuthuma Nhleko, at the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We see ourselves as a partner to governments in Africa because it is all about partnership,â&#x20AC;? Nhleko said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;As regards the Nigerian matter, I wish it was millions of rands. I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t think this is the right forum to rehash the past; the matter has been dealt with although it could have been handled differently from both parties. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a work in progress and hopefully within the 12 to 18-month period we will be able to do it. Regulatory issues need to be resolved, and

the macro conditions need to have improved.â&#x20AC;?

MTN agreed to list its shares on the NSE in 2017 as part of the settlement of a N330 billion fine imposed on it by the government for failing to deactivate more than five million unregistered SIM cards.

The telco, according to The Cable was initially fined $5.2 billion (N1.04 trillion) but it was later reduced to N330 billion. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve always intended to list â&#x20AC;&#x201D; we have reaffirmed that with the government. Clearly, we can only list when the conditions are conducive,â&#x20AC;?

Nhleko added.

Last December, the Minister of Communications, Adebayo Shittu, said MTN had paid N80 billion, adding that the payments would continue for three years until all the N330 billion had been settled.

FOCUS ON THE ECONOMY

L-R: Vice President Yemi Osinbajo; Minister of Budget and National Planning, Udoma Udo Udoma; and Minister of Power, Works and Housing , Babatunde Fashola, during the second Presidential Business Forum in Abuja....yesterday GODWIN OMOIGUI

FG Releases N72bn Counterpart Funding for Lagos-Ibadan Rail Project Tobi Soniyi Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x2DC; Ă&#x152;Ă&#x;Ă&#x201D;Ă&#x2039; The federal government yesterday said it had released N72 billion, the full counterpart funding for the construction of Lagos-Ibadan railway modernisation project.

The Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, disclosed this while speaking at the second quarterly Presidential Business Forum in Abuja.

Amaechi also appealed to the National Assembly to approve

the federal governmentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s request to obtain $30billion foreign loans, saying it would speed up the development of the country.

He said: â&#x20AC;&#x153;The construction of the Lagos-Ibadan Railway, the government has been kind enough to release the counterpart funding in full. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I think in the history of Nigeria, this is the first time that we are releasing counterpart funds in full so that there will be no delay since the Chinese loan appears to have been approved.

â&#x20AC;&#x153;The only thing we need to do, I thank God there is somebody from the National Assembly, is to plead with the National Assembly that the funds have been approved, then the National Assembly should please approve the $30billion loan. â&#x20AC;&#x153;If you donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t encourage the National Assembly to make that approval, then, the economy wonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t be making the kind of progress we want the economy to make.

â&#x20AC;&#x153;So, for me here, I will enjoin you to persuade the National Assembly to kindly make that approval because it is tied to projects,â&#x20AC;&#x2122;â&#x20AC;&#x2122; he said.

The railway project, which has been awarded to the China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation, will be jointly funded by the Nigerian and Chinese governments.

The project which is scheduled to start next month will cost about $1.5bn (N458bn).Â

T H I S D AY TUESDAY JANUARY 24, 2017

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TUESDAY, JANUARY 24, 2017˾ T H I S D AY

NEWS

Kidnappers of Turkish School Students, Staff Attribute Delay in Exchange to Police Presence Police arrest foodstuff supplier

Chiemelie Ezeobi and Sheriff Balogun The kidnappers who are behind the abduction of three female students and six members of staff of Nigeria Tulip International College (NTIC), Ogun State, have attributed the delay in the ransom for exchange on the suffocating presence of the police.

The kidnappers are however merely reechoing the thought patterns of the parents, who have also pleaded with the police to stay off since they have already paid the ransom demanded.

This is just as the police said they have arrested the suspect who supplies foodstuff to the kidnappers in the creeks.

The suspect was arrested because he was foiling the plan of police blockade in the creeks and starve the kidnappers, thus forcing them to surrender.

On the issue of

the blockade, the kidnappers have told the affected parents to compel the police to move out, to give them room to do the exchange.

The kidnapper ’s stance was enforced by last week Saturday’s breached agreement, without which the victims would have been home with their respective families by now.

After the parents had paid the ransom for the release of the girls, the kidnappers had agreed to release them at three different locations.

However, the agreement was that they do not involve the police when they are coming to pick up their victims.

On the set day, the police were said to have stationed themselves at the foot bridge at Agboju area of Festac, but unknown to them, they were spotted.

Upon spotting the policemen, the kidnappers were said

to have withdrawn and taken the victims back to the creeks.

Owing to this development, the affected parents were said to have begged the police to stay off the case since they have already paid the ransom.

A source who spoke to THISDAY on anonymity said: “From all indication, the victims were supposed to have been released in the early morning of Saturday.

“Already, the parents managed to scrap together the ransom money. For the girl suffering from sickle cell anaemia, the parents had to cough out N3million because she has been having crisis.

“For the Turkish Mathematics teacher, Miss Deria, whom the kidnappers had demanded N200million from, they were said to have finally collected N50million, but the police’s presence bungled the transfer.’

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TUESDAY, JANUARY 24, 2017˾ T H I S D AY

NEWS

Defection: Concerns Mount over Nnamani’s Electoral Reform Job APC: Defection good for us Let him resign, says PDP chieftain Onyebuchi Ezigbo ÓØ ÌßÔË The decision of the former Senate President, Senator Ken Nnamani, to formally join the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) has elicited public reactions over a possible clash of interests on his position as the Chairman of the Electoral Reform Committee.

While some of the political stakeholders have expressed fears that his move to the APC may conflict with his leadership position in the committee saddled with the mandate of

proffering reformative changes in the country’s electoral system, others, especially his new party saw nothing wrong with that.

The former Senate president resigned from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and also temporarily from active politics in February 2016.

Nnamani was subsequently appointed to head the electoral reform committee in October last year by President Muhammadu Buhari.

Reacting to last weekend’s formal declaration of Nnamani

UK Court to Deliver Ruling on Shell, Niger Delta Communities’ Feud Ejiofor Alike A United Kingdom High Court will on Thursday rule on whether two Niger Delta communities whose environment and means of livelihood were destroyed by oil spills can have their claims against Shell heard in the UK. The case, according to a statement by the Amnesty International, could set a precedent for holding other UK-based multinationals to account for abuses committed overseas.

“This ruling will have wide-ranging implications for corporations based in the UK that abuse human rights abroad. If the court rules that the communities cannot have their case heard in the UK, it would effectively be a green light for UK multinationals to profit from human rights abuses and environmental destruction around the world,” Director of Global Issues at Amnesty International,

Audrey Gaughran, said.

Two separate legal actions have been brought against Shell on behalf of more than 42,000 people from the Ogale and Bille communities in Nigeria’s Rivers State, who live with appalling pollution caused by oil spills.

Shell’s Nigerian subsidiary, SPDC, argued that the case is outside UK jurisdiction and should be heard in Nigeria.

Amnesty International and other organisations have exposed how rural communities affected by oil pollution frequently face insurmountable challenges when trying to take Shell to court in Nigeria.

In a November 3, 2015, report, ‘Clean it up: Shell’s False claims about oil spills in the Niger Delta, Amnesty International documented ongoing contamination at four oil spill sites, and alleged that the oil giant did not clean up the affected areas years ago as claimed.

Boko Haram: US Security Chiefs Visit Nigeria Paul Obi ÓØ ÌßÔË As Nigeria intensifies efforts at crushing Boko Haram terrorists in the North-east, top United States security chiefs yesterday visited Nigeria to lend support to the fight against the terrorists.

US Director of Defence Intelligence Agency, Lt Gen Vincent Stewart, who led the delegation, commended the resilience of the Nigerian Armed Forces for defeating Boko Haram and chasing them out of their once safe haven, Sambisa forest.

Stewart met with Nigeria’s Chief of Defence Staff, General Abayomi Gabriel Olonisakin, at the Defence Headquarters Abuja to acquaint himself and the rest of the team with Nigeria’s strategy towards eliminating terrorism in the West African region.

He explained that he “was in Nigeria to meet with the top echelon of the Nigeria Armed Forces with a view to collaborating in the areas of security and to pledge more support for the military in order to engender total stoppage of Boko Haram from operating in Nigeria

territory and denying them future freedom of operation.”

Speaking, General Olonisakin harped on the need for more cordial working relationship between the US and Nigeria, especially in military cooperation.

He commended the US for all the supports the Nigerian military has enjoyed from them, adding that the gesture has contributed immensely to the success recorded against terrorism.

Olonisakin used the occasion to intimate the visiting US senior military officer that the Nigerian Armed Forces have constantly uphold the tenet of human right and dignity in its operations.

He informed the US delegation that presently, Nigerian Armed Forces have established Human Rights Desks in all its units and formations to safeguard human rights of Individual including the belligerents.

“This giant stride,” he stressed, “was believed to encourage the United States Government to render more assistance to Nigeria and its armed forces.”

for the APC in his Enugu home, a chieftain of the PDP, Chief Patrick Okomiso, asked him to resign from the committee.

Another politician and the Secretary General of the Conference for Nigerian Political Parties, Willy Ezugwu, also faulted Nnamani’s move to join the ruling party when he is still yet to conclude his assignment on the electoral reforms, describing it as too hasty.

“Well, you see in as much as every person can jump the gun, you can do what you want to do but at times, people should be able to check integrity when they are doing some certain things. If we are learning America’s kind of democracy, they should have learnt how the Americans do their things.

“So, in most cases, l see Nigerian politicians as political prostitutes. How many of the political parties have they joined in the last 15 years? Is that the way to play the politics; is that the way to have integrity? It is

very unfortunate!

“You are holding a position and what is the rush in joining a political party when you are given a mandate on how to reorganise the electoral system in the country.

So, to me, it is very, very pathetic and uncalled for,” he said.

However, another politician who contested for the presidency on the platform of the African Peoples Alliance (APA), Adebayo Musa Ayeni, said there is nothing to be concerned about Nnamani’s move to restart active politics in APC. He said: “You cannot compartmentalise ideology in politics. People are political either within or without. When he was given the position, he was a PDP chieftain and his mental capability to do things right should not be eroded for being a member of a political party.

“So, people of integrity should be allowed to work not minding their political affinity. Nnamani has what it takes to chair the committee given his experience in politics. If you prevent some

persons from doing a job because of their political afiliation you will lose a lot of potential.

On his part, the Executive Director of Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC), Auwal Ibrahim Musa Rafsanjani, said he is surprised at the defections happening now because politicians do not base their decisions on ideology.

Refasanani who spoke to Journalists in Abuja, said it is only principle or ideology that will help bring about the desired change, rather than self-centered interest in order to be politically relevant.

On whether he should resign, Rafsenjani said: “I don’t think he should resign, if he has any idea or capacity to add value to strengthen our electoral system, I think we should not discard him.

According Rafsanjani, the former Senate president was already a practicing politician before he left the PDP and so joining the APC now would not change anything.

“He still remains a politician but the most important thing is whether they’ll be able to do the work as expected by Nigerians. But now, I’ve not seen the committee since its inauguration calling on stakeholders to contribute to what they are doing,” he added.

But the National Publicity Secretary of the APC, Bolaji Abdulahi, has welcomed Nnamani’s defection to the APC, describing it as a good omen.

“Well, we are happy over his defection. Every political party should be delighted when people join the party because politics is ultimately a game of numbers. So we are happy that someone of the status of a former Senate president’s calibre is joining our party, and generally it should be a good thing for us that someone of that calibre has joined us,” he said.

He said APC expects to reap huge political dividends from Nnamani’s membership.

CONVOCATION TALKSHOP

L-R: Vice Chancellor, University of Lagos, Prof. Rahamon Bello; Chairman, convocation ceremonies, Senator Ike Nwachukwu; Guest Lecturer\ Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Dr. Kayode Fayemi; and Deputy Vice Chancellor (Management Services), Prof.

Duro Oni, at the convocation lecture of the institution in Lagos....yesterday

Private Sector Operators Ask FG to Include them in ‘Ease of Doing Business’ Committee No going back on closure of Nnamdi Azikiwe Airport Tobi Soniyi ÓØ ÌßÔË˿ The President of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), Chief Nike Akande, yesterday called on the federal government to include members of the Organised Private Sector in the Ease of Doing Business Committee it recently constituted.

Akande, a former Minister of Industry, who spoke with State House correspondents at the venue of the Second Presidential Business Forum presided over

by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo said members of the private sector were the ones suffering from bureaucratic difficult which make doing business difficulty.

According to her, private sector operators are more conversant with the problems and will be ready to quickly

bring such to the notice of the government when included in the committee.

Akande said she had always taken up the responsibility of attracting foreign investors to Nigeria whenever she has the opportunity of speaking outside the country.

She said: “The ease of doing business committee that the government has set up is very important. Whenever I have opportunity to travel out of the country and make speeches, I always try to attract investment to the country.

“We, the private sector operators, want to be part of this committee because we know where the shoe pinches.

“By being part of the committee, the challenges being faced by the private sector can be brought to the notice of the

federal government quickly.

“The good news however is that the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment mentioned that they were already thinking about it.

“If we did not have this dialogue, we won’t know what they are thinking. I thank the government for this dialogue.”

The former minister said the points raised by the OPS were critical to the nation’s economy.

She urged the government to sustain the forum which she said afforded both parties to listen to each other.

Earlier, the federal government had insisted that it would go on with the planned closure of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja.

The Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, who disclosed

this at the Second Presidential Business Forum said safety was the greatest consideration.

He said a Lufthansa aircraft had been grounded at the airport for the past three days due to damaged gear which occurred on landing.

The Presidential Business Forum is a platform to engage and interact with the private sector to keep the sector abreast of government’s policies, programmes and activities.

Amaechi was responding to the concerns expressed by the President of Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), Frank Udenba-Jacobs.

Udenba-Jacobs, while making a presentation on behalf of the Organised Private Sector (OPS) has observed that the closure of the airport would have a negative effect on the nation.

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T H I S D AY TUESDAY, JANUARY 24, 2017

COMMENT

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

DID BABATUNDE FASHOLA GET IT WRONG? The present arrangement in the power sector is stifling, argues Simbo Olorunfemi

S

tarting out, Mr. Babatude Fashola seems to have gotten it wrong. From the outside, one would think his quick and wholesale embrace of what he met on ground in the power sector was rather disconcerting, even if one can see that he felt he needed to ensure continued investor confidence in the sector.

Some of us who felt that his coming in would unravel the knotty problem that has almost grounded power supply were unnerved at his pat-on-the-shoulder approach.

He could not have been helped by the fact that the same team that led us to where we are, under the previous regime, were left intact to baptise the Minister into the industry. These are folks whose fixation seemed to have been only on what they call right or appropriate pricing of energy, while all that has to do with the consumer was regulated to the back, fit for occasional talk-shops pretending to be consumer fora. It was discouraging to see the minister so quickly integrated into their camp, speaking for an increase in tariff, even in the face of the harsh economic reality and reprieve from an immediate increase supposed to have been obtained from the court.

It was understandable that these people chose that teething period to quickly sink their teeth into another chunk off the flesh of the consumer.

That was the reality forced upon us. The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) which had politicised the issue of electricity tariff, even claiming some reduction on the eve of the 2015 election, was quick to lead the minister into sanctioning an increase in electricity tariff, even when Discos had failed to meet the pre-agreed obligations to meter customers and improve infrastructure. It was a case of pushing the consumer down the slope, with the mouth of the distribution companies open. There were no guarantees for the consumer and we were worried.

(See - http://opinion.premiumtimesng.com/2015/12/16/saying-no-to-anincrease-in-electricity-tariff-now-by-simbo-olorunfemi/). We said then that the minister had only sanctioned placing the cart before the horse, but our concerns did not seem to matter. A decision to proceed, irrespective of complaints, seemed a fait accompli.

That was quite strange. From what we could see, Mr Fashola had inherited a defective sub-structure in the sector, with the questionable process under which privatisation of power assets took place. There were allegations that some of those who bought some of the entities neither had the technical competence nor the financial muscle for the task at hand. The least we expected was a review. But the lawyer in the minister seemed t o have weighed in on the side of the sanctity of agreements already executed.

With speculation that some of these entities might have, in fact, breached some terms of the purchase agreement, it did not seem that there was going to be any review. So, we got stuck with same of the same. Rather than interrogate that process and possibly reconsider that foundation, we elected to continue to erect this superstructure of reforms and new dreams on this suspect substructure. Over a year after, it is difficult to tell where we are. For the consumer, he is in darkness literally and figuratively, unsure of what is going on and where we are headed.

It seems even with privatisation sold as the elixir, it has been one step forward, two steps backward.

Can we continue to carry on like this? I am no expert in the field but

OVER A YEAR AFTER, IT IS DIFFICULT TO TELL WHERE WE ARE. FOR THE CONSUMER, HE IS IN DARKNESS LITERALLY AND FIGURATIVELY, UNSURE OF WHAT IS GOING ON AND WHERE WE ARE HEADED

I doubt that this arrangement in which generation, transmission and distribution sit on different platforms is the best approach to urgently meeting Nigeria’s power need. I have always felt that we urgently need to open up the off-grid window to enable power companies come in, generate and directly distribute to consumers, without this complicated framework by the NERC under which evacuation is supposed to be done “through a distribution system which is connected to a transmission network operated by a System Operations Licensee”.

I understand there might be some legal or constitutional bottlenecks in the way of a robust implementation of that which has largely rendered even the embedded power generation option and licensees by the NERC, under the present regime, largely ineffective, making little or no impact.

But I equally felt that with Mr Fashola’s experience in Lagos, especially with how the state’s power generation initiative got caught up in a storm induced from the centre, something which the minister, as governor, was quite vocal about, whatever legal or constitutional reforms needed to free up the system will be his immediate charge.

Perhaps, he is working on it. But what we are faced with is an emergency in that sector. We cannot, for the sake of some agreement and a rigid read of the law, continue to short-change ourselves, by not removing the hurdles on the way of off-grid solutions that will enable independent power plants set up, based on potential demand, to generate and distribute directly to customers without any go-between in form of a distribution company.

This arrangement where the entire country is dependent on the national grid has run its course. It simply does not make much sense. It can no longer meet or sustain our needs in the future. There is also the security implication of our reliance on the grid for the whole country.

Off-grid solutions are at the heart of what some countries are doing to increase access to power. The legal framework which allows for the farming out of territories to Discos, where they operate as monopolies, does not seem to be with the best interest of the country at heart. Why replace one national monopoly with regional monopolies, locking everyone in? Needless to say that the Discos will protest any attempt to break a hold on their territories, citing investment made and agreement signed. That will only be, if they are not found in breach of one or two of the clauses in the agreement. This elaborate system which seems to have engineered disconnect between Gencos and Discos on one hand and other ‘Cos’ out there, is simply all over the place.

As difficult as things are, there must be many companies which will be interested in taking advantage of the off-grid window on commercial basis to set up power generation plants in Nigeria, to tap into the different resource base - water, sun, etc. and light up Nigeria, if the window can be fully opened.

While we sort out the issues of upgrade on transmission lines, gas supply to plants and all those niggling issues, we need to urgently move in the direction of bypassing the present arrangement which has only delivered darkness and offers little hope of delivering anything else.

Olorunfemi works for Hoofbeatdotcom, a Nigerian Communications Consultancy, publishers of Africa Enterprise

KACHIKWU AND OUTLOOK OF THE OIL INDUSTRY Idang Alibi urges the petroleum resources minister to use his skills to tackle the looming oil subsidy crisis

O

ne of the most significant developments in the world oil and gas market last year was the landmark deal that was reached in the 171st meeting of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) held at the organisation’s headquarters in Vienna on November 30. The cartel reached a deal that effectively cut production by about 1.2 million barrels per day, or about 4.5 per cent of the then existing production, to 32.5 million barrels per day. This agreement followed an earlier meeting of OPEC held in September in Algeria where each member country reached a consensus on the need to cut production.

This deal was considered significant partly because that was the first time since 2008 that OPEC achieved such a feat which was aimed at tackling the key challenge of glut and subsequent low price of crude oil in the international market, a situation which had greatly affected the global economy with most OPEC member countries, including Nigeria, feeling much of the negative impact.

For Nigeria in particular, the breakthrough deal was especially significant because the Nigerian delegation led by the country’s suave Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu, had managed to persuade the body to exempt Nigeria, alongside Libya and Iran, from the production cut. This development means in effect that from this year, all things being equal, oil production will rise in the country and Nigeria will be able to earn more revenue from this resource upon which it is much dependent.

One is recalling the happy event of November 30

in Vienna, Austria today with a sense of deep pride and accomplishment on the part of Nigeria not only because of the very positive impact the outcome of that meeting is having on the global economy in general and the Nigerian economy in particular, but also because our own man, Ibe Kachikwu, played a role that contributed in no small measure to that singular success achieved by OPEC in 2016.

Those who were in Vienna and watched Kachikwu’s manoeuvres paid tribute to his adroitness which enabled him to get OPEC members from the Arab world who are riven by the Sunni-Shia rivalry to even get down to talk when there was a deadlock for their mutual benefit and the overall benefit of the organisation. Then there is the case of the exemption of Nigeria from production cut. While the case of Iran and Libya seems clear cut, making a case for Nigeria was not so clear cut for Nigeria’s woes seem self-inflicted. Her pipelines and other crude oil infrastructure were being vandalised by her citizens.

It was only the astuteness of Ibe Kachikwu and the enormous goodwill he enjoys among his colleagues that made it possible to successfully sell Nigeria’s story in order to secure that concession. Then there was the case of non-OPEC oil producers led by Russia. For those who are familiar with the Russians negotiating techniques, they are said to take one position favourable to their national interest and to repeat it several times without yielding an inch until their opponent is worn out and compelled to yield to their position. But Kachikwu trudged through all this and achieved for Nigeria and OPEC the consensus that has led to the bright outlook for oil in 2017.

Kachikwu also brought to bear his diplomatic

skills when again last year he led a team of his ministry and one his key parastatals, the NNPC, to negotiate and eventually sign an agreement with International Oil Companies operating in Nigeria, a new sustainable funding framework for Joint Venture operations. Following the negotiation, Nigeria secured a discount of 25% with each JV Partner on the pre-2016 Cash Call Arrears resulting in a final settlement in the sum of US$5.1 billion payable from incremental production over a five-year tenor without any interest charges during the repayment.

The immediate effect of the new cash call policy is that it will increase net FGN Revenue per annum by about $2billion. The new framework will also lead to an increase in national production from the current 2.2mbpd to 2.5mbpd by 2019. There will also be a potential reduction in unit technical costs from $27.96/Barrel Oil Equivalent (boe) to $18/boe just as net payment to the Federation Account is expected to double from about $7 billion to over $14 billion by 2020.

In a speech Kachikwu delivered on December 15 last year when his ministry presented its achievements and those of its parastatals, he told Nigerians what his commitments for growing the oil and gas industry will be in 2017. He said, among others, that this year, he will try to get the oil and gas policies hatched by his ministry gazetted and get the PIB passed; significantly increase government revenues via collection of outstanding royalties and renewals of oil production leases expiring in 2017; resolve Niger Delta militancy issues and stabilise oil production; develop agreement/framework for attachment opportunities with IOCs and partners and conduct oil blocks allocation and marginal fields award.

He also said that he will seek to attract investments, and complete the MOUs and investment drives for oil; start the revamping of our refineries and the racking of oil production and destination; track gas flare and commercialisation and develop gas infrastructure and investments, among other very ambitious laudable pursuits.

Some of these troubling issues dogging the oil industry require great negotiating skills of which Kachikwu has proven to possess in great abundance. The first major test for Ibe Kachikwu and his principal, President Muhammadu Buhari, is the growing cry by oil marketers in the country that they can no longer import petroleum products, especially the critical premium motor spirit, at sustainable prices if we continue to stick to the official pump price of N145 per litre.

When the pump price of petrol was pegged at N145 per litre last year, many industry watchers said the government ought to have gone the whole hog by completely deregulating the downstream sector of the oil industry because if later in the future there was a rise in the price of crude oil at the international market, Nigeria will have to go back to subsidy payment to marketers again. That future has now arrived.

Will the Buhari government summon the political will to do what will let the nation avoid a return to subsidy payment and risk the political consequences or can a creative solution be worked out to save this country from long queues at filling station which will have a deleterious effect on an economy that is yet to get out of a recession?

Alibi is Director, Press and Public Relations, of the Ministry of Petroleum Resources

15

T H I S D AY Ëž Ë&#x153; ͰͲË&#x153; Í°ÍŽÍŻÍľ

EDITORIAL NATIONAL ASSEMBLY AND THE PIB The expected PIB act should ensure better management of our oil resources

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ll things being equal, there are expectations that the National Assembly may pass the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) into law this year after almost a decade of bickering.

It is, however, our hope that when they eventually do, it will be worth the wait, given the critical nature of the industry. We are particular that the outcome would not simply amount to another elite tinkering with formulae and combinations for sharing extractive resources rather than a serious attempt on how to create or expand national wealth.

To address the gap in the legal, institutional and regulatory framework in the industry, there seems to be a broad consensus between the executive and the legislature on critical issues like oil spills, gas ďŹ&#x201A;aring, agitation in the host communities, funding of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), contract cycles, status and structure of the reďŹ neries and the management of the upstream sector vis-Ă -vis liberalisation, etc. â&#x20AC;&#x153;All studies conducted on the petroleum sector since 1999 are settled on the issue that the WE ARE PARTICULAR role of government in THAT THE OUTCOME the sector needs to be WOULD NOT SIMPLY better clariďŹ ed whilst AMOUNT TO ANOTHER the policy, regulatory ELITE TINKERING and commercial instituWITH FORMULAE AND tions need to be given a refocused mandate COMBINATIONS FOR to ensure better sector SHARING EXTRACTIVE governance, transparRESOURCES RATHER THAN A SERIOUS ATTEMPT ency of regulationsâ&#x20AC;?, said Minister of State, TO EXPAND NATIONAL Petroleum Resources, WEALTH Mr Ibe Kachikwu in the course of his presentation at the National Assembly last November. But there are other problems.

In its October 20, 2014 report on the mismanagement of the oil and gas sector in Nigeria, â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;The Economistâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; wrote: â&#x20AC;&#x153;â&#x20AC;Śoil is also being stolen at a record rate and tradersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; ďŹ gures show output at well below the governmentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s

Letters to the Editor

ďŹ gures. Information about Africaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s biggest oil industry is an opaque myriad of numbers. No one knows which ones are accurate; no one knows how much oil Nigeria actually produces. If there were an authoritative ďŹ gure, the truly horrifying scope of corruption would be exposed.â&#x20AC;?

To address some of these challenges, the federal government, according to Kachikwu, has come up with a draft national oil policy, a draft national gas policy and a draft ďŹ scal policy. However, an unresolved matter is the role to be played by the minister in the sector post-reform.

Under the current draft, the minister is limited to the policy function and he/she does not sit on the board of the regulator. But like all his predecessors, Kachikwu wants the minister in charge of petroleum to retain the powers to chair the board of the regulator. This, as many experts have warned, conďŹ&#x201A;icts with the idea of insulating the institution from political control and abuse.

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f course there are ecological effects of oil and gas extraction that are felt beyond the individual level. That is why provisions like 13% derivation, Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Niger Delta Ministry and the statutory allocations to states and local governments in affected areas are in place. There is also a large quantum of corporate social responsibility (CSR) contributions by oil companies to their host communities which we are reluctant to admit and own. Attempts must therefore be made not to expand the appetite of looters and increase the competition among squads of gangsters. Even PIB does not vest oil and gas interests of extractive host areas in individuals. It refers to host communities where chiefs and greedy elite hijack everything and leave the people mired in perpetual poverty.

The rest of the oil industry assets and control that is in government hands should be made accessible to the Nigerian and international investing public through both the Nigerian Stock Exchange and other major world stock markets. That is the only way to achieve two strategic objectives: increase Nigeriaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s oil and gas wealth and free the oil industry from the deadly stranglehold of a perennially corrupt machinery of government.

TO OUR READERS Letters in response to speciďŹ c 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.

PRESIDENT MUHAMMADU BUHARI AND 2017 PROPHECIES

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rophecies have been released by different people on the Nigerian state and President Muhammad Buhari.

These are speculations and intellectual foresights.

Psychologically, some guesswork can actually manifest. But these days, the prophecies by many people claiming supernatural powers, lofty spirituality and divine connections have proved counterproductive and counterfeit. We can still recall the prophecy made by a â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;man of Godâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; during the Clinton-Trump presidential tussle in the United States of America. If it turned out the way he predicted, the church would have celebrated it.

I have insisted that all predictions by whosoever, even from amongst acclaimed men-of-God are not necessarily from the Almighty God. Many people sleep and wake up and claim that God spoke to them. Others see events in their dreams and turn them upside down to favour their aspirations. As the 2017 comes in, many citizens including this writer are predicting good for Nigeria and the president. Some have predicted doom for Nigeria. Those who wish President Buhariâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s death are wishful thinkers because their wishes have nothing to do with that of God Almighty.

Mr. President, faithful compatriots pray always, will live to complete the good works which God has assigned him to accomplish for Nigeria and the citizens. We can recall that last year some disgruntled people engaged in signatory collections seeking for his resignation but they toiled in vain. This year, these prophets have started with their hallucinations. Can the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) do anything in this regard? A look

at some of these prophecies will do.

Catholic priest and the spiritual director of the Adoration Ministries, Emene, Rev. Fr. Ejike Mbaka, who prophesied the emergence of President Buhari in 2015 and praised his style of leadership has warned the president not to allow God regret putting him in office. He wants fast and impressive actions to save Nigerians from further hardship. He said that â&#x20AC;&#x153;many Nigerians are suffering. Nigerians are hungry; they want to see more changes. Buhari should appoint experts who would help him revive the economy and consult Church leaders and eminent men of God to advise him on the true state of the economy. If he doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t change his style he may not complete his office. Nigerians are losing hope, they are losing their trust.â&#x20AC;?

Pastor and founder of the Synagogue Church of All Nations (SCOAN), Prophet T. B. Joshua said: â&#x20AC;&#x153;My president, President Buhari has good intentions. A kingâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s intention cannot be carried out properly without the support of his subjects. He needs support to lead us out of the valley.â&#x20AC;?

Senior pastor of the Mountain of Liberation and Miracles Ministries, a.k.a Liberation City, Dr. Chris Okafor released his prophecies for 2017. His seventh out of 23 prophecies is that President Buhari is not the messiah but he came to prepare the way for the messiah.

A Ghanaian prophet, Isaac Owusu Bempah, founder and leader of the Glorious Word Ministry International claimed on December 31 during the crossover service said that President Buhari will die. He also predicted the deaths of a former president, a former first lady as well as a â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;great kingâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; in Ghana. He

predicted a terrorist attack in the country, a coup dâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;etat as well as more clashes between Christians and Muslims in the country.

Bishop of Divine Seed of God Chapel Ministries in Ibadan, Prophet Wale Olagunju, released a 52-point prophecy for the Year 2017 predicting the possibility of the country splitting into five. He revealed that President Buhari will be dethroned in 2019 election by former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar.

In his own prophecies, Spiritual head of INRI Evangelical Spiritual Church, Prophet Elijah Babatunde Ayodele, stated that Nigeria can only experience peace in 2017 on the condition that President Buhari adheres strictly to instructions by the spirit of God. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Nigeria will come out of recession quickly if the president comes up with a reform in CBN and if he can negotiate with the Niger Delta Avengersâ&#x20AC;Ś.â&#x20AC;?

General Overseer of Omega Fire Ministries, Apostle John Suleman, in his 2017 prophecies claimed a tough year for both President Buhari and Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo. At a church event titled â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Fresh Fireâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; revival, he admonished Africans to sit up as God was going move mightily in the continent come 2017, especially in Nigeria and Ghana. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I see presidents being removed in Africa, I see presidents being installed.â&#x20AC;?

It must be noted that God punishes for false prophecies. Today most Christians believe in this. Prophecies that they will have worldly fortunes; that they will become millionaires and all sorts.

With the hard chase for worldly things and fight for supremacy among the human races, how do people know in the contemporary times the real â&#x20AC;&#x153;men of Godâ&#x20AC;??

Muhammad Ajah, mobahawwah@yahoo.co.uk.

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T H I S D AY ˾ TUESDAY, JANUARY 24, 2017

POLITICS

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

EXECUTIVE BRIEFING

Bello’s Radical Reform Though not without his challenges, Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi State has embarked on the needful mission of reforming the civil service in the state. Yekini Jimoh writes

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uring the eras of former governors Ibrahim Idris, his successor, Idris Wada and even the incumbent, Yahaya Bello, in Kogi State, the challenge has always been managing the over bloated civil service which gulps most of the funds accruable to the state because of the selfishness of a few persons.

At a point when the government got allocations that fluctuated between N3.7 to N2.5 billion and even lower at times, it’s monthly wage bill hovered around N3.2 billion.

In fact piqued by the need to meet commitment on the infrastructural development in the state in the face of the dwindling monthly federal allocation, Wada, during his tenure, announced 40 percent salary cut for workers, pensioners, commissioners, special advisers and all other appointed officials. Only workers on grade level 1 to 6 and Special Assistants were exempted.

Bello inherited the costly civil service on January 28, 2016 along with four months salary arrears, but he seems to have come along with a well-articulated idea on civil service reform and employment generation.

He was also not oblivious of the central role played by the civil service in the political system, particularly in improving governance, hence the focus on the reform of the system.

After all, good governance requires a strong civil service that is accountable to the political executive, operates within the law, open and transparent, and encourages the participation of the community. The civil service is also critical for capacity building which every good government seeks to achieve.

It is this concerns that have made successive governments pursue merit, accountability, predictability, transparency, participation, efficiency and effectiveness in the state’s civil service, but previous efforts hit brick walls.

The first major civil service screening in Kogi State went on for eight months in 2008 during governor Idris’ tenure. The screening exercise would have been good if it had not lost its credibility, genuineness, and transparency. Sadly still, many of the ghost workers screened out found their ways back into the cheque book of the state.

While there has not been any formal recruitment since 2008, before the 2016 workers verification and screening exercise Bello...making the difference

During the screening, and according to the audit report which was presented to the public on a live telecast, it was reported that 18, 211 ghost workers or unintended beneficiaries were discovered, drawing the sum of N16.6bn from government coffer as salary for work they never did annually

by the Bello administration, the state had 25, 642 workers with a wage bill of about N2.23 billion whereas Kogi’s allocation from the federal allocation is around N1.2 billion.

It is also on record that issues relating to over bloated wage bill and his efforts at addressing it contributed largely to Governor Bello’s predecessor, Wada’s electoral failure because as a last option to get out of the woods in 2014, he introduced the percentage salary payment structure. Even on the percentage level, after unsuccessful screening exercises under Wada’s administration, the state could not meet its responsibility of salary payment toward the last quarter of the administration as a result of paucity of fund occasioned by the decrease in allocation from the federation account coupled with poor internally generated revenue (IGR). With all that salary level remained constant.

The problem of over bloated wage bill in Kogi State is directly associated with indiscriminate and illegitimate engagement of persons in the civil service mostly by appointees of former governments, political party stakeholders, relatives, friends and cronies of the government. Then, appointments were

done by presentation of complement cards of these bigwigs.

Though this process had been institutionalised under other Peoples Democratic Party-led governments, with a new sheriff is in town, price of crude oil dropping to its lowest in over 14 years and allocation becoming more meagerly; while demand for funds is increasing. It therefore became expidient to avoid wastages while equally ensuring a productive civil service system.

It was in the bid to achieve these that the All Progressives Congress (APC)-led government to embarked on workers verification/ screening and auditing exercise in the state.

Devoid of any form of partisan rancour and political polarisation, there is no gainsaying the fact that the just concluded workers screening in the state has its own pains in the lives of the workers, subjecting them to rigorous exercise and financial lost as workers had to travel kilometres for screening, printing and photocopying of relevant documents, feeding and all that. But these are not prices too much to pay to have a correct and effective civil system characterised by a relatively high degree of institutionalised mechanism to ensure

a system that is able to attract the best and brightest in the state. It is also expected to come withperformance management system that is able to evaluate, motivate, reward and retain talented people and eliminate corruption, minimise governmental wastage and improve the state’s earning.

Actualising the above aspiration wasn’t a simple task for Governor Bello. It was indeed an Harculean taskk. But to make the screening exercise transparent and avoid victimisation of any form, the government set up screening back up committee to look at the modality with which the screening was carried out, the audit committee to analyse and audit the report of the screening committee, and the screening complain committee to ensure no genuine worker is unfairly treated.

During the screening, and according to the audit report which was presented to the public on a live telecast, it was reported that 18, 211 ghost workers or unintended beneficiaries were discovered, drawing the sum of N16.6bn from government coffer as salary for work they never did annually.

Through the screening also, five top civil servants were apprehended for diverting pension fund to the tune of N230m. An aide to the former governor was also arrested for allegedly drawing salary from 40 different sources.

Further still, from the 21 local government areas and MDAs, a top civil servant was arrested and has returned the sum of N20m to the state government according to the state’s Auditor-General who doubled as chairman of the audit and screening complain committee, Hon Okala Yusuf.

Hundreds of ghost workers have been arrested and interrogated almost on weekly basis for fear of apprehension many never turned up for the screening excersice. All tribes and religions in Kogi State were implicated in the criminality that is putting genuine workers through rigorous screening exercise.

Therefore, the notion that the exercise was targeted at a particular ethnicity is untrue and should be discarded.

Subsequently, as part of efforts at driving the agenda of his government and owing to the fact that human resources mmanagement is vital in achieving more efficient and effective governance system, Governor Bello organised a retreat for all his appointees; Secretary to the State Government, Chief of Staff, Commissioners, Local Government Areas administrators and all other appointees. Renowned scholars like Prof Sam Egwu, Prof Pius Adesanmi were part of the resource persons for the training.

The major discussion at the retreat was on critical issues in resource management, performance management, motivation, and discipline and corruption elimination.

Unlike the usual practice where such retreats were held outside the hosting states, the retreat was held in Lokoja, the Kogi State capital, saving the state millions of naira from what would have been expended on accommodation and transportation.

Since the creation of Kogi State 25 years ago, advertisement and recruitment of persons to fill vacancies in state’s Board of Internal Revenue which was done through the internet with the supervision of Governor Bello was widely praised as the most transparent and open method of job recruitments in the history of the state.

However, the challenge is, fighting for transparency in Kogi State civil service means confronting some political forces with narrow, short-term interests, but from all indications, the governor seems resolute in pursuing his reform to a logical conclusion for the larger interest of the people of the state.

17

T H I S D AY ˾ TUESDAY, JANUARY 24, 2017

PERSPECTIVE

Scrutinising Nigerian Judiciary In this report, Obioma Ogbonnaya delves into the innermost recesses of the nation’s judiciary to unearth the sordid details of the vice and behind-the-scene happenings

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hen President Muhammadu Buhari complained about corruption in the judiciary as the major headache hobbling his administration’s anti-corruption war during an interaction with Nigerians in Ethiopia when he visited that country, many people wondered whether the president had not gone a bit too far in the disparagement of the third arm of government.

There is no question that the exasperation of Mr. President and indeed the dismay of many Nigerians stem from the frequent cases of the involvement of officials of the judicial branch of government in unflattering conducts and inexplicable pronouncements from their exalted benches.

The unfortunate thing is that these behaviours and declarations often led to the miscarriage of justice. Many would swear that there is an unholy alliance involving some bad eggs among members of the bar and the bench in the unsavoury procurement of justice by the highest bidder, much like the situation in the pre-renaissance era in the medieval church when persons of means could be granted indulgences that translated to material payment for exculpation from sin.

The judiciary’s can of worms?

Of course, the worrying question of instances and extent of real or imagined corruption within the labyrinth of the judicial system is certainly nothing new in the country. The long drawn whispers in several quarters over the evident stupendous wealth and opulent lifestyle of some judicial officers was blown open by a recent investigative report on judges by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in which some of them were allegedly indicted for possessing properties and assets of values far in excess of their legitimate income.

This was soon followed by the very recent arrests and arraignment of some Justices by the Department of State Services (DSS). Under what it termed a “sting operation”, the DSS stormed the residences of some high ranking judicial officers, searched and recovered from the Lords Justices astonishing sums of money and sundry evidence that are potentially incriminating.

These developments are sad and deeply troubling for our country for a number of reasons. They are worrying because any society whose judicial officers abandon their dignified position to descend to the mundane arena of crass materialism is a society that is doomed.

Unfortunately, the reservations that many people had about the character and reputation of some members of the country’s judiciary which had been festering beneath the surface was exacerbated by the crisis of confidence that arose from the very public acrimony that ensued between the nation’s former top two judicial officers – a former Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Aloysius Katsina-Alu, and his then counterpart at the Court of Appeal, erstwhile President of the Court of Appeal (PCA), JusticeAyo Salami – in 2012.

While that was the clearest pointer yet that the judiciary, like other segments of the society, had become afflicted by the incubus of corruption; the recent spate of decisions by the Supreme and Appeal Courts on election petitions has rekindled the worry of Nigerians about the objectivity and impartiality of the judiciary.

One curious example is the spate of orders and counter orders by justices based in Abuja and Port Harcourt on the lingering leadership tussle in the opposition Peoples Democratic party (PDP) between Alli Modu Sheriff and Ahmed Makarfi.

Another striking case in point and which has been the subject of much subdued discussion in informed judicial and governmental circles is the inexplicable divergent judgements delivered by the same panel of the Court of Appeal at Owerri on the election petition appeal, to wit, Appeal Court Suits Nos. CA/OW/EPT/SEN/50/2015 and CA/OW/EPT/HR/61/2015, in which the same facts, circumstances and issues centring around mutilations of INEC result sheets and the inflation of one party’s votes/deflation of the other party’s votes were given diametrically

Acting Chief Justice of Nigeria, Walter Onnoghen ...in search of change

opposite interpretations and verdicts.

Nigerians in all walks of life have come to the conclusion that as is the case in the larger society; the incidence, scope and pervasiveness of corruption in the judicial sector has become an insidious cancer that is eating away the conscience and integrity of high and low judicial officers and turning our justice into nothing more than a mere legal circus struggling to present a façade of normalcy and semblance of justice.

Whereas in the past there had been conjectures, whispers and muted complaints of contradictory judicial pronouncements, which many had been putting down to perhaps the results of misapplication of the law, but many are today convinced that the often otiose legal sophistry most likely emanate from aFaustian bargain of a good number of our law officers with the goddess of filthy lucre. The abracadabra

The long drawn whispers in several quarters over the evident stupendous wealth and opulent lifestyle of some judicial officers was blown open by a recent investigative report on judges by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in which some of them were allegedly indicted for possessing properties and assets of values far in excess of their legitimate income

performed in the hallowed chambers of the Court of Appeal, Owerri in respect of the judgments on the Appeal filed by Citizen Nnamdi Iro Oji against Nkole Uko Ndukwe and others on the 2015 Arochukwu/Ohafia House Representatives election petition is the height of judicial iniquity. This bewildering judgement definitely fails to stand the most basic tests of objectivity and has indeed been tainted by the pronouncement of the National Judicial Council (NJC) upon the consideration of the petition of Oji against the panel, which heard the case.

Perhaps at no time in the history of the nation’s judiciary has the stock of that once revered institution reached such a low nadir of disrepute as since the slew of decisions concerning the Governorship Election Petitions, especially since it made its bewildering pronouncements on the 2015 governorship elections in Rivers, Akwa Ibom and Abia States. Amongst these three infamous cases must be added the sad verdict of the Appeal Court, Owerri panel on the Nnamdi Oji case because the key grounds for dismissing the case were as dubious as the jurisprudence were incredulous to say the least.

In each of these elections, independent local and international election observers reported large scale electoral fraud characterised by shootings, violence, ballot box snatching and forgery of result sheets. The legal teams of the respective challengers provided overwhelming evidences of the electoral fraud, and marshalled compelling legal arguments and grounds. In each of the cases, the respective tiers of our Courts gave widely differing consequential interpretations and orders on the petitions. Most of the time the courts, became the ultimate killjoy of Nigerians, which hid behind a rash of legal technicalities to pronounce judgments that are detrimental to the dispensing of justice to the people. For instance, Justice H. Mukhtar in his concurring judgement on the Nnamdi iro Oji against Nkole Uko Ndukwe and others appeal bafflingly referred to a non-existent issue of the improper filing of initiating process at the lower tribunal as the ground (or ratiodecidedi) for his dismissal of Citizen Oji’s appeal! Wonders and wonders after two conferences and reading the lead judgement by Justice J. Y. Tukur?

Thus, the bewilderingly conflicting stance of the Court of Appeal on the shenanigans in the Arochukwu LGA elections for the House of Reps and the Senate and its unconvincing efforts to make a distinction between six and half a dozen has continued to stir controversy

and draw condemnations from right, left and centre.

All these developments point to the fact that obviously no level of the Judicial Branch is considered to be beyond reproach. The Transition Monitoring Group (TMG), a foremost electionmonitoring organisation in the country, was unsparing in its denunciation of the top court.

The TMG, in a statement signed by its Chairman, Ibrahim Zikirullahi, flayed the court for giving “judgments and not justice”, expressing the group’s shock that the “Supreme Court has decided to act as if it exists in another planet”.

Accusing the apex court further, the TMG stated that: “We make bold to say that while the legal premise behind these judgments is best known to the apex court, the open reward for electoral impunity does not resonate with the Nigerian people”. He went further to intone that “In the face of unrepentant attempts to subvert the will of the people in a good number of the cases, the court has curiously turned a blind eye, and given blank cheque to election riggers.” “What these judgments have effectively done is to ridicule Nigeria in the eyes of the international community, while diminishing our country’s stature in the comity of lovers of democracy around the world” he concluded.

These concerns had prompted a host of legal luminaries including such eminent lawyers as Prof. Itse Sagay,Chairman of Presidential Advisory Committee against Corruption and other prominent Nigerians to express their discomfiture with these judgments.

According to Professor Sagay “I don’t know how to put it, but it’s very strange”. The erudite professor was at a loss as to how the “magic occurred that every governorship election was valid and in line with the Electoral Act”. Continuing, the learned Professor of Law queried the straightjacketed pronouncements of the apex court thus: “There should be distinctions. How can all the governorship cases go the same way?

How is that possible? Wondering at a stage while awaiting the reasons for the judgments of Supreme Courts on the Rivers, Akwa Ibom and Abia States governorship election petitions if the apex court was the re-incarnate of old King Draco, whose uniform heavy-handed punishment of death for any and every infraction led us to the word, “draconian” as the bye word for excessive and uniform punishment.

Mr. Jiti Ogunye, a Lagos-based legal practitioner, on his part on Thursday, February 4th, 2016, the day after the judgments delivered by the Supreme Court on the Akwa Ibom and Abia States cases, queried the judgments of the Supreme Court, which dismissed all the cases challenging the polls of some governors, including those that had earlier been overturned by two lower courts.

He was left in a state of ‘shock and disbelief’ at the apex court’s bewildering decisions, expressing the fear that the Supreme Court’s judgment might have ‘unwittingly cast itself in an anti-technology, anti-innovation and anti-science mould, a development which he said was ‘sad for our democracy’.

He further maintained that if the trend of the apex court’s judgements had been set earlier it would have been impossible for the likes of Governor Adams Oshiomhole of Edo State, Governor Olusegun Mimiko of Ondo, Governor Rauf Aregbesola of Osun and former Governor Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti, to assume governorship positions as they all became governors by the order of the Court of Appeal before the Supreme Court assumed final jurisdiction over governorship cases.

He also said, “Nigerians and the international community were living witnesses to the conduct of the polls in the states where these election petitions emanated and the conclusions were that the elections were terribly mismanaged and marred by violence and malpractices” leading to substantial non-compliance with the minimum standards for fair and free elections.

The million-naira question then is: Why would our Courts do this?

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

18

TUESDAY, JANUARY 24, 2017 ˾ T H I S D AY

FEATURES

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

End of the Road for Hoodlums in Ogun Femi Ogbonnikan reports that the Ogun State Commissioner of Police, Alhaji Ahmed Iliyasu and his gallant officers, towards the end of 2016 arrested several hoodlums terrorising the state and its environs

Oyedele Abayomi, one of the hoodlums arrested by the Recovered weapons from the police hoodlums

L

uck ran out on Oyedele Abayomi, a 21-year-old suspect who is currently being detained and quizzed by detectives attached to the Federal Special Anti - Robbery Squad (FSARS) of the Ogun State Police Command, Imagbon, Abeokuta, over his alleged involvement in cult-related activities and armed robbery incidents in Sango-Ota and its environs.

Abayomi was arrested at their hideout in Sango on November 23, 2016, following a tip-off, while others escaped.

An informed police source hinted that the suspect, alongside his other members at large, apart from their involvement in cult-related activities, were also engaged in armed robbery attacks on residents of the affected Sango community in recent times.

The source further hinted that the unwholesome activities of the gang have been giving residents of the community sleepless nights, thus prompting the detectives to launch a manhunt for the suspects.

"When we received a tip-off that they had converged on a hideout within Sango, preparatory to launching a fresh attack and we swiftly swung into action and we were able to apprehend one of them, while others took to their heels and escaped.

"On several occasions, the gang has been responsible for wanton attacks with their rival groups, and on other helpless residents within the community," hinted the source.

In an encounter with Abayomi, the suspect confessed he was initiated into the Eiye Confraternity group out of ignorance.

"There is a joint by Oando Filling Station, Iju, in Sango, where I used to go and smoke India hemp. It was there I met one Seyi Williams whom I later knew to be the leader of the Eiye Confraternity in Iju community.

It was there Seyi approached me and asked me to join their group. But before then, I had been a member of the Eiye Confraternity

Ogun State Commissioner of Police, Alhaji Ahmed Iliyasu...taking the fight to the criminals

when I was still a student of the Lagos State Polytechnic, Ikorodu campus, Lagos State.

I studied Computer Engineering there. I graduated with a National Diploma (ND) certificate in year 2013. And when I left the school and put the membership behind

Information was received at about 11:30p.m. on November 23, 2016, that some hoodlums who had been terrorising residents of Sango and its environs, were sighted converging on a black spot behind Oando Filling Station, Iju and detectives swung into action and burst their hideout where one, Oyedele Abayomi was arrested, while others took to their heels. Efforts are in top gear to track down the fleeing members of the gang

me, hoping to turn a new leaf, be a good guy and face the reality of life. But after two years, that I could not lay my hands on something tangible to do, in order to make ends meet and I fell to the antics of the Eiye Confraternity group in my area of residence. I have no job and I was walking about the streets. I stay with my parents.

"Even our leader, Seyi Williams, is no longer in the country. He has escaped and travelled to Cairo, the capital of Egypt. It happened that, sometime last year, we were engaged in a bloody clash with our rival group members and the police detectives were after him. I didn't take part in the attack, but in order for him to escape arrest he had to travel out of the country."

A Pump Action Rifle (PAR), a locally made pistol and a hammer recovered by the police detectives, Abayomi claimed, they all belong to their fleeing leader, Seyi Williams.

According to Ogun State Commissioner of Police, Alhaji Ahmed Iliyasu, while parading the suspect along with others before newsmen at the Ogun State Police Command headquarters, Eleweran, Abeokuta, said "information was received at about 11:30 pm on November 23, 2016, that some hoodlums who had been terrorising residents of Sango and its environs, were sighted converging on a black spot behind Oando Filling Station, Iju and detectives swung into action and burst their hideout where one, Oyedele Abayomi was arrested, while others took to their heels. Efforts are in top gear to track down the fleeing members of the gang," the CP said.

He added that the suspect would be charged to court as soon as investigation is concluded into the matter.

In a related development, five suspected armed robbers have been arrested by the police.

The arrested suspects were identified

as Damilola Solanke, Akintola Adeshola, Abdulkareem Ismaila, Olamilekan Johnson and Omidina Ahmed.

The Ogun State Police boss while parading the five suspects before newsmen on Tuesday, December 20, 2016, said "the suspects specialise in raping ladies, after which their victims would be dispossessed of their belongings. Upon receiving information at about 10:30p.m. on November 27, 2016, FSARS operatives swung into action and arrested the five suspects.

"They had all confessed to have raped a lady victim along Abiola Way, Abeokuta and collected her handset and a sum of N55, 000 found on her," the CP said.

Similarly, four members of an armed robbery gang are currently being quizzed by the detectives attached to the Federal Special Anti-Robbery Squad (FSARS) of the Ogun State Police Command, Imagbon, Abeokuta.

The four suspects, Saburi Aremu, Jolaoso Wole, Rashidi Shodeinde and Lawal Toheeb, it was gathered, were apprehended on December 15, 2016, shortly after they had robbed students of Government Technical College of their belongings which include two mobile handsets and a sum of N2,500 at Isale-Oja, Kuto, Abeokuta.

According to one of the suspects, Rashidi Shodeinde, the quest to quickly raise money for his wedding led him into the robbery.

"I had picked a date for my wedding but I had nobody to assist me financially and that led me to join the bad boys, in order to raise funds for it. I just wanted to surprise my fiancee with an elaborate wedding. Now, I am regretting my action and the wedding can no longer take place," the 31-year-old suspect said.

All the suspects, the Ogun State Police Commissioner said they would be arraigned in courts as soon as investigations are concluded into the separate incidents.

19

Ëž T H I S D AY TUESDAYË&#x153; ͰͲË&#x153; Í°ÍŽÍŻÍľ

INTERVIEW

Akinlabi: We Need to Bridge the Knowledge Gap for Business Success Consistently for the past four years, The Elevation Church has driven an empowerment platform that breaks down otherwise restricted economic and financial information into applicable bits for senior business executives, small business owners and high net-worth individuals. In this interview with Goddy Egene, the Senior Pastor of the Elevation Church and convener of the Vantage Forum, Godman Akinlabi, explains that when people have access to relevant economic and business information, they can create wealth regardless of the circumstances. Excerpts of which have been Ladi Balogun, MD/CEO FCMB, Abdul Mukhtar, Chief Strategy Officer, Dangote Groups, BismarkR ewane, Mrs. Ibukun Awosika, Chairman First Bank and many other erudite speakers. It has always been very beneficial to the attendees and the ripple effects will continue to be felt in years to come.

What is Vantage Forum?

Vantage Forum is an annual entrepreneurial advancement initiative of The Elevation Church focused on empowering individuals to achieve the highest levels of distinction in their businesses and careers through empowerment platforms such as business seminars, workshops and mentorship programmes. The quality of the discourse makes it an event more suited to senior business executives, owners of medium sized businesses and high net-worth individuals. Driven by the theme: â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;New Frontiers, New Possibilitiesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;, Vantage Forum 2017 holds on the 26th of January and features distinguished high calibre speakers such as the Honorable Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr. Okechukwu Enelamah, Mr. John Tani Obaro, Managing Director/CEO of SystemSpecs and Mrs. Ndidi Nwuneli, Founder of LEAP Africa, Co-Founder of AACE Food Processing & Distribution, Partner at Sahel.

What is the purpose of Vantage Forum?

What inspired its conception?

Vantage Forum started in 2014 when it became clear that there was a knowledge gap between the policy makers, economists and those who were actually in business. We saw the need for a business outlook event that focused on the analysis of the economic and political terrain with a view to giving businesspersons a roadmap to run with for the year. It is hard to win a race when you are running blind.

However, the kind of information one would get at a business event of this nature was typically the exclusive preserve of persons belonging to certain organizations or clubs that would not readily share such insight with the general public. As a result, a good number of SMEs did not have access to the kind of information that would take their businesses to the next level. I strongly believe that knowledge should never be hoarded and with my team of leaders, we took on the challenge to close this knowledge gap, and Vantage Forum was born.

As earlier said, Vantage Forum seeks to shed much-needed light on the road that lies ahead. To achieve this, we deliberately invite leading economists, renowned strategists and seasoned business leaders to speak to the Vantage Forum audience.

The Forum also provides an opportunity for a diversity convergence. Past attendees have been from a broad spectrum of the society, from different market segments and varied religious persuasions. Regardless of the fact that a church organizes it, Vantage Forum is primarily a knowledge resource that can equip Nigeriaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s citizenry and contribute to the wealth and development of our nation.

What do you think we need to do right as a nation to get out of recession? Also is there a way churches can stimulate economic growth in Nigeria?

To boost our GDP, we need to increase production. One of the key factors for production is the availability of human resources, which we have in abundance. How then do we get Nigerians to be more productive? Well, it is not news that the average Nigerian blames the government for a lot of the decay and unproductiveness eating into the economy.

The government on its own has to think about ways of tapping into the innovative and creative ability of the Nigerian people.

Most of our states do not have appreciable Internally Generated Revenue. This has to

Akinlabi

change.

The church on the other hand must take responsibility for their people and environment. We need to put skills in the hands of the people and empower them through skill acquisition and social intervention. The moment the people have the right skills, we can drive the economy in the right direction.

If a person is hungry or sick, it is hard for them to think productively. Therefore, churches should endeavour to make the weight easier by feeding people not just spiritually but also physically and mentally.

We need to deploy ourselves so that we are able to come out of this recession. We have industries that are still very green such as the IT, agriculture and entertainment.

Our young people need to be mobilized in these areas with the right tools so that we do not continue to live under the burden of underdevelopment. The moment we put these skills in the hands of the people, they will be able to tap into opportunities locally and even at international levels.

Why should church be concerned with economic platforms such as Vantage Forum?

The phenomenal leader Martin Luther King Jr. put it eloquently, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Any religion that professes to be concerned about the souls of men and is not concerned about the slums that damn them, the economic conditions that strangle them and the social condition that cripple them is a spiritually moribund religion awaiting burial.â&#x20AC;? The church cannot be an ostrich in the face of obvious suffering.

We are the salt of the earth and light of the world and this does not apply to ones spiritual existence alone.

We must be positioned to be solution providers. Where there is moral decay, we preach righteousness, where there is injustice, we must speak for justice and where there is economic ignorance, we must provide enlightenment. The church must be concerned about the total man and be willing to roll up her sleeves to solve real problems with practical, implementable solutions.

The past editions of Vantage Forum have been hugely successful with many reporting about how they gained the courage and boldness to launch into new business ventures. We have been very blessed to have very good, well-informed and inspiring speakers- some

Are there other related social initiatives The Elevation Church championed?

At The Elevation Church we put service to God and humanity at the fore of our mission and we engage in several initiatives that benefit both members of our congregation and the un-churched community at large. Our interventions include a specialised ministry we call â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Elevate 200â&#x20AC;&#x2122;. Elevate 200 is a special outreach church focused on empowering the less privileged in our communities through financial, medical, welfare and education interventions. Worthy of note are the skill acquisition programs, which drive the mission.

We are persuaded that â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;giving fishâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; alone will not save the poor; you must teach a man to fish and in that way you can save his community and maybe even his entire generation.

The children in these communities are also given top priority and with our partners we are able to award scholarships to several of them and organize back-to-school drives where we give school supplies like back packs, stationery, textbooks, school shoes, socks and vests to children at both primary and secondary school levels.

We have engaged in rehabilitation efforts for dilapidated schools in different communities, conduct regular soup kitchens and free medical outreaches all around Lagos, and reach out regularly to the orphaned, widowed and physically incapacitated. With the crisis in the labour market, we have a career empowerment arm called elev8impact whose sole mission is to help new to mid-level career persons enjoy success on their jobs. These are just a few of the ways we do our part in uplifting and spreading hope in our communities.

Any other initiatives in the pipeline?

We have quite a few projects lined up for this year but worthy of note is the Exponential Conference for Pastors and Church leaders.

This is a 3-day conference, which will hold from the Wednesday the 6th to Friday the 8th of February 2017. In addition to resourcing our communities, we are committed to resourcing the body of Christ. Pastors and leaders in present day churches face different challenges while on the road to fulfilling the call of God on their lives.

Exponential is put together to equip the body of Christ with the wisdom and insight leaders need to build healthy, thriving ministries.

Featuring seasoned ministers like Pastors Sam Adeyemi, Taiwo Odukoya, Gbeminiyi Eboda, Wale Adenuga, Yemi Davids, Bolaji Idowu, and many other experienced leaders, it promises to be very beneficial to all attendees.

On Easter Monday we will hold a cultural outreach, which we call â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Tastes of Our Tribesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;.

It is a Family Food Fair that is ideal for the whole family to enjoy quality time together participating in games, trying out cuisines from all corners of Nigeria and other fun activities.

We have several other initiatives that will apply to diverse demographics- singles, married couples, teenagers, entertainment enthusiasts, entrepreneurs and so on. Simply stay connected to us via our website elevationng.

org to stay up to date on the various events and outreaches happening in our church.

What is your definition of leadership? How would you advise Nigeriaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s leadership on bringing the ship of state to perfect health and prosperity?

My definition of leadership is influencing people to take the right decisions that can help them achieve their goals. Part of the work of leadership is to create a vision and influence people to connect with the vision and actualise it. The Nigerian leadership first and foremost needs to focus on the people.

There is no leadership without the people as it is the people that define the quality of their leadership. Our leaders need to take time to introspect, and ask, â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;are the people enjoying a quality of life that is proportionate to the resources available?â&#x20AC;&#x2122; They need to come to that place of understanding that the most valuable asset the nation has lies in her people- not the solid minerals, and not the crude oil.

Whatever policies being developed should at the heart of it, have a human face. Even when these policies have been arrived at, how they are communicated is key. Communication cannot be overemphasised.

What book(s) are you reading right now?

I am currently reading Emotionally Healthy Spirituality by Pete Scazzero and Teach Yourself to Think by Edward de Bono.

How are you able to balance leading a fast growing ministry with being a present father and husband?

I am married to a truly lovely woman; Bolarinwa and we have two daughters.

I am able to balance all my responsibilities by planning and prioritising. I place a premium on my family, my spiritual growth and my physical health. Next come my ministry and every other activity I am involved in, but my relationship with God and with my family come first. For instance, I endeavor to attend events at my kidsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; school, and through the calendar shared at the PTA, I am able to sufficiently plan and include these events in my diary. I am also deliberate about creating time to bond with my wife, and ensure that we go on vacations, attend events as a couple, and just basically build our friendship. It is a balancing act that works on what I consider priority.

When it comes to work, being the lead pastor, it is undeniable that I have a huge responsibility. In church we have a quarterly planning cycle. With the outcome of this, I know what commitments and speaking engagements I have and I am also able to lock these down in my diary. As we speak, I know my family vacation date, down to take off day and return. These dates are non-negotiable. My girls look forward to these times when it is just us and I ensure that I do not alter our agreed plans.

Who inspires you?

Many people inspire me outside of Christ Himself. A lot of inspiration in my early childhood came from my dad. He was an astute politician and businessman. Though a Muslim, he lived a principled-centred life that produced admirable results. He was an achiever and he instilled in us the mindset to make oneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s life count.

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

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IMAGES

T H I S D AY Ëž Ë&#x153; ͰͲË&#x153; Í°ÍŽÍŻÍľ

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L-R: General Manager, Marketing and Sales, MultiChoice Nigeria,, Martin Mabutho; Managing Director, MultiChoice Nigeri, John Ugbe;, Head of Operations Payporte, Boma Igah and GOtv Ambassador, John Asemota aka Daddy Showky during the Big Brother Naija Live Screening in Lagos...recently

L-R Chairman Bisrod Furniture, Giwa Bisi Rodipe; Technical Manager, Mr Robert Leaper and Ogun State Commisioner for Commerce and Industry, Otunba Bimbo Ashiru, at the commissioning of Bisrod Mechanical Kiln Seasoning Plant in Ijebu-Ode...recently

L-R; Managing Director, Alexander Forbes Consulting Actuaries Nigeria (Ltd), Mr. SaĂ­ad Jijji; Managing Director, Cadbury Nigeria (Plc), Mr. Roy Naaman; and Director, Corporate Communications, Cadbury Nigeria (Plc) Mr. Bala Yesufu,during the presentation of the Guinness World RecordĂ­s certiďŹ cate to Cadbury Nigeria Plc for the World Largest InďŹ&#x201A;atable Bournvita Jar at the Cadbury head oďŹ&#x192;ce, Lagos Ă&#x2013;recently

CT Minister, Malam Muhammad Musa Bello (right) receiving a journal on Geology and Mining from the President, Nigeria Mining and Geo Sciences Society, Prof. Gbenga Okunlola, during the visit of Okunlola to the Minister in AbujaĂ&#x2013;recently.

L-R: Former Managing Director, Mobil Oil Nigeria Ltd, Mr. Olu Onakoya; Chairman, Nosak Group of Companies Ltd, Dr. Toni Ogunbor; and Chief Operating OďŹ&#x192;cer, Nosak Group, Mr. Thomas Oloriegbe, at the Nosak Group 2017 management retreat in Lagos...recently ETOP UKUTT

Minister of State for Health, Dr.Osagie Ehanire( right ) and Minister of Industry,Trade and Investment,Dr. Okechukwu Enelammah during a consultative forum on service delivary Innovative on Healthcare Challenges in Abuja...recently JULIUS ATOI

R-L: Regional Audiovisual, French Consulate, Lagos, Pierre Cherraua, Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Lagos State, Steve Ayorinde, and Chief Marketing OďŹ&#x192;cer, MTN Nigeria, Rahul De at the launch of MTN Prestige loyalty program in Lagos....recently

A

24.01.2017

WEEKLY PULL-OUT

LAGOS: KIDNAPPING WILL SOON BE A THING OF THE PAST

Lagos L agos State A Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr. Adeniji Kazeem

2/DASHBOARD

24.01.2017

Court’s Jurisdiction to Extend Tenure of Wrongly Impeached Governor PAGE 4

NBA Constitutes Regulations Review Committee PAGE 5

Human Rights Group Condemns Harassment of Journalists PAGE 5

Labour Law Experts Fault Redundancy Provision in Nigerian Labour Act PAGE 6

‘Being Successful Requires Passion and Enthusiasm’ QUOTABLES

PAGE 6 'I think the President has shown a lot of courage where we have sometimes in the past seen some sentiments, to say, look, listen, I'm taking this (Corruption) on. ' – Babatunde Fashola, SAN, Minister of Power, Works & Housing

Jammeh Out, Barrow in PAGE 7

'We do not believe that military intervention should be a first resort in The Gambia. There is no breakdown of law and order, there is no genocide going on there.

There is no attack on the people that will bring about a humanitarian crisis. That is the time that will be ripe for military intervention.'

– Ibrahim Mark, Vice-President, Finance & Budget, African Bar Association

Nigeria’s Double Talk on Death Penalty PAGE 11

COLUMNIST ABUBAKAR D. SANI Abubakar D. Sani holds a Bachelors degree from the University of Maiduguri, and has been in active private legal practice since he was called to the Nigerian Bar in 1987.He is the Principal of Abubakar D. Sani & Co., which has offices in Abuja and Kano. " INSIGHT" aims to unravel, analyse and proffer solutions to numerous anomalies in Nigerian law and practice, particularly statutes, vis-a-vis the Constitution, International Treaties and Conventions to which Nigeria is a signatory, Judicial Precedent and other relevant statutes and issues.

Closure of Abuja Airport: Matters Arising PAGE 12

ONIKEPO BRAITHWAITE EDITOR JUDE IGBANOI DEPUTY EDITOR TOBI SONIYI ASSISTANT EDITOR AKINWALE AKINTUDE REPORTER TUNDE BUSARI GROUP HEAD OCHI OGBUAKU II ART DIRECTOR

/3

The Kalabalge Tragedy

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ast Wednesday, Nigeria woke up to the tragic news of the bombing of an IDP Camp (Internally Displaced Persons) in Kalabalge, Rann Town, Bornu State. Apparently, the Nigerian Air Force who dropped three bombs on the camp, mistook it for a Boko Haram haven.

Some of the victims in the camp believe that the bombing was indeed, intentional, as the Kalabalge IDP Camp is not a new camp, but one of the fifteen satellite camps in Bornu State. Is it located in the Sambisa Forest? No, it is located in a remote area between the border of Nigeria and Cameroon, apparently about 200 metres away from a Military Camp Headquarters.

The question is what reason would the Air Force have to intentionally bomb and kill about 100 civilians, including Aid workers from Doctors Without Borders (Medicins San Frontieres), International Committee of Red Cross, IDPs, two soldiers and injure 84 others severely? Was there a virus in their system sending wrong location signals that resulted in the bombing of the wrong location? Or has the Armed Forces been infiltrated by the enemy, in which case the bombing of these innocent people was intentional? Was it human error? Was it non- adherence to procedure? Did it have to do with the weather and visibility? It is our hope that the Probe launched by the House of Representatives will bring forth useful information.

Article 48 of Additional Protocol 1 to the Geneva Conventions (Nigeria is a signatory

"HOWEVER, WE REMAIN GRATEFUL TO OUR ARMED FORCES, WHO RISK THEIR LIVES REGULARLY, LEAVING THEIR SPOUSES, YOUNG CHILDREN, PARENTS AND EXTENDED FAMILIES BEHIND, JUST TO PROTECT US AND ENSURE OUR SAFETY, SOMETIMES PAYING THE ULTIMATE PRICE WITH THEIR LIVES, IN SO-DOING"

to the Geneva Conventions) “requires that parties to a conflict distinguish between civilian persons and objects on the one hand, and combatants and military objectives on the other, and that they direct their operations against military objectives (persons or objects) only”. Those involved in conflict must avoid civilian areas like markets, hospitals, schools and so on. Sometimes civilians and their objects may be affected by an attack on a legitimate military objective (collateral damage). But in the case of Kalabalge, it seems that the camp could have been a victim of ‘mistaken target identification’.

There are several precautionary measures provided by the Protocol that those involved in a conflict must take, before they launch an attack on the enemy. One of these precautions is “ to do everything feasible to verify that the objectives to be attacked are neither civilians nor civilian objects and are not subject to special protection, but are military objectives within the meaning of paragraph 2 Article 52 and that it is not prohibited by the provisions of this Protocol to attack them”; did the Air Force carry out this verification before those bombs

were dropped?

The Protocol also provides that on discovery that a planned attack will cause the loss of lives or injury of civilians, so much so that such injury or loss “would be excessive in relation to the concrete and direct military advantage anticipated”, such attack should be cancelled or suspended. If this was the consideration when Government did not bomb the Sambisa Forest at some point, because of the likely presence of the Chibok girls there, why was this same consideration not shown in this case?

Even though we certainly do not expect this standard of care from Boko Haram, surely it is expected from our Air Force (and Armed Forces as a whole).

Some are already calling for the criminal prosecution of those involved in the mishap.

We must await the outcome of a thorough investigation, which will determine the issue of liability. There has also been a call for swift financial compensation for the victims. Nothing is stopping that.

Of course, in the final analysis, if it is discovered that the bombing was not an accident, surely those responsible must be

ONIKEPO BRAITHWAITE

THE ADVOCATE onikepo.braithwaite@thisdaylive.com brought to book.

However, we remain grateful to our Armed Forces, who risk their lives regularly, leaving their spouses, young children, parents and extended families behind, just to protect us and ensure our safety, sometimes paying the ultimate price with their lives, in so-doing.

I would like to thank you for your readership and for your valuable contributions.

Below are some opinions from our readers:

Dear Editor Dear Editor, Always, the down part is the quality of the printing in the lawyers section of THISDAY newspaper, especially the case reporting page immediately after the Editor's page; it is blurred. It makes reading difficult and causes a non- appreciation of the issues there.

This week's edition has the same problem.

Please, tell the Production Manager to be more careful, ensure that every part of the lawyer section is readable. The section is very important to many; serves not for pleasure, but research purposes.

Thanks.

Eric Ogudu, Esq Enugu Re: The N5,000 Per Month Dear Editor, I do not believe in the N5,000 a month stipend. It will just be a drain on the economy. What about transparency in distributing the money? How are we sure that the money will not just end up in the hands of only APC loyalists? Apart from that, N5,000 is too little to make any difference, and it will probably end up

being spent in bars on alcohol and even on cheap drugs.

I would advice the government to spend that N5 billion a month setting up functional skills acquisition centres in as many areas as possible, all over the country, and cooperatives, where money can be lent to people for small scale businesses. Or the money could be used to build housing for the poor and those in rural areas.

G.C.O, Lagos Dear Ikepo, The government can give N5,000/month, but where would that get anyone, and for how long? Rather than give them fish, train them to go fishing for a lifetime.

I think the best way to start helping the youth is re-orientation. A lot of people are going on to college for courses and degrees that do not have any earning potential and no employable prospect. They graduate and expect to find work!! There are other skill sets that can earn someone an income, rather than ask for a college degree with no future, because the graduates cannot

even articulate or comprehend their career goals!!!

The system needs to be overhauled to include training in blue collar jobs where people can be trained to do those jobs.

I remember the days when professional cleaning companies started, look at where that is today? Many people are multi-tasking different roles in companies, doing jobs that should be spread out to others. At the same time, there's "corporate bullying" where employers have no respect for working hours and time management in an establishment!!!

These are the opportunities that can create avenues for shared jobs when others can cover the overlapping shifts, leading to a better work environment.

There also needs to be regulation and accountability. For instance there are a lot of people that can go into the medical field not necessarily as doctors, but NP, CNA, LVN's.

These are positions that have professional transitional titles that are recognised globally, and support the medical system. If the nursing schools and Colleges include these certifications in their curriculum, it would help open up another avenues for career opportunities for both men and women.

You can never underestimate the growth potential of the medical field.

Stay blessed Sade Adeneye Re: Has NYSC Run its Course?

Dear Editor, You nailed the article. Whether Government is listening and will do anything positive is a different matter.

Thank you.

Sheldon Ekpo Dear Editor, I have just read your article online from a This Day publication.

I cannot but agree with you 100 percent, in your thoughtful insight into the plight of young people in Nigeria.

I left Nigeria shortly after my graduation about 13 years ago for further education in the UK. I currently live and work in London, and never had the opportunity to attend the NYSC camp. But as a person who is passionate about youth opportunities in Nigeria, I am also of the view that the NYSC scheme has long lost its value and Nigeria's youths are being ripped off.

David Borishade

4/LAW REPORT

24.01.2017

Court’s Jurisdiction to Extend Tenure of Wrongly Impeached Governor

T

of his case. Counsel for the Respondents all submitted that given the fact that the constitutional tenure of the Appellant as a Governor expired on 29th May 2015, the Court of Appeal was right in striking out relief 6 for reinstatement of the Appellant as Governor. More so, when the striking out was with the consent of the Appellant, after having conceded that his term of office had become spent.

In his reply brief, Appellant argued that Counsel who represented him at the Court of Appeal acted outside the instruction given to him by the Appellant, when he conceded that relief no. 6 was spent. He stated that there was nothing in the affidavit of urgency deposed to by the Appellant, showing either the Appellant’s concession or his instruction to his counsel to concede on his behalf, either the impossibility of the grant of the Appellant’s relief no. 6 or its unenforceability.

Facts

he Appellant was elected Governor of Adamawa State at the gubernatorial election held for Adamawa State on 5th February, 2012. He assumed office as the duly elected Governor for Adamawa State for a term of four years as prescribed under the Constitution.

Sometime around June 2014, the 1st Respondent alleged some wrongdoings against the Appellant. Based on these allegations, the 1st Respondent commenced impeachment proceedings against the Appellant further to which the Appellant was impeached. Aggrieved by the procedure through which he was removed from office, the Appellant filed an originating motion at the Federal High Court, Yola, wherein he challenged his impeachment, and sought for an order of court reinstating him to office.

The 1st Respondent filed a preliminary objection challenging the competence of the Appellant’s originating motion, as well as a counter-affidavit and written address in opposition to the originating motion. The originating motion and the preliminary objection were heard together by the trial court on 2nd February, 2015.

The trial court upheld the 1st Respondent’s preliminary objection and dismissed the Appellant’s suit.

Dissatisfied, the Appellant appealed to the Court of Appeal. On 11th February 2016, the Court of Appeal delivered its judgement wherein it allowed the Appellant’s appeal, invoked its powers under section 15 of the Court of Appeal Act to consider the Appellant’s originating motion on the merits, and held that the impeachment proceedings that led to the removal of the Appellant was null and void. The 6th relief for an order reinstating the Appellant as Governor of Adamawa State which had been abandoned by Appellant’s counsel in the course of arguing the appeal was struck out.

Aggrieved by the order striking out the 6th relief, the Appellant appealed to the Supreme Court. The Appellant formulated a sole issue for determination as follows: Issues for Determination at the Supreme Court Whether upon declaring his purported removal from office as Governor of Adamawa State unconstitutional, null and void, the court below was not under a legal duty to reinstate the Appellant.

Counsel for the Respondents also formulated a similar sole issue for determination. However, the Supreme Court adopted the 3rd Respondent’s issue which reads: “Whether in view of the fact that the tenure of office of the Appellant had already expired and become spent as rightly graciously conceded by his counsel, the learned Justices of the Court of Appeal were wrong in striking out the Appellant’s relief no. 6” Arguments Counsel for the Appellant argued that the Appellant as the Governor of Adamawa State derives his powers from section 180(1) and (2) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999; hence, his tenure must begin and end in accordance with the Constitution, and he could not be prevented from exercising the functions of that office purely on the basis that his tenure had elapsed. Counsel for the Appellant submitted that having declared the Appellant’s removal from office invalid, the Court of Appeal had the duty to make an appropriate consequential order to set aside the breach and forestall future occurrences of the impunity, by reinstating the Appellant as Governor of Adamawa State. Relying on OBUNIKE v NNAMDI (2015) 12 NWLR (Pt. 1314) 327 at 353, counsel for the Appellant submitted that there were sufficient facts on record to sustain the consequential order, even though the Appellant has neither pleaded nor prayed for it. He thus urged the Supreme Court to invoke its powers under Section 22 of the Supreme Court Act and make an order reinstating the Appellant as Governor.

In response, counsel for the 1st Respondent argued that during the course of the appeal at the Court of Appeal, the Appellant through his counsel had conceded that the Appellant’s 6th relief seeking for an order reinstating him to complete his term of four years as Governor from the date of his impeachment, had expired and become overtaken by events. The 1st Respondent’s counsel contended that an appeal is a

Musa Dattijo Muhammad, JSC

In the Supreme Court of Nigeria Holden at Abuja On Friday the 16th Day of December, 2016 Before Their Lordships Ibrahim Tanko Muhammad Olabode Rhodes-Vivour Mary Ukaego Peter-Odili Musa Dattijo Muhammad Clara Bata Ogunbiyi Chima Centus Nweze Amiru Sanusi Justices, Supreme Court SC. 303/2016 Between Admiral Murtala Nyako................. Appellant And 1. Adamawa State House of Assembly 2. Mr. Buba Kaigama (Chairman of the Seven Member Committee) 3. Inspector-General of Police.................Respondents Lead Judgement delivered by Musa Dattijo Muhammad, JSC

continuation of hearing, and so the Appellant could not change his case at this stage. He cited OREDIYIN v AROWOLO (1989) 4 NWLR (Pt. 144) 172 at 211.

Counsel for the 2nd and 3rd Respondents in a similar manner, argued that what the Appellant was doing before the Apex Court amounts to changing the course

"“… SECTION 180(1) AND (2)(A) OF THE 1999 CONSTITUTION OF THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA HAS PRESCRIBED A SINGLE TERM OF 4 YEARS AND IF A SECOND TERM, ANOTHER PERIOD OF 4 YEARS, AND NOT A DAY LONGER. THEREFORE, NO COURT IN THE LAND HAS THE POWER TO EXTEND THAT PERIOD OF EITHER THE 4 YEARS SINGLE TERM OR THE SECOND TERM OF ANOTHER 4 YEARS, AND IF SO PERADVENTURE SOMETHING SUCH AS AN ILLEGAL IMPEACHMENT ERODED INTO THAT 4 YEAR TERM, IT IS TOO BAD, AS THAT PERIOD OF INFRACTION CANNOT BE BROUGHT BACK OR AN EXTENSION OF TIME TO ADD UP TO WHAT WAS LOST""

Court’s Judgement and Rationale Deciding the matter, the Supreme Court held that an appeal is an invitation to a higher court to review the decision of a lower court in order to find out whether, on proper consideration of the facts placed before it and the applicable law, the court’s decision is correct. The Court further held that the invitation to a higher court to undertake the review, hinges on a complaint against the decision of the lower court hence where there is no complaint against any act or omission of the lower court, the appellate court of the higher court cannot be invoked. The Apex Court referred to OHUKA & 6 ORS v STATE (1988) 2 SC (Pt. II) 139. The Apex Court opined that only an issue pronounced upon by a lower court can be subject of an appeal.

Further, on the submission of learned Counsel for the Appellant that Counsel who represented him at the Court of Appeal did not have his instruction to do what he did, the Apex Court held that the court recognises the very wide powers of a counsel in the course of his professional duties, being an agent and mouthpiece, to commit his client by way of any concession or admission of facts which will be binding on his client, except same is against the express authority of or retracted by the client before judgement. The Appellant having withdrawn his 6th relief through his counsel, on the basis of which withdrawal the merits of the relief had been forestalled from being contested by the respondents and determined by the lower court, the Appellant is estopped from coming to court to seek consideration of the issue at the Supreme Court.

The Supreme Court pronounced that, there were no facts before it to sustain the assertion of counsel for the Appellant that the withdrawal of the Appellant’s relief by virtue of the admission of his counsel at the Court of Appeal, was unauthorised.

The Court held further that aside the fact that counsel for the Appellant at the Court of Appeal conceded that the Appellant’s term of office had since expired, hence his relief no. 6 was spent, the court does not have the power to extend the period of four years prescribed for a Governor of a State in section 180(2) of the Constitution beyond his terminal date in office, even where he has been improperly impeached.

The Apex Court relied on its decision in LADOJA v INEC (2007) 12 NWLR (Pt. 1047) 115 in support of the decision.

Appeal dismissed.

Representation: Uche Nwokedi, SAN with S.I. Anneh SAN, & 3 other Counsel for the Appellant.

Mahmud Abubakar Magaji, SAN with Amina Zukogi (Miss), and 7 other Counsel for the 1st Respondent.

Chief Chris Uche, SAN with Gordy Uche SAN,) and 12 other Counsel for the 2nd Respondent.

G.A. Badejo with P.E.C. Ekweme, C.A. Omelia, C.A. Uneano and T.H. Lafenwa for parties seeking to be joined as Respondents.

Reported by Optimum Publishers Limited (Publishers of Nigerian Monthly Law Reports (NMLR))

24.01.2017

NEWS/5

RECEPTION

SYMPOSIUM

L-R: Mrs, Ferishat Alegeh, former NBA President, Mr. Augustine Alegeh SAN and Edo State Chief Judge, Hon. Justice Cromwell Idahosa at the Grand Reception in honour of Alegeh by the Midwest Lawyers Forum in Benin City, recently

L-R: Chairman, Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Lagos branch, Mr. Martin Ogunleye, Chairman, NBA, Ikeja branch, Mr. Adesina Ogunlana and widow of late Chief Gani Fawehinmi, Mrs. Ganiat Fawehinmi, during the 13th Chief Gani Fawehinmi Annual Lecture/Symposium held at the Airport Hotel, Ikeja, recently

NBA Constitutes Regulations Review Committee Jude Igbanoi The President of the Nigerian Bar Association, Abubakar Balarabe Mahmoud, SAN in consonance with one of the four thematic areas of focus of the current leadership of NBA, has constituted the Legal Profession Regulation Review Committee under the Chairmanship of Mr. Anthony Idigbe SAN and Dr. Aminu Gamawa as Secretary.

The NBA had repeatedly expressed concerns in the falling standard of legal education and legal practice, and noted that it is a disturbing phenomenon that must be addressed urgently and adequately.

It is in addressing this issue, that the committee was constituted with the following terms of reference: 1. To review the current regulatory objectives and the regulatory architecture of the legal profession, and advice on its suitability to

meet the current requirements for a robust, responsive and independent modern legal profession in Nigeria; 2. To determine on whether the Nigerian Bar Association should retain both its regulatory and representative functions in the legal profession and if so, what necessary measures should be put in place to strengthen these roles and ensure that neither is compromised; 3. In particular, to review the role of the Body of Benchers, the General Council of the Bar, the Council for Legal Education, the Supreme Court of Nigeria and the Nigerian Bar Association, in the regulation of the legal profession and determine if the roles being played by these institutions and organs are appropriate to meet the needs of a robust and modern and independent legal profession in Nigeria; 4. To determine for instance, given the current composition of the Body of Benchers, if its

role should not be formal and ceremonial, limited to formal call to bar and formal disbarment of members of the legal profession, whilst ceding the more rigorous duty of regulation to the more appropriate organs either of the NBA or the General Council of the Bar or any desirable agency; 5. To obtain the proposed bills for review of the Legal Practitioners Act pending at the National Assembly, and review same in the light of the recommendations arising from the work of the committee envisaged in these TOR; 6. To review the current standards for admission into the Nigerian Bar and recommend changes. In particular, to determine whether the current threshold of 40% as pass mark for bar examinations at the Nigerian Law School is realistic, and determine how such thresholds compare with

entry requirements into the legal professions across Africa and the rest of the world, and make appropriate recommendations; 7. To examine given the current size of the legal profession, its exponential growth in recent years relative to the needs of the Nigerian economy, the desirability of candidates seeking admission to the law faculties in Nigeria, to possess a degree in another discipline, as a condition for admission; 8. To review the ethical requirements for admission into the legal profession, and determine the adequacy of such requirements, and how best to maintain high ethical and professional standards in the legal profession; 9. To determine if aside from admission to the bar, there should be a separate requirement for licensing law offices and advice how best to regulate and monitor such licensing;

10. To advice on the need to introduce a system of pupilage into the legal profession, and advice on the duration and how best to administer such a system of pupilage; 11. To make any appropriate recommendations the Task Force deems necessary to achieve the objective of strengthening the legal profession in Nigeria.

Members of Legal Profession Regulation Review Committee are: Anthony Idigbe, SAN Chairman Prof. Konyinsola Ajayi, SAN - Memeber Mrs. Funke Adekoya, SAN - Memeber Prof. Auwalu Yadudu Memeber Mrs Bisi Shoyebo, SAN - Memeber Chief Arthur Obi Okafor, SAN - Memeber Prof. Ernest Ojukwu, SAN - Memeber Mr. Olanrewaju Onadeko,

SAN - Memeber Dr. Mike Adeleke - Memeber Prof. Ikpeze Ogugua Memeber Dr. Aminu Gamawa - Secretary Prof. Dakas C.J Dakas, SAN - Memeber Prof. Augustine Agom Memeber Paul Usoro, SAN - Memeber Prof. Taiwo Osipitan, SAN - Memeber Yakubu Maikyau, SAN Memeber Prof. Osita Ogbu - Member Prof. U.U Chuckwuema-Eze - Member Mr. Rotimi Odusola Patricia - Member Igwebuike Esq - Member Prof. M. L.Ahmadu - Member Mrs. Sade Aladeniyi Mr. Eric Otojahi - Assistant Secretary In a statement signed by the NBA General Secretary, it stated that the Committee is expected to submit its report on or before the 30th day of April, 2017.

Lagos Hosts Administration Human Rights Group Condemns Harassment of Journalists of Justice Summit 2017 Akinwale Akintunde Lagos State Government is set to host a 2-Day Summit on Administration of Justice, which will bring together stakeholders in the Justice sector to discuss and proffer solutions to improvement of the sector.

According to a statement by the Director, Public Affairs, Ministry of Justice, Mrs. Bola Akingbade, the summit will hold on January 30 - 31, 2017, at Eko Convention Centre, Eko Hotels and Suites, Victoria Island, Lagos.

The theme of the Summit, which is being organized by the by the Lagos State Ministry of Justice is “Contemporary Trends; Catalysts for Justice Sector Reform in Lagos State”.

The Chief Host, Lagos

Akinwale Akintunde

State Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice Mr. Adeniji Kazeem, said the Stakeholders Summit 2017 which will create a platform for exchange of knowledge and ideas, is expected to feature about 25 high level speakers drawn from within and outside the country.

According to the AttorneyGeneral, the sessions prepared for the Summit will consist of Plenary, Panelist discussions, a host of interactive deep sessions as well as robust discussions addressing the most topical issues in Justice Administration.

“Topics will range from Criminal Administration, to appraisal of Civil Procedure, Ethics and Efficient Court Administration.

There is the need to continue to update our laws and

policies in order to create an enabling environment for investors and tourist, and the best way to do this is through contributions and participation of stakeholders”, Kazeem added.

His Excellency, the Vice President of Nigeria, Professor Yemi Osinbajo SAN, is the Keynote Speaker, while His Excellency, the Governor of Lagos State Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode is the Special Guest of Honour.

Other participants include the Deputy Chief of Staff to the President, Mr. Ade Ipaye; Judge Chile Eboe-Osuji of the International Criminal Court; Aare Afe Babalola SAN; Chief Wole Olanipekun SAN; Mr. Femi Falana SAN; and Mr. Fola Arthur- Worrey.

A human rights group, Access to Justice, has denounced the arrest and harassment of Premium Times Publisher, Dapo Olorunyomi, alongside its judiciary correspondent, Evelyn Okakwu by the Nigerian Police.

In a statement signed by Access to Justice Executive Director, Mr. Joseph Otteh, the group described the arrests as a throwback to the dark days of military autocracy, when press freedoms were constant victims and casualties of military repression and dictatorship.

It would be recalled that Plain-clothed officers raided the Premium Times Newspaper offices last Thursday, January 19, 2017.

The raid, according to the officers, was based on a complaint filed by the Chief of Army Staff, Tukur Buratai.

Access to Justice in its

statement noted that More than eighteen years after the transition to civil rule in Nigeria, Nigeria should be done with the repression of free speech.

“The harassment of the media is a throwback to the dark days of military autocracy when press freedoms were constant victims and casualties of military repression and dictatorship.

“More than eighteen years after the transition to civil rule in Nigeria, Nigeria should be done with the repression of free speech.

“Unfortunately, police and military authorities still act with intentional disregard for democratic freedoms and civil liberties. The right of expression, and the operation of a medium of communication and dissemination of information is a guaranteed constitutional right. The harassment of persons who exercise these freedoms is a direct assault on the Constitution of this County, and substantially undermines

a strong pillar of democratic government.

“The Nigeria police should not use, or lend its powers to be used, to intimidate those engaged in providing critical information to the Nigerian people; neither should it obstruct the free communication of information or exchange of ideas in a democratic country.

“The media has a uniquely significant role in keeping those who exercise power accountable for their actions or omissions.

That role must be supported and defended and the channel of communication through which information reaches the people must be kept clear, and unobstructed”, the group stated.

The human rights group however called for the immediate release of those arrested and urged that the Buhari government to end this gratuitous interference with the freedom of the Press.

6/

24.01.2017

Labour Law Experts Fault Redundancy Provision in Nigerian Labour Act Akinwale Akintunde Labour Law experts, Bimbo Atilola and Tunde Busari SAN have faulted the provisions on redundancy in the Nigerian Labour Act enacted in 1974, saying that the provision has become obsolete and no longer in tune with the reality of times.

The duo made this observation at the Hybrid Solicitors and Consult Annual Lecture and Book Launch held last Tuesday at the Four Points

By Sheraton, Victoria Island, Lagos.

Atilola, who is the Managing Partner, Hybrid Solicitors and Consult noted that the Nigerian Labour Act is the only Act in Nigeria that talks about redundancy, which is provided for in Section 20 of this Act. “The Act was enacted in 1974 and since then it has not been amended yet remains in force nonetheless. That Act is obsolete and devoid of any contemporary relevance.

“The Act cannot address the modern day redundancy situation. For instance, the Act defines redundancy as involuntary loss of employment due to excess manpower.

“Today, organisations declare redundancies, not just as a result of excess manpower but as a result of different reasons including re-engineering, human resource strategies such as Business process and manpower out-sourcing, job offshoring and automation of processes”, he said.

According to Atilola, unlike the Nigerian Labour Act that talks about notice of redundancy to unions and employees, the English Employment Rights Act talks about consultation.

He pointed out that the Nigerian Labour Act provides that the employ-

ers shall use his best endeavours to negotiate redundancy payments, while the English Act has a clearly defined statutory redundancy pay.

“And because the Nigerian Act leaves the question and quantum of redundancy pay to collective bargaining negotiations, this usually results to deadlock and industrial actions”, he explained.

To address this missing links, Atilola advised that employers of labour should have a policy on redundancy payment incorporated into their Employee Handbook, or negotiated in advance in the Collective Bargaining Agreement, if the company is unionised.

The Labour Law Expert also advised that government should revisit the provisions of the Labour Act and take a look at the Employment Rights Act in the UK and even the Ghanaian Labour Act of 2003, which have wider provisions on redundancy.

On his part, Busari, SAN, who is the Vice-Chairman, Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (UK) Nigeria, said the discussions on redundancy at the forum are needed at this time, considering the economic realities at the moment.

“Indeed what we are discussing is how to manage the incidence of redundancy, how to cope with it and mitigate it.

"Companies have to consider various other options in turning issues, problems and challenges into opportunities.

“We have talked about redundancies and why we should also not lay off staff and how we can consider other issues like reduction in hours of work, pay cuts and open other opportunities such that a time of economic challenges, will now become a time of transformation”, Busari noted.

L-R: Mr. Isaac Orolugbade, Guest Speaker, Mr. Tunde Busari, SAN and Mr. Bimbo Atilola, Managing Partner, Hybrid Solicitors

L-R: Bosun Okusaga, MD, Boctrust Microfinance Bank, ‘Jibola Dahunsi of PGS Exploration & Production Company, Isaac Orolugbagbe, the guest speaker, Bimbo Atilola, Managing Partner, Hybrid Solicitors, Tunde Busari,SAN, Chief P.A.K Adewusi, Director, Infrastructure Bank & former Deputy President, NLC and Mr. Ibrahim Agoro of GAC Shipping during the unveiling of the book published by Hybrid Solicitors and titled Managing Expatriates in Employment: Legal, HR & Tax Perspectives

Legal Personality of the Week James Adomokhai Akhigbe

‘Being Successful Requires Passion and Enthusiasm’ My name is James Adomokhai Akhigbe.

I attended St. John's Secondary School, Fugar, Edo State. Thereafter, I proceeded to the University of Ife (now Obafemi Awolowo University, OAU) to read Chemical Engineering. I worked briefly with S.O.S Industries Ltd, before delving into the business of marketing and sale of industrial and laboratory chemicals. As a result of my childhood interest in the legal profession, I enrolled for a diploma course in Law at Lagos State University (LASU). My intention was to acquire a rudimentary knowledge of law but I was encouraged by Prof. Olanrewaju Fagbohun, the Co-coordinator of the programme who is now the Vice Chancellor of the institution, to proceed to the degree programme . He was probably impressed with my performance in the Diploma Course.

Upon my call to Bar, I was engaged by A-R Kadiri & Co. Within three years of my engagement, I became the Head of the litigation section and left to establish my own chambers early 2008.

Have you had any challenges in your career as a lawyer and if so what were the main challenges?

I have had my fair share of challenges in legal practice. My first challenge was how to acquire a sufficient number of legal materials, since reading is my main hobby. Paucity of funds for a new wig was a major problem but with time this

the court early in the morning, promising to come later. Unfortunately, he was held up in heavy traffic. When the case was called, he was not available and I was forced to move a very contentious application which I had not adequately prepared for. However, I had my way because counsel from the other side failed or omitted to counter a vital fact in our supporting affidavit.

James Adomokhai Akhigbe

has eased out. Another major challenge at A-R Kadiri & Co was the fact that majority of my colleagues there preferred other areas of practice to litigation, and this attitude placed additional pressure on me as the Head of Litigation.

What was your worst day as a lawyer?

My worst day as a lawyer was my first appearance at the Court of Appeal. My principal had instructed me to proceed to

What was your most memorable experience?

My most memorable experience was when I approached a very senior lawyer for a possible out-of-court settlement in a case involving a bank and our debtor client, a request the Counsel bluntly turned down. To his utmost surprise, I brought an application a week later asking for the dismissal of the suit in limine on the grounds that same was statute barred.

The application was upheld and when he approached me later for settlement, I politely told him that it was too late, having secured judgment.

Who has been the most influential in your life?

The most influential person in my life was my father. I was very close to him. I learnt a lot from him. I became interested in law when I was in Ife. About 80% of my friends on campus were law students, such as Mike Ozekhome, Femi Falana, Benson Igbanor to mention but a few. I was further

encouraged by some prominent members of my community, Fugar, during my leadership of the Community Development Association.

Why did you become a lawyer?

As already stated, I became a Lawyer through a conscious desire to actualise a dream that developed much earlier and by the words of encouragement I received from Chiefs, elders and some opinion holders in my community, Fugar who saw in me the qualities of a great advocate, during my presidency of Fugar Progressive Union (F.P.U).

What would your advice be to anyone wanting a career in law?

My advice to anyone wanting a career in law is to ensure he has the passion and the enthusiasm to sustain his practice. He must be able to withstand the expected teething challenges and be focused.

If you had not become a lawyer, what would you have chosen?

If I had not been a lawyer, I would have continued practicing engineering. I still want to go back to the University to read political science.

Where do you see yourself in the next ten years?

In the next ten years, God willing, I hope to attain the highest position the legal profession offers.

24.01.2017

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Jammeh Out, Barrow In Ekeoma Ibe discusses the recent political impasse in The Gambia, with the refusal of Yahya Jammeh to step down as President, after losing the election to Adama Barrow and initially conceding defeat, citing bad precedent, violation of the will of majority of the Gambian people and violation of regional norms and standards, as the main reasons why ECOWAS must not relent in ensuring that Jammeh leaves

G

Yahya Jammeh

ambian dictator, Yahya Jammeh, has been in power for nearly 23 years. As a 29-year- old army officer, he overthrew the country’s first president, Dawda Jawara, in a bloodless coup on July 22, 1994. In 1996, he won the first of four successive elections to serve as president of the republic.

Had he won the December 1, 2016 elections, he would have been elected for a record fifth term. He lost. In a commendable, but largely unexpected move, Jammeh announced on national television that he would support President-elect Adama Barrow, a former real estate agent who won the election.

Then acting true to type, he did a volte face – rejected the results and sought to reconstitute the electoral commission he appointed in the first place.

West Africa’s economic and political bloc, ECOWAS, decided to send a two-member mediation team led by Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari, to resolve the lingering crisis. At the time of this writing, they had not managed to convince Jammeh to do the right thing. In the meantime, the outgoing president – now apparently an advocate of rule of law – has decided to approach the Supreme Court to nullify the vote and prevent the planned inauguration of Adama Barrow on January 19.

Reasons Why ECOWAS Should Stop Jammeh Bad Precedent There are several reasons why ECOWAS should not allow Jammeh to stay in office beyond January 19 but I will stick with three – bad precedent, violation of the will of majority of the Gambian people and violation of regional norms and standards. Let me begin with the first - bad precedent.

Recent elections in Ghana and Nigeria demonstrate that it is possible for incumbents to loose elections in free and fair contests. In both instances, the incumbent simply bowed to the will of the people and turned over power.

Ghana learned from Nigeria. A couple of African states have been experimenting with the idea of removal of term limits. Since 1998, about 30 states attempted to do this.

Zambia’s Frederick Chiluba and Malawi’s Bakili Mulizi failed, while Rwanda’s Paul Kagame, Uganda’s Yoweri

Adama Barrow

Museveni and, most recently, Burundi’s Pierre Nkurunziza succeeded after weeks of - to use Fela Anikulapo-Kuti’s phrase - “sorrow, tears and blood.” My point is – whether good or bad, leaders in Africa tend to copy one another.

Allowing Jammeh to remain in power beyond January 19, will send a message to others that it is okay to override the decision of properly constituted election management bodies, and then proceed to reap from such decisions. That would be bad for democracy and Africa.

Violation of the People's Will Closely connected to the first point, is the fact that a President Jammeh beyond January 19 clearly violates the will of majority of the people of The Gambia. Regardless of how he feels about the outcome of the vote, Yahya Jammeh has to be told in clear terms that democracy is about the will of the majority. Given his previous comments about his “divine authority” to rule for a “billion years,” it does appear that he probably feels entitled to lead his people, regardless of what they think. It bears recalling that Jammeh was one of two West African leaders that opposed the idea of restricting presidents within the region to two terms in office in 2015. Their opposition meant that ECOWAS did not proceed with that idea.

Violation of Regional Norms and Standards

"RECENT ELECTIONS IN GHANA AND NIGERIA DEMONSTRATE THAT IT IS POSSIBLE FOR INCUMBENTS TO LOOSE ELECTIONS IN FREE AND FAIR CONTESTS. IN BOTH INSTANCES, THE INCUMBENT SIMPLY BOWED TO THE WILL OF THE PEOPLE AND TURNED OVER POWER. GHANA LEARNED FROM NIGERIA"

Finally, keeping Jammeh in power beyond January 19 violates the AU African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance to which his country is a signatory.

Among other things, the Charter seeks to “promote adherence by each state party to the universal values and principles of democracy and respect for human rights.”

Article 23 of this Charter specifically defines “unconstitutional change of government” to include “any refusal by an incumbent government to relinquish power to the winning party or candidate after free, fair and regular elections.”

Closer to home, Protocol A/SP1/12/01 on Democracy and Good Governance Supplementary to the Protocol Relating to the Mechanism for Conflict Prevention, Management, Resolution, Peacekeeping and Security to which 15 heads of state, including Yahya Jammeh, signed off in 2001, specifically prescribes “zero tolerance for power obtained or maintained by unconstitutional means.” It also requires candidates who lose elections to concede defeat (article 9).

ECOWAS has a responsibility to keep a precedent it clearly established in the case of Cote d’Ivoire. As readers may recall, Alassane Quatarra won that country’s second round of presidential elections in 2010. In an interesting twist, the Constitutional Court led by incumbent President Laurent Gbagbo’s ally, cancelled the results in many areas in which Quatarra had won thereby handing power back to Gbagbo. ECOWAS rejected this decision and even rejected a power-sharing deal brokered by the African Union. The Gambia case merits similar treatment. Happily, this time, the African Union appears to be in support of ECOWAS – its Peace and Security Council decided on January 13 not to recognise Jammeh as President of the Gambia from 19 January.

Adama Barrow was sworn in as the President of The Gambia by the Chief Justice at the Gambian Embassy in Senegal.

Thankfully, Yahya Jammeh finally gave in to the pressure mounted on him to step down, and announced on State television that he has decided to relinquish power, stating that it was "not necessary that a single drop of blood be shed".

Ekeoma Ibe, Legal Practitioner and Gender Expert, former Member, Steering Committee of West African Think-Tank (WATHI)

8/COVER

24.01.2017

Mr. Adeniji Kazeem PHOTOS: Kolawole Alli

Lagos: Kidnapping Will Soon Be a Thing of the Past Unarguably, Lagos State has been a pacesetter in many fields, including commerce, public health, transport, environment, and especially the Judiciary.The State has pioneered many ambitious initiatives in the justice sector, which many other states have replicated.The State recently took an unprecedented step in establishing a Forensic Laboratory, to tackle the challenges of criminal investigation.The laboratory will bring precision to criminal investigation and aid prosecution with smoothness, predictability, reliability and ease. Mr. Adeniji Kazeem, the foresighted Lagos State Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, told Onikepo Braithwaite, Jude Igbanoi and Tobi Soniyi in an interview last Friday, that the State has convened a‘STAKEHOLDERS’SUMMIT ON ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE TITLED: “CONTEMPORARY TRENDS: CATALYSTS FOR JUSTICE SECTOR REFORM IN LAGOS STATE”on January 30th - 31st, to address issues in justice adminstration.

H

onourable AttorneyGeneral, we understand that you are organising a Summit on the Administration of Justice and Justice Sector Reforms, to hold on 30th – 31st January, 2017. What is the essence of this Summit? Which stakeholders are expected to be in attendance? What issues do you hope to tackle at the Summit?

The Ministry of Justice Stakeholders’ Summit is an attempt by the Ministry and by extension, this government, to create a platform for all stakeholders in the justice sector to come together to proffer solutions to areas identified as requiring improvement within the sector. By this Summit, we intend to create a platform for exchange of knowledge and ideas and it is expected that the Summit will feature about 25 high level speakers drawn from within and outside the country. No doubt you are aware that Lagos State is the commercial

nerve centre of Nigeria. For it to remain so, there is a need to continue to update our laws and policies, in order to create an enabling environment for investors and even tourists. The best way to do this is to get the contributions and participation of stakeholders through a platform such as this. The Sessions planned will consist of Plenary, Panel discussions, a host of interactive deep conversations, as well as lively discussions addressing the most topical themes in Justice Administration.

Topics will range from Criminal Admin-

istration, to appraisal of Civil Procedure, Ethics and Efficient Court Administration.

The Vice President, His Excellency, Prof Yemi Osinbajo SAN GCON, the Deputy Chief of Staff to the President, Mr. Ade Ipaye, Judge Chile Eboe- Osuji of the International Criminal Court, and other legal minds including Aare Afe Babalola SAN, Chief Wole Olanipekan SAN, Mr. Femi Falana SAN, Mr. Fola Arthur-Worrey, and representatives of Microsoft, to mention a few, will be contributors at the Summit.

Last October, there was a shake-up

24.01.2017 "THE MINISTRY OF JUSTICE STAKEHOLDERS’ SUMMIT IS AN ATTEMPT

BY THE MINISTRY AND

BY EXTENSION, THIS GOVERNMENT, TO CREATE A PLATFORM FOR ALL STAKEHOLDERS IN THE JUSTICE SECTOR TO COME TOGETHER TO PROFFER SOLUTIONS TO AREAS IDENTIFIED AS REQUIRING IMPROVEMENT WITHIN THE SECTOR" in the Judiciary, with the DSS raids leading to the arrest and prosecution of some Judges. Thankfully, no Judge from the Lagos State Judiciary was involved in the saga. Is this because the Lagos State Judiciary is corruption free? Though the conditions of service of the Lagos State Judiciary may be slightly better than that of many of their counterparts, much more must still needs to be done to improve the lot of Lagos State Judicial Officers.

What plans do you have to do this?

As of last week, Judges working for the Federal Government were yet to be paid their December salary. What is the implication of this for administration of justice? What advice can you give to Government in its quest to eradicate Judicial Corruption?

If you go down the path of Nigeria’s recent past, Judges were usually not well paid or catered for. It was not until a Summit as this that Lagos State led the path through massive reforms in this direction, to ensure that Judges do not have to suffer by the nature of their job. The State continuously

COVER/9 seeks ways of creating comfort for judges to ensure that the idea of the purchase of justice has become unattractive. In the same vein, the Judiciary in Lagos State is the most active Bench not only in Nigeria but Africa as a whole. You may not know but a Judge in the Lagos State Judiciary handles cases not less than an average of 100 cases in a week. It is therefore necessary that our judges should be given the most favourable conditions to work. This Administration, under His Excellency, Mr Akinwunmi Ambode, Governor of Lagos is poised to further improve on the working conditions of judges in Lagos State. Stemming corruption also involves prompt payment of emoluments as Judges are not to engage in any trade other than dispensation of Justice.

In eradicating corruption, it must also be borne in mind that appointment to the bench is not a license to wealth, but a call to serve. Appointment to the bench must be based on merit and of people with character who have distinguished themselves at the Bar. The new annex of the Lagos High Court (Igbosere entrance) and other State Courts are in a state of disrepair.

What plans do you have to overhaul these courts? Inadequate funding of the judiciary is a challenge. How do you cope with this in Lagos?

The desire of every well meaning government is to improve upon the facilities it met on the ground and this administration is not an exception. The administration of Governor Akinwunmi Ambode is a very progressive one and so, administration of justice being one of the cardinal areas the administration is focusing on. There are plans to not only overhaul the courts, but to engage in every laudable effort or project that can advance the course of justice in Lagos State. Of course a sizeable budget has been allocated for repairs and maintenance of the Courts in Lagos State.

In fact, presently, the Ikorodu High Court is undergoing some maintenance works, and as soon as that is completed, we intend to face other court premises that require attention.

Not only are the prisons in Lagos State in a deplorable condition, they are overcrowded. For example, Ikoyi

Prisons which has a capacity for 800 prisoners, presently accommodates over 2000 prisoners. Badagry Prison with a capacity for 160 inmates houses about 370. Is there anything that your administration can do about the bad conditions in the prisons since they are run by the Federal Government and not the State? Would there be a difference if the States ran their own prisons? What can your administration do within the present framework to improve prison conditions and prisoners welfare?

It is true that under the constitution, the maintenance, operations of the prisons is the exclusive preserve of the Federal Government. However, Lagos State being progressive provides assistance to all the Prison authorities in the State. The State intends to do more, towards decongesting the Prisons and also contributing in other related areas by provision of crime control and prevention mechanisms.

Most of the Prison inmates are said to be awaiting trial and yet to

"WE BELIEVE IN NO TIME, ISSUES SUCH AS KIDNAPPING, EITHER FOR RITUAL PURPOSES OR RANSOM WILL BE A THING OF THE PAST. ALSO, THE PROACTIVE LAGOS STATE HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY, RECENTLY PASSED A BILL STIPULATING TOUGH PENALTIES FOR KIDNAPPING. SO YOU SEE THAT ALL THESE ISSUES ARE BEING CONSIDERED BY THIS GOVERNMENT"

be convicted. Some were arrested for offences as ridiculous as “wandering” and have been in Prison for several years. What steps are you taking to decongest the Prisons? Many of those incarcerated are still there because they cannot afford legal representation. What has your administration done so far to provide free and/or affordable legal representation for indigent inmates and the less privileged residents of Lagos?

With regards to Prison decongestion, my tenure and by extension Lagos State Government has already put in place machineries for same. Furthermore, the DPP’s Office has a system of tracking cases where files received from the Police for rendering of Legal Advice has a time limit. This is also monitored up till the Court when legal advice is issued. Those who should not be in prison are quickly released, while those to be prosecuted go on to face their trial. Here, the emphasis is on speedy dispensation of the cases. The State also in collaboration with Judiciary, do physical decongestion. The Chief Judge of the State by tradition, does this annually and the officers in the DPP and the Public Defenders operating from my Chambers contribute their bit. Those released are those incarcerated for minor offences and those who have almost served out their term. Another means adopted by the State to decongest the Prison is through non-custodial sentences, this is a situation where rather than the Court imposing term of imprisonment, it would order community service. Indigent offenders are provided free Legal representation by the office of the Public Defender. The officers of this Agency of the Ministry are stationed in all Magistrates and High Courts for purposes of overnight cases brought by the police, they also appear in the High Court to defend indigent offenders. There is also a restorative Justice project presently being pushed in conjunction with the Prisons Fellowship of Nigeria. This project is expected to decongest the prisons and impact the Criminal Justice Sector.

Last year, pursuant to the passing of the Lagos State Properties Protection Law into law, your administration set up an anti-land grabbing agency to implement the law.Has the agency recorded any successes so far? Has the promulgation of the law been effective in serving as any type of deterrent to the miscreants that engage in these activities in Lagos State?

The records of the Special Taskforce on Land Grabbers popularly known as Omo Onile Menace Taskforce indicate that 863 petitions have been received so far, out of which 120 (One Hundred and Twenty) petitions have been resolved while others are pending and receiving full attention.

Presently, some cases are pending at the Special Offences Court, sitting in Ogba.

On the level of its impact, Lagos State Properties Protection Law, 2016 serves as a deterrent to those that attempt forcible take over of land in Lagos State. I can candidly say that the level of awareness of residents of Lagos State on the activities of land Grabbers has increased. Residents now know what steps to take when their rights over their Land is being threatened, and that is to report to the Lagos State Special Taskforce on Land-grabbers, by bringing petitions rather than resorting to self help, and use of intimidation and force. Awareness on Land Grabbing is key to the combat against land grabbers and increase in property investment.

Ogun State followed Lagos State and passed a similar anti-land grabbing law, extending the scope of its own law to kidnapping. However, inspite of the law, we see that kidnapping seems to be on the rise in Ogun State. What steps are your administration taking to ensure that kidnapping does not become a problem in Lagos State? The issue of kidnapping and even ritual killings in Lagos is giving residents sleepless nights. What do you think is responsible for this and how can this tide be stemmed? Do you think existing legislation is tough enough to discourage would be kidnappers and to bring them to justice? Or are you considering a fresh law in this regard?

CONTINUED ON PAGE 10

10/COVER

24.01.2017

LAGOS: KIDNAPPING WILL SOON BE A THING OF THE PAST We can blame the economy all we want, but the truth is that hunger has never been a good justification/defence for any man who steals. No doubt, the issue of kidnapping has been on the rise in every part of the country, and it has become an issue of National concern.

As you may be aware, the administration of His Excellency, Governor Akinwunmi Ambode is a people oriented government.

It believes that its greatest asset is its people more than any other thing. Hence, it is not for the purpose of merely scoring political points that H.E. has continued to equip the Police in order to ensure effective policing within the State. Lagos State has also recently set up the Neighbourhood Corps Agency which is to work with the police and other security agencies to improve community policing. Corp members will be individuals from within their known localities, which will ensure proper knowledge of the terrain.

We believe that in no time, issues such as kidnapping, either for ritual purposes or ransom will be a thing of the past. Also the proactive Lagos State House of Assembly, recently passed a Bill stipulating tough penalties for kidnapping. So you see that all these issues are being considered by this government.

Despite the series of innovations introduced in the State to make sure that the length of time it takes to decide a case is reduced, cases are still taking very long before they are determined.

Why is this so? What are your plans to make justice swift?

Your observation on delay in the administration of justice confirm the saying that you can have the best set of Rules of Procedure, yet may not achieve the desired target.

The administration of justice is not an issue for the Government alone, but it involves everybody from the Judiciary to legal practitioners and even the populace.

There are many cases pending in court that do not have any business being in court.

This is the more reason why people must embrace Alternative Dispute Resolution mechanisms, so that only cases that are real and deserving are filed in our courts.

Users of the Court system must embrace Modern trends that are practiced in other climes. Lawyers must be able to advice their clients on the implication of approaching court where the issues could be resolved

by ADR. I must tell you that we have the best set of Rules of Court, but when the practitioners do not make use of the Rules to achieve optimum results, the system cannot move forward. We will continue to review our rules of court and laws to ensure that we achieve the desired goal which is efficient and speedy dispensation of justice.

For the first time in the history of Nigeria, a proper forensic laboratory is being established and your Ministry is taking the lead. What informed this move which we understand will involve a huge financial commitment? Which personnel will man this laboratory?

Where and how will they be trained?

True, Lagos State is at the verge of having the first Forensic Laboratory in Nigeria that is purpose-designed to help fight crime. There are several reasons why we decided to establish the laboratory. This administration believes that being able to successfully prosecute a criminal and/or prevent any type of crime, to save life and property is priceless. The two most important reasons why the forensic laboratory is being established are first, to Fight and Prevent

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 9

crime by adding a scientific approach to criminal investigations and law enforcement.

Experience has shown that an important reason why some crimes remain unsolved and certain crimes cannot be stopped before they happen, is the absence of forensic laboratories and expertise in its area. Second is to stop export of human remains abroad for identification by DNA after manmade or natural disasters. Lagos State has witnessed several unfortunate incidents, including plane crashes, building collapse and fire.

Some of the remains recovered could not be identified using the traditional methods of identification. In each case, human remain samples were sent abroad for identification using DNA technology and the families had to wait for months or even years before they can bury their dead. Sending samples abroad costs money, but most importantly it takes time. We want to be able to do all such identifications in the future, and help the society bring closure to such cases, faster.

In terms of personnel to man the laboratory, and to ensure immediate impact, the core personnel at startup are already accredited and experienced in different aspects of forensics.

This means that the facility will be ready for business on its first day of operation.

Lagos State which statistically, is the most populous state in Nigeria, keeps growing by the day. The huge influx of persons from all over the country would necessarily create challenges in the area of crime control, prevention and deterrence. How are you handling this challenge as the chief law officer of the state?

As the Chief Law Officer of the State, I am looking at more preventive measures as opposed to being reactive. For example, Lagos State is set to introduce functional CCTV cameras in all nooks and crannies of the State. These cameras will help in crime prevention, detection and prosecution.

"THE LAGOS STATE SECURITY TRUST FUND WAS CREATED FOR THE SOLE PURPOSE OF RAISING FUNDS AND OTHER RESOURCES, WITH THE AIM OF SUPPORTING SECURITY AGENCIES IN THE STATE IN COMBATING CRIME. FUNDING IS THROUGH DONATIONS FROM CORPORATE BODIES AND PRIVATE INDIVIDUALS, LOCAL GOVERNMENT COUNCILS, AND NONGOVERNMENTAL ORGANISATIONS"

The recent Anti-Kidnapping Law passed by the Lagos State House of Assembly has elicited criticisms from human rights activists, especially with the provision for the death penalty. Some see capital punishment for kidnapping as extreme. Delta State which made that provision before, later reviewed it to life imprisonment. Why did Lagos consider it necessary to so provide?

It is true that there are also strong advocates against the death penalty both locally and internationally. However, the bill was subjected to intense debate by members of the public and the consensus was that there should be a strong response to the spate of kidnapping for ransom that has afflicted Lagos in recent times. It must however, be noted that death penalty is only imposed where death occurs in the course of the kidnap. It is akin to the concept of felony murder, where a killing is treated as a murder because though unintended, it occurred during the commission or attempted commission of a felony.

The Lagos State Security Trust Fund has been commended by all and sundry, and many states are now borrowing that initiative. What law provides for the Trust Fund, how is it funded and how are the funds disbursed?

The Lagos State Security Trust Fund was created for the sole purpose of raising funds and other resources, with the aim of supporting Security Agencies in the State in combating crime. Funding is through donations from corporate bodies and private individuals, Local Government Councils, and Non-governmental organisations. The spending, disbursement and activities are regulated by the Board. Funds are used for interventions for all security Agencies operating in Lagos State.

Lagos has given wide powers to its magistrates, by the enlargement of their jurisdiction. Has this not encroached on the jurisdiction of the High Court?

Especially with the provision that they can now handle matters involving up to N10 claims?

This policy evolved as a result of the State’s quest to reduce workload and congestion in the High Court. The Monetary Jurisdiction of the High Court is unlimited, hence the policy cannot encroach on the Jurisdiction of the High Court.

Do you subscribe to the proposal that a career in the Magistracy should end at the Magistracy and that Magistrates should no longer aspire to the higher Bench?

My answer is No. This is in view of the

"THE RECORDS OF THE SPECIAL TASKFORCE ON LAND GRABBERS POPULARLY KNOWN AS OMO ONILE MENACE TASKFORCE INDICATE THAT 863 PETITIONS HAVE BEEN RECEIVED SO FAR, OUT OF WHICH 120 (ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY) PETITIONS HAVE BEEN RESOLVED WHILE OTHERS ARE PENDING AND RECEIVING FULL ATTENTION"

constitutional provision that any lawyer who has attained a minimum of 10 years at the bar can aspire to become on Judge.

You happen to be sitting and superintending over so many directorates and agencies. We have the Citizens Rights Centre, Office of the Public Defender, and many others. How do you ensure that these directorates do not work at cross purposes and that they don’t take on the jobs and duties of the conventional courts?

The functions of each of these agencies are clearly spelt out, there is no overlapping as they perform different functions. The Office of the Public Defender (OPD) defends the indigent, while Citizens Mediation Centre as its name connotes is charged with dispensing mediation. Each Directorate has specific roles and duties. For instance, the CMC deals with a lot of landlord and tenant matters amongst others, whilst the Office of the Public Defender is basically to provide legal services to the indigent.

The Directorate of Citizens Rights is the pioneer department for ensuring access to justice in the State. All these departments, at some point, interface with each other. Most of the departments explore ADR mechanisms in resolving disputes, which is in line with best practices and will ultimately decongest the Courts. Indeed, their functions are complimentary towards better justice delivery to the public.

24.01.2017

/11

Nigeria’s Double Talk on Death Penalty Chino Obiagwu's article discusses the death penalty, and how Nigeria, despite its announcement to the world that it has placed a moratorium on its use, has continued to execute death row prisoners, and even extended the death penalty to other crimes like kidnapping, and adultery and sodomy in the twelve Sharia States

O

n the issue of death penalty, Nigeria’s position is more of self-deception than sound policy.

the range of non-homicidal crimes punishable by death sentence. It has also continued to apply death penalty as mandatory punishment, despite the fact that all over modern democracies, the mandatory use of death sentence has been abolished, because it constitutes a legislative usurpation of the judicial functions of sentencing.

Nearly all courts and tribunals in which the issue of the use of the mandatory death penalty had been raised, have held that to sentence a person to death or to any pre-determined punishment irrespective of his or her individual circumstances or circumstances in which he committed the offence, constitute inhumane and degrading treatment. Thus, in most African democracies, mandatory death penalty has been abolished by either legislation or judicial decisions; Kenya, Uganda, Botswana, etc. In South Africa, the courts declared the use of the death penalty unconstitutional, because it violated the right to life and the right to humane treatment. (Makwanyane v State).

Nigeria's Position of

Self-Deception Nigeria announced to the world that it placed moratorium on the use of the death penalty, but refused to issue any official document to that effect. It has continued to execute its death row prisoners, and failed to implement the report of its own Panel of Experts that recommended suspension of the use of the death penalty because of the country’s inefficient criminal justice system.

Due to the fact that the death sentence in Nigeria is mainly applied to the poor and uneducated, it is not a priority issue for the political society. If death sentences were applied to corruption or economic crimes, and to the turf of political leaders, it would have been abolished long ago.

Panel of Experts In October 2009, Nigeria’s delegation to the United Nations Universal Periodic Review (UPR) said that it had put in place a moratorium on the use of the death penalty. It had denied an earlier secret execution of two prisoners in Jos in 2007 and assured the world it was revisiting its death penalty laws through a Panel of Experts that it setup to review the use of death penalty. This panel, headed by Professor Bamgbose, former DG of Nigerian Institute of Advanced Legal Studies (NIALS), issued a report stating the dangers of the continued use of the death penalty in Nigeria. The Panel had enthused that ‘a State that cannot give justice should not take life’.

Federal High Court Case filed

by Death Row Prisoners The Nigerian Government has not lived up to any of these promises to the world. It has continued to execute death row prisoners and has never had a moratorium.

There was no document or policy paper declaring moratorium on executions or on death sentencing.

The Federal Government has not made any official commitment to discourage States from using the death penalty. On the contrary, in May 2012, State Governors met in Abuja and announced that they would commence executions as a way to decongest the prisons, an illogical proposition because Nigeria’s prisons are over-populated by only awaiting trial prisoners.

Upon that threat to kill them, all death row prisoners in 11 maxi-

mum security prisons filed a suit at the Federal High Court against all the State Governors to stop any execution. The case is pending at the Court of Appeal Lagos. Despite the on-going suit, prisoners continued to be executed. At the

same time, the Federal Government has discarded the report of the Bamgbose Panel of Experts, completely ignoring its commitment to the UN. Not only that, it has executed prisoners since then, in 2013 and 2016, it has expanded

"DUE TO THE FACT THAT THE DEATH SENTENCE IN NIGERIA IS MAINLY APPLIED TO THE POOR AND UNEDUCATED, IT IS NOT A PRIORITY ISSUE FOR THE POLITICAL SOCIETY. IF DEATH SENTENCES WERE APPLIED TO CORRUPTION OR ECONOMIC CRIMES, AND TO THE TURF OF POLITICAL LEADERS, IT WOULD HAVE BEEN ABOLISHED LONG AGO"

Extension of Death Penalty to Crimes like Kidnapping Nigeria’s legislature has ignored calls by civil society to abolish the use of death sentence or to restrict it to only crimes resulting in death of the victims. In many instances, it introduced death penalty for kidnapping (Edo, Akwa Ibom, Anambra, Imo, Abia, and Delta) and for adultery, sodomy (12 Shari’a States).

The absence of effective prosecution of any of these offences, (there is to date still few convictions and death sentence for kidnapping, adultery or sodomy), shows that the severity of punishment is not a deterrent to crime. What discourages potential criminals from committing crimes, is the high possibility of being apprehended while committing the offence.

Nigerian governments at state and federal levels, should focus on improving police capacity to arrest and prosecute criminals, rather than increasing the possibilities of injustice through the wide-range use of the death penalty. In death penalty practices, there is always a high risk that an innocent person could be wrongly convicted and executed, a dangerous prospect in any modern society.

Life imprisonment is a humane and civil alternative to death sentence. Life sentence forecloses any possibility of killing an innocent soul. Nigeria should embrace change, and walk its talk on death penalty moratorium.

Chino Edmund Obiagwu National Coordinator, Legal Defence & Assistance Project

32

TUESDAY, JANUARY 24, 2017 ˾ T H I S D AY

MARKET NEWS

Ecobank Masterpass QR Records High Patronage Goddy Egene and Nosa Alekhuogie The Deputy Managing Director, Ecobank Nigeria, Tony Okpanachi has expressed delight over the level of acceptability and wide patronage of Ecobank MasterPass QR,

an innovative global digital payment solution recently introduced into the nation’s financial landscape by the bank.

According to Okpanachi, latest checks have revealed that lots of wholesalers and retailers in the country had adopted the payment technol-

T H E

ogy as their preferred means of receiving payments for goods and services, describing the payment system as a tool for financial inclusion and economic development.

A statement quoted the Ecobank boss to have said: “We are quite impressed with the level

N I G E R I A N

of acceptance and enthusiasm so far shown by all segments of the society. The patronage has been phenomenal. Supper shops, fuel dispensing stations, hotels, food vendors, intra-city transporters, even the popular keke mawa are not left out in adopting Ecobank Masterpass

STO C K

QR for their transactions. This is certainly a big plus for the Nigerian economy.”

While encouraging merchants and business owners yet to enlist in the digital payment system, Okpanachi submitted that “business owners can increase revenue through

E XC H A N G E

the acceptance of mobile and digital payments, while reducing their exposure to the risks and costs of managing cash. Payment is instantaneous and guaranteed, meaning that merchants no longer need to wait days for transactions to reflect in their accounts.”

12/

24.01.2017

Closure of Abuja Airport: Matters Arising Pekun Sowole in this article, gives a brief history of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja. He examines the pros and cons of closing down the airport for six weeks for repairs, and the diversion of passengers to Kaduna Airport. He concludes by suggesting viable alternatives, while urging the Federal Government to have a re-think of its decision

C

Kaduna â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Abuja road, a road which is in a bad state and prone to armed robbery and other similar or worse attacks and vehicular accidents.

While answering questions from Senators during the plenary session last Thursday, the Honourable Minister stated that the repair cost of the said runway is N5.8 billion.

It will be noted that the Federal Government of Nigeria had earlier released the sum of N1billion, as being the cost of carrying out some urgent needed repairs of the same runway.

Background

losure of Abuja Airport: Matters Arising The Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport Abuja, with an IATA code of ABV and ICAO code DNAA has an asphalt surface runway with a length of 3.610 kilometers or 11,844 feet.

It is owned and operated by the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria and is the second busiest airport in Nigeria, after the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos.

The runway of the said airport was constructed over 30 years ago and same is in a bad state. The said runway is uneven, rough and the mid-section is in a terrible state, which makes the runway unsafe for aircrafts to take off and land, and this has been a major safety and security concern for both the domestic airlines and the international airlines operating into and out of the said airport. Passengers, save a few who invariably are not technically knowledgeable or historically informed about the aviation issues, know that the said runway is in a bad state because upon landing and taxiing, the bumps on and unsmooth surface of the runway tell it all. Without any doubt, it is agreed that the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport runway requires very urgent rehabilitation, otherwise it will likely be the enabler of an unfortunate aviation incident sooner or later.

Sometime in 2014, the said runway was, pursuant to a NOTAM (Notice to all Airmen) issued, closed on Saturday, the 5th of July, 2014 and reopened on Monday, 7th of July, 2014. The said closure was to enable the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria carry out an upgrade of the said airport and traffic maintenance.

It will also be recalled that during the tenure of President Goodluck Jonathan, four bids were invited, for the construction of another runway for the said Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport and the contract was awarded to Julius Berger Plc at the cost of US$423 million. However, owing to the uproar from stakeholders, aviation pundits regarding the astronomical cost of the said contract, the said contract was revoked and same has not been revisited till date.

Closure of the Airport Sometime in December 2016, The Honourable Minister of State for Aviation, Captain Hadi Sirika, informed Nigerians that the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport would be closed between February and March 2017 in order that the urgently needed repair works could be carried out.

The Honourable Minister further said that Julius Berger Plc had been selected to undertake the repairs on the said runway, which repair works would span a period of 6 months. However, while airlines would be able to operate their flights into and out of the said airport during the said 6 month period, the airport would during the same period be closed for a period of 6 weeks, at which time the mid-section of

Pekun Sowole

the runway, which has sustained major damage, would be attended to. During this period airlines would operate from an alternative airport. He also said that President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the said repair works. The Federal Executive Council on the 4th of January, 2017, approved the decision to close the said airport as proposed.

The Kaduna Alternative It must be emphasised that during the said 6 weeks period, the said airport will be closed to passenger movement. As a result, all passengers whether on domestic or international flights who normally

would fly in and out of Abuja would have to undertake their said flights into and out of Kaduna Airport, which has been designated as the alternate airport during the said period. The Minister in justifying his position on the closure of the Abuja Airport, said that closure of airports/runways are done all over the world. The Port-Harcourt International Airport he retorted, was closed for a very long period. Arrangements the Minister said, have been made by the Federal Government to provide buses to convey all passengers to and from Abuja to Kaduna, while the Kaduna State Government will provide the much needed security on the

"THE FACILITIES AVAILABLE AT THE KADUNA AIRPORT ARE GROSSLY INADEQUATE TO ACCOMMODATE THE ADDITIONAL AIR TRAFFIC AND PASSENGER TRAFFIC FLOW INTO THE SAID AIRPORT, AND THEREFORE THE WRONG CHOICE TO HAVE BEEN SELECTED AS AN ALTERNATIVE TO ABUJA. THE TERMINAL IS TINY, UNFRIENDLY AND STILL REQUIRES A LOT OF WORK TO GET IT UP TO SPEED. CAN KADUNA ACCOMMODATE ALL THE PERSONNEL THAT WOULD BE DEPLOYED THERE? THERE ARE OBVIOUSLY A LOT OF UNANSWERED QUESTIONS. HOWEVER WHAT IS CLEAR IS THAT THE CHOICE OF KADUNA APPEARS TO BE A POLITICAL CHOICE AND ONE WITH WITH THE AIM OF ASSISTING THE ECONOMY OF KADUNA STATE"

Untold Hardship and Inconvenience The above, being the facts and background, the question that begs to be answered is, whether the decision of the Honourable Minister of Aviation and his Ministry to close the Abuja Airport for 6 weeks, is in the best interest of the travelling public, and whether there are other better ways of achieving the same purpose. Let me start by saying that all aviation stakeholders, passengers and pundits are opposed to the said closure, and it appears that only the Federal Government is in support of same.

There is no gain saying that the closure of the airport will cause untold and unnecessary hardship to the travelling public.

The simple effect is that the normal 55 minutes flight to Abuja from Lagos barring delays, will now be a 5 or 6 hour journey.

This time frame is made up of the LagosKaduna leg, passenger waiting time to pick up their luggage, the trip from the Kaduna Airport into Kaduna town and from Kaduna town to Abuja. This will take a heavy toll on the body and the health of the travelling public and fraught with anxiety and fear. The Kaduna â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Abuja route as the travelling public are well aware is a treacherous road prone to all sorts of attacks and accidents. This fact, the Federal Government has subtly admitted, as it stated that the Kaduna State Government will be providing the much needed security on the said road. I thought we had Federal Police in Nigeria with responsibility for the security of the Nation, it is therefore odd the Kaduna State Government will be providing security on the said road.

Furthermore, with all the violence and killings going on in Southern Kaduna, is it the State Government who has not been able to protect the lives of its citizens, that will protect the travelling public?

Also worrying is the ability of the Kaduna Airport authorities to handle Abuja bound flights. The facilities available at the Kaduna Airport are grossly inadequate to accommodate the additional air traffic and passenger traffic flow into the said airport, and therefore the wrong choice to have been selected as an alternative to Abuja. The terminal is tiny, unfriendly and still requires a lot of work to get it up to speed. Can Kaduna accommodate all the personnel that would be deployed there?

There are obviously a lot of unanswered questions. However, what is clear is that the choice of Kaduna appears to be a political choice and one with the aim of assisting the economy of Kaduna State.

Viable Alternatives CONTINUED ON PAGE 13

24.01.2017

/13

We Hold Your Brief

JUDE IGBANOI jude.igbanoi@thisdaylive.com Dear Counsel, Kindly, help me as a fellow Nigerian.

I rented an apartment before I went home on holiday, but I couldn't move in immediately, because the building was yet to be completed. After I came back, the landlady rented the same apartment to another person.

I requested for my money back and pleaded heaven and earth, but the landlady said that she didn't have the money to refund to me. She promised to give me another apartment within a month.

After three months, she was unable to provide the apartment. When I demanded for a refund, she told me she would deduct N10,000 and give me a balance of N20,000 because of the period that I had stayed in the temporary accommodation that she had provided for me.

The temporary accommodation she gave me wasn't a room, but a store with no toilet, no window, and no bathroom. In fact, a prison cell is better than the place. For her initial plea, I endured and stayed. Because I have rejected the meagre N20, 000 she is offering me instead of N30, 000, her son has threatened to kill me on several occasions, to the extent that I got injured.

Please, help me. What can I do to collect my money from the landlady so that I can secure another apartment?

I am a poor student.

Ikoyi Oguche Roberts, Federal University of Technology, Minna, Niger State.

Dear Roberts, This is clearly a very serious criminal offence, which you should have reported to the police immediately.

It is important that you, as a matter of urgency lodge a complaint to the police against the landlady and her son.

They are both in breach of the provisions of the Penal Code (applicable to Northern Nigeria) and the Criminal Code at Chapter 35 and Chapter 36, Section 406. They are culpable of offences provided for under these sections and if they are found guilty, they stand the risk of imprisonment, ranging from three to fourteen years.

However, you must first lodge a complaint with the police and ensure that you recover your money first.

After that, the police may decide to prosecute them based on the advice of the Director of Public Prosecution of the State’s Ministry of Justice.

CLOSURE OF ABUJA AIRPORT: MATTERS ARISING CONTINUED FROM PAGE 12 Are there other options of carrying out the said repairs? Yes, there are. It is odd that the said repair works was awarded to one company, what the Ministry ought to have done in my opinion is to have shared the said repair works to five construction companies and divided the runway into portions for each company to repair. In addition, a team of quality control engineers under a supervision team of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, the Ministry of Aviation and Nigerian Society of Engineers or similar regulatory bodies, should have been put in place to supervise the work of these construction companies. If that option had been adopted, the runway may not have to be closed for more than 1 week or thereabouts as compared with the 6 weeks that it is planned to be closed for.

Furthermore, by contracting the said repairs to five companies, thousands of jobs would have been created.

Assuming that the Ministry had no choice but to close down the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, international flights could be diverted to Kano, while domestic flights could be split between Kaduna and Jos. In that regard, Kano and Plateau States would be beneficiaries of the same funds earmarked for Kaduna State and their economies would as a

result be assisted and reenergised. These States are in dire need of cash injecting and revitalisation too.

Another major issue which the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria and the Federal Government need to consider is, who would be responsible where losses are incurred by the passengers between Kaduna Airport and Abuja Airport? These losses could either be loss of luggage and/ or injury sustained by the passengers on the said land journey. This is because while the airline tickets would still read Lagos – Abuja, or London – Abuja, the diversion to Kaduna is not the airlines’ making and as such, all the airlines will deny liability for any such losses on the ground.

If such matters were to go to Court, the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria and Federal Government of Nigeria would be the obvious defendants in such cases. The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria and Federal Government of Nigeria therefore, have to be mindful of this eventuality.

One must say that it is not too late to have a second look at the proposed arrangement, this is more so as the Ministry of Aviation has already shifted the dates for the said commencing of the repairs from February, 2017 to the 8th of March 2017.

Pekun Sowole, Legal Practitioner, Lagos

14/BOOK REVIEW

24.01.2017

Human Rights Litigation in Nigeria: Law, Practice and Procedure Book Review Title:

Human Rights Litigation in Nigeria: Law, Practice and Procedure: With Forms and Precedents

Author::

Mr. Frank Agbedo

Reviewer:

Malachy Ughumadu

T

his book written by Mr. Frank Agbedo, one of Nigeria’s leading authors in human rights literature and jurisprudence, was recently unveiled to the reading public at the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs, (NIIA) Kofo Abayomi Road, Victoria Island, Lagos, just a few years after his ground breaking treatise on the rights of criminal suspects in Nigeria, titled, "Rights of Suspects and Accused Persons under the Nigerian Criminal Law".

Incidentally, only three days before the release of the current book, the world had on 10th December, 2016, marked the International day of Human Rights, with a strident message calling upon everyone to stand up for someone’s rights. The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) Lagos Branch, Human Rights Committee, organised a successful summit on Thursday 8th December,, 2016 while the National body commemorated the day with a world press conference held at the premises of the High Court of Lagos, Igbosere.

It has been universally declared that “it is essential, if a man is not to be compelled to have recourse as a last resort, to rebellion against tyranny and oppression, that human rights should be protected by the rule of law”. (See the UN Universal Declaration on Human Rights 1948). The value of human rights is solely dependent on its enforcement. An unenforced right is of no value to its owner. Just as the maxim, Ubi Jus Ibi Remedium (i.e where there is a right, there is a remedy), remains rhetorical until the remedy is duly enforced in favour of the victim.

This book, which is consciously and albeit rightly, in my view, dedicated to two of Nigeria’s greatest civil rights advocates, both at the bar and the bench, namely: the late Chief Gani Fawehinmi SAM, SAN and Hon. Justice Idris Legbo Kutigi GCON, CJN Rtd, therefore dwells extensively on the law, practice and procedure relating to enforcement of human rights in Nigerian Courts.

Principal features of the book include but are not limited to the ABC of human rights litigation, an in depth analysis of the new FREP Rules 2009, A review of

judicial attitude to enforcement of Fundamental Rights Cases, Prosecuting Appeals in Fundamental Rights Cases, the status of public interest litigation in Nigerian Courts, the Role of Amici Curae in human rights litigation, the justiciability or judicialisation of socio-economic rights in Nigerian Courts and the future of human rights litigation. The book also features a comprehensive package of practice forms and precedents relating to practical applications for enforcement of fundamental rights, as well as a comprehensive index of cases and relevant statutes.

More than seven years since the advent of the Fundamental Rights (Enforcement Procedure) Rules 2009, which had been described as representing the widest latitude to effective enforcement of fundamental rights, the volume of litigation relating to human rights have expectedly witnessed a quantum leap in Nigerian Courts.

It is therefore this floodgate of litigations that supplied the raison d’etre and compelling desire for this book. This is done with a view to updating practitioners with current decisions and contemporary developments on human rights law and practice, with copious references to salutary innovations from other jurisdictions overseas.

The peculiar strength of this new book, as attested to by renowned jurists and law lords who had the benefit of a preview of its contents prior to this public presentation, is that it is almost a ready answer to all issues and matters relating to preparation, initiation, filing and

prosecution of fundamental right cases in Nigerian Courts. The book is comprehensive enough to the cover of the field of human right law, practice and procedure and which could be better described as a One-Stop-Shop in human rights litigation.

According to Femi Falana SAN, “Frank Agbedo Esq has through

"THE PECULIAR STRENGTH OF THIS NEW BOOK, AS ATTESTED TO BY RENOWNED JURISTS AND LAW LORDS WHO HAD THE BENEFIT OF A PREVIEW OF ITS CONTENTS PRIOR TO THIS PUBLIC PRESENTATION, IS THAT IT IS ALMOST A READY ANSWER TO ALL ISSUES AND MATTERS RELATING TO PREPARATION, INITIATION, FILING AND PROSECUTION OF FUNDAMENTAL RIGHT CASES IN NIGERIAN COURTS"

this book simplified and facilitated the enforcement of fundamental rights in Nigeria in line with the provisions of the Fundamental Rights (Enforcement Procedure) Rules 2009. With the subjects analysed in the book and the relevant cases cited by the author, victims of human rights abuse will have no difficulty in seeking redress in the appropriate High Courts”.

One cannot agree any less with the above endorsement coming from a venerable icon of public interest litigation in Nigeria. The book, which focuses on the practice and procedure in human right litigation, is to the best of my well considered opinion, a well researched and comprehensive work on the subject. It is written in clear readable style that is quite informative. I believe that Legal Practitioners, Judges, Law students and any one interested in human rights litigation and issues, will find it very useful. I warmly recommend it.

Malachy Ugwumadu, National President, Committee for Defence of Human Rights (GCDHR)

21

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Quick Takes GE Seeks Cut in Tax under Trump

CONGRATULATIONS

L-R: Chief Operating OďŹ&#x192;cer, 7even Interactive Media Limited, Taiwo Agboola; Managing Director/CEO, Fidelity Bank Plc., Nnamdi Okonkwo; Executive Director, Lagos & South West, Fidelity Bank Plc., Nneka Onyeali-Ikpe and Executive Director, Corporate Banking, Fidelity Bank Plc., Adeyeye Adepegba when 7even Interactive Media Limited presented awards it won at the last Lagos Advertising and Ideas Festival to the Exco of Fidelity Bank â&#x20AC;Śrecently

How Fire Outbreak at Afam VI Power Station Plunged Nigeria into Darkness Ejiofor Alike The current frequent disruption of electricity supply in the country, which is as a result of system disturbances came to a climax at the weekend with two system collapse occurring within 24 hours between Thursday and Friday, THISDAY has learnt.

The first system collapse, it was learnt, occurred at 0738 hours on Thursday, while restoration began at 1043 hours.

However, before the system could be restored, it was gathered that another system collapse, which was as a result of fire outbreak at Afam VI Power Station, occurred at 1809 hours on Friday.

The second collapse plunged the whole country into darkness

ENERGY for 16 hours, bringing average power generation to an all-time low of 630.46 megawatts of electricity, according to the Daily Hourly Load Demand Reports obtained by THISDAY. The cause of the fire, which ravaged a section of the plant, was not immediately known.

But the daily demand report showed that while 2,161.56 megawatts was allocated to the 11 distribution companies for eight hours, the figure later dropped to zero megawatts, which lasted for 16 hours, thus bringing average generation during the 24-hour period to 630.46 hours.

According to the report, Eko Electricity Distribution

Company (EEDC), which gets 11 per cent of the generated power in Nigeria, was allocated 186.0 megawatts, 173.30MW, 161.20MW, 187.10MW, 134.10MW, 131.50MW and 92.90 for one hour each, before the companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s allocation dropped to zero, which lasted for 16 hours.

Before the weekend collapse of the system, the transmission infrastructure had recorded another collapse on January 15 and 17, in addition to a partial collapse on January 12, all caused by low generation, most of which were fueled by gas shortages to the power stations.

With the inability of the power generation companies to pay for gas, the suppliers of

gas have channeled supply to industries and manufacturers that pay higher, thus reducing the gas available for power generation.

The inability of the Gencos to pay also stemmed from the failure of the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) to pay the gencos for the power generated, which is also attributed to the failure of the Discos to pay for the power allocated to them by the TCN for distribution to customers.

The Discos, on the other hand, have blamed their failure to meet their financial obligations to the other members of the value chain to the absence Continued on page 22

Power: FG, Wâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Bank Restructuring Plan Centres on Metering, Governance, Others Chineme Okafor in Abuja The Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Fashola has said that ongoing discussions with the Ministry of Finance and the World Bank on the teething challenges of Nigeriaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s privatised electricity market would focus on improving the marketâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s governance practices, deployment of meters to consumers, and reduction of operational losses.

THISDAY in December 2016 exclusively reported the federal governmentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s meeting with the World Bank in which both parties initiated measures to restructure and reposition the

ENERGY power sector from its current operational challenges.

According to operators in the countryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s electricity market, the sector is currently going through a tough time with chronic financial illiquidity, and other operational challenges threatening to overwhelm it.

Fashola said at a recent power dialogue organised by Nextier Advisory in Abuja that a policy framework that would help establish a stronger and better institutional framework needed to tackle the challenges of the sector was being discussed with the World Bank

and ministry of finance.

He however refused to disclose the entire content of the policy because according to him discussions were still underway, but noted that the policy would target improvements in metering of consumers by the electricity distribution companies (Discos), sanctions for energy theft, and adherence to contractual obligations by operators in the sector.

The minister explained that this would also help the sector overcome its current financial challenges and strengthen the financial base of the Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading Plc (NBET).

Fashola stated that the plan has equally been presented for consideration and approval by the Federal Executive Council (FEC) and that when implemented, market issues such as payments for services such as gas supplies would be addressed to the operations of electricity generation companies (Gencos). â&#x20AC;&#x153;Clearly, these policies constitute the way forward and ensure that everybody in the system gets paid. If we have that, at least, we can be sure that those who are supplying gas will not be shutting down Continued on page 22

General Electric Co is seeking a sharp cut in corporate tax rates under President Donald Trump but is bracing for US sales of medical equipment to suffer if Congress delays changing US healthcare laws. â&#x20AC;&#x153;From a GE perspective, at a minimum, we need to have a corporate tax system where the rate of taxation is commensurate with the OECD average of 21 or 22 percent,â&#x20AC;? down from 35 percent, GE Chief Financial Officer Jeff Bornstein told Reuters, referring to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We at least need to be on a par.â&#x20AC;?

The Boston-based industrial conglomerate, which makes more than half of its sales overseas, also wants companies to be taxed in countries where they earn money and not taxed again when earnings are returned to the United States.

When companies repatriate foreign earnings, they should be taxed at 4 to 5 percent, Bornstein said.

GE anticipates that delays in the U.S. Congress repealing and replacing Obamacare could dent its sales, but it does not expect to cut prices to spur sales, Bornstein added.

The comments came as GE, a maker of power plants, aircraft engines, locomotives and medical equipment, posted a 36 percent profit jump but said industrial division sales fell in the final quarter of 2016, sending its shares down.

Ghana to Review $918m IMF Deal Ghanaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s new government plans to review its $918 million programme with the International Monetary Fund because it may need more money for its spending plans, a ministerdesignate said at the weekend.

The three-year programme, signed by the previous government in April 2015, imposes strict targets for revenue collection and spending. It aims to reduce inflation, the public debt and the budget deficit and restore rapid growth to Ghanaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s economy.

President Nana Akufo-Addo won Decemberâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s election in part by promising voters he would give the equivalent of $1 million to each constituency per year for development, build a dam in every village and a factory in every district while cutting taxes. â&#x20AC;&#x153;It (the IMF programme) must be reviewed. It will certainly be reviewed,â&#x20AC;? Yaw Osafo-Maafo told a parliamentary committee vetting him as senior minister. The programme â&#x20AC;&#x153;squeezes the fiscal spaceâ&#x20AC;? and would be reviewed with the IMF, he said.

Economists say the Fund cannot change its overall programme objectives but interim targets can be modified in the light of performance between each IMF review. As a result, the new government could negotiate less onerous conditions if it finds that targets set for the end of 2016 were not met.

In an indication that this may happen, the new government says the budget deficit stood at around 8 percent at the end of 2016, higher than the 5.3 percent targeted under the programme.

Ruling against Chevron Rejected A Canadian court has ruled that the fraudulent Ecuadorian judgment against Chevron Corporation cannot be enforced against Chevron Canada Limited , an indirect subsidiary.

The court found that Chevron Canada Limited is a separate entity from Chevron Corporation , not a party to the Ecuadorian lawsuit and not a debtor to the judgment. In its decision, the court stated, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Chevron [Corporation] and Chevron Canada are separate legal entities with separate rights and obligations.â&#x20AC;? As a result, the court found that â&#x20AC;&#x153;plaintiffsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; claim cannot succeed against Chevron Canadaâ&#x20AC;? and dismissed the claim against it.

In a related ruling, the court also rejected an attempt by the plaintiffs to prohibit Chevron Corporation from using the extensive evidence of fraud committed by the plaintiffs as part of the companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s defense against the recognition and enforcement action in Canada .

â&#x20AC;&#x153;With the Local Content Act, we have made significant progress as a nation and assumed a position of dignity amongst International Oil Companies (IOCs)â&#x20AC;?

President/CEO of Nestoil Limited, Dr. Ernest Azudialu-Obiejesi

22

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BUSINESSWORLD HOW FIRE OUTBREAK AT AFAM VI POWER STATION PLUNGED NIGERIA INTO DARKNESS

of cost-reflective tariffs and inability of the customers to pay electricity bills. The result is the low generation, which has led to the frequent collapse of the system in recent days.

Speaking in Lagos recently when the House of Representatives Committee on Power and the management of Eko Electricity Distribution Company (EKEDC) met with the customers of the distribution company to listen to their grievances, the Managing Director of TCN, Mr. AbubakarTambuwalAtiku blamed frequent system collapse on inadequate gas supply to the generating plants, and argued that the stability of the transmission network cannot be guaranteed whenever power generation drops below 3,000 megawatts.

POWER: FG, Wâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;BANK RESTRUCTURING PLAN CENTRES ON METERING, GOVERNANCE, OTHERS

because their creditors are pulling them. Then we go to the other side that are angry to see what we can do because gas problem is exacerbated on both sides,â&#x20AC;? he stated.

He added: â&#x20AC;&#x153;So, governance issues, we are addressing them because it is part of our discussion with the World Bank, and we can get this done, we can fix this sector. These are problems that can be solved because they are human issues and man-made mistakes.â&#x20AC;?

Speaking on repeated calls from different sections for him to approve and declare the â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;eligible customerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; clause in the market rule, the minister said there was nothing holding him back from doing that but that the current market conditions were not suitable for such declaration, hence his choice to apply caution in the process. He said: â&#x20AC;&#x153;There is nothing stopping me from declaring that. My team and I have being discussing this and as easy it sounds to do, there are existing contracts in the system that we have to consider. These are policy debates we are holding and we believe we will get there gradually but first we have to consider the pros and cons.â&#x20AC;?

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 (Maritime) Ejiofor Alike (Energy) James Emejo (Nationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Capital) Obinna Chima (Money Mkt) Reporters

Nume Ekeghe (Money Market) Nosa Alekhuogie (Cap Mkt)

NEWS

Discos Face Fresh Regulatory Sanctions over Maximum Demand Metering Chineme Okafor in Abuja The 11 electricity distribution companies (Discos) in Nigeriaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s electricity sector would be sanctioned by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) if they fail to complete the metering of maximum demand (MD) electricity consumers in their network by the end of February 2017, the regulator has said.

NERC said it would commence regulatory sactions against any of the Discos that fail to comply with its order on completing the metering of MD customers starting from March 1, 2017.

It noted that it had given the Discos enough grace period to undertake this, and would not extend the grace period further.

A notice by the commission in Abuja to the Discos stated this. It also directed MD consumers to report to its consumer forum offices across the country on failures of the Discos to provide meters to them. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) in line with its mandate to ensure that the rights of electricity customers are protected and guarantee investors fair returns on their investments had in June 2016, after consultation with the operators, directed electricity distribution companies (Discos) to conclude metering of all maximum demand (MD) electricity customers in their networks not later than November 30, 2016. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Commission at the expiration of that notice granted three months moratorium which expires

February 28, 2017 to enable the Discos effectively execute the metering deployment plan for MD customers,â&#x20AC;? said the regulatory notice.

It further explained that following the directives and imminent approach of the expiration date of the moratorium period, it had to remind the Discos of its intention to commence regulatory action against any of them that defaults. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Any electricity customer on MD category who is yet

to be metered as at February 28, 2017 should report to the commission,â&#x20AC;? NERC said, while insisting that complaints of customers who advanced monies to the Discos through the now rested Credited Advance Payment for Metering Initiatives (CAPMI) would be taken care of through its complaint redress mechanism.

According to NERC, maximum demand electricity customers are categorised as those connected on the 11Kv

(high tension wire) electricity lines, mostly with their dedicated transformers.

They include heavy users of electricity like commercial business plazas, and small scale industries among others.

NERC in June 2016 stated that it took the decision to enforce its MD metering directive because of the rising complaints from all categories of electricity customers over estimated bills from the Discos, and which they considered ir-

reconcilable with the available power supply in the networks.

It also noted that while some of the maximum demand customers had indicated their willingness to key into CAPMI, which before it was scrapped permitted willing electricity customer to pay for meter by advancing money to Discos who then install meters to them within 45 days, the Discos reportedly remained reluctant to accept such requests.

WE ARE OPEN FOR BUSINESS

L-R: Snr. Vice President & Head Operations and Service Delivery (MTN Account), iSON BPO International, Mr. Manoj Mudgal; Group Chief Executive OďŹ&#x192;cer, Mr. Pravin Kumar; Kwara State Governor, Dr. Abdulfattah Ahmed; CEO, Harmony Holdings, Mr. Tope Daramola and Chief Customer Relations, Executive, MTN Nigeria, Ms. Ugonwa Nwoye, during the oďŹ&#x192;cial opening ceremony of iSON BPO 1st call center and skill development facility in Ilorin, Kwara Stateâ&#x20AC;Śrecently

BoI Boosts Investment in Solar Dangote Refinery, PTI Partner on Human Energy with N1bn Fund Capital Devt Crusoe Osagie Ejiofor Alike In a bid to ensure that businesses in Nigerian communities that are not connected to the national grid do not lack access to power supply, the Bank of Industry (BoI) has launched N1billion Solar Energy Fund for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs).

The company has also noted that due to the challenges in the supply of public electricity, it was estimated that in 2015, manufacturers spent as much as N3.5trillion to generate alternative power.

Speaking during the recent official launch of the fund in Lagos, the acting Managing Director of BoI, Mr. Waheed Olagunju noted that MSMEs play a major role as the engine through which most countries in the world thrive.

According to him, the growth and development of MSMEs â&#x20AC;&#x153;are crucial to the level of industrialisation, modernisation, income per capita, equitable distribution of income, welfare and quality of life enjoyed by the citizenryâ&#x20AC;?.

Olagunju further stated that the performance of the MSME

subsector is closely associated with the development of a nation, adding that in Nigeria, the growth of this sector has been hampered over the years by a combination of factors, one of which is access to reliable electricity.

He added that many Nigerians and Nigerian businesses that can afford other alternative energy sources have resorted to the use of electric generators at exorbitant costs. â&#x20AC;&#x153;It was estimated that in 2015, manufacturers spent as much as N3.5trillion to generate alternative power due to the challenges in the supply of public electricity.

The cost of electricity accounts for about 40 per cent of operational expenses for most MSMEs, resulting in reduced profit margins, uncompetitive and generally unsustainable ventures,â&#x20AC;? he said.

For Nigeria to therefore achieve sustainable and inclusive development, Olagunju argued that there is an urgent need to substantially increase the supply of modern and affordable energy services from sources that are affordable, accessible and environmentally friendly.

Dangote Refinery and Petrochemicals and the Petroleum Training Institute, (PTI) Efunrun are to collaborate in the area of human capital development and professional certification given the Groupâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s foray into oil and gas business.

Dangote Group Executive Director, Stakeholder Management and Corporate Communication, Mansur Ahmed, who led Dangote Group management to receive the management of the Institute when it paid a courtesy call on the Company said the Dangote Refinery and Petrochemicals would be more than ready to partner the PTI in the critical area of skill acquisition and human capital development.

He stated that the PTI is in vantage position to provide trainings that are otherwise sought abroad and that with the economic situation in the country, PTI should the leading light in training of personnel in oil and gas sector.

Engr. Ahmed then advised the Institute Management to build a framework that will show the contents of its training modules and how they match specific needs of organisations

in the sector.

He tasked the Institute to come with a proposal that can lead to the formalisation of the partnership between the Group and the Institute while also urging them to take facility tour of the Dangote Refinery and Petrochemicals currently under construction so as have insight into the areas of immediate training the company would require.

Speaking earlier, the Principal of the Institute, Professor Sunny Iyuke expressed delight that the Institute management has been able to link up with the Group eventually saying he was optimistic that the partnership would be beneficial to both parties. He explained efforts being made by the new management of the institute headed by him to redirect the institute saying it has undergone several changes in the last few months all in efforts to reposition it to be relevant in discharge of its duties in the light of the modern day technology.

Iyuke made bold to say that the PTI has some of the best facilities for training in the oil and gas sector in the world and that the management was striving to ensure the facilities are deploy appropriately so that the

institute would take its pride of place in the sector.

He also expressed the confidence that the facilities at PTI would be of immense benefit to Dangote refinery given its unique size and scope of production and that the training and certification that the Institute would provide would be global standard.

Stressing the reason why the current management moved to reposition the Institute, Iyuke lamented that it was embarrassing that over five decades after the discovery of oil in Nigeria, the country is still importing oil.

Describing the situation as saddening unacceptable, he explained that PTI would need to double up and take the lead in human capital development in the oil and gas industry noting that with the local content policy of the government, the Institute has much work to do.

The institute listed areas of training where Dangote Refinery could benefit from as Refining process; Process control; Plant Utilities; Pipeline maintenance; Catalyst and Catalysis; Corrosion and Corrosion control; Water and Waste Water Management; Power plant and a host of other spheres.

T H I S D AY Ëž Ë&#x153; ͰͲË&#x153; Í°ÍŽÍŻÍľ

23

BUSINESSWORLD

ENERGY

As Obijackson Sets New Record in Nigerian Content With the recent load-out of nine Oil Loading Terminal Buoy Anchor Moring Piles, which were fabricated for Totalâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 200,000 barrels per day Egina Deepwater Field by Energy Works Technology Limited, a sister company of Nestoil and subsidiary of the Obijackson Group, Ejiofor Alike reports that indeed Nigerian companies have built the required capacity for in-country integration of FPSOs in Nigeria Since hydrocarbon exploration and production started in Nigeria more than 50 years ago, a total of 14 Floating, Production, Storage and Offloading (FPSOs) vessels have been built for Nigeria in foreign fabrication yards.

Apart from providing residential and office accommodation for offshore oil workers in the living quarters built on the topsides of an FPSO, the floating facility is also used to process and store crude oil before the crude is loaded to vessels for shipment.

The FPSOs in Nigerian oilfields were built in the Korean yards, while some of the structures such as the modules, platforms, bridges (gangway), helipad, among others, which were fabricated in Nigerian yards, were also shipped to Korea for integration into the main FPSOs before the FPSOs sailed to Nigeria.

However, the enactment of the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development Act (NOGICD) Act of 2010, better known as the Local Content Act, has provided a game-changer as it has domiciled more scope of an FPSO project, including the integration in-country, thus challenging Nigerian companies to build more capacity to be able to execute these challenging jobs.

In other words, the NOGICD Act provides that more works in the building of an FPSO should be done locally, while the main FPSO should also sail to Nigeria and be integrated locally before sailing to an oil field.

The first FPSO scheduled to be integrated in Nigeria is the $3.3 billion Egina FPSO being built in South Korea by Samsung Heavy Industries (SHI) for Totalâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 200,000 barrels per day capacity Egina deepwater oil field being developed at the cost of $16 billion.

Egina Field, which is being developed by Total Upstream Nigeria Limited (TUPNI), is in the Oil Mining Lease (OML) 130 located at about 200 kilometres from Port Harcourt in a water depths ranging from 1,150 metres to 1,750 metres.

LADOL, in partnership with SHI, is constructing an FPSO integration yard in Lagos, a legacy investment that will be completed later this year, for the integration of Egina FPSO and indeed, all future FPSO built for the West African sub-region.

Since the Egina project started, many Nigerian yards â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Aveon Offshore, Dorman Long, Nigerdock and other Nigerian service companies have recorded landmark achievements in the fabrication of the various components of the work scope, in line with the NOGICD Act OLT Buoy Anchor Moring Piles The successful fabrication of nine Oil Loading Terminal (OLT) Buoy Anchor Moring Piles for the Egina project by Energy Works Technology Limited, a sister company of Nestoil and subsidiary of Obijackson Group, was a game changer in Nigerian Content.

Energy Works Technology (EWT) Limited is Nigeriaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s leading fabricator and manufacturer of Pressure Vessels, process plant equipment and steel structures.

According to the details of the project as provided by the Group Chief Operating Officer (GCOO) in charge of Drilling, Fabrication and Ship Side Repairs, Mr. Gabriel Oramasionwu, who also oversees EWT, each of the nine OLT Piles is measuring 5 metres OD x 24 metres High x 40mm Wall Thickness and weighing 141 tonnes.

According to him, the OLT Piles work scope package weighing 1269 tonnes was delivered in 21 months, with a record of 532,987 manhours with no Lost Time Injury, which is a remarkable indigenous accomplishment in the Nigeria oil and gas industry.

He recalled that it was in September 2013 that Saipem Contracting Nigeria Limited outsourced the contract for Engineering, Procurement,

Load- out of Flare Knock-out Drum fabricated by EWT for EGINA FPSO project Construction and Installation (EPCI) of the Egina UFR Project, which was the fabrication of structures to Energy Works Technology Limited following the satisfactory fulfilment of the requirements for the award.

The various workscopes in the subcontract, which were all strictly executed in line with the activation guidelines for the project, includes 48 Long Base Line (LBL) Arrays Structures; nine OLT Buoy Anchor Mooring Piles with overall total weight of 1,269 tonnes; six Pig Launchers and Receivers and 330 non-incorporated materials of various structures with overall total weight of 1,004 tonnes.).

In addition to these, the subcontract also includes provision of company services involving supply of clientâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s offices including furnishings, messing facility among others.

However, the OLT Piles workscope, which represented the bulk of the work, was activated in three batches of three piles each.

According to Oramasionwu, Batch 1 was activated on the March 4, 2015 and fabrication activities commenced on the April 7, 2015.

The second and third batches were activated in July and October 2015, respectively, following due consideration of EWTâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s performance on the Batch 1. He noted that during the course of the fabrication works, EWT focused on the use and development of local capacity. â&#x20AC;&#x153;EWT was able to sustain employment for over 200 employees. As we celebrate the successful completion of the OLT piles, whose sail-away we are here to celebrate; we are in the process of initiating the scope on the PLR, though now reduced in scope, we humbly request the activation of other scope of work, like the â&#x20AC;&#x153;Non Incorporated Materialsâ&#x20AC;? to enable us sustain this built capacities,â&#x20AC;&#x2122; he added.

Also, speaking during the recent load-out and sail-away ceremony at Nestoilâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Industrial Complex at Abuloma base in Port Harcourt, the Group Managing Director of Obijackson Group, Mr. Ernest Azudialu-Obiejesi noted that EWT has established a track-record of excellence and performance since it was incorporated in 1999, adding that the successful execution of the outsourced contract for the Egina project was yet another remarkable achievement. â&#x20AC;&#x153;It clearly means that the Nigerian Local Content Act is a success because Nigerian

companies, technicians and engineers have acquired expertise, and built capacity that has increased indigenous participation in the Nigerian Oil and Gas sector. With the Local Content Act, we have made significant progress as a nation and assumed a position of dignity amongst International Oil Companies (IOCs), and other players in the sector, who are the beneficiaries of our first-rate services,â&#x20AC;? he explained.

According to him, EWT took advantage of the opportunity created by the Local Content Act to nurture its skills to achieve this remarkable feat, stressing that as an innovative company, EWT has become the signpost for world-class expertise in the Nigerian environment.

He added that over the years, the company has demonstrated its outstanding technical competence and resourcefulness in delivering complex fabrication works and projects for clients. Azudialu-Obiejesi revealed that before fabricating the OLT Piles for Egina project, EWT had constructed and delivered LP Flare Knock-Out Drum (Flare KOD) to Samsung Egina FPSO project, describing the project as one of the heaviest types fabricated locally and produced to specification to remove liquid droplets carried over with gas relief sent to the flare.

He also stated that before that, the company had also delivered the Soku Non-Associated Gas (NAG) 90mm Thick Clad Separator Vessel for Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC)and described these achievements as clear testament to the maturity of indigenous players in the oil and gas sector and an overwhelming testimony about their capacity to execute and deliver best-in-class projects. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Indigenous capacity has developed phenomenally as a result of the commitment of the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) and the confidence shown in our abilities by operators in the Nigerian Oil and Gas sector, who test and nurture our capacities, with their patronage,â&#x20AC;? he added.

In a speech delivered on behalf of Total Upstream, the General Manager in charge of Egina Project Control, Partners and Authorities Relations, Mr. Felix Ekam commended EWT, stressing that the true achievement â&#x20AC;&#x153;is when we deliver on our commitments despite all

challenges faced, and what we are seeing here today is just that â&#x20AC;&#x201C; all of us together delivering on our collective promisesâ&#x20AC;?. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Today, we celebrate one of the major milestones on the project, which is the load out of the OLT piles, fully designed and fabricated in Nigeria,â&#x20AC;? he added.

Ekam noted that of particular importance to Total is the fact that EWT was able to complete this workscope safely - 400,000 man-hours - with zero lost time injury. â&#x20AC;&#x153;For Total, safety is a core value, because we believe that nothing can be achieved in our industry without respect for the very highest safety standards. We are delighted to see that we are well-aligned with our partners and with SAIPEM and EWT on this objective,â&#x20AC;? he added.

NCDMB Lauds local firms Also speaking, the Executive Secretary of NCDMB, Mr. Simbi Wabote hailed the performance of Nigerian service companies on different scopes of the Egina Deepwater project, stressing that they have demonstrated capacity growth on the back of the NOGICD Act. According to him, Egina is the first major project to start under the Nigerian Content Act, adding that his agency strategy ensured the utilisation of existing in-country capacity, as well as the upgrade of facilities to meet the targets specified in the Act and Capacity Development Initiatives (CDIs) where local capacities did not exist.

He assured that the CDIs would bring down the cost of future projects, promising that the Nigerian Agip Oil Companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s â&#x20AC;&#x153;Zabazaba and Etan Deepwater Project must not only utilise capacities and facilities developed on past projects but also exceed the Nigerian Content performance achieved on Egina.â&#x20AC;?

Wabote also praised the Obijackson Group, recalling that the company started to build capacity over 20 years ago. â&#x20AC;&#x153;They took serious investment risks and we now have a manifestation of that focus, tenacity and belief in the development of the Niger Delta. They believed that this is where the activities are and put this massive structure here, employing about 2,500 persons, even more than most multinationals you know about in Nigeria.â&#x20AC;?

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BUSINESSWORLD

ENERGY

Electricity Generation: How Govt Debts Hinder Discos Obioma Ogbonnaya examines the performance of the energy sector and some of the challenges that have hindered its optimum performance, the role of government, and other palliatives that can sustain the gains already made Electricity Distribution Companies (Discos), according to Odion Omonfoman, an energy consultant and CEO of New Hampshire Capital Limited, provide the last mile services in the electricity supply value chain. Discos provide the connection between customers and the electricity grid and as such, are plagued with the â&#x20AC;&#x153;last mile problemâ&#x20AC;? of high costs and quality of service similarly faced by last mile service providers in the telecoms industry. Discos are said to be responsible for transforming or stepping down electricity from the high voltage of 132 kV at the transmission level, to the lower voltage levels of 33kV/11kV/0.415kV depending on the category of customer. Electricity in most residential homes is supplied at voltage level of 0.415kV. Discos are also responsible for the marketing and sale of electricity to customers. This, Omonfoman said is an extremely important function in the electricity value chain as Discos are the cash boxes of the entire electricity value chain, as all the revenue needed to sustain the electricity industry is earned through the distribution sector.

Presently, there are eleven Discos in Nigeria, arising from the unbundling of the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN). The eleven Discos have since been fully privatised and are private sector operated and managed, with the exception of Yola Disco, where the core investor declared force majeure arising from the continued insurgency in North-Eastern Nigeria.

Over the years, the discos have strived to provide services to Nigerian despites some unforeseen obstacles and what other Nigerians will refer as incompetence on the part of the Discos. Some years down the line some Discos are faced with huge operational challenges, which some experts noted that are clearly visible in their operations and service delivery.

Some of the challenges, the experts said, include lack of sufficient energy supply from grid; old, obsolete networks; lack of maintenance of network equipment, poorly trained manpower; poor customer data; low meter penetration; health, safety and environmental issues; and a near absence of investments due to poor revenues, inadequate tariffs and external funding constraints.

In recent times the challenges have come to include the refusal or the inability of government parastatals and MDAs not paying their bills to Discos nationwide, which now stands at about N100billion. The pegging of the tariff at around N28/W when the market demands about N50/W for sustainable operations for all DISCOs. As a result of this pegging, thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a shortfall in tariff of about N500billion nationwide, which is currently slowing Discos down, as they cannot invest and expand their capacity.

These challenges could be further summarised into the these broad categories including arid energy insufficiency and instability; network infrastructure challenges (overloaded transformers and feeders, obsolete equipment, limited network, lack of automation, etc); tariff challenges and revenue shortfalls (non-cost reflective tariffs, low collection efficiency, etc.); metering challenges (huge metering gap, estimated billing, poor meter maintenance, etc.); operational challenges (long feeders, quality of workforce, large operational areas, etc.); energy theft; funding challenges (absence of long term â&#x20AC;&#x153;patientâ&#x20AC;? capital (equity/ debt) to fund apex investment, high cost of borrowing, poor credit history of Discos, etc).

While these challenges may have severely constrained the operations of Discos and thus, the non-realisation of the supposed gains of the privatisation of the power sector, experts say it is important to state that these challenges were precisely the reason why the privatisation of the power sector was done in the first place.

The broad objective of the privatisation was for the private sector to address these challenges that had plagued successor Discos while under government ownership. The reality is that these challenges were underestimated and in some instance, completely overlooked, by the BPE, NERC, core investors and their financiers. Not-

A power plant withstanding, â&#x20AC;&#x153;we must emphatically state that this is not a rush to judgment about the power sector privatisation process. These challenges are teething challenges that core investors are faced with, and would eventually overcome with the right investment and reasonable time.

Despite these challenges, the Discos through their creativity have been able to improve Power generation across the country. For example, Eko Disco has improved service in areas like VGC, Banana Island, Ajah, and other places under it, for up to 20 hours of uninterrupted power supply. If the services continue to improve, the huge impact of this improvement on local businesses would be enormous as the economy would grow, local manufacturing will increase, attraction of foreign investment, improve local infrastructure, and accelerate Nigeriaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s physical development.

For the Discos to before optimally, experts in the energy sector and the Discos themselves, agreed that government agencies need to pay their bills. Ultimately also, government needs to empower the DISCOs to do their jobs and help fulfill the objectives of the privatisation of power, as well as provide some financial instrument or programme to deal with the shortfall. This is so because if the shortfall is allowed to continue to rise and nothing is done, it may reverse all the progress and gains made so far in the system.

Just recently, the Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, warned power firms in the country to deliver better services to electricity consumers or exit the industry.

Fashola, who stated this during the 11th Monthly Stakeholdersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Meeting held at the Ikeja West Transmission Station, Ipaja-Ayobo, Lagos, said, â&#x20AC;&#x153;We must use this year to tell our staff members that without our customers, they donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have a job; and if you are not in a good mood, donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t pick the telephone. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Without the customers and the consumers, there is no business; and I think that all of us in the public and private sectors must understand that. If you donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have the skin and the patience to serve, leave.â&#x20AC;? He noted that the ministry was conscious of the challenges facing operators in the sector, but added, â&#x20AC;&#x153;My team and I are working as hard as we can to make the environment more responsive to you; and as I have said and will repeat that as pioneers, you will carry some burden. You will have to sacrifice perhaps more than what you have done, but I am optimistic that it will get better; I am optimistic that we can win together and we can win for the Nigerian people.â&#x20AC;?

On the issue of inadequate liquidity in the sector, Fashola assured the operators that work

had commenced with development, local and international partners to resolve it. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We are trying to see what we can do together in order to bring the liquidity issues under some control and from there eventually solve it,â&#x20AC;? the minister added.

Fashola said, â&#x20AC;&#x153;We have listed and identified what the problems are; what we are trying to finalise is what comes first, what follows and what runs concurrently, because some of them have domino effects; if you solve one problem, you will solve three together. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We will keep in constant touch with you as they evolve, to hear your side; we will use this meeting to continue to share the details of what we are seeing and to hear what you are experiencing. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We need to do whatever is possible to do in our various distribution areas to improve the quality of service to continue to train personnel, to recognise that the customer is king and even if we cannot provide or solve the problem, we owe it a duty to explain what we are doing.â&#x20AC;?

According the federal government, discos craving for tariff increase in recent time should jettison the idea as it said that it will not approve a fresh electricity tariff hike at least for now, stating that it is still meeting with stakeholders in the countryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s electricity sector, including the World Bank to provide some level of interventions to the market, which the Discos are also asking for.

By this, Fashola confirmed reports that government and the World Bank had initiated efforts to bail the countryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s power sector from the existing liquidity challenges threatening its survival, just as the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) is expected to announce the new cost-reflective electricity rates to reflect current operational indices in the industry.

Statutorily, NERC undertakes periodic reviews of the tariff to factor in changes in operational indices like foreign exchange and inflation rates, price of gas for power, as well as changes in generation capacities. However, Fashola said that if the governmentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s deliberations with the World Bank on the financial challenges of the market end well, Nigerians would be protected from a possible electricity price hike. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Government still has to deal with how to stabilise the value of the naira to the dollar, and again that will be impacted by how much money we get from oil production, which is still our major foreign income earner. We have used our leverage in OPEC to get OPEC to agree to a production cut, which heralded a price rise but can we as a protagonist take advantage of this by stopping to fight? â&#x20AC;&#x153;People must be clear that if government accepts the recommendations that we will

make to intervene, it is not to give the Discos a golden parachute, but first to protect citizens from price hike in terms of power for now and also to keep the subsectors so that they donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t lose their businesses.â&#x20AC;? A win win situation!!

Fashola identified the some of the root of the problems of some of the discos: â&#x20AC;&#x153;You would have heard that there are liquidity issues in the power sector that came from the way the privatisation itself was structured, essentially through bank loans. Most of the people who bought them had very little if any skin in the game in terms of their own private equity.â&#x20AC;?

He said technically, the banks owned the power assets, explaining that that was part of the problems of the Discos because of their debt burden, which had made it difficult for them to get more money to expand their distribution assets, their transformers and to get meters. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Now all of that underperformance is not necessarily only their faults, it is also the way the economy has played out. Assets they bought and loans they took at N197 to a dollar have certainly lost value. We had a tariff increase to cushion that effect but all of that was almost wiped out by the depreciation in the naira to the dollar. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Gas as a component of power production is indexed in dollars but the collection is in naira, so the bills that you could pay if you need only N200 to pay, you now need N400 to pay and you canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t increase the tariff to deal with that and those are the liquidity gaps. â&#x20AC;&#x153;What we have seen in many parts of the world where these things have taken place, (is that) there have been a transitional funding support and when we recommended it or proposed it to the World Bank, they looked in their books and saw very correlative historical precedents that government still needs to intervene but not necessarily by giving money to the Discos and this is not a concluded policy, but perhaps in a way in helping them manage their debts with certain conditions either in governance, diminution of shares, requiring them to recapitalise or take some technical expertise.â&#x20AC;?

Fashola also said that the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) had increased its electricity wheeling capacity to 7200 megawatts (MW), claiming that the transmission network was no longer the weakest link in the sector as often stated by stakeholders. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The generalisation about the grid not been able to carry what we generate is really an inaccurate reflection of realities. We have expanded the grid; additional projects are going on, and the Kudenda substation in Kaduna is part of the grid expansion.â&#x20AC;?

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Ozenua: NCAA Should Define Safety in Aviation A former Managing Director of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, Mr. Sule Ozenua in reaction to the debate over the plan to close the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja for major repair work on its runway said that such critical matters that border on air safety should never be subjected to political debate, positing that the regulatory authority is empowered with such responsibility and not the Ministry of Transport. He spoke to Chinedu Eze. Excerpts: What is your view about the Senateâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s opposition to the plan by the Ministry of Transport to close the Abuja airport for a comprehensive work on its runway?

Thank you for bringing up this issue. First of all, there is need for us to establish or to know the very fundamental principle under which civil aviation is undertaken worldwide. There is a fundamental principle in the industry, which defines civil aviation as safety and expeditious movement of air traffic, so no matter which area of aviation you are operating, be it airport authority or airport management; be it air traffic control or pilot and aircraft movement, whatever you are doing, the fundamental principle is safety and expeditious flow of traffic. So whatever we are going to talk about, any other excuse is secondary. What one would have expected is that the whole argument about Abuja airport should be defined by the safety situation of the airport.

And who is to define the safety situation?

That is where the regulatory body comes in.

The regulator, the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) knows the conditions under which safety operation should take place at our international airports. One would have expected that regulatory body be allowed to do its job. With the regulatory agency, there is a lot of international involvement.

The International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) recognises the position of NCAA; the insurance covers given to airlines is undertaken

by NCAA as a result of the position of the regulatory body as it affects any of the aviation units. NCAA is also the one that is saddled with the job for classification and recognition of our airports. So this is not an issue for anybody to dictate to the regulatory body what should normally take place.

Although it could be said that safety consideration won the debate at last but how can the concerned authorities put an end to political debate of critical, safety issues in the industry in future?

Unfortunately what is going on now in the political realm is embarrassing to the nation.

It is not projecting us in good light. Nigeria is a very important member of ICAO. Apart from the fact that we are important and ably represented, the Director General of ICAO, Dr. Bernard Aliu, is a Nigerian. He was a staff of NCAA before he was posted to ICAO headquarters to represent Nigeria and all the members of ICAO voted for him to be the Director General. So we should appreciate that factor.

Also recently, I am aware that Airport Council International (ACI) Africa has appointed a Nigerian, Saleh Dunoma (Managing Director of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria) as their President.

This shows that Nigeria is not a country lacking in knowledge of the industry. It is unfortunate that the whole argument went outside aviation regulation, safety and expeditious flow of traffic, into the realm of politics. It is necessary to follow protocol. This is not the first time we are confronted with runway closure in this country. We have done it severally and nobody has heard about it.

The unfortunate thing about Abuja closure is that we want to say Abuja is an international airport. As far as I am concerned and as the world knows, there is no international airport that will be operating with only one runway.

And when you go back to the inception of Abuja airport construction, you will find out that the master plan of Abuja airport consists of two runways and one would have expected that less than five years after Abuja came into operation, the second runway should have been in operation. But since 1984, nothing has been done to ensure the construction of

Ozenua the second runway in Abuja. It is as if we all went to sleep.

But over the years, the management of airport authority (FAAN) has tried to draw attention to the need to have second runway at the Abuja Airport. There is massive wear and tear when only one runway is used, 24/7, even if it was constructed for 20 years, so the usage has caused massive deterioration and the hold-up weight has reached the critical limit. Now, with the disrepair, this is where we have reached that critical limit. I am sure that both the regulatory agency and others

The regulator, the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) knows the conditions under which safety operation should take place at our international airports. One would have expected that regulatory body be allowed to do its job

must have realised the danger at the Abuja airport operating the runway at this critical level. So the only solution we are now faced with because of all the years of negligence is that they have to close the airport.

As I said earlier, we had had cause to close runways. The Murtala Muhammed Airport, Lagos had had cause to close its runways both 18L and 18R closed at various times, but because we have two runways, nobody heard anything about the closure. Kano airport is the same thing.

The runways have been closed at various times to effect comprehensive repairs. Nobody said anything about them because we are running two runways. But when you consider Abuja important, which is very busy, the attention that should have been given to safety and expeditious flow of traffic was never given; rather, they were more interested in comfort, in erecting terminal buildings, leaving the most important aspect of aviation, which is the critical infrastructure at the airside and landing aids.

And that is why if you listen to the arguments of a lot of people, their argument is centred on comfort and economic benefits, but they failed to realise that you have to be alive first to enjoy all the other considerations.

Back to the planned second runway, how can the industry make the government understand that the airport critically needs a second runway?

I am happy that we have come to this situation, whereby the interest or comfort of some people is being threatened. So it is now necessary for government to realise that it is absolutely necessary and that it should be a priority to put in place the construction of Abuja second runway. But before you can do that you have to make sure that you carry out a proper rehabilitation of the present runway. This is because there is no way you can continue to operate on the present runway, hoping to construct a second runway, a project that will take you over two years to achieve. So the six weeks they are talking about will be a period of massive work, day and night to be able to accomplish what they want to achieve.

Some people in the industry are beginning

to say the NCAA is becoming invincible and ineffectual; that they are no more in charge; otherwise, the closure of the Abuja airport wouldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have been a decision taken by the Minister and the Ministry. What is your take on this?

The issue now is that NCAA should be allowed to do its job. And if there is failing within the system, then such failing should be adequately looked into.

Last time the planned second runway was debated at the National Assembly, the project was scuttled by the House of Representatives because of what they described as the outrageous cost of the project, put at N63.5 billion then. Do you think that cost was unrealistic?

The cost is what you make of it. The integrity of that cost was what a lot of people shouted and condemned. But whether we like it or not, we should allow the bill of quantities to determine that. We have been building airports and this is not strange and it is something, which FAAN is supposed to handle but the problem comes and the Ministry goes on to start speaking on issues which actually should be spoken of by a parastatal.

Would you say that we were lucky that major incident or accident did not happen at the Abuja airport before the decision to close it for repairs was taken?

We were very lucky; very fortunate. We are very fortunate that a major incident has not taken place at the Abuja airport and it will not be in our interest for such thing to happen.

We have been pushing our luck. In terms of safety NCAA should always come out to tell us what the position is. They should know that insurance companies giving cover to airlines do so because NCAA is there, regulating the industry. This is not an issue for political discussion. With the way we have gone now insurance companies will start to be weary of insuring Nigerian aircraft because of the way we have politicised this matter, insurance companies, which are internationally recognised will become weary of the type of cover they give Nigerian operators. This may lead to increase in the premium because we have already created a situation of doubt by our actions.

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BUSINESSWORLD

INDUSTRY

Rising to the Hunger Challenge Crusoe Osagie writes on the problem of hunger in Nigeria and governmentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s plan to end the embarrassing scourge

Former President Obasanjo Apart from the hunger crisis of the mid 1980s and the 1990s occasioned by the austerity measures of the first Muhammadu Buhari regime and the Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP) of the Ibrahim Babangida government respectively, the past two years have presented unrivalled food and nutrition challenges.

A one-time director general of the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), Dr. Peter Hatman, told THISDAY in an interview in 2004, that Nigeria, at the time, did not fall under the category of nations facing hunger crisis.

One wonders what his views would be if that interview is repeated today.

Among the nations of the world, apart from Syria where the war against the Islamic State has produced a spectacular humanitarian challenge, there is no other part of the world with more malnutrition and starvation crisis than Nigeria.

According to the World Food Programme (WFP), various problems, led by the terrorist insurgency, have led to one of the most acute â&#x20AC;&#x201C; and sorely neglected â&#x20AC;&#x201C; humanitarian crises in the world.

According to WFP, as more areas of northeastern Nigeria are becoming accessible, the scale of the human tragedy is becoming apparent.

Some 2.1 million people are displaced in northeastern Nigeria. The number of people in need of food assistance in the region has risen to 4.5 million and rising. A worsening economy has seen this figure rise in millions.

There are real concerns that in the worst affected and least accessible areas of Borno and Yobe States, severe forms of hunger, and likely famine-like conditions, may be occurring.

The vast majority of people with moderate and severe food insecurity are in Borno State â&#x20AC;&#x201C; at more than 3 million.

Unless life-saving assistance is provided fast, hunger will only deepen. An estimated 244,000 children suffer from severe acute malnutrition, including up to 49,000 children who are at risk of dying if not reached with treatment.

Compared to exactly what is on ground, the WFP seemed to put it mildly, perhaps because they lack the indigenous insight to really penetrate and evaluate the crisis in the north-east which seems to be dynamic in nature.

Moreso, apart from the Boko Haram crisis in the north-east, there is also the Fulani herdsmen crisis which began in the north-central region of the country but has since spread down wards to the south-east, south-west and south-south regions as well. Herdsmen simply move their livestock into peoples farms to graze and any resistance from the crop farmers ignites brutal violence which has resulted in the death of thousands and the sacking of communities.

All these crises have left unrelenting hunger

Director General, IITA, Dr. Nteranya Sanginga and biting poverty in its trail, bringing out the worst in the people of the affected areas.

Also, apart from these regions ravaged by insurgency and hate crimes and plagued by hunger as a result, the remaining parts of the country, particularly the urban centres are no less harassed.

However, the culpable agent provocateur in the urban hunger crisis is the ongoing economic challenge. While millions have lost their jobs and livelihoods to the economic meltdown on the one hand, they now have to deal with food prices that have risen by up to 300 per cent in some cases. Various market surveys have shown the price of rice, which has become a staple food in Nigeria rising from N8,000 per 50kg bag about a year ago to around N24,000 today.

As for garri, which is another staple, the price has risen from N4,000 per bag to N15,000 per bag.

The same nature of increase has been seen with vegetable oil, maize, cowpea, fish, meat among others, driving already beaten down Nigerians to the brink.

An Intervention It is therefore noteworthy, on the back of the hunger crisis highlighted above, that the nation and its policy makers seem to be looking into the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) target two, which seeks to end hunger and malnutrition.

Recently, Nigeria launched a strategic plan and roadmap to achieve zero hunger by 2030.

Though a lot of the vulnerable people today would have been long killed by hunger and malnutrition before 2030, the initiative is better late than never.

The plan tagged: â&#x20AC;&#x153;Synthesis Report of the Nigeria Zero Hunger Strategic Reviewâ&#x20AC;? articulates what Nigeria needs to do to achieve Sustainable Development Goal 2 (SDG2)â&#x20AC;&#x201D;one of the recently adopted global goals that seeks to â&#x20AC;&#x153;end hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition, and promote sustainable agricultureâ&#x20AC;? by 2030.

The 60-page home-developed document reflects Nigeriansâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; perspectives as to what steps need to be taken to win the battle against hunger and malnutrition. Former President Olusegun Obasanjo who chairs the development of the Synthesis Report said, â&#x20AC;&#x153;The report would support and encourage the government to implement the policies, strategies, plans, and programs that have been formulated over many years, and to do so with a focus on achieving Zero Hunger by 2030, if not earlier.â&#x20AC;? To tap its rich agricultural potential and lift over 13 million people from hunger, Nigeria in 2015 endorsed a set of 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as part of efforts to achieve sustainable development in general. Former President Obasanjo said the launch of the Synthesis Report provided

a framework that would â&#x20AC;&#x153;unlock the potential of our nation and emancipate our dear country from the shackles of hunger and poverty.â&#x20AC;?

He noted that the establishment of the Nigeria Zero Hunger Forum based at International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), would ensure that recommendations contained in the Synthesis Report and the individual Subcommittee reports are implemented. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We must do all we can so that this effort does not suffer the fate of previous endeavours,â&#x20AC;? he stressed. The former President commended President Muhammadu Buhari for endorsing the Nigeria Zero Hunger Strategic Review. He lauded Ms. Ertharin Cousin, Executive Director of the World Food Programme (WFP) for funding and requesting that the review be conducted, and gave special thanks to the African Development Bank (AfDB) for providing majority of the funds, which financed the Review.

The Director of Policy and Program, World Food Programme, Mr. Stanlake Samkange commended Nigeria for developing the strategic document, emphasising that the Report was the first in West Africa and would be a guide for other countries to emulate. He reiterated that the task of ending hunger cannot be solved by a single organisation and lauded the collaborations of the different actors in the development of the Report.

The inauguration of the Synthesis Report will be backed with immediate implementation in four states of the federationâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;Benue, Ebonyi, Ogun and Sokoto beginning this January.

In January 2019 eight more states will be added and by January 2021, all 36 States plus Abuja will be included.

The Director General of the IITA, Dr. Nteranya Sanginga said the Synthesis Report was a departure from other previous reports in the sense that it would be backed by immediate actions.

According to him, IITA would continue to support states with relevant technologies cutting across crops such as cassava, maize, cowpea, yam, soybean, banana and plantain among others.

The launch of the Synthesis Report received commendations from the Minister of Health, federal legislatures, state governments, United Nations agencies, the African Development Bank and the private sector among others.

Nigeria Determined The Federal Republic of Nigeria says it is committed to achieving the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development as well as measuring and monitoring progress towards the goals and targets that Heads of State and Government collectively agreed at the Special Summit of the United Nations held in September 2015. Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 2 emphasizes the prominence of food security and nutrition in

the Agenda, calling on member states to â&#x20AC;&#x153;End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition, and promote sustainable agricultureâ&#x20AC;? by 2030. The principal targets of SDG 2 are ending hunger and ensuring access to safe, nutritious, and sufficient food; ending all forms of malnutrition; doubling the productivity and incomes of small-scale food producers; ensuring sustainable food production systems and implementing resilient agricultural practices; and maintaining the genetic diversity of seeds, plants, and animals. Supplemental measures to promote the achievement of the targets include increasing investment, correcting and preventing trade restrictions and distortions, and ensuring the proper functioning of food commodity markets.

The Nigeria Zero Hunger Strategic Review sought to articulate what Nigeria must do to achieve SDG 2 (zero hunger) by 2030 through an open and consultative process.

The subcommittees established subject-specific baselines that fostered joint understanding of the challenges and gaps in the national response to food and nutrition insecurity; contributed to consensus on priority actions required to achieve zero hunger in Nigeria by 2030; and led to the development of a road map for tracking progress on the implementation of the reviewâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s recommendations.

Arranged along the targets of SDG 2, this Synthesis Report of the Nigeria Zero Hunger Strategic Review summarizes the findings and recommendations of the subcommittees, and in some instances complements these with recently available information.

End hunger and ensure access by all people (SDG 2.1) â&#x20AC;&#x201C;Nigeria has made good progress over the past 25 years, reducing by nearly half the proportion of people suffering from hunger.

However, this progress has been slowed or even reversed during the past decade. Nearly 13 million Nigerians still suffer from hunger, with wide disparities across geopolitical zones and between urban and rural areas. These unfavorable trends are due in part to limited gains in food security and nutrition relative to rapid population growth. The high prevalence of hunger in rural areas is associated with low agricultural growth, poor road infrastructure, limited access to safe water, sanitation, and hygiene, and inadequate health and education services. Furthermore and since 2014, the insurgency in the Northeast of the country (i.e., Borno, Yobe, and Adamawa states) has displaced 2.6 million people, including 700,000 who have taken refuge in neighboring countries. The conflict has added pressure to a fragile resource environment and increased the food and nutrition insecurity of vulnerable women and children.

T H I S D AY Ëž Ë&#x153; ͰͲË&#x153; Í°ÍŽÍŻÍľ

27

Taking a Cue from the Lake Rice Initiative Niyi Egbe writes that the recent news on the arrival of Lake Rice in Lagos State, was indeed heart-warming The recent news about the arrival in markets around Lagos state of â&#x20AC;&#x153;Lake Riceâ&#x20AC;?, a harvest of an agricultural business relationship between Lagos and Kebbi states is indeed heart-warming.

The â&#x20AC;&#x153;Lakeâ&#x20AC;? bit in the brand name â&#x20AC;&#x153;Lake Riceâ&#x20AC;? is said to be an acronym derived from an amalgamation of the first two letters in the names of the partners â&#x20AC;&#x201C; â&#x20AC;&#x153;Laâ&#x20AC;? from Lagos and â&#x20AC;&#x153;Keâ&#x20AC;? from Kebbi state.

At a time when suspicion, insults and sometimes, outright hatred has become the pastime among Nigeriaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ethnic groupings, it is relieving seeing this collaboration. Not surprising, not a few Nigerians are excited about the development. An elated President Muhammadu Buhari, speaking through his Media spokesman, Mr. Femi Adesina asked Nigerians to recall that during the presentation of the 2017 Budget, he had envisioned a new era â&#x20AC;&#x153;in which we must grow what we eat and consume what we makeâ&#x20AC;?. The President urged other state governments to replicate the laudable example in LAKE Rice unto other staple crops and livestock products, pledging the support of the Federal Government.

Although details as to the level of financial commitment, production level and the profitability of the collaboration are sketchy, it is the right foot forward. Predictably, thousands of Nigerian farmers in Kebbi state are kept employed. This is a thrilling deviation from the norm - keeping Asian farmers smiling to the banks while our teaming youths and farming citizens stay unemployed.

Researchers claim that Rice scientifically called Oriza sativa is cultivated across the globe with over half of the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s peoples and cultures consuming the crop. Only wheat and maize are more cultivated than rice. Rice isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t traditionally a popular Nigerian crop. The centres of origin of Rice are the far eastern countries of Asia like India, Thailand, Myanmar and China. Another specie of Rice, Oryza glaberrima also known as African rice, is said to have been domesticated in the inland waters of the upper Niger basin as long as 2000 - 3000 years ago. Over the years, Rice, which the Chinese term a sacred crop, has grown in importance. At a time in our national development, Rice used to be a crop of status â&#x20AC;&#x201C; only afforded by the rich.

In Nigeria, increasing urbanisation has had Rice coming to the rescue of mothers in comparison with other food crops. It is easier to prepare. Rice is prominent in the foods of different Nigerian cultures. There is hardly any social event that wouldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t be spiced with it.

The modern restaurants and eateries, which are mushrooming in Nigerian cities, find Rice handy. There is also a growing interest in a local Rice delicacy - Ofada Rice that for decades was unattractive - thought to be less nutritious than polished and most times stale imported alternatives.

The importance of Rice has compelled commitment by different Nigerian governments.

Activities fostering Rice production include among others: Increasing the hectrages under cultivation, increasing the frequency of production on available arable, supply of farm inputs, educating farmers on crop management, promoting research and distribution of relatively higher yielding varieties, establishment of processing centres, curtailing losses and employing efficacious processing technologies.

Despite these efforts at expanding Rice cultivation and boosting yield, the quantum of production is hardly enough to meet demands. According to the Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO), Nigeria, which is Africaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s leading consumer of Rice, is â&#x20AC;&#x153;one of the largest producers of Rice in Africa and simultaneously one of the largest Rice importers in the worldâ&#x20AC;?.

The apex global food organisation claims that in 2008, Nigeria produced â&#x20AC;&#x153;approximately 2 million MT of milled Rice and imported roughly 3 million metric tons, including the estimated 800,000 metric tons that is suspected to enter the country illegally on an annual basis.â&#x20AC;? It is also claimed that Nigeria is the second largest importer of Rice in the world. Nigeriaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s food import bill is estimated at N638.4 billion annually (about $4.2 billion). Of the amount, the Federal Ministry of Agriculture put N365 billion as the

Rice paddy annual spend on Rice importation. This is in sync with claims by some expert that as much as N1billion ($6.4 million) is spent daily on Rice importation! Undoubtedly, this is a huge needless drain on the countryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s foreign reserve.

Naturally, successive Nigerian governments have been quite irked by the huge spend on Rice imports, especially as there are potentials for meeting demands by producing locally. In the face of the countryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s current economic challenge of scarce foreign exchange earning, it makes much sense to stem the drifting of resources by stimulating the production of Rice locally. This is why the collaboration between Lagos and Kebbi states to produce rice is much welcome.

It isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t that there arenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t agricultural activities in Lagos state. Perhaps a personal testimonial about agriculture in Lagos state would be useful here. As a professional agriculturist, I had about a decade (mid- 1980s till mid- 1990s) of practice in Lagos state and later the former Ondo State. I worked as an Agricultural Officer in the state, overseeing Agricultural projects in Ayobo â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Ipaja, Epe, Ikorodu and Badagry. I was priviledged to have been among the pioneering Farm Managers of the National Youth Service Corps Farms. The principal objective of the NYSC farms was to expose participants of the National Youth Service Corps scheme to the Agricultural sector which was seen as critical to liberating the nation from overdependence on oil. Apart from exposing these Youths to Agriculture, our brief as Agricultural Officers included Agro Processing, production of crops and livestock to feed communities nationwide.

In our time, the National Youth Service Corps had a robust relationship with the Lagos state ministry of Agriculture and its agencies - the Tractor Hiring Unit, the Farmers Inputs Supply Unit, the Agricultural Development Programme etc. The State Ministry of Agriculture had Tractor Hiring Units in the divisions, each coordinated by an Area Agricultural and Cooperative Officer.

Each Tractor Hiring Unit used to be a beehive of activities. This unit always came to the rescue of the NYSC by augmenting the Tractors and implements we had on the Lagos NYSC farms.

There was a memorable moment in 1986 where I and a colleague Agricultural Officer alongside corps members harvested maize from the 10 hectare NYSC Farms, Ikorodu employing a Combine Harvester. The Combine went onto the farm, stripping maize cobs from stalks, tearing and shredding through different reels, augers and fans, hoppers and delivering the grains through the Grain Elevator mid of the Harvester. That experience simply emboldened and affirmed to us that the mega machine we view today on CNN (there was no CNN in

the 1980s) and other international broadcast channels could also work in our clime. However, the challenge has always been how to avail the Nigerian Agriculturist and farmer, amidst the many challenges, opportunities to fully deploy energies for agricultural production that would rid the country of needless hunger.

There had been earlier efforts by the Lagos State government to contribute to the production of Rice. The state established a 20,000 metric tons per year Rice processing factory at Imota in Ikorodu Local Government. Prince Gbolahan Lawal, the then state Commissioner for Agriculture and Cooperatives said that the mill when operated optimally, is â&#x20AC;&#x153;estimated to produce between 350,000 and 400,000 bags of rice per yearâ&#x20AC;?. He also attested that Rice milled from the plant â&#x20AC;&#x153;compares with the best quality Rice from any part of the worldâ&#x20AC;?.

According to him, the consumption of Rice in Lagos was one million tons per year, the state population being over 20 million. He put the consumption of Rice per head in Lagos at 34 kg per person per year - the highest in Nigeria.

A major drawback of the plant is inadequacy of paddy to feed the mill. The local level of production is far less than the requirements of the mill. The alternative is external supply which could be expensive.

Local milling of Rice was popularized by the immediate past minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr. Akinwunmi Adesina in pursuit of the Agriculture Transformation Agenda of the Dr. Goodluck Jonathan administration. Some Rice brands in the country and the states where they are produced include: Ebonyi Rice â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Ebonyi State, Ofada Rice â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Ogun State, UMZA Rice â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Kano State, Mas Rice Mill â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Gombe State, Igbemo Rice â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Ekiti State., ., Olam Rice â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Nasarawa State, Anambra Rice â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Anambra State, Labana Rice â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Kebbi State, Mama Happy Rice â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Niger State etc.

Agriculture in our nation is left in the hands of the peasant farmer who owing to sustained challenges operate at the subsistence level. They face daunting tasks which make agriculture unattractive to virile young men and women.

Smarter nations create environments for large-scale commercial agricultural projects. In our peculiar circumstances, we can at least help the huge farming populace with technologies that can raise production levels instead of producing by combating the elements of nature with brawn.

A huge challenge to agriculture is availability of land for the agro production. FAO affirms this in declaring that the sector is faced with â&#x20AC;&#x153;many challenges, notably an outdated land tenure system that constrains access to land (1.8 ha/farming household)â&#x20AC;?. This situation is

worse in Lagos state where the demand for residential, commercial and industrial property development is highest in the country. This demand has land responding to demand pull which price them beyond reach. The return on agricultural investment and the peculiar risk fraught demands of agro production put agriculture at disadvantage relative to other sectors which are competing for available land in Lagos.

Land is critical for agricultural production. It is one of the first challenges in prospecting for agriculture. It is also a major constraint to the youths who get attracted to the sector. Much as the Lagos state government has the resources and commitment to agricultural production, there is the huge challenge of availability of land and labour for agriculture. The labour force that could have been available for agricultural production keep being attracted to less stressful commercial and industrial sectors which offer relatively more money than afforded by the agricultural sector.

In these circumstances, it made sense that the Lagos state government looked up the cost benefit analysis of agricultural production and opted for partnership with a friendly state up North. Putting it simply, Kebbi has land while Lagos has the finances. Both states simply exploited the areas of strength and faced the facts about their weaknesses. Thankfully, the outcome has put Lake Rice on tables.

For me, beyond Oriza sativa, the partnership could as well be extended to other crops, livestock and other business lines. So long as there is great care to ensure that the funds are well managed and the businesses efficiently ran. It must have been a great treat for those priviledged to have purchased the homegrown Lake Rice instead of usual stale imports from Asia. This handshake between the north and south need be encouraged. Such collaboration and reasonable businesses should be encouraged.

Relationships could be worked out between states in the south beyond the Niger and Benue Rivers. They could go east to west, west to the north, north to the east and east to the north.

Should this kind of collaboration be sustained, we will not only be reaping economic dividend and national economic redemption, but ridding our land of ethnic jingoism - the very bane to our national coexistence.

May God bless the souls of Mr Akinwunmi Ambode and Alhaji Atiku Bagudu respectively, the Governors of Lagos and Kebbi states.

- Egbe, an Agriculturist and media practitioner lives in Lagos, Nigeria. He can be reached via email: niyiegbe@yahoo.com

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T H I S D AY ˾ TUESDAY, JANUARY 24, 2017

PROPERTY & ENVIRONMENT GEF-UNDP Project Targets Conservation of W/ African Dwarf Crocodiles in Delta Community In Emu, a community in Ndokwa West Local Government Area of Delta State, the West African Dwarf Crocodile is held sacred by the indigenous people, who refer to the rare reptile as ‘Oni-Emu’, meaning the Mother of Emu. The UNDP, with support of the Global Environment Facility (GEF), undertook a unique conservation project to save these reptiles from extinction. Bennett Oghifo reports

West African Dwarf Crocodile

W

est African Dwarf Crocodiles mingle with the people of Emu in Delta State. They do not harm the people and the locals leave them alone. The community is bounded by rivers and these serve as the habitat and breeding ground of these rare reptiles.

Regardless of this peace and quiet between the reptiles and the community, there have been cases of third party incursions from neighbouring communities that have led to near-communal hostilities.

This is one of the endangered species of animals the Niger Delta Biodiversity Conservation Project (NDBP) seeks to protect.

The Niger Delta Biodiversity Conservation Project (NDBP) is a five-year biodiversity conservation programme within the Niger Delta.

The programme is being implemented by the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) with the support of Ministries of Environment within the implementing States, non-Governmental Organisations and the participating communities.

The main aim of the project is to enhance cooperation between the Government, the Oil and Gas industry and local communities within the Niger Delta in building and piloting new biodiversity action planning tools for proactive biodiversity management in the Niger Delta region.

In order to meet this objective, a set of activities were carried out, and among them is the implementation of Community Biodiversity Action Plan (CBAP) which started in 2014 within the participating Niger Delta States - Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Delta and Rivers State.

Last December, a group of journalists, led by the project’s team leader, Dr. Mathew Dore

visited communities where the UNDP has various demonstration projects in the participating states in the Niger Delta.

Conservation of Crocodiles in Emu...

Crocodiles are revered in Emu in Ndokwa West Local Government Area of Delta State and the people in the community call the Crocodile ‘our mother’. It is for good reason, said the King of Emu, when asked about the legend behind the relationship.

Speaking through one of his chiefs, the king said, “It is important to tell you how an animal became ‘our mother.’ Like stories have it, no community developed without inter-tribal war. During our own inter-tribal wars, two animals, a bird and the (West African Dwarf) crocodile, known locally as Oni Emu, assisted us. During our wars and after our fight with the community that wanted to over-run our kingdom, Oni Emu will block the road and for the fear of the colony of crocodiles the enemy will be unable to get to our community. As for the beautiful bird, when we leave the battle field, they would erase our foot prints from the sand so that those after use cannot track us. The Crocodiles also act as bridges for us to cross the river in times of war by arranging themselves head to tail for us to step on their backs to safety. They have protected us day and night and made it possible for us to have a big kingdom in Emu.” Emu, he said has common boundaries with Ashaka, Kwale, Ogume and Abbi, explaining that it was because of the wars they were able to win with the support of Oni Emu and the beautiful bird.

The community, he said is surrounded by rivers, which have large population of Crocodiles. Unfortunately, when the team

visited the community was about to perform burial rites for two of the sacred animals killed by someone from another community. They sent a delegation to the community’s king, demanding compensation and funding of the burial, which they said was conducted like that of any human in the community. The issue was resolved amicably. However, the community was advised to work towards making the area a conservancy, and that if this was achieved, there would be signs that would point to the existence of these rare reptiles in the area, as was done in developed countries.

Ikot Ondo conservation project...

Prior to the journey to Emu, the team got to the fringes of the Ikot Ondo forest in Akwa Ibom State, early afternoon, where a demonstration project on forest regeneration is being undertaken

by Georgie Environmental Conservation Services (GECS), whose Chief Executive Officer is Mrs. Emem Umoh.

Ikot Ondo diversity project is community-based, she said and it is funded by the UNDP. “The sole objective of the project is to restore the degraded area of the forest. We did reconnaissance of the place, as well as detailed community consultation work and based on that we got the consent of the community to go ahead. We planted a total of a thousand trees covering two hectares of land.”

Umoh said her group still needs to plant another two hectares of land, but would first of all maintain the ones they had planted. Trees planted include Kolanut; sour sop, starapple, pepper fruit. “We have a good record of survival but in the next two years we will go and check on the progress of the seedlings and where needed we replant. We will also aggressively sensitise the community members

on conservation; that is the first project given to that community, because they have never seen anything like this before.”

She said the community’s sensitisation would include identification of user-groups in the forest like hunters, those who collect food items, those doing illegal felling of trees. We will group them and see what we can do to give them an alternative, possibly give them an alternative livelihood source. We give them seedlings free of charge and encourage them to have their own private plantations.”

Akwa Ibom Government...

The team, led by Dr. Dore was accompanied on a courtesy call on the Akwa Ibom State Commissioner for Environment, Mr. Enobong Essien by Mr. Etido Okon Eyo; Mrs. Emem Umoh; and a representative of Tropical Research Centre, Mr. Idongesit Okon Eyo. Dore briefed the commissioner on the scope and the importance of the Niger Delta Biodiversity projects and the importance of getting the Sclater’s Guenon specie of monkey on the nation’s tourism map.

“All we do in this project is to point the light, and we expect the states to take it from there,” he explained, adding that the rest was left to the community and the government.

He said it was the responsibility of the government to provide basic infrastructure leading to the sites where conservation projects existed in the communities to encourage tourism.

The Akwa Ibom State Commissioner for Environment, Mr. Enobong Essien promised to call the attention of the government to the importance of building on what the UNDP had done in the community.

The commissioner said he would ensure its inclusion in future appropriation in the state.

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T H I S D AY ˾ TUESDAY, JANUARY 24, 2017

PROPERTY & ENVIRONMENT

Top Services, First Ally Signed N20Bn Real Estate Investment Trust Bennett Oghifo Top Services Limited (TSL) and First Ally, fund manager, have signed a N20 billion real estate investment trust (REIT), consisting of 20 million units which will be on offer for subscription at N1,000 per unit from February 1, 2017.

TSL, a property development company specializing in retail and hospitality real estate across Nigeria, has a 20-year track record in the hospitality and retail space and started out as a developer and contractor to UAC Plc in its Mr. Biggs restaurant locations throughout the country. In the last 11 years, the firm has been developing apartment hotels, including La Cour in Ikoyi, Lagos.

According to the Chairman of TSL, Tokunbo Omisore, an Architect, explained that the REIT became necessary because of the high interest rate on

bank loan, which has been the major source of funding for retail development.

Omisore said the REIT was signed based on four retail malls TSL had sponsored- Adeniran Ogunsanya Mall, Surulere, Apapa Mall, Apapa, Cocoa Mall, Dugbe, Ibadan, Oyo State and Akure Mall, Akure, Ondo State.

He said 97 per cent of net income on the malls would be distributed to investors at the end of each year, in addition to capital distribution. “Retail business is an integral part of our growth. Even in the US, it is an important part of their economy and creates opportunities for business and employment.

“The gross lettable area in each of our malls is creating jobs directly and indirectly to over 1,200 people. Shoprite alone gives employment to over 340 people. The cinema creates a

few jobs and our local retailers are trying to grow.”

Giving reason for going into REIT, Omisore said “Unlike our South African competitors, we have a wrong funding. “The South Africans come in with huge funding running into 40, 60, 80 million dollars. These funds are given to them at 4-5 percent interest rate for 10-15 years. “Here, if we operate on dollar rate, it is 10-12 percent; if it is on naira rate, before now, it was 20-25 percent. Now, it is 29, 31 or 32 percent. How can we grow with this?”

Omisore advised the government to see mall development as an infrastructural development, stating that a shop that sits on 10, 000 to 12,000 square metres was an industry, considering

that it has a bakery, an abattoir and a cinema and that all of these create opportunities for the future.

He said, “Government talks about creating employment, but how can this be made to happen? Even when they are to create employment, SMEs and entrepreneurs need a platform.

Where is the platform? We talk about agriculture. Shoprite has about 28 per cent of agricultural products that are processed and packaged in Nigeria.

“Before Shoprite, all those involved in foods and beverage products died natural death, because they had nowhere to showcase their products. So, retail has provided opportunity for such people.

“There is opportunity not

only in the processing, but also in the packaging. There is competition now in doing this such that if you go to the stores, you see locally packaged products you will think they are imported.”

He said, “What we need to do therefore is to make such facility affordable. We need to put in a structure that will accommodate even a graduate that has gone into SME. “We see ourselves as spoilers in the market because we are the only malls that have Shoprite as anchor tenant and the rent goes as low as $150 per square metre as against the South African malls that go for between $700 and $900 per square metre.

“We built the malls to a

budget and we know the challenges of the communities in which the malls are located.

They don’t have money. We also know that the malls have one of the biggest problems and that is energy which is very unpredictable and takes about 60 percent of the service charge. These are extra costs to a local retailer who does not really understand the difference between service charge and rent.

“Now that government has decided to look inwards by encouraging local content. We are therefore also encouraged to go to government and present our case. By coming up with this REIT, we are diluting our holding in the company such that it is no longer a matter of one man business.”

An Era of Change Udo Okonjo As we all await what could perhaps be one of the most momentous events in real estate and political history, the swearing in of real estate tycoon PEOTUS, (President Elect of the US) Donald Trump in a few days, we recognise that change is in the air all across the world. We are entering an interesting, maybe even more exciting, but definitely uncertain and tough season in global politics.

A strategy of reinvention...

Closer home, tough times may be a constant in the foreseeable future in the Nigerian market going by our current political and economic outlook. And in the world of real estate, nothing spells change like seeing street after street of vacant properties towering majestically into the skylines.

Properties that were once fully occupied, or that were snapped up by purchasers before they were even completed, now sit in the market for months on end and in some cases, years without being rented or sold.

As corporate tenants adjust their rental budgets aggressively downwards both in the residential and office segment and individuals watch their incomes dwindle, a leisure drive along many roads in Ikoyi and the numerous for sale and to let signs will reveal the true state of the market.

Without, a doubt, changing times require a change in strategy. To stay in a box of old prices, old models and stale expectations about a market, whose ship long sailed is perhaps to eat the food of fools.

And it’s surprising how many investors, landlords, developers have either inadvertently or by design have chosen the unwise route of holding on to the past instead of reinventing for the future. Defying the odds... To the ever recurring question, why are so many properties vacant?

To the untrained eyes, there are no solutions. My answer however, as a real estate advisor and investor remains the same; good quality and good value (I.e market related pricing) has always been and will remain

Udo Okonjo

a winning formula. It is not rocket science. In the same vein, there are a few outliers that will have the luxury to perhaps carve out and operate in a totally different market reality. The handful of truly well built, well designed, well managed and well-presented properties with a strong sense of brand identity along with a culture of trust that discerning clients desire and are willing to pay for, will continue to defy the market odds.

For new projects, are there still opportunities to reinvent?

The answer is in reinventing your new project offering especially if the project is not yet off the ground. For some, the wisest decision will be the decision not to proceed with a project yet, unless it’s a legacy project and you have the staying power to sustain it beyond the current market.

Fine and Country is privileged to work with discerning clients, who recognise that all markets including real estate markets in any part of the world happen in cycles, and no cycle lasts forever. This is however, a time to tighten seat belts, adjust your seats and potentially prepare for a long range landing. Only those who are well-advised, equipped and ready to reinvent will land safely.

In summary, times of change and correction require intelligent reinvention.

Ps. Case studies will follow in the next edition.

Udo Okonjo, LL.M (Lond), CEO/Vice Chair, Fine and Country W.A., a member of the Oxford Real Estate Society

Apapa Mall, Lagoss

3Invest Introduces Timeshare, Haven Homes Appoints Co-working Space in Lagos General Manager 3INVEST, a real estate firm, has launched its corporate real estate model known as Lagos Co-work. The concept is that 3Invest would provide and operate flexible office spaces to grow businesses and create a collaborative community where people co-work and invest in timeshare opportunities.

The co-working revolution is transforming real estate.

Pioneered by start-ups, entrepreneurs and freelancers, a growing number of companies, large and small, are exploring how to incorporate the concept.

Co-working and flexible space are fast becoming critical components of wider Corporate Real Estate (CRE) and portfolio strategy. With a growing number of companies looking to tap into the benefits of co-working, it is only a matter of time before the trend became an integral part of the corporate real estate toolkit. The results of the latest JLL Global Coworking Survey reveal that 61% of co-working space providers are planning to expand their operations and almost 80% expect the number of members to increase in 2016.

The number of members using co-working spaces globally has been steadily increasing yearly and it is

predicted to reach one million by 2018. Co-working, a trend which emerged as a start-up phenomenon, has been largely embraced and adopted by more organisations. Companies such as Philips and IBM are utilising co-working space to encourage innovation alongside start-ups.

Speaking at the launch, the Chief Executive, 3Invest, Ruth Obih, stated: “We will provide smart and versatile spaces designed to fit the modern workplace strategy. Each Lagos co-work space will enhance performance and wellness of its user. Our locations will reflect the values of exceptional facilities and operations management, secure and accessible location, cosy and relaxed general area, Lagos co-work values, traditions and quality facilities will allow occupiers attain 100% focus on growing their business.”

Benefits for tenants include efficient spaces with flexible payment structure, conducive and relaxed work environment, storage for resident tenants, business support services, professional management and quality tenants, substantial cost savings, networking opportunities, work productivity, investment opportunities and peace of mind.

Haven Homes, the nation’s promoter and sublime developer of lifestyle living has appointed Mrs. Ufuoma Ilesanmi General Manager. A statement issued and signed by the firm’s Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Tayo Sonuga said Mrs. Ilesanmi was promoted from her previous position as Assistant General Manager and that the new appointment took effect from 1st January, this year.

Mrs. Ufuoma Ilesanmi holds a Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.) in Human Resources and Industrial Relations of the Covenant University, Otta, where she was in attendance between 2006 – 2010. In 2014 she also obtained a Master’s of Science in Strategic Marketing at Stalford Manchester University, United Kingdom.

Barely 28years old and at an age when majority of her peers are serving their National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) or tinkering with their first jobs, she is arguably the youngest General Manager or Chief Operating Officer in the Real Estate Industry.

She joined the services of Haven Global Resources Limited in 2011 as Corporate

Ufuoma Ilesanmi

Manager, rose to the position of Assistant General Manager in 2014 before the recent promotion.

Earlier, Mrs. Ufuoma Ilesanmi acquired a string of brief engagements as Assistant Human Resources Manager with Frontier Oil & Gas Limited in 2010 and later as Marketer in the country’s office of The First Group, a realty outfit based in Dubai.

Mrs. Ufuoma Ilesanmi is an intelligent, passionate and well-organized Manager whose high performance partly accounts for the reason why Haven Homes is top of the ladder in Real Estate Market.

T H I S D AY TUESDAY JANUARY 24, 2017

29

30

T H I S D AY ˾ TUESDAY, JANUARY 24, 2017

PROPERTY NEWS

FUTA Don: Ogoni Clean-Up Cannot Yield Desired Results James Sowole in Akure Disturbed by costs of various dimension, an environmental expert and a Professor of Applied Geology at the Federal University of Technology Akure (FUTA), Yinusa Asiwaju-Bello, has described the clean-up policy of the Federal Government on Ogoniland and Niger Delta as an exercise that cannot yield the desired results.

Asiwaju- Bello of the Applied Geology Department of FUTA stated this in his submission at the university’s 79th Inaugural Lecture titled: “Water-Rock Association: A bond of mutual Wholesomeness under Stress by Man”, which he delivered. The don stated that no matter how much efforts and huge amount of money

committed to the clean-up exercise, as championed by President Muhammadu Buhari, it would fail describing it as exercise in futility.

Pointedly, the environmental expert postulated the prevention of ground water contamination as a veritable natural resource to human existence and survival, which would avert contamination disaster.

Faulting the Federal Government approach to revamp the ecological disasters facing the Niger Delta region due to oil pollution, the don insisted that ground water contamination prevention should be given priority over clean up after pollution and contamination.

According to him, in spite of the ongoing attempt to clean up Ogoniland by the Federal

Government, the devastation to the quality of the environment and groundwater will take two generations to be overturned.

“It is not just enough to for man to attempt to clean up groundwater when it is already polluted, rather man should work hard to ensure

prevention of contamination of this vulnerable resource.

“No matter the technology applied, our generation and the one immediately behind us would not see a clean ground water in Ogoniland,” he said.

The don noted that there is a dire need to treasure

groundwater, a natural potable fresh water bestowed on man for consumption. He stressed that government should closely monitor and control human activities in influencing the environment through mine sites, spillage, septic systems, small disposal pits, storage ponds,

underground storage tanks and fertilizers.

Asiwaju-Bello emphasized that monitoring human activities would go a long way to prevent contamination of groundwater of the type ravaging Ogoniland and to some lesser extent in other parts of the nation.

FG, Shelter Afrique, REDAN Sign $2bn MoU to Build 20,000 Annually Dele Ogbodo in Abuja The federal government through the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN), the Pan African Finance Institution: Shelter Afrique, and the Real Estate Development Association of Nigeria (REDAN), has signed a $2 billion Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to build 20,000 houses annually in the next 10 years.

At the signing ceremony in Abuja, the Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Fashola said the money would be provided by Shelter Afrique through FMBN to housing developers.

This, he said represented a strategic partnership that should deliver housing through mortgages at low interest rates.

The minister, who was represented by his Special Adviser on Housing, Mr. Abiodun Oki, said the collaboration for housing delivery through REDAN must, as a necessity, also create jobs for Nigerians within the sector.

Fashola, assured that government was doing its best to recapitalise the apex mortgage institution, so that it could effectively deliver on its mandate, adding that government would provide conducive environment for both Shelter Afrique and the private sector, through REDAN to deliver affordable housing within the framework of the national housing model.

Speaking, the acting Managing Director of FMBN, Mr. Richard Esin admitted that a lot of work has gone into making the MoU a reality, stressing that FMBN has moved from its deficit financial status to operating surplus within the last one year. He said the bank, through innovation, created 734 mortgages for home ownership and mortgage finance, saying, “There is no doubt that through this strategic partnership and with effective utilisation of the resources, FMBN and REDAN will deliver 20,000 housing stock annually.

“This intervention will be spread across the six geopoliti-

cal zones using the national housing model.”

Esin was optimistic that 150,000 jobs would be created through the deal, adding that the MoU, represented the first critical step in the journey to make shelter affordable and accessible to Nigerians.

The National President of REDAN, Reverend Ugochukwu Chime said the collaboration was a welcome development and that it was an intervention needed to provide solution to the housing needs of every Nigerian.

While calling for recapitalisation of the apex bank, he said government should wade into the stock market and pension funds with the aim of making both available to developers to access for housing delivery, adding: “the present poor capitalisation of FMBN, cannot move the sector forward.”

In his contribution, the Managing Director, of shelter Afrique, Mr. James Murgerwa said the investment into the country’s housing sector was a mutual and strategic alliance between his organisation, FMBN and REDAN, targeted at building quality and affordable housing.

While advocating for partnership between the public and private sector to move the sector forward, he said no one single institution had solution to the housing demands in the continent. He said: “The end to end solution in housing delivery in Africa is to work together and leverage on individual’s strength and expertise to produce effective solution to the myriads of problems confronting the sector.”

He said Nigeria is the largest sovereign member and that 43 other African countries contribute to the fund, with African Development Bank (AfDB) owning 25 per cent stake.

The President, Trade Union Congress (TUC), Mr. Boboi Kaigama said the beneficiaries of the $2 billion in the sector should be the ordinary Nigerians who cannot afford shelter.

Head of Department, Training, Environmental Health Officers Registration Council of Nigeria (EHORCON), Mr. Yakubu Bala Mohammed; Registrar, EHORCON, Dr. Dominic Abonyi; and Chairman, Grassroots Environmental Healthcare Initiative, Brigadier General Sofoluwe Soyemi, during a courtesy visit to EHORCON in Abuja... recently

Eko Atlantic Completes 14 Bridges Fadekemi Ajakaiye The promoters of Eko Atlantic City, one of the world’s most advanced new cities being built on the shores of the Atlantic Ocean in Lagos, said they have completed 14 bridge structures in just two years.

According to a statement released recently by the developers, the bridges extend over five million square metres, representing half of the entire planned city development.

The completion of these bridges, they said was “a hugely significant progress,” adding that they were built to international standards.

Work on the bridge project, they said started in December 2014 when the first bridge deck was cast and project completed on schedule in December 2016.

The city, which is divided into 8 districts (Harbour Lights, Business Districts, Eko Drive, Marina, Ocean Front and Avenues), is planned for mixed-use with commercial, residential, entertainment and leisure activities to make the city a 24/7 lively environment.

The statement said, “With the new bridges all the districts are now accessible by road.

The bridgeworks have formed a major element of the works and it has also enabled all major avenues to overpass the canal system running through the spine of the project.

“All bridges are between 2-6 lanes.

For instance, Bridge 7 comprises a six-lane carriageway and is located on Avenue 1, thus defining the western boundary of the Business District, the commercial heartland of the city. Spanning 52 metres overall in three sections, Bridge 7 is typical of the design utilised throughout

all bridges and comprises a reinforced concrete cast in-situ deck with concrete piers and abutments. Also post-tensioning techniques were employed on the horizontal deck to achieve the span required.

“The last bridge was deliberately constructed to overpass the canal entrance to the South West Marina, defining the marine access to the Atlantic Ocean.”

Mr. David Frame, Managing Director of South Energyx Nigeria Limited (SENL), a subsidiary of the Chagoury Group said, “We are fully committed to ensuring that the project is completed on schedule. With the successful completion of all the bridges, all the major avenues within Phases 1 and 2 of the City are now fully interconnected, with the comprehensive road network of the city defined and all zones accessible.” He hinted that the company has a lot of announcements planned for the year as it achieves more key milestones in the project.

It would be recalled that the city in November last year unveiled the first of the Eko Pearl Towers, a residential building in its Marina District.

The commissioning of the Tower which was done by the Lagos State governor, Akinwunmi Ambode came just a few months after the commissioning of the city’s Eko Boulevard, Nigeria’s first eight-lane city road.

Eko Atlantic City is arguably the single most ambitious and comprehensive mixed-use development plan to come on stream in the West Africa subregion in recent times. Modeled after the skyscraper District of Manhattan Island in New York City, it is expected that the new

city will be home to no fewer than 450,000 residents, with commuter volume expected to exceed 300,000 people daily.

Self-sufficient and sustainable, it includes state-of-the-art urban design, its own power, clean water, advanced telecommunications, spacious roads and 110,000 trees.

The uniqueness of the initiative is that the residential units will be constructed as vertical high-rise apartment towers due to limited space for the traditional single family detached units. According to data released by Residential Auctions Company (RAC), there are already over 1,000

units of apartments of various room sizes ranging from one bedroom to four bedroom penthouses already under construction. High- rise developments will provide just slightly over 560 apartment units with one tower completely sold out and the first set of units will be delivered as early as 2016. Eko Atlantic is a planned residential and commercial city located on reclaimed land in Lagos.

The project began in 2003 as a permanent solution to protect Bar Beach in Victoria Island from the effects of severe coastal erosion, and to safeguard Victoria Island from the threat of flooding.

EHORCON Registrar Charges NGOs to Perform Better Fadekemi Ajakaiye The Registrar, Environmental Health Officers Registration Council of Nigeria, Dr. Dominic Abonyi has charged members of the Grassroots Environmental Healthcare Initiative (GEHI) to prove their worth while on the field, saying that was the best instrument for recognition.

Abonyi said the Council was willing to encourage initiatives that promote any aspect of environmental health such as the ones in the aims and objectives of GEHI. The Registrar made these assertions when the Grassroots Environmental Healthcare Initiatives, a foremost NGO, led by its Chairman, Board of Trustees, Brigadier General Soyemi Sofoluwe (Rtd.) paid the Council a courtesy visit in Abuja recently.

The Registrar, however, advised the leadership of

the Grassroots Environmental Health Initiatives (GEHI) to look inward by engaging the Environmental Health Officers who were already at the grassroots, adding that technical and logistics support would be given when necessary and available.

Earlier in his remarks, the Chairman, Board of Trustees Grassroot Environmental Healthcare Initiatives (GEHI), Brigadier Gen. Sofoluwe said they were in the Council to solicit for technical support for the awareness creation.

He stated that, the GEHI’s vision was to tame the environment and make it sustainable, thereby making it friendly for improved health and economy.

Present at the events were various heads of departments of Environmental Health Officers Registration Council of Nigeria (EHORECON).

31

T H I S D AY Ëž Ë&#x153; ͺ͟Ë&#x153; ͺ͸͚;

Nigeriaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s top 50 stocks based on market fundamentals

23-Jan-17 20-Jan-17

% Change

Capitalisation

EPS

P/E

P/S

Div. Yld

Price/ Book Value

01 Nigerian Breweries Plc

144.50

142.06

1.72%

1,145,755,078,316.00

4.03

35.81

3.80

2.49%

6.99

02 Guaranty Trust Bank Plc

23.90

23.96

-0.25%

703,405,183,453.60

4.90

4.88

1.75

7.41%

1.43

720.00

745.00

-3.36%

570,712,501,440.00

8.81

81.71

3.30

4.03%

18.08

04 Zenith Bank Plc

15.95

16.00

-0.31%

500,774,075,886.70

3.91

4.08

1.05

11.29%

0.72

05 Access Bank Plc

7.05

7.00

0.71%

203,942,199,998.55

2.59

2.72

0.58

7.80%

0.46

365.00

365.00

0.00%

201,958,264,245.00 -44.58

-8.19

2.60

4.36%

0.51

5.16

5.18

-0.39%

187,202,355,821.52

1.75

2.95

0.56

11.63%

0.43

08 Ecobank Transnational Incorporated

10.00

10.00

0.00%

183,495,512,150.00

0.68

14.78

0.31

6.20%

0.29

09 Lafarge Africa Plc

40.00

40.00

0.00%

182,196,072,400.00

-9.39

-4.26

0.85

7.50%

0.90

10 Presco Plc

44.12

44.07

0.11%

175,177,447,225.40

0.03

1,508.90

2.46

2.95%

4.19

11 Stanbic IBTCÂ Holdings Plc

16.14

16.10

0.25%

161,400,000,000.00

2.04

7.92

1.15

0.62%

1.37

3.60

3.57

0.84%

129,223,054,051.20

0.21

17.35

0.24

4.17%

0.21

13 Unilever Nigeria Plc

33.50

33.50

0.00%

126,740,424,375.00

0.69

48.40

1.91

0.15%

13.51

14 Guinness Nig Plc

68.50

67.00

2.24%

103,153,340,878.00

-3.06

-22.40

1.00

4.67%

2.62

15 Mobil Oil Nig Plc

276.00

276.00

0.00%

99,524,292,312.00

19.32

14.28

1.10

2.61%

5.38

16 Total Nigeria Plc

287.00

281.00

2.14%

97,442,767,219.00

38.02

7.55

0.36

4.88%

4.28

63.88

66.50

-3.94%

83,202,492,859.64

3.31

19.32

0.54

5.40%

1.93

6.42

6.45

-0.47%

77,040,000,000.00

1.03

6.25

0.54

7.79%

1.24

106.73

106.73

0.00%

68,370,209,442.99

-0.05 -2,336.72

0.73

2.06%

3.08

17.50

17.50

0.00%

57,649,362,400.00

0.02

776.67

2.17

1.43%

5.25

4.75

4.57

3.94%

57,164,439,746.50

-3.15

-1.51

0.22

15.79%

0.36

22 Flour Mills Nig. Plc

18.50

18.44

0.33%

48,548,387,959.50

-1.19

-15.51

0.12

10.81%

0.49

23 Julius Berger Nig. Plc

34.83

34.83

0.00%

45,975,600,000.00

-2.95

-11.82

0.39

4.31%

2.42

24 Okomu Oil Palm Plc

44.00

44.00

0.00%

41,972,040,000.00

4.82

9.12

6.38

0.23%

2.60

0.85

0.87

-2.30%

32,912,847,811.25

-0.47

-1.82

0.63

0.00%

0.45

16.32

16.32

0.00%

31,348,506,795.84

3.37

4.84

0.41

6.13%

0.41

27 FCMB Group Plc

1.34

1.33

0.75%

26,535,632,446.54

0.61

2.19

0.16

7.46%

0.15

28 Fidelity Bank Plc

0.91

0.92

-1.09%

26,355,952,979.72

0.39

2.35

0.18

17.58%

0.14

29 Diamond Bank Plc

1.08

1.04

3.85%

25,013,220,085.44

-0.29

-3.68

0.12

0.00%

0.11

30 Sterling Bank Plc

0.82

0.80

2.50%

23,608,142,863.32

0.29

2.85

0.22

10.98%

0.29

31 Custodian And Allied Insurance Plc

3.82

3.82

0.00%

22,468,721,224.90

0.76

5.01

0.61

3.66%

0.78

32.00

32.00

0.00%

22,400,000,000.00

2.28

14.01

3.36

3.59%

13.09

33 Wema Bank Plc

0.53

0.51

3.92%

20,444,467,022.93

0.06

8.90

0.40

0.00%

0.43

34 National Salt Co. Nig. Plc

7.55

7.55

0.00%

20,003,259,753.90

0.85

8.89

1.07

7.28%

2.71

16.00

15.75

1.59%

19,134,023,808.00

-2.98

-5.36

0.68

1.88%

2.18

36 Cadbury Nigeria Plc

9.00

9.13

-1.42%

16,903,818,360.00

0.50

18.02

0.60

14.44%

1.65

37 Mansard Insurance Plc

1.60

1.60

0.00%

16,800,000,000.00

0.28

5.74

0.84

3.13%

0.80

38 PZ Cussons Nigeria Plc

14.25

14.25

0.00%

14,250,000,000.00

5.69

2.51

0.99

0.70%

0.38

39 Continental Reinsurance Plc

1.22

1.22

0.00%

12,654,748,060.64

0.42

2.90

0.57

9.84%

0.68

40 Honeywell Flour Mill Plc

1.18

1.24

-4.84%

9,357,633,236.44

-0.40

-2.92

0.19

13.56%

0.28

41 Unity Bank Plc

0.66

0.64

3.13%

7,714,963,041.72

-0.10

-6.44

0.12

0.00%

0.09

42 Wapic Insurance Plc

0.52

0.52

0.00%

6,959,023,891.04

0.18

2.89

0.89

5.77%

0.42

43 Skye Bank Plc

0.50

0.50

0.00%

6,940,150,705.00

-2.93

-0.17

0.04

60.00%

0.07

44 Resort Savings & Loans Plc

0.50

0.50

0.00%

5,664,866,202.00

0.03

17.71

3.72

0.00%

1.94

45 Cement Co. Of North.Nig. Plc

4.40

4.40

0.00%

5,529,382,170.40

0.22

20.10

0.50

2.27%

0.51

46 UACN Property Development Co. Limited

3.02

2.88

4.86%

5,190,624,984.90

0.30

10.09

1.23

23.18%

0.15

47 Nigerian Aviation Handling Company Plc

2.86

2.86

0.00%

4,645,265,625.00

0.15

18.93

0.58

6.99%

0.77

48 AIICO Insurance Plc

0.60

0.60

0.00%

4,158,122,688.00

0.22

2.69

0.14

8.33%

0.41

49 Fidson Healthcare Plc

1.20

1.20

0.00%

1,800,000,000.00

0.24

5.10

0.27

4.17%

0.28

50 Fidson Healthcare Plc

1.33

1.33

0.00%

1,995,000,000.00

0.24

5.65

0.30

3.76%

0.31

03 Nestle Nigeria Plc

06 Seplat Petroleum Dev. Co. Ltd 07 United Bank for Africa Plc

12 FBN Holdings Plc

17 Forte Oil Plc. 18 Dangote Sugar ReďŹ nery Plc 19 7-Up Bottling Comp. Plc 20 International Breweries Plc 21 Oando Plc

25 Transnational Corporation Of Nigeria Plc 26 U A C NÂ Plc

32 Cap Plc

35 Glaxo Smithkline Consumer Nig. Plc

TOTAL

8,486,583,212,572.58

TOTAL MARKET CAP

9,025,593,431,306.96

% OF MARKET CAP Annotation - MA* = Simple Moving Average

94.03%

Table 1 Market Statistics Mkt Indicators

Open 20-Jan-17

NSE All Share Index NSE Market Cap (N'Trillion) Thisday BGL 50 Index Thisday BGL 50 Market Cap (N'Trillion)

Close 23-Jan-17

Change %

26,223.54 9.02

26,231.37 9.03

0.03% 0.03%

108.96 8.48

108.99 8.49

0.03% 0.03%

Table 3 Top 5 Gainers Stock

Open Close Change 20-Jan-17 23-Jan-17 %

UACN Property Development Co. Limited Oando Plc Wema Bank Plc Diamond Bank Plc Unity Bank Plc

2.88

3.02

4.86%

4.57 0.51 1.04 0.64

4.75 0.53 1.08 0.66

3.94% 3.92% 3.85% 3.13%

Table 4 Top 5 Losers Stock

Open Close Change 20-Jan-17 23-Jan-17 %

Honeywell Flour Mill Plc Forte Oil Plc. Nestle Nigeria Plc Transnational Corporation Of Nigeria Plc Cadbury Nigeria Plc

1.24 66.50 745.00 0.87 9.13

1.18 63.88 720.00 0.85

-4.84% -3.94% -3.36% -2.30%

9.00 -1.42%

Market ends ďŹ&#x201A;at as Index closes with 0.03% borderline gain Market pulse today â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Monday, January 23rd, 2017 on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) ended in relatively ďŹ&#x201A;at in the positive zone as uncertainty lingers. This was further highlighted by positive performance from the NSE Subsectors: Consumer Goods and Oil & Gas (Save Banking and Insurance). Trading activities increased in volume as 228.60m shares worth of N2.58 billion in 3,228 deals exchanged hands today. This is an increase from the 203.19m shares worth of N2.02 billion in 2,804 deals which exchanged hands on Friday.

Topping in volume terms are: United Bank for Africa Plc, Access Bank Plc, and Presco Plc, while Presco Plc and Zenith Bank Plc ended trading as the most active stocks in value terms. Brent crude oil price further stays south of US$55 per barrel.

The All Share Index (NSEASI) closed positive with 0.03% (+7.83) increase to close at 26,231.37 from 26,223.54 the previous trading day. Market Capitalization appreciated in tandem to N9.03 trillion from N9.02 trillion of prior trading day.

Similarly, the Thisday BGL 50 Index followed suit with an increase of 0.03% to close at 108.99 from 108.96 recorded at the end of the previous trading day, while its market capitalization stood at N8.49 trillion from N8.48 trillion of the previous trading day.

Market breath closed positive as 19 stocks gained on the bourse today while 15 stocks declined, leaving 65 stocks unchanged. UACN Property Development Co. Limited emerged as the dayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s toast of investors as it topped the Thisday BGL 50 Index gainersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; list with a gain of 4.86% to close at N3.02 per share. It was followed by Oando Plc with a gain of 3.94% to close at N4.75 per share. Others on the gainers list include: Wema Bank Plc, Diamond Bank Plc and Unity Bank Plc; while on the declinersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; list, Honeywell Flour Mill Plc led with a loss of 4.84% to close at N1.18 per share. It was followed by Forte Oil Plc with a loss of 3.94% to close at N63.88 per share.

Others on the decliners list include: Nestle Nigeria Plc, Transnational Corporation Of Nigeria Plc and Cadbury Nigeria Plc. REQUIRED DISCLOSURE This report has been prepared by BGL Plc. BGL Plc does and seeks to do business with companies covered in its research reports. As a result, the ďŹ rm may have a conďŹ&#x201A;ict of interest that could affect the objectivity of this report. Investors should use this report as one of many other factors in making their investment decisions.

For more details go to www.thisdaylive.com

33

˾ TUESDAY, JANUARY 24, 2017

MARKET NEWS

NSE to List Stanbic IBTC Asset Management Pension ETF 40 Goddy Egene The Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) will today list the Stanbic IBTC Asset Management Limited (SIAML) Pension Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) 40.

The SIAML Pension ETF 40 is an ETF that will mirror the Pension 40 Index (Pension Index),replicating as closely as possible the total return of The NSE Pension 40 Index. The NSE Pension Index monitors the top 40 most capitalised and liquid companies in the market.

The initial public offerings (IPOs) for units of fund opened last September 2016. In the offering for the SIAML Pension ETF 40, about 10,000,000 units were available for subscription at N100 each at par and multiples of 10,000 units thereafter. The Fund has an offer size of N1 billion.

Chief Executive, SIAML, Bunmi DayoOlagunju had said the primary objective of the SIAML Pension ETF 40 was to provide investors access

A Mutual fund (Unit Trust) is an investment vehicle managed by a SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) registered Fund Manager.

Investors with similar objectives buy units of the Fund so that the Fund Manager can buy securities that willl generate their desired return.

An ETF (Exchange Traded Fund) is a type of fund which owns the assets (shares of stock, bonds, oil futures, gold bars, foreign currency, etc.) and divides ownership of those assets into shares. Investors can buy these ‘shares’ on the

to the most liquid publicly quoted companies on the NSE that are compliant with the regulatory requirements for investing pension assets in terms of taxable profits, free float, dividend, sector and individual stock weighting.

“The SIAML Pension ETF 40 is designed as an instrument of choice for PFAs, Life Assurance companies, institutional investors, as well as foreign portfolio managers who are desirous of the Nigerian exposure with minimal liquidity and exit

floor of the Nigerian Stock Exchange.

A REIT (Real Estate Investment Trust) is an investment vehicle that allows both small and large investors to part-own real estate ventures (eg.

Offices, Houses, Hospitals) in proportion to their investments. The assets are divided into shares that are traded on the Nigerian Stock Exchange.

GUIDE TO DATA: Date: All fund prices are quoted in Naira as at 20-Jan-2017, unless otherwise stated.

risk,” Dayo-Olagunju stated.

Highlighting some of the benefits of the ETF, DayoOlagunju said it would provide investors with a strategic exposure to the equities market, allowing for flexibility, cost effectiveness, diversification of investment, as well as liquidity.

She added that it would act as a benchmark for PFAs to measure performance and report same to Retirement Savings Account (RSA) holders.

She assured that SIAML will continue to leverage its expertise in asset and wealth

management, built over the past 20 years, as well as the Stanbic IBTC Group’s rich heritage in corporate and investment banking to provide quality products and services that will not only deepen the market but enhance transparency, add value and lead to investor confidence.

Also speaking, the Chief Executive, Stanbic IBTC Capital Limited, Mr.Funso Akere, commended SIAML for its efforts in deepening the Nigerian capital market

through the introduction of new and innovative products with specific characteristics to meet the needs of various market categories.

Apart from SIAML as the fund manager, First Registrars and Investor Services Limited will serve as the registrar while Stanbic IBTC Capital is the issuing house. Stanbic IBTC Stockbrokers Limited is the authorized dealer; FBN Trustees Limited will serve as trustees while Standard Chartered Bank is the offer custodian.

Offer price: The price at which units of a trust or ETF are bought by investors.

Bid Price: The price at which Investors redeem (sell) units of a trust or ETF. Yield/Total Return: Denotes the total return an investor would have earned on his investment. Money Market Funds report Yield while others report Year- to-date Total Return.

NAV: Is value per share of the real estate assets held by a REIT on a specific date.

DAILY PRICE LIST FOR MUTUAL FUNDS, REITS and ETFS MUTUAL FUNDS / UNIT TRUSTS AFRINVEST ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD Web: www.afrinvest.com; Tel: +234 1 270 1680 Fund Name Bid Price Afrinvest Equity Fund 131.50 Nigeria International Debt Fund 217.86 ALTERNATIVE CAPITAL PARTNERS LTD Web: www.acapng.com, Tel: +234 1 291 2406, +234 1 291 2868 Fund Name Bid Price ACAP Canary Growth Fund 0.70 AIICO CAPITAL LTD Web: www.aiicocapital.com, Tel: +234-1-2792974 Fund Name Bid Price AIICO Money Market Fund ARM INVESTMENT MANAGERS LTD Web: www.arm.com.ng; Tel: 0700 CALLARM (0700 225 5276) Fund Name ARM Aggressive Growth Fund ARM Discovery Fund ARM Ethical Fund ARM Money Market Fund AXA MANSARD INVESTMENTS LIMITED Web: www.axamansard.com; Tel: +2341-4488482 Fund Name AXA Mansard Equity Income Fund AXA Mansard Money Market Fund CHAPELHILL DENHAM MANAGEMENT LTD Web: www.chapelhilldenham.com, Tel: +234 461 0691 Fund Name Nigeria Global Investment Fund Paramount Equity Fund Women's Investment Fund FBN CAPITAL ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD Web: www.fbnquest.com; Tel: +234-81 0082 0082 Fund Name FBN Fixed Income Fund FBN Heritage Fund FBN Money Market Fund FBN Nigeria Eurobond (USD) Fund - Institutional FBN Nigeria Eurobond (USD) Fund - Retail FBN Nigeria Smart Beta Equity Fund FIRST CITY ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD Web: www.fcamltd.com; Tel: +234 1 462 2596 Fund Name Legacy Equity Fund Legacy Short Maturity (NGN) Fund FSDH ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD Web: www.fsdhaml.com; Tel: 01-270 4884-5; 01-280 9740-1 Fund Name Coral Growth Fund

100.00

aaml@afrinvest.com Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn 131.52 3.35% 217.93 1.07% info@acapng.com Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn 0.71 -0.41% ammf@aiicocapital.com Offer Price

Yield / T-Rtn

100.00

17.52%

enquiries@arminvestmentcenter.com Bid Price 12.56 290.51 22.39

Offer Price 12.94 299.27 23.06

Yield / T-Rtn 1.72% 1.16% 0.20%

1.00

1.00

17.20%

investmentcare@axamansard.com Bid Price 107.29

Offer Price 108.04

Yield / T-Rtn 1.73%

1.00 1.00 16.40% investmentmanagement@chapelhilldenham.com Bid Price 2.14 9.46 84.78

Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn 2.20 -1.36% 9.70 1.05% 86.96 0.22% invest@fbnquest.com

Bid Price 1,090.38 110.97 100.00 $104.27 $103.43

Offer Price 1,091.60 111.73 100.00 $104.49 $103.65

Yield / T-Rtn 0.00% -0.54% 15.22% -0.01% -0.14%

116.30

1.88%

114.78

fcamhelpdesk@fcmb.com

LOTUS CAPITAL LTD fincon@lotuscapitallimited.com Web: www.lotuscapitallimited.com; Tel: +234 1-291 4626 / +234 1-291 4624 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Lotus Halal Investment Fund 1.00 1.02 0.70% Lotus Halal Fixed Income Fund 1,014.54 1,014.54 0.29% MERISTEM WEALTH MANAGEMENT LTD info@meristemwealth.com Web: www.meristemwealth.com ; Tel: +234 1-4488260 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Meristem Equity Market Fund 9.85 9.93 1.91% Meristem Money Market Fund 10.00 10.00 14.65% PAC ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD info@pacassetmanagement.com Web: www.pacassetmanagement.com/mutualfunds; Tel: +234 1 271 8632 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn PACAM Balanced Fund 1.05 1.07 0.22% PACAM Fixed Income Fund 10.38 10.55 0.42% PACAM Money Market Fund 10.00 10.00 11.56% SCM CAPITAL LIMITED info@scmcapitalng.com Web: www.scmcapitalng.com; Tel: +234 1-280 2226,+234 1- 280 2227 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn SCM Capital Frontier Fund 110.62 111.50 2.21% SFS CAPITAL NIGERIA LTD investments@sfsnigeria.com Web: www.sfsnigeria.com, Tel: +234 (01) 2801400 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn SFS Fixed Income Fund 1.25 1.25 0.58% STANBIC IBTC ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD assetmanagement@stanbicibtc.com Web: www.stanbicibtcassetmanagement.com; Tel: +234 1 280 1266; 0700 MUTUALFUNDS Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Stanbic IBTC Balanced Fund 1,827.17 1,837.20 -0.23% Stanbic IBTC Bond Fund 153.90 153.90 -0.04% Stanbic IBTC Ethical Fund 0.76 0.77 -0.65% Stanbic IBTC Guaranteed Investment Fund 187.97 187.97 0.58% Stanbic IBTC Iman Fund 129.94 131.67 0.10% Stanbic IBTC Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 17.46% Stanbic IBTC Nigerian Equity Fund 7,501.24 7,601.82 -0.99% UNITED CAPITAL ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD unitedcapitalplcgroup.com Web: www.unitedcapitalplcgroup.com; Tel: +234 803 306 2887 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn United Capital Balanced Fund 1.15 1.16 10.75% United Capital Bond Fund 1.25 1.25 19.49% United Capital Equity Fund 0.63 0.64 -6.18% United Capital Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 13.00% ZENITH ASSETS MANAGEMENT LTD info@zenith-funds.com Web: www.zenith-funds.com; Tel: +234 1-2784219 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Zenith Equity Fund 9.84 10.01 2.16% Zenith Ethical Fund 11.16 11.26 2.26% Zenith Income Fund 16.84 16.84 1.95%

REITS Bid Price 0.94 2.59

Bid Price 2,189.78

Coral Income Fund 2,125.84 INVESTMENT ONE FUNDS MANAGEMENT LTD Web: www.investment-one.com; Tel: +234 812 992 1045,+234 1 448 8888 Fund Name Bid Price Abacus Money Market Fund 1.00 Vantage Guaranteed Income Fund 1.69 Vantage Balanced Fund 1.00

Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn 0.96 1.06% 2.59 0.77% coralfunds@fsdhgroup.com Offer Price 2,215.33

Yield / T-Rtn -0.88%

2,125.84 1.03% enquiries@investment-one.com Offer Price 1.00 1.71 1.00

Yield / T-Rtn 16.65% 0.50% 15.77%

NAV Per Share

Yield / T-Rtn

11.41 124.10

1.01% 0.10%

Bid Price

Offer Price

Yield / T-Rtn

8.29 74.43

8.39 75.81

-5.55% -1.79%

Fund Name FSDH UPDC Real Estate Investment Fund SFS Skye Shelter Fund

EXCHANGE TRADED FUNDS Fund Name Lotus Halal Equity Exchange Traded Fund Stanbic IBTC ETF 30 Fund

VETIVA FUND MANAGERS LTD Web: www.vetiva.com; Tel: +234 1 453 0697 Fund Name Vetiva Banking Exchange Traded Fund Vetiva Consumer Goods Exchange Traded Fund Vetiva Griffin 30 Exchange Traded Fund Vetiva Industrial Goods Exchange Traded Fund Vetiva S&P Nigeria Sovereign Bond Exchange Traded Fund

funds@vetiva.com Bid Price

Offer Price

Yield / T-Rtn

2.47 5.63 11.75 13.78 127.03

2.51 5.71 11.85 13.98 129.03

-10.00% -19.80% -2.05% -13.52% -2.18%

The value of investments and the income from them may fall as well as rise. Past performance is a guide and not an indication of future returns. Fund prices published in this edition are also available on each fund manager’s website and FMAN’s website at www.fman.com.ng. Fund prices are supplied by the operator of the relevant fund and are published for information purposes only.

34

TUESDAY JANUARY 24, 2017 T H I S D AY

34

TUESDAY JANUARY 24, 2017 T H I S D AY

T H I S D AY TUESDAY JANUARY 24, 2017

35

36

TUESDAY JANUARY 24, 2017 ˾ T H I S D AY

INTERNATIONAL

email:foreigndesk@thisdaylive.com

Italy Rigopiano Hotel Avalanche: Puppies Raise Rescuers’ Hopes

Three puppies have been rescued alive from the ruins of a mountain hotel in Abruzzo, central Italy, which was engulfed by an avalanche five days ago.

Their discovery has raised hopes that 23 missing people may have survived in air pockets.

Six people died but nine survived, including four children.

Rescuers using shovels and saws are considering whether to start using heavy equipment on the buried ruins.

Details have emerged of the situation at the hotel just before the avalanche.

The manager, Bruno Di Tommaso, told officials in an email shortly before the disaster on Wednesday that his guests were terrified by multiple earthquakes that day, and were prevented from leaving by snowdrifts.

However, there was no mention of a potential avalanche.

Italian officials have since confirmed that the area was not considered to be at risk of such an event.

The local authorities say a snowplough was due to begin work on the road to the hotel on Wednesday evening but the avalanche struck in the late afternoon.

Shafts dug The recovery of three shaggy white Abruzzo sheepdog pups meant there were still air pockets in the ruins -“an important sign of life, which gives us hope”, firefighter Fabio Jerman told reporters.

But Luca Cari, a spokesman for the firefighters, said it was a “fight against time” to rescue the missing.

Shafts have been dug into the snow and concrete to allow rescuers access, while electronic probes are being used to search inside for the slightest noise that might be a sign of life.

Rescue crews from the fire brigade and other services have taken precautions to secure themselves in case of a new avalanche, with escape routes planned out and tracking devices issued to each member, the Associated Press reports.

Radar has been set up to

give early warning of any new slide, AFP news agency reports.

The avalanche - weighing some 120,000 tonnes - hit the luxury hotel with a speed of about 100km/h (60mph).

Some of the firefighters are taking inspiration from earlier rescues.

One, Marco Filabozzi, said:“We did three earthquakes: Amatrice [24 August 2016], Camerino [26 October] and Norcia [31 October].

We only found dead people.

“When we broke that wooden

panel and saw those three children huddled against each other, we looked at each other and we suddenly understood: those angels erased all the dead for us.”

‘We never stopped’ In his email, Mr Di Tommaso, the hotel manager, warned the authorities in Pescara province,

the local police chief and the mayor of a nearby village, Farindola, that the situation was “worrying”.

He asked them to prepare to intervene, saying stranded guests terrified by the earthquakes were preparing to spend the night in their cars.

37

TUESDAY, JANUARY 24, 2017˾ T H I S D AY

NEWSXTRA

I was Forced to Implicate Jonathan, Dudafa Tells Court

A former Senior Special Assistant to ex-President Gooluck Jonathan on Domestic Affairs, Dr. Waripamo-Owei Dudafa, yesterday said he was “tormented” by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in a bid to get him to implicate the former president.

Dudafa said he developed a spinal cord ailment while in detention at EFCC, adding that he was denied adequate medical treatment.

The former presidential aide said he was forced to write all the statements he wrote, and was induced to sign in exchange for his freedom.

Dudafa was testifying in a trial-with-trial which began at the Federal High Court in Lagos after he claimed that the statements he made to EFCC were not voluntary.

The anti-graft commission had arraigned him and Iwejuo Joseph Nna (alias Taiwo A. Ebenezer and Olugbenga Isaiah) before Justice Mohammed Idris on a 23-count charge of conspiracy and concealment of crime proceeds.

They were accused of conspiring to conceal proceeds of crime amounting to over N1.6billion on June 11, 2013.

They pleaded not guilty to all the counts.

Dudafa said he was arrested last April 17 on a Sunday and kept in detention till Monday evening without anybody explaining why he was arrested.

He said he was kept in detention until April 27 before he was taken to EFCC’s office on Awolowo Road for interrogation where he made four statements, including an asset declaration form which he described as “sham.”

Dudafa said he was denied access to his food from April 27, and his family was stopped from bringing food to him.

“April 27 till May 12 was so tormenting. Sometimes I was taken out from the detention centre and kept in EFCC office from 8a.m. to 8p.m., sometimes 11p.m.

“The ailment I have today is a spinal cord dislocation. It was within that period of torture and agony that my spinal cord got dislocated due to sitting down from morning till night,” he said.

The defendant claimed EFCC denied him access to his lawyers, saying: “I made a request, in fact my lawyers were driven away.”

Dudafa said he was invited to meeting in which all the parties in case were involved. Everyone else had a lawyer except him. He said EFCC nominated a lawyer he did not know to represent him. “That was the only statement that was endorsed by a lawyer – a lawyer that was not known to me,” he said.

According to him, EFCC officials gave him paracetamol and aspirin, and only allowed him to see an in-house doctor when his situation worsened.

The EFCC doctor, he said, referred him to a military hospital where tests revealed he had a spinal cord injury and needed to see a specialist.

“I wasn’t taken to any specialist. My family even offered to bring an orthopedic physician to attend to me, but they refused. While in the cell, I was isolated. They wanted me to say a lot of things.

“They asked me questions about Goodluck Jonathan. In my statements at the time, I stated that every function I discharged was official because I acted based on instruction.

“I was dehumanised to the extent that I got scared of people walking past me,” he said.

Dudafa accused EFCC investigators of trying to breaking him so he could do their bidding. He said an

Court Dismisses Peterside’s Application to Stop Odili’s N6bn Libel Suit Ernest Chinwo iØ ÙÜÞ ËÜÍÙßÜÞ A Rivers State High Court sitting in Port Harcourt yesterday dismissed an application by the Director General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Dr. Dakuku Peterside, to stop a N6 billion libel suit brought against him by former Rivers State Governor, Dr. Peter Odili.

Odili had, in the suit, demanded N6 billion damages from Peterside, who was the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the 2015 general election in the state, for defamation which arose from a statement credited to him (Peterside) when he held a press conference after Governor Nyesom Wike’s Supreme Court victory.

Odili averred in the suit that Peterside had alleged in the press conference that Wike, during his victory thanksgiving service, stated that Odili helped him to

secure the Supreme Court victory.

Odili said Dakuku’s statement was false and malicious, and that Dakuku misrepresented and twisted what Wike said at the thanksgiving service.

Peterside, through his counsel, Rowland Otaru (SAN), had raised a motion that the suit should be dismissed as he was not properly served and also challenged the jurisdiction of the court to hear the matter.

Ruling on the application at the resumed hearing of the matter yesterday, the presiding Judge and Chief Judge of Rivers State, Hon. Justice Adama Iyayi-Laminkara, said the claim by the defendant that he was served notice of the suit through a wrong address did not hold water as there was no difference between the address of the defendant and the address where the notice was served.

Laminkara also ruled that the Court has jurisdiction to hear the suit and awarded a cost of N40,000 against the defendant.

investigator, Orji Chukwumau, told him: “So, you’re still strong?”

The former presidential aide said EFCC even extended the ill-treatment to his family, freezing his wife’s and children’s schools savings accounts “in a bid to frustrate and break me down.”

He said on May 20, Chukwuma took him to the

Head of Operations in Lagos, Iliasu Kwabai, who told him that the federal government was only interested in recovering stolen money because there was not enough fund even to finance the budget.

“They told me they only wanted to recover money and that they needed my corporation.

My response was no though my freedom was paramount to

me. Iliasu said I should return money for my freedom.

“The Director of Operation threatened me, saying I would remain in detention forever unless I cooperate. He told me that my freedom was dependent upon the release of the money.

My wife and children could not feed. Everything became a yardstick for my freedom. I had no objection to what he

was saying.

“Until May 20, my statements were largely dictated to me.

My health condition was deteriorating. On May 30 my family raised an alarm telling the whole world that EFCC refused to treat me,” Dudafa said.

Dudafa said EFCC eventually seized an unspecified amount of money from him, yet did not release him as promised.

HEALTHY LIVING FOR CHILDREN

Wife of Lagos State Governor, Mrs. Bolanle Ambode (second right); Commissioner for Youth and Social Development, Mrs. Uzamat Akinbile-Yusuf (right), Acting Head of Service, Mrs. Folashade Adesoye (left); Special Adviser to the Governor on Arts and Culture, Hon. Adebimpe Akinsola (second left) and her counterpart for Housing, Mrs. Aramide Giwanson (third left), during the flag-off of mass deworming programme for pupils in public primary schools, organised by the Ministry of Youth and Social Development, Maryland, Lagos....yesterday

Fayose Moves to Reposition PDP ahead of 2019,Visits Daniel Victor Ogunje ÓØ ÎÙ ÕÓÞÓ Poised to reposition the party ahead of 2019 general elections, Ekiti State Governor and Chairman, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Governors’ Forum, Mr. Ayodele Fayose, has called for support for all-inclusive efforts to rebuild the PDP, describing the party as “a sleeping, and not a dead lion.”

Fayose, who emerged as Chairman of the PDP Governors’ Forum last Thursday, made this call when he visited former governor of Ogun State, Otunba Gbenga Daniel in his Lagos residence on Sunday night.

According to a statement

issued by his Special Assistant on Public Communications and New Media, Lere Olayinka, the governor, who promised to work with all PDP leaders across the country to make a success of his tenure, said that the party could still boast of the best and established structure across the country, which needs only reactivation by putting all hands on deck.

Earlier, the governor had received former Minister of Information, Prof Jerry Gana and former governorship candidate of the PDP in Lagos State, Mr Jimi Agbaje, who visited the governor at his Lagos residence to congratulate him.

While describing the present challenges being faced by the PDP as “a phase that we can overcome most importantly that the All Progressives Congress (APC) government has failed to impress Nigerians and succeeded in pauperising the nation by its cluelessness,” Governor Fayose said; “falling is not unusual, but remaining in the falling state is admittance of perpetual defeat, which the PDP must not submit itself to.”

He lamented that Nigeria was being led by a nepotistic and dictatorial President, who has made the country to be more divided more than ever before, adding that “With the unleashing of hunger and suffering on Nigerians, PDP

stands to gain electorally ahead of 2019 if the party put its house in order.”

The governor, who called on all serving and former governors as well as other leaders of the PDP to rise to the rescue of the party by providing fearless and sincere leadership for party faithful, described the continuous closure of the party national secretariat as part of the deliberate efforts of the APC led federal government and its agents like the police and SSS to make Nigeria a one party state.

Responding, former Governor Gbenga Daniel likened Fayose to the biblical Daniel, who believed in the rebuilding of the Macedonian wall.

Retired Senior Police Officers Challenge their Disengagement Tobi Soniyi ÓØ ÌßÔË About 30 senior police officers forcefully retired in 2016 yesterday dragged President Muhammadu Buhari, Attorney-General of the Federation and Inspector-General of Police before the National Industrial Court sitting in Abuja challenging their retirement.

Also cited as co-defendants in the suit are the Police Service Commission and the Nigeria Police Force.

The plaintiffs, through their

counsel, J.U. Pius, are challenging their retirement on that grounds that the force was ‘influenced’ to retire them.

The plaintiffs are asking the court to interpret certain provisions of the constitution and whether they are binding on the Police Service Commission and its retirement processes.

They alleged that the IG, Ibrahim Idris, while in an acting capacity wrote to the presidency to retire 30 senior officers from the rank of Assistant Inspectors-

General of Police (AIGs).

The officers however, want the court to interpret certain laws in line with their retirement which they claimed was influenced.

When the matter came up for mention yesterday, counsel to the plaintiffs, told the court that all defendants in the suit had been duly served with notices to appear in court but failed to enter appearance.

He asked the court to fix the matter for hearing.

However, the trial judge, Justice

Rakiya Hasstrup, after going through the records discovered that only the first defendant, the president was served the notice.

The court later adjourned the case till February 22 for further mention, but however ordered that notices be duly served on all five defendants in the suit before the next adjourned date.

Idris had on resumption in office allegedly written to the presidency through the Chief of Staff, Abba Kyari, recommending retirement of senior police officers.

38

TUESDAY, ͺ͟Ë&#x153; ͺ͸͚Ϳ Ëž T H I S D AY

TUESDAYSPORTS

Group Sports Editor Duro Ikhazuagbe Email duro.ikhazuagbe@thisdaylive.com

Oshoala Pledges Commitment to Arsenal Ladies Super Falcons striker, Asisat Oshoala has said emphatically that she is 100% player of top English Womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Super League (WSL) side, Arsenal Ladies.

The reigning African best player was reportedly linked with a move to unnamed Chinese club side.

Oshoala said the reported

switch merely exists in the imagination of the reporter as she has no immediate intention or consideration to leave the English side. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m 100% at my club, Arsenal Ladies, I do not know the source of the report that Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m moving to China. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m 100% Arsenal Ladies

nothing more than that Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m on a break in Nigeria, a longer break after a major championship, Africa Women Cup of Nations in Cameroon,â&#x20AC;? said the former Liverpool Ladies FC and Rivers Angels markswoman to supersport. com.

Oshoala said she is happy

with her award and will continue to impact on the upcoming youngsters in the round leather game. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I feel really happy and excited winning the African best player award for the second time. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I will continue to work hard to steadily better my previously

performances both at club and national levels. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Of course, I have charity work as well as foundation aimed at helping the upcoming player. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I hold a yearly U17 football championship as a way of giving back to the society and the younger ones.

â&#x20AC;&#x153;I will continue to do my best to ensure more â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Oshoalasâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; are discovered and brought to football limelight,â&#x20AC;? said the former FC Robo goal poacher.

The lanky lethal finisher was pivotal to Super Falconsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; victory at the 10th Africa Women Cup of Nation in Cameroon.

AFCON 2017

Senegal Ends Unbeaten in Group B, Algeria Out Senegalâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 2-2 draw with Algeria in Franceville last night to ensure the Teranga Lions ended unbeaten at the top of Group B.

The result, combined with Tunisiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s victory over Zimbabwe in a concurrent match, saw Algeria eliminated from the

Africa Cup of Nations after claiming just two points from their three matches.

Senegal, who finished top of

the group with seven points, will face Cameroon in their quarterfinal in Franceville on Saturday, while runners-up Tunisia will face Burkina Faso in Libreville earlier in the day.

After a scrappy opening period, Algeria claimed the lead in the 10th minute when Sofiane Hanni broke free down the left and teed up strike partner Islam Slimani to score from close range.

Just before the midway point of the first half, a much-changed Senegal created a great chance for an equaliser when Moussa Konate played in his namesake

Moussa Sow, but the striker was unable to round goalkeeper Malik Asselah.

As news of Tunisiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s dominance of the other group game filtered through, Algeria began to lose their discipline and it was no surprise when Senegal equalised late in the first half through a skidding volley from Papakouli Diop to leave the game locked at 1-1 heading into the break.

The Fennec Foxes regrouped early in the second half and reclaimed the advantage in the 52nd minute when Riyad Mahrez teed up Slimani to score with

a sliced shot which only just travelled across the goal line.

Yet Algeriaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s lead lasted less than a minute, with a powerful run from Ismaila Sarr ending with Moussa Sow cracking home a low shot to make it 2-2 and peg the North Africans back for a second time.

Algeria should have reclaimed the lead â&#x20AC;&#x201C; and Slimani brought up his hat-trick â&#x20AC;&#x201C; when the striker was put clean through on goal in the 77th minute, but with only goalkeeper Khadim Nâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Diaye to beat he shot wide of the target.

CENTRAL BANK OF NIGERIA

TENDER NOTICE CENTRAL BANK OF NIGERIA ON BEHALF OF DMO OFFERS NIGERIAN TREASURY BILLS Serigne Mbodji of Senegal (right) closed marked by SoďŹ ani Hanni of Algeria during their last Group game in Gabonâ&#x20AC;Śyesterday

AUSTRALIAN OPEN

Nadal, Raonic, Others Hit Qâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ďŹ nals Former champion, Rafael Nadal reached the 2017 Australian Open quarter-finals with a hard-fought four-set victory over Gael Monfils.

The 30-year-old Spaniard, who is seeded ninth and won the tournament in 2009, beat the Frenchman 6-3 6-3 4-6 6-4.

Nadal will face third seed Milos Raonic - who beat Spainâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Roberto Bautista Agut - in the last eight tomorrow..

Canadian Raonic, the highest seed left in the menâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s singles, came through 7-6 (8-6) 3-6 6-4 6-1 against Spainâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Roberto Bautista Agut.

Grigor Dimitrov beat injury-hit Denis Istomin to progress, and will face David Goffin, who overcame eighth seed Dominic Thiem.

Nadal, who has struggled with injuries, is seeking his first major since claiming his 14th Grand Slam at the 2014 French Open.

He had difficulty converting break points - six of 17 - but clinched victory over Monfils with his second match point, on the sixth seedâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s serve.

The Spaniard had cruised through the first two sets, but lost the third and was a break down in the fourth before sealing victory in two hours and 56 minutes. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Now I feel a little bit tired.

But probably tomorrow [Tuesday] a bit better and hopefully after tomorrow perfect,â&#x20AC;? said Nadal, who is in his 30th major quarterfinal, but first since Paris in 2015. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Against Milos Raonic I just need to play very, very well. He is the third player in the world, he beat me a couple of weeks ago in Brisbane and is a top player with an amazing serve.â&#x20AC;?

Wimbledon finalist Raonic, 26, has reached the quarter-finals in Melbourne for the third consecutive year.

Playing with a high fever, he rallied from 5-1 down in the first-set tie-breaker to win the opening set, but was then broken twice in the second.

The 13th seed Bautista Agut then began to falter in the third set, when the roof at Hisense Arena was closed because of rain, and

he later had to call for a trainer for a leg problem.

Raonic duly took the third set and needed only 26 minutes to see out the fourth to win the match. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I was very fortunate to get through,â&#x20AC;? said Raonic, who hit 75 winners but also 55 unforced errors, including nine double faults. â&#x20AC;&#x153;There were moments where it wasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t looking so good.â&#x20AC;?

Bulgarian 15th seed Dimitrov, 25, came from behind to win 2-6 7-6 (7-2) 6-2 6-1 as Novak Djokovicâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s conqueror Istomin struggled with a leg problem.

Istomin, the bespectacled world number 117 from Uzbekistan, showed the effects of a demanding tournament. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Denis deserves all the credit for an unbelievable tournament, he has been on fire and he was striking the ball so well early in the match,â&#x20AC;? said Dimitrov.

Goffin had earlier become the first Belgian man to reach the Melbourne last eight by beating Austrian Thiem.

N

otice is hereby given by the Central Bank of Nigeria on behalf of DMO that the Federal Government of Nigeria Treasury Bills of 91, 182 and 364-day tenors amounting to N45,177,868,000 N80,000,000,000 and N117,219,063,000, respectively would be issued by Dutch auction on Thursday, February 02, 2017.

All Money Market Dealers should submit bids through the CBN S4 WEB INTERFACE between 9.00 a.m. and 11.00 a.m. on Wednesday, February 01, 2017.

Each bid must be in multiple of N1, 000 subject to a minimum of N10, 000.

Authorized Money Market Dealers are allowed to submit multiple bids. A bid may be for authorized Money Market Dealers own account, Non Money Market Dealers or interested members of the public. The result of the auction would be announced by 11.30 a.m. on Wednesday, February 01, 2017. The Bank reserves the right to reject any bid.

Allotment letters would be issued for successful bids on Thursday, February 02, 2017, while payment for the successful bids should be made to your account with Central Bank of Nigeria not later than 11.00 a.m. on Thursday, February 02, 2017.

The Bank reserves the right to vary the amount on offer in line with market realities prevailing as at the period of auction of the Nigerian Treasury Bills.

GOVERNMENT SECURITIES OFFICE CENTRAL BANK OF NIGERIA ABUJA.

T H I S D AY TUESDAY JANUARY 24, 2017

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MISSILE Amaechi to Rumour Mongers F

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‘’Last Sunday, the president stood for one hour; and if he is not fit he would have collapsed. I do not think we should discuss the president’s medical history. What are we worrying about?... The rumours about whether he is dead or he is alive, is all nonsense.’ – Minister for Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi dismissing rumours of President Muhammadu Buhari’s death, insisting that he’s fit to lead.

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TUESDAY WITH REUBENABATI Once Upon a Time in Gambia abati1990@gmail.com

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have very vivid memories of my last visit to The Gambia. This was in 2013 when President Goodluck Jonathan paid a two-day visit to the country. In the course of that visit, President Jonathan commissioned the new Chancery of the Nigerian Embassy in Banjul, and also met with the Nigerian community, in addition to the usual bilateral meetings. Nigeria and The Gambia have very strong cultural and diplomatic relations.

We were quartered at a very nice, hospitable sea-side hotel, the Coco Ocean Resort. One of the first things I noticed was the large population of female tourists, lounging by the pool-side and the sea-side, with bicepswielding, six-packs-flaunting young darkskinned men on the prowl, with gigolo-ish gait and mien. A female member of our entourage who had gone to the restaurant alone, later returned - visibly shaken and alarmed and what was her problem: one of the male ushers in the hotel had asked her if she would need a man to keep her company so she could have a real taste of Gambian hospitality.

We laughed over it later, but you could not but wonder whether this was one of the reasons why The Gambia holds a special attraction for middle-aged ladies from Europe.

There was no time to conduct further research into that aspect of our encounter with The Gambia. I was far too busy for that. But there was no doubt that The Gambia under President Yahya Jammeh took the country’s tourism endowments seriously: a beautiful seaside, good weather, low crime rate, good hotels, beautiful women, adventurous young men, and a meek populace.

President Yahya Jammeh was determined to give President Jonathan and his delegation a good reception. From the airport to the hotel, you would think a festival was afoot.

A public holiday was declared and our visit was aired live on radio and television. When we got to the hotel, President Jonathan’s vehicle was immediately serenaded by a cavalcade of horse-riders and a full band of drummers, singers and bag-pipers in colourful costume. They led our convoy to the Presidential suite, where security had been heavily deployed in fitting recognition of the importance of the visitor. President Jammeh like virtually every other West African President took a special liking to President Jonathan- the only one who was aloof and liked to act like the father of everyone was that one in Cameroon, although I must say when we went there for a security summit, he received us excellently well too.

We felt very much at home in The Gambia.

We were kept in rooms that were a bit far away from the President. And whenever that happened, the aides were always excited. It meant we could have a little more freedom away from the searching eyes of the security people around the President. And those ones, I will tell their story someday because they were fond of disturbing other matters of state and personal interest by suddenly

Jammeh interrupting with calls: “Oga dey call you, Oga says you must come now, now” only to get to the big man and he tells you, “No, I didn’t ask after you.” By the time you hang around for a while, just in case the big man would change his mind, whatever plan you were pursuing would have been aborted, or seeing you, the boss would find an assignment for you or drag you into a meeting. Angry, deflated, you went to the security man who made the phone call: “But you said Oga sent for me.” Those guys always managed a poker face: “But you know it is always good to stay around Oga in case he needs you.”

I was impressed by Jammeh’s hospitality and respectful disposition towards President Jonathan. I recall that in 2012, when President Jammeh tried to succeed President Jonathan as Chairman of the ECOWAS Authority, his own colleagues, including President Jonathan, opposed him. He rarely attended ECOWAS meetings. His then Vice President, the motherly, regal and polite Isatou NjieSaidy always occupied The Gambian seat.

But he usually showed up when a new Chairman was to be elected. Seniority is something that is taken seriously within the club of African Presidents.

They refer to themselves as “my brother, my brother”, but they are always very mindful of seniority and that is one of the reasons why the likes of Paul Biya, Robert Mugabe, Yoweri Museveni, Teodoro Obiang Mbasogo behave and speak as if they are God in human form. Each time Jammeh wanted the ECOWAS Chairmanship position, he behaved as if it was his birthright, but in 2012, and again in 2014, he was bypassed for junior Presidents as had been the case since he first expressed interest in the position in 2001.

He was the only long-serving President who was never allowed to chair ECOWAS. He must have been aware of President Jonathan and Nigeria’s stand on the question of his Chairmanship, but he never held it against both. In fact, Nigeria and Nigerians were so influential in The Gambia under Jammeh,

ordinary Gambians complained openly about the overwhelming influence of Nigerians in their country.

Everything went well during our state visit until it was time to meet with President Jammeh in the State House. It was part of my duty to introduce the Nigerian President’s delegation, except someone else seized the microphone and I stepped down. In The Gambia, mere protocol recognition of the President of the country ended up being a major problem. His full titles had to be mentioned, and in a correct order in order not to upset him. The pre-meeting briefing by my Gambian counterpart dwelt too heavily on the titles: His Excellency, Sheik Professor Alhaji Dr Yahya Abdul-Aziz Awal Jemus Junkung (AJJ) Jammeh Nassiru Deen Babili Mansa, President of the Republic of The Gambia. It was something like that. The security guards were also rough and menacing.

Security men often do not understand the language of diplomacy. We went to many countries where we were treated roughly and our own security men often threatened to retaliate if the affected country ever visited Nigeria. I don’t think we ever got a chance to retaliate because our protocol system proved to be more orderly.

The State House in The Gambia when we eventually went in, however, was quite modest. It looked like the guest house section of Aso Villa. The meetings went well too.

And Jammeh, to my surprise, spoke very well. He didn’t sound like the fool he was portrayed to be in the Western press. He was articulate, debonair, well-composed and mentally sharp. I guess these are required qualities for dictatorship and crookedness.

And I admired Jammeh. He is afterall, my age-mate. He sat there, in his royalty, running a country, and I was there, switching between a microphone and a notebook, documenting his history. But something else happened that gave a true picture of Jammeh’s Gambia.

Our official photographer, Callistus Ewelike (he took over from Kola Osiyemi– God bless his soul) had issues with Jammeh’s security men. Security men at State Houses around the world are unfriendly towards journalists.

They seek to control access. They consider journalists busybodies, looking for negative news. Accreditation and the use of tags should ordinarily take care of this, still, the security people just prefer to misbehave, and I witnessed that even in the United States where we were treated as if the visiting media was a team of terrorists. There was no violence in the US, but in The Gambia, they seized Callistus Ewelike’s camera and smashed it. Callistus is an aggressive, stubborn photo-journalist. He would fight if you try to stop him from doing his job.

He was a staff of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) handed over to me by Ima Niboro when Kola took ill. Callistus must have resisted the Gambia goons, claiming his right as President Jonathan’s Official Photographer.

In The Gambia under Jammeh, the President and the security agencies ruled as if there

would be no tomorrow. They trampled on everyone else’s rights. Anyone who tried to act like a free man was brutalised and dumped in prison. For 22 years, Jammeh sat on his country and his people with the help of marabouts and security enforcers.

He kissed the Koran everyday, but he did not act according to its dictates. He wore a trademark white garment, but his true garment was of a black colour from the kingdom of Satan.

Ewelike’s travails eventually became a full-fledged story on the second day of our visit when President Jammeh’s spokesperson and the rest of his media team started looking for me at the Coco Resort. We were to be treated to a luncheon before departure. The luncheon had started but I got cornered.

Jammeh’s spokesman brought a brand new camera to replace the one the Gambian security people had destroyed. Callistus was with me. The Gambians apologized.

Apology was taken and accepted. They said they didn’t want the two Presidents to hear about the incident. I gave them my word that I would not mention it to President Jonathan. Then, they pleaded that we should accept the replacement camera they brought.

I told them not to bother - as far as we were concerned, whatever happened was occupational hazard and Nigeria would replace its own damaged equipment. I looked at Callistus. He was eyeing the new camera greedily. At a point, he called me aside and whispered: “Oga, this camera they are giving us is better than the one they smashed oh. This one na better camera. Oga, abi make we take am?” I stood my ground. I also consulted Ambassadors Hassan Tukur and Daniel Hart who said accepting a replacement would amount to a diplomatic tit-for-tat. I thanked The Gambians for their good sense and assured them that we were fine with the photographic coverage of the visit so far, despite the damaged camera. I always had a back-up photographer and cameraman, in any case.

That encounter was a blessing in disguise.

It saved me from the first course at the Presidential luncheon, which had started while we were outside the hall discussing the damaged camera. When we got back to Nigeria, close to eight persons on the Presidential delegation ended up in hospital due to food poisoning! They all took that first course. Nobody died but somehow the information got back to The Gambia and the chef was arrested and charged to court. Jammeh’s rulership of The Gambia was jinxed in many ways. The biggest jinx was his volte-face over the last Presidential election. Gambians deserve a new place in the sun and a new Gambia. But so much depends on new President Adama Barrow.

He should look beyond the past and face the future. If he spends his time facing the past, he will disappoint his people and exhaust the enormous goodwill that has brought him to power.

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