Thursday 30th March 2017

Nigeria Consolidates $500m Eurobond with $1bn Issue CBN approves operating licence for DBN Ndubuisi Francis in Abuja Nigeria disclosed yesterday that its $500 million notes under the $1.5 billion Global Medium Term Note programme will be consolidated to form a single

series with the existing $1 billion notes, which the country issued in February and will mature by 2032.

The federal government therefore announced that it has priced its offering of the $500 million aggregate

principal amount of notes at a yield of 7.5 per cent under the $1.5 billion (increased from US$1 billion) Global Medium Term Note Programme.

This, according to a statement by the Ministry of Finance, will be consolidated

and form a single series with the existing $1 billion 7.875 per cent notes due in 2032.

The N1 billion notes (Original Notes) were issued on February 16. The terms and conditions of the $500 million notes, said the statement,

will be identical to those of the Original Notes, paying a coupon of 7.875 per cent per annum and maturing on February 16, 2032.

They will be repayable by way of bullet repayment of the principal together with the

Original Notes, the statement added.

“As with the Original Notes, the government intends to use the proceeds of the ($500 million) notes to fund Continued on page 12

Thursday 30 March, 2017 Vol 22. No 8015. Price: N250

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FG to Pay First Tranche of $5.1bn Cash Calls Debt to IOCs in April Advises oil multinationals to invest in refineries Chineme Okafor in Abuja

FGN SAVINGS BOND GETS LISTED...

L-R: Director, Portfolio Management Department, Debt Management Office (DMO), Mr. Oladele Afolabi; Chief Executive Officer, Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), Mr. Oscar N. Onyema; Director General, DMO, Dr. Abraham Nwankwo; Executive Director, Capital Markets, NSE, Mr. Haruna Jalo-Waziri; and Mr. Abubakar Sani Kolo of the Portfolio Management Department, DMO, at the listing of Series 1 of the FGN Savings Bond valued at N2,067,961,000 on the NSE, in Lagos… yesterday (See story on page 13 )

The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu has disclosed that the federal government would next month disburse the first tranche of the $5.1 billion Joint Venture (JV) cash calls debt it owes international oil companies (IOCs) operating in the country.

The government last Continued on page 10

FG Constitutes Panel on Executive, Senate Row to Avert Inaction on Ministerial Nominees Osinbajo to head c’ttee as govt refuses to open up on Buhari’s medical bill Four ministers likely to be dropped from cabinet Ndume suspended for six months, Saraki, Melaye cleared Prof Sagay gets tongue lashing, says he will not honour Senate invitation

Omololu Ogunmade and Damilola Oyedele in Abuja Disturbed by the stand off between the executive and the Senate, the federal government yesterday constituted a committee to come up with

recommendations on how to resolve the row amicably.

The executive, THISDAY learnt, was also keen on ensuring that the Senate does not mete out the same treatment to the two ministerial nominees – Prof. Steven Ikani

Ocheni and Mr. Suleiman Zarma Hassan – whose names were sent by President Muhammadu Buhari to the Senate on Tuesday night, as it did to the 27 Resident Electoral Commissioner-nominees of the Independent National Electoral

Commission (INEC).

The Senate on Tuesday resolved to suspend the screening and confirmation of the 27 REC nominees for two weeks over the continued retention of Ibrahim Magu as the acting Chairman of

the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), despite his rejection twice by the Senate.

In line with this resolve, there were indications yesterday that the Senate would also defer action on

the ministerial nominees over Magu.

However, the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed while fielding questions from Continued on page 10

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THURSDAY, MARCH 30, 2017 • T H I S D AY

PAGE TEN FG CONSTITUTES PANEL ON EXECUTIVE, SENATE ROW TO AVERT INACTION ON MINISTERIAL NOMINEES State House correspondents at the end of the weekly Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting held in the Presidential Villa, Abuja, said the executive was concerned about its relationship with the legislature and a committee had been set up to resolve the differences.

He observed that executivelegislative rows were not new in any democracy, but efforts were being made to achieve a balance between the two arms of government.

Though he failed to disclose the committee’s terms of reference and the duration of its assignment, THISDAY was informed that the committee will be headed by Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo and will have all ministers who were former members of the National Assembly as well as National Assembly liaison officers, as members.

“The executive is concerned that the relationship between the two arms of government is not as smooth as it is supposed to be.

“In any democracy, it is a continuous struggle for balancing between the executive and the legislature because both of them are creations of the law.

“We must strive at all times to ensure that there is that balance, amity and smooth relationship.

Just today, at the Federal Executive Council meeting, the issue was discussed and a committee is already working on ensuring that we resolve all these outstanding issues,” Mohammed said.

Also responding to questions on the details of the president’s medical bill during his 50-day vacation in the United Kingdom, Mohammed said the wellbeing of the president was the primary responsibility of the state.

According to him, the demand for how much was spent on the president’s health was a weighty issue which he said was both a security and moral issue, even as he wondered why pressure was being mounted to disclose how much was spent on the president’s health by the state.

“This matter has come up several times and our position on the matter is quite straight forward.

What are the president’s conditions of service? What are his entitlements in terms of his wellbeing and health care? The state is supposed to take responsibility for these.

“We believe that asking for how much has been spent on the health of the president is an issue that we should weigh very well both for national security and also for moral issues.

“I don’t know why we must divulge such very sensitive information. I might be wrong, but I don’t have any experience elsewhere where the president of any country was ill and was forced to disclose how much the state spent on his health.

“Yes, there is the Freedom of Information Act, but it is also crafted in such a way that when such information is likely to endanger national security, I think it is an area that is not covered,” Mohammed submitted.

Also briefing the press on the outcome of the FEC meeting, the Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun, said the council approved the $500 million Eurobond already approved by the National Assembly, disclosing that the time of its issuance will be made known soon.

She also said the council approved the establishment of West African Tax Administration Forum to serve as a platform for the promotion of mutual agreement and cooperation among West African tax authorities.

Disclosing that Nigeria will host the forum, Adeosun said it would provide a platform for better information sharing and cooperation among West African countries on tax administration, adding that this was part of the nation’s tax reform initiatives.

“As you know, Nigerians own properties in Ghana and other neigbouring countries.

Now, for tax purposes, they will be able to have access to that type of information,” she added.

Adeosun also disclosed that the meeting directed the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Mr. Babachir David Lawal, to remind all registered companies about the law requiring companies to reflect the names of their directors

and registered offices on their letter-headed papers.

She observed that most companies that transact business with the government fail to comply with this provision.

“For tax purposes, it is quite difficult to trace them. So, the SGF will be issuing a circular reminding agencies and ministries of government that it is the law and therefore they are at liberty not to treat any document that does not comply with the law.

“And equally, the Accountant General of the Federation is being advised that payments will only be made to companies that are fully in compliance with the law just to make sure that all those who are doing business with the government are paying the right taxes,” she added.

Also briefing the press, the Minister of Interior, Gen. Abdulrahman Dambazau (rtd.), said in view of rampant cases of fire incidents in different parts of the country, the council resolved to revamp the nation’s Federal Fire Service through the purchase of 15 fire fighting tankers at the cost of N403 million. He said the cost was part of the N5.5 billion approved in 2016 budget.

He also said even though the number of the tankers to be purchased by the government was very small relative to the size of the country, it would be a starting point in the effort to make the fire service effective.

He also said the government was considering adopting a common standard for fire departments at both the federal and state levels.

Ministerial Nominees Unveiled But as the executive announced measures to end the row with the upper legislative chamber, Senate President Bukola Saraki at plenary yesterday read Buhari’s letter seeking the confirmation of Prof. Ocheni from Kogi State and Mr. Hassan from Gombe State as ministers.

Ocheni is meant to replace the late Mr. James Ocholi, who along with his wife and

son died in a car accident along the Abuja-Kaduna expressway last year, while Hassan is to replace Ms. Amina Mohammed, who resigned from the cabinet in January to take up an appointment as the Deputy Secretary General of the United Nations.

By coincidence, Hassan was one of the 45 non-career ambassadors-designate confirmed by the Senate last week.

He was also once the Gombe State chairman of the defunct Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), which merged with the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) and factions of other political parties to form the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

Ocheni, on the other hand, is a professor of public sector accounting and Dean, Faculty of Management Sciences at the Kogi State University, Anyigba.

Ocheni was born on June 25, 1959, and got his doctorate degree in Public Finance from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka in 2004.

He is a Fellow of the Association of National Accountants of Nigeria (ANAN) and of the Institute of Chartered Economists of Nigeria.

THISDAY however gathered that the lawmakers have taken a decision to defer action on all requests from the executive until the president removes Magu.

The lawmakers on Tuesday had expressed indignation at the retention of Magu despite his non-confirmation and had noted that since the rejection of nominees sent by the executive does not seem to matter to the president, there may be no point in screening his nominees.

“As was agreed yesterday (Tuesday), there is no point bothering ourselves to screen and confirm or reject any nominee, since it will not matter.

“The president has refused to remove Magu, so what is the point of us wasting precious time and taking steps to go through the process of screening and confirming other nominees?” a senator asked off the record.

Another Senate source also confirmed to THISDAY that

the nomination of Ocheni and Hassan was the precursor to a cabinet shake up, which would see at least four “non-performing” ministers dropped from the cabinet.

Although the source did not disclose which ministers will be affected by the shake up, he disclosed that the state governors had already submitted their nominations to the president, who has since directed Osinbajo, Saraki, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Yakubu Dogara, and the SGF to review the list and make their suggestions.

“The list would soon be sent to the National Assembly, but of course it will suffer the same fate as the RECs, unless this current impasse is resolved,” the source disclosed.

Ndume Shown the Exit In a related development, Senate yesterday also suspended its former Majority Leader, Senator Ali Mohammed Ndume (Borno South) for a period of six months over his failure to conduct due diligence before filing what it described as a frivolous petition against Saraki and Senator Dino Melaye (Kogi West), thus dragging the institution of the Senate into disrepute.

The suspension came into effect yesterday.

The Senate also cleared Saraki of any involvement in the purchase and importation of a $298,000 armoured Range Rover Sport Utility Vehicle that was impounded by the Nigerian Customs Services (NCS), and also cleared Melaye of allegations that he did not possess a first degree from the Ahmadu Bello University (ABU) Zaria as he claims.

The senators took the decision after voting to adopt the report of the Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges and Public Petitions, which was directed to investigate the allegations, following a point of privilege raised by Ndume.

Before considering the report of the Committee on Ethics, Saraki had to step down while the Deputy Senate President, Senator Ike Ekweremadu presided.

Saraki could not preside over

FG TO PAY FIRST TRANCHE OF $5.1BN CASH CALLS DEBT TO IOCS IN APRIL December had negotiated terms with the IOCs to formally exit the JV cash call obligations it owes Shell, Chevron, Total, ExxonMobil and Nigeria Agip Oil Company (NAOC).

It got a discount of $1.7 billion from the companies and agreed to pay the balance of $5.1 billion over a five-year period.

Kachikwu said yesterday during the opening session of the maiden Nigeria Oil and Gas Opportunity Fair (NOGOF) in Uyo, the capital of Akwa Ibom State, that the government was in the final stages of making the first payment by April.

The NOGOF was initiated and organised by the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) to showcase opportunities for advancing local content application in the country’s oil industry.

Kachikwu equally explained that as part of the government’s four-year economic recovery plan during which the country hopes to grow its crude oil production to 2.5 million barrels per day (mbpd), the government also wants the IOCs and other operators to extend their investment commitments to other aspects of the country’s oil and gas sector.

He said the government would expect the oil majors to go beyond exploration and production activities, to refining in the country.

“Unless you find the funding, everything we say is entertainment, and so we must begin to focus very seriously as a nation on dealing with the financial challenges of the sector, not just for the big players but indeed more importantly the small players.

“So, we have taken the very first steps in the ‘7 Big Wins’ launched by the president to look at how to exit the cash calls.

“We had reached an agreement with the majors in December. We are trying to finalise the first stage of the payment in April,” Kachikwu said in his comments on the challenges facing Nigeria’s oil industry.

Speaking on capacity in the oil and gas sector as well as the opportunities, the minister said: “We have the capacity to grow oil production in this country in excess of three million barrels per day, so when we sit crying about the difficulties, I think we need to focus on the opportunities that are there with the resources that we have been given to find solutions to the problems that we see.”

He added: “We are focused on local refining because

after 40 years our refineries are decrepit, so the time has come to move away from transporting and exporting crude, to being able to refine petroleum in its every facet.

“The supply chain in the world has changed. Being a supplier of crude does not confer on you any advantage.”

He further argued that the business model in the country’s oil industry cannot continue to be all about drilling for oil for transportation and exports, adding, “It must be to drill to refine and export.”

Kachikwu also called on operators in the industry to deepen their areas of specialisation and prevent overcrowding in certain areas which he said muddles up the sector.

“The greatest problem of the Nigerian space is overcrowding. There are tons and tons of opportunities but

we must succeed in creating business models.

“Once we succeed in creating business models, the time for individual selective creativity would emerge.

For us to move forward as a country, we have to reduce the time we spend on bureaucracy,” he stated.

He equally explained that his ministry has begun processes to reduce the amount of time lost to bureaucracy, adding that it is absolutely necessary to provide services and not add more bottlenecks to the system.

In his opening remarks, the Executive Secretary of the NCDMB, Simbi Wabote, explained that the conference was initiated to showcase the business opportunities available to local content providers in the industry’s upstream, downstream and midstream segments.

a matter in which he was a party.

Ndume last week had urged the committee to investigate the two issues as published by an online news medium and rehashed by a national newspaper (not THISDAY).

He argued that the probe was necessary to protect the integrity of the Senate, adding that the publication had accused the Senate of being on a vengeance mission against the Comptroller General of Customs, Col. Hameed Ali (rtd.) for refusing to intervene in the release of the seized vehicle.

Saraki and Melaye on Monday appeared before the committee alongside the Vice Chancellor of ABU, Prof.

Ibrahim Garba, the importer of the vehicle, Mr. Tokunbo Akindele, and the car dealer, Mr. Olanrewaju Shittu.

Ndume also appeared before the committee and stressed that he had not petitioned the committee, but only raised a point of order.

But the Senator Samuel Anyanwu-led committee, in its report considered at plenary yesterday, indicted Ndume for not conducting due diligence before bringing the matter to the floor of the Senate.

It observed that as a former Senate Leader and a ranking senator, he was expected to have weighed the consequences of the allegations carefully and investigated them before presenting them on the floor of the Senate.

The report said: “That having failed to cross-check facts before presentation at plenary, he could not be said to be a patriotic representative of the Senate and should be penalised to serve as deterrent to others.

“That the Senate do suspend Senator Mohammed Ali Ndume for bringing Senator Dino Melaye, his colleague, and the institution of the Senate to unbearable disrepute at this time of our national life when caution, patriotism, careful consideration and due diligence should be our watchwords.”

The committee had recommended a suspension of 181 legislative days for Continued on page 10

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NEWS

Three-year-old Burnt to Death, Mother Begs Obaseki, Others for Help Adibe Emenyonu in Benin City The mother of a three-yearold boy who was burnt to death when fire engulfed a building at Ijiorgbor Street in Ikooba-Okha Local Government Area of Edo State, Mrs. Sophia Denis, has appealed to Governor Godwin Obaseki and other well meaning Nigerians for financial assistance.

Mrs. Denis who survived the fire incident along with her five-year-old son, made the plea while speaking

to newsmen yesterday at the University of Benin Teaching Hospital (UBTH).

Also, doctors at the hospital confirmed that Martin Denis, her surviving son, has a 50-50 chance of living if the funds required to treat him are made available.

She stated that her family lost everything they had to the inferno, adding that she is just a petty pap seller whose husband is jobless.

Mrs. Denis further explained that the cause of the inferno was unknown,

but her early arrival at the house after she had finished selling her pap for the day, led to the rescue of her bedridden son.

She said: “When I got home and saw the fire, the windows and doors were locked. Our neighbours told me to bring my key but I told them I have no key and that I left the children with their father.

So the neighbours helped me breakdown the door.

“The area where my younger son was kept was the part that was burning

in the house, but this one was not there. However, because of the heat, he was badly injured.

“I have lost everything.

I have lost my son. I am pleading with the government to help me. I don’t have money and I sell pap. Their father doesn’t have a job.

“I beg everybody to come and rescue my child for me. The doctor said it’s a 50-50 chance for my son to survive but its only money that can make him alive,” she pleaded.

Obaseki

our foreign borrowing programme for the 2016 budget and deliver further funds for vital capital projects.”

Citi and Standard Chartered acted as Joint Lead Managers and Stanbic IBTC as Financial Advisers on this issue.

Also, the finance ministry announced that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has approved a licence for a wholesale Development Finance Institution (DFI) with national authorisation to the Development Bank of Nigeria (DBN) Plc. Adeosun confirmed the issuance of the licence, a statement from the ministry said yesterday.

According to the statement, the approval was conveyed in a letter addressed to the Managing Director/Chief Executive of Officer of DBN dated March 28, 2017.

The letter was signed by the Deputy Governor of the CBN in charge of Financial System Stability.

The approval was subject to meeting the minimum capital requirement of N100 billion, the reconstitution of the board of the bank and a review of its organogram.

The DBN was conceived in 2014, however its take off has been fraught with delays.

The Muhammadu Buhari administration inherited the project, but was determined to resolve all outstanding issues and set a target of 2017 for its take off.

The finance minister had said previously that the DBN will have access to $1.3 billion which will be jointly provided by the World Bank (WB), KfW (German Development Bank), the African Development Bank (AfDB) and the Agence Française de Development (French Development Agency).

The bank is also expected to finalise agreements with the European Investment Bank (EIB).

She also stated that the DBN will provide loans to

all sectors of the economy including manufacturing, services and other industries not currently served by existing development banks, thereby filling an important gap in the provision of finance to micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs).

As a wholesale bank, the DBN will lend wholesale to microfinance banks, which will on-lend to medium to long-term loans to MSMEs. MSMEs contribute about 48.47 per cent to Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Products (GDP), but have access to only about 5 per cent of lending from Deposit Money Banks (DMBs).

The federal government expects that the influx of additional capital from the DBN will lower borrowing rates while the longer tenure of the loans will provide the required flexibility in the management of cash flows, giving businesses the opportunity to make capital improvements and acquire equipment and supplies.

where there is trouble and confusion”.

“Last year when the Supreme Court of Nigeria gave a ruling in a matter staying proceedings on an action, Prof. Sagay came out and cast aspersions on the judges of the Supreme Court and said everything he wanted to say about the judges that served in that panel.

“The Nigerian Bar Association, then under Barrister Alege, came out to apologise on behalf of the NBA. He (Sagay) took on the NBA and said all sorts of things about body,”Nwaoboshi said.

He also recalled that Sagay was sacked from the University of Benin by the Ibrahim Babangida military administration for trying to “pull down” Prof.

Grace Alele-Williams when she was appointed the first female vice chancellor of the institution.

He cited another instance when Sagay was asked to deliver a speech in Delta State after the creation of the state.

“He said that because the good people of Delta North, where I represent, have the state capital, we do not have the right to aspire to the position of governorship of Delta State.

“I want to appeal that we should not waste our time on Prof. Sagay. Let us face important issues,

national issues, than dwell on Prof. Sagay because he will continue along the same path.

“If a man at almost 80 years, if not more than 80 is behaving like that, it is his trademark and you cannot change him now,” he added.

After the debate on Sagay’s remarks, Saraki referred the matter to the Committee on Ethics and Privileges to invite the professor of law.

However, Sagay was quoted by online news medium Premium Times yesterday as stating that he would not honour the invitation of the committee.

He said: “They have no power or authority to summon me,” Mr. Sagay, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) and law professor, said. “I am not in the category of persons they can summon.”

He said the Senate resolution was unconstitutional, adding: “They ought to know that I do not come within the category of persons they can summon.

“I would advise them to tell their lawyers to check Sections 88 and 89 of the constitution. Through that they will know that I don’t fall within that category.”

“They don’t have the authority to summon me.

I am outside the group of persons they can summon. I am not a civil servant, I don’t belong to any commission."

NIGERIA CONSOLIDATES $500M EUROBOND WITH $1BN ISSUE capital expenditures in the 2016 budget.

“The successful pricing, which is priced 37.5bps inside the original coupon rate, demonstrates continued strong market appetite for Nigerian securities.

“This is despite continued volatility in emerging and frontier markets and shows confidence by the international investment community in Nigeria’s economic reform agenda,” the statement issued by the Director, Information, Ministry of Finance, Mr. Salisu Na'Inna Dambatta, said.

When issued, the notes will be admitted alongside the Original Notes to the official list of the UK Listing Authority and will trade on the London Stock Exchange’s regulated market.

Nigeria may apply for the notes to be eligible for trading or listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange and Financial Markets Dealers Quotations Over-the-Counter Securities Exchange.

Pricing of the notes, the statement added, comes shortly after the country unveiled its National Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (NERGP) 2017-2020 on March 7.

The plan focuses on policy objectives in five core areas: macroeconomic policy, economic diversification and growth drivers, competitiveness, social inclusion and jobs, and governance and other enablers.

Key targets under the NERGP include reaching single-digit inflation, further growth in the agricultural sector, reducing unemployment, increasing operational energy capacity and domestic refining capacity, improving transportation infrastructure, and stabilising the exchange rate, with an emphasis on implementation, monitoring and evaluation of these economic goals.

Commenting after the successful pricing, the Minister of Finance Mrs.

Kemi Adeosun said: “The proceeds from this additional note issuance will go towards funding capital projects in the 2016 budget.

“Infrastructure spending is at the heart of our National Economic Recovery and Growth Plan, which was released earlier this month and guides how we will deliver the urgent reform our economy needs between now and 2020.

“Resetting the Nigerian economy is essential in order for us to deliver sustainable long term growth.”

The Director General, Debt Management Office (DMO), Dr. Abraham Nwankwo said: “Following the success of our $1 billion note issuance in February, Nigeria is delighted to have increased our 2017 Eurobond programme to $1.5 billion and to have secured the additional $500 million.

“Nigeria was keen to take advantage of favourable market conditions and investors’ appetite for Nigerian debt to complete

FG CONSTITUTES PANEL ON EXECUTIVE, SENATE ROW TO AVERT INACTION ON MINISTERIAL NOMINEES the former majority leader, but following intervention by some senators who argued that Ndume was a first time offender, his suspension was reduced to six months.

Senator Peter Nwaoboshi (Delta North), however, noted that Ndume could not be considered a first time offender, as he had at various times impugned the institution of the Senate.

He disclosed that as Senate Leader, Ndume had prevailed on the lawmakers to send Magu “back to the president” after the report of the Department of State Services (DSS) was read, without screening.

“I want to make this point that Senator Ndume is not just a first time offender.

We took a decision on the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), yet he went outside and maligned the Senate.

“We took a first decision on Magu when we came in here after our executive session and I want the record to be put straight.

When the report of the DSS was read, he rose here and started begging all of us, that please we should send Magu back to the presiden, for the president to take a decision on him.

“He was begging everybody here and out of respect for him as a leader at that time, this Senate obliged him. After that he went out to malign the Senate, but

he did not tell the public that he was the person who begged us.

“He even went further and said we should invite him (Magu) and tell him why we could not confirm him. He was moving like a saint,” Nwaoboshi added.

Ndume, following the indictment of the SGF for corruption and fraud amounting to N2.5 billion by an ad hoc committee and the rejection of Magu without screening last December, had briefed the press and presented a contrary position.

Senator Jibrin Barau (Kano North), backing the report of the committee, said Ndume wasted the time of the Senate with a frivolous petition.

“He wasted the time of this Assembly and I hope this will not happen again.

How can someone go to the social media, pick something frivolous and bring it here?

“Is it not the same social media that said our dear president was dead the other time?” Barau asked.

Senator Matthew Iroghide, however, argued that the suspension for 181 days, as recommended by the committee, was too long and appealed that it be reduced to six months.

Senator Abubakar Yusuf (Taraba Central) also appealed for leniency for Ndume since he had expressed satisfaction with the investigation of the Ethic Committee.

Instead, Yusuf recommended that Ndume should only be suspended from committee membership, including the chairmanship of the Committee on INEC. “The people of Southern Borno would not forgive us if we suspend their representative,” Yusuf said.

However, his plea and that of Senator Ibrahim Kurfi (Katsina Central) that Ndume should not be suspended at all fell on deaf ears.

Attempts to get a reaction from Ndume were unsuccessful, as he neither picked up phone calls nor responded to a text message sent to him by THISDAY.

Prof Sagay Roasting

Gets

Also, the senators yesterday berated the Chairman of the Presidential Advisory Committee on Anti Corruption (PACAC), Prof.

Itse Sagay over comments credited to him describing the Senate as childish, irresponsible, and filled with people of questionable character.

Sagay had made the remarks while reacting to the decision of the Senate to defer action on the confirmation process of the REC nominees.

The matter was raised at plenary by Deputy Senate Leader, Senator Ibn Bala N’Allah (Kebbi South), who

citing Orders 14 and 15 of the Senate Standing Rules, urged that the Committee on Ethics, Privileges and Public Petitions to summon Sagay to name the persons of questionable character in the Senate.

N’Allah added that if the president had done due diligence on Sagay’s background, he would not have appointed the law professor as the chairman of PACAC. Backing him, Senate Leader, Senator Ahmed Lawan (Yobe North) lamented that presidential aides have continued to cause tension between the executive and legislature, instead of working to improve the relationship between the two arms of government.

“We are elected people just like the president. We are not above board, Nigerians have the right to criticise us because they brought us here, but a presidential aide does not have that right. He can only proffer suggestions on the way out,” he said.

The Senate Leader noted that Sagay’s comments were divisive and capable of causing unnecessary tension that would hinder Buhari’s government from achieving its noble and laudable campaign promises.

Senator Nwaoboshi, citing three instances, however, urged his colleagues not to pay heed to Sagay whom he said only “thrives

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

Brexit: Commonwealth, NEPC to Work on Impact on Nigeria Ohuabunwa calls for standard practices in food products

Goddy Egene and Nume Ekeghe The Executive Secretary/Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC), Mr. Segun Awolowo, yesterday said the Secretary General of the Commonwealth, Patricia Scotland, has agreed to work with the council on a trade paper on the challenges and opportunities of the Brexit on Nigeria.

Speaking on the impact of Brexit on Nigeria on THISDAY sister news network, ARISE TV in Abuja, Awolowo said since the Britain has triggered the Brexit process, it means both opportunities and challenges.

“There are two words to describe this which is opportunities and challenges. Of the two countries, Britain is a big economy in the world and Nigeria is the 24th largest economy in the world and with the colonial background, we have a strong relationship with the United Kingdom (UK). “Nonetheless, trading with a big economic block in base is much better to do but even that has its challenges.

“For Nigeria, we tried negotiating a very complex free trade agreement that is the partnership agreement with the EU and I think two other nations in West Africa but have not signed yet. So of course it is easier negotiating with a single country so that is the immediate

advantage in that and when it is a partner, historically because we have about two million Nigerians in Diaspora so it is a big market for export and services both in ICT and financial sector. So that is why I would say there are opportunities and challenges but even with that, we don’t know how this is going to extend to us,” he said.

According to him, whatever the outcome is, Nigeria is going to trade with Britain, stressing, “It is just going to be on how we direct our trade. And I think Nigeria is very important we are their second largest trading partner in Africa and they are our third largest trading partner. So we are going to trade anyway.”

Speaking on the trade deficit with UK, Awolowo explained that Nigeria has been trading only one commodity over the years and that is oil.

“We are just in a position of a serious attempt to diversify the economy. Nigeria has released its Nigerian economic recovery and growth plan which is what we are going to use to get us out of this recession. And on the background of that is the strong emphasis on export because we believe once we are able to trade other things than oil then we would have a balance in our trade deficit all across the world. So Britain is very key.

They are our largest foreign direct investment partner and this the

time we are urging them to invest in manufacturing and industry in Nigeria. So that market is very big and very key,” he said.

Meanwhile, a chemist and pharmacist, Mr. Sam Ohuabunwa, has called for the issuance of new standards that will control the level of benzene in food products in the country, the former Chief Executive Officer of Neimeth Pharmaceuticals Plc, who made call against backdrop of controversy Fanta and Coke.

Benzene in soft drinks is a public health concern and has caused significant outcry among environmental and health advocates.

Speaking on ARISE TV, Ohuabunwa said scientific fact available showed that this reaction

does occur but might not be a such a great harzards.

“However, most countries, have gone ahead to limit the benzene content in soft drinks and any liquid. They try and accept standards, I believe that is the issue in our country and believe we need to set standards local manufacturers can comply with,” he said.

He called on the Nigerian Bottling Company to be transparent by coming out with more information on its products, adding that the company should also comply with what they have been asked to.

He disclosed that benzene is present in the water we drink.

Amnesty International Condemns Racist Attack against Africans in India Dabiri-Erewa calls for calm Ejiofor Alike Amnesty International India has condemned the racist attack against Africans in India and called on Uttar Pradesh authorities to bring to justice those responsible for recent racist attacks against black African students and ensure the students’ safety.

Campaigner at Amnesty International India, Makepeace Sitlhou, said in a statement yesterday that the recent attacks in Uttar Pradesh have shown how black people in India - particularly African students - continue to face racist discrimination and violence.

“Many of those injured were targeted merely because of the colour of their skin. These are hate crimes, and authorities need to ensure that those responsible are punished,” Sitlhou said.

Amnesty noted that several black African students have been attacked in a series of hate crimes in Greater Noida over the last three days.

According to the group, on Wednesday, a Kenyan woman was pulled out of a taxicab and beaten in Greater Noida.

“On 27 March, four Nigerian men were beaten up by locals holding a protest march demanding justice for a 17-year-old who had died two days earlier from a suspected drug overdose.

The boy’s family had accused their five Nigerian neighbours of murder and demanded their arrest. The men were arrested, and later released due to lack of evidence,” the statement explained.

Video footage posted online by the Association of African Students in India shows two other Nigerian students being beaten - including with metal chairs and dustbins - by a mob inside a mall in Greater Noida on 27 March. One of the students, Enduranca Amalawa, told journalists, “We kept crying for help, but no one came, not even the security marshals.

I was running but they followed me and attacked me.”

The statement added that the police in Noida have registered a First Information Report against nine people on charges including

attempt to murder in relation to the attack at the protest.

Meanwhile, following multiple distress calls by Nigerian students in India on concerns on their safety as a result of renewed attacks on them, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Foreign Affairs and Diaspora, Hon. Abike Dabiri-Erewa, has urged Nigerians in India to remain calm, be watchful of their surroundings.

Dabiri-Erewa said in a statement in Abuja yesterday that the renewed Tuesday attacks on Nigerian students’ in India was uncalled for.

While condemning the mob action as unwarranted and deplorable, the SSA noted that the Indian authorities currently have five suspects in custody.

Dabiri-Erewa noted that though the situation was calm at the moment, the Indian government has a responsibility to protect Nigerian students in India going about their normal duties.

She urged the Indian government to ensure that any alleged suspect should be prosecuted to the full extent of the law.

She said the Chargé d’affaires in India, Mrs. Queen Worlu, has promptly visited the scene of the incident and also visited the three patients in hospital.

According to available reports, two of the victims are two brothers, Precious and Endurance Amalawa and Chukwuma Igboamalu. Other reports have it that nine Nigerians were attacked, all students of Noida International University in India.

“I have also spoken with Mr Charles Kennedy, President of the Students’ association in Greater Noida where the attacks occurred.

He said though a Kenyan girl who was working alone in the early hours of today was attacked, more police patrol vehicles have been deployed to all areas.” He confirmed that the situation is calm and is pleased with the prompt actions of the Nigerian Chargé d’affaires in India and the Indian government so far.

CELEBRATING ASIWAJU @65

L-R: Lagos State Governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode, wife of Oyo State Governor, Mrs. Florence Ajimobi; wife of Osun State Governor, Mrs. Sherifat Aregbesola; the celebrant, Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu; his wife, Senator Oluremi; wife of Lagos State Governor, Mrs. Bolanle Ambode; and Osun State Governor, Rauf Aregbesola, during Tinubu’s 65th birthday celebration at his Bourdillon residence, Ikoyi, Lagos.... yesterday

FGN Savings Bond Listed on Nigeria Stock Exchange The Nigeria Stock Exchange (NSE) yesterday approved the listing of N2.067 billion Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN) Savings Bond on the floor of the exchange.

NSE Chief Executive Office, Oscar Onyema, who approved the listing, when a team from the Debt Management Office (DMO) visited the trading floor of the NSE, praised the DMO for its commitment for growing the savings bond market.

DMO Director-General, Dr. Abraham Nwankwo, who sounded the closing gong at the NSE said approval of the bonds listings which came with 13.01 per cent coupon was key to empowering the grassroots into achieving sustainable wealth creation.

Nwankwo said: “It’s an exciting day for Nigerian and DMO in particular. We were giving the opportunity to introduce a savings bond with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and other relevant agencies for supporting our efforts”.

He said the federal government want to ensure that progress being witnessed in the economy, reaches and benefits the grassroots.

The DMO boss said that out of the 2,555 people that subscribed

for the offer, over 95 per cent were individuals consisting of ordinary Nigerians on the street including barbers, hairdressers, vulcanizers teachers, motor park workers among others.

“These are the people that subscribed for the offer. We are so excited and happy that Nigeria has broken the jinx to make sure that everybody in the country is part and parcel of activities in the capital market. And that is very consistent with the plan of the Federal Government. I repeat that whatever progress Nigeria is making should be inclusive and ordinary people should be part and parcel of it so we are happy that this aspect of the change agenda has been implemented and this will continue every month,” Nwankwo said.

Continuing, he said the funds realized from the offer will be used to fund the budget deficit, and refinance matured existing/ domestic bonds.

He said that the bond refinancing makes it possible for the FGN Savings Bond will continue in perpetuity, and on monthly basis. “The April 2017 offer will coming up on April 3, and it will continue every first week of the month. Nigerians will continue

to benefit from the FGN Bonds.

We congratulate the NSE for their continued initiative and operation for helping to make the listing a success,” he said.

He said the FGN Savings Bond has helped the ordinary Nigerians to participate in the capital market with create benefits that will accrue to their investments.

“What the federal government has done through the FGN Savings Bond is to make this opportunity not only for the big investors from pension firms or banks to be part of it, but also for the ordinary man on the street to participate. Another benefit here is to give every Nigerian opportunity to participate in the capital market and it is an inclusive programme that allows everyone to be part and parcel of it. The bond can also be used as collateral to borrow money from banks, more importantly the bond is liquid,” he said.

He explained that for investors that invested in the two-year bond, such investors can sell their bonds before the maturity if they have urgent need for money because the offer is listed on the stock exchange.

“There will be continuous campaign, advertisement and interactive sessions and we expect the media to play a big role in

disseminating this information of the FGN savings bond so that more Nigerians will be part and parcel of this movement. The federal government and the DMO will continue to do all it can to ensure information is disseminated concerning the offer,” he said.

Nwankwo said over 120 stockbrokers are actively marketing the bond in the nooks and crannies of Nigeria to make sure people partake in it.

The FGN Savings Bonds are debt instruments offered by sovereigns to mobilise resources from the general public, especially individuals and small savers. It offers guarantees that help to stimulate and deepen the savings culture among households, assists in the diversification of funding sources for the government and establishes benchmarks for other issuers. It equally encourages financial inclusion across the social and economic strata.

The bonds will be “good for savings towards retirement, marriage, school fees, house projects,” the DMO said. According to the debt office, issuance of the bond will sustain the development of other segments of the bond market and support government’s financing needs in the years ahead.

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T H I S D AY THURSDAY, MARCH 30, 2017

COMMENT

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

ALI AND HIS CUSTOMS UNIFORM

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The appointment of Hameed Ali as comptroller-general of the customs service was a mistake, argues Bolaji Adebiyi

ne of the good things about democracy is that the exercise of citizens’ freedom of expression at times provides the polity some comic reliefs even at moments of great depression. Listening to varied views on the fight between the Senate and Hameed Ali, a retired army colonel, over his customs uniform, one cannot fail to come to the conclusion that out there, there are many dishonest jesters, masquerading as public opinion leaders, who would rather turn logic on its head in order to mask their personal interest dressed as public good.

Erstwhile civil rights agitators who now work for President Muhammadu Buhari have been very vociferous in setting up the Senate for the guillotine over a matter that, were they honest believers in due process of law, rules and regulations, they would have roundly lashed the president for his abuse of the discretion donated to his office by the constitution.

The president in August 2015 appointed a non-career officer as the Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Customs Service. This obviously did not go down well with the career officers, the top management of which sent in its retirement notice in protest of the presidential action. Of course many people familiar with the sector criticised the appointment on the ground that customs service is too technical for a non-career officer to quickly come to grasp with its intricacies, and could be counterproductive particularly when the principal objectives are to reform, restructure and increase revenue generation.

One year plus, the appointment would appear to have been ill-advised as the ongoing controversy over the refusal of Ali to wear the customs uniform points. Interestingly, the uniform was a side issue; the main point of the Senate was the policy of the customs to transfer the burden of payment of unpaid duties on imported cars to the end users. The policy was borne out of Ali’s desire to increase the customs revenue profile having failed consistently in the last two years to meet its target. Believing that many vehicles in the country were either not properly assessed or not assessed at all, he felt subjecting every vehicle to a test of proper assessment would shore up his revenue profile. The policy had no cut-off date of importation as every vehicle on the road, including those purchased 20 years ago would be affected.

Career officers advised against the policy on point of law and capacity. Although under the Customs and Excise Management Act, the service is empowered to impound or levy duties on goods that have made their ways into the country even when they have successfully evaded the customs at the entry point. But this applies only to goods that have not exceeded seven years. Besides, officials expressed reservations about the capacity of the service to implement the policy nationwide having regards to the limited human and technological resources available to it. Both concerns were brought to the attention of Ali who peremptorily overruled them.

Were Ali a career officer or knowledgeable about the rules, he would have understood the impracticability of the policy and would have been minded to give it further thoughts particularly given the concerns of those whose mandate it is to implement it. Of course as it was expected, public objection to the policy was instant and massive,

SERIAL SOCIAL CRITICS AND CIVIL RIGHTS CONTRACTORS HAVE SINCE ENTERED THE FRAY ON THE SIDE OF AN OTHERWISE IMPETUOUS PUBLIC OFFICER WHO HAS SCANT REGARD FOR CONSTITUTED AUTHORITY SIMPLY BECAUSE OF HIS CLOSENESS TO A PRESIDENT THAT HIMSELF OBSERVES RULES ACCORDING TO HIS WHIM

attracting the intervention of the Senate, which invited him to come and defend the controversial policy.

If the sponsors and handlers of Ali had been discerning enough they would have known that the Senate hearing was bound to be explosive and would have taken steps to forestall what is eventually playing out. His contempt for the customs as an institution, exhibited by his refusal to wear its uniform, had been revolting to officers and men of the service and had been an issue of public interest since his appointment in 2015. His handlers failed woefully to understand that it is part of the democratic rights of the servicemen to take their lobby for the protection of the dignity of their institution to the legislature.

The resolution of the Senate summoning Ali to appear before it in his Comptroller-General uniform was probably the first manifestation of the effectiveness of the career officers’ lobby. The CG, seen as a repulsive impostor by his officers, obviously did not see this and proceeded to walk into a well-laid landmine with his contemptuous media reaction to the summons. Dismissing the uniform aspect of the resolution as a non-issue, Ali asked the Senate to concentrate more on substance than inanities , insisting what was important was that he was doing his job creditably well. Really?

After an initial grandstanding, Ali reluctantly appeared before the Senate in mufti, telling the senators that no law requires him, a CG, to wear the customs uniform. If the Senate was a court of law, it would have sentenced Ali to 12 months imprisonment for contempt in the face of the court. The Senate resolution was clear: “The Comptroller-General should appear in his uniform.” His conduct, no doubt, was defiant of the authority of the Senate, which walked him out of its chambers.

Serial social critics and civil rights contractors have since entered the fray on the side of an otherwise impetuous public officer who has scant regard for constituted authority simply because of his closeness to a president that himself observes rules according to his whim and caprices. They assail Senate’s insistence on respect for its authority as egoistic and without substance. Without a doubt, this is an impertinent conclusion having regards to the constitutional powers of the legislature not only to oversight the executive but to compel compliance with its resolutions. Indeed, the House of Representatives has a committee on legislative compliance. What is the job of that committee if the legislature has no powers to compel compliance with its resolutions?

Interestingly, the professional agitators pretend that the Senate has not accomplished its substantive objective of compelling the abortion of the vexed policy of transferring payment of duties on imported cars from the importers to the end users. On the eve of Ali’s appearance at the Senate the custom service announced the suspension of the policy because of the legislative intervention. But the service only met the demand of the Senate half way having suspended rather than cancel the policy as demanded by the upper arm of the legislature.

Adebiyi is Deputy Editor, THISDAY Newspapers (08053069321)

WAR WITHOUT BLOODSHED

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Abdulraman Sadik writes on the futile attempt to extradite Turkish cleric, Fethullah Gulen, from the United States

hen Marxist-Leninist theorist, Mao Zedong defined politics as “war without bloodshed” several decades ago, the Chinese philosopher arguably gave no thought about the ugly events that now hold the political space of Turkey on the jugular.

Since the July 15 failed coup in Turkey, politics in that country has assumed chilling dimension, with the President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s led Justice and Development Party (AK Party), capitalising on every possible opportunity to nail perceived enemies and trample on the rights of significant number of Turks in a menacing manner.

But the move by Erdogan and his co-travellers in the ruling AK Party to further take this persecution to foreign lands without minding international boarders and sovereignty of other countries appears to have hit a unshakeable brick wall. This is not unconnected with the Turkish government recent quest to willy-nilly extradite from the United States the highly respected Turkish cleric, Fethullah Gulen. The move apparently has now fallen like a pack of cards and literally suffered its well-deserved death as the Intelligence Committee of the United States (US) Congress has dismissed the

claims upon which the extradition is being sourced.

Gulen is the Pennsylvania-based moderate Sunni cleric the Turkish government accuses of masterminding the failed July 15 coup, despite having no concrete evidence linking him to the aborted coup.

Over the past few months, Turkey has been mounting pointless pressures on the US authorities to extradite Gulen even as it continued to clampdown on members of the Gulen’s inspired Hizmet Movement, which the Turkish government now brands as Fethullah Gulen Terror Organisation.

Thousands of perceived sympathisers of Hizmet Movement and other right activists now languish in various prisons cells without trial, while many more have been forced out of government jobs.

Erdogan has not stopped there, scores of charity organisations, universities, businesses, media organisations, among others, linked to Gulen or Hizmet Movement have been shut down by the authoritarian Turkish leader, who is now seeking more dictatorial powers in the executive presidency referendum scheduled for April this year. But despite the condemnations that continues to trail his undemocratic actions from far and near, especially the European Union (EU) which the country seeks membership, the

Turkish president appears to be more ruthless and highly obsessed by his ill-conceived quest to humiliate and extradite Gulen by using the failed coup as a smokescreen.

But Devin Nunes, chairman of the powerful Intelligence Committee of the US Congress in an interview on Chris Wallace’s “Fox News Sunday” which was aired on FOXTV recently, made some important remarks about Gulen’s extradition quest and his alleged involvement in the failed coup.

Nunes, a member Republican Party and a close ally of President Donald Trump, did not mince words in the interview when he made it clear that there is no evidence linking Gulen to the failed coup. “I haven’t seen evidence that Gulen was involved in the failed coup,” he said.

Though this response can be construed as a hard knock on the stubborn head of President Erdogan, following his regular trademark boasts that the moderate Islamic cleric would be extradited, the US congressman did not end there. He continued: “The Erdogan government has becoming very authoritarian.” and added, “our relationship with Turkey is strained and going to become even more complicated as we begin to try to get ISIS out of Iraq and Syria.”

Though Nunes did not elaborate why would Turkey-US relations will get

complicated as the coalition tries to get the dreaded Islamic States out of Iraq and Syria, the Head of German Intelligence Agency (BND) Bruno Kahl in an interview published recently also believes that there is no serious evidence linking Gulen to the failed coup.

Despite these near foolproof views from Germany and US, Erdogan, in a clear case of a man afraid of his own shadow, is bent on using underhand tactics to get Gulen extradited. The Turkish government was allegedly said to have recently engaged some individuals and firms using third party in US to help in lobbying for the extradition of Gulen and also spy on businesses associated with the cleric. Some former Turkish generals, journalists and others have also helped press the government’s case at assorted Washington panels against what it calls the Fethullah Gulen Terror Organisation.

Though it is hardly surprising, therefore, that the Turkish government would engage Washington, DC lobbyists to help out in its case to extradite Gulen in order to score cheap political point, what is clear is that the United States will not stoop so low to allow for the unwarranted extradition of Gulen under any guise, knowing fully well of the present nauseating human rights abuses and authoritarian credentials of Erdogan.

Sadik wrote from Kaduna

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EDITORIAL DEATH ON THE CAMPUSES

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The death of students due to poor sanitation raises questions about schools’ effective supervision

ollowing the recent death, in questionable circumstances, of two students at Queens College, Lagos, the Minister of Health, Professor Isaac Adewole, immediately directed some relevant authorities to ascertain the cause, inspect the school environment (including the kitchen), examine the source of water supply and test its suitability for human consumption. While the outcome of that investigation has not been made public, it is already established that there was a challenge of hygiene that led to the tragic death of the school girls.

Last week, the Lagos State Government directed that the school be shut down indefinitely for a proper treatment of its water system that was “polluted”. According to the State Commissioner for Health, Dr Jide Idris, health records from the school’s sickbay indicated that a total of 1,222 students presented themselves at the clinic on account of abdominal pain, fever, vomiting and diarrhea.

He noted that 16 of the students were admitted in various hospitals while two eventually died. But it would take the interventions of other critical stakeholders, including the Unity Schools Old THE AUTHORITIES IN Students Associations SCHOOLS NEED TO (USOSA) before CONSTANTLY ENSURE the management of OF SAFE WATER AND Queens College could SANITATION FOR THE suspend its resumption CHILDREN IN THEIR plan.

Unfortunately, CUSTODY what we have is not an isolated incident but a national public health challenge that must be quickly addressed. The death at Queens College attracted so much attention. But at about the same period, there was a similar incident in Government Secondary School, Fannah in Suru Local Government Area of Kebbi State where four students died following an outbreak of gastroenteritis, also known as infectious diarrhea.

Seven other students from the school, according to media reports, were hospitalised at Kamba General Hospital in Dandi Local Government Area while the governor, Alhaji Abuabakar Atiku Bagudu led a delegation, which

Letters to the Editor

included the Speaker of the State House of Assembly to visit them. Yet there are sundry reports of similar cases in boarding schools across the country.

According to the United Nations Education Fund (UNICEF) an estimated 124,000 children under the age of five die every year in our country because of diarrhea, mainly due to unsafe water, sanitation and hygiene. “Lack of adequate water and sanitation are also major causes of other diseases, including respiratory infection and undernutrition,”it said. To compound the problem, many schools in Nigeria lacked safe, private toilets and hand-washing facilities. This has been proved to affect enrolment and performance, particularly in the case of girls.

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2019 ELECTIONS AND BUDGET IMPLEMENTATIONS

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he Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has announced dates for 2019 general elections. In a statement posted on its website, the electoral commission said it was making the announcements well ahead “in order to ensure certainty in our dates for elections, and to allow for proper planning by the commission, political parties, security agencies, candidates and all stakeholders”. The 2019 Presidential and National Assembly elections would hold on Saturday, February 16, 2019 while the Governorship/State Assembly/Federal Capital Territory Area Council Elections was scheduled to hold on Saturday, March 2, 2019. This is the ideal practice; to announce the election date on time to allow adequate preparation and participation of the political agents.

A lot of people believe that this idea will be a step ahead mechanism to correct certain anomalies in our electoral process. These challenges include issues with giving proper voters’ education; omission of candidates or political parties from the ballot papers; late arrival of voting materials; election apathy; ballot box snatching; security challenges and all manner of hitches. These challenges are attributable to inadequate and late preparations.

It is the practice in the US for example that the date of the general elections is made public beforehand. The comparison is because of the

he import of this is that the issue of hygiene in schools is a national problem that has to be dealt with in a holistic manner. It does not help that whenever there is a problem, many of the authorities in these schools are usually defensive instead of looking for solution. In the case of Queens College, for instance, the school authorities were more concerned about the image of the institution than addressing the public health challenge that claimed the lives of two students and threatened that of many others. The report from the Old Girls Association was indeed very telling as it revealed several distressing issues that tended towards criminal negligence.

What is particularly worrisome is that at a time many of the 36 states are involved in one form of “school feeding” or another, many of which are being used to scam away scarce resources, there is a telling absence of any credible intervention by their ministries of health and education. Yet, except there is vigilance on sanitation, these programmes could become a channel for widespread infection. There is therefore the need for action that would involve all the stakeholders in government as well as the private sector, including those with specialised skills in public health. The authorities in the schools need to constantly ensure of safe water and sanitation for the children in their custody and they must leave their doors open for spot checks on their extent of hygiene. Prevention, as the old saying goes, is always better than cure.

seeming similarity between their political system and ours. But it turned out that we adopted a system similar to theirs but left out the other details that matter. Over there, you have leaders but here in Nigeria, we have politicians who only think about the next elections rather than the true development that the people yearn for. National development projects that can really impact lives positively are what you see being embarked upon and it is on this basis the political players seek reelection. But here, the average Nigerian politician mindset is that of self-interest and seeks how much money they can gather to buy votes and voters in the next elections at the detriment of national development and wellbeing of the people.

The date for 2019 general elections has been announced by the INEC. Next on the mind of every Nigerian politician, especially the incumbent public office holders, is not how many projects they can complete between now and then, but how much money they can gather within the period to surmount every opposition. And those ones in their last term of office will be focused on how much money they could go with at the expense of capital and development projects. The concern is that a sizeable chunk of the capital budget allocations for the next two years is likely going to bear the brunt.

Omale Omachi Samuel, Centre for Social Justice, Abuja

ERA OF DIVERSIONARY LEGISLATURE IN NIGERIA

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n the March – April edition of Socialist Worker, the flagship publication of Socialist Workers League, the cover screams: “Bungling Bosses” and with a rider: “Throw them Out”. It ends with the admonition: Build Power from Below”. The cover reads: the political situation in Nigeria is a tragic- comedy as the country is ruled by a ruinous ruling class of parasitic politicians and self-serving entrepreneurs.

Given the diversionary tactic characteristics of the legislative arm of government, which often plays out in the face of serious national issues, we on the left doubt if the bosses can provide leadership for social progress. The politicians who represent these bosses while claiming to represent us all are the most obvious players in the comedy of the absurd which they painfully drag us through. For instance, the custom boss uniform saga and the integrity question poised for the EFCC boss. These integrity antics are coming from a legislature filled with predominantly questionable members with low integrity quotient. On the African continent, the experiment with democracy is locked in the deficit trap. The people do not understand the function of the legislature - this includes the legislators themselves.

If they realise that the legislature is the first arm of government, the real essence of democracy,

the moment they realise this, democracy will be stabilised. People of questionable character thrown up in elections that are clearly a mockery of democracy have been the greatest obstacle to growth and development on the continent and Nigeria in particular. The law makers lost touch with the people in times of hardship and even recession, when the masses are groaning under burden of high cost of living, hunger and extreme poverty.

Yet, our Legislators clamoured for all kind of allowances and imported official cars. They who enjoy mandates of the people must learn to show concern by jettisoning personal aggrandisement.

They have been wasting time on compelling the Acting Comptroller of Customs to wear uniform as a diversionary tactics to shift the masses attention from the stark social economic and political realities of today.

Our legislators are bereft of any historical knowledge of how Europe underdeveloped Africa, hence their unmitigated betrayal of the people who they represent their collective interests. Until today, after centuries of unequal trade relations between Europe and Africa that led to Africa’s underdevelopment, African political elites continue to loot and repatriate to develop Europe.

Comrade Ogbu A. Ameh, Onwaters2011@gmail. com

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THURSDAY MARCH 30, 2017 • T H I S D AY

17

NEWS

Dogara: Nigeria Can’t Totally Eliminate Corruption N’Assemby could override Buhari if he vetoes peace corps bill Iyobosa Uwugiaren in Abuja The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon Yakubu Dogara, has said corruption is not something that can be “totally” eliminated in any nation, including Nigeria, just like other vices, adding that what the government can do is to reduce it to the barest minimum-to a level that is almost seen as non-existent.

The speaker who stated this during an interactive session with some senior editors in his office in Abuja, said advanced countries that some commentators speak so glowingly about have not been able to eliminate corruption completely. ‘’We have seen this hydraheaded monster called corruption rearing its head even in elections of certain jurisdictions. Clearly the signs are there, but our collective effort is that we reduce it to the barest minimum. Anyone who thinks he can eliminate corruption; I lack the English word to describe such a person. ‘’To eliminate it (corruption) totally will amount to eliminating the totality of the human race; because no human being is clothed in perfection; all we can do is to reduce it to the barest minimum,” he stated.

Drawing analogy from some countries that have death penalty

against vices like armed robbery and other crimes, yet failed to prevent armed robbery, Dogara said it is very difficult to phantom the nature of the human minds.

He added: “As they are executing armed robbers, some people still continue without care. Even when they are executing drug traffickers in some countries, more people are still peddling drugs. It’s a battle that we’ll continue to fight. There won’t come a day when Nigeria will say we have eliminated corruption, this is a perfect society, that is one notion we must discard. ‘’If we are ever going to achieve that, then there won’t be need for institutions like EFCC, ICPC, even the police-they have been fighting crime since the age of Nigeria, but there are still crimes.’’

Talking about the perceived huge corruption in the National Assembly, the speaker explained that the Nigerian parliament is not an institution that exists on its own, saying it is part of the society and it is difficult not to trace any iota of corruption in its affairs.

He said there could be cases of corruption in the parliament, adding that whenever the institution discovers such

vices, proper punishment is apportioned to express dissent capable of deterring such.

Dogara said the National Assembly could override President Muhammadu Buhari if he vetoes the Nigerian Peace Corps bill which seeks to make the private organisation an agency of government.

The speaker said the National Assembly believes the peace corps would bolster Nigeria’s current security and law enforcement capabilities.

“If the president doesn’t assent for whatever reason,” to the Peace Corps Bill, “we are at liberty to recall it back to parliament and muster the two-thirds in the House and

Senate and pass in spite of Mr. President’s veto,” Dogara said.

He, however, said any action to be taken by the lawmakers would be determined by Buhari’s reaction to the bill, already passed by each of the chambers of the National Assembly.

The Speaker said the parliament would not be distracted by the antics of existing security agencies, adding that the country cannot spend too much on security.

“We cannot overspend on the issue of protecting the lives and the properties of our citizens, we cannot,” he said.

Dogara said the police and other security agencies were

acting in a manner similar to how they treated the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) in the run up to its adoption by the Olusegun Obasanjo administration.

The Head of Service of the Federation, Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), National Security Adviser, Ministry of Interior and the Federal Ministry of Health joined other security agencies to kick against passage of the peace corps bill in the National Assembly last year, citing issues from lack of sufficient funds to duplication of duties.

Most of them opposed the establishment of the NSCDC, and its founder, Ade Abolurin, was

arrested on numerous occasions.

Today, Dogara said, the NSCDC has become a force for good in the country, perhaps even more than the police.

“That was the same argument when the Civil Defence Bill was before the House, that it could not be funded, that they were divulging some of the powers of the police to the civil defence— that it would never work.

“At the end of the day all these were surmounted and now we have the civil defence that in some cases some citizens have said that they are more dependable than the conventional police.

“I see them everywhere I travel to and they have become a pride of the society,” Dogara said.

Customs Denies Seizure of Kano Senator’sVehicles Ndubuisi Francis in Abuja The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has described as false and misleading some media reports that it seized some vehicles belonging to a senator in Kano.

In a statement issued by its acting Public Relations Officer, Mr. Joseph Attah, the NCS said its attention had been drawn to “a mischievous publication in some prints and online platforms that

the service has seized vehicles belonging to a Senator in Kano.

“Since this is capable of misleading the public into wrong insinuations, it is imperative to state the facts,” the statement said.

According to the organisation, the Operatives of NCS’ Compliance Team, based on credible intelligence, trailed the movement of some smuggled vehicles from Maigatari, Jigawa State to a house at Magaji Rumfa, GRA Kano.

On February 7, 2017, 11 vehicles, 10 Hilux and one Land cruiser SUV were retrieved from the house at Magaji Rumfa GRA, Kano and taken for detention at the headquarters of the Customs Area Command Kano, the NCS added.

The officers, it stressed, discovered there were no occupants in the house, hence the gate was forced opened to retrieve the smuggled

vehicles.

It noted that investigation into the smuggling of the vehicles is still on to establish the true owner.

“From the above, it is clear that whoever introduced the “Senator” angle to the story is out for pure mischief and does not represent the position of the service on this issue.

“Accordingly, the false and misleading report should be discountenanced please,” the statement concluded.

18

T H I S D AY • THURSDAY, MARCH 30, 2017

POLITICS

Group Politics Editor Tobi Soniyi Email tobi.soniyi@thisdaylive.com 08033146139 SMS ONLY

PERSONALITY INTERVIEW

Oyegun: APC Will Not Shield Party Defectors from Prosecution AttheburialofaformergovernoroftheoldMidwesternandlaterBendelState,Gen.SamuelOgbemudia, the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, spoke with journalists on the state of the nation. He also issued a warning to those switching to his party, stating that APC will not serves as a shield against prosecution for corruption. Adibe Emenyonu was there and presents the excerpts

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fter several weeks of worries and speculations about the President’s health, he came back and resumed duties, how do you feel about that?

I feel very happy, very glad and a sense of relief that our President is back.

Stability has returned to the polity. The deluge of most unfortunate rumours, some totally lacking in decorum had ended.

The system is beginning to forge ahead.

Obviously he was ill but we thank God he is back now. We hope and pray that the system will not put unnecessary pressure on him again so that he can regain his full working strength.

But there is this worry in the North that Southerners are in the habit of choosing someone not too healthy for them as presidential candidate, have you received such complaints?

I cannot have that kind of worry and nobody should try to play God. And if there are people who have that kind of thinking then they are trying to play God and there is no such thing at all. So I don’t go into that area of speculation at all. It is unacceptable. It brings instability to the nation. When we are ill, it is God that permits it and probably it is all to teach us a lesson to prepare us for future challenges. We should not go beyond that to politicize ailment, I don’t think that is proper.

The naira is appreciating every day against the dollars, will you say that the economic plans of this administration have started yielding dividends?

First the dividends have already started to manifest. It may not be very publicly perceptible now, but there is no question at all that the economy has picked up. As against the last two - three years, before we came into office.

Work has started on national infrastructures and money is being pumped into the economy.

Debts are being paid, contracts that have been stalled have started. We now have additional huge investment in the railways and the power sector even though that has not started yielding result until transmission system is firmed up; until the threat to the supply of gas to generating stations is also minimized. So there are economic activities taking place now on a massive scale compared to the last few years and the flow of resources will pass through the various sectors of the economy. The naira has appreciated, we thank God, at least we have enough dollars to pump in to support the naira but it is clear even to the basic economics that we will reach that eldorado when as a nation we start producing and when we start exporting agriculture produce, solid minerals and other products. We must earn additional dollars to support our hunger and our craving for dollars. And the dollars that we spend to import hopefully and prayerfully will be for the productive sectors of the economy and not for consumption. Until we get there, there cannot be a permanent solution. The Buhari regime is dedicated to moving us from a mono economy to a much wider economic base where solid minerals, either by cutting down the level of foreign exchange that we spend importing food like rice that we can produce. So the president is moving on all fronts.

Unfortunately, these are not things that will just manifest in few months, but there is no question at all that the economy is now taking off on a very solid foundation.

The Senate is dominated by your party, the APC, yet the president’s nominee for the EFCC

Oyegun...no room for corrupt defectors in APC

job, Ibrahim Magu was not confirmed, what is your reaction to it?

We still have all sorts of forces still at play in the system. All sorts of rivalry still at work within the system. But one thing is basic, as far as the APC government is concerned,

The anti corruption war started even within the APC. So, it is not something that discriminates.

So, if you want to join the APC you are most welcomed, but note that it is not something that will give you a cover.

It will not give you protection if you have skeletons in the cup board. If they catch up with you, that is the end of the matter

there is no discrimination in the war against corruption. I have not gone into the specific reasons behind the Magu case but that we will do now. But what is clear is that the president is operating an anti-corruption war that does not discriminate.

Whether you are in the APC or not. So there must be reasons for what is happening which I have not gone into but we will do that now.

Are you not worried that those people joining the APC from the PDP are negatively affecting the party and that what is happening in PDP may also happen to your party?

It does not give me worry. As a matter of fact, if you look at the positive side, you will realise that, first, people are, to some extent, penitent about their contribution to the damage that they did to the economic base of this country.

Secondly, we know we have a recession and if in a recession we are still able to win election in Ondo, Kogi, Edo and other states without the need to fake results, that is a good sign. But the consolation is that there is no discrimination in President Buhari’s anti-corruption crusade.

Whether you are in the APC or not. But don’t forget, a lot of our problems today originated within the APC. The anti corruption war started even within the APC. So, it is not something that discriminates. So, if you want to join the APC you are most welcomed, but note that it is not something that will give you a cover.

It will not give you protection if you have skeletons in the cup board. If they catch up with you that is the end of the matter.

And it happened recently where some people who joined us are now massively with the EFCC and they are in court. So joining APC does not give anybody cover or protection.

For instance, look at the case of the former NNPC boss, Yakubu. We were upset when he was removed. We were on his side but if tomorrow we find out we were wrong and the persons need to be pilloried, you

go ahead and do so. So, it shows you the kind of anti-corruption war that is going on.

You were one of the dignitaries that attended the burial of late Dr. Ogbemudia and you visited the family after that, how would you describe him?

I first encountered him when I was still relatively young and he was one of the inspirational forces that made us very proud to be from Midwest, Bendel State and now Edo State. He was an inspiring force. I know even as a civil servant we contributed to his campaign to be civilian governor of old Bendel State. He was a man of great achievements, great knowledge and great influence in the politics of this country.

We maintained a close relationship even though we belonged to different political parties. And of course, technically, he was my predecessor in office and he was somebody we tried to emulate.

He was an inspirational achiever who has left indelible foot prints on the Nigerian political space. He has been immortalised in Edo State already and I don’t see why the federal government will not do the same.

How would you assess the administration Governor Godwin Obaseki so far?

So far so good. A quiet operator. Very quietly you will notice that the port holes have disappeared and some roads are being fully rehabilitated.

From the grapevine I know about his forage into preparing for a major economic take off of Edo State in several facets. Making sure that we have the power that we need, making sure that we contribute significantly to agricultural production in this nation and that we return to the prime place we used to be and of course, in industry and the rest of it. He is making major policy and practical preparation for a significant take off, I know that. I wish him the very best. When his programmes hit the economic scene of Edo State, we will have a lot to smile about.

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T H I S D AY • THURSDAY, MARCH 30, 2017

INTERVIEW

Ikpeazu is Making Abia Better, Says Appolos The Chief Press Secretary to Governor Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia State, Enyinnaya Appolos, in an interview with journalists, listed the achievements of the administration in the last two years. Shola Oyeyipo brings the excerpts

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Two major roads at Aba that even the opposition has used repeatedly in their propaganda against the government are Port Harcourt and Faulks roads. Today, Faulks road is about 50 percent completed and is being handled by SETRACO. Port Harcourt road, which is a federal road, has now been effectively taken over by the state government in order to ease the pains of Abians and residents who have suffered along that road for many years without federal intervention. The governor who promised to fix that road, has commenced the contractual processes leading to the fixing of the road.

In all, this administration has completed 15 roads in Aba alone in two years, and the governor’s drive is to leave Abia better than he met it.

overnor Ikpeazu will be two years in office in some few weeks, how has the journey been so far?

Indeed May 29, 2017 is around the corner and will make it two years since Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu became the fourth governor of Abia State. It has been two years of challenges and experiences, at the same time, two years of achievements and development at a scale Abia has never witnessed since 1999. In a nutshell, it has been a fulfilling and rewarding two years for the people of Abia State. The period has also opened our eyes to the political realities in the state which was not envisaged when the administration came into being. It has also made both the governor and the people of the state to know what is at stake.

Can you tell us about the challenges?

When this government started in 2015, we didn’t know the country was going into economic recession, but apparently divinely inspired, the governor’s first policy when he came in was to cut down his salary and allowances as well as that of all his aides by 50 percent. Whatever the governor receives today as salary is half of what he should be receiving. Whatever I am getting today as salary in this office as CPS is 50 percent of what it is supposed to be. What provoked this decision was that this government wanted avenues to save more money so that we can do more work for the people with the allocations from the federal government to the states drastically reduced. States like Abia, which in the past used to get as much as N6b monthly, can not now boast of N3b. For some months, it was slightly above N1b and around that range.

Even the internally generated revenues of the state have also been affected by the recession, but wisdom and prudence on the side of the governor has really helped to drive the vehicle of the state up to this point.

How did the governor utilize the recent Paris Club refund and the bail out fund he got in 2015?

Abia State got N10.6b from the Paris Club refund.

If you remember, the federal government pleaded with states to use 50 per cent of whatever they got to clear up salary and pension. For us in Abia, 50 per cent of our N10.6b is N5.3b. What the governor did was first of all, to get approval of the Abia State House of Assembly to spend the money.

The House approved the request as follows: N5.3 billion on Salary arrears and pensions.

N1.7 billion on road constructions. N2.5 billion on bridges.

N685 million on hospitals and N200 million for street lighting.

On the issue of bailout fund, in 2015 when the federal government gave the bailouts to states, Abia State applied for a bailout of N30 billion from the federal government, but got N14.152. The bailout was specifically for payment of salaries and pensions. The governor immediately constituted a committee with Mr. Obinna Oriaku, the Commissioner for Finance, who was then the Special Adviser to the governor on Economic Matters as chairman, and handed over the money to the committee for disbursement.

Other members of the committee included the state chairman of the Nigeria Labour Congress, the state chairman of Trade Union Congress and Chairman, Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE).

Others are: Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Finance; Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs; Permanent Secretary, Bureau of Administration; office of the Head of Service and the AccountantGeneral of the state, the Auditor-General, and the Statistician-General.

Let me draw your attention to the fact that when the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC) listed states that allegedly mismanaged their bailout fund, Abia was not among. Instead Abia was among those that applied prudence in the managment of the fund.

Appolos...passionate about Ikpeazu’s efforts

So, in a nutshell, the N14b bailout fund and the N10.6b Paris Club refund were prudently managed by the Abia State government with the leadership of the civil societies in the state.

It was because of how these funds were managed that made NULGE to give the governor a recognition recently. It’s a pity that some politically frustrated elements in the state, who play politics with everything still talk about these funds with unfounded allegations.

What have been the achievements of the government so far?

Plenty. During the campaigns, the governor made promises and one of the major promises he made was that he was going to develop Abia from resources gotten from Aba. The governor knew then that in future Nigeria would no longer depend on oil as the mainstay of the economy and source of her revenue and if it becomes so, what’s going to be the fate of Abia that is not even a major oil producing state.

That was exactly what led to the creation of the five pillars of development upon which this

Being in and out of courts has not really deterred the governor and that was why I said that it has been two years of sweet and sore experiences. Sweet because in the midst of the distractions the governor has recorded many achievements that Abia people can feel and touch. Yet, sore because much more could have been achieved if not for the distractions

government is working. In developing those pillars, the governor looked at the natural areas of strength of the state, where we have competitive advantage over others, which translates to what we have that other states do not have or at least not enough of and we came to realise that we have Aba, which no other state in Nigeria has. Before now, the road infrastructure in Aba was nothing to write home about. This government decided to tackle head on, the issue of road infrastructure in Aba as one of the enablers for strengthening the premier commercial cum industrial orientation of the state and her people.

The governor assumed office on May 29, 2015, which was a Friday. On June 1st being Monday, he flagged off the reconstruction of seven roads in Aba alone. As I speak, all the roads flagged off on that first day in office had been completed and commissioned. They include Adventist Close (ENUC close), Ommne, Kamalu, Chima Nwafor, Umuehilegbu, Umule and Owerri roads. And the governor has long moved to constructing more roads some of which have been completed while others are ongoing, including Faulks Road, MCC/Old Express, Ururuka Road, Owoahiafo/Onicha Ngwa road, Umuaro/Ekwereazu Ngwa Road, the Osisioma junction flyover, Aba Road and low cost housing estate road 2, both in Umuahia and many more that are currently ongoing.

To date, 32 roads have been done across the state with 65 others ongoing or what you call work in progress.

He has plans to do much more, but it should be noted that within this same period of two years, the governor has been in and out of courts. Of course your are aware that the defeated governorship candidate of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) in the last election, Dr. Alex Otti, went to the tribunal to challenge the election of the governor. That matter went all the way to the Supreme Court and immediately after that when the governor thought litigation was and it was time to settle down to work, he was confronted by another desperate judicial actions by Uche Ogah and Friday Nwosu, who were co-aspirants for the PDP ticket in 2014. As we speak, the matter is still pending at the Supreme Court with ruling expected in the Ogah matter in May while the Nwosu matter is yet to be settled.

Yet, being in and out of court has not really deterred the governor and that was why I said that it has been two years of sweet and sore experiences. Sweet because in the midst of the distractions the governor has recorded many achievements that Abia people can feel and touch. Yet sore because much more could have been achieved if not for the distractions.

Where will the funds to execute these projects come from bearing in mind the present economic recession?

It might interest you to know that by the time this government came on board, Abia State IGR was between N500m and N600m monthly. But as at December 2016, our IGR was over N1b and the governor has said that our target by December 2017 will be N2.5b. Ultimately we are targeting N3.5b, before 2019. How we are going to get funds is simple and that is why we are focusing on Aba and that was why the governor said he was going to develop Abia from resources from Aba because from Aba alone, this government will generate enough revenue that will help it to provide needed infrastructures in all the parts of the state.

Has this administration any plans to bring moribund industries in the state back to life?

Yeah, we have Golden Guinea Breweries, the Glass Industry, the Metrological complex, the Ogwe Golden Chicken and a whole lot of them.

The Glass Industry in Aba had started production before the activities of vandals in the Niger Delta forced it to stop because it relied on gas from there. Government had really put in a lot of resources in that place. The same goes to the Golden Guinea Breweries. I remembered that I met with the man in charge of the brewery and he said everything was almost ready as at last year.

Local government and other workers in the state are owed arrears of salary, is there anything government is doing to pay the workers?

It is not because Abia State governor does not want to pay that people are owed salaries.

Rather, it is because the country as a whole is suffering from economic hardship and that has affected us with reference to revenue inflows.

Remember that at the beginning of this interview, I told you that a state like Abia that used to get above N6b from Abuja, now gets about N3b. However, that has not stopped the state from making effort to ensure that salaries are paid. So we are appealing to our people to continue to show support and understanding to the efforts of the government. We are doing everything possible to clear salary and pension arrears in the state. What does not get reported is the fact that more than 80 per cent of our civil servants have received at least January salaries. Things will get better as we continue to manage inflows prudently, remove ghosts from the payroll and close all revenue leakages.

The governor of Imo State recently said about three governors in the South-east will be joining the APC and it was rumoured that your principal would be one of them, could this be true?

Well, when the governor of Imo State said that, he never mentioned any governor. So, since he didn’t mention which and which governors from the South-east will join them, we also think we are not mentioned, so, why should we be responding to that? But that’s not to say that Governor Ikpeazu is leaving the PDP. Of course when PDP governors met with the former president of Nigeria to resolve the lingering crisis in the party, he was there.

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THURSDAY, MARCH 30, 2017 • T H I S D AY

FEATURES

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

The Quest for Water As Nigeria joined other countries to commemorate World Water Day, Kuni Tyessi writes that access to potable water should not be for a select few

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aratu, a teenager of 13 is initiated into the world of womanhood by nature, as after every 21 days, her monthly visitor is what she has been taught to expect by her aged mother who has instructed that on no account must the opposite sex sit close to her, hold her hands or any part of her body, let alone play with her. The result will be an unwanted pregnancy for which she will be disowned, as her body is responding to the change in growth.

Maintaining personal hygiene with the use of clean water is not left out of the sermon about the dos and don’ts of puberty.

She is required to cover lengthy kilometres which include going to the next community to get water, not just for herself but for other members of her family who are all males, but for her mother. Moreso, she is battling with a toilet infection. She contacted it as a result of the use of a public toilet which is used by over 30 adults and is rarely properly washed as the use of excess water is regarded a sign of opulence, not to talk of being sanitised which is a luxury.

She's not the only one in this dire situation.

Several others also have the ailment and as they treat the bacteria and get cured, others contact the disease which results to itching, sores and smelly discharge with the potential of causing internal damage.

The cycle continues.

Saratu's story is not the same with that of Zara, her contemporary who resides in a Government Residential Area and has access to clean water which is always available with just a twist on a tap-head. She makes use of water system toilet which is disinfected twice daily and can take her bath as many times as possible. Her younger siblings often play with water which often spoils the tap due to constant manipulation. This leaves water gushing out without control until it has to be repaired.

This to Dr. Michael Ojo, the WaterAid country representative, is inequality which is birthed as a result of status and must not continue as water must not be a privilege of a selected few, but a necessity for all, irrespective of social, economic and educational background.

There are several likes of Saratu and Zara and in commemorating the 2017 World Water Day, Ojo reveals that the water sector in Nigeria is underfunded, hence the numerous potential it promises to deliver are untapped, thereby making the industry less attractive to Nigeria's teeming youthful population who are unemployed.

In a quest to improve the quality of water to all Nigerians and to make it available towards the boosting of sanitation and hygiene, especially in rural areas, he reveals that WaterAid has earmarked the sum of N1 billion for this cause.

But how far can it go? Ojo says "It is a fraction of what the federal government is expected to contribute. The sum of N44 billion was allocated for water resources in the 2016 budget, which is 0.7 per cent of the total budget as against 2.5 per cent which was expected.

The 2016 allocation to the Ministry of Water Resources is inadequate in solving the water challenge plaguing the country, as the sum of N400 to N600 billion is needed annually for the next 15 years in tackling the menace. " More disturbing is the issue of women and girls who are the most affected as in most cases, the search for water in the family is their responsibility which is not open for a debate. They are robbed of valuable time for productivity due to the saddled responsibility by either nature, circumstance or culture.

The quest for water, which is so difficult, and can be equated to the search of diamonds

Residents of an FCT community fetching water for household use

has also exposed rural children to diarrhoea, cholera and dysentery. Unavailability of clean water and limited knowledge for lactating mothers in the constant washing and cleanliness of their breasts is responsible.

According to Ojo, 60 per cent of Nigerians do not have access to water and young people who can tap into the opportunities that the sector avails are robbed, especially women and girls who are the worst hit and are enslaved as they spend an average of 2-3 hours looking for water.

It might sound incredible but this is the reality, particularly in rural communities where people have to go 2-3 hours to fetch water and sometimes up to four hours. So we have an economic potential that we are not utilising which has great potential to develop our economy and complement workforce

"Another disaster in the country is the situation where women and girls' capacity and potential for enterprise are under utilised because of lack of access to water.

When you talk about how families can tackle this problem, it is really talking about how girls and women can cope with it because they end up being the ones with the problem because they do the water fetching.

"Many of them spend hours in a day, hours that could be used in a more productive economic activity are not available to them and some studies have shown that in Nigeria, women and girls spend between 2-4 months every year, just looking for water.

"It might sound incredible but this is the reality, particularly in rural communities where people have to go 2-3 hours to fetch water and sometimes up to four hours. So we have an economic potential that we are not utilising which has great potential to develop our economy and complement workforce,” Ojo said.

He further said that “Every man-made problem always has a solution. However, the problems must be identified for a lasting solution to hold sway as corruption and its several allies make up the list. Also, so much resources have been spent on infrastructure and not services.

"We have infrastructure that is not being utilised and not delivering services to people and the emphasis should be on service delivery. More money should be put into recurrent expenditure to ensure that planning is done more properly, and manpower to ensure that the investment made is properly utilised; projects are

properly managed and water gets to people.

So recurrent expenditure should be higher than capital and the government has not caught up with that."

"Several times, government goes to communities and say it wants to provide water but they don't talk to the community in order to know what they want. They provide services that nobody wants and are not prepared to use, or that nobody is ready to maintain and sustain. There are proliferations of boreholes all over the country and when a survey is done, it will reveal that more than half of them are not functional and that's because the communities were not consulted in decision making concerning the services they need.

"Corruption has a role to play. Where are the opportunities for rent taking, for people taking money from government fund? It is when they deliver big infrastructure projects and where they can award contracts, rather than where people can be empowered to deliver services."

He is optimistic that Nigeria can put the challenge of access to clean water behind her if the government, corporate organisations and individuals can come together and speak with one voice for the common good of all.

"Dramatic and sustained increase of funds is expected from the government; development partners should work with the government to ensure that monies provided are used for the purposes for which they were given and everyone carried along.

The private sector should be included in a much structured manner for private sector participation," Ojo noted.

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• T H I S D AY THURSDAY, MARCH 30, 2017

PERSPECTIVE

Nigeria’s Dwindling Wildlife Adebote Seyifunmi writes that the Ministry of Environment should take urgent steps to preserve Nigeria’s disappearing wildlife

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fter the 68th session of the United Nations General Assembly on December, 1983 the 3rd of March was adopted as a day to celebrate World Wildlife Day yearly, the day is observed to celebrate and raise awareness of the world's wild fauna and flora. World Wildlife Day also seeks to recognise the important roles of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) in ensuring that international trade of Wild Flora and Fauna does not threaten the survival of species.

The theme of World Wildlife Day 2017 ‘Listen to the Young Voices’, is a step further from last year’s theme, ‘The Future of Wildlife is Our Hands’ to ensure the realisation of CITES objective in the 182 member states of the United Nations, Nigeria inclusive. It is believed that one-quarter of the world’s population is aged between 10 and 24; hence, as the future leaders and decision makers of the world, they could give more vigorous efforts if properly enlightened and encouraged to call the shot in making and taking decisive actions at both local and global levels to protect endangered wildlife.

The peculiarity of wildlife in Nigeria is highly disturbing, calling for urgent action, especially when one considers that the level of wildlife literacy in the country is next to none. With reference to last year’s World Environment Day, June 2016, Amina Mohammed who until her recent UN’s appointment was the Minister of Environment said, “The status of wildlife in the country leaves much to be desired, as the rate of depletion of the population of animals like the elephants, leopards, giraffes and crocodiles amongst others is frightening. Today I know that if somebody says, what is really the status, or figures for wildlife in Nigeria? I am not sure I can tell you as the Minister of Environment.

And if I am going to say something, it is probably 10 years old in terms of its information and data.”

It almost a year after Amina Mohammed promised that the government would develop the capacity to know what the baseline was, what animal was where, which was endangered, what needed to be done to protect those animals and to increase their population in Nigeria for the sake of the wildlife. The truth today

Chimpanzees at Okomu Wildlife Sanctuary under threat of extinction

If Nigeria must go for wild, if we must have something to teach the unborn ones about our wildlife heritage, the foundation is in placing wildlife as a priority sector, then the appointment of competent and devoted hands that will faithfully uphold the hundreds of excellent national and international conventions, acts, frameworks and legislations without compromise which Nigeria has agreed to, among other UN member states

is that presently Nigeria’s wildlife is fast disappearing than before, thus, begging the question of what wildlife heritage our generation will preserve.

For long, Nigeria has rested on an erroneous notion that our wild animals were plentiful and not under any threat of extinction, however, following the recent publication of the IUCN red list of globally threatened species which revealed that 148 animal and 146 plant species found in Nigeria were threatened at various degrees including some species near extinction, we hope it is not too late to right the wrongs. Out of the very large landmass that Nigeria boasts of, we are not assured of the functionality of our seven National Parks, we are not sure they really are a refuge for what we have left of our wildlife population, we are yet to see wisdom in prioritising our wildlife heritage, we have chosen not to take a cue from smaller countries like Gabon with 13 well-managed national parks, Egypt with 25 national parks and Kenya with 23 national parks only aside game reserves, wildlife sanctuary and other forms of protected areas in countries like Botswana, South Africa, Tanzania and Madagascar are clear examples for Nigeria to follow.

“100 Cross River gorillas remain in Nigeria”, “There are approximately 450 savanna elephants in Nigeria”, “Fewer than 50 lion remain in Nigeria”, “Value of illegal wildlife trade is 50 - 150 billion USD per year”, “Over 56 billion farmed

animals are killed by humans every year”, “Half of world’s wildlife was lost in last 40 years”, “100,000 African elephants were killed in last three years for their ivory”, “Less than 7,100 cheetahs remain in the wild”, “Population of birds, reptiles, amphibians and fish has declined by 52 per cent globally between 1970 – 2010” waking to read these and many more anti-wildlife true statistics tell that the time for urgent action is now.

My interview with hunters and most recent research in protected areas within Northern Nigeria revealed that there is lesser wildlife in our wild than we think.

Regrettably true, human factors like hunting, domestic grazing, land deforestation, mining,road/rail/dam construction, aerodromes, power line, and related activities have destroyed our wildlife flora and fauna than natural factors like climate change and fire occurrences by over 40 per cent in the last 25 years. Another adjoining factor is that occupants of host communities earmarked as protected areas see their surrounding areas as traditional hunting grounds and strongly believe it is legal to kill whatever and at any rate.

Ministry of Environment must stand up to their pro-wildlife responsibilities and not just dwell on sanitation and other urban activities.

The Federal Ministry of Environment and the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, must create an operational synergy between associated government

and non-government stakeholders among which are; Nigeria National Park Service, the Forestry Research lnstitute of Nigeria, State Ministries of Agriculture and Natural Resources, the Division of Wildlife Services and Conservation, Federal Environmental Protection Agency (FEPA), games reserves, zoological and botanical Gardens, World Conservation Society, Nigeria Conservation Foundation, Biodiversity Conservation Programme, etc.

If Nigeria must go for wild, if we must have something to teach the unborn ones about our wildlife heritage, the foundation is in placing wildlife as a priority sector, then the appointment of competent and devoted hands that will faithfully uphold the hundreds of excellent national and international conventions, acts, frameworks and legislations without compromise which Nigeria has agreed to, among other UN member states.

Monitoring and data compilation must complement environmental education and awareness; the fiercest of wild animals cannot protect itself from those out to poach or illegally traffic them, it’s up to you and me, together we can restore Nigeria’s wildlife heritage and give a voice to the younger ones. . Seyifunmi, an Environmentalist, a youth advocate and a Wildlife Researcher, writes from Abuja. His Email adeboteseyi@gmail. com

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IMAGES

T H I S D AY • THURSDAY, MARCH 30, 2017

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

L-R: Oyo State Governor, Senator Abiola Ajimobi; his former Special Adviser on Infrastructure, Mr. Kayode Adepoju; and Are Musulumi of Yorubaland, Alhaji Dauda Akinola, during the governor’s inspection of road construction sites, in Ibadan...recently GOVERNOR’S OFFICE

L-R: Onilado of Ilado and Chairman, Asiwaju Unity Forum (AUF), Oba Mobadenle Oyekan; Chairman of the Occasion, Alhaji Nurudeen Eyinfunjowo; AUF Secretary, Oba Musiliu Onisiwo and Hon. Ariyibi Olayiwola, during the inauguration of Asiwaju Unity Forum, in Festac Town, Lagos..recently KOLA OLASUPO

L-R: Senior Manager, Access Bank Plc, Mr. Ewhe Uyuyou; President/Chairman, Board of Compliance, Institute of Nigeria, Mr. Pattison Boleigha;; Regulator, Cental Bank of Nigeria on Compliance, Mr. Ogidi Mohammed; Trustee of the Institute, Mr. Olafemi Oyemuga; and Chairman, Finance Committee Board of Trustee, Mr. Raheem Owodeyi, at the seminar on compliance for banks and other financial institute in Nigeria organised by Institute of Compliance of Nigeria in Lagos... recently ETOP

L-R; Accountant, Matrix Petro-Chem Ltd, Kemi Bolade; MD, Dekegates Tours & Aviation Support Ltd, Odeyemi Mofoluwaso; CEO, Adekunle Olodun Consult Ltd, Prince Adekunle Olodun and Relation Manager, Wema Bank Plc, Leye-lsola Timake during a Seminar on Management of Working Capital in a depressed economy organised by Adekunle Olodun Consult in Lagos.....recently

L-R: Etsu Patigi, Alhaji Ibrahim Chatta Umar, Kwara State Deputy Governor, Elder Peter Kisra, Kwara State Governor, Dr. Abdulfatah Ahmed, Commissioner for Works and Transport, Alhaji Aro Yahaya and Managing Director, Chelfom Engineering Construction, Yorgy Mastori during the Flagging Off of the Dualization of 9KM. Kulende- UITH- Oke- Ose road in

Deputy Senate President, Senator Ike Ekweremadu (right); receiving a copy of the Bill for an Act to Establish the Nigerian Institute of Chartered Mediators and Conciliators from the President, Institute of Chartered Mediators and Conciliators, Mr. Emeka Obegolu, during his courtesy visit to Senate Deputy President, at the National Assembly.....recently OFFICE OF THE DSP

L-R: Representative of the Federal Ministry of Labour, Mr. Kingsley Uwaoma; Best Graduating Trainee, Mr. Sulaiman Olaosebikan; Project Manager, Hybrid Energy Solutions, Mr. Victor Wobo and Project Director, M P Infrastructure, Engr. Sonny Osuki at the closing ceremony of the 2017 MP Infrastructure Graduate Training in Lekki, Lagos...recently

T H I S D AY • THURSDAY, MARCH 30, 2017

23

BUSINESSWORLD NIBOR OVERNIGHT 1-MONTH

R A T E S 6.5000 18.0655

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Quick Takes Firms Unveil Cloud Ecosystem

LAUNCH OF INSURANCE MARKET PLACE

L-R: MD/CEO, VDT Communications Limited, Biodun Omoniyi; MD, Pinet Informatics, Lanre Ajayi and Minister of Communications, Adebayo Shittu during eInsurance conference 2017 held in Lagos...recently

Nigeria’s Teledensity Soars, Hits 110.09% in Six Years Emma Okonji Nigeria has recorded a steady teledensity growth among telecommunications subscribers in the last six years. This showed a steady growth in subscriber number, until this year when the subscriber number dropped slightly from 155.1 million in January, to 154.1 million in February this year.

Although a recent statistics released by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) revealed slight drop in subscriber number in February, which also resulted in slight drop in teledensity from 110.80% in January this year to 110.09% in February this year, the statistics however, showed

ECONOMY a steady growth in telecoms subscriber teledensity over the last six years. Teledensity in technical parlance is measured as the total number of active subscribers, calculated in percentage.

According to the statistics obtained from NCC’s website, as at September 2012, teledensity was 76.69%; in October 2012, the figure rose to 78.21%, while in November and December 2012, the teledensity rose to 78.82% and 80.85% respectively.

As at October, November and December 2013, the teledensity rose to 87.06%, 88.39% and 91.15% respectively.

In October, November and

December 2014, the teledensity also rose to 96.87%, 97.60% and 99.39% respectively.

In January, February and March 2015, teledensity according to the statistics, rose to 100.59%, 101.85%, and 102.81% respectively.

In October, November and December 2016, teledensity rose to 109.65%, 109.96% and 110.38% respectively. As at January 2017, the teledensity rose to 110.80%, but dropped slightly to 110.09% in February this year.

The slight drop in teledensity has been attributed to the slight drop in subscriber number by telecoms analysts. They were of the view that teledensity would continue to have steady growth

as demand for connectivity continues to increase.

Chairman, Association of Licensed Telecoms Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), Gbenga Adebayo, said teledensity has been on the rapid increase since the 2001, when GSM services were rolled out. According to him, before the advent of GSM in 2001, teledensity was at 0.04%, but it grew rapidly to over 100% in 2015 and the growth is unending.

He attributed the growth to innovative value added services introduced by telecoms operators since the introduction of GSM in 2001. He said the value added service had contributed immensely to service quality, Continued on page 24

PTAD: Insurance Companies Yet to Remit over N19bn Pension Fund Uncovers 15, 000 ghost pensioners

Senator Iroegbu in Abuja The Pension Transitional Arrangement Directorate (PTAD) has said that the federal government is yet to recover all the legacy pension assets, funds and liabilities including over N19 billion in the custody of insurance companies.

The Executive Secretary of PTAD, Ms. Sharon Ikeazor, disclosed this at a media briefing in Abuja on “reshaping the landscape of pensions administration for the defined benefits scheme.”

Ikeazor said that the legacy fund was inherited from the defunct Pensions Offices and Boards of Parastatals when

ECONOMY PTAD came into effect in 2013.

She however disclosed that as a mandate, the agency is working to ensure that all the assets and liabilities, especially the legacy funds are recovered and transferred to the dedicated account with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

She said: “The Pension Reform Act 2014 has mandated PTAD to take over all pension assets, funds and liabilities of erstwhile Pension Offices and Boards of Parastatals. While these Offices and Boards have been quick to transfer liabilities to PTAD, the funds and assets have not been as forthcoming.

We have been able to access funds to pay our arrears.

“Since PTAD took over the pension management of Parastatals Universities and Colleges of Education in August 2015,legacy pension funds amounting to N19, 137,694,619.94 have remained in the custody of the Insurance Companies. We have issued demand notices on the Companies involved, demanding for the transfer of these outstanding funds into our dedicated eCollection account with the CBN.” “Till date, only Leadway Assurance has paid funds in its custody. We are working closely with the Honourable Minister

of Finance to ensure that all outstanding legacy funds are transferred to us. This would enable us to defray some of Government’s liabilities arising from the non-payment of pensions.”

Speaking further, Ikeazor said that PTAD, which was established in August 2013 by the Pension Reform Act (PRA) of 2004 and restated in the PRA 2014 to carry out the functions of the old defunct pension offices of the; Police, Paramilitary, Civil Service and Parastatal pensions, inherited an estimated 160,000 pensioners at inception.

Continued on page 24

Dell EMC and Intel have jointly announced a new web-based Cloud Ecosystem Hub, to provide Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) cloud service providers and end users with an online one stop site to unify and simplify access to Dell EMC’s cloud proposition and resources. The hub will connect customers with service providers to help establish stronger marketing efforts, enabling digital transformation and significantly growing long term ‘cloud business’.

The new unified platform demonstrates Dell EMC’s commitment to providing choice and unique solutions to every customer and removing obstacles to cloud adoption through hosting an online cloud portal for Dell EMC technology, making it easier for customers to select the right service provider to address their needs. For service providers, the hub will be a platform to launch key initiatives and drive new business through the marketplace.

With sales revenues in the hardware market decreasing and much of the cloud market set to transition over to hybrid cloud, it is expected that service providers will acquire a considerably larger market share over the next five years and Dell EMC and Intel will act as key business enablers to all parties.

According to the Country Manager, Dell EMC Nigeria, Travers Nicholas, “Historically, vendors have failed to support service providers in their campaigns and the Dell EMC Cloud Ecosystem represents a game-changing development for both service providers and customers alike.”

Turkish Airline Offers Connectivity

In order to further improve the comfort and satisfaction of its passengers, Turkish Airlines said it now offers “eXPhone” service for an uninterrupted communication during the flight.

Turkish Airlines, which is Europe’s Best Airline for the sixth consecutive years, said the revolutionary service, would redefine flight experience for its customers across the its over 200 destinations while on board.

As an extension of Wi-Fi and live TV availability on its Boeing B777 and Airbus A330 aircrafts, Turkish Airlines said it was being enabled through the initiative to offer a mobile internet connectivity by eXPhone to its guests.

Passengers on Turkish Airlines will begin to enjoy the service commencing from April 2017.

“By using this service, passengers will be able to send text messages (excluding voice messages), check their e-mails and browse internet (including social media platforms) with their own mobile phones,” the airline said in a statement.

According to the airline, the stages of the process for the usage of the service are two-pronged.

First, the cabin crew will make an announcement to inform the passengers about the service’s current availability for on-board use, after the take-off.

Second, provided that the ‘Data Roaming’ mode is activated on passengers’ mobile phones, the exPhone service will automatically run, which will be used till the flight is ready for landing.”

Seriki for Burial Weekend

The remains of the Founder and CEO of Omatek Ventures Plc, Mrs. Florence Seriki will be buried this weekend in Lagos, according to family announcement.

She died early this month at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital, after battling with pancreas cancer.

The information and communications technology (ICT) industry where she belonged and played active role until her death, has continued to mourn her. The Nigeria Computer Society (NCS), on Monday this week, held service of songs in her honour at the University of Lagos. Her company, Omatek Ventures, on Wednesday this week, also held service of songs in her honour at Airport Hotel, Ikeja.

Her funeral service will hold tomorrow at Holy Cross Cathedral Church, Catholic Mission Street, Lagos at 10am, before she will be finally laid to rest.

“Offices run on diesel generators and homes depend on petrol yet the discos still harass them with outrageous bills” Managing Director, Rack Centre, Mr. Ayotunde Coker

24

T H I S D AY •THURSDAY, MARCH 30, 2017

BUSINESSWORLD NIGERIA’S TELEDENSITY SOARS, HITS 110.09% IN SIX YEARS despite its current challenges, which he blamed on willful destruction of telecoms infrastructure by those he regarded as social miscreants.

Adebayo therefore called on the federal government to declare telecoms infrastructure as national critical infrastructure and do everything possible to protect telecoms facilities across the country. Adebayo who commended the National Assembly for debating the issue of telecoms infrastructure at the floor of the National Assembly, however said the process was becoming too slow.

He called on the law makers to expedite action on the issue and declare telecoms facilities as national infrastructure that would provide protection for the facilities, which he said, would further boost teledensity growth across all networks.

PTAD: INSURANCE COMPANIES YET TO REMIT OVER N19BN PENSION FUND “Today we administer thepensions of about 223,000 pensioners from four different pension sectors. The increase islargely due to the swift consolidation of 253 parastatals and agencies under PTAD. More agencies are being on-boarded and the numbers of pensioners are expected to increase,” she added.

The Executive Secretary, said that even though PTAD did “not inherit a credible database from any of the pension offices it took over from”, it “has never failed to make a monthly pension payment since its inception”.

She however, noted that there is on-going verification exercise through which the agency’s IT department has weeded out over 15,000 ghost and unverifiable pensioners.

Ikeazor revealed that a total of 55,400 pensioners have verified under the Civil Service nationwide with over 70% and 90% captured in the North East and South -South respectively.

In a related development, the PTAD boss hinted that the agency is collaborating with both the ICPC, EFCC and Ministry of Finance to tackle fraud in the whole pension scheme.

Group Business Editor

Chika Amanze-Nwachuku AgriBusiness/Industry Editor

Crusoe Osagie

Comms/e-Business Editor

Emma Okonji

Capital Market Editor

Goddy Egene

Senior Correspondent

Raheem Akingbolu (Advertising) Correspondents

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

Nume Ekeghe (Money Market) Nosa Alekhuogie (Maritme)

NEWS

Unsolicited SMS, Fraudulent Calls Still Persist Despite NCC’s Warning Stories by Emma Okonji Nigerians are still inundated with unsolicited short message service (SMS) and fraudulent calls that were deliberately planned to swindle innocent subscribers of their hardearned monies. This is in spite of several warnings by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC).

While some fraudulent calls come as threat to subscribers, some unsolicited SMS and voice calls were actually carried out for marketing purposes, known as telemarketing.

Although NCC has blamed network operators and value added service (VAS) operators for unsolicited SMS and telemarketing calls, which it said were infringement of subscribers’ right to privacy, the subscribers are also worried that most of the GSM numbers used by the perpetrators to make fraudulent and threat calls, were registered with fictitious names without traceable addresses and identification, yet such numbers were registered and allowed to remain on the database of telecoms operators.

Subscribers have therefore called for stiffer sanctions on those found guilty of the offenses, to serve as deterrent to others.

They described the action of the perpetrators as national embarrassment and threat to lives, which they said, must be addressed urgently.

President, National Association of Telecoms Subscribers (NATCOMS), Chief Deolu

Ogunbanjo told THISDAY that the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) and the NCC must step up their games to bring culprits to book, and put an end to the menace.

He advised the ONSA to open offices in all major cities in the country, where complaints of fraud and threat to lives could be reported.

This, he said, became necessary, following the difficulties faced by subscribers when they make attempts to report such cases to the police. He said the police have practically made

it impossible for subscribers to lodge complaints of threat to lives and other crimes committed by fraudsters, using mobile phones, because of the unrealistic demands from the police as proof of evidence.

He said NCC must liaise with the ONSA to ensure that the offices were opened and prompt action taken on every complain made by subscribers.

Although Ogunbanjo commended NCC for working with law enforcement agencies in raiding and arresting those suspected to be involved in pre-registration of SIM cards,

which he said was the major source of registering subscribers with fictitious names and without true identities, he however said NCC must ensure that those arrested were prosecuted and punished severely to discourage others from the illegal business that has cost the lives and valuables of innocent subscribers who fell prey to the antics of their predators.

Telecoms subscribers across all networks have continued to receive unsolicited SMS, telemarketing calls, as well as threat messages from

all manners of people with different intentions.

While some make calls and send SMS to advertise their products and services, others do so to defraud subscribers, and some do so to settle scores. For those who do telemarketing, they end up occupying the memory space on subscribers’ phones with the incessant messages that they always send at short intervals, and most of the messages are not needed by the subscribers, hence they are referred to as unsolicited messages.

BOOST FOR ENTREPRENEURSHIP

L-R: Co-founder, Mall For Africa, Tope Folayan; Head of Marketing, Enobong Kennedy and Country Manager, Tolu Oladipo, during an interactive dinner with young entrepreneurs in Lagos...recently

British Commission Lists Telcos Urged to Boost Broadband Capacity in Gains of ICT in Governance Hinterlands The Deputy British High Commissioner to Nigeria, Harriet Thompson on Tuesday in Abuja, re-emphasised the need for government agencies in Nigeria to adopt information and communications technology (ICT) in governance.

She also encouraged government agencies to make efforts in attaining global ICT certifications to enhance governance.

Thompson, who gave the advice while presenting the ISO/IEC 20000 certificate earned

by Galaxy Backbone from the British Standard Institute (BSI), commended Galaxy Backbone for the feat, while listing the gains ICT in governance.

According to her, ICT is the enabler that will enhance efficiency in governance in the areas of standard, global best practice, reduction of waste and incidences, service quality, among others. She said government agencies must seek global ISO certifications that would help them deliver prompt and efficient services to the people.

The ISO 20000 certification is service management system that will enhance quality service delivery. The Minister of Youth and Sports, Solomon Dalong who was present at the ISO 20000 certificate presentation, challenged ICT practitioners to develop ICT solutions that would empower Nigerian

youths to be innovative and self-sufficient. The minister said the youths represent a critical segment of the society and must be trained with ICT skills that would make them depopulate the rising number of the unemployed in the society.

Managing Director of Galaxy Backbone, Yusuf Kazaure who corroborated with the minister, said the ISO 20000 certification was important to the agency in order to provide quality service to its customers.

The Executive Secretary, National Health Insurance Scheme, Prof. Usman Yusuf narrated how the NHIS lost billions of naira to over 23,000 ghost workers in 12 years, because the scheme was without the right trained manpower with ICT skills to detect fraud going on for over 12 years.

He said Galaxy Backbone however came to their rescue, using ICT. He explained that government agencies needed to embrace ICT and obtain global ICT certifications in order to serve the public better.

The Chief Executive Officer of Digital Jewels, Mrs. Adedoyin Odunfa, who facilitated the certification, commended Galaxy Backbone for the feat but challenged the government agency on sustaining the standard enshrined in the certification, which she said matters a lot.

Worried about the limited broadband capacities in the hinterlands, which has been attributed to high cost of broadband services in cities that are located outside the shores of the country, the Chief Executive Officer of VDT Communications, Mr. Biodun Omoniyi has asked telecommunications operators (Telcos) to pull resources together to enhance the trunk capacities of broadband connectivity from the shores of the country to the hinterlands.

Omoniyi who spoke in one of the panel sessions during the launch of Insurance Market online platform, at the eInsurance Conference organised by Pinet Informatics in Lagos recently, decried paucity of broadband capacities in the cities, which he said, had led to high cost of broadband services rendered by telecommunications operators in the country, even though the country has excess broadband capacities at the shores.

He the excess capacities were provided through the landing of broadband submarine cables at the shores of the country from Europe by MainOne, Glo 1, MTN WACS, and SAT-3.

Omoniyi who blamed the paucity of broadband capacity in the hinterlands on lack of coordinated efforts by the telecommunications operators

to build a national backbone of broadband capacity from the shores to the hinterlands, called on telecommunications operators to form a synergy that would enhance the trunk capacities of broadband connectivity to cities outside the shores of the county.

According to him, once this is achieved, it would not only reduce cost of broadband services in the country, but would also boost broadband connectivity for all players in the insurance industry, whom he said, were willing to embrace technology to further grow the insurance sector and the newly launched Insurance Market online platform.

“Insurance is a key sector to economic growth but it’s market penetration is still very low in Nigeria. The sector needs technology and broadband connectivity to deepen penetration and this can only be achieved if the telcos provide ubiquitous broadband and expand their 4G LTE technology for players in the insurance sector to key into,” Omoniyi said.

Speaking on how the insurance sector could access the Internet, Omoniyi said there must be sufficient and affordable wireless technology like the 4G LTE technology across the country.

He said VDT, one of the sponsors of the eInsurance Conference, has been servicing over 80 per cent of insurance companies in the area of broadband connectivity. He promised quality service, while insisting on sufficient and affordable broadband cost.

The Director General, National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Dr. Isa Ibrahim Pantami, who delivered a keynote address at the eInsurance forum, said there were policies offered by most insurance companies and the rising number of customers and policy holders makes it difficult for most insurance companies to operate effectively and efficiently without the adoption and use of information and communications technologies (ICTs).

Pantami who was represented by the Deputy Director, Corporate Strategy and Research at NITDA, Dr. Idris Mohammed Yeluwa, said; “There are number of ways that ICTs can be integrated into the insurance process, especially in the area of big data analytics, which is about analysing vast amounts of data in order to identify patterns, trends and other business information that can help decision makers to make informed decisions.”

25

T H I S D AY •THURSDAY, MARCH 30, 2017

BUSINESSWORLD

ANALYSIS

ERGP: Another Mirage in the Offing?

The federal government recently unveiled a sweeping plan aimed at reviving Nigeria’s struggling economy. But Chika Amanze-Nwachuku posits that without robust implementation, achieving the ambitious targets set out in the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan would remain a mirage The federal government recently announced a comprehensive Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP), aimed at bolstering the country’s ailing economy, a sweeping move that could also help combat the effects of the economic downturn and return the economy to growth part.

The package, unveiled about three weeks ago by the Ministry of Budget and National Planning, is perhaps the largest economic stimulus effort ever undertaken by the Nigerian government as it differs in several ways from strategies and plan of previous administrations.

The initiative also aims to boost private investment in Nigeria, with a view to addressing the huge budget deficit amid the country’s worst recession in decades.

The government said the four –year plan (2017-2020) would cover five key areas: a stable macroeconomic environment, agricultural transformation and food security, energy sufficiency (electricity and petroleum products), improved transportation infrastructure, and industralisation, all of which could incite consumer spending and bolster the economy.

It also outlined Nigeria’s ambitious target to ramp up oil production to 2.5million barrels per day (bpd), from the current 2.1mbpd by 2020, privatisation of select public enterprises/ assets, and revamping local refineries to reduce petroleum product importation by 60 per cent by 2018.

Under the plan, the Central Bank will be expected to attain a market-determined exchange rate regime to build confidence and encourage foreign exchange inflows.

Nigerian economy has slowed to a crawl over the past 22 months President Muhammadu Buhari assumed office. Most macro-economic variables have worsened these past two years just as the GPD keeps contracting. This is aside the huge budget deficit, rising unemployment; declining capacity utilisation, and foreign exchange shortage.

Other economic indicators are also not looking good - Nigerian Stock Exchange market capitalisation plunged from a high of N11 trillion, about two years ago, to about N8.65 trillion, while business confidence has significantly been eroded.

No wonder, it was cheering to hear the good news three weeks ago, that the federal government, through the Ministry of Budget and National Planning had launched a rescue plan to fix the economy.

To achieve the projections, the federal government said it plans to increase nonoil revenues by improving tax compliance, broadening the tax net, employing appropriate technology and tightening the tax code. It also plans as to introduce tax on luxury items and other indirect taxes to capture a greater share of the non-formal economy.

Government also said it will undertake major reforms in the budgeting for state owned enterprises, which will include legislative amendments of the laws establishing many of the enterprises.

The plan also sets to increase the value added tax (VAT) rate for luxury items from the five currently to 15 per cent from 2018, while improving CIT and VAT compliance to raise N350 billion annually.

Commodity and oil prices slump have taken huge toll on economic and political stability globally, with developing economies being the worse hit.

The falling commodity price is everybody’s problem; it means lower growth as export income declines.

In the wake of the global economic crisis of 2008, China had unveiled huge economic stimulus packages for many of the critical sectors with a view to strengthen its weakening economy.

The country’s slowing economic growth had led to downturn in investment closure

Buhari

of factories in part of China and resulted in massive job cuts.

China also last year, unveiled its 13th FiveYear Plan (2016-2020) which was aimed to transit her economy towards a more sustainable, inclusive and balanced growth model.

In fact, countries such as Brazil, Australia, South Africa and Russia that are commodityproducing powerhouses are also in economic downturns.

Also, last year, Brazil launched rescue plan to shore up its ailing economy. The target among others was to increase private investment in the country, in an attempt to address the huge budget deficit occasioned by the country’s worst recession in 80 years.

So, the ERGP announced by Nigerian government, though belated, is seen as a

Nigeria’s decade-long ambition to grow her oil production to 4million barrels per day and reserve to 40billion barrels has also not been achieved. The NNPC had set the targets in 2004, emphatically stating they would be achieved by 2010

Fashola

step in the right direction.

But as good as the ERGP looks, analysts opine that, the recently launched plan may not exceed paper work just like most policies and programmes of previous administrations, because the government lacked the political will and capacity to implement them. Although the Budget Minister, Senator Udoma Udo Udoma, emphatically stated that the federal government has the political will and execution capacity to drive the implementation of the ERGP to achieve the desired objectives, experiences in the past had shown that previous programmes of government failed due to lack of effective implementation.

Udoma had said: “The ministry of budget and national planning will coordinate planimplementation and for this purpose will, amongst other things, build up its capability for robust monitoring and evaluation.

“More than ever before, there is a strong political determination, commitment and will at the highest level. Whilst all the MDAs will have their different roles in implementing the plan, a delivery unit is being established in the presidency to drive the implementation of key ERGP priorities.”

But those who have been following the trend in Nigeria over the years argue that Nigeria has never been deficient in good policies and programmes, but only lacks the will to implement them and achieve set targets.

Nigeria synonymous with unrealistic Targets Nigeria has become synonymous with setting unrealistic sundry targets. Top government functionaries often announce programmes and policies that never exceed paper signing.

Assorted MoUs are signed by day, with local and international entities for one project or the other, but these business agreements end up as mere wishes.

Power sector still bedeviled For instance, three years after privatisation, the power sector is still battling sundry problems

that have hindered Nigerian households and businesses from enjoying stable electricity.

Power generation has remained abysmal, sometimes hovering around 1,000 megawatts.

The situation even became messier since the past two years of President Muhammadu Buhari administration, even as the authorities in the sector have continued with the blame game.

The minister in charge of power, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, had announced government’s adoption of “incremental, stable and interrupted” power as the new policy it will adopt to generate 10,000MW come 2019; there is no indication that half of this ambitious target would be actualised.

Fashola, who appeared to be interested in providing excuses, said recently that the problem of Nigeria’s power sector is man-made and he is determined to deliver on uninterrupted power supply.

He was quoted to have said in a recent encounter: ”We had an issue some time ago during an electrification project; we got to this expanse of land and we were told that the land where we need to lay electricity cable belongs to ‘spirits’. The indigenes of that area scared the contractors away by invoking a curse on the project. I was briefed about this and we entered negotiations with them.

You won’t believe this, but by the time we finished the negotiation, the ‘spirits’ collected money and we were able to continue with our project.

Fashola, who also supervises Works and Housing added: “Another instance was where we had a telecommunication mast obstructing electrification of a village. The former regime and the telecommunication company were exchanging letters; all I did was call Otunba Mike Adenuga and the mast was removed in a week.

He however admitted that the power challenges are not impossible to fix, as most of them are man-made. He declared: “I am Continued on page 26

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ANALYSIS ERGP: ANOTHER MIRAGE IN THE OFFING?

determined to ensure we get to the point where Nigeria has uninterrupted power supply.”

He also disclosed that his team was putting up a development plan consisting of power generation which focused on maximising all available power-generating components by repairing them. The second phase, he said, would steady the supply of power, while the third phase would achieve uninterrupted power supply. These bogus pronouncements

by Fashola, the immediate past Lagos state governor, have not translated to stable power instead the situation has gone from bad to worse. Analysts opined that with the perennial power challenges and the absence of clear cut strategies to tackle them, actualising the electricity sufficiency targets under the ERGP will remain a mirage.

Petroleum products Under the ERGP, government also set target to achieve petroleum products sufficiency by revamping local refineries to reduce petroleum product importation by 60 per cent come 2018.

This, analysts also said, may also turn out to be a mere wish, given that previously announced plans to revitalise the refineries to boost refining capacity, did not yield results despite the huge amount successive administrations in the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) claimed were expended on their routine turn around maintenance.

The NNPC had claimed it adopted phased rehabilitation of the plants after efforts in 2011 to get the original refinery builders (ORB) involved in their rehabilitation came up with unfavorable terms.

According to the statement obtained by THISDAY then, the NNPC leadership had projected that Warri Refinery production would hit 80 per cent of its installed 125,000 bpd capacity while Port Harcourt Refinery was projected to boost the nation’s local refining capacity with a product yield of five million litres of petrol per day.

According to the Corporation, Warri Refinery would contribute 3.5 million litres of petrol to local refining capacity. It is no secret that Nigeria still imports almost all its petroleum products because the refineries are still comatose.

Modular Refinery project The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the construction of the modular refineries was signed in July, 2012 between the Ministry of Trade and Investment; a United States firm, Vulcan Petroleum Resources Limited and an indigenous company, Petroleum Refining and Strategic Reserve Ltd (PRSR).

Under the MoU, construction of the six modular refineries with combined refining capacity of 180,000 barrels of crude oil per day (tbopd) was scheduled to take place within 18 months by PRSR at no financial commitment to the federal government, except a guarantee of sustainable crude supply by the Ministry of Trade and Investment and the NNPC. Under the MoU, the first two refineries were scheduled to begin full operation within 12 months, by the end of the first quarter of 2013.They were billed to produce 10 million litres of petrol, diesel, kerosene and LPFO per day.

PRSR and Vulcan Group had at the signing assured Nigerians that the remaining four would be completed 18 months after the inauguration of the first two.

The project had been estimated to gulp $4.5 billion, (N697.5 billion as at then) and parties to the deal had declared that they would work with all relevant ministries and agencies of the federal government to ensure that products from the first two modular refineries reached the Nigerian market by mid-next year (2013).

Conveying the cheering news to Nigerians, the then Minister of Trade and Investment, Mr. Olusegun Aganga, who signed on behalf of the federal government, emphatically stated that two of the refineries would be completed within one year of the signing.

He also stated that the refineries, would be located in areas where there were crude oil pipelines and even assured that the ministry would work together with the Ministry of Petroleum Resources and the NNPC to ensure the actualisation of the projects.

Udoma

“We are working in collaboration with the Ministry of Petroleum Resources and the NNPC. We are working together as a team to ensure that in 12 months’ time, we will witness the inauguration of the refineries.

“This is a historic moment and a big step for us as a country. Apart from power, one of the critical areas, which President Goodluck Jonathan, (as he then was) had made a priority, is to have functional refineries. My understanding is that by the time the whole project is completed, the cost is estimated at about $4.5bn”, Aganga was quoted to have said at the signing ceremony.” But five years down the line, there is nothing on ground to show that the project is still on course.

Greenfield Refineries project The MoU for this project was signed on May 13, 2010. It was envisaged to add 750,000 thousand barrels per day (tbpd) of extra refining capacity to Nigeria’s current 445,000 bpd

These bogus pronouncements

by Fashola, the immediate past Lagos state governor, have not translated to stable power instead the situation has gone from bad to worse. Analysts opined that with the perennial power challenges and the absence of clear cut strategies to tackle them, actualising the electricity sufficiency targets under the ERGP will remain a mirage.

Kemi Adeosun

refining capacity and scale down importation of refined petroleum products by the country.

Despite the financial commitment made by the foreign partners, the $23billion Greenfield refinery project remains a mirage.

Boosting Oil Production and Reserve Nigeria’s decade-long ambition to grow her oil production to 4million barrels per day and reserve to 40billion barrels has also not been achieved. The NNPC had set the targets in 2004, emphatically stating they would be achieved by 2010.

Knocks, kudos trail ERGP A former CBN Governor, Prof. Chukwuma Charles Soludo, in a recent presentation, expressed doubt that the ERGP would achieve the desired objectives, pointing out that there is no new structure in the country to deliver the new plan as promised.

“First we must commend the federal government for this effort. But let me raise two or three questions. Whose plan is it?

Ownership would determine whether the plan is just a public relations document or whether it would be implemented.

“More fundamentally, to what extent is the ERGP consistent with the All Progressives Congress’ (APC) manifesto? People make promises, produce fantastic manifestos and after the election nobody opens the page anymore. But we must hold every government accountable. If only they implement 25 per cent of what they promised us, we would be on the road to Eldorado.”

“The APC manifesto promised “a conscious plan for a post-oil economy.” So, is this plan that plan? The APC manifesto promised to halt Nigeria’s drift to a failed state with a conscious plan for a post-oil economy for Nigeria and it promised to restructure the country to achieve that. All previous plans since 1960 promised to diversify away from oil.

“So how is the ERGP different? Where is the new structure in the country to deliver the new plan as promised by APC? How would you translate to a post-oil economy when the plan was designed to depend on it? Or are we trying to repeat the same thing?

He said the plan as packaged is a good effort, “but in terms of our expectations, as a plan for transition to a post-oil economy as promised by the APC, it is a missed opportunity. It is a generic plan and in several aspects resembles the NEEDS document that was designed for a different era. Soludo added: “It is a plan to consumer the oil and commodity rent, and not one to restructure in other to replace them. With rising oil prices, the economy would recover, not because of the plan. I am

willing to bet that no much would happen to the structure of the economy at the end of the plan.”

Also, analysts at Cardinalstone Partners Limited, noted that most past policies and programmes were stalled for lack of implementation. The ERGP, they argued, has an uphill task and ambitious targets to meet in the next three years “given the Nigeria’s sluggishness in policy implementation.”

Similarly, Afrinvest West Africa commended the plan as laudable, but also raised concern about its implementation. In the same vein, Proshare, a Lagos based market research firm, expressed concern that policy inconsistencies, lack of continuity and commitment to agreed policies, programmes and projects, the absence of a long-term perspective, as well as the forthcoming 2019 polls might hamper its implementation.

Proshare also raised some questions about projected seven per cent growth in 2020 as contained in the ERGP, positing it was twice as optimistic as that of the International Monetary Fund. It also noted that eliminating the leakages from the Nigeria Customs and Services would require application of modern information and communication technology, software and hardware, for it to materialise.

However, Head of Bundestrat, the Upper Chamber of the German Parliament, Ms. Malu Dreyer has pledged Germany’s support to Nigeria in her economic recovery effort. Dreyer, who made the pledge last week, while playing host to a delegation of the Nigeria Senate led by its President, Dr. Bukola Saraki, in Berlin recently, said that Nigeria deserved the support of Germany.

On its part, the Nigerian Employers Consultative Association (NECA) urged the federal government to take concrete steps to ensure the economy exits recession and return to growth path.

The president of NECA, Mr. Larry Ettah called on the government to ensure swift implementation of the initiatives and actions contained in the ERGP. Interestingly, Udoma, while announcing the recovery and growth plan disclosed that a ‘delivery unit’ has been set up within the presidency and the ministry to implement; monitor and evaluate the plan. All of this are good and welcomed development. But beyond that, analysts, reason that the federal government must eschew policy inconsistencies, political interferences and rigid market controls, all of which, they identified as bane of Nigeria’s economic growth and development. They also said Nigeria’s sundry security challenges must be addressed to provide an enabling environment where investment can thrive.

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Driving Cashless Initiative in a Cash-based Economy The combined efforts of industry players in the financial and telecommunications sectors in driving the cashless initiative, are beginning to yield results, writes Emma Okonji Although Nigeria is still regarded as a cashbased economy among comity of nations due to the volume of physical cash transactions carried out in the country on a daily basis, the cashless initiative introduced by the Central Bank of Nigeria in 2012, no doubt, is beginning to change the whole narrative.

More Nigerians are adopting the cashless drive that is fully supported by MasterCard, financial technology solution providers, banks the telecommunications operators.

The recently concluded Cashless Africa Expo, organised by MobileMoneyAfrica, which held in Lagos , where MasterCard was the headline sponsor, among other sponsors, highlighted the adoption growth rate of cashless initiative in Nigeria and across Africa despite the love for physical cash.

Adoption Rate The cashless initiative by the CBN, beginning with a pilot scheme in Lagos, which was later extended to five other states and the federal capital in 2013 before the commencement of a nationwide cashless policy across the remaining states of federation. Since then the adoption of cashless transactions has improved, according to participants at the Cashless Africa Expo 2017, which held in Lagos to appraise cashless initiative in Nigeria and other African countries.

The conference, however, noted that most of the transactions were done through Automated Teller Machines (ATM), which still shows the use of physical cash handling by Nigerians.

Speaking on the adoption rate of cashless in Nigeria, the Vice President and Area Business Head, West Africa at MasterCard, Omokehinde Adebanjo said: “The adoption rate of cashless in Nigeria is quite impressive and we have seen that growth rate in our partners that use our technology solution that drives cashless.”

“At the Cashless Africa Expo, we are talking about FinTech and the banks and their drive towards financial inclusion. Digital is the way to achieve financial inclusion and we have all partnered to achieve this. What we have achieved in midst of the challenges, shows that cashless adoption has improved in Nigeria,” she said.

She explained that Africa currently records 83 per cent of mobile penetration across African countries, adding that the target is for Africa to gain 100 per cent mobile penetration in financial inclusion.

“We are looking at 100 per cent penetration because the growth is enormous. It means that telcos need to expand their network to accommodate more people and they should have better data coverage.

The MasterCard Drive Towards Cashless According to MasterCard, two things motivated their interest to support cashless initiative in Nigeria and across Africa.

“Nigeria is driving cashless and MasterCard is interested in further driving it by sharing our knowledge and providing technology solutions and initiative that will further drive cashless across Africa nations Again, digital payment is also key to us because it will enable financial inclusion, hence our synergy with partners,” she said.

According to Adebanjo, Mastercard remains focused on working with partners to develop a cashless Nigeria, “and we are working globally to achieve the same goal of a world beyond cash.”

“In order for us to develop a digital economy, for all citizens, we need to all get behind the shift towards digital solutions. It is well documented that digital payments such as those made using a mobile device is ensuring that easier, faster and more secure payment solutions are easily accessible to everyone.”

Digital Disruption Speaking on digital disruption as the main driver of financial inclusion, the Principal Associate,

L-R: Head Products and Business Development, NetPlus Advisory, Unwana Ekanem; Executive Director, Grooming Centre, Dr. Adesoji Tayo; Vice President and Area Business Head, West Africa, Mastercard, Omokehinde Adebanjo; Head, Financial Inclusion Solutions, eTranzact, Ayo Oladimeji and Head, Digital Banking, Ecobank Nigeria, Adeyinka Shorungbe; at the Cashless Africa conference and expo, held in Lagos...recently

MobileMoneyAfrica, Mr. Emmanuel Okoegwale said digital disruption is changing how traditional banking services, payments, remittances are now offered in the digital economy. According to him, almost all sectors of financial services including payments, money transfers, banking and more, is being re-imagined by non-traditional providers and FinTechs, while the traditional incumbent providers are reinventing themselves very quickly to understand better the puzzle presented by the FinTech and how they can leverage on the digital movement.

He said the Cashless Africa Expo 2017 was designed not only to highlight the challenges and opportunities in the FinTech space in Africa, but to also provide knowledge and networking platform that would bring the African FinTech industry at par with its counterparts across Africa.

Technology Gap Speaking on technology gap, Adebanjo said: “Yes there is a gap period but it can be bridged just like the case of Kenya. We rolled out an initiative across Africa, beginning from Kenya and it is a pilot programme that supports farmers to sell their products on a market platform where the buyer and seller meet. We started with Kenya because we have our research laboratory in Kenya. The initiative was fully embraced because there was a gap. So with mobile phone, buyers and sellers can meet at the online market place, and the initiative is between farmers in the rural areas and the buyers in the urban areas.

We have other initiatives in agricultural environment and retailers and we are working with a lot of partners including FinTech.”

She said no country of the world has gone completely cashless, even the United States, has 50 per cent cashless and 50 per cent cash.

However, she said in Nigeria we still carry cash, noting that there is improvement in cashless.

She said MasterCard has impacted so much on cashless and would continue to invest so much in cashless initiative to meet our global vision of a world beyond cash.

Encouraging Cashless The Cashless African Expo encouraged Nigerians and Africans to resist the use of cash and embrace the cashless drive that CBN is currently pushing.

Panelists at the Cashless African Expo said more households in Africa own a mobile phone

than they have access to electricity or clean water and that nearly 70 per cent of the poorest fifth of the population in developing countries own a mobile phone.

They said the power of mobile transcends demographics, economic disparity, and location.

It has proven to be a crucial tool for driving financial inclusion on the most financially excluded continent.

According to the World Bank, only 34 per cent of adults in sub-Saharan Africa have bank accounts. To put that into perspective, the global average is almost double that.

MasterCard key strategic priorities for the past few years have been driving the African digital revolution with the aim of building financially included societies.

According to Adebanjo, rising trend on the content is that of governments which are increasingly going digital, and a greater share of government jobs in developing countries is ICT-intensive than in the private sector.

By 2014, all 193 United Nations member states had national websites: 101 enabled citizens to create personal online accounts, 73 to file income taxes, and 60 to register a business.

Unfortunately, developing countries have invested more in automating back-office, than in services directed at citizens and business.

ICT and Cashless The Cashless African Expo forum was of the view that ICT is helping communities, especially the women in those communities, to create, innovate, and improve their economic and social outcomes, and would want to continue building on this tradition of success.

The forum said while exponential technologies might be the driving force behind the digital revolution, it is Africa’s most important resource – its people, especially the younger generation – who will determine the direction it will take.

Africa’s biggest challenge over the next five years will be how it will reconcile the demands of its strident youth, and their take on how to shape the post-colonial continent, in the face of established and entrenched power structures.

Awareness Creation In a bid to create further awareness on cashless, the E-Payment Providers Association of Nigeria (E-PPAN) said it is set to embark on a massive national awareness campaign

on the cashless Nigeria Initiative, just as the CBN, re-introduced the cash processing fees on deposits and withdrawals.

The awareness campaign will cut across 30 states of the federation as the cash processing fees takes effect in different states of the country.

From April 1, 2017, the cash processing fees will take effect in the existing cashless states which are: Lagos, Ogun, Kano, Abia, Anambra, Rivers and Abuja. While in Bauchi, Bayelsa, Delta, Enugu, Gombe, Imo, Kaduna, Ondo, Osun and Plateau states, it will take effect on the May 1, 2017.

Edo, Kastina, Niger, Oyo, Adamawa, AkwaIbom, Ebonyi, Taraba and Nasarawa will begin the implementation of the cash processing fees from August 1 2017, while the last states to implement the cash processing fees on October 1, 2917, will be Borno, Benue, Ekiti, Cross River, Kebbi, Kogi, Yobe, Sokoto and Zamfara State.

CBN in partnership with E-PPAN has deemed it imperative to continue to sensitise the populace on the many benefits of the cashless initiative, which include easier opportunities for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) to access funds; reduction of government leakages; increased security; accountability and transparency; reduce cost of providing financial services and gradual reduction in conventional bank charges among others.

As the cashless initiative spreads across the country and the cash processing fess is being implemented, E-PPAN said it will also visit more states such as Katsina, Oyo, Ebonyi, Ekiti, Kogi and Cross River states. E-PPAN will engage one-on-one market traders and their customers, artisans, trade associations, schools, traditional rulers and other key influencers.

This is to make sure that everyone is aware and enlightened on the policy and its benefits for greater adoption of electronic payment channels.

The Executive Secretary/CEO of E-PPAN, Mrs. Onajite Regha, who made the disclosure, stressed that one of the main reasons for the awareness campaign, is to make people embrace the alternative payment to cash. She listed the alternative electronic payment system as: mobile phone for mobile payments or banking; the Point-of Sales Terminal (POS), for payment of goods and services and the internet for online purchases or internet banking, among others.

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Commonwealth Intensifies Fight against Cybercrime Stories by Emma Okonji The Commonwealth Cybersecurity Forum 2017 has called for more international collaboration to fight the scourge across the commonwealth nations.

At the forum, which held recently in London, United Kingdom, the Secretary-General of the Commonwealth, Rt Hon Patricia Scotland and the Secretary-General of the Commonwealth Telecommunications Organisation (CTO), Shola Taylor called for greater bilateral and multilateral collaboration between countries in the fight against cybercrime.

The two Commonwealth leaders addressed senior representatives from international and regional organisations, governments, industry and civil society at the opening of the forum, where the challenges and solutions in the implementation of national cybersecurity strategies were discussed. The annual forum was launched in 2010 by the CTO to raise awareness of growing online criminality in its various forms, affecting people, organisations and also countries’ key national information infrastructure.

According to Taylor,

“The CTO is committed to assisting our members in developing and implementing their national cybersecurity strategies for the benefit, not only of their national ICT sectors, but also the international community. The Commonwealth Cybersecurity Forum is another strand to the CTO’s work in enhancing cybersecurity and protecting cyberspace.”

Similarly, Scotland said: “Abuses of this technology can just as easily devastate lives and I am pleased that this conference provides an opportunity to build cooperation among stakeholders from across the Commonwealth to develop a joined-up approach to tackling cybercrime.”

The Director, Standardisation Bureau, International Telecoms Union (ITU), Dr. Chaesub Lee, told the conference that the security of critical infrastructure was of utmost importance, and that trusted information and communications technology (ICT) infrastructure is the foundation of ICT reliability.

“The CTO’s annual conference provides an important platform to discuss the threats to cyberspace and develop

AFF Hackathon Set to Boost FinTech Startups The Africa Fintech Foundry (AFF), a financial technology (FinTech) accelerator, said it is poised to enhance banking customer experience through its hackathon initiative, designed for FinTech Startups.

AFF recently organised a 48-hour hackathon titled” Recode Nigeria”, with various prizes and incentives for developers worth $50,000. The hackathon, the first of its kind in the financial services industry, had the support of industry giants such as Microsoft, IBM and Access Bank.

The three day hackathon attracted multiple teams of talented developers, designers, solution architects, problemsolvers, and out-of-the-box thinkers to tackle some of the challenges in financial services including the recent Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) directive to ensure the use of digital payments and reduce the use of cash.

According to AFF spokesperson, Victor Okigbo, “Hackathons allow traditional financial services organisations to, briefly, live the future, in a way that is exciting and visceral, while being simultaneously risk-free.

In one intense 48 hour burst of ideation and execution, teams of bankers and programmers can co-create working prototypes and experiment with innovative customer-centric approaches to old challenges. What we are doing will send a clear signal to investors, analysts and the public. Nigerian banks can collaborate innovatively with the technology ecosystem to secure future growth while creating real value for stakeholders.”

Okigbo said participating teams had the privilege of building hands-on solutions that combine application programming interfaces from IBM’s Bluemix artificial intelligence

platform, Microsoft’s Azure cloud computing infrastructure and Access Bank’s digital financial services platform amongst others.

The Executive Director, Commercial Banking Division, Access Bank, Roosevelt Ogbonna, said: “We are ensuring that we can continue to deliver shareholder value and growth in tomorrow’s complex financial technology environment.”

He added: “By supporting initiatives like the Recode Nigeria hackathon, we are teaming up with technology titans like Microsoft, IBM as well as the Fintech Foundry and numerous developer and technology startups to create the future together.”

Enumerating what the participants derive from using its latest platforms, Microsoft’s Windows Insider Program Lead, Dona Sarkar said: “Microsoft Azure offers startups the opportunity to host their applications in the cloud. As such, they don’t need to purchase or manage their own servers. That is why every single participant, not just the winners, will get a one month Azure subscription and the winners will get a full year’s worth of Azure, BizSpark and an MSDN subscription worth over $10,000. I love that both Access Bank and Microsoft are sponsors of the Foundry.

By using the power of our API’s, we will create the best financial services solutions for the modern entrepreneur The winning teams at the hackathon will receive prizes and incentives worth over $50,000 with one particularly gifted team being selected to qualify for the entrance into the next cohort of the 17week Africa Fintech Foundry accelerator program worth an additional $50,000 in early stage investment.

plans to tackle them,” the Vice-President of Cyber, BT Security, Les Anderson, said at the forum.

The Commonwealth, built on consensus and mutual support, is a platform on

which to build international cooperation on cybersecurity.

The CTO plays a leading role in enhancing cybersecurity across the Commonwealth through development of its approach for developing na-

tional cybersecurity strategies and its practical assistance to Commonwealth countries in putting these strategies in place.

The Commonwealth Cybersecurity Forum brings together

ICT ministers, senior executives and policymakers to hear about the latest developments in the field and build both capacity and partnerships to tackle the cybersecurity challenges of today and tomorrow.

CONGRATULATIONS

L-R: Divisional Head, Retail Bank, Fidelity Bank, Richard Madiebo; Wife of the winner, Mrs. Mordi; Children of the winner Peter, Paul and Ebube Mordi; winner of One Million Naira, Fidelity Bank Get Alert In Millions Savings Promo, Oge Modi; Executive Director, Shared Services/ Products, Fidelity Bank, Chijioke Ugochukwu; Head, Savings Group, Fidelity Bank, Janet Nnabuko during the 2nd Quarterly/6th Prize Presentation ceremony of the Fidelity Bank Get Alert in Millions Savings Promo in Lagos …recently

Abuja Residents to Enjoy HighSpeed Wi-Fi Hotspot Network Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja A multimedia company, LEGEND, said it has deployed a municipal Wi-Fi network in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) to enable it join over 100 cities across the world in enjoying limitless access to Wi-Fi network.

A Municipal Wi-Fi network is a chain of hotspots connected through a type of wired or wireless backhaul system using a cluster of Wireless Access Points (APs).

The Chief Marketing Officer of the LEGEND brand – Gabriel Gab-Umoden told journalists yesterday, that Abuja is now the 4th city to get this network in Africa, adding that Municipal Wi-Fi networks provided added advantages to the citizens.

Among the advantages according to Umoden is that wireless infrastructure can provide low-cost or free Internet access to those in need, and could aid in a program to make computers — and Internet access — available to disadvantaged families.

In addition, Umoden said: “CCTV security systems, access to emergency services and online city directories can ride on the back of a municipal Wi-Fi network, ensuring the security and safety of citizens.”

He explained that Wi-Fi hotspots are powered by fiberoptic cable connectivity, which means that these networks possess huge bandwidths that allow for heavy usage from multiple users without

compromising speed.

For instance, he said that users who like to download or stream, will find these Wi-Fi networks very conducive for such activities.”

“Wi-Fi access can range from free to as low as N3,400 per month, for unlimited access, any time of the day. This represents significant value for money and relieves the citizens from huge monthly Internet Service Provider fees.”

“With such a widespread network, citizens can now have ubiquitous access to a high quality, affordable network and can be more flexible in their subscription plans, not having to tie themselves down to bulky contracts / monthly service fees.”

Gab-Umoden also explained that Legend has developed a robust network of fiber optic backbone across the Abuja metropolis, saying “this dense fiber-optic network is being used to power a chain of Wi-Fi hotspots with super-fast internet, accessible by thousands of users at a time. These hotspots are called Legend Zones and they are the building blocks of Abuja’s first Municipal Wi-Fi network.”

On where to get access, Gab-Umoden said that there are currently 50 Legend zones located in strategic locations across the Abuja metropolis, with another 50 in deployment.

Lengend’s plan is to deploy 1,000 hotspots by June 2017, thereby creating a widespread and contiguous municipal Wi-Fi network in Abuja.

Etisalat Restates Commitment to Customer Satisfaction Etisalat has again reiterated its commitment to customer satisfaction while hosting its customers in Ilorin, Kwara State at its quarterly interactive feedback session.

The Etisalat customer forum is an interactive feedback session aimed at engaging customers to deepen relationships. The session provides a platform for valuable engagement with customers through constructive feedback on their experiences from using various services and products on the Etisalat network.

Speaking at the interactive forum, the company’s Director, Brands and Experience, Elvis Ogiamwanye, said the forum further underlined Etisalat’s recognition of its customers as being very important to the continued growth of the network in Nigeria.

While stating that the customer forum initiative was launched in 2010 with the objective of receiving feedbacks from customers across a wide range of issues, he revealed that feedbacks received at previous customer forums have helped the company in developing innovative products and services that solve everyday problem for the customers.

According to Ogiamwanye: “At Etisalat, we are passionate about delivering value to our customers. This is why we come to them regularly so they can speak with us about our products and services. The feedbacks we get from them

serve as a major input that has accelerated our growth in the Nigerian telecommunication industry.”

A customer , who works with a fashion publication, Christina Odigie, commended Etisalat for the superior quality of its data service in Ilorin, and said this has empowered her to do more in view of the nature of her vocation.

“I work for a fashion magazine, so I am always online 24/7 so I can stay ahead of fashion trends. I love to stream videos, download media, check Instagram and other social media platforms.

I must say that Etisalat data quality is second to none”, she said.

Kwara State Commissioner for Environment, Otunba Taiwo Joseph, also commended Etisalat for its swift response to solving customers’ complaints.

“I had some challenges with my line, it was fixed in no time after I complained at the Etisalat Experience Centre on Stadium Road here in Ilorin. Since then I have been enjoying both data and voice services without complaint”, the commissioner said.

The key objective of Etisalat customer forum is to enable the telecoms company receive quality feedbacks from customers across a wide range of issues including quality of its network service, customer service, products and offerings, CSR interventions and any other relevant issues bothering on the company’s operations.

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Abuja Disco Demands FCMB Expands Operations Investigation into Alleged First City Monument Bank the excellent service offerings.

It added that the location (FCMB) Limited said it Assault on Workers has opened two additional of the branches at Oniru and Chineme Okafor in Abuja The Abuja Electricity Distribution (AEDC) has written to the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Mr. Ibrahim Idris, requesting for full investigation into an alleged assault on its field workers by police officers in the Kubwa area of Abuja.

The Disco also expressed concern over what it described as an increasing spate of attacks on its field workers, describing it as unwarranted, vicious, inhuman and criminal.

It said in a statement in Abuja that assaults on its staff by the police with guns and the public with dangerous weapons like shovels, were not welcomed by it especially where there are redress mechanisms put in place by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) on issues related to poor service deliveries.

The Disco specifically disclosed that it had petitioned Idris against the Divisional Police Officer of Kubwa, Mr. Ayobami Surajudeen, who it alleged acted unprofessionally in handling a case of assault and threat to the lives of three of its staff.

According to it, the staff were intimidated, assaulted and manhandled by two mobile policemen attached to a private firm, Pet Leisure Park, Kubwa, whilst on duty.

It equally catalogued series of attacks on its workers by some members of the public, saying one of its staff on a revenue recovery exercise in Gwagwalada area of Abuja was viciously attacked and hit at the back of his head with a shovel by residents of the area. It explained that as

a result of this, a deep cut was inflicted on the staff.

The Disco noted that another incident involving a pregnant staff cashier was also recorded in Kubwa when a mobile policeman attacked her to disrupt the revenue drive she was engaged in. The attack, it said also prevented her from disconnecting a debtor customer as the mobile policemen fired live bullet rounds to scare her team away.

In the petition to Idris, the Disco said: “Not ready to allow the AED Plc men do their job, the policemen unleashed their full might on our team and fired two shots of live ammunition in the process.

“Apparently scared by the conduct of the mobile policemen, the AED Plc staff and in order to avoid any irreversible situation, withdrew from the scene and quickly reported the matter at the Divisional Police Headquarters in Kubwa where Mr. Surajudeen is the DPO.” “The AED Plc men were directed to report at the station the following day of the incidence, which they complied with but were shocked to hear that they would be charged for inciting the disturbance of public peace,” it added.

The Disco said its staff were subsequently arraigned in court as threatened by the Kubwa DPO. It said that although the most potent tool it has for the recovery of its revenue from debtor customers is to discontinue the supply of electricity to them, the tool of disconnection is only deployed when all efforts to persuade the customer to settle outstanding bill have failed.

branches in Lagos and Ogun states.

The bank in a statement, explained that the latest touch points are located at Oniru, Victoria Island in Lagos and within the RCCG Redemption Camp (popularly known as Redeem Camp) along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway in Ogun state. These bring to 205 the number of branches of the Bank spread across Nigeria.

FCMB explained that the development was part of its strategic expansion plan to ensure that existing and potential customers continuously enjoy

Redemption Camp took into consideration convenience for people in Oniru, parts of Victoria Island and Lekki in Lagos and Mowe, Ibafo and adjoining areas in Ogun state along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, which is a major gateway to other parts of Nigeria.

Speaking on the opening of the new branches, the Managing Director of First City Monument Bank, Mr. Adam Nuru said ththn ank is pleased to open additional branches in Lagos and Ogun states to further extend the

lender’s reach and promote financial inclusion by bringing the Bank’s services closer to customers, businesses and the general public in line with its position as a leading retail and commercial bank.

“Though most of our customers prefer to carry out transactions from wherever they are, using our alternate channels such as FCMBMobile, FCMBOnline, USSD Quick Recharge and ATMs widely spread across the country, some customers still prefer human interactions when banking.

These additional customer touch points will deepen our commitment in providing

customers with simple, helpful and reliable banking services’’, he stated.

Adam assured that FCMB, ‘’will continue to raise the bar in the manner in which customers are served and the kind of environment under which such services are rendered so as to effectively empower Nigerians and our customers in particular’’.

In his comment, the Vice President and Divisional Head, Service Management and Technology of FCMB, Mr. Oluwakayode Adigun, reiterated the bank’s commitment to deploy smart branching and technology to attain its strategic network expansion.

Banks Want CBN to Establish Security Framework against Cyber Crime Bassey Inyang In Calabar Chief security officers of banks in the country have urged the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), to establish an internal framework within the banking system to prevent cybercrime fraudsters from operating bank accounts.

The Chief Security Officers (CSOs) of banks in the country agreed, in principle that the CBN should implement the anti-cyber crime policy in the banking sector as a means of curbing the activities of internet fraudsters that use the banks to perpetrating their illicit activities.

Their stance was one of the fallouts of a weeklong Nigerian Financial Sector Global Cyber Security Conference, which ended at the weekend at Transcorp Hotel, in Calabar, Cross River State.

Giving a summary at the end of the conference that had, mostly, Israelis and other foreign nationals as trainers, the Leader of the CSOs, Mr. Sam Okenye told journalists that the expected framework will anchor on the Biometric Verification Number (BVN).

“The idea is that when the framework comes out from the CBN, the BVN will become a major tool to fight fraudsters.

“Our recommendation from this conference is that it should become an instrument to kick fraudsters out of the banking system.

So, those who defraud individuals in banks, and other customers of banks; once the investigation fully proves that they are fraudsters, we believe that the other legal consideration will be taken care of by that framework,” Okenye said.

Okenye added: “Such framework should become a major instrument to kick those guys out of the banking system for a while, and they probably will be restricted from channel transaction depending on what the framework will say.

But, the Chief Security Officers (CSOs) of banks are of the opinion that there is need for that framework to be out to help combat cybercrime and fraud and this is crucial.”

He said the “BVN today is a major tool that will help the banks combat fraud. With the BVN you can identify a particular customer of a bank.

According to him, if a customer or an individual opens an account in a bank and decides to defraud others or commit fraud, like the cyber criminals today who open account with various

banks with intent to defraud, it would be very easy to use the BVN to identify such fraudsters.

“Even when they want to open a new account, and once their BVN is identified and they are blacklisted, if they go to any bank to open account, they will know that this guy has committed fraud before an should not be allowed,” he added.

He said a committee in the CBN is already working on modalities to come out with the framework, but stressed that the CSOs of banks during this cyber security session also re-emphasised the need to ensure that BVN becomes a major tool to also fight fraudsters in the banks and such fraudsters should not be allowed to continue to defraud people in the banking system.

THE ENTREPRENEUR’S BEST FRIEND What You Need to Know to Grow Your Start Up BRANDING/BUSINESS PLAN: As a businessperson you must be able to know your differentiation strategy, what is it you bring to the market that’s different from businesses around you? Who is your business appealing to and when people think of your business what do they think of? Just because you have a talent in a particular area doesn’t mean you need to open up a business in that area. Is there a demand for what you are supplying. Business is about supply and demand. You can’t make something profitable if there is no demand for it.

MARKETING: Nobody will come to your business without marketing. You do not necessarily need to spend large sums of money on adverts to get your brand story noticed. You can take very little steps for example; if you’re into small chops business, start by adding your business card at the top of the small chops pack.

You should also understand that word of mouth is very important therefore you must be selling quality experiences to your customers. Word of mouth is the best strategy that ever lived.

If nobody knows you exist people wouldn’t

buy from you. Consider various aspects on how to reach customers, distribution channels/ commission structure, pricing advertising/ publicity etc. You’ll be surprised how many small businesses don’t market. Silent success won’t be successful for long.

PARTNERSHIPS/COLLABORATIONS: Do you know your strengths and your weaknesses? Develop a list of your strengths and weaknesses. Your analysis will reveal areas or flaws that you have, do not let this scare you.

Once you know your weaknesses and strengths, team up with people that accessorize your limitations. The mistake people make is they team up with people with the same strengths as they have.

You must also know the difference between business partners and personal friends. You are not in business to make friends or be on the good side of your employees.

Once you know your weaknesses and strengths, team up with people that accessorize your limitations. The mistake people make is they team up with people with the same strengths as they have.

Make decisions based on the welfare of your business and not based on your feelings about the person. Be sure that their business

philosophies complement yours. So you can be different in strengths but your vision for the company must be the same.

KEEP YOUR RECORDS: Know every penny going into the business. If it doesn’t make money, maybe it doesn’t make sense. I am not discussing your inflow, I’m talking about how much it costs to generate what came in.

You’re in business for profit. You have bills to pay. Know what it will cost you in a year and understand that most businesses do not turn in profit the first year. Are you prepared not to make a profit the first couple of years?

Do you have floating capital?

You need to understand this because everything is not immediately profitable.

GREAT DECISIONS. Great decisions save you from the emotional rollercoasters that is entrepreneurship. Define who you are in the business. You don’t have to make all the decisions once you’re on the next level. As the CEO your job is only to make important decisions. You don’t have to involve yourself in all the drama that goes on in your business. When you involve your

Debbie Larry-Izamoje

self in every decision you become stressed out.

You may not be as successful as you ought to be because you are wasting your strength on unnecessary things.

Leaders solve problems they don’t create them. Never make decisions out of frustration.

Have a place outside the office where you can let your guard down and let it all out. Never be timid. Make use of the power you have.

Debbie Larry-Izamoje AKA The Entrepreneur’s Best-Friend, holds a BSc in Information management from the University of Sheffield, United Kingdom. And Msc in management from University College London (UCL). She has also secured certificates in user innovation from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Innovation and strategy from Harvard University.

She is on a mission to raise a generation of young established or soon to be established professionals who are more vocal about business difficulties while providing solutions through public speaking, article writing, training, workshops and coaching.

She is the founder of Image Boosters a Communications and strategy agency aimed at assisting SME’s, with core services in social media management and business strategy consultation.

Website: www.imageboosters.com.ng Instagram: @dee_larry @imageboosters_ Email: contactus@imageboosters.com.ng or debbie@imageboosters.com.ng, 08050464111 (text only)

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BUSINESSWORLD

CONSUMER

Sharma: Manufacturing Sector Still Suffers Shortage of Skilled Labour General Manager, Indomie, Girish Sharma, in this interview with Raheem Akingbolu, speaks about the growth in the noodles market and the challenges being faced by top players in the manufacturing sector In what way do you think government can further encourage the manufacturing sector to boost the nation’s GDP? One big area I think government can play a role is ensuring that the education sector is reviewed because finding skilled employees or labour for our factories has always been a concern. At Dufil-Prima Foods Limited, we overcome it by making sure we have people that fly in to train the people. But I think it would be good for the growth of the country to invest in the youth, ensure that they are trained so they can add more value to the country.

To what extent has recession impacted on your production?

I think recession is something that affects everyone, so, Indomie and the group is not an exception. However, the challenge for us is to be able to procure enough forex to import enough materials to run our factories.

I think so far we have successfully done that because we can’t afford our quality to go down. Beyond that, recession has taken a toll on our numbers as well. I say this because sales are not as good as we would have liked it to be. But it’s not as bad as other industries I know of. The noodles industry is not as affected. I think it’s because we have enough players and it’s an extremely vibrant market. Every day, there’s some new promotion and offer for the consumers.

As a strong player in the Nigerian noodles market, how would you describe the market, especially considering the fact other brands leverage your generic name to market their products?

I don’t like Noodles being called Indomie.

Indomie is a brand in the category. But unfortunately, many make this mistake.

The Nigerian noodles market is extremely competitive. The last time I checked, there are 18 players and others that would be launching soon. I think the noodles market is one of the most competitive in Nigeria. My concern is that despite being such a competitive market, people are not investing in growing the category.

If you look at brands today in the category, how many of them are actually investing in the consumers in growing the category? I think Indomie has been leading that race.

Everybody is just looking at how they can put their products out there, call it Indomie and get whatever sale they can. And that’s disappointing. Some of them are beginning to wake up because they understand that one brand alone cannot do it. Now, we have players taking up different regions, focusing on those regions and trying to invest. But even then, there’s still a lot to be done. But despite the competition, we are not losing market share as much as we could have because our consumers know us.

With 18 players in the category, can you give the value of investment in this market?

I say this with pride: we brought noodles to Nigeria, before us people didn’t know noodles and no one was investing in this category.

Starting with Dufil investment, today this industry is worth about $1b. Which employs close to 20,000 people; all of us put together in the industry. If you look at us alone, we employ close to 6,000 people directly. If you look at indirect employment, it would be hundreds of thousands, employed by the industry.

Nigeria is encouraging backward integration; how compliant is Indomie especially with raw materials?

We are a very law abiding company. We pay what is always due to the government.

Sharma

Long before government started talking about backward integration; Dufil has been investing in backward integration for a long time.

The very first move we made in backward integration was setting up our packaging plant. After that, we set up our seasoning plant, then flour mill and oil refinery. We’ve been investing in backward integration for 10 years now.

oldest flavour and extremely popular. Then we have Oriental Fried Noodles which is our own attempt of bringing in fried rice in form of noodles into the market. It is doing well in some parts of the country where fried rice does well. We very recently launched the Chicken Paper Soup which is also doing very well, surprisingly, in the Northern parts of Nigeria.

What would you say is the percentage of local raw materials to your production?

More than 80% is local and the remaining one we have to import, we don’t have option.

For example, Nigeria doesn’t grow wheat.

You have the flour mill here, but you have to import the wheat.

Over time, Indomie appears to have been friendly with price, how far has this created bond between consumers and the brand?

We came to Nigeria with a promise that we would provide quality nutrition at affordable price. And I think we have stuck to that.

Even today, we are proud of the fact that at N50, you can have a plate of delicious and nutritious Indomie and we intend to continue that.

DUFIL Prima Food is one of Nigeria’s biggest players in the FMCG segment; what is the motivation behind its huge investment and strategies for growth?

I think the biggest secrete of our success has been the fact that Indomie as a brand has always been a consumer centric brand. We’ve always put the consumer first in everything we do. This means we invest heavily in research and development. Our focus always is to provide quality to the consumers and with backward nutrition. I think the whole focus of keeping the consumer in front is what has worked for us as a brand.

A times, one wonders how the group manage its arrays of products?

Agreed, Dufil is synonymous with Indomie, but today we have other successful brands in the Nigerian market. We’ve gotten Power Oil and some other brands doing well in Nigeria.

All these products, including Minimie chinchin, Power Paster and Hypo Bleach, which are also doing well, are brought into the market because we want backward integration for Indomie. We are also in the textile business, we have carpets and we have rugs.

You have other versions of Indomie as well; some are doing well and others are not, don’t you think your penchant for extension may become a burden for the brand?

All our products are doing well. Indomie is the mother brand but there are SKUs. In terms of flavours, we have the chicken flavour available in different grams. We have the Onion Chicken flavour which is second

Beyond the people you employ, what is the rate of your investment in Corporate Social Responsibility?

We give a lot back to the society, Dufil has partnered with a lot of communities in terms of welfare. Dufil has partnered with hospitals to provide equipment for the paediatric wards for the kids. Above that, we have the Indomie Independence Day Award for Heroes of Nigeria.

This would be our tenth year of celebrating that. Therefore, in the area of CSR, Dufil does a lot. For instance, the group has provided limps to more than 6,000 people.

With 80% local source of raw material; what then is your capacity utilisation and what are the challenges of the other 30%?

Right now, it’s about 60%-70%.

As the market grows, we are ready. As a rule, once we get to 80% capacity utilisation, we invest in increasing our capacity.

Do you export Indomie from Nigeria?

Yes, to countries within Africa, we export to Ghana, Togo and Democratic Republic of Congo. We don’t do this directly, but through some of our distributors we export to US, UK and countries in Europe.

What’s your volume of export?

I think it should be about 5%-8% of our total sales.

You are always active in advertising, promo-

tion, activation, and below-the-line. How would you describe the place of communication to the success of the brand?

I think it’s extremely important. Indomie is successful because it’s consumer centric and the only way to reach the consumer is through effective communication. Communication has played a huge role. We use TV, Radio, BRT, billboards. And we’ve done a lot of innovation in terms of communication. For example, on social media, we play a very active role.

Is the company still involved in sponsorship?

Sure, we do that 100%. Indomies has a very big fan club. Indomie daily engage with more than 3,000 fan club schools across six zones in Nigeria.

What are the other challenges you face in the industry?

Definitely, security is a big challenge for us, especially as it concerns goods. As recession came in, people are hungry and this leads to several things, like theft of our trucks and other things.

However, of most concern to me is timely procurement of forex, to bring in raw material so the factories don’t stop working. That for me is the biggest challenge. All other challenges, we can overcome them. Like I said, we are law abiding. So in most of the places, we have relationship with the police so they make sure we are safe.

So far, how have you been able to tackle the forex challenges?

We have good relationship with some of the banks, they understand our challenges and they try to support us as much as they can.

So, whenever CBN release forex, they make sure we are able to get from it. Of course it’s not enough, but enough to keep the factories running.

What are your expansion plans?

Now, there’s little left for us in terms of expansion in terms of backward integration. As far as Indomie is concerned, we will continue to geographical expand our factories. As I’m speaking to you, we currently have three factories: one in Ota, Oguns State, one in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, and in 2017, we built another factory in Kaduna. We are looking at the next geography that we can go to as capacity utilisation gets full.

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BUSINESSWORLD

ANALYSIS

Job Opportunities in Lottery are Limitless, Says Expert Emma Okonji The MD/CEO of Lotgrand, operator of Grandlotto and FirstBet, Niyi Adekunle, has said that job opportunities in lottery are limitless, and that the technology aspect of lottery business offers more jobs than one could imagine.

Adekunle , who spoke against the backdrop of the recent unemployment figure released by the Nigerian Bureau of Statistics, which puts the figure at 13.9 per cent, revealed that the number of unemployment percentage in the labour market has surged by 555,311 persons, however, described lottery as a tool with diverse opportunities to end the scourge. According to him, “The thermal paper used daily in the business is more than 30,000 rolls.

These are imported from overseas. Likewise, the points of sales (PoS) terminals are also imported.”

The industry, he said, is wide enough to the extent that it can generate employments for specialists.

The terminals commissioned daily are exposed to wear and tear.

These terminals will be out of service someday. They would need repairs.

Expertise is required in that

area and more jobs can be created as a result”, he said.

Adekunle said if the lottery industry is managed well, it would contribute to the advancement of the economy to the magnitude that it would be difficult for the country to recede into economic recession again.

He cited Croatia as a country that in 2015 funded 19 per cent of its budget with revenue accrued from lottery.

He said ‘‘the current high patronage noticed in lottery by more Nigerians is not because of the economic recession as it is commonly speculated,’’ insisting that the economic recession is a recent occurrence.

Adekunle also listed Morocco, Dubai, China and Singapore and other countries that are frontline lottery nations and are not in economic recession. For about four years, he noted, lottery was the major source of funding for Croatia. “Lottery generates huge revenue in Croatia. In Asia, the continent earns billions of dollars from lottery.

So it is all about planning and putting in place good policies.”

He explained that with London’s population of 8.6 million people, there are 38 companies running lottery and sports betting. “That is why

the 2012 London Olympics Games was solely financed by revenue from lottery”, he revealed.

According to him, playing lottery has become a pastime worldwide, as it has taken a different dimension in China, Japan, Hong Kong, and Singapore.

These countries churn out volumes in revenue more than the United Kingdom.

“China is not in recession.

In our contemporary world, no economy has grown as fast as that of China”, he said. To buttress this, he informed that under the leadership of the CEO of Lagos State Lotteries Board, Mr. Seun Anibaba, the board has continued to provide support funding for some of the state’s developmental projects using revenue accrued from lottery.

Some of these projects include investment in security gadgets to enhance security in the state, renovation of secondary, primary schools, and hosting of Lagos carnival.

On the policies that guide the game of lottery in the country, Adekunle advised states and federal governments to close ranks and present a common ground regarding policy formulation and the policy must be market conscious and business friendly.

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BUSINESSWORLD

DEVELOPMENT

Kayode: Policy Implementation Still a Big Devt Challenge Abimbola Akosile captures the views of Mr. Wale Kayode, Director of Operations, Narconon Nigeria Initiative, a civil society organisation, with focus on policies concerning the eradication of drug and alcohol abuse in Nigeria, and the need to clamp down on the illicit import of contraband products, among others Various reports have shown that illicit flavoured cigarettes are being smuggled into the Nigerian market through neighbouring countries, especially the land borders where they are usually hidden inside other products and transported. What do you think can be done to permanently address this issue?

As an organisation that is focused on the public health of Nigerians, we are always quite concerned about the amount of illicit products our contemporaries never discuss or advocate about. Globally, a treaty had to be created to focus on this issue because of its links to terrorism, trafficking and other forms of organised crime. Bringing it closer to home, we have porous borders and not much attention is paid to its impact and possible link to our security issues. It is also easily accessible and creating the perfect platform for youths who we should be advocating to protect even more from a lifetime of addiction. Our recommendation is that since the greater challenge is restricting youth access to tobacco products and illegal trade and cigarette consumption can’t be banned, it is only proper for Nigeria to implement and promote policies that will ensure that the tobacco industry, can be held accountable, and is well regulated so that the intended end-view is achieved while at the same time the country benefits from localising production.

The Standards Organisation of Nigeria, years back, introduced the Conformity Assessment Programme to address the concerns of unsafe products being imported into the country. The programme requires all imported products must confirm with the Nigerian standards.

How will you assess this programme in terms of enforcement?

The Standards Organisation of Nigeria Conformity Assessment Programme (SONCAP) was introduced in 2005 by the Federal Government to address the concern of unsafe products entering the country.

This assessment conformity scheme requires all imported products, whose standard specifications were declared compulsory by SON, to be inspected for conformity to the relevant Nigerian standard before release into the Nigerian market. In recent years, SON has made significant progress in their efforts at combating illicit trade in products not approved by the government as part of their conformity assessment, which include contraband cigarettes.

Notably, efforts at stemming illicit trade in tobacco products received a boost with the frequent raids, arrests and prosecution of dealers in some brands of flavoured cigarettes that have been declared as contraband by SON. Months before the raid, SON had published a full-page Consumer Alert notice in some national dailies where it warned that the organisation “has uncovered the marketing, distribution and sale of certain brands of Oris Slims Strawberry, Oris Slims Double Apple, Nakhla Tobacco (Peach, Mint and Apple Flavours) Mizo Grape Water Pipe Tobacco, Lamar Strawberry Super Slims and Business Club Strawberry, Apple and Cherry Flavoured Cigarettes in the Nigerian market.”

The alert further read that “these brands of cigarettes are not allowed to be manufactured or imported into Nigeria by the Nigerian Industrial Standard for Tobacco products-cigarettes, as it could initiate and induce children into smoking.

In addition, these products were not registered nor did they pass through SONCAP process prior to entry into the Nigerian market.”

However, we have noticed recently, that some of these products now have SONCAP which raises a lot of questions. We are calling on the agency to ensure conformity to the standards it has set and act in accordance with the law.

Flavoured cigarettes come in different flavours

organisations like Youth Smoking Prevention campaign organisations to fight youth’s access to smoking, particularly unapproved brands of flavoured cigarettes, they primarily focus on maligning indigenous legitimate tobacco industries who we can hold accountable.

Kayode some of which include: strawberry, cherry, apple, among others. These products, according to reports, are dangerous innovations manufactured with sweet fruity flavours that have a powerful appeal on the under-aged. In view of its inherent dangers, what measures will you advise governments to take in protecting the overall interest of the youth, including the general public?

The question is, young people in today’s world enjoy having options available to them and these options unfortunately include flavoured cigarettes.

But what exactly are flavoured cigarettes?

Flavoured cigarettes are a type of contraband cigarette and illicit trade products according to Nigeria’s standards and they are tobacco products manufactured with sweet fruity flavours that have a powerful appeal to children or anyone below 18 according to our laws and completely mask the smell of tobacco. They are, no doubt, innovative but have a harmful approach to it.

When we were growing up, if you smoked cigarettes, you looked for ways to mask the smell. With this, you can use the product and not have to worry about that any longer as a child. The spread has become quite widespread

across Nigeria and it is quite worrisome because that is another epidemic waiting to happen.

There have been concerted efforts by governments and key industry stakeholders to check the rising tide of flavoured cigarettes, especially considering the fact that these products are fast penetrating the Nigerian market. How will you rate the progress so far, and what can be done better?

There has been some progress by the relevant authorities quite alright. However, is it enough to protect our young ones? No, I must say not enough. I remember there was a media campaign by the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) in the past which was a step in the right direction.

However, since then it has been quiet on that front. Obviously more has to be done.

Our position is there is a stronger voice in my counterparts who are critical stakeholders in this discourse – the anti-tobacco groups.

They have a critical role to play in supporting the government efforts in curbing the influx of flavoured cigarettes in the country. They have access to different levels of Government who are willing to support them fully on their advocacy platforms. Rather than join forces with

There are concerns by some NGOs, including yours, on the paradigm shift in consumer demand from conventional tobacco products to flavoured cigarettes due to the latter’s enriched flavours. Does this have any socio-economic implications, and what is the position of the newly-enacted tobacco control act (NTCA) on this?

The Tobacco Control Act passed in 2015 is very clear on this. ‘Ensure tobacco or tobacco products are not designed in a way that makes them more addictive or attractive, especially to persons who are below 18 years of age, or in ways that may undercut any of the stated objectives of this act’. Let’s make this practical.

You import cherry or orange flavoured cigarettes.

Who takes candy more? Is that not the youth? It is even more interesting the flavoured cigarettes are imported. They are imported because the local law does not want our youths addicted.

So perhaps it is safe to say there is almost no positive economic trade off on the flavoured cigarettes.

Since the enactment of the National Tobacco Control Act (NTCA) in 2015, not much has been heard about its implementation. What does this portend for the future of the country’s tobacco market?

This is a challenge with a lot of policies in developing countries. We are great at developing policies but enforcement and implementation is always not according to best practice. Sometimes, implementation is linked to political, social and sometimes even personal or religious convictions which can deter a successful implementation.

The National Assembly did a very good job with that Act and a lot of work was done to deliver public health objectives. It is therefore sad that we have not progressed beyond that Act. The committee that was even set up to manage the implementation has also gone quiet. We hope some unseen hands are not trying to waste taxpayers’ money and start up another set of regulations without seeing the implementation of this one.

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

RANDOM THOTS Auditing Corruption There are many secrets in this country; some of them have the potential to tear apart the fragile fabric holding the society together, and some are far more mind-blowing than the startling allegations that the very top military brass who were in charge of stopping Boko Haram insurgency in the Northeast were allegedly the same ones who pocketed the federal funds allocated to buy sophisticated imported arms to out-gun the terrorists and end an unnecessary distraction to national development.

At a recent development programme which took place in Ghana,

this reporter caught some snippets of information from an open discussion among some informed Nigerians who were in Accra at the same time.

One recurring point from the discussion was that corruption has spanned several administrations in Nigeria and is even now more virulent under this present regime of a President who has made the fight against corruption one of the cardinal strategies of his government of change.

According to the angry citizens, who freely expressed themselves in a foreign land, to reveal the true extent of corruption in Nigeria, all the President

needs to do is to order an audit of choice properties in Abuja, F.C.T. Their argument is that many looters have invested their stolen funds in buying mansions and building estates in the federal capital territory; many of which have no tenants or occupants because the owners prefer them empty rather than sell or collect any rent.

The beauty of it is that this audit can easily be done and it would go a long way to turn the tide against corrupt public officials. A useful tip…

-Abimbola Akosile

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BUSINESSWORLD

DEvELOpMENT/ISSUESINBOx

National Assembly complex in Abuja; seat of legislative power

Is the National Assembly Truly Fighting against Corruption?

Against a background of alleged bribery and corruption cases against some former and present members of the National Assembly, the recent stance of the Senate against the confirmation of the acting Chairman of the EFCC has generated mixed reactions. Although the upper legislative chamber based its action on an indicting report by a sister agency (DSS), some analysts believe there is more to the rejection than meets the eye. In your own view, do you think the National Assembly is truly fighting against official corruption alongside the Executive or not? What do you recommend?

Abimbola Akosile * The body language of the National Assembly on corruption is far from reality. They cannot do away with corrupt practice. Nigerians should not be surprised at all that we have all manner of corrupt leadership in the National Assembly.

Don’t expect anything good from a National Assembly which always associates with forgery and fraud. They are not in any way ready to fight corruption alongside the Executive.

- Mr. Yusuf Muh’dbashir Omotayo, Nda Aliu, Kwara State * Yes, it is. With a population of over 170 million Nigerians there is no good reason any individual should be irreplaceable in modern-day Nigeria.

Honourables are specially selected intellectuals by the electorate to make laws constitutionally, no matter whose ox is gored or without fear and favour. The Presidency and the EFCC are causing unnecessary anxiety in Nigerians’ minds.

Why dump DSS’s investigation? Why is truth rashly bungled by cabals so unpatriotically?

We must beware.

- Mr. Apeji Onesi, Lagos State * Both the Executive and the National Assembly are guilty; are they not aware that our laws are outdated? Is it not their collective responsibilities to update such laws to meet current contemporary challenges? Are they evading their responsibilities?

They all know that charity begins at home; let them look inwards and amend where applicable.

Or are we saying corruption is fighting back and there is no way out?

- Mr. Dogo Stephen, Kaduna * I personally think some members of the National Assembly are trying their best to fulfil the aspirations of their constituents. But in the case of fighting corruption in the hallowed chambers the volume of allegations against former and current members far outweigh any anticorruption measure coming from the legislative chambers. Nigerians are yet to be convinced of their sincerity in the present administration’s anti-corruption war.

- Mr. Olumuyiwa Olorunsomo, Lagos State * For senators to reject Magu’s confirmation as EFCC Chairman it means our senators have

THE FEEDBACK Yes, it is:

3

No, it isn’t:

4

Others:

5

Radical tip:

They are guilty!

Total no of respondents:

12

Male:

10

Female:

2

Highest location:

Lagos (4)

skeletons in their cupboards which they want to avoid probe and prosecution for corruption intake in governance. The fear of Magu is the beginning of his wisdom to take corrupted leaders. It is unfortunate and sad as this present government is working hard in fighting corruption in governance while some never-do-well senators are trying to stop the good fight of PMB in his doggedness to end corruption in governance. Nigerians and civil society groups should protest against the rejection of Magu as EFCC Chairman.

- Mr. Gordon Chika Nnorom, Public Commentator, Umukabia, Abia State * Our leaders are fighting themselves not corruption. Preventing corruption is far better than fighting it.

- Miss Nkeiruka Abanna, Lagos * I think the National Assembly should take a cue from what Osinbajo did when he was Acting President. The present Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) may not have had a squeaky clean record in the eyes of many Nigerians when Osinbajo approved his appointment. However, it is on record that in the short time that the CJN has been in power, the judiciary appears to be doing their bit to fight corruption, even securing a high-profile conviction for corruption against an ex-governor. You do not reject someone based on mere allegations. He has not been arrested or arraigned. Funny enough, the National Assembly never demanded for Magu to be arrested or charged with anything.

Lastly, the security report was not signed by the DG of the DSS as the normal price is, so it should not even have been entertained by the National Assembly.

- Mr. Buga Dunj, Jos, Plateau State * They (legislators) have not come out to prove that they are truly fighting corruption but had even closed down the National Assembly and proceeded to courts in protecting their members accused of corruption. In that case they are busy making laws that would not expose them to corruption retaliation. After all, how did majority of them get there? Wasn’t it through the same system?

- Hon. Babale Maiungwa, U/Romi, Kaduna * The National Assembly members are fighting corruption to some extent in as much as some of their principal officers are facing some corruption charges. They need to do more to win the trust of Nigerians. The failure of the Senate to confirm Magu was sacrifice on the altar of fear of the unknown.

- Comrade Frederick Ekekwe, CEO Seasoniss Eve Nig. Ltd, Ovim, Isuikwuato LGA, Abia State * While not holding forth for the National Assembly, I honestly feel the Executive is bullying the other arms of government. Late last year it was the judiciary - we saw sting operations and the like. Meanwhile, the president hasn’t reshuffled his cabinet since 2015, after rising to the defence of the ministers. If, for instance the Senate President was the one who hugged England for seven unbroken weeks, the Executive would have clamoured for his removal, claiming wastage of our resources in chasing healthcare ‘obtainable’ here. Now, PMB is back and there is deafening silence about his expenditure abroad. Please, that which is sauce for the goose should be sauce for the gander!

- Mr. E. Iheanyi Chukwudi, Apo, Abuja * The stand taken by the Senate not to confirm Ibrahim Magu as the Chairman of EFCC based on the report of the DSS is a welcome development. For the DSS to have indicted Magu makes the job of our senators easier. He who goes to equity must go with clean hands.

- Mr. Johnken C. Ogwuegbu, Owerri, Imo State

* No, not at all. Our leaders have a slippery way of exposing their own corrupt tendencies unwittingly. The same shady acts during Shagari and Obasanjo eras aided the National Assembly then who severally rejected popular nominees for selfish or personal aggrandisement. Many of the senators have pending corruption charges to answer. Will it be wise for such indicted individuals to step aside to answer their cases first? Why twist and subvert the law so cruelly?

Why pull patriots like Magu Ibrahim down especially with his impressive brilliance so far?

We must cast away unnecessary disaffections for good. Unity is strength. Stop wasting tax-payers’ money, time e.t.c. to debate whether to wear uniform or mufti to the House. Honesty and truth must be upheld now.

- Miss Apeji Patience Eneyeme, Badagry, Lagos State

Next Week: How Best Can a Stronger Naira Boost the Economy?

Apart from the patriotic pride of seeing an increase in the value of the naira against the dollar, some analysts believe the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)’s move to shore up the naira may have a counter-productive impact on the overall economy, and that a stronger naira will not check influx of goods’ imports or help the ailing manufacturing sector of the economy as much as a weaker currency would. In your own view, in what ways can Nigeria take advantage of the stronger naira to boost the local economy? please make your response direct, short and simple, and state your full name, title, organisation, and location. Responses should be sent between today (March 30 & Monday, April 3) to abimbolayi@yahoo.com, greatbimbo@gmail.com, AND abimbola. akosile@thisdaylive.com. Respondents can also send a short text message to 08023117639 and/or 08188361766 and/ or 08114495306. Collated responses will be published on Thursday, April 6

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BUSINESSWORLD

DEVELOPMENT

Ensuring a proper rail gauge to boost transportation in Lagos

ABIMBOLA AKOSILE

W’Bank Approves $200m Credit to Nigeria to Boost Agro-processing As FAO, Africa Rice Centre support community-based rice farmers Abimbola Akosile and Adedayo Akinwale in Abuja The World Bank has approved a sum of $200 million credit to further support Nigeria in its efforts to enhance agricultural productivity of small and medium scale farmers in participating states.

World Bank Country Director for Nigeria, Rachid Benmessaoud said the credit was being financed by the International Development Association (IDA), an arm of the World Bank that grants low-interest loan, with a maturity of 25 years, including a grace period of 5 years.

This was contained in a statement released in Abuja recently by the World Bank Senior Communication Officer in Nigeria, Ms. Olufunke Olufon.

Benmessaoud said that the project would help increase agricultural productivity and production, improve processing and marketing, foster job

creation, and also help increase household income and livelihood in participating states.

He added that the project would also tackle key constraints of the agriculture sector, such as low productivity, lack of seed funds for establishing agro -processing plants, lack of access to supportive infrastructure, and low level of technology adoption and limited access to markets.

“Agriculture is key to longterm economic growth and diversification. The project supports the country policy thrusts on food security, local production, job creation and economic diversification. It responds to recurring issues of low productivity, limited farmers’ participation to agribusiness supply chains, and institutional realignment in the agricultural sector,” he said.

Benmessaoud emphasised that the project would benefit women and youth businesses such as horticulture, poultry

and aquaculture . “The number of project’s direct beneficiaries is 60,000 individuals, 35 per cent of which will be women. Overall, about 300,000 farm household members are indirect beneficiaries,” he noted.

The Lead Agriculture Specialist at the World Bank , El Hadj Adama Toure said “priority value chains under the project will include products with potential for immediate improvement of food security, products with a potential for export and foreign currency earnings (cocoa and cashew) and enhancement of the national production of crops including rice, maize, cassava and wheat.”

Meanwhile, as part of efforts to boost rice production in the country, the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) and Côte d’Ivoire-based Africa Rice Centre (AfricaRice) have commenced the training of 300 farmers across Nigeria in

paddy production technology.

The exercise involves strengthening the capacities of community-based rice farmers and rice seed producers for production of quality rice seed of improved variety.

The trainees include youths and women.

“Seed mixtures and lack of good quality rice seeds are major constraints to rice production in Nigeria. The quality of breeder seed is poor and the quantity available is inadequate to support foundation and certified seed production. FAO is therefore partnering AfricaRice to train seed producers in rice seed and paddy production technology, produce and distribute training manuals on rice seed production technology, and set up demonstration plots to showcase production technologies including land preparation”, said FAO Deputy Representative to Nigeria, Nourou Macki.

The training is being con-

ducted under the Partnership for Sustainable Rice Systems Development in sub-Saharan Africa agreement between FAO and AfricaRice. It will build national capacity, enhance sustainable development of the rice food chain among smallholder farmers and contribute to increase food security in the country.

It will facilitate the emergence of efficient rice production systems for Nigeria supported through the promotion of adoption of best practices and upscaling of proven and tested technologies.

Six states including Ekiti, Edo, Anambra, Abia, Nasarawa and Jigawa have been selected for the project. Fifty participants will benefit from the training in each state, along with establishment of demonstration plots and backstopping mission.

Macki reiterated that “The goal is to ensure that Nigeria attains self-sufficiency in rice production through access and availability of good quality

seed of released rice varieties.”

Speaking at one of the training sessions in Anambra, representative of Africa Rice, Oyetunji Olumoye, observed that many seed producers lack basic knowledge on production of quality rice seeds.

“Food insecurity is a big challenge in Nigeria. Seed mixtures and lack of good quality rice seeds is a common phenomenon and major constraint to rice production in Nigeria. Farmers do not have enough quantity of rice seed for production. The little they have contain impurity and mixtures,” he explained.

“The overall objective of the training program is to enhance farmers’ access to quality rice seed and also make quality paddy available to millers and processors in the selected states. The trainees will continue to be monitored throughout the period of planting to crop maturity,” said Andrew Ikhadeunu, National Coordinator of the project.

Lagos to Enact Law Regulating Domestic Workers, Guards Gboyega Akinsanmi Lagos State Governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode has said his administration had prepared an executive bill, which when enacted, would regulate domestic workers and guards, citing growing security threats they posed to the state and its residents.

Aside, the governor said if eventually enacted, the bill would put an end to the disturbing trend of child abuse or under-aged workers, who he said, were largely undocumented and posed grave threat to the security

of lives, private properties and public installations in the state.

He disclosed this at the recent unveiling of Lagos State Neighbourhood Safety Corps at Agege Stadium, noting that the corps was not designed to rival the Nigeria Police, but to complement its efforts, especially in the area of intelligence gathering.

He inaugurated the corps alongside the Deputy Governor, Dr. Oluranti Adebule; her immediate predecessor, Mrs. Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire; Oba of Lagos, Oba Rilwan Akiolu, and Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Mr.

Fatai Owoseni among others.

Beyond unveiling the corps, Ambode explained the importance of strengthening security in the state, which he said, necessitated the initiation of an executive bill “to regulate the employment of domestic workers and security guards henceforth.”

He explained that the bill “will prescribe regulations for these set of workers and other details to monitor their activities. There is no room for child abuse or under-aged workers.

“It has been discovered that domestic workers are largely

undocumented and pose a grave security threat in the state. The recruiting agencies must be licensed and regulated henceforth. Our safety is now non-negotiable,” the governor said.

On the safety corps, Ambode said it became imperative to establish the corps “to enhance security all over our dear state. The Corps is designed to provide a second layer of policing in order to ensure our State and communities are more secure.”

The government noted that the corps is a vital part of our continuing security and

justice sector reforms, which he said, was structured “to fighting crime in the State.”

He acknowledged the supportive role of the Nigeria Police, though explained the necessity of the corps due to what he ascribed “to huge population and unique challenges, the Nigeria Police needs our support to complement their efforts especially in areas of community policing.”

He said the corps initiative “has created at least 7,000 jobs for officers of the Corps, artisans and other support staff members. Job creation is at the heart of economic

prosperity and we remain fully committed to a more prosperous Lagos for our citizens.

“Special hotlines have also been created direct to the Executive Secretary and senior management of Safety Corps agency for easy communication with our communities in the event of any crime.

“Any valuable information given to the corps will attract handsome rewards from the State Government. I therefore call on all Lagos residents to join hands with us to say a final NO to crime in our state,” he added.

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BUSINESSWORLD

DEVELOPMENT QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“Rather than tame corruption, the monster has become daring while those who should tame it are sometimes busy engaging in turf war. We cannot continue to allow our corporate and individual interests to pull us in different directions, while the wellbeing of our fellow citizens takes the back seat” - ACTING CHAIRMAN, ECONOMIC AND FINANCIAL CRIMES COMMISSION (EFCC), IBRAHIM MAGU SPEAKING AT THE FIRST NATIONAL ANTI-CORRUPTION STAKEHOLDERS’ SUMMIT ORGANISED BY THE AGENCY IN KARU, ABUJA

UNICEF/UNFPA to Introduce Female Genital Mutilation Care Modules into Health Education Programmes Amby Uneze in Owerri

WWD: Guinness Nigeria Unveils Seven New Boreholes in C’River State Abimbola Akosile In its continued commitment to interventions that transform lives and improve the health and well-being of communities in Nigeria, Guinness Nigeria Plc has constructed seven hand pump water boreholes in Bebi Community, Obanliku Local Government Area (LGA) of Cross River State.

The donated boreholes (which will provide more than 7,000 persons with year-round access to safe drinking water) were unveiled at an unveiling ceremony which the company held to mark this year’s ‘World Water Day’.

Guinness Nigeria’s continued commitment to initiatives that improve access to safe water was underscored at the event by the company’s Corporate Relations Director, Mr. Sesan Sobowale who represented the Managing Director of Guinness Nigeria. Sobowale noted that the company would continue to play a leading role in enhancing access to safe drinking water in Nigeria.

He said: “The boreholes are the latest addition to the range of water projects Guinness Nigeria has delivered in states across the country as part of Diageo’s flagship ‘Water of Life’ programme. Since 2007, our ‘Water of Life’ programme has provided clean drinking water to over 10 million people in 18 countries in Africa. Under the aegis of the ‘Water of Life’ programme in Nigeria, water facilities have been constructed in 35 communities across the country. We are pleased to note that through these water projects, Guinness Nigeria has helped over 1.5 million Nigerians access clean water and ultimately improve their overall health and wellbeing.”

Also speaking at the ceremony, Director of Water at the Cross River State Ministry of Water Resources, Mr. Dan Ebri, commended Guinness Nigeria’s commitment to initiatives that promote access to safe drinking water in Nigeria. He said: “I commend Guinness Nigeria’s commitment to interventions that tackle the challenge of water scarcity in rural

L-R: Sustainable Development & Alcohol in Society Manager, Guinness Nigeria Plc, Osita Abana; Ebri; Sobowale; Connell, and Area Sales Manager (Cross River/Akwa Ibom) Guinness Nigeria Plc, Chidi Umeh; at the unveiling of new boreholes donated by Guinness Nigeria Plc at Obanliku Local Govt Area of Cross River State…recently areas especially in Cross River State. I also thank the company for partnering United Purpose to deliver programmes that have helped Obanliku LGA to achieve ‘open defecation free’ status. The impact your partnership has made is laudable”.

The clan head of Bebi Eastward in Obanliku LGA, HRH Atung Francis, also expressed the community’s appreciation for the donated water facility. He observed that prior to the donation, community members trekked to the hilltop – a distance of about three kilometres - to fetch water. Guinness Nigeria’s latest intervention in Obanliku LGA followed a previous pilot project which facilitated the construction of ten boreholes in rural communities in Cross River State’s Abi, Bekwarra, and Obanliku LGAs. The pilot project (which was also delivered in partnership with United Purpose) helped

over 11,000 people in these LGAs to access safe drinking water, and trained 120 community members on basic borehole maintenance and water resource management.

In his remarks at the event, the Country Director of United Purpose, Nigeria, Mr. Tim Connell acknowledged Guinness Nigeria’s contributions to the SWISH programme in Cross River state.

He said: “I am pleased to see the positive impact we have been able to make in Cross River State partnering Guinness Nigeria. Today Obanliku LGA has become the first LGA in Nigeria to achieve ‘open defecation free’ status, and more persons in the local government area now have access to clean drinking water. I would like to thank Guinness Nigeria for its contributions towards these milestones”

As part of efforts to sensitise and devise a sustainable means towards the complete eradication of female genital mutilation and cutting (FGM/C) the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) are partnering to introduce FGM/C care modules into health education programmes as well as support in-service capacity strengthening for health providers as part of her 2017 work plan.

Reviewing the UNICEF/UNFPA joint programme to accelerate action to end FGM/C at a recent two-day zonal child protection planning meeting on FGM Abandonment programme held at Nike Lake Resort, Enugu, participants drawn from Imo and Ebonyi states resolved that the funding and implementing partners should press for the introduction of FGM modules in the health curriculum as a way of creating awareness on the immense dangers of FGM to all stages of human sphere.

The meeting which was at the instance of UNICEF in collaboration with the National Orientation Agency (NOA), Ebonyi State had the State Directors of NOA for Imo and Ebonyi, Dr. Vitus Ekeocha and Dr. Emma Abah respectively; the UNICEF Consultant on FGM/C in charge of Imo and Ebonyi states, Mr. Benjamin Mbakwem; UNICEF Consultant on Child Protection, Mrs. Nkiru Maduechesi, and UNICEF official, Hilary Ozor as facilitators urged participating partners to be thorough on designing the 2017 work plan programme.

Welcoming participants to the meeting, Abah reminded them that their presence was essential to progress of the plan as it would afford them the opportunity to review the plan so far, adding “our partners have done well by summoning us here to see how we can discuss and design a possible way to reduce the issue of female genital mutilation and cutting”.

The objectives of the meeting according to Maduechesi included to provide mutual accountability platform for government, civil society organisations and UNICEF on participatory planning for implementation of 2017 work plan; underlining concepts and methodologies for implementing of activities; identify gaps, opportunities, risk mitigation measures and integrate in the planning process; provide space for discussion on overcoming challenges encountered; and enhance space for accelerated implementation.

While presenting UNICEF/UNFPA joint programme to accelerate action to end FGM/C, Mbakwem revealed that 2017 work plan needs strengthening the Integration of FGM into SRH services and health education, strengthening capacity to prevent FGM and collaborate with Midwifery Associations and other professional medical bodies to increase the engagement of health providers in FGM prevention and end medicalisation of FGM. According to him, there is support training of midwives on the e-Learning module on FGM Prevention, strengthening Protection Services, law enforcement officers and members of the judiciary on how to support and protect girls and women at risk of FGM, as well enforcement through prosecution of perpetrators.

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T H I S D AY THURSDAY, MARCH 30, 2017

HEALTH & LIFESTYLE

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

Reducing Tuberculosis in Nigeria As Nigeria joins the rest of the world to mark this year’s World Tuberculosis Day, Martins Ifijeh and Kuni Tyessi look at why the disease is still prevalent in the country and how it can be eradicated

A

ccording to the World Health Organisation (WHO), over one third of the world’s population are infected with Tuberculosis Bacteria (TB), with well over nine million persons sick each year with active TB that can potentially spread to other people and cause death.

Statistics from the WHO indicate an estimated 10.4 million new cases of tuberculosis worldwide in 2015. A further breakdown reveals that of the estimated figure, 5.9 million (56 per cent) are men, 3.5 million (34 per cent) women while 1.0 million (10 per cent) are children.

The records also show that people living with Human Immuno Virus (HIV) account for 1.2 million (11 per cent) of all new tuberculosis cases.

Experts say that with an estimated 1.4 million tuberculosis deaths in 2015, and an additional 0.4 million deaths resulting from the disease among people living with HIV, the scourge appears to be advancing into an epidemic.

In order of global ranking, countries with the highest burden of the disease are India, Indonesia, China, Nigeria, Pakistan and South Africa among 22 high tuberculosis burden countries.

Though the disease is more common in Africa and Asia due to poor resources and intervention, the incidence rate is high in Africa, especially in Nigeria which has often been termed the ‘hub of tuberculosis in the continent’.

According to available statistics, the rate of tuberculosis in Nigeria is far higher than it used to be several years ago. Nigeria now ranks 4th among countries with high rate of the disease, with over 180,000 persons diagnosed yearly in the country.

Experts say tuberculosis, commonly known as TB, is a bacterial infection that can spread through the lymph nodes and bloodstream to any organ in the body. They say it is most often found in the lungs, and most people who are exposed to it don’t develop symptoms because the bacteria can live in an inactive form in the body. But if the immune system weakens, such as in people with HIV or elderly adults, TB bacteria can become active.

It is in tackling this disease that various health bodies, stakeholders and government ministries and agencies in the country joined the rest of the world last week to mark this year’s World Tuberculosis Day. Speaking during an awareness walk by the Lagos State TB/HIV Working Group to commemorate the day, the state Tuberculosis Control Officer, Dr. Hussein Abdul Rasaq believes the disease was a leading killer among infectious diseases in the country, noting that Nigeria ranks fourth among countries with the burden of the disease.

He says while over 8.6 per cent of the country’s burden is in Lagos, the disease was highly preventable and treatable, adding that infected persons should access free treatment in any of the Lagos TB centres.

“Tuberculosis is a preventable and treatable disease and we have services in the state for free diagnosis and treatments. All we need is for infected people to come out for treatment. Also, if people know those with prolonged cough, they can also direct them to our centres across Lagos State for diagnosis and treatment.

Also, the Medical Officer of Health, Agege Local Government, Lagos, Dr. Akintoba Akintayo, believes tuberculosis was one of the most violent infectious diseases, which should be given priority.

“Tuberculosis has global widespread which is caused by a bacterium with other micro bacterium that causes it. Basically, it is highly infectious by what we call droplet infections,

Tuberculosis is preventable and treatable

and that’s why majorly, almost everyone has hidden TB, but it’s kept in check because of our immunity.”

Akintayo said that most infectious disease can only be controlled by advocacy since it was a curable disease.

He advised Nigerians not to engage in self-medication and must adhere to treatments, adding that nutrition was also vital in combating tuberculosis.

“The core issue is adherence to treatment because if they break continuity of care, they leave room for multi-drug resistant. Whenever we are raising awareness, they shouldn’t engage in self-medication, they should ensure they consult with their medical personnel who will prescribe appropriate medication for them.”

Also to commemorate the day, a Resident Doctor, University of Benin Teaching Hospital (UBTH), Dr. George Kanabe, says TB is a vaccine-preventable illness which unfortunately has killed several Nigerians, especially children because their immunity is not as strong as that of adults.

He said since it is an airborne disease, it can as well be prevented through cautious efforts involving living in areas with good ventilation. “Sometimes you notice that over 10 people pile up themselves in a room all through the night. If one person has tuberculosis there, it is most likely going to spread to other people.

“For TB, the focus is on the quality of air, because it is an airborne disease. So it cannot be spread through eating, wearing same clothes with infected persons, and so on.It is spread from a person who is infected to uninfected persons, through coughing, talking, kissing or sneezing.

“Those more prone to being infected are colleagues at work, class mates, family members or close friends. That is why when one person has TB in a family, it’s advisable for other family members to run tests to ascertain if they

have it or not. Early detection can also help in total curation of the disease,” he added.

According to him, BCG vaccine can prevent one from contracting the disease, hence his plea to the government to make the vaccine available to every Nigerian, so that people can stop dying from a preventable disease like TB. On ways to identify symptoms of tuberculosis, Kanabe, said the early stages of the disease do not often present symptoms but as it progresses, different signs begin to show up.

“The most common being cough with sputum and blood at times. Persons suffering from TB might frequently experience fever, chest pain, weakness, weight loss and sweating; especially at night.”

He explained that not all tuberculosis are lethal. “Only active tuberculosis kills 50 per cent of people infected. But it is now very easy to diagnose tuberculosis. The test usually don’t take more than few hours to diagnose.

Explaining further, he said, “as easy as the diagnosis may seem, it is still not so easy to diagnose the infection in children, and that is one of the reasons it is a high risk disease for them,” he stated.

But the Minister of Health, Professor Isaac Adewole, in his World Tuberculosis Day message in Abuja recently, said Nigeria would eliminate the disease by year 2035.

Adding that the country was making all efforts towards joining the league of countries without tuberculosis.

Speaking at the launch of a laboratory for tuberculosis diagnosis at the Kuchigoro Primary Health Centre, Abuja, Adewole said statistics show an increase in TB cases in the last two decades in the country, partly due to HIV, overcrowding, poverty, humanitarian crisis and other factors.

He said that 91,534 Nigerians are infected with tuberculosis annually, but sadly, several cases remain unreported, thereby making it

difficult for the disease eradication.

The minister reiterated Federal Government’s commitment towards eradicating the menace, saying “the newly launched tuberculosis laboratory contains equipment that will be used in detecting and treating the disease in the country.

“We are working towards ensuring that TB is demystified come 2035. It is not just enough to celebrate world TB Day. We are also using it to create awareness about the disease. This disease is afflicting hundreds and thousands of Nigerians every year and I have been told that we are number one in Africa with the burden of the disease and the third in the world . We can’t take pride in taking this kind of problem and we look forward to a country that isTB free and this will be our pride. I believe we can get there some day.”

He said the FG has established 318 TB centres in Nigeria, and the same would be done in every part of the country. “We currently have over 300 TB centres in the country, our target is to have one centre in every local government, that will give us about 774 centres but we are just about half way but we shall get there.

The ministry has taken note of MDR-TB which is a major problem and more efforts are being made to “diagnose this MDR-TB and increase the number of laboratories we have. As at today, we have nine but we are going to increase it, the one in Abia is almost ready for launch; this administration is working hard to make sure that we end TB by 2035,” he added.

It is on record that the disease which affects the chest can develop to a level of drug-resistant tuberculosis which takes 20 months for drugs intake and eight months of daily injections.

However, research is on-going globally to reduce the drug intake to a lesser period for effective treatment.

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NEWS

‘Practice Exclusive Breastfeeding, but Give Vitamin D as Supplement’ Martins Ifijeh While it is mostly preached in Nigeria that exclusive breastfeeding is key to optimal mental, psychological, physiological and social growth of an infant if given within the first six months of life, the Programme Director, Nutrition, National Institute of Child Health and Development (NICHD), United States of America, Dr. Daniel Reiten, says vitamin D should be given

as supplement in addition to exclusive breastfeeding.

He said even though breast milk contains ‘all’ the nutrients needed for the brain development of an infant before the first six months, it contains very little vitamin D required by the infant. Speaking during the orientation programme for the three award winners of the 2016 Early Childhood Development Reporting Contest in Washington DC organised by the International Centre

For Journalists (ICFJ) and the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation (CIFF) he said, “vitamin D should be the only supplement in addition to exclusive breastfeeding.

“Vitamin D is intimately involved in immune system, and it is the only supplement the American Paediatrics Society recommended as supplement for an infant in the first six months of life, because only little of it is found in breast milk,” he said.

Reiten, who bagged his doctorate in Human Nutrition from the Pennsylvania State University, explained that after exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months, breastfeeding, in addition to supplements/ formula should be given until the infant clocks his or her first 1000 days of life.

He said this was necessary for proper brain, mental and social development of the child, adding that a child breast fed for the first 1000 days of life

would most likely be able to face adulthood better than the children who are not.

“These are well known researched facts, and for any society that wants its children to do well in school, financially or even in their healths, they should practice breastfeeding for the first 1000 days of life,” he said. On her part, the Chief Child Development and Behaviour Branch, NICHD, Dr. Lisa Freund, said the level of development and exposure of

a child’s brain during the early days of life determines how much of capacity the brain would carry during adulthood.

She said apart from nutrition, the role of caregivers and what the children are exposed to at the tender age shapes their lives as well.

“Strong evidence shows that healthy emotional and cognitive development is shaped by responsive, dependable interaction with caregivers,” she said.

House C’ttee Asks Orthopedic Hospital Boss to Account for Medical Bills, Expired Drugs James Emejo in Abuja The House Committee on Public Accounts has asked the Chief Medical Director, National Orthopedic Hospital, Igbobi, Dr. Olurotimi Odunubi, to explain how the sum of N638,380 in medical bills to patients were written off without proof or acknowledgement by the alleged beneficiaries.

The committee also sought explanation and proof on 86 different types of drugs which were said to have expired between 2007 and 2012 but allegedly destroyed or buried in 2013. Chairman of the committee, Hon. Chinda Ogundu particularly wondered why expired drugs would have to be kept for six years before being destroyed. The investigative hearing followed a query to the hospital which was contained in the annual report by the Auditor General of the Federation.

As a constitutional requirement, the Auditor General is mandated to ensure that every government department and agencies are monitored in order to determine how they spend monies appropriated to them.

The committee also wondered why relevant regulatory agencies were not part of the exercise to destroy the expired drugs. The CMD, however, stated that the medical bills written off were bad debts which arose from discharged paupers, indigent patients, patients dropped by Police who do not have relations and couldn’t pay as well as abandoned patients. He also said the Revolving Drug Fund had a successful management policy.

According to him, while drugs bought directly from the manufacturer could be returned and changed on nearing expiration date, some others may not be changed. But he contested that all expired drugs from 2007 to 2012 were boarded and buried in February 2013. Unimpressed by his submissions, the committee urged him to provide proof from regulatory agencies which supervise or approved the destruction. The committee further wondered how patients who allegedly benefitted from the bills written off couldn’t append a signature or any form of acknowledgement to the gesture for record purposes.

NCDC Calls for State Advocacy Rebecca Ejifoma The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) calls for state level advocacy towards robust support for surveillance by state governments across Nigeria.

It made this call at its 2nd Annual Surveillance Review Meeting in Enugu State from March 14 to 17 aimed to reinvigorate and re-launch efforts towards stronger disease surveillance in Nigeria.

Speaking, the National Coordinator and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the NCDC, Dr. Chikwe Ihekweazu, said: “This meeting is my first direct interaction with all state colleagues as the CEO of NCDC. It is,therefore, an opportunity to further create the muchneeded national alignment around our priorities at the NCDC and enumerate how states can ensure our impact is felt across the country.”

According to him, it is a joy to see the quality of deliberations, and engagement by all the states and

partners at this meeting. “This is clearly in support of my expectations that everything we have identified here will be addressed before the next meeting.”

Therefore, he urged partners to “work with us and not for us”, injecting a sense of urgency in epidemiologists and disease surveillance officer in terms of working harder to protect the health of Nigerians.

Meanwhile, the Director of Surveillance of NCDC, Olubunmi Ojo said, “The success achieved at the meeting was as a result of the dedication of participants from states and the generous support of our partners.”

Reacting to news that the Federal Executive Council in Abuja approved the NCDC’s bill to proceed for legislative approval through the National Assembly, the association said it marked a major milestone in the activities of disease surveillance and response in Nigeria.

FOR HEALTHY LIVING

L:R: President, Ladies of Saint Mulumba (LSM), Ajah Sub-Council, Mrs Martha llugbekhai; Grand Knight, Lekki Sub-Council, Brother Johnny Ngonadi; Grand Knight, Ajah Sub-Council, Brother Samuel llugbekhai; Worthy Physician, Ajah Sub-Council, Brother Emmanuel Odeyi; and Worthy Grand Knight, Yaba Sub-Council, Joe Mcebong, during the Prolife Rally and Walk for Life, organised by the Order of the knights of Saint Mulumba Nigeria, Lagos Metropolitan Council Region 1 in Lagos recently ETOP UKUTT

100m Nigerians Have Vision UNICEF to Introduce Problems, Says Essilor FGM Modules into Health provide help and support to Education Programmes Martins Ifijeh Nigerian Eye Care professionWhile over 4.6 billion people are suffering from one form of vision impairment or the other globally, Nigerians suffering from the largely preventable and treatable condition is put at 100 million persons, the Managing Director, Essilor, East Africa Region, Mr. Tama Toth has said.

He noted that it was because of the identifiable number of people with the impairment in the country that Essilor Optical SupplyNigeria(EOSN) was birthed in order to address the growing needs.

Speaking at the unveiling ceremony of EOSN in Lagos, Toth said it would answer the vision needs of the Nigerian population through its local sales and marketing office to promote the Essilor Flagship internationalleadingbrands of ophthalmic lenses/products whichinclude;Variluxprogressive lenses, Crizal antireflective coatings, Xperio polarized sunlenses, EyeZen single vision lenses and Transitions photochromic lenses.

According to him, Essilor Nigeria will be a distribution centretosupplyNigerian market with digitally produced Essilor prescription lenses and a wide range of unbranded ophthalmiclensesalongside with a variety of sunglasses, frames and readers.

Toth noted that Essilor Optical Supply Nigeria will also

als by selling a comprehensive range of ophthalmic and edging equipment.

“We aimed at providing a world class state-of-the-art edging facility in Lagos to provide quality edging and mounting locally. - extend- ing the Essilor training and education activities to the Optometric fraternity in Nigeria with the establishment of Essilor Academy in Lagos,” Toth stated. He pointed out that the continentofAfricahas1.2billion inhabitants, an estimated 500 million of which need vision correction.

But four out of five persons needing corrective lenses do not correct their sight. “Essilor’s goal is to improve the vision of as many people as possible throughout the world.

Itisthereforelogically positioned in these markets.”

He said in line with its global strategy of fighting poor vision through awareness raising events, charity and inclusive business development initiatives, EOSN is partnering with Eye Foundation Hospital in Ikorodu for a first of its kindeventinthecountry: as over 500 people, adults and children were provided with eye check, and after the screening,peopleinneedofa vision correction could choose corrective lenses, provided by Essilor teams, which were fitted on spot according to their needs.

Amby Uneze in Owerri As part of effort to sensitise and device a sustainable means towards the com- plete eradication of female genital mutilation and cut- ting (FGM/C) the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) are partnering to introduce FGM/C care modules into health education programmes aswellassupportin-service capacity strengthening for health providers as part of her 2017 work plan.

Reviewing the UNICEF/ UNFPA joint programme to accelerate action to end FGM/C at a two-day zonal child protection planning meeting on FGM abandon- ment programme held at Nike Lake Resort, Enugu lastweek,participantsdrawn from Imo and Ebonyi states resolved that the funding and implementing partners should press for the introduction of FGM modules in the health curriculum as a way of creating awareness on the immense dangersofFGMtoallstages of human sphere. The meeting which was at the instance of UNICEF in col- laborationwiththeNational Orientation Agency (NOA), Ebonyi State, had the State Directors of NOA for Imo and Ebonyi, Dr. Vitus Ekeocha and Dr. Emma Abah

respectively; the UNICEF Consultant on FGM/C in charge of Imo and Ebonyi states, Mr. Benjamin Mbakwem; UNICEF Consul- tant on Child Protection, Mrs. Nkiru Maduechesi, and UNICEF official, Hilary Ozor as facilitators urged participating partners to be thorough on designing the 2017 work plan programme. Welcoming participants to the meeting, Abah reminded them that their presence was essential to progress of the plan as it would af- ford them the opportunity to review the plan so far, adding “our partners have done well by summoning us here to see how we can discuss and design a possible way to reduce the issue of female genital mutilation and cutting.” The objectives of the meeting according to Maduechesi included to provide mutual accountability platform for government, civil society organisations and UNICEF on participatory planning for implementation of 2017 work plan; underlining concepts and methodologies for implementing of activities; identify gaps, opportunities, risk mitigation measures and integrate in the planning process; provide space for discussion on overcoming challenges encountered; and enhance space for accelerated implementation.

38

T H I S D AY THURSDAY, MARCH 30, 2017

HEALTH MATTERS

goketakinrogunde@gmail.com

T

HEALTH

By Goke T. Akinrogunde 07036777348; 07029126776

Depression: Suicide’s Precursor

he recent media reports of celebrated suicide cases make a case for a peep-analysis of depression on this edition of the column.

Depression is quite common; although many cases are poorly diagnosed or simply refused to seek professional help. It is a spectrum of illness that is composed of severe feeling of low (depressed) mood, unhappiness, intense disappointment which may be accompanied by sleep difficulty, change in appetite, intense feeling of hopelessness, persisting or recurrent emotional and affective sadness, pathological pessimism and suicide thoughts. The end-result of severe depression often manifests itself either as a frank psychosis (madness) or in suicide/attempted suicide.

My concern as usual is to reiterate that depression per medical understanding goes beyond the feeling of low mood that may be appropriate for the time and situation in most people; it involves other symptoms occurring together over a period of time, which affects the normal functioning of the individual. It is conceded that some events in our life often make us feel momentarily “depressed” but this depressed feeling soon passed away and we start to function perfectly well again without any undue and consistent distraction of the inner mind as occurred in classical depression.

My intention as always is to further raise the public awareness and broaden the knowledge base on this common but nevertheless easily treatable illness.

Tell-tale signs Major signs and symptoms of depressive illness include: that could be occurring with the classical depression symptoms of low mood and persistent feeling of sadness is as follows: Early waking from sleep at night, excessive sleep and feeling of low energy, poor appetite with weight loss, daytime mood variation, psychomotor retardation, and decrease in libido and sexually less active Others include; Ideas of worthlessness, tearfulness and inappropriate crying, self-reproach, delusion of guilt and thought of death/suicide and suicide attempts The occurrence of some of the above symptoms together on a consistent basis will qualify an individual to be diagnosed as suffering from depressive illness. Categorisation into mild,

Depression breeds suicide

moderate and severe depression will depend on the severity of the signs and symptoms manifesting.

In a different setting, what are exhibited in a depressed patient are somatic symptoms (basically physical complaints and signs), which do not correspond to the clinical findings, laboratory tests and other investigations like the X-ray report. For an example, the affected person might consistently be complaining of a chest pain or a disturbing headache that persist in spite of taking pain relieving drugs and no abnormality detected aftermath of medical investigations.

In some other cases the complaint on recurrent basis is about ‘hotness’ or crawling sensation on the body in the absence of measurable high body temperature or crawling element respectively; usually the laboratory tests as well as radiological investigations will point to no physical abnormality.

For the aforementioned cases, it takes an extra doggedness on the part of the attending doctor to realize the fact that he is dealing with a case of depression, which is not exhibiting the classical symptoms listed above. Usually

with appropriate antidepressant therapy, these recalcitrant somatic symptoms like the chest pain, hotness and ‘invisible’ crawling sensation mentioned above soon go away. This variant of symptomology in depressed patients is particularly common in African Blacks.

Why we get depressed Various reasons have been put forward as possible explanation for depressive illness, and these include the following: Genetic – this postulation says that the tendency to be depressed has a hereditary basis. In order words, children of persons with a history of depression are themselves more prone to depression than others whose parents do not have a history of depression. This is supported by a research work with the result that there is 60% more concordance for depression in identical twins reared apart than is the case with the un-identical twins.

Biochemical – some chemicals in the brain known to be involved in the pathophysiology of depression have been shown to be more in

severely depressed persons. An example of these chemicals is serotonin, shown to be more than average in the brains of some suicide victims.

Also implicated is the observance of abnormal values of the stress hormone – cortisol - in depressed patients.

Vulnerability factors – above all, it is known that any of the above postulations are not absolute on their own. For depression to manifest in individuals, it will take an appropriate and adequate ‘dose’ of external event (stimulus) to confront the mind of the person before the mind surrenders to depression.

Factors that can lead to depression in vulnerable individuals include: physical illness, particularly chronic ones; pain, more so when it is persisting; lack of intimate relationship, depression is common in introverts and in people without love partners and close pals that they readily share their minds with.

In the same vein and like in most other mental illnesses, depression readily sets in when major stressful events occur in our lives e.g. the loss of loved ones, properties and jobs including major socio-economic policies that readily rendered us useless. Thus, it will be saying the obvious mentioning the fact that on a regular basis in our “capitalist society of everyone for himself and the ‘invisible’ God for everybody” the unresolved social and economic crises make majority of us potential victims of depressive illness.

Treatment options It should be stressed that there is no clear-cut distinction between the low mood we all get, now and then, and illness requiring treatment; notwithstanding this, however, the lower the mood and the more mark the slowness, the more serious is the treatment required.

Treatment options vary from drugs usage i.e. pharmacotherapy to psychotherapy and physical therapy. The option taken will depend on the nature of illness and the severity of the symptoms.

Last line: I should add that the intention of this write-up is not to serve as a substitute for a proper direct interaction with doctors, specialists and trained professionals in psychiatry and human psychology but as piece of encouragement for those who are prone or seen to be prone to seek help,

Inside the Hospital Why Doctors Commit Suicide?

As an opener to today’s discussion on perennial suicides and attempted suicide among medical practitioners, I venture to paraphrase Dr. Maymunah Kadiri’s, mental health practitioner and social advocate, interesting appeal on the social media: “Earlier this year, a student of Babcock university died from suicide. Last week, a medical doctor killed his mother, last Sunday, 19-03-2017, a medical doctor died from suicide, through a jump into the Lagos Lagoon using the third mainland bridge railing as a spring to land into the deep water. Similarly a final year student of Ladoke Akintola University, Ogbomosho, Oyo State, died from suicide. These are just a few of suicide cases we hear about, a lot we don’t know are more.”

The big question Hear her again: “I slept around 1am this morning just because we were saving the life of a mother that wanted to commit suicide. Likewise, a fellow Psychiatrist had to admit a banker who attempted suicide.

“Is suicide on the increase or we are just realizing the growing incidence..?

“I will recommend that we all go on google

play store and download the app, #HOWBODI. This is an app that helps you assess your mental health on the go.

“Seek help when you need it, depression is treatable and management/treatment is available”.

So why do doctors commit suicide?

The following passage is an interesting piece

by Dr. Pranay Sinha, physician in residency program at the department of internal medicine, Yale-New Haven Hospital, Connecticut, USA on the aforementioned subject matter - doctors and suicide, a reality. It was written in the New York Times, Saptember 4, 2014 Two weeks ago, two medical residents, in their second month of residency training in different programs, jumped to their deaths in separate incidents in New York City. I did not know them, and cannot presume to speak for them or their circumstances. But I imagine that they had celebrated their medical school graduation this spring just as my friends and I did. I imagine they began their residencies with the same enthusiasm for healing as we did.

And I imagine that they experienced fatigue, emotional exhaustion and crippling self-doubt

at the beginning of those residencies — I know I did.

The statistics on physician suicide are frightening: Physicians are more than twice as likely to kill themselves as nonphysicians (and female physicians three times more likely than their male counterparts). Some 400 doctors commit suicide every year. Young physicians at the beginning of their training are particularly vulnerable: In a recent study, 9.4 percent of fourth-year medical students and interns — as first-year residents are called — reported having suicidal thoughts in the previous two weeks.

Hospitals and residency programs recognise the toll residency takes on the mental stability and physical health of new doctors. In 2003, work hours were capped at 80 hours a week for all residency training programs. Residents are provided confidential counseling services to help cope with stress. My residency program offers writing workshops and monthly reflection rounds. We have a wellness committee that organises social events such as bonfires on the beach and visits from therapy dogs.

But despite these efforts, people still fall through the cracks. While acute stress, social isolation, pre-existing mental illness and substance abuse

may be obvious factors to consider, we must also ask if there are aspects of medical culture that might push troubled residents beyond their reserves of emotional resilience.

There is a strange machismo that pervades medicine. Doctors, especially fledgling doctors like me, feel pressure to project intellectual, emotional and physical prowess beyond what we truly possess. In his famous essay “Aequanimitas,” Sir William Osler, who founded the first American residency program at Johns Hopkins Hospital in 1889, stressed the importance of equanimity in a physician.

While steadiness in tense situations is an important quality for doctors to have, I believe that the imperturbability that Osler extolled has been misinterpreted to a dangerous degree.

We masquerade as strong and untroubled professionals even in our darkest and most self-doubting moments. How, then, are we supposed to identify colleagues in trouble — or admit that we may need help ourselves?

Interns are often bewildered at how rapidly things change for us from May to July. As medical students, while we felt compelled to work hard and excel, our shortfalls were met with reassurances: “It will all come in time.”

39

T H I S D AY THURSDAY, MARCH 30, 2017

HEALTH

Flavoured Cigarettes: A Sinister Ploy to Ensnare Children With the rising influx of flavoured cigarettes into the Nigerian market, which are mostly targeted at luring children, Martins Ifijeh writes on why the government and stakeholders must strengthen interventions against illicit tobacco trade in the country With the proliferation of flavoured cigarettes into the Nigerian market, the inauguration of the National Tobacco Control Committee (NATTOC) by the Minister of Health, Prof Isaac Adewole, last year, gave strong indications of the Federal Government’s readiness to commence the implementation of the National Tobacco Control Act (NTCA).

NATTOC’s roles in the implementation of NTCA are critical in many ways. They coordinate multi-stakeholder national youth smoking prevention programmes, advise and make recommendations to the Health Minister, and screening or processing applications for licence to manufacture or import or distribute tobacco products in Nigeria.

Perhaps one burning issue, which the committee is expected to address with urgency, is the rising volume of illicit trade in tobacco and more importantly, the proliferation of flavoured cigarettes considering its implications for youth smoking. Illicit trade in tobacco accounts for an estimated 600 billion cigarettes per year worldwide. These illicit cigarettes have either been smuggled, counterfeited or evaded duties in another manner. The illegality thrives on the fact that cigarettes are among the most commonly traded products on the black market due to high profit margins, relative ease of production and movement, and low detection rates and penalties.

Moreover, illicit tobacco trading poses greater danger to global security. According to the WHO Regional Director for South-East Asia, Dr. Poonam Khetrapal, “while the smuggling of contraband tobacco products across national borders has always been profitable, illegal tobacco trade is now the trademark for organised crime networks, which may also be involved in drugs, human and arms trafficking, as well as terrorism.”

She observed further that “cigarettes are becoming a preferred item to smuggle. Besides, unlike smuggling narcotics or other hard-core trafficked products, punishment for smuggling tobacco is less severe.” This is in addition to the fact that since tobacco products are not usually a high priority for enforcement agencies, they are attractive to smugglers.

Even more disturbing is the proliferation of flavoured cigarettes and the inherent risks.

Flavoured cigarettes contain fragrances and sweet fruity flavours that resonate with children and malevolently obscure the strong taste of the tobacco. Thus, they have a powerful and irresistible appeal for children and young adults thereby making it easy to embrace and hard to quit. This allure is capable of not only initiating underage smokers but also adults, who previously didn’t smoke, into the habit.

The Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), U.S. also confirms that it can be a ready

Minister of Health, Prof. Isaac Adewole

tool for luring adolescent beginners into tobacco consumption.

Not only does the NTCA clearly forbid the sale of cigarette to anyone below the age of 18 but also their involvement in the tobacco business. It also frowns on the production and packaging of cigarette in any form that can entice young people into smoking.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) estimates that 18 per cent of Nigerian teenagers aged 13 and 15 have previously smoked cigarette.

Regulatory bodies, on their part, are not relenting as they have on a number of occasions taken the battle to the sellers, while exercising their statutory functions.

For instance, the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON), caused a consumers’ alert to be published in some national dailies in February, 2015 to sensitise the general public about the distribution and marketing of non-compliant

brands of flavoured cigarettes.

In the said advertorial, it accused the company that imports the brands of not having due authorisation to import, distribute and market same and advised marketers, distributors, retailers and consumers to refrain from purchasing the non-compliant brands. The public alert also stated that “these brands of cigarettes are not allowed to be manufactured or imported into Nigeria by the Nigeria Industrial Standard for Tobacco Products (cigarettes), as it could initiate and induce children into smoking.”

Besides, imported cigarettes do not bear the same health specifications and warnings, compared to locally manufactured cigarettes.

Thus, the health implications for the consumer are grave.

It is noteworthy that the manufacturing, importation and sale of flavoured cigarettes are in violation of Section 4.7 of SON Cigarettes

Standards 2014 which states: “Flavouring substances with potential to initiate or appeal to children, such as strawberry, banana, apple, among others, shall not be used in the manufacture of cigarettes.”

It is quite disturbing the manner in which the importers of these illegal products are constantly devising ways of evading regulation.

Following SON’s prohibition of the display of flavours on the cigarette packs, whilst some of the manufacturer/importers of these flavoured products devised dubious means of still featuring flavours on the packs by using colours associated with the various fruity flavours, and or using abbreviations of fruity flavours on the packs i.e a red pack with “STR” representing Strawberry, an orange pack with “ORG” for Orange and brown pack with inscription “CHO” for Chocolate on the cigarette packets.

Others still have fruity symbols such as “cherry” both pictorially and in words on the cigarette packets. What is more worrisome is the childlike appeal of these brands of cigarettes to underage children even when under watchful eyes of their parents.

When a packet of such products is picked up, the fruity flavours on the packaging is readily perceived even before it is lit. When lit, it gives off a nice aroma that masks the tobacco smell as fruity air fresheners or fragrances. No doubt, the act is intended to attract children by their fruity nature and also mask the smell of tobacco even after being smoked. By so doing, it would be very easy for a child to smoke such products and go undetected even right under the nose of an adult.

The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA), on September 22, 2009, placed a ban on cigarettes containing certain characterising flavours. The ban, authorised by the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act, is part of a national effort by FDA to reduce smoking in America. FDA’s ban on certain characterising flavoured cigarettes highlights the importance of reducing the number of children who start to smoke, and who become addicted to dangerous tobacco products.

In walking its talk, SON has in recent years conducted raids in some locations in the Southwest of Nigeria and some northern and eastern states in which dealers in flavoured cigarettes were apprehended and had their shops locked up. Authorities are particularly worried that the widespread nature of the product in the northern part of the country might further aggravate the prevalence of adolescent smoking in the region.

No doubt, the recent raids will reverberate, in the minds of flavoured cigarettes dealers, SON’s determination to stem the tide. Such efforts can only be successful with the collaboration of sister agencies like the Nigeria Police and other law enforcement agencies in the country.

NAFDAC to Build Laboratories Across Geo- Nancy Ukaha Needs N1.5m for Facial political Zones Reconstruction Sheriff Balogun in Abeokuta In its bid to rid the country of fake drugs and other unwholesome practices, the Acting Director-General, National Food Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Mrs. Yetunde Oni, has disclosed that plans are underway to establish additional laboratories for the agency across the geo-political zones.

Oni spoke at the retreat held in Ijebu Ode area of Ogun State with the theme ‘Repositioning NAFDAC for Efficient Management and Resource Control for Greater Performance’, organised to further equip the staff of

the agency for optimum performance.

While speaking on the establishment of the laboratories across the geo-political zones, she explained that it was due to the increasing volumes of activities of the agency, saying its seven laboratories across the country’s geo political zones could no longer be sufficient for its operations.

According to her, this although, it’s capital intensive but it is achievable over a period of time and it will also greatly enhance the effectiveness and greater productivity of NAFDAC. She added that the agency had also stepped in to address the shortage of narcotics drugs

used for medical purposes in various hospitals, disclosing that some local producers have been encouraged to go into production of these drugs though with greater monitoring and surveillance from NAFDAC. Oni who also spoke on the recent fire outbreak at its agency office in Oshodi, Lagos, described the sad incident as a colossal loss to the agency but expressed happiness to God that no life was lost in the incident.

The DG, however, maintained that the agency had since shaken off this challenge as affected staff had since resumed duty to continue to serve the nation.

Peter Uzoho The family of Nancy Donald Ukaha, a 20-year-old girl suffering from psamomatoide juvenile ossifying diroma of maxilla,is seeking the support of good spirited individuals, government and corporate bodies as well as humanitarian organisations to assist the family in raising money for her treatment.

Speaking to THISDAY, Mr. Moses Ukaha, Nancy’s elder brother, said his sister underwent the first surgical operation at the National Hospital, Abuja, on June 28, 2015 and discharged on October 23, same year. He said she was also referred

to the Dental and Maxilla Department, University of Ibadan on May 24,2016,with the card number:118265 and was admitted on September 19,2016 after clinical evaluation and investigation, and thereafter operated on the second time on September 29 same month and discharged.

Ukaha explained that the hospital “is willing to perform the final lap of the treatment (facial reconstruction) but due to the family’s lean financial position they can’t foot the N1.5 million bill required for it.

“We are now appealing to the public to come to our aid financially to enable us raise the sum of N1.5 million for the hospital to do the final

treatment on her so that she can live a normal life like her fellow girls.

“She has been suffering from this sickness for 12 years and right from age eight. Nancy has missed a lot; she cannot go to school; she cannot do anything like other girls; the family has been going through trauma because of her condition. So we want people to help us restore her health and hope,” Ukaha noted.

For assistance, please use the account detail; Account Name: Nancy Donald Ukaha, Account number: 6238623858, Fidelity Bank Plc. Phone number is09072711700, or contact THISDAY for further information.

40

T H I S D AY •THURSDAY, MARCH 30, 2017

BUSINESS/MONEYGUIDE

Nnanna Joins AFC Board as Alade Retires Obinna Chima

The Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) has announced that following the retirement of Dr. Sarah Alade as a Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), she has also stepped down from her position as Chairman of the AFC Board of Directors with effect from yesterday.

Alade will be succeeded by the Deputy Governor, CBN, Dr. Joseph Nnanna.

According to a statement from the corporation, Nnanna has over three decades experience as an economist and banker. He has served as a consultant to the government of Nigeria, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, and, on the Board of the International Monetary Fund.

Commenting on her retirement, Alade, said: “It has been a privilege to serve as Chairman of such a dynamic and fast-growing organisation.

“I have had the pleasure of overseeing some of the company’s milestones, including the company’s inaugural Eurobond, Swiss Franc (CHF) and Sukuk issuances, expansion of country membership from 9 to 14, expansion of the Corporation’s operational footprint to 28

countries, growth in the balance sheet to US$3.4 billion, and, the creation of the African Power Platform vehicle with Harith General Partners of South Africa. I have no doubt that the Corporation will continue to flourish under my successor and wish both him and AFC the best in the future.”

President/Chief Executive of AFC, Andrew Alli, while paying tribute to Alade said: “We are all very grateful for the notable contribution that Alade has made to AFC during her time as Chairman of the Board.

“Over the course of her tenure the corporation has expanded rapidly, and approximately US$4 billion has now been invested in projects across 28 African countries, helping to drive economic and social development. We welcome Nnanna to his new role and look forward to working with him to continue this success in the future.”

Meanwhile, the AFC yesterday released its 2016 fiscal year results. The results showed that the corporation’s total comprehensive income was US$115.3 million, representing an increase by 64 per cent year-on-year. Its net profit also improved by 51 per cent to US$109.4 million in 2016, just as its total assets

climbed by 13 per cent to $3.4 billion in the year under review.

Similarly, the corporation’s total equity was US1.4 billion, while its interest income improved to US$192.8 million. The AFC’s balance sheet also grew to US$3.4 billion “2016 has been a successful year for AFC, reflected by our income and profit growth and our balance sheet strength.

Operationally, we’ve had a great year too, with investments including Gabon’s Special Economic Zone, paving the way for greater economic diversification in the country.

We’ve also strengthened our relationships with development finance institutions and the private sector –for example by launching a Joint Venture with Harith - merging power assets to create a pioneering African Power Platform Vehicle.

“AFC aims to be a US$5 billion Corporation by 2019 and despite a challenging economic environment, we are confident that we have built the firm foundations necessary to continue delivering positive socio-economic change across Africa. Ahead of our 10 year anniversary in May, we look forward to the next chapter in AFC’s growth story,” Alli said.

Stanbic IBTC Bank Owed $24m By Etisalat The Nigerian arm of South Africa’s Standard Bank, Stanbic IBTC Bank, has an exposure of $24 million to Etisalat Nigeria, it said on Wednesday, adding that restructuring talks were “ongoing”.

The Nigerian arm of Abu Dhabi-listed telecoms company Etisalat has been discussing with 13 local banks about renegotiating the terms of a $1.2 billion

loan after missing a payment.

“The members are continuing discussions with Etisalat with the hope of restructuring the loan,” Reuters quoted the bank to have told an analysts’ call.

Stanbic IBTC Holdings Plc was the fourth bank to announce its audited results for the full year ended December 31, 2016. The financial institution recorded improvement

in most of the performance indicators and ended with a growth of 51 per cent in profit after tax (PAT).

Analysing the fourth quarter (Q4) results, analysts at FBN Quest had said the performance was boosted by a significant other comprehensive income(OCI) of N4 billion compared with a loss of N87 million prior year.

Nnanna

MARKET INDICATORS MONEY AND CREDIT STATISTICS Broad Money (M2)

23,840,392.42

-- Narrow Money (M1)

11,520,166.67

---- Currency Outside Banks

1,820,415.90

---- Demand Deposits

9,699,750.76

-- Quasi Money

12,320,225.75

Net Foreign Assets (NFA)

9,353,504.03

Net Domestic Assets(NDA)

14,486,888.39

-- Net Domestic Credit (NDC)

26,774,684.47

---- Credit to Government (Net)

4,595,579.89

---- Memo: Credit to Govt. (Net) less FMA

7,436,917.79

---- Memo: Fed. and Mirror Accounts (FMA)

Niger Targets N1bn Monthly IGR in 2017 Laleye Dipo in Minna The Niger state government yesterday said its target was to generate not less than N1 billion monthly from internal sources this financial year. The projection was almost double of what the government generated monthly in the last fiscal year.

The Chief Press Secretary to Governor Abubakar Sani Bello, Alhaji Jibrin Ndace stated this in statement made available to newsmen in Minna.

Ndace said the state 2017

budget being worked upon by the house of assembly was calculated on the premise that government would generate N1billion internally monthly.

The governor’s spokesman said the new chairman of the state Board of Internal Revenue Alhaji Yusuf Habibu had been directed to not only meet the target but endeavour to surpass it. The statement also credited Governor Bello to saying that the new Board of Internal Revenue chairman should use his experience to

‘restructure and reorganise the entire organsation in line with the recommendations of the Committee on Revenue Generation in the State”.

The statement said the appointment of Alhaji Yusuf Habibu was with immediate effect.

A member of the Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria (CITN), Alhaji Habibu graduated from Bayero University, Kano and had spent several years in the tax regimes sub sector of Nigerian economy at both state and federal levels.

Firms Partner to Drive MSME Growth Solomon Elusoji Two SME-focused businesses Gidigba Social Network Services and African Hub International, have formed a joint venture company, Gidigba-African Hub, which is designed to develop and implement programmes that will promote and encourage micro, small and medium scale enterprises (MSMEs) in the country.

The strength of the partnership lies in the divergent expertise of the two organisations. While Gidigba is an online business service provider and a player in the e-business and SME

Promotion sector, African Hub is an offline one-stop entrepreneurship and incubation hub that provides a range of on-site business to start-ups in Africa.

The partnership, which was announced recently at an official signing event at the Nigerian-Belgian Chamber of Commerce office in Lagos, will see Gidigba-African Hub assist MSMEs in accessing new markets, new channels for exports, a new large customer base, and also help them grow and diversify revenue.

“The merging of these two companies will provide a wider network, wider support MSMEs,

and we are leveraging on both our resources to move the socio-economic development of Nigeria forward,” the Founder and Executive Director of African Hub, Ms. Oluneye Oluwole, said.

Speaking to THISDAY, the founder and CEO of Gidigba, Mr. Efosa Idemudia, noted that partnership will aim to “sensitise the MSME public. So we are going to be running some awareness program, which will be done in partnership with key agencies. We also want to see how we can bring access to markets for SMEs.

(MILLION NAIRA)

DECEMBER 2016

-2,841,337.90

---- Credit to Private Sector (CPS)

22,374,718.08

--Other Assets Net

-12,483,409.58

Reserve Money (Base Money)

5,837,322.41

--Currency in Circulation

2,179,174.28

--Banks Reserves

3,318,344.71 • Source - CBN

MONEY MARKET INDICATORS (%) December 2016 Inter-Bank Call Rate

10.39

Monetary Policy Rate (MPR

14.00

Treasury Bill Rate

13.96

Savings Deposit Rate

4.18

1 Month Deposit Rate

8.53

3 Months Deposit Rate

8.80

6 Months Deposit Rate

10.23

12 Months Deposit Rate

10.76

Prime Lending rate

17.09

Maximum Lending Rate

28.55

• Monetary Policy Rate - 14%

OPEC DAILY BASKET PRICE AS AT TUESDAY 28, MARCH 2017

The price of OPEC basket of thirteen crudes stood at $48.84 a barrel on Tuesday, compared with $48.25 the previous day, according to OPEC Secretariat calculations. The OPEC Reference Basket of Crudes (ORB) is made up of the following: Saharan Blend (Algeria), Girassol (Angola), Oriente (Ecuador), Rabi Light (Gabon), Iran Heavy (Islamic Republic of Iran), Basra Light (Iraq), Kuwait Export (Kuwait), Es Sider (Libya), Bonny Light (Nigeria), Qatar Marine (Qatar), Arab Light (Saudi Arabia), Murban (UAE) and Merey (Venezuela).

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T H I S D AY •THURSDAY, MARCH 30, 2017

MARKET NEWS

Wigwe: Access Bank Well Positioned to Deliver BetterValue Goddy Egene and Nosa Alekhuogie The Group Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Access Bank Plc, Mr. Herbert Wigwe yesterday said the bank is now stronger and well positioned to deliver longterm value to its stakeholders.

Access Bank recorded a profit after tax of N71.4 billion for the year ended December 31,

2016, up from N65.9 billion and paid a total dividend of N18.8 billion to shareholders.

However, speaking at the 28th annual general meeting (AGM) held in Lagos, Wigwe said although the macro-economic conditions and corresponding implications on the banking industry remain uncertain, the bank’s diversified banking model, robust balance sheet and solid management team give

it the strength and resilience that will keep the financial institution in good stead.

“By diligently executing our strategy, we will continue to maintain improved profitability and create the capacity to continue to invest in our key areas of strength. As we come to the end of our third five-year transformation journey, our top priority in the coming year will be to cement our position as

a dominant corporate bank and establish ourselves as a formidable retail player, leverage digital technology and innovation to create value for our customers whilst unlocking new revenue streams and deliver seamless and superior customer experience across all our service touch points,” he said.

According to him, to secure its strategic aspiration to be a high

performing diversified banking leader focusing on global best practices, “we consider it vital to maintain our disciplined capital position and tightened risk tolerances.”

Wigwe disclosed that despite the challenging economy, 2016 was a year of progress for Access Bank.

“Many of our strategic choices we made over the years were validated when tested by the

economic recession. These critical decisions included our business mix. Our risk management culture and our capital and liquidity strategies,” he said.

In her address to the shareholders, Chairman of the Access Bank, Mrs. Mosun Belo-Olusoga said the bank’s prudent risk management kept it in good stead as it maintained nonperforming loans of 2.1 per cent.

DAILY STOCK MARKET REPORT T H E

N I G E R I A N

STO C K

E XC H A N G E

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T H I S D AY • THURSDAY, MARCH 30, 2017

MARKET NEWS

Afriland Properties Advised to Focus on Low End of Real Estate Industry Goddy Egene The Chairman, Ibadan Zone Shareholders Association, Mr. Eric Akinduro has advised the board and management of Afriland Properties Plc to explore the opportunities in the low end of the real estate industry as way of improving the fortunes of the company.

Akinduro gave the advice while speaking to journalists on the sideline of the annual general meeting (AGM) of the company

held in Lagos on Tuesday.

According to him, Afriland Properties Plc can take advantage of the opportunities by building estate that can be affordable by low income earners.

“Given the population of the country and the housing gap, the demand is high among low income earners. The company can take advantage of the demand by constructing affordable houses for the most people who are in need of good accommodation but are always

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

shut out because of the higher prices,” Akinduro said.

Meanwhile, the company has announced total assets of N16.7 billion for the year ended December 31, 2016, representing 10 per cent increase compared to the corresponding period in 2015.

The company posted a profit before tax (PBT) and profit after tax (PAT) of N0.54 billion and N0.31 billion respectively.

These represent 69 per cent and 74 per cent reduction respectively

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 28-Mar-2017, unless otherwise stated.

when compared to prior year.

While addressing the shareholders, the Chairman of Afriland Properties Plc, Erelu Angela Adebayo said: “The 10 per cent increase in our assets is attributable to revaluation gains on various upgraded investment properties. Afriland Properties Plc remains committed to increasing shareholders’ value and boosting returns.

Each Shareholder will receive one bonus share for every 10 ordinary shares of 50 kobo each

held as at the qualifying date, totaling N125 million. We are closely monitoring developments at all levels and are prepared to take on the opportunities that will be created in the sector. We are equally poised to fully exploit other structural reforms of the federal government, which might positively impact the housing and real estate sector.

In her remarks, the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Afriland Properties Plc, Mrs. Uzo Oshogwe said

that the difficult economic climate negatively impacted the performance of the real estate industry. “Despite these extremely challenging conditions, we still kept the Company on a stable trajectory. Although the operating environment remains challenging, the board and management of the company are very confident that the strategic initiatives that are being implemented are set to yield better results for the company,” she said.

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 aaml@afrinvest.com Web: www.afrinvest.com; Tel: +234 1 270 1680 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Afrinvest Equity Fund 128.97 129.48 1.55% Nigeria International Debt Fund 217.99 218.71 1.28% ALTERNATIVE CAPITAL PARTNERS LTD info@acapng.com Web: www.acapng.com, Tel: +234 1 291 2406, +234 1 291 2868 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn ACAP Canary Growth Fund 0.70 0.71 -0.34% AIICO CAPITAL LTD ammf@aiicocapital.com Web: www.aiicocapital.com, Tel: +234-1-2792974 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn AIICO Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 18.18% ARM INVESTMENT MANAGERS LTD enquiries@arminvestmentcenter.com Web: www.arm.com.ng; Tel: 0700 CALLARM (0700 225 5276) Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn ARM Aggressive Growth Fund 12.38 12.76 0.29% ARM Discovery Fund 291.59 300.38 1.54% ARM Ethical Fund 22.27 22.94 -0.31% ARM Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 15.89% AXA MANSARD INVESTMENTS LIMITED investmentcare@axamansard.com Web: www.axamansard.com; Tel: +2341-4488482 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn AXA Mansard Equity Income Fund 105.42 106.16 0.23% AXA Mansard Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 17.11% CHAPELHILL DENHAM MANAGEMENT LTD investmentmanagement@chapelhilldenham.com Web: www.chapelhilldenham.com, Tel: +234 461 0691 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Nigeria Global Investment Fund 2.15 2.21 -0.91% Paramount Equity Fund 9.42 9.66 0.63% Women's Investment Fund 86.87 89.09 2.68% CORDROS ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED assetmgtteam@cordros.com Web: www.cordros.com, Tel: 019036947 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Cordros Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 18.82% FBN CAPITAL ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD invest@fbnquest.com Web: www.fbnquest.com; Tel: +234-81 0082 0082 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn FBN Fixed Income Fund 1,137.09 1,138.28 4.28% FBN Heritage Fund 112.55 113.29 0.86% FBN Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 17.83% FBN Nigeria Eurobond (USD) Fund - Institutional $107.24 $108.01 3.10% FBN Nigeria Eurobond (USD) Fund - Retail $106.95 $107.72 3.53% FBN Nigeria Smart Beta Equity Fund 113.85 115.31 1.03% FIRST CITY ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD fcamhelpdesk@fcmb.com Web: www.fcamltd.com; Tel: +234 1 462 2596 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Legacy Equity Fund 0.95 0.97 2.13% Legacy Short Maturity (NGN) Fund 2.66 2.66 3.58% FSDH ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD coralfunds@fsdhgroup.com Web: www.fsdhaml.com; Tel: 01-270 4884-5; 01-280 9740-1 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Coral Growth Fund 2,216.42 2,242.97 0.34% Coral Income Fund 2,196.69 2,196.69 4.39% GREENWICH ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED assetmanagement@gtlgroup.com Web: www.gtlgroup.com ; Tel: +234 1 4619261-2 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Greenwich Plus Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 16.92% INVESTMENT ONE FUNDS MANAGEMENT LTD enquiries@investment-one.com Web: www.investment-one.com; Tel: +234 812 992 1045,+234 1 448 8888 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Abacus Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 16.90% Vantage Balanced Fund 1.72 1.74 2.30% Vantage Guaranteed Income Fund 1.00 1.00 15.60%

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 1.02 1.04 2.88% Lotus Halal Fixed Income Fund 1,028.87 1,028.87 2.59% MERISTEM WEALTH MANAGEMENT LTD info@meristemwealth.com Web: http://www.meristemwealth.com/funds/ ; Tel: +234 1-4488260 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Meristem Equity Market Fund 9.61 9.69 -0.52% Meristem Money Market Fund 10.00 10.00 16.56% 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 1.08 1.10 2.97% PACAM Fixed Income Fund 10.44 10.48 0.32% PACAM Money Market Fund 10.00 10.00 13.14% 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 111.29 112.12 9.27% 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 1.27 1.27 2.35% 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 1,847.64 1,856.75 0.86% Stanbic IBTC Bond Fund 156.16 156.16 1.43% Stanbic IBTC Ethical Fund 0.76 0.77 -0.65% Stanbic IBTC Guaranteed Investment Fund 193.02 193.02 3.28% Stanbic IBTC Iman Fund 128.43 130.08 -1.08% Stanbic IBTC Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 17.64% Stanbic IBTC Nigerian Equity Fund 7,376.07 7,457.89 -2.76% 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 1.14 1.15 8.14% United Capital Bond Fund 1.28 1.28 16.01% United Capital Equity Fund 0.65 0.66 -0.50% United Capital Money Market Fund 1.15 1.15 11.35% 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 9.97 10.15 3.49% Zenith Ethical Fund 11.22 11.33 2.83% Zenith Income Fund 17.39 17.39 5.21%

REITS

NAV Per Share

Yield / T-Rtn

11.41 125.38

1.01% 1.14%

Bid Price

Offer Price

Yield / T-Rtn

7.99 72.39

8.09 73.74

-8.95% -4.48%

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

2.75 6.25 11.69 15.35 128.61

2.79 6.33 11.79 15.55 130.61

0.00% -11.03% -2.54% -3.74% -0.97%

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.

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THURSDAY MARCH 16, 2017 • T H I S D AY

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INTERNATIONAL

email:foreigndesk@thisdaylive.com

‘No Turning Back’ on Brexit as Article 50 Triggered Britain’s departure from the European Union is “an historic moment from which there can be no turning back”, Theresa May has told Mps. The prime minister said it was a “unique opportunity” to “shape a brighter future” for the UK. She was speaking after Britain’s EU ambassador formally triggered the two-year countdown to the UK’s exit by handing over a letter in Brussels.

It follows June’s referendum, which resulted in a vote to leave the EU. In a statement in the Commons, the prime minister said: “Today the government acts on the democratic will of the British people and it acts too on the clear and convincing position of this House.”

She added: “The Article 50 process is now under way and in accordance with the wishes of the British people the United Kingdom is leaving the European Union.

“This is an historic moment from which there can be no turning back.”

She said Britain would now make its own decisions and its own laws and “take control of the things that matter

most to us - we are going to take this opportunity to build a stronger, fairer Britain, a country that our children and grandchildren are proud to call home”.

She told MPs that this marks “the moment for the country to come together”.

Mrs May said it was a “moment of celebration for some, disappointment for others” and promised to “represent every person in the whole United Kingdom” during the negotiations - including EU nationals, whose status after Brexit has yet to be settled.

She said that while the UK would remain the “best friend and neighbour” to its EU partners, it would also look beyond the borders of Europe.

“We can choose to say the task ahead is too great, we can choose to turn our face to the past and believe it can’t be done, or we can look forward with optimism and hope and to believe in the enduring power of the British spirit,” she said.

“I choose to believe in Britain and that our best days lie ahead.”

Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty gives both sides two years to

reach agreement so, unless the UK and the 27 remaining EU member states agree to extend the deadline for talks, the UK will leave on 29 March 2019.

The six page letter from Mrs May triggering Article 50 was handed over to EU Council President Donald Tusk by the UK’s ambassador to the EU Sir Tim Barrow.

The letter calls for a “deep and special” partnership in the best interests of both the UK and the EU - but said the UK wanted to agree a trade deal alongside a withdrawal deal within the two year time table allowed by Article 50. EU chiefs have said the two issues should be handled separately.

A few minutes later a sombrelooking Donald Tusk held up Mrs May’s letter, saying: “We already miss you. Thank you and goodbye.”

In a brief statement, he said it was not “a happy day” for him or for the EU and promised to begin arrangements for the UK’s “orderly withdrawal”.

He said the EU’s aim in negotiations was “damage limitation” and to “minimise costs” for EU citizens, businesses and member states.

THURSDAY MARCH 30, 2017 • T H I S D AY

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NEWSEXTRA

Two Years after Electoral Victory, PDP Mocks APC’s Change Mantra Accuses ruling party of deceiving Nigerians Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has described the March 28, 2015 victory of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the presidential election as a scam which has left Nigerians in worse condition than

they had imagined.

The opposition party said Nigerians have been scammed, adding that the Mid-Term Report of the former President, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, in May 2013 when compared to the two years of the APC-led administration

Nigeria to Showcase Maritime Potential in Norway As part of measures to attract foreign investors to tap into opportunities that abound in the Nigerian maritime industry, the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) will be showcasing the potential of the Nigerian maritime sector at the Norway shipping week that would hold later this year.

The Director General of the agency, Dr. Dakuku Peterside, made this known when the Norwegian Deputy Minister of Trade, Industry and Fisheries, Mr. Ronny Berg and the Norwegian Ambassador to Nigeria Mr. Jens-Peter Kjemprud, paid a courtesy visit to the NIMASA Headquarters in Lagos recently.

Peterside who noted that Nigeria has a very rich maritime heritage said the Minister of Transportation, Hon. Rotimi Chibuike Amaechi, would be leading a delegation from Nigeria to grace the event and meet relevant maritime stakeholders at the side lines of the occasion in Norway.

In his words: “The delegation, to be led by the Minister of Transportation will be holding

series of meetings with maritime stakeholders during the Norway shipping week to discuss available opportunities in the Nigerian maritime industry.”

In response to the DG’s comments, the Norwegian Deputy Minister of Trade said that Nigeria is Norway’s biggest trade partner on the continent of Africa hence the need to strengthen the ties through cooperation and collaboration.

According to the Norwegian Deputy Minister “Norway has had trade ties with Nigeria since the 1890s when stock fish from Norway was shipped into Nigeria. Norwegians have interest in investing in Nigeria especially the maritime sector and we are willing to support NIMASA in delivering a safe maritime economy,” he said.

In its quest to advance the economic interest of the Nigerian maritime sector geared towards making it a world class standard, the DG of NIMASA since assumption of office has continued to seek collaborations both locally and internationally, with positive results.

Senate Report: Nigerian Mission in GermanyVacant for 17Years Red chamber to investigate planned removal of 12,000 Nigerians from Germany Damilola Oyedele in Abuja Due to paucity of funds, the Nigerian Mission in Bonn, Germany has been vacant for 17 years.

This was contained in a report of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Senate on the official visit of Senate President, Bukola Saraki to Berlin, at the invitation of the President of the Bundesrat (Federal Council of Germany), Ms. Malu Dreyer, recently.

The visit to the Bundesrat which is the equivalent of the Nigerian Senate, held between March 8, 2017 - March 10, 2017.

The Senate therefore directed its Committee on Foreign Affairs to engage the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, to ensure the disposal of the Chancery.

Adopting the recommendations of the report yesterday, the Senate also resolved to investigate a planned mass removal of 12,000 Nigerians in Germany, and explore on behalf of the helpless Nigerians, the means to assess the European and German funds for skills and capacity building for foreigners in Germany.

This is in addition to a resolution to establish a Nigeria- Germany Parliamentary friendship group.

The lawmakers further urged

the federal government to lend support to the Senate’s push to elicit commitment from Germany, to assist the Nigerian Army with more equipment to consolidate on the fight against Boko Haram in the North-east.

The report, presented by a member of the inter-parliamentary committee, Senator Eyinnaya Abaribe (Abia South), also directed the Foreign Affairs Committee, to engage the Presidency to ensure that a seasoned diplomat with lots of experience is posted to serve as Ambassador of Nigeria to Germany.

“The President of the Senate’s intervention on the removal of irregular migrants of Nigerian nationality was timely,and would help in strengthening the cooperation on migration between Nigeria and Germany. Responses of the German authorities indicated their conviction along the business opportunities in Nigeria and their willingness to encourage German companies to invest in the economy,” the report read.

“At the conclusion of the visit, both sides agreed to sustain the parliamentary cooperation and visits in order to deepen their bilateral relations. The two leaders resolved to work together in other to promote partnerships in various sectors of their economy,” it added.

since May 29, 2015, showed that the government of the day has failed.

In a message marking the two years of its loss of power to the APC, the main opposition party said Nigerians were deceived and lied to by APC to vote for its Candidate, Muhammadu Buhari in the presidential election for ‘Change’.

The message which was signed by the spokeman of the Ahmed Makarfi faction of the party, Dayo Adeyeye, said: “The event of March 28, 2017 has indeed left a scare in the lives of Nigerians. Very sad!

Two years after, Nigeria is worse off than the APC met her in 2015.

PDP lamented that apart from the worsening economic situation, poor electricity supply and general

insecurity has pervaded the land, with the people not having any hope that things will change soon.

“Our economy hibernated; the institutions are bastardised and reduced to personal estates of some officials in government; prices of most basic commodities sky rocketed beyond 200 per cent; electricity is scarce and no concrete plans to improve on the structures left behind by the PDP administrations.

“Insecurity is on the rise though with constant grandstanding that it has “technically defeated Boko Haram”; unbearable and confusing high foreign exchange market; increase in prices of petroleum products

against static income; INEC acting as one of the departments of the APC; constant misuse of most security agencies against citizens.

“The dilemma of herdsmen attacks and daily displacements of communities unhindered; lack of transparency and accountability in government business; harassments of high ranking judicial officers, etc.

“The list indeed is endless!

Nigerians are witnessing the most cruel, insensitive and clueless government in the history of this country. It is obvious that the promise of ‘Change’ by the APC before 2015 elections was misunderstood by Nigerians.

“We believe that the electorates who voted the APC on this fateful day misunderstood its ‘Change’

promise to mean positive change but unknowingly, the APC actually promised negative ‘Change’. No doubt, it’s a reversal of all the achievement of the PDP administrations, and the squandering of our collective destinies through pursuit of shadows. Disastrous! For the record, “Finally, we wish to commiserate with all the families of those that the APC’s induced hardship and challenges led their loved ones to commit suicide in the last couple of weeks. May their souls rest in peace. As a Party, we believe in prosperity for all, good governance and the well-being of all citizens of this great Country, Nigeria,” he said.

AN AMAZON AT 85

L R: Alake of Egbaland, Oba Adetokunbo Gbadebo; Ogun State Governor, Ibikunle Amosun; his wife, Folusho; Celebrant, Chief Folake Solanke (SAN); Ondo State Governor,Mr. Rotimi Akeredolu; and his wife, Betty, at the celebration of Solanke’s 85th birthday in Ibadan.... yesterday Felix Ademola

Falana: Suspension of Senator Ali Ndume Illegal Ejiofor Alike Human rights activist and Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Mr. Femi Falana, has described the suspension of Senator Ali Ndume as the height of the serial illegality in the Senate and urged the senators to reverse what he called illegal decisions.

Citing the unreported case of Hon. Dino Melaye and Others vs House of Representatives, Falana said in a statement yesterday that the Federal High Court had declared the indefinite suspension of the plaintiffs illegal and unconstitutional on the grounds that a legislator could not be suspended for more than 14 days.

Falana also cited the case of House of Assembly vs Hon Danna, where the Court of Appeal held that a legislative house in Nigeria is not competent to suspend a member even for a single day as it is a violation of the democratic rights of members of his/her constituency.

The human rights lawyer also stated that it was in the atmosphere of impunity, which

has enveloped the Senate that the chairman of the Presidential Advisory Council on Corruption, Professor Itse Sagay, had been ordered to appear before the Senate for having the temerity to criticise the senators.

But citing the case of El Rufai vs House of Representatives (2003) 46 WRN 12, Falana argued that the Court of Appeal held that the House lacked the power to summon the appellant over a defamatory statement made by him as the power of investigation conferred on legislators is not for personal aggrandisement.

“In view of the settled state of the law on summoning of critics by the National Assembly and suspension of legislators the Senate is advised to reverse its illegal decisions and quickly return to the path of constitutionalism in the interest of lasting democracy in the country. However, if the Senate remains intransigent, the executive branch of the government should adopt decisive measures to terminate the unending rein of impunity in the National Assembly,” Falana explained.

He also noted that pursuant to

the powers conferred on it under section 3 (2) of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) Act, 2004, the Senate has refused to confirm the appointment of Mr. Ibrahim Magu as the substantive Chairman of the EFCC. Falana added that President Muhammadu Buhari has decided to allow Magu to continue to head the EFCC in an acting capacity, stressing that the decision of the president cannot be faulted by virtue of section 171 (1) (d) of the constitution, which provides that the president is vested with the power to appoint the head of any extra ministerial department to hold office in an acting capacity.

According to him, such appointment does not require the confirmation of the Senate.

Falana noted that the Senate has decided not to confirm the 27 newly appointed Resident Electoral commissioners until Magu has been removed from office as EFCC chairman.

According to him, in asking for the removal of Magu, the Senate said the anti-graft czar has been terrorising the Senate.

“Should the Senate resort to

such cheap blackmail because the embattled EFCC helmsman has refused to compromise the prosecution and investigation of about 15 senators alleged to have been involved in serious economic and financial crimes? Why should the Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki, not be terrorised for the alleged criminal diversion of N3.5 billion from the London/Paris Club loan refund? Before now, sharp disagreements between the National Assembly and the executive had been submitted to the courts for judicial resolution in line with the rule of law. During the twilight days of President Goodluck Jonathan administration the Attorney-General of the Federation challenged the purported amendment of the constitution at the Supreme Court. Based on the interlocutory injunction granted by the Supreme Court, the National Assembly suspended further deliberations on the controversial amendment of the Constitution. Instead of following the path of rule law and constitutionalism, the Senate has completely thrown caution to the winds,” Falana noted.

52

THURSDAY MARCH 30, 2017 • T H I S D AY

NEWSEXTRA

Power Sector: Discos Claim Revenue Shortfall Now N809bn Pick holes on government’s N701bn intervention for Gencos Egbin power station threatens to shutdown over N110bn debt Chineme Okafor in Abuja and Ejiofor Alike in Lagos The 11 electricity distribution companies (Discos) in the country yesterday stated that the revenue shortfall in the market has reached N809.8 billion.

They also picked holes at the federal government’s recent approval of N701 billion for the Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading

Plc (NBET) to pay generation companies (Gencos) for services rendered.

Speaking through their trade association, the Association of Nigerian Electricity Distributors (ANED), the Discos claimed that the amount which covers from November 1, 2013 when the new owners of power companies took over to date includes, a balance of N90.41 billion from the N213

NNPC Backs FG’s Plan to Formalise Illegal Oil Refining in Niger Delta Chineme Okafor in Abuja The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has said it would support plans by the federal government to formalise illegal crude oil refining operations in the Niger Delta, saying it was part of the antidotes to criminality including militancy in the region.

According to the corporation, the government’s decision would take away from the streets of the region, many of its jobless young people who have resorted to criminal acts like petroleum assets vandalism.

A statement from the Group General Manager, Public Affairs of the NNPC, Mr. Ndu Ughamadu, yesterday in Abuja, quoted the corporation’s Group Managing

Director, Dr. Maikanti Baru, to have said this at the 53rd International Conference and Exhibition of the Nigerian Mining and Geosciences Society (NMGS).

Baru, according to the statement, defended the government’s plan to transform illegal refineries in the Niger Delta into legal entities for proper integration of the youth in the region.

He argued that getting the youths to form consortia that could set up 1000 barrels per day modular refineries would get them off criminality and create jobs.

He also explained that ongoing reforms in the corporation were geared to transform it from being an oil and gas company into an integrated energy outfit with interest in power generation and transmission.

billion intervention by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to pay-off gas supply legacy debt.

ANED’s Director of Research and Advocacy, Mr. Sunday Oduntan, who told journalists this in an interactive session in Abuja, urged the government to extend its interventions to all segments of the electricity supply chain rather than focusing solely on the Gencos.

Describing the N701 billion intervention for the Gencos as “too little, too partial,” Oduntan said it was necessary for the government to take a holistic approach towards resolving the liquidity problem of the power industry.

He noted that it was impossible to expect Discos who buy power at N68 per kilowatt (kw) to sell to at N31/kw and still make enough money to keep the sector liquid.

While also urging the government to increase its investment into the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), Oduntan pointed out that most of the supply challenges in the supply chain were from poor and obsolete transmission infrastructure.

He stated: “Let me start by commending the federal government for coming on board to help part of the value chain, the

upstream with that N701 billion intervention fund. But as you must have seen in our reports in the past two weeks, we say that intervention is too little, too partial and you cannot take care of the upstream while neglecting the downstream.

But we commend them.”

“The government should make effort to urgently and critically support the entire value chain in order to make the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry (NESI) commercially viable.

“Secondly, the N701 billion intervention fund is a good start but without a holistic resolution and details on how the intervention will work we will not make progress. So, that for Discos in the downstream sector, if we are buying a product for N68 and I am only allowed to sell it at N31.50, then there is no way it can be commercially viable,” he added.

Meanwhile, the management of Egbin Power Plc has threatened to shut down operations next week as a result of non-settlement of N110 billion debt, inadequate gas supply and what the company called the inefficiency in operations of the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN).

The Managing Director of

the company, Mr. Dallas Peavey, who raised the alarm yesterday, told journalists that the country was heading towards another blackout as liquidity, transmission and gas supply issues threatened its operations.

Peavey, who spoke against the backdrop of current drop in Egbin’s generation to 350 megawatts, said the plant was being forced to gradually shutdown due to adverse effect of grid instability that endangers its turbines.

On transmission, Peavey, said the Egbin had hit a generation of 1,100 megawatts, while the installed capacity is 1, 320 MW, adding that the grid could not take the power because of the capability issues within the Transmission Company of Nigeria system.

“We are constrained and limited to generate about 350MW daily due to both TCN system operations and inadequate gas supply issues.

So, 70 per cent of our output is lost because available power can’t be evacuated. When you get good news from TCN that you can increase your generation, we will be faced with not “enough gas” and when there is gas, you have TCN issues. So, you have one, you don’t have the other. Let me be honest,

if Egbin fails, it’s going to be dark as Egbin provides close to 30 per cent of Nigeria’s power, so let the required intervention be completed and urgently too, however, the Egbin turbines are ready to light up Nigeria,” Peavey said.

He said that another challenges was the inadequate gas supply to generate at optimal capacity as well as the huge debts owed the company by federal government owned Nigerian Bulk Electricity Traders (NBET) and Market Operator.

According to him, Nigeria’s electricity supply may get worse in the coming weeks as liquidity, transmission and gas supply issues are threatening the operation of its biggest power station, Egbin.

“Egbin power plant is one of the biggest single power generating stations in Africa, with an installed capacity of 1320 MW consisting of 6 units of 220MW each. Following the conclusion of the government’s privatization exercise in November 2013, the consortium formed by the partnership between New Electricity Distribution Company and the Korean Electric Power Corporation (NEDC/KEPCO) acquired Egbin Power plc, ‘’ Peavey explained.

Shouting Match in Court as Balarabe Musa Accuses Judge of Imposing Lawyer on PRP James Sowole in Akure A shouting match ensued yesterday at an Akure High Court, Ondo State, when former Governor of Kaduna State, Alhaji Balarabe Musa, publicly rejected a lawyer that was parading himself as counsel to his party in a suit without his consent.

Musa is the National Chairman of the Peoples Redemption Party (PRP).

The former governor was in Akure to witness a suit filed by the party against its exclusion at the local government elections conducted by the state Independent Electoral Commission (ODIEC) last year April. The drama ensued when despite the rejection of the services of the lawyer, Mr. Segun Ogodo, who he said was not engaged by the party, Justice S.A Sidiq still recognised him as the PRP lawyer.

The PRP had filed a suit at an Akure High Court, alleging that the logo of the party was missing in the ballot papers that was to be used for the April 16, 2016, local government elections in the state.

The suit, which was filed on behalf of PRP by its counsel, Mr. Femi Aborisade, has ODIEC, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the state government as defendants.

The PRP, however, abandoned the suit after the conduct of the

election as the logo of the party was eventually included in the ballot papers and the result sheets used for the election.

The case was however relisted at the court after the emergence of Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu (SAN) of the All Progressives Congress (APC) without the knowledge of the PRP whose complaint had been addressed by the ODIEC. When the case came up for hearing, Musa was stunned when he learnt that a lawyer, Mr. Segun Ogodo, who the party did not hire to represent it, announced his appearance for the party.

Musa, who was in court with the state Chairman of the party, Mr. Tunde Ali, raised their hands up in the court and said they did not brief Ogodo to represent them and that the National Legal Adviser of the party, Mr. Femi Aborisade, is the lawyer.

Both the national and state chairmen said since Aborisade was not in court, they had briefed Mr. Udofot Ekereke to hold brief for him.

Musa expressed dismay that a lawyer who was not retained by the party could go to the court without the knowledge of the litigants, filed an application for change of counsel and had been representing the party.

SEEKING COLLABORATION

Director General, Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Dr. Dakuku Peterside (middle), flanked by the Norwegian Deputy Minister of Trade, Industry and Fisheries, Mr. Ronny Berg (right); and Norwegian Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr. Jens-Peter Kjemprud, when the delegation paid a courtesy visit to the NIMASA headquarters in Lagos....yesterday

Whistle Blowing: UniAbuja Governing Council Sacks Two Senior Staff SSANU calls for reversal, protection of whistle blowers Senator Iroegbu in Abuja The Governing Council of the University of Abuja has sacked two senior staff of the school who recently dragged the management to the anti-graft agencies over corruption allegations.

The senior staff were sacked for insubordination after being placed on suspension for eight months without salary.

The termination of the appointments of the two staff came just four days after the burial of the

Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of the University Governing Council, Samuel Ogbemudia, in Benin City, Edo State as the council convened a meeting on March 22 and 23, 2017, to effect the sack.

But the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) has condemned the disengagement of the two staff for allegedly exposing corruption in the institution, and called on the federal government to protect the whistleblowers in a bid to fight corruption in the system.

SSANU in a statement signed

yesterday by its National President, Samson Ugwoke, said the suspension and termination of appointments of the two staff of the university as a result of whistle blowing, constituted a gross violation of the Whistle Blowing Policy of the present administration, which should not go unpunished.

Ugwoke said the federal government was too slow to wield the big stick on perpetrators of corrupt practices, either as convicts or suspects under investigation/ trial as in the cases in the Nigerian

university system in recent times.

He called for the reversal of the termination of the appointments of the affected members, Jude Nwabueze and Nurrudeen Yusuf, by the management and council of the university within one week.

He also demanded that the management and council of university of Abuja should tender a strong apology to the federal government and Nigerian citizens for allegedly defying the orders of the government and disregarding constituted authorities.

THURSDAY MARCH 30, 2017 • T H I S D AY

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Tinubu: I Was Worried When Ambode Won Election Lagos governor unveils Aboru-Abesan link bridge

Gboyega Akinsanmi The national leader of All Progressives Congress (APC), Senator Bola Tinubu, yesterday disclosed that he was worried when Lagos State Governor, Mr.

Akinwunmi Ambode, took over the mantle of leadership in the state in May 2015.

Tinubu, therefore, explained his concern and fear, which he said did not stem from Ambode’s capacity to meet people’s aspiration and

JAMB Set to Abolish Computer Based UTME Exam John Shiklam in Kaduna The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) is set to abolish the Computer Based Test (CBT) method for Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) due to the low level of computer literacy among the candidates.

Registrar of the board, Prof. Ishaq Olanrewaju Oloyede, disclosed this yesterday at the opening of a retreat on Strategic Planning, Monitoring and Supervision of the 2017 UTME at Arewa House, Kaduna.

He however said the board has developed an eight-key device to be used for answering the examination questions.

According to the JAMB registrar, the eight-key device would eradicate the challenge of computer illiteracy and phobia for mouse by some candidates.

“From the general feedback on the adoption of the Computer Based Test mode, we have noted the challenge of low level computer literacy of some candidates, especially with phobia for the mouse.

“This has been responsible partly

for the call by some people for reversal to the paper and pencil test mode.

“In order to ensure equity and level playground for all candidates taking UTME, the board has designed a system that will allow candidates use only eight keys without the use of mouse.

“All the candidates need to do is to press the letters A,B,C,D for responses to questions and keys: P, N, S and R representing; previous question, next question, submit and reverse, respectively,” the JAMB registrar explained.

He also disclosed that the board is collaborating with a private institute to set up dedicated UTME centres for visually impaired candidates in Abuja, Lagos and Kano in 2018.

Oloyede said Digital Bridge Institute, in partnership with the board, has agreed to set up three centres.

He, however, said ahead of 2018, when the project of dedicated centres would come to fruition, the board has reached an understanding with the association for blind persons in Nigeria.

yearning for good governance, but from the huge debt burden he inherited from his immediate predecessor, Mr. Babatunde Fashola.

He disclosed this before the Aboru-Abesan Link Bridge and six other roads in Alimosho Local Government Area were inaugurated to mark the 65th anniversary of the APC national leader.

Ambode unveiled the link bridge alongside his Osun State counterpart, Mr. Rauf Aregbesola; the Deputy Governor, Dr. Oluranti Adebule; Senator representing Lagos West, Senator Solomon Olamilekan and his Osun East counterpart, Senator Isiaka Adeleke, among others.

The bridge, which links at least seven communities in Agbado OkeOdo LCDA, was constructed by an indigenous construction firm, Strabic Construction Limited, a parent company of Laralek Ultimate Construction Limited.

The construction firm also donated a Comprehensive Primary Health Centre named in honour of Tinubu to Aboru and Agbelekale communities The communities that the bridge connects together include Aboru, Abesan Federal Estate, Iyana-Ipaja, Ipaja-Ayobo, Ajasa-Command, Agbelekale, Baruwa and Egbeda among others.

Before unveiling the bridge, Tinubu disclosed that Ambode

had not disappointed the people of Lagos State, though acknowledged that he was worried after Ambode took up the mantle of leadership.

He explained that he was not worried about Ambode’s character of excellence or his capacity to fulfill all the electoral promises the APC made to the people of the state at the heat of the 2015 elections.

He said: “I was worried because Ambode inherited huge debt burden. However, brilliant a man might be, however energetic a man might be, he cannot perform excellently if there is no resources.

“When Ambode took over the leadership of the state, I was thinking how to re-arrange and re-engineer the state’s debt burden.

But today, I can see Ambode has taken Lagos to another level.”

Citing different strategic projects executed in two years, the APC national leader said Ambode “is a reflection of a true governor. He is a thinker. He is, also, a doer. He has combined doing and thinking together. That is why Lagos has recorded significant development under his reign.

“Truly, he has not disappointed us. Some political leaders, who said Ambode focused more on Epe, have to change their narratives. All over the state, we has the result. We drove through Oshodi this morning; it is a huge construction site. It used to be a haven of criminals.”

Tinubu, therefore, said Ambode has truly redefined governance, not just in Lagos, but also in Nigeria, pointing out the projects the Ambode administration has constructed one after the other.

If the Ambode administration continued the re-alignment of development and infrastructure needs in the state, he said Lagos State would match other developed countries in the world.

Tinubu thus, disclosed that Ambode had given him a real birthday gift, which he described as an opportunity “to observe progress in the state; talk to the people of Alimosho and to be proud again.”

He commended the APC leaders in Alimosho, noting that they “have never let him down. When we nominated Ambode in 2014, Alimosho leaders endorsed him 100 percent. I see progress ahead.

30 years in politics, we cannot say the same thing. This bridge is a mark of progress.”

Before unveiling the bridge, Ambode described the event as a historic day in the life of the people of Alimosho and the state in general, thereby recalling his visit to the Aboru area in March 2016.

Aside the state of the road which was totally unacceptable, the governor said there were reports of series of deaths and fatal accidents caused by the presence of a valley, which he said, informed his decision

to immediately direct that work should commence in the area.

“Exactly one year after, we are here to keep our promise to the good people of Aboru, Abesan and other communities and reaffirm our commitment that no community or area will be left behind. Every Lagosian counts. We are a government of inclusion,” Ambode said He said the 485-metre bridge linking Aboru to Abesan, both in the Agbado Oke-Odo Local Council Development Area would significantly ease the burden of travellers between the two communities by reducing travel time and eliminating the risks associated with its non-existence.

Ambode said aside the bridge, additional adjoining inner roads to create an efficient road network that will aid connectivity permanently were also constructed.

The governor listed the newly constructed roads to include Church Street, Giwa Street, Victor Fagbemi Road, Ogunfayo Road, Ogundare Street and Salami Kazeem, all totalling 5.5 kilometres.

He said the roads “were constructed with drainage, walkways and street lights. The road network will ease the pressure on the Abeokuta Expressway and links residents with Iyana-Ipaja and LASU-Iba roads.”

Japan Pledges Humanitarian Support for North-east Ndubuisi Francis in Abuja The Japanese government has pledged its willingness to provide humanitarian support and social stabilisation in the North-east and the Lake Chad region.

This came as the federal government urged business groups from Japan to take advantage of the various opportunities to be presented by the Special Economic Zones being established in various parts of the country.

The Japanese Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr. Sadanobu Kusaoke, who spoke when he visited the Minister of Budget and National Planning, Senator Udoma Udo Udoma, in Abuja, observed that Nigeria’s economic trajectory has been trending upwards recently and expressed Japanese companies’ interest in investing in new areas and expanding existing ones in Nigeria’s business sector.

The diplomat listed a number of Japanese companies that are already investing in Nigeria, pledged his country’s continued support for the Nigerian economy, funding of more development projects as well as providing humanitarian support and social stabilieation in the North-east and the Lake Chad region.

According to a statement by Udoma’s Media Adviser, Mr. Akpandem James, the minister had in his remarks disclosed that the special economic zones which

would serve as manufacturing hubs will have the necessary infrastructural facilities to support the country’s industrialisation drive.

The federal government, he stated, will grant incentives to encourage investments in the priority sectors listed in the recently released Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP).

He said the plan is focused on achieving macroeconomic stability, transforming agriculture, driving sufficiency in energy, improving transportation infrastructure and growing industrialization with attention on small and medium scale enterprises.

According to him, implementation is paramount in the realisation of the plan’s objectives, therefore attention will be on prioritising the identified strategies, establishing a clear system of accountability, allocating resources to prioritised interventions, creating an enabling policy and regulatory environment and developing an effective monitoring and evaluation system to track progress.

The minister expressed delight on the information that a delegation of Japanese businessmen will be in Abuja on May 4, to explore more areas of investments and partnerships.

He acknowledged the ambassadors’ efforts in promoting Japanese interest in the country as well as his country’s support in humanitarian assistance and other areas.

PROMOTING NON-OIL EXPORTS:

L-R: Chairman and President, African Export-Import Bank (AFREXIM), Benedict Okey Oramah; Executive Director, Commercial and Consumer Banking, Lagos and South-West, Fidelity Bank Plc, Nneka Onyeali-Ikpe; Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Fidelity Bank Plc, Nnamdi Okonkwo, at a meeting in Cairo, Egypt ....yesterday

Ayade Locks SSG, Others Out of Government House Bassey Inyang in Calabar Apparently irked by what has been perceived as his inability to have easy access to his office, the Cross River State Governor, Professor Ben Ayade, yesterday morning, ordered the closure of the main entrance gate to Government House against staff and top government functionaries whose offices are located there.

An eyewitness account has it that Ayade had taken most of the staff in Government House by surprise when he arrived for work at about 7.25a.m., but found that the entrance to his main office was still locked.

Sources said as at the time the governor arrived, only three staff in the Government House press

unit had reported for work.

Ayade who is said to have been visibly angry, wondered why he should arrive for work before the staff and other government functionaries.

It was gathered that after gaining access to his office, Ayade ordered that the two entrance gates be closed to any staff or government appointees who were yet to report for the day’s work.

“The governor waited for some minutes for his office to be opened, and after that, he ordered that all the entrance gates be locked to all late comers to work,” one of the eyewitnesses who pleaded anonymity told THISDAY. It was gathered that the state Deputy Governor, Professor Ivara

Esu, who arrived for work a few minutes after 8 a.m., was however allowed unhindered access to the premises and his office.

Base on the governor’s orders, the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Tina Banku Agbor, who arrived for work latter, was one of the prominent appointees that was not allowed entry into the Government House by security men manning the gates.

Aside from the SSG, other appointees, civil servants, and some security aides working at the state’s seat of power, were stopped from gaining entry into the premises by gun-wielding security operatives attached to the governor’s convoy.

However, at about 11a.m., the gates were flung open for those

who were locked out to move into their respective offices.

But, some of the staff who spoke, to THISDAY on condition of anonymity said they were not late to work as their official time of resumption is 8.30a.m.

“I believe the governor was just angry that he arrived the office before the workers. Many of us arrived very early before 8a.m.,” one of the workers told THISDAY. The Chief Press Secretary to the governor, Mr. Christian Ita, who was one of the few persons who reported for work before Ayade, reacted to the development, saying Ayade’s action was a way of instilling discipline within the work force in the state.

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THURSDAY MARCH 30, 2017 • T H I S D AY

NEWSEXTRA

Nigeria Should Imitate Ecuador in Ending its Power Sector Problem, Says Envoy Ibrahim Shuaibu in Kano The Ecuadorian Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr. Leopoldo Rovayo Verdesoto, has advised Nigeria to emulate his country in managing its power sector crisis.

He said Ecuador was hitherto held to ransom by what he described as a “Power Mafia”, who monopolised power production and distribution in the country, but which has now been surmounted by the present Ecuadorian leadership.

Verdesoto, who gave the recommendation during a courtesy visit to Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje of Kano State yesterday, pointed out that within a short period, his country was able to construct eight power plants and is moving towards complete

self-sufficiency through renewable energies, particularly hydroelectric power.

The envoy said: “If Ecuador, a small country can make it, why not Nigeria?”, stressing that the country has huge resources and able manpower to place itself among the leading economies in the world.

Verdesoto particularly noted that states like Kano were blessed with solid minerals which could not be processed locally, for economic development, without constant power supply, pointing out that the fact that expatriate companies export the minerals and process them abroad is not the best for the state and Nigeria at large.

He also stressed the need for

A’Ibom Communities Condemn Alleged Forceful Acquisition of Land for Refinery Project Sunday Okobi The people of Odoro Ikot communities, comprising Ikot Inyang Okop, Ikot Ekpang and Ibiot in Akwa Ibom State have condemned the alleged forceful acquisition of their land by the state government for the establishment of Coconut Plantation and Oil Refinery.

Speaking under the auspices of Concern Odoro Ikot Indigene Network (COIN), the Coordinator, Jacob Brown Udobang, a legal practitioner, in a statement issued after a series of meetings held in Uyo and Abuja, described the alleged taking over of hectares of land by the state government without recourse to compensation of the indigenes as contradictory to extant laws.

According to him, “We would never close our eyes to injustice,

more so, we disclaim anyone outside the group fraternising with the government in respect of the land acquisition, in that, such person is self-seeking and not representative of the people.”

The demands of the group, according to Udobang, include setting up a committee to negotiate with at least three representatives of each community with a view to streamlining the procedures for adequate compensation in consideration of the necessary indices relative to the value of the economic trees and plants belonging to the indigenes.

He maintained that the owners must be appointed into management positions in the company.

The group, therefore, gave the state Governor Udom Emmanuel, 14 days to salvage the situation by resolving all the teething issues.

Nigerian ProducesVaccine against Typhoid with over 90% Efficacy Kuni Tyessi in Abuja A vaccinologist, Dr. Simon Magaji Agwale, has produced a conjugate vaccine for the prevention of typhoid fever which he claims has an efficacy of 90 per cent and once taken, it sustains for a life time and has the capacity of preventing the disease worldwide.

The vaccine which is known as Typhoid Conjugate Vaccine (TCV) is a combination of more than one vaccine, as he revealed that research and statistics had shown that the single dose has become effective in the prevention of the disease which gulps between 500 million- one billion dollars.

Agwale who is the founder and CEO of Innovative Biotech Ltd, Keffi, Nasarawa State and the United States of America, and is working in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Health, said the vaccine which is capable of reducing several challenges in terms of health and socio-economic crisis has been embraced by some state governments and is optimistic that like other interventions for lifethreatening dieases such as HIV/

AIDS, TB, malaria and Polio among others, developpers are expected to support the production of the vaccines for the sustainability of the product.

Agwale who has over 20 years experience in combining top-level scientific research with the operation of a Biotech company said he has already made several candidates DNA vaccines, some of which have been shown to be immunogenic in animal models.

“The present vaccine does not protect children below two years.It’s efficacy is about 55 per cent. So if 100 people are vaccinated only 55 percent can be protected. Science is about filling up gaps and making innovations. So the vaccine is a combination of vaccine to form a conjugate. This practice will break the limitations.”

“This type of vaccine has the ability to protect for life, instead of three years as being the norm in single vaccines. It has more than 90 per cent efficacy. With the single vaccine, kids were protected against the disease but now, we are talking about its eradication. Everybody that gets a shot is protected for life.”

collaboration with states like Kano, in the area of agriculture, saying his country has an Institute of Agriculture that can join hands with farmers and authorities in Nigeria for mutual gain.

Ganduje told the envoy that

the state has several facilities for irrigation and would welcome foreign direct investment from Ecuador in not only agriculture but also hydro energy.

“We have land and sunshine that will facilitate private sector

investment in solar energy development and we are agriculturally endowed, we are now the biggest producer of wheat in Nigeria,” the governor maintained, asserting that the involvement of Ecuadorian investors in such

critical sectors would strengthen Nigeria-Ecuador relations.

Ganduje also solicited a sister cities relationship programme with any city in Ecuador to create and foster economic, cultural and friendship bond.

OVERSIGHT TOUR

Managing Director, Kaduna Electric, Mr. Garba Haruna (right), and Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Privatisation and Commercialisation, Hon. Ahmed Yarima (middle) and the Deputy Chairman of the committee, Hon. Mutiu Shodimu, during the visit of members of the committee to Kaduna Electric head office in Kaduna.... yesterday.

House to Investigate Alleged N2.8bn Clearing Charge on Power Equipment James Emejo in Abuja The House of Representatives yesterday resolved to probe the payment of N2.8 billion as clearing charges on power equipment procured by federal government in 2012.

The House had expressed dissatisfaction at how monies were spent when ‘concessions in the form of tax exemption were granted to facilitate quick clearing and delivery of the equipment due to their urgent requirement to boost

the power sector, which was in a bad state.’

The resolution followed a motion

by Hon. Gaza Jonathan, who said the equipment were mostly of the then Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN), NIPP and Federal Ministry of Power.

According to him, the equipment that were granted priority at the time should have been evacuated within days of arrival, but were abandoned, so much so that they turned out to be ‘a conduit pipe for siphoning of billions of naira

from the government in the name of overtime charges and other sundry fees.’

He, therefore, urged the House to look into the matter with a view to blocking all leakages in resource allocations by federal government.

He recalled that the procurement in question were made before the unbundling of PHCN, thus making the equipment the property of the government.

However, followed the resolution of members, the Speaker of the House, Hon. Yakubu Dogara,

assigned the investigation to the House committees on Power and that of Banking and Currency as well as Customs and Excise.

The committees were further mandated to expected explore ways of recovering goods allegedly seized in the process and turn in the report of their findings to the House in three weeks.

They will further probe the improper taking over of equipment belonging to the federal government by private investors in the power sector.

W’Bank Chief Commends Superhighway Project as Ayade Seeks Implementation Programme

Ita-Giwa commends Buhari on Paris agreement Bassey Inyang in Calabar Practice Manager for Environment at the World Bank Office, Washington DC, Dr. Benoit Bosquest, has commended the decision of the Cross River State governor, Senator Ben Ayade, to reroute the proposed 260km Bakassi-Katsina-Ala superhighway.

Bosquest who particularly praised Ayade for initiating the multibillion dollar project, said his response to concerns raised by stakeholders was an absolute demonstration of maturity and responsiveness on the part of the governor.

In the same vein, former presidential adviser, Senator Florence Ita-Giwa, has described the ratification of the Paris Agreement on climate change by President Muhammadu Buhari as a step in the proper direction.

In statement issued yesterday, a copy of which was made available to THISDAY in Calabar, Ita-Giwa stated that now that the agreement had been signed, there was the need to urgently embrace its implementation.

Ita-Giwa said that implementing the agreement was very important to Nigerians, especially the people of the South-south region, which she noted was prone to environmental changes.

The statement read in part: “President Muhammadu Buhari deserves commendation for signing the Paris agreement on climate change.

The World Bank Practice Manager disclosed this in Calabar when he led a delegation of the Nigeria Erosion and Watershed Management Programme, (NEWMAP) and that of Reducing Emission on Deforestation and Forest Degradation, (REDD+) on a courtesy visit to Government House, recently.

According to the World Bank Chief, the state took the path of honour by obeying the calls of international community to listen to the agitation of the people saying: “I believe it is no mystery to say that international community very much welcomes your decision to reroute the superhighway around the National park.”

On the NEWMAP project, the World Bank rep expressed satisfaction

at the level of work done so far in the state, adding that “from the social and economic point of view, as well as environmental standpoint, NEWMAP is very important and we are thrilled that Cross River State is making so much progress in implementing the programme.”

Continuing, he said: “As one of the pioneering states, Cross River is one of the leading implementing states in the country. I have the pleasure of meeting with a very dedicated team, particularly the NEWMAP project management unit, there have done wonderful jobs.”

While lamenting the inadequate funding of projects by the organisation, Bosquet said: “We hope to have enough funding to allocate to NEWMAP so that the programme can be expanded.

Within the union, this is a programme that is highly popular and this a good sign that it is doing quality work on the ground.”

On Reducing Emission, Deforestation and Forest Degradation programme, ( REDD+ ) which Cross River is the pioneering state in Nigeria, he explained that “as your partner,

technical and financial, we want to ensure that the activities are being implemented to your satisfaction and the satisfaction of the people of Cross River State.”

According to him, “With respect to REDD+, Nigeria, as you know does not have a great deal of primary forest still standing but Cross River State is one of the locations where the forest still exists.

“Nigeria is a country that is in the process of ratifying the so called Paris Agreement on climate change that was signed

by President Muhammadu Buhari and once this is ratified by the National Assembly, it becomes an international commitment for Nigeria.”

Continuing, he said: “Among the measures that Nigeria has pledged to take, is to play its part by contributing to climate change mitigation through the protection of the forest. It is very important that the forest in Cross River State is properly managed and protected as a contribution to this global effort to mitigate climate change which is today the greatest challenge we face as humans.”

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THURSDAYSPORTS

Group Sports Editor Duro Ikhazuagbe Email duro.ikhazuagbe@thisdaylive.com

NPFL…NPFL…NPFL…

Rangers, Rivers Utd Continue Poor Form as MFM FC Moves to the Top Eguma suspended, Amapakabo’s Flying Antelopes days numbered Duro Ikhazuagbe The twists and turns of the Nigerian Professional Football League (NPFL) continued with the midweek Match-day 16 clashes yesterday as Mountain of Fire and Miracles Ministries FC swapped position with Plateau United to ascend the summit of the country’s topflight league.

Though the men from Plateau were gallant in their goalless draw with Rivers United at the Yakubu Gowon Stadium in Port Harcourt, it was not enough to keep them at the top. MFM FC who defeated Abia Warriors 2-1 at their fortress at the Agege Stadium moved to the summit on 30 points from 16 matches, one point above Plateau United.

El Kanemi who lost 1-0 to Shooting Stars in Ibadan remains third on 27 points.

However, things are beginning to fall apart for last season’s winners and runners up, Rangers International and Rivers United. With just one point from yesterday’s game against Remo Stars at their Cathedral in Enugu, Rangers remain stuck to the bottom of the log with poor 13 points to show from 13 games.

Runners up of last season, Rivers United are just one point above Rangers with 15 points from 13 matches. Technical Manager of the team, Stanley Eguma, who arrived yesterday’s game with 18 minutes already played, was handed a one-game suspension as clear signal of the dissatisfaction of the Rivers people with the performance of the team.

His opposite number in Rangers, Imama Amapakabo who was the hero of the Flying Antelopes last season, may likely get the chop if things fail to improve for the pride of the former Eastern Region.

This could well be the end of his romance with Enugu fans.

After he was handed a three-game ultimatum to win or ship out last week, this is the second game he is picking a miserly one point from. He lost the first game of the ultimatum to Katsina United 1-0 last week.

Daniel Etor’s weak shot gave Rangers the lead just after 14 minutes. The former Enyimba man’s goal was down to good fortune as Remo Stars goalkeeper David Walbe showed he only has a knack for handling the ball than using his feet as it rolled through his legs and into the net. Ekene Awazie however put Remo Stars on even terms shortly after the restart of the game from half time break from a fine solo effort.

RESULTS Rangers 1-1 Remo Stars Wikki 1-0 Enyimba Rivers Utd 0-0 Plateau ABS FC 1-1 Gombe MFM FC 2-1 Abia W' K'Pillars 1-1 Nasarawa Shooting 1-0 El Kanemi IfeanyiUba 1-0 Tornadoes Sunshine 2-0 Katsina Utd

Committee Unfolds Sports Activities to Mark Rivers Golden Jubilee The Rivers State Golden Jubilee Committee has lined up series of sports activities to mark creation of the state 50 years ago. Members of subcommittees disclosed this at a media chat in Port Harcourt.

Rivers State was created on May 27, 1967 by the then Military Administration of General Yakubu Gowon.

Secretary of Media/Publicity subcommittee, Hon Emma Okah, listed the events to include football, boat regatta, cycling, polo and wrestling.

According to Okah, who is also Rivers Commissioner for Housing, the football completion will take place among the 23 local governments of Rivers State, just as he disclosed that those who have featured in Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) organised competitions or played professional football will not be permitted to take part in the competition.

The cycling event is expected to have no fewer than 120

cyclists from across the country criss-crossing major landmarks in Port Harcourt before finishing at a location close to Government House.

Also speaking, the alternate chairman of Media/Publicity sub-committee, Mr Ibifiri Bob-manuel disclosed that a Golden Jubilee Polo Fiesta that will attract players across Nigeria will take place at the PH Polo Club.

An after-party with celebrated Nigeria artistes and comedians will wrap up the polo fiesta.

Chairman of Performances and Exhibitions subcommittee, Dr Ngozi Odu further disclosed plans for boat regatta that will take place among eight local government that are mainly riverine with the proposed venue at Port Harcourt Tourist Beach.

Wrestling competition among 15 local governments is expected to light up various communities who are traditional wrestlers with a grand finale scheduled for Port Harcourt.

Brazil players celebrating the ticket to the 2018 World Cup final in Russia on Tuesday night

reuters

Brazil First Team to Qualify for World Cup, Argentina Crashes Brazil became the first team to qualify for the World Cup on Tuesday night after beating Paraguay to clinch an eighth consecutive victory as Argentina’s campaign stumbled after the shock suspension of Lionel Messi.

Five-time champions Brazil had been left waiting in suspense after goals from Neymar, Philippe Coutinho and Marcelo handed them a 3-0 win over the Paraguayans at Sao Paulo’s Arena Corinthians.

But Uruguay’s upset 2-1 defeat to Peru in the day’s final South American qualifier

combined with other results meant Brazil are mathematically guaranteed a place at next year’s finals in Russia.

The qualification completes an astonishing turnaround for Brazil, who less than a year ago were in crisis after taking only nine points from six games.

That run of results had left the Brazilians outside the qualifying places in sixth place.

The further embarrassment of a first round exit at last year’s Copa America Centenario only deepened the sense of despondency.

However the sacking of

former coach Dunga and the appointment of former Corinthians coach Tite was the catalyst for a Brazilian resurgence.

That revival saw Brazil take maximum points from their next eight qualifying games, leaving them nine points clear on Tuesday with four games left.

“When I look at my family -- the players -- and when we talk to the fans and see how happy they are, that’s when you think ‘I’m part of something very special,’” Tite said after Brazil’s qualification

was confirmed.

Against Paraguay, Brazil were already in party mode, with Coutinho opening the scoring on 34 minutes following a deft one-two with China-based midfielder Paulinho.

Neymar had a chance to make it 2-0 in the 53rd minute from the penalty spot only to see his kick saved by Anthony Silva.

On 64 minutes Neymar doubled Brazil’s tally, collecting the ball deep inside his own half and setting off on a surging run down the left flank.

Star Lager Beer’s Euro Club Romance Berths Star Music the Fusion Nigeria’s foremost beer brand, Star, has unveiled a new platform called Star Music The Fusion which aims to bring together a synergy between music and football in Nigeria.

The iconic platform was born out of Star Lager Beer recognising and celebrating the intensely passionate fan base which football enjoys in Nigeria and also its uniqueness of bringing

together avid music fans and Nigerian music artistes.

Speaking at the press conference at Eko Hotel and Suites in Lagos to unveil the platform, Marketing Director, Nigerian Breweries, Franco Maria-Maggi, described it as an unprecedented one, which gives Star “an avenue to give the ultimate football and music experience to consumers so they truly understand what we stand for

and seek to achieve with our European club partnerships.”

Star Music The Fusion is the first event to combine music and football on a large-scale platform and it is an off shoot of Star’s popular football and music platforms, Star Super fans and Star Music the Trek which are aimed at celebrating consumers.

Speaking further on the platform, Portfolio Manager,

National Premium, Nigerian Breweries Plc. Tokunbo Adodo, said: “Since the brand’s existence, Star Lager Beer has paid attention to the needs of its consumers. This has berthed its iconic partnerships with music and football. The new platform can only bring millions of excited music and football fans closer as Star also promises the experience of a lifetime.”

Thursday, March 30, 2017

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MISSILE Tunde Bakare to Fed Govt “If there is a fight between two people, you don’t arrest one person and leave the other. What you do is to arrest the two and let the law take its course. To arrest one party and leave the other and even go ahead to justify it is an abuse. No one should be allowed to promote ethnic agenda in this country” – Serving Overseer of the Latter Rain Assembly, Lagos, Pastor Tunde Bakare, on the Ife tragedy.

OLUSEGUNADENIYI THE VERDICT

olusegun.adeniyi@thisdaylive.com

Ile-Ife and the Nigerian Tragedy I

must begin by commending the Governor of Osun State, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, for the maturity with which he has handled the tragedy at Ile-Ife, despite provocations from two sides: One, a section of the Yoruba establishment that was goading him into making inflammatory statements that could have resulted in reprisal killings; two, reckless officials of the federal government, including the Police, who have evidently taken sides, given their sectional actions and irresponsible utterances.

Notwithstanding the much known IfeModakeke palaver that has given the town notoriety, there is something about Ife that is unique. It is a town that when people visit, they hardly want to leave. The University may have a lot to do with that. In all the years that I have known him, for instance, whenever Harvard University Professor, Jacob Olupona says he was going home, it isn’t to Ute in Ondo State (where his parents hailed from), it is to Ile-Ife where he built his country home. My friend and former classmate, Charles Ukeje, now a Professor in our Department (International Relations) at Obafemi Awolowo University arrived Ife with his Igbo parents when he was only three years old. Today, Charles not only speaks better Yoruba than me, he can also speak in Ife dialect, the town where he has built his home.

In his piece last Saturday, Chief Dele Momodu (Bob Dee) wrote about the allure of Ife and the generations of people from other cultures and ethnic groups that have found home within the community. So, the tragedy at Sabo is not about Hausa-Fulani “invaders” coming to disturb the peace of Ife; it is about the travails of a people that have domiciled within the community over many generations and have been so accepted that Ife is the only place they know as home.

On Monday, Governor Aregbesola inaugurated a six-man committee with a strong emphasis that it was “not an inter-ethnic, inter religious or inter regional conflict by any stretch of the imagination. It was just an ugly development, a breach of public peace, masterminded by hoodlums and criminals resulting to loss of lives and property”. He went even further: “While not denying the political and economic roots of conflicts in our land, every infraction of the law is primarily a law and order matter...

Some people, for reasons best known to them, might decide to fan the embers of discord, division, even separation and incite one group against another, with a false narrative of Yoruba-Hausa conflict and call to arms. They are wrong and have to be unhinged in their bid to promote needless strife and protracted inter-ethnic crisis.”

I have read several writings that Yoruba people are not cowards. That is true. But Yoruba people also have an uncommon sense of justice, even in instances where their own people are involved: “Ejo ko le je ti eni, ki a ma moo da”. Therefore, in a crisis involving even a thousand people, I have no problem if 200 persons

Aregbesola are arrested and they come from just a section so long as there is fairness and transparency in the process. The problem begins when those whose responsibility it is to restore order come with a biased mindset and discrimination in the application of commonsense. That was what happened at Ife and unfortunately, that has become the pattern under President Muhammadu Buhari.

Whether it is in the mass murder of the Shiittes in Kaduna by soldiers or in the violence against the Agatus in Benue State or in the lawlessness being perpetrated by some herdsmen in the South-east, the Buhari administration has created a situation in which the response of the federal authorities to any of these tragedies is defined by how they classify the victims. And it would seem that federal officials have also learnt to read the famous body language of the president as one that speaks only for a particular group. That is not the way to restore law and order in a plural society.

In his very revealing interview in PUNCH last Sunday, Mojeed Owoyemi, the vulcanizer (tyre repairer) whose alleged beheading was said to have triggered the Ife violence, knocked the bottom off the false claim that some Hausa people murdered a Yoruba man, hung his head on a pole and danced with it. But the vulcanizer also said something very instructive: “When the crisis started, the two sides were throwing stones and bottles at each other. We thought that the whole thing would soon stop but we were wrong.

Suddenly, we started hearing gunshots and the Hausa also were shooting arrows.

I ran away from the scene because in that type of situation, anybody could be shot.”

While I have lived in this country long enough to know that there is more that unites us as a people than what divides us, I am also aware that what most of our leaders promote is what divides us

because that is the only way to sustain their private advantage in a system that is very much skewed against the people.

That is why it is so easy for them to incite violence and reprisal killings either by what they say (write) or what they do.

But we cannot continue that way.

Last Friday in Abuja, Dr. Munzali Ahmadu Dantata, scion of the famous Dantata family of Kano and former Director General of the National Institute for Hospitality and Tourism, hosted a reading of his novel, “Tammunnde: Hope on the Horizon”, which revolves around a Fulani family that followed their herd to Okitipupa village in Ondo State where they resided for decades. As one would imagine, a novel around Fulani herdsmen in a season like this was bound to provoke serious debate and it did.

The highlight of the session for me was when Brigadier General Salmanu Bala (rtd), a friend of the author, gave an interesting anecdote of a trip they once made to the Southwest during which they got lost while trying to locate the village they were going to. He said at a point when they were getting frustrated, they saw some young Fulani men with their cattle. As it turned out, the Fulani men could only speak Yoruba!

In extrapolating from the General’s summation about where would be home to such Fulani people, Dr Lizi Ben-Iheanacho, a Director at National Council for Arts and Culture, Abuja, posed a question: “When it comes to Nigeria, where exactly is home? I am sure if anyone had asked the Igbo people who were killed in the pogrom in the sixties before that madness started where their home was, they would probably have said Kano, Kaduna and those towns where many were born. But all of a sudden, they were uprooted to go to places many had probably never been to before as their home. I am from Imo State but I have lived my adult life in Abuja where all my children were born yet they dare not claim Abuja as home.

How do we build a country under such circumstances?”

What I took away from the session is that there is a yearning by many Nigerians for us to build an inclusive society where every citizen can claim wherever they reside as home without any threat to their lives and livelihoods. But such would not happen in a situation in which public officials identify, and take sides, with particular groups even on issues that border on law and order. Without any doubts, the federal officials who converged on Ife did so clearly not out of any patriotic duty but because of their ethnic affinity with the residents of Sabo whose pain and loss, I must add, I also share. Due to their clear bias and partisanship, the police have now allowed the tragedy to be unduly politicized with the potential to undermine national security.

It is indeed unfortunate that government, at all levels, tends to take peaceful coexistence for granted for the simplistic

reason that people have lived together for centuries and should be left that way.

Thus, when changing social and economic circumstances force cracks in longstanding communal relationships, the authorities are easily caught off guard. Even in routine law enforcement, what is embarrassingly missing is a sociological grounding of the very law enforcement personnel we send out to contain communal disquiet in the dynamics of the environment they have to deal with. The inconvenient truth is that because we have for long neglected education, there remains that untouched critical mass of our citizens in the urban ‘native’ settlements and rural areas who interpret reality principally along ancestral ethnic lines.

It is therefore little surprise that when economic conditions harden, age long communal harmony is torn apart as many of our people tend to see their adversity in the face of the “enemies” next door.

Even members of the elite are not immune from this sectarian consciousness. Just check the exchanges on WhatsApp and other social media platforms on burning national issues and you will realise how badly divided Nigeria has become.

I doubt that either the federal government in Abuja or the various state administrations have cared enough to insist on a clear understanding of the internal security issues that have been thrown up by two factors: the Buhari administration’s undisguised parochial disposition in dealing with national issues and the dire economic conditions in the country. The two are interwoven.

When a national leader is deemed, rightly or wrongly, as discriminating between different groups in the conduct of public affairs, that becomes a breeding ground for intolerance that hoodlums can easily feed on, in moments of crisis.

That is why I admire Aregbesola’s position on the Ife tragedy. In the enforcement of law and the protection of order, the relevant authorities must be blind to the ethnic costume of criminals. But in the management of diversity in a federal state, our leaders in Abuja must never pretend to be blind to the competing sensitivities in our diverse society.

Meanwhile, when all the issues surrounding the Ife crisis have been resolved, nothing would delight me more than for the Ooni of Ife, whose efforts on this crisis are quite commendable, to rally all Yoruba sons and daughters to contribute towards rebuilding Sabo not to appease some irredeemable ethnic champions in Abuja but to demonstrate to the world the enduring value of a precious Yoruba virtue: OMOLUABI! But apart from that, the Ooni should also consider inviting leaders of the Hausa community to his palace, breaking bread with them and letting them know that Ife is their home too.

Above all, it will help us a lot if all the critical stakeholders across the country, including those with access to the media, play more positive roles in promoting peaceful co-existence and national unity.

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