Thursday 25th May 2017

Body Flown in from DRC Tests Negative for Ebola Health minister: Govt will remain vigilant

Chinedu Eze The body of a deceased man flown into the Murtala Muhammed International

A T H I S D AY I N V E S T I G AT I O N Airport (MMIA), Lagos, from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) by Kenya

Airways on Monday has tested negative for the Ebola virus, THISDAY has learnt.

Confirming this yesterday, the Minister of Health, Prof.

Isaac Adewole, said that a test was carried out and had tested negative for the virus, but he

refused to divulge the cause of the deceased’s death, citing medical confidentiality.

THISDAY had learnt on Tuesday that the corpse of

a young man was flown in onboard a Kenya Airways flight and quarantined by the Continued on page 11

President’s Absence Stalls APC Convention, Governors to Meet Osinbajo ... Page 56 Thursday 25 May, 2017 Vol 22. No 8071. Price: N250

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Marginalisation: Igbo Refused to Invest in Buhari's Campaign, Says Ngige... Page 12

Military Investigates Alleged Coup Plot Paul Obi in Abuja The Nigeria military has said that it has set in place administrative processes to investigate allegations of a plot to overthrow the democratically elected

government and purported attempts by politicians to influence office and soldiers of the Nigerian Army.

This is just as it assured Nigerians that no coup d’etat or take over of government will be supported or

encouraged by the Armed Forces.

In a joint press briefing convened by the Defence Headquarters (DHQ) and Nigerian Army in Abuja yesterday, the military also asked Nigerians not to nurse

any fear or apprehension about the prospects of the military’s incursion in politics.

Director of Defence Information, Major General John Enenche, accompanied by the Director of Army Public Relations, Brig. Gen. Sani

Usman, who both addressed the press, said the military would remain loyal and subordinate to constituted authority and the Nigerian Constitution.

The move to allay concerns came amid rumblings of a

possible coup, following fears over President Muhammadu Buhari’s ill health and his prolonged absences from the country to get treatment for his ailment, which has never Continued on page 10

FG Begins Review of 2017 Budget, Excited

by GDP Report Sets up 29-member minimum wage c’ttee, to commute death sentences Nigeria’s Debtto-GDP to hit 24% by 2018, IMF cautions Omololu Ogunmade in Abuja Two weeks after the National Assembly transmitted the 2017 budget to the executive, the federal government yesterday said it has commenced the review and assessment of the budget passed by the legislature.

Making this disclosure while briefing journalists at the end of the weekly Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting in the Presidential Villa, Abuja, the Minister of Budget and National Planning, Senator Udoma Udo Udoma, said ministers were currently

reviewing and analysing the budget.

Udoma, who said the government took cognisance of the expiration of the lifespan of 2016 budget this month, added that when the review is eventually completed, a decision on the budget would be taken.

Udoma also reported that the council was excited with the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) report of the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), which had revealed on Tuesday that the Continued on page 10

CEMENT SHAREHOLDERS TO SMILE TO THE BANK… Jonathan Calls for Implementation of DANGOTE L-R: Chairman, Dangote Cement Plc, Alhaji Aliko Dangote; Managing Director/CEO, Dangote Cement, Mr. Onne Van Der and Director, Dangote Cement, Mr. Olakunle Alake, at the 8th Annual General Meeting of the company, held in Lagos, National Conference Report ... Page 12 Weijde; yesterday sunday adigun

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FG Concessions Rail Lines to GE, Multinational to Invest over $2.2bn Kasim Sumaina in Abuja The federal government yesterday handed over the letter of award appointing General Electric (GE) as the concessionaire for two narrow gauge rail lines in the country, after the company’s emergence as the preferred bidder for concessions.

The concession will see the U.S. multinational invest in excess of $2.2 billion in the two major narrow gauge rail lines that traverse several sections of the country.

The ceremony, which took place in the Ministry of Transportation, Abuja, marked

the formal concession of the rail lines to GE for investment and operation.

The letter of award was handed over to the President/ CEO of GE Transportation, Jamie Miller by the permanent secretary in the ministry, Alhaji Sabiu Zakari, who represented the Minister of Transportation, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi.

According to Miller, “Today we are pleased to accept the letter of award as the preferred bidder for the narrow gauge rails in Nigeria. “GE, with its partners, is committed to working on this project. GE and its partners will work with the federal

government to work through a concession process to bring Nigeria’s railway operations to life.�

She added that with the concession arrangement, GE would bring both project management and deep knowledge of the industry and knowhow on how to work projects such as this in a successful way. “We will partner with both the government and the ministry to do so,� she said.

She stated: “One trunk of the line from Lagos to Kano will pass through several states like Ogun, Oyo, Kwara, Niger, Kaduna and Kano.

Another trunk starts from Port Harcourt in River State through Abia, Enugu, Benue, Nasarawa, Plateau, Bauchi, Gombe and Maiduduri in Borno. “In the first instance, perhaps before 2017 ends, GE will introduce 20 locomotives and about 200 coaches to move freight and passengers even as more investments follow.�

Responding, Zakari said the Federal Executive Council (FEC) recently approved the outline business case for the concession of the narrow gauge rail lines. “The president, transport section of GE which is the

preferred bidder for the concession came and collected the letter of award. “Based on that, we had a few discussions on the interim solutions to be taken before the take off of the final concession agreement.�

He hinted that the ministry would enter into an interim arrangement with GE that will see it provide Nigeria with locomotives and wagons as well as handle the renovation of the narrow gauge lines, which will facilitate usage.

According to Zakari, “GE will bring many coaches that will help in freight and passenger movement and this

will ginger the economy. Our total agreement is for about 100 wagons in the interim and 20 locomotives. “GE will make investments in terms of renovations and reactivation of wagons, coaches and the rail tracks, together with the signaling system and railway stations.

This will make the narrow gauge comfortable for usage across the county and GE will recoup their investment over time.�

He added that the concession arrangement would not result in a hike in rail transport fares to a level that would affect poor Nigerians.

“If there’s sign of anything like that, there are extant and guiding rules and procedures which we normally follow. “Finally, we are not in a different world from what is happening all over the world, our Armed Forces, the present crop of officers and soldiers are modelled along best practices. “We are in tune with international best practices of governance and that’s democracy, democracy, democracy and we are for it.�

Providing further clarity, Enenche added: “Professionally, it is a command’s responsibility to caution officers and men on a routine basis to conform to the ethics of the military in all ramifications, which includes interactions and exchange of visits, among

others. “This command responsibility is exercised right from the highest echelon such as the office of the service chiefs down to the lowest levels of the command, hence, the caution from the army in this case. “Secondly, administratively, officers and men are regularly cautioned to exercise command and control by appropriate superior authorities through commanders at various levels. “This is to prevent members of the armed forces from derailing from their core focus of total dedication to their oath of allegiance. Thus, it is usual practice in military administration. “However, it is pertinent to state that if there are signs of actions that point to likely

breaches of the military code of conduct as it were, cautions or warnings are issued with possible investigations following. “Thus, in the present situation, the Armed Forces and the army in particular have employed due process to ensure that officers and men remain committed to performing their constitutional roles. “As such, the mere mention of a coup plot from some quarters is an assertion which is not confirmed. “At this juncture, let me assure all Nigerians and lovers of this country that the Armed Forces are and will remain totally loyal to the Commander-in-Chief of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and in complete subordination to civil rule.

“Furthermore, all fears about a coup should be allayed as the contemporary Nigerian military is abreast with the best international practices in governance, which is democracy. “In this regard, the military high command and other levels of command will continue to ensure effective training and administration, to ensure that the Armed Forces of Nigeria retains its place of pride among the military globally.�

Though Enenche did not provide a detailed account of an investigation, he said: “What I can tell you is that as I said earlier, we have set in place, as it were for this case, administrative machinery to unravel the alleged coup plot and infiltration of the military by politicians.�

provision of amenities in the prisons.

He said the council resolved to possibly pardon prisoners who had been convicted for less than 10 years and commute the death sentences to life imprisonment. “Today, council looked at the situation in Nigerian prisons including the conditions of inmates. This came out as a result of council’s directive a few weeks back. We looked at the criminal justice administration and some of the things we briefed the council about were on the condition of the prisons. “Most of them are old.

They are dilapidated and they lack the platform for rehabilitation of prisoners.

So the major problems in terms of congestion or overcrowding, is the issue of awaiting trial inmates who constitute the bulk of 70 per cent. Thirty per cent are convicted, of which about 10 per cent of them were sentenced to death. “This causes a lot of strain in terms of rehabilitation, feeding and in terms of provision of amenities. “So we made suggestions about steps involving those that can be released, looking at the prerogative of mercy or state pardon, those who are condemned and who had stayed for 10 years in prison, whether those convictions can be commuted to life imprisonment, and those who have served for 10 years can have some relief.

These were some of the suggestions considered,�

Dambazau stated.

Debt-to-GDP Ratio

percentage of revenue.

The Bank had argued that reduced revenue earnings might render the country’s debt unsustainable.

A total of N1.84 trillion was provided in the 2017 budget for debt service, while N2.35 trillion was projected as borrowings. Similarly, the 2016 budget projected borrowings of N1.84 trillion to finance the deficit.

According to the Senior Economist at the World Bank office in Nigeria, Yue Man Lee, for the nation’s interest payment to remain sustainable, the country has to boost its revenue base or

MILITARY INVESTIGATES ALLEGED COUP PLOT been disclosed.

The allegation of a military takeover was given further fillip when the Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. Tukur Buratai, warned his officers and soldiers against hobnobbing with unnamed politicians, whom he alleged were trying to influence them into engaging in unprofessional conduct.

Buratai’s statement was followed by warnings and condemnation by the British government, Pan-Yoruba socio-political group, Afenifere; the Pan-Igbo sociocultural group, Ohaneze Ndi Igbo; civil society groups; and National Leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Sen. Bola Ahmed Tinubu, among others, of the severe consequences of a military misadventure.

Addressing the concerns, Enenche said: “What I have told you people on behalf of the Armed Forces of Nigeria is that nobody should be afraid of any coup. “The Armed Forces are totally loyal to the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Nigeria and in complete subordination to civil authority, and all levels of command are out there administering our troops to remain focused and be conscious of the oath of allegiance that we have taken, guided by the constitution of this country. “That’s my final remarks to you to build on that and then reassure the general public that there’s nothing like that and nothing like that will ever be supported and will never be encouraged.

FG BEGINS REVIEW OF 2017 BUDGET, EXCITED BY GDP REPORT country’s economic contraction decelerated in the first quarter of 2017.

He said FEC was excited because the reported also revealed that the manufacturing sector grew by 1.36 per cent, while agriculture grew by 3.9 per cent during the quarter under review.

Nigeria’s manufacturing sector, for four consecutive quarters, had contracted.

According to Udoma, the GDP results on a sectoral basis for the first quarter of the year were the best that had been recorded in the last four quarters, explaining that the council was also excited because it showed that the government was on the right trajectory. “One of the things that we discussed in council were the GDP results for the first quarter which were released yesterday (Tuesday) by the National Bureau of Statistics. “We found the results for the first quarter GDP performance encouraging, even though we are still in a recession but we found it very encouraging. “It’s the best result we’ve had in the last three or four quarters and it’s a sign that we are moving out of the recession. In particular, we were encouraged by manufacturing that grew by 1.36 per cent, whereas previously, the sector had been contracting. But now it is growing. “Of course, agriculture is growing at 3.9 per cent; in mining and other metals, we are also growing in those areas, but we realised that we still have to work very

hard. “We are committed to continuing with the economic growth and recovery plan.

We also believe that with the interventions we are making and all the steps we are taking, we are in the right direction. So we are encouraged by the economic trajectory,� Udoma said.

Also briefing the press, the Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr. Chris Ngige said council approved the constitution of a National Minimum Wage Committee to be made up of 29 members drawn from the federal and state governments, labour federations and employers’ associations. “On May 11, 2016, there was deregulation of the oil and gas downstream sector in Nigeria and that resulted in an increase in the price of petrol. The labour unions kicked and resolved that government should put in place mechanisms that would ensure that we don’t have further increases. That was the reason the board of the Petroleum Products Price Regulatory Agency (PPPRA) was put in place. “Also, labour asked for a review of the minimum wage of workers to enhance their purchasing power. Prior to that, they had asked for N56,000 as minimum wage. “Thirdly, they said they wanted palliatives put in place to cushion the effects of the increase in the price of petrol. So the government put in place a committee. “That committee finished its work on 21st of April and handed it to the Secretary

to the Government of the Federation (SGF). “Today at council, I presented the report with the recommendations therein. I am happy to let you know that government approved the National Minimum Wage Committee comprising 29 persons with a chairman and secretary. “For the composition of the committee, the federal government will contribute five persons from the public sector, while state governors who are major stakeholders on government side will contribute six governors – one from each geopolitical zone. “Labour federations will present eight persons and the organised employers’ associations represented

by NECA, Manufacturing Association of Nigeria (MAN), National Association of Chambers of Commerce Industry, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA) and Small and Medium Enterprises Association (SMEA), will contribute nine persons. All together, you have 29 members,� Ngige stated.

Also in his briefing, the Minister of Interior, MajorGeneral Ibrahim Dambazau said council reviewed the poor state of prisons in Nigeria and found that the facilities are congested by 70 per cent of prisoners awaiting trial, while only 30 per cent of them had been convicted, of which 10 per cent have death sentences.

According to him, the situation constitutes an impediment to rehabilitation of inmates, feeding and

Meanwhile, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has stated that Nigeria’s debt as a percentage of GDP could hit 24.1 per cent by 2018.

At the end of 2015, the nation’s debt-to-GDP ratio stood at 12.1 per cent, then climbed to 18.6 per cent at the close of the 2016 fiscal year.

Should it meet the IMF mark of 24.1 per cent by 2018, this would mean that the nation’s debt as a fraction of GDP would have doubled within a space of four years.

The IMF, in its World Economic and Financial Surveys, released yesterday, equally forecast that Nigeria’s present level of indebtedness would have peaked at 23.3 per cent of GDP by the end of 2017.

The Debt Management Office (DMO) had put Nigeria’s total debt stock as at December 31, 2016 at $57.39 billion (N17.36 trillion).

Of this amount, the external debt component stood at $11.41 billion (N3.48 trillion), while domestic debt stock stood at $45.98 billion (N13.88 trillion).

Nigeria’s debt consists of domestic and foreign debts owed by the federal and sub-national governments.

While the nation’s debtto-GDP ratio is considered one of the lowest in Africa, there is growing apprehension over the country’s debt accumulation in recent years.

The World Bank also recently expressed concern over the ratio of debt as a

Continued on page 11

TOP GAINERS NGN NGN VITAFOAM 0.16 2.69 CCNN 0.23 4.84 INTERBREW 1.02 22.00 AXAMANSARD 0.08 1.73 UPDC 0.09 1.95 TOP LOSERS NGN NGN JOHNHOLT 0.04 0.59 OANDO 0.45 8.55 MAYBAKER 0.08 1.53 FORTEOIL 2.29 45.60 CHAMPBREW 0.10 2.06 HPE Nestle Nig Plc N836.00 Volume: 311.276 million shares Value: N3.458 billion Deals: 4,194 As at yesterday 24/05/17 See details on Page 41

% 6.3 4.9 4.8 4.8 4.8 % 6.3 5.0 4.9 4.7 4.6

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STARTERS

Two-Minute BrieďŹ ng

Katsina Bye-election: Corps Member NEWS Alleges She was Threatened with Rape, Ballot Papers Doctored

Marginalisation: Igbo Refused to Invest in Buhari’s Campaign, Says Ngige The Minister of Labour and Productivity, Chief Chris Ngige. has linked the perceived marginalisation of the South- east geopolitical zone by the Muhammadu Buhari-led administration to the refusal by the zone to properly invest in the 2015 presidential election.

Page 12

Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Lagos and Solomon Elusoji in Abuja A serving National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) member, who was part of the electoral team for the Katsina bye-elections held last Saturday, has alleged that she and members of her team were pressured into releasing ballot papers to unknown men armed to the teeth, after they threatened to do things “more worse than rape� to her.

On Sunday, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had declared the election, which was held in Mashi/Dutsi federal constituency a success, and announced Mansur Ali of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as the winner, with 27,968 votes.

But the corps member’s account of what happened at Mashi Local Government Area where she was posted, has cast serious doubts on the credibility of the election.

The lady, who did not want her name and photograph published due to fear for her life, informed THISDAY that after arriving her polling unit at 7.10 a.m. on the fateful day, the team started the accreditation and voting process by 8 a.m. and everything was going smoothly until 9.50 a.m. when some people came, armed with knives, daggers and cutlasses, demanding for the ballot papers. “At first I refused,� she told THISDAY. “But one of them pulled me aside and told me they would not just rape me, but do things worse than rape. ‘You see as you come complete, se you no wan go complete?’ the man asked. I was terrified.�

According to her, the soldiers and security officials who were supposed to be guiding the polling unit were nowhere to be seen as the men carted away the ballot papers. After about an hour, the ballot papers were returned

INEC Chairman, Professor Mahmood Yakubu to the unit, all “appropriately� thumbprinted.

By 2 p.m., voting was over and the team went ahead to collate the “fake� results, she said. An hour later, they proceeded to the registration area, which was situated in a seemingly abandoned primary school. Here, they met other corps members from different polling units in Mashi and their stories were all similar. “Apparently, they (assailants) didn’t just come to our unit, but to all the other polling units because my colleagues had similar experiences to mine,� the corps member told THISDAY. “Some even said they tampered with their card readers.�

Meanwhile, at the registration area, some residents had already gathered in front of the primary school, shouting

angry expletives in Hausa. Just as the team was about to deliver its report to INEC officials, mayhem broke out, when some men scaled the fence and broke into the classroom where the INEC reporting was being carried out. “It was a mad experience,� the corps member said. “We had to run. Even the security officials that were supposed to take care of us left their vans. It was just God. I will never involve myself in any electoral process again.�

When contacted, the INEC Administrative Secretary in Katsina State, Mr. Yunusa Kura, admitted that there were at least 13 incidents of malpractices, including ballot paper snatching and overstuffing of ballot boxes. “I have reports from youth corps members over attempts to snatch ballot papers which made them lose some of their belongings,� he said. “I have discussed with them and I am even the one that took them to the LGA’s INEC office. We are making efforts to find out what they really lost and to pay them compensation.�

However, he added that all the results from areas where malpractices were recorded were cancelled. “Six of them were to do with ballot paper snatching, while seven other places had to do with over-stuffing of ballot papers,� he said.

He also informed THISDAY that one of the corps members was involved in an accident and was admitted at the Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital in Kano.

According to Kura, the corps member was returning to the collation centre after the election when the vehicle conveying them had an accident and she fell. “They had finished the election and were moving to the collation centre when the vehicle conveying them somersaulted and she fell down. All the corps members that had incidents, I personally visited them and had interviews with them,� he said.

BODY FLOWN IN FROM DRC TESTS NEGATIVE FOR EBOLA Port Health Services (PHS) to ascertain if the death of the deceased was caused by the Ebola virus, since the DRC is currently facing another outbreak of the deadly haemorrhagic fever.

In order not to cause panic in the country, Prof. Adewole was immediately contacted to ascertain if the dead person might have died as a result of the Ebola virus.

The minister on Tuesday confirmed that his ministry was aware of the body, which had been moved to the University of Lagos Teaching Hospital (LUTH) for immediate tests and asked that THISDAY waited for 24 hours until the outcome of the test had been ascertained.

This was prompted by the knowledge that the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) protocols do not allow the handover of dead bodies infected with the Ebola disease to relatives of the deceased for burial, much less allowing such corpses to be flown across borders by an airline. Such bodies are meant to be incinerated by qualified medical personnel after death has been confirmed.

When contacted again yesterday, Adewole said the body had tested negative for the Ebola disease. “We have conducted tests in LUTH and it is negative for Ebola Virus Disease.

We shall however remain vigilant,� the minister said in a text message to THISDAY immediately after the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting of the cabinet in Abuja.

THISDAY’s investigation further revealed that the unaccompanied corpse, believed to be that of a Nigerian, was flown into the Lagos airport and dumped in the basement of the terminal.

As of Tuesday evening, the body had not been identified and no relative of the deceased turned up to claim it.

It was on this basis that the body was seized by the officials of Nigerian Customs Service who invited officials of PHS at the airport to examine the corpse.

An informed source told THISDAY: “I can confirm that a body was brought in yesterday (Monday) by Kenya Airways and we heard the body came in from the DRC and when the body arrived it was seized by Customs.�

THISDAY also learnt that when the corpse was taken over by federal health officials and moved out of the airport, PHS medical personnel thoroughly decontaminated the entire airport area, where the corpse was kept and all the persons involved in moving the corpse were quarantined and screened.

Although the report of the test result was negative, it was learnt that concerned aviation authority officials have written to Kenya Airways and reprimanded the airline.

They were said to have informed the airline that it should not have brought the corpse to Nigeria at a time the Ebola disease has resurfaced in the DRC. A source with the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) also confirmed that the agency was investigating the incident “within the ambit of the law�.

THISDAY also spoke to industry operatives who excoriated Kenya Airways for bringing in an unaccompanied corpse into the country and dumping the body at the airport without transferring it to its relatives.

An airline operator who was shocked at the incident said the NCAA should first of all suspend Kenya Airways from operating in Nigeria forthwith. “What Kenya Airways has done is extremely unprofessional and they should be punished for it so that in the future nobody would try that,� the operator said.

As of press time, Kenya Airways had not made any statement concerning the corpse that it flew into the Lagos airport.

FG BEGINS REVIEW OF 2017 BUDGET, EXCITED BY GDP REPORT work towards balancing the budget. “Nigeria’s debt-to-GDP ratio is relatively low. What is of concern is the ratio of interest payment relative to revenue. That is what is concerning.

This reflects the fact that there has been

a massive drop in revenue because of the drop in oil revenue. “There are two main strategies to reduce this debt burden. One is to increase revenue. Here, in order not to be vulnerable to the volatility of the

oil sector, the critical thing is to increase non-oil revenue – VAT, income taxes and excise outside of oil. “This is something we have been discussing with the government,�

Lee said.

NEWS

THURSDAY, MAY 25,

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Iyobosa Uwugiaren Ă“Ă˜ ĂŒĂ&#x;ÔË Ngige stated, while responding The Minister to a question speak for them on how Productivity, of Labour and about and when the marginalisa he feels is anything Ngige. has linkedChief Chris South-east “Those to be distributed,there tion of the we the extras, ones that are in pieces, marginalisation the perceived administra zone by the Buhari will make sure that the South-east so when we will be shared gets its own tion. get there we among show those that went east geopolitica of the Southportion. But will The them that they According to Muhammadu l zone by the some minister, who accused will not get excess portion.â€? “We did not to the farm. him, we have foughtfirst and foremost I feel benefit from Igbo leaders Drawing an happy every “If anything, Buhari-led corruption extras the administration of playing day when wise, successfulanalogy from a the with people who went to standstill and that people to a wake up, and to the refusal a cat-and-mouse game by the zone farm. We didn’t as I pray to I can no God, longer steal farmer, Buhari with a former to properly my at go to the I governor of Ngige, farm in the south-east.â€? invest period, during the electioneerin in the 2015 presidential keeping such will, much less to take asked him to enable me Anambra g State, said: said he went to monies important election. convened He noted, however “Even in a The minister, Lagos and “The movement at home. him guarding decisions with family where the head an Igbo stakeholder that leaders with THISDAY who spoke forum was from me. of the family goes in the zone are reassessing the bank to the s to the in William in an exclusive “If not for this house, but now interview in governmen in Ikoyi, Lagos Nwodo’s house those farm to harvest his yams political strategy so that their that homes have Abuja, who accompany in 2019, maybe the zone does in 2014, where been raided, the government of Muhammad t, efforts to persuadesaid all his he analysed not repeat the u the voting pattern to the farm get more the farmer mistake. the Igbo same to keep they will go to the farm Buhari, government of to wisely invest in Nigeria change, share. them. But people Nigeria “When in Buhari’s and told them presidential Asked what they bring back cannot than would have been worse even if that bid the ruling All steal money because the Progressive Venezuela. because of lack in 2015 failed support they did not want to yams some of them there is no hiding place s Congress will be damaged, and of co-operatio Buhari, they should “The crisis by many South-east n him 25 the pieces are will be campaigning (APC) cannot steal anymore. They in you have per cent of their give put out in Venezuela on primitively as country the threw their weigh leaders, who one section. votes. the The minister Then another gradually slips into it was done before. The like demonstrations today, the behind former whole yams President Goodluck in Venezuela, people poor election year, refused to listen added: “They the are barn and some put into stated: “Oh Jonathan.

Ngige about of Nigerian are happy are as a result of the to me, and Ngige’s make matter my God, so this,� he said. will be are of the whole economic collapse statement, worse, there to sent to the market you unsurprising in the no for The group was firmament voting in most sale.

APC reinforces of the areas in some will be sent to the And are pessimistic of those who no regret chieftain said he has of that country. Venezuela, president’s statement the the South-east; family refused , who have Nigeria, did for his centrally for like they just of the administrat at the outset 5 per not plan for to bring Buhari role in helping rainy to see the cent to APC. allocated the family distribution among this the ion that more day.� to power, saying focus would units. government? wonders of if the opportunity “It was that bad, paid on geopolitical Ngige scored the presents itself zones that supported it is too late to “Well, I’m from cry when the Buhariled the South-east, again he will do exactly head is off. Politics him than those that did the same fightgovernment high in thing. is business in not. against corruption the a “This is not in business and way, you invest terror. and you reap profit. should answer a question I “Yes, politician. But because I’m a want that is what it is. But all I to tell you is that before these things happened, before we the government bad politics; we made played of Jonathan a bad investment because failed, I went to the Igbo fora they invested to tell them that all in the Jonathan presidency.

Jonathan governmen the invested in Jonathan more They t will fall. “I went to our the South-south than , where he hails in Enugu twice. Eze Ndi-Igbo from.

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by Gen. Muhamma enough to is du marginalise Buhari, seeking for a meeting them with them,� or not allow them come in but we are there.

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Jonathan Calls Implementationfor Conference Reporof National t

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EDITORIAL Guarding Against Ebola Outbreak

TheWorld Health Organisation (WHO) last week alerted the world to another outbreak of Ebola disease in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). At the last count, no fewer than three persons were reported dead from the viral disease while more than 200 people were placed under surveillance in the central African nation. Page 15 A

2017Ëž T H I S

Marginalisati in Buhari’s Caon: Igbo Refused to Inv est mpaign, Says Ngige

N144 8b

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EDITORIAL

15

GUARDING

AGAINST E

BOLA OUTB REAK

Nigerians should

T

continue to be he World Health vigilant Organisa (WHO) last week alerted tion to another outbreak the world of Ebola disease in the Democra (DRC). At the tic Republic of Congo Medical Associati last count, no on (NMA) has than three persons government fewer also urged the to were reported federal dead from the surveillance strengthen its response on the team and increase viral disease Ebola is a deadly nation’s borders. while under surveilla more than 200 people viral disease within a week which wake-up call nce in the central Africanwere placed for nation. It is treatment. It of infection, leaving little kills victims We must recallNigeria. a has no known or that most of the vaccine or cureno time for the outbreak spread panic symptom and it has of the in headache, vomiting s of malaria: fever, to the deaths the West African sub-regiodisease in 2014 sore throat, , etc. The virus of with infected Sierra Leone some 11,300 people mostlyn and led spreads by contact blood and bodily and Guinea. between two uids and eight lives, including In Nigeria, Ebola in Liberia, days symptoms manifestto three weeks before it takes Consultant Hospital, Dr. Ameyo Adadevo also claimed the complete .

Lagos. The index h of the First in 2015 came case via a Liberian country with diplomat who in Nigeria any Nigerian the ew into the s In preparati virus. al commun and indeed the internati ity onNigeria this on against the spread of government commended the Nigerian time, the federal the disease to and the health an “Ebola Preparato government for authorities has constitute disease which the swift response in ry Working mandate to d dealing with review all protocols Groupâ€? with the ateness of the spread to Nigeria in 2015. the and lessons WE URGE NIGERIA many Nigerianresponse at the time saved The approprifrom response duringour s. But same NS TO CONTINUE outbreak of cannot be saidthe lives of the TO meningitis last Ebola outbreak of the recent where were evidently GOOD HYGIENOBSERVE in the country. caught unawarethe health authorities epidemic is BEHAVIOUR IC The s. As we write, still raging with was also expectedgroup THAT TH the Notwithstanding more INCLUDES REGULA EDITOR I S DAY to than DEPUTY EDITORS 1000 dead.

the preparati

ties to contain R HAND prepare the foundation

WASHING AND ons of MANAGING

˜ that the country

DEPUTY MANAGINGDIRECTOR ENIOLA GENERAL urge Nigerian Ebola in case of another the authoriENVIRONMENTA BELLO outbreak, we DIRECTOR build on handlingwould CHAIRMAN

behaviour thats to continue to observe EDITORIAL BOARD the EDITOR NATION’S CLEANLINESS L good hygienic includes regular disease in the CAPITAL

general environm event of

another outbreak ental cleanlinehand washing and disappeared ss. The sanitisers compile a list from the banks’ team is working . “The of the thermom entrances, schools, that to managers and trained Ebola Virus Disease eters ofďŹ ces; local and internatiothat have been withdraw (EVD) case are identifyin get in immediate contact n from the T H I S DAY nal and local g other border N E W S PA airports ately especially isolation wards that can with them. We EDITOR-IN-C PERS LIM entries ITED be used immediGROUP EXECUTIVE HIEF/CHAIRMAN constantly monitorinshould be restored as well as

Adewole, the in Abuja and Lagos,� said DIRECTORS as a means

g people until Health Minister.

Professor Isaac

virus is extermin ˜

it’s conďŹ rme of According to Ëœ GROUP FINANCE Ëœ

ated. d that the DIRECTOR

DIVISIONAL Fortunate indigenous to Adewole, since the Ebola

DIRECTORS ly, there are

Nigeria, it could disease efforts towards The WHO announc ˜

country through only be imported is not ˜ DEPUTY DIVISIONAL

the borders: candidate vaccines ed sometime ago such a goal.

DIRECTOR into the more, since

land, sea SNR. ASSOCIATE that one of the developed in there are no

ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR pharmaceutical DIRECTORS direct ights and airports. And a research

DRC, it is importan CONTROLLE RS

˜ cent protectio company has been found project by a t that all passenge to Nigeria from the

˜ our borders n GENERAL MANAGER

˜

rs be thorough but the WHO against Ebola in humans. to offer 100 per

ly screened. coming through

GROUP HEAD said

Great The Nigerian more DIRECTOR,

news, conclusive evidence to prove the PRINTING PRODUCTIO

vaccine’s capacity N

was needed TO SEND EMAIL: through what

to protect populatio ďŹ rst name.surnam is called e@thisdayliv ns Until such conclusiv “herd immunityâ€?. e.com e evidence materiali defence against the scourge ses, the best is eternal vigilance .

M

Letters to the Editor

Letters in response to speciďŹ c publicatio readers may TO OUR READERS ns in THISDAY opinions on send such letters along should topical local, 1000 words). national and with their contact details be brief (150-200 internatio They should words) and to opinion@ straight to the be sent to opinion@nal issues provided thisdayli point. Intereste thisdaylive.com they are well-writt ve.com. We also welcome en and should along with the comments andd also not be longer email address than (950and phone numbers of the writer.

INTERNAL C

ONTRADICTIO NS OF STATE S In respons t h

state is a politically people inhabiting organised body of a defined geogra entity with hi

POLITICS Ikpeazu: FG Should Stop Serving

CURRENT K

NO

POLITICS

T H I S D AY

Ëž THURSDAY,

MAY 25, 2017

Group Politic s Editor Tobi Soniyi Email tobi.so niyi@thisday live.com 0803314613 9 SMS ONLY

PE

RSONAL ITY INT Ikpeazu: FG ERVIEW Should Stop Serving Imp Abia State gove orted Foods rnor, Dr. at FEC

Imported Foods at FEC Meeting Are you working with South- east governors to deal with perceived marginalisation of the zone?

For me as a person, the leadership of the Ebonyi State Governor, Dave Umahi, as chairman of Southeast Governors Forum is a focused leadership. Page 18

Okezie Ikpea Meeting in Aba products. zu has of the economic He recently spoke with established himself as the Politi marginalised. recession, mobilise the peop cs Editors on how Nigechief promoter of made Segun Jame s was there and le for development, and ria can take advantage re you working ensure that no presents the excer east governors with Southzone is pts: to deal with perceived marginali

A

sation of the zone?

For me as a person, the State Governor leadership of the Ebonyi of Southeast , Dave Umahi, as chairman Governors leadership.

Forum is a focused He is handling around the marginalization genuine issues very well but of our people quietly.

I personally have a strategy issues of marginali to battle the zation by making indispensable. myself trying to also It is this attitude that we transfer to very hard, acquire our people. are Work as much good as possible education and innovate on top and extensively make yourself to stay wherever you indispensable find yourself. to Why are you For us here so passionate about Aba? in that touch very Abia, Aba brings memories soft nerves. there were From post war, issues that immediately war; it was after the difficult to rebuild infrastructure and Aba incidentall all kinds of the few cities y was one of Many of us that accommodated everybody have fond memories . that includes of Aba folks from Recently I listened outside Igbo and land. to a radio program a Yoruba man for Aba. He was making very strongwhere lived and grew case my childhood friend Musa up here just like raised at Hospital who was Road Aba. Musa born and know any does other town than Aba and not applies to his us as Bona children who are also here same Fide Aba people. with Aba is everybody ’s city because that happens everything in Aba affects kpeazu from the southeast people, not My electioneer , but across Nigeria. just ing campaign real challenges can be done focused on were also challengin to rebuilding Abia rebuild Aba as an enablerwhat folks misinform g. Those our people, and entire Igbo for make our terms of geograph manipulate land. Aba, in and fall easy people gullible and they Aba. Just seven at the confluenc y, is strategically sometimes prey kilometre located because we evidence of to their antics. Even South Nigeria, e of South East and without know the areas to Akwa Ibom previous capacity our new roads diagnose our Akwa Ibom, as it shares borders withSouth to properly are through very well and challenges Rivers, and Imo, solutions. and proffer virgin forests. whatever affects others. Therefore right them, also Port Harcourt I look forward The flux between affects Aba. , Road is going to a day when using concrete our state is the cities mercial activity, to be everyone in motivated towards the energy and the comto forget that pavement. I don’t want done agenda, a Aba exudes a common common people have become and power that technology. we pioneered rigid pavement enterprise because good, and a common nectar for all a strong anchor As kinds of developm I see governme or only state with far as I know, Abia is enterprise. commerce and also the nt as an ent including on her roads 3 Grade A contractors My governmen Aba has at industry. working concurrently: t is not tailored Setraco and agenda but Arab contractor sectionalized least 15 markets, which to a particular the holds Chinese s, a global vision according to are the Osisio company h for the su th If d i fl d

In the ďŹ rst there shou instance, any ‘federalld not be roads’, because there federal citize are no ns Let th f

FEATURES The Perfect Model

FEATURES

In the year 2000, Robert Mugabe stunned the world when he initiated a series of legislation to make dramatic changes to land ownership laws in Zimbabwe.These changes had one major goal: to kick out thousands of white Zimbabwean farmers from the I country. Page 20

THURSDAY, MAY 25, 2017

Ëž T H I S D AY

Acting Featur es Editor Charle s Ajunwa Email charle s.ajunwa@this daylive.com

The Perfect Model

The success of during his timethe Shonga project, initia in food secur as governor of Kwara ted by the current Presi State, ity, Solomon dent Elusoji write offers the country a nove of the Senate, Buko la Sarak s l approach for gaining groun i, d

R-L: Ahmed, EmeďŹ ele,

Abdullahi,

Saraki, and

others,

watching something n the year of interest during an inspection stunned the 2000, Robert Mugabe world when visit to the Africa,� now series of legislation he initiated poultry arm relies on internatio of the Shonga to make dramatica changes to Farms...rec nal aid to ently feed 25 per Zimbabwe. land ownership laws cent in to the World of its population, according major goal: These changes had one Food Programm While Muga to kick out of white Zimbabw However, while The farm e. be was ean farmersthousands dragg Mugabe country. His his people into in the diary has a cheese exporting from section and ing his people the ditch, the was dragging the plant farmers, who argument was simple: the Governor is set to entire West then Executive of the into the arable land owned 70 per cent of the Nigerian Kwara State, who product. They African region saturate ditch, the then the most with the in the country, is today their property Saraki, decidedSenate President and are probablyalso export cassava had inherit Executive Buk l fro chi t t k th d G

BUSINESS Experts Call for Greater Investments to Drive Data in Africa Experts at the InternationalTelecoms Week conference in Chicago, United States of America, have highlighted the need to accelerate investment in Africa to facilitate the continent’s broadband data explosion.

Page 23

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BUSINESSW R A T E S

NIBOR OVERNIGHT 1-MONTH

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3-MONTH 6-MONTH

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ORLD A T

NITTY

1-MONTH 2-MONTH 3-MONTH

23 Group Busine ss Editor ChikaA Email: chika.a manzenwachuk manze-Nwachuku wu@thisdayliv e.com 08033294157 , 08057161321

M A Y 2 2 , ͯʹ˛ͰͲ͡Ͳ ͯ͡˛͎Ͱ͜ʹ ͯ͡˛ʹ͜͡ͳ

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7th African

Digital TV Ă’Ă? ;ÞÒ Ă?ĂœĂ“Ă?Ă‹Ă˜ Ă“Ă‘ Devt ĂžĂ‹Ăœ Ă“Ă—Ă?Ă? Ă?Ù××Ă? ÓÞËÖ Ă?Ă Ă?ÖÙÚ×Ă? Begins Ă Ă?Ăœ Ͳ͎͎ ĂŽĂ?Ă–Ă?Ă‘Ă‹ĂžĂ? Ă˜Ă?Ă?ĂŽ Ă™Ă˜ Ă‹ĂŁ Í°Í°Ă˜ĂŽËœ Ă˜Ăž Ă?Ă—Ă“Ă˜Ă‹Ăœ Ă’Ă™Ă?ĂžĂ?ĂŽ ĂŒĂŁ Ă?âÚĂ?Ă?ĂžĂ?ĂŽ ÞÙ ĂŒĂ? ĂšĂœĂ?Ă? Ă?ĂœĂ™Ă— Ͳʹ Ă?ĂœĂ“Ă?Ă‹Ă˜ Ă‹ Í°ÍŽÍŻÍľ Ă“Ă˜ Ă?Ă“Ă”Ă“Ă˜Ă‘Ë› ͹͎ Ă—Ă“Ă˜Ă“Ă?ĂžĂ?ĂœĂ? Ă™Ă? Ă“Ă˜Ă?Ă™ Ă?Ă?Ă˜Ăž Ă‹Ăž ÞÒĂ? Ă?Ă?Ă—Ă“Ă˜Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă?Ă“Ă‹Ă˜ Ă?Ă™Ă&#x;Ă˜ĂžĂœĂ“Ă?Ă? ĂĄĂ?ĂœĂ? Ă?Ă™Ă&#x;Ă˜ĂžĂœĂ“Ă?Ă?Ëœ Ă–Ă“Ă•Ă? Ă“Ă‘Ă? ĂœĂ—Ă‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă?Ù×× ĂœËœ Ă“Ă˜Ă?Ă–Ă&#x;ĂŽĂ“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă—Ă™ĂœĂ? ĂžĂ’Ă‹Ă˜ Ă“ĂŒĂ?ĂœĂ“Ă‹Ëœ Ă‹Ă–Ă‹ĂĄĂ“Ëœ Ă‹ ĂœĂ“Ă‹Ëœ Ă?Ă˜ĂžĂœĂ‹Ă– Ă?ĂœĂ“Ă?Ă‹ Ă&#x;Ă˜Ă“Ă?Ă‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜ Ă?ĂœĂ™Ă— Ă?ĂœĂ“Ă?Ă‹Ă˜ ĂšĂ&#x;Ă?Ă’ ÞÒĂ? ĂŽĂ?Ă Ă?ÖÙÚ×Ă? Ă—ĂŒĂ“Ă‹Ëœ Ă™Ă˜Ă‘Ă™ Ă‹ Ă?ĂšĂ&#x;ĂŒĂ–Ă“Ă?Ëœ Ă’Ă‹ĂŽËœ Ă&#x;Ă“Ă˜Ă?Ă‹Ëœ Ă˜ĂŽ ĂžĂ’Ă“Ă™ĂšĂ“Ă‹Ëœ Ă Ă™ĂĄĂ“Ă˜Ă‘

Ă˜ ÞÒĂ? ÙÚĂ?Ă˜Ă“Ă˜Ă‘ ĂœĂ?Ă— Ă˜Ăž Ă™Ă? Ă?ĂœĂ“Ă?Ă‹Ă˜ Ă“Ă˜ĂŽĂ&#x;Ă?ĂžĂœĂŁ ÞÙ ËŞĂ? ÎÓÑÓÞËÖ Ă—Ă“Ă‘ĂœĂ‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜Ë› Ă‹Ă˜Ă‘ Ă“Ă˜Ă˘Ă“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă?Ă‹Ă“ĂŽ Ă‹ĂœĂ•Ă?Ëœ ÞÒĂ? ĂœĂ?Ă?Ă“ĂŽĂ?Ă˜ Ă?Ă—Ă“Ă˜Ă‹Ăœ Ă’Ă‹Ă? Ă‘ĂœĂ™ĂĄ ÞÒËÞ ÞÒĂ? Ă?ĂœĂ“Ă?Ă‹Ă˜ Ăž Ă™Ă? ĂžĂ‹Ăœ Ă“Ă—Ă?Ă? ĂœĂ™Ă&#x;ĂšËœ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ ÎÓËÖÙÑĂ&#x;Ă? Ă?Ă™Ăœ ÞÒ Ă˜ Ă“Ă˜ĂžĂ™ Ă‹ ÚÖËÞĂ?Ă™ĂœĂ— Ă? ÓÑÓÞËÖ Ă?Ă Ă?ÖÙÚ×Ă?Ă˜Ăž Ă? ĂŽĂ?Ă Ă?ÖÙÚ×Ă?Ă˜Ăž Ă™Ă? Ăž Ă™Ăœ ĂŽĂ?Ă?ĂšĂ?Ăœ Ă?ÙÙÚĂ?ĂœĂ‹ Ă“Ă˜ Ă?ĂœĂ“Ă?Ă‹Ë› ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜ Ă’Ă? ĂœĂ‹ĂŽĂ“Ă™ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ ĂšĂ‹ĂœĂž Ă?ĂœĂ™Ă— Ă’Ă™Ă?ĂžĂ“Ă˜ Ă?Ă?Ă?ĂžĂ™ĂœĂ? ÞÒËÞ ĂžĂ‹Ăœ Ă“Ă—Ă?Ă? Ă“Ă? Ăœ Ă‘ ÞÒĂ? Ă‹Ă˜Ă˜Ă&#x;Ă‹Ă– Ă?Ă Ă?Ă˜Ăž Ëœ Ă‹Ă˜Ă‘ Ă‹Ă–Ă?Ă™ Ă—Ă?Ă˜ĂžĂ“Ă™ Ă?Ă‹ĂŽĂŁ ÞÙ Ă? Ă‹ĂžĂ?Ă–Ă–Ă“ĂžĂ? ĂœĂ™Ă”Ă?Ă?Ăž Ă&#x;Ă˜ĂŽĂ?Ăœ Ù×ÚÖĂ?ĂžĂ? ÞÒĂ? ÍŻÍŽ Ă’Ă™Ă&#x;Ă?Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă“Ă– Ă˜Ă?ĂŽ Ă?ĂœĂ“Ă?Ă‹Ă˜ ÑÙà Ă?ĂœĂ˜Ă—Ă?Ă˜ ÞÒĂ? Ă“Ă˜Ă?ĂžĂœĂ&#x;Ă?ÞÓ Ă–Ă‹Ă‘Ă?Ă? Ă‹Ă˜Ă˜Ă™Ă&#x;Ă˜Ă?Ă?ĂŽ ĂŒĂŁ Ă’Ă“Ă˜Ă?ĂžĂ?Ë› Ă’Ă? ĂšĂœĂ™Ă”Ă?Ă?Ăž Ă“Ă? Ă’Ă“Ă˜Ă‹ Ă™Ă˜ Ă™Ă? Ă’Ă“Ă˜Ă?Ă?Ă? Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă’Ă“Ă˜Ă‹Ě‹ Ă?ĂœĂ“Ă?Ă‹ ÙÙÚ Ă?Ă? ĂœĂ?Ă?Ă“ĂŽĂ?Ă˜Ăž Ă“ Ă“Ă˜Ăš Ě‹ Ă?ĂœĂ“Ă?Ă‹ Ă?ÙÙÚĂ?ĂœĂ‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜ Ă?ĂœĂ‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜ Ă—Ă?Ă?ĂžĂ“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă“Ă˜ Ă“Ă˜Ă‘ ĂŽĂ&#x;ĂœĂ“Ă˜Ă‘ ÞÒĂ? Ă™ĂœĂ&#x;Ă— Ă&#x;××ÓÞ˛ ÞÒĂ? Í°ÍŽÍŻÍł Ă™Ă’Ă‹Ă˜Ă˜Ă?Ă? Ă™Ă˜ Ă“Ă?Ă? Ă“Ă˜Ă“Ă?ĂžĂ?Ăœ ĂŒĂ&#x;ĂœĂ‘ Ă™Ă? Ă’Ă“Ă˜Ă‹ ÞËÞĂ? Ă‹ĂŽĂ“Ă™Ëœ Ă“Ă–Ă— Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă?Ă– ĂŽĂ—Ă“Ă˜Ă“Ă?ĂžĂœĂ‹ ĂŒĂ?ÞåĂ?Ă?Ă˜ Ă’Ă“Ă˜Ă?Ă?Ă? Ă‹Ă?Ă Ă“Ă?Ă“Ă™Ă˜Ëœ Ă™Ă˜Ă‘ Ă‹Ă˜Ă‘ ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜ Ă™Ă? ĂœĂ?Ă?Ă? Ă&#x;ĂŒĂ–Ă“Ă?Ă‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜ Ëœ Ă’Ă“Ă˜Ă?Ă?Ă? Ă‹ĂŽĂ Ă™Ă?Ă‹Ă?ĂŁ Ă˜ĂŽ Ă?ĂœĂ“Ă?Ă‹Ă˜ Ă—Ă?ĂŽĂ“Ă‹ Ă“Ă?Ëœ Ă?Ă‹Ă“ĂŽËž ËŤ Ă’Ă? Ă?ÙÙÚĂ?ĂœĂ‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜ ÞÙ ĂŽĂ?Ă?ĂšĂ?Ăœ Ă?ÙÙÚĂ?ĂœĂ‹Ă™Ă? Ă˜Ă? Ă?Ă–Ăž Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă˜ Ă“Ă˜ Ă‹Ă?Ă?Ă™ĂœĂŽĂ‹Ă˜Ă?Ă? åÓÞÒ ÞÒĂ? ĂšĂœĂ™Ă—Ă™ĂžĂ“Ă˜Ă‘ ÞÒĂ? ĂŽĂ“Ă‘Ă“ ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜ Ă“Ă˜ ÞÒĂ? Ă?Ă“Ă?Ă–ĂŽ Ă™Ă?Ă? ÙËβ Ă’Ă“Ă˜Ă‹ Ă“Ă? ĂĄĂ“Ă–Ă–Ă“Ă˜Ă‘ ÞËÖ Ă—Ă“Ă‘ĂœĂ‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜ Ă“Ă˜ Ă? Ă—Ă?ĂŽĂ“Ă‹ ĂŽĂ?Ă Ă?ÖÙÚ× Ă?Ă˜ĂžËœ ĂœĂ“Ă?˲ˏ

GLOBAL TELE COMS WEE K

L-R: CEO, Liquid Angola Cables, Telecoms, Nic Rudnick; Regional Head, Artur Mendes; after the MainOne CEO, Africa -hosted Africa MainOne, Funke Opeke; Express Wi-Fi, Facebook session at the CEO, 2017 Internatio WIOCC, Chris Wood , Uche Ofodile; Chief Commerc and nal Telecoms Week, held in Strategic Initiatives, Google,ial OďŹƒcer, Chicago, USA...

Chris George, recently

Experts Call for Greater Inv estments to in Africa Drive

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Okonji

Data

Experts at the Internati while most ECON OMY Telecoms onal Week conferen rine cable African subma- working in Chicago, systems had United States ce and data traffic with Airtel capability to America, have to deploy trajectories deliver 100 the fiber backhau in highlighted of different countries need to accelerate the tinent on the con- wavelengths, Africa GBPS that demand l, but noted and made investme and favorabl in Africa comparisons utilised near enough has not regulatory to facilitate nt with other markets capacity to saturate environmentse continent’s informed those systems. globally. broadband the These included their decision cording to explosion. areas in data investme the panelists Ac- to invest. The s nts had been which broadband With the theme to become , for beyond mobile need to go ‘Achieving such as submarine cablesmade pervasive, more was infrastructure a Connecte there i cent also hi h dC dt

HEALTH Adewole: Why Buhari Couldn’t be

2 0 1 7 Ͱ͎˛͹͹͎͡ Ͱͯ˛;ʹͲ͹ ͰͰ˛ͳ;͜Ͳ

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Aqualis Fish

Ă–Ă‹Ă— Ă˜ĂžĂ?ĂœĂ˜Ă‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜Ă‹Ă–Feed Debuts

Ă™Ă?Ă?Ă?ĂœĂ“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă?ĂœĂ™Ă— ÞÒĂ? Ă‹ Ă’Ă‹Ă? Ă–Ă‹Ă&#x;Ă˜Ă?Ă’Ă?ĂŽ Ă›Ă&#x;Ă‹ Ă?Ă™Ă˜ĂžĂ?Ă˜Ăž Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ ÞÒĂ? ĂœĂ“Ă‘Ă˜Ă“Ă—Ă‹Ă– Ă?Ă?Ă?ĂŽ Ă“Ă˜Ă Ă?Ă?Þ× Ă–Ă“Ă? Ă“Ă?Ă’ Ă?Ă?ĂŽËœ ÞÒĂ? Ă?Ă“ĂœĂ?Ăž Ă?Ă˜ĂžËœ åÓÞÒ Ă’Ă“Ă‘Ă’ Ă˜Ă&#x;ĂžĂœĂ“Ăž Ă‘ĂœĂ™ĂĄĂžĂ’ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă’Ă“Ă‘Ă’ Ă?Ă“ Ă’Ăž ĂŒĂ‹Ă–Ă‹Ă˜Ă?Ă? Ă™Ă? ĂšĂœĂ™ĂžĂ? Ă“Ă™Ă˜Ă‹Ă– Ă“ĂžĂ? Ă—Ă“Ă?Ă?Ă“Ă™Ă˜ Ă™Ă? Ă?Ă&#x;ÚÚĂ?Ă’ ĂŁĂ“Ă?Ă–ĂŽË› Ă–Ă‹Ă— Ă˜ĂžĂ?Ăœ Ă“Ă˜ ÞÒËÞ Ă?Ă˜Ă?Ă&#x;ĂœĂ?Ă? ĂŒĂ?ÞÞĂ?Ăœ Ă?Ă&#x;Ă?ÞÙ×Ă?ĂœĂ? ĂĄĂ™ĂœĂ–ĂŽĂĄĂ“ Ă–ĂŁĂ“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă?ÙÙÎ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă“Ă˜ĂŽĂ&#x;Ă˜Ă‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜Ă‹Ă–Ëœ Ă“Ă˜ ĂœĂ?Ă‹Ă?Ă?Ă“ĂœĂ—Ă“Ă˜Ă‘ ĂœĂ?à ÙÖĂ&#x;ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜Ă‹ĂœĂŁ ÞÙ ÞÒÎĂ? Ă’Ă‹Ă? Ă–Ă‹Ă&#x;Ă˜Ă?Ă’Ă?ĂŽ Ă‹ Ă?Ă“ Ă?ĂžĂœĂ“Ă‹Ă– ĂœĂ‹ĂĄ Ă—Ă‹ĂžĂ?ĂœĂ“Ă‹Ă–Ă? ÞÙ Ă’Ă? Ă–Ă‹ĂžĂ?Ă?Ăž ĂžĂ?Ă?Ă’Ă˜Ă™Ă– Ă? ĂŽĂ?Ă Ă?ÖÙÚ×Ă?Ă˜Ăž Ă™Ă? Ă?Ă?Ă’ Ă?Ă?Ă?ĂŽ ÞÒËÞ ĂĄĂ“Ă–Ă– ĂŒĂ? ĂžĂœĂ&#x;Ă–ĂŁ Ă‹Ă?Ă?Ă™ĂœĂŽĂ“Ă˜Ă‘ ÞÙ ÞÒĂ? Ă? ÙÑã Ă&#x;Ă?Ă?ĂŽ Ă“Ă˜ ÞÒĂ? Ă— Ă“Ă?Ă’ Ă?Ă‹ĂœĂ—Ă“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă“Ă˜ Ă“Ă‘Ă?ĂœĂ“Ă‹Ë› ĂŽĂ?Ă–Ă“Ă Ă?ĂœĂ? Ă‹ Ă?Ă&#x;Ă–Ă–ĂŁ Ă?Ă–Ă™Ă‹ĂžĂ™Ă—ĂšĂ‹Ă˜ĂŁËœ Ă“Ă? Ă‹ Ă Ă?ĂœĂŁ ĂœĂ? Ă‹Ă˜Ă&#x;Ă?Ă‹Ă?ĂžĂ&#x;ĂœĂ? Ă™Ă? Ă›Ă&#x;Ă‹Ă–Ă“Ă?Ëœ ĂŒĂ?Ă’Ă‹Ă Ă“Ă™Ă&#x;Ăœ Ă™Ă? ÞÒĂ? Ă“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă?Ă?Ă?ĂŽ ĂĄĂ’Ă“Ă?Ă’ Ă“Ă? ĂŒĂ?Ă?Ă?Ă?Ă˜Ăž Ă‹Ă˜ Ă“Ă˜Ă˜Ă™Ă Ă‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜ ÞÒËÞ Ăž Ă?Ă&#x;Ă“ĂžĂ?ĂŽ Ă?Ă™Ăœ ÞÒĂ? Ă?Ă?Ă?ĂŽ ĂšĂ?Ă‹Ă•Ă“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă‹Ăž ÞÒĂ? Ă–Ă‹Ă&#x; Ă?ĂœĂ“Ă?Ă‹Ă˜ Ă?Ă‹ĂžĂ?Ă“Ă?Ă’Ë› Ă“Ă˜Ă‘ ĂœË› Ă?Ă’Ă“Ă?Ă’ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽĂ?Ëœ Ă?Ă˜Ă?Ă’Ëœ ÞÒĂ? Ă&#x;Ă?Ă“Ă˜Ă?Ă?Ă? Ă?Ă˜Ă?Ă&#x;ĂœĂ?Ă? ÞÒĂ? ĂŽĂ?Ă–Ă“Ă Ă? Ă‹Ă“ĂŽË? ËŤ Ă’Ă? Ă—Ă“Ă?ĂœĂ™ Ă?âÞĂ?Ă‹ĂŽËœ Ă–Ă‹Ă— Ă˜ĂžĂ?ĂœĂ˜Ă‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜Ă‹Ă–Ëœ ĂœĂ&#x;Ă?Ă“Ă™Ă˜ ĂžĂ?Ă?Ă’Ă˜Ă™Ă–Ă™Ă‘ĂŁ ĂœĂŁ Ă™Ă? ÞÒĂ? ĂœĂ“Ă‘Ă’Ăž ĂĄĂ‹Ă?ÞËÑĂ? Ă™Ă? Ă‹Ă–Ă?Ă™ Ă?Ă?Ă?ĂŽ Ă?ÓäĂ? ÞÒ ÞÒĂ? Ă?Ă?Ă?ĂŽ ĂŽ Ă’

AY 25, 2017

HEALTH & LI FESTYLE Adewole: Wh

36

Acting Featur es Editor Charle Email: charle s Ajunwa s.ajunwa@thi sdaylive.com

y Buhari Co uldn’t be Trea ted

The Minister and Presidentof Health, Prof. Isaac Adewole Muhammadu Buhari’s healt takes a look at the vexe ow is your ministry h challenge to the outbreak responding s. He spoke d issues in the health secto of Ebola the Democrat with Iyobosa ic Republic in Congo? of Uwugiarenr Ebola is not indigenous Nigeria. For to Nigeria it has it to be left

Treated in Nigeria H How is your ministry responding to the outbreak of Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo?

Ebola is not indigenous to Nigeria. For it to come up in Nigeria it has to be imported, just like it happened the other time... Page 36

in Nigeria

come up in to be imported, with about the other time, N20 million just like it happened upgrade their to N5 million when Amos facilities. We Nigeria. So, per each geo-politic have identified to what we have Sawyer came into set up an one Hospital, Abuja. al zone as well Ebola Preparatodone is to sit down, as

by Dr. Joshua ry Group, of Ilorin TeachingWe will work on National University Ebola group Obasanya, who actually chaired Hospital; Ibadan, UBTC, to Liberia and led the Benin City, we will work on group is mapping Sierra Maiduguri UNTH, Zaria this year. out strategies Leone. That the laboratori and and been to the es ready for diagnosis getting On a daily airport to see . I have basis, most and I have what is happenin of the Federal Centres and also g, Health Services met with the Director, to cope with teaching hospitals are Medical Port not able the influx ports, not just to ensure that we due to lack of patients man all our airport, of may be land and sea, people could addressing personnel. How is governme the challenge take care to come in from anywherebecause, nt I don’t think ? notice screening . If you various airports, My Gynaecolothat’s correct, we have being personnel. gy being screened without you noticing done at Departme has 22 gynaecolo nt in UCH, it, you’re and this has Ibadan will screen gists; the entire never stopped. partly has you; what four. The problem Oyo State We we have at body-thermo is not lack airports are of the of temperature. screeners that monitor staffed. The personnel, in fact, they hospital your body problem is are over normal, it If your body temperatu you continue that on a regular will trigger re is above know you basis, commodities, to fund them. We must have fever, an alarm. So, we will provide we will pull will also continue The problem we must upgrade you out. We the service. to work increase level and electricityis partly infrastruc of awareness with the media to ture, of hygiene , promote the clock to , and we are working water and make sure hand washing ensure that people a culture and electricity that they have round get use to at all times. . will put it water By and under lock and key. The large, we thing is to How about reassure Nigerians important course for health, whichthe issue of maternal that there alarm. They and child has shouldn’t panic. is no remained That’s why a very big Apart from Adewole One Million I mentioned the issue issue? the normally pass airports, where foreign to address Lives, which is essentiallyof Save maternal and We have Portthrough, what of the land visitors developed toned is a grant where child health. economica borders? health. borders; Illela, Health Service at This each issues that So, it’s actually lly have also invested the will make surestate is working on in Federal ExecutiveIdi Araba and Seme. major implemen a document anti-natal ted. And that is being that healthcare will At the care, receive that women receive Council (FEC) some other be accessible to Nigerians care of the meeting today, doing is to develop one of the things we border and available immunised and so and we are the Strategy we are manning points were mentioned The policy on. But apart child, get Health Plan. this. The first thing are on the path to achieve we are working will drive those ones from that, , so having with the Office we have done the policy, as well. meetings; wethe strategy plan. We is to approve Special Assistant to that’s the of the Senior are So in other are going that it can fit to cost it, so of Nigeria. So, this third policy in the history Development Goalsthe President on Sustainabl words, your into is that there government advice to Nigerians that the strategy the national budget.

(SDGs) to use e Cash Transfer is no cause can We hope for putting a policy Conditional health developm to offer None, for fit into the in place, that’stake credit women. one. We launched now; but theyfor alarm? ent 2018 health We are workinganti-natal care to poor number free high level a programm of the major budget. So plan will One Million should maintain to ensure that of ante-natal that many initiatives Lives Initiative’ e called ‘Save a we will care and free we get a surveillan suspicion. Everybod money do them based that we want to y ce officer. If delivery. do, states from the World Bank , where we took The you notice should be budget submissio illness, let on facts. We any unusual and gave it us know. as seed grants will do n also based to the with ministry has been line with our to develop that will on facts and having problems resident doctors programm national priorities. in children impact on the lives What if we e medical working have this disease, of women because agencies. for federal necessary and Primary healthcare Have you tors, maternal we want many of do we have structures been able our indica- resolve the issues? the Muhamm issue and to respond We do; it to We do not to it? adu Buhari. was so dear to President change. We don’t child health indicators is better than have problem National Centre want our women How far have with this policy? to have challenge 2014. In per se, but you gone if they are chickens; s with remunera was not fully for Disease Control 2014, the It’s still very we that’s number to die as different initiated a (NCDC) dear; it’s a on ground; programm ground. We not something long distance e called Rapid two. We regulationhospitals are violating tion, because now it is fully Results Initiative, have race; it is that we the different s and circulars, Response on But what ready to move. over 300 field epidemiol poor. We started distinctively factored For example, they pay differently is gladdenin can achieve in one day.

We ogists, have we for with 10,000 g to me officers now look at the have adopted a standby team . payment of surgeries for the Officers, it will it as a philosophis the fact that we poor and I am happy of 10 people be shocking House to the hot who will be ready to be the to country we y. We have working together. spots. to learn deployed are offering say that all over the different hospitals pay the primary I did mentionmany care four different that four House Officers, We healthcare should salaries to that we have developed a lot to poor Nigerians. The with Lassa fever the first point of policy document be the are working Federal Medical a gap of about N40,000. has continued on Fistula; have enough the sick ones, of call for anybody. platform, policy to unabated we developed s; the teaching hospitals,Centres pay more further our It is only the serious There is no vaccines to arrest the ; do we go to the than new born a we are which tertiary centre, ones that should developed a policy vaccine for disease? is being used for coricidin. care. We have with trying to sanitise this; is ridiculous. So Lassa as of the message and I’m happy with our pharmace the We we are working is moving that have for now, on population basis. now that people working utical groups,are working ensure Wages and Salaries fast. There What we Commissio is calling o that things are many is to make sure that togethe our dri a hi h th t N

INTERNATIONAL Trump Tells Middle East: Step Up in Fight

DAY MAY 25,

2017 Ëž T H I

INTERNATIO NAL S D AY

email:foreig

over ‘Islamist Extremism’ U.S. President DonaldTrump called on Arab leaders to do their share to fight “Islamist extrem- ism� on Sunday in a speech that put the burden on the region to combat militant groups while urging unity among religions. Page 47

Trump Tells Mi Step Up in Fig ddle East: ht over ‘Islamist Extrem ism’ ndesk@this

daylive.com

U.S. Presiden Trump called t Donald to excerpts of on Arab leaders to do their share released by the speech Middle to fight “Islamis the White East House. more action but expected ism� on Sunday t extremin “That means in a speech “Terrorism return. that put the honestly confront has burden on region to the Islamist ing the crisis of across the world. spread combat militant But the path to extremis groups while urging unity the Islamist terror m and here, on peace begins right among religions this ancient groups this it inspires. soil, in And it sacred land,�

Trump, who . he said in generate d standing together means Saudi Arabia, controversy against the murder the first with his push to ban many of innocent a nine-day tour that stop on includes Israel, Italy Muslims Muslims, the oppressi from entering and Belgium. of women, on the The United the States, describe speech persecution d the fight of Jews, and the slaughte fort to redefineis part of an efagainst terrorism of Christian his relationsh r with the ip s.� battle between as a Muslim Trump’s “Americ good and Trump frequentl world after evil rather a first� Muslims philosophy y attacked helped of civilisat than a clash the ions.

2016 election him win trail last on the campaign “This is a battle between rattled allies who and has ban manyyear and tried to barbaric from depend on U.S. support criminal United States. entering the seek to obliterat s who defense. for The president their The approach life, and decent e human is , who designed struggling was people of all religions to contain to contrast also brewing political a former with protect it,� who seek to at President scandal home, made Trump said Barack in the speech, clear in his Obama, whom Trump accordin g address that Washing criticised for his handlinghas would partner ton the of fight against with the Islamic State.

North Kore a Tests anot Seoul Says Das her Missile, hes Hopes for Peace

North Korea missile into fired a ballistic News Sunday� . east coast waters off its The two missile on Sunday, of this new second missile its tests in governm ent and the internatio test in a a week complica te week, which plans

by South nal comKorea’s new munity for denuclea said dashed South Korea Presiden risation and peace t Moon South’s newthe hopes of the to on the Korean Jae-in seek ways liberal government for peace to reduce peninsu la�. between the tension on the peninsul Japanese Prime neighbor s.

Moon took a. Shinzo Minister A South days ago afteroffice eleven missile Abe said the latest official said Korean military election winning test on a platform an North was by the reclusive peared to the missile ap- more be an upgraded moderate approachof a challenge “a snub and a extended -range , the North, to internatio to efforts nal version of the North’s South is stillwith which the tion�. for a peaceful resolusolid-fue submarine-launche technical l d missile. war since no peace ly at Abe The missile treaty meeting told reporters after was a ago flew was fired a week their signed at the end of curity of Japan’s National Seliquid-fuelled, 1950-19 53 and flew further.

Council South Korea’s conflict. to raise the that he wanted North Korea foreign issue of North ministry calls to rein has defied all “recklesssaid the tests were Korean missile launches at the Group and missile in its nuclear actions and irrespons of Seven leaders’ ible summit throwing from China,programs, even over the hopes cold water China in Italy this month. ally, saying its lone major had and desires commen t. no immedia te are needed the weapons for legitima self-def ense. te The reclusive state has been workin t

SPORTS Man Utd Wins Europa, Back in Champions League Manchester United beat Ajax 2-0 last night to win the Europa League and reach next season’s Champions League, thanks to goals from Paul Pogba and Henrikh Mkhitaryan.

Pogba scored with a deflected strike before Mkhitaryan’s close-range finish on an emotional night in Stockholm. Page 62

THURSDAYSP

Man Utd Wins Eu ORTS ropa, Back in Cham pions League T H I S D AY

CAF CONF E D E R AT

ION CU

P Atuloma Res Utd with Narcues Rivers row Win

Eagles Train ahe ad

Ëž THURSDAY MAY 25,

2017

Group Sports Editor Duro Ikhazuagbe Email duro.ik hazuagbe@t hisdaylive.co m

Manchester United beat 2-0 last night Ajax Europa League to win the next season’s and reach League, thanks Champions Paul Pogba to goals from Mkhitaryan. and Henrikh Pogba deflected scored with a Mkhitaryan’sstrike before close-range finish on an in Stockhol emotional night m.

There was recognition before the game of those killed in Monday ’s attack in Manches players woreter and United’s in respect. black armbands United is win all three the fifth side to club competitmajor European Prior to this ions.

Devils had wonvictory the Red Cup on three the European 1968, 1999 and occasions, in 2008, and the Cup Winners’ Cup in 1991.

Deprived scorer Zlatanof injured top Ibrahimovic, defenders Luke Shaw Marcos Rojo and Eric Bailly, and the suspended side had to Jose Mourinho’s dig deep in 64th and final their game of this season.

But their greater experience, coupled with counter-attackingan effective Manchest er United’s players game plan, told against and oďŹƒcials celebrating the side who, a youthful Ajax fielded the 2-0 defeat of with an average youngest starting age of 22 years XI in a major Ajax in Stockholm European final. champions and 282 days, , Sweden...last United Chelsea, Tottenham and night. now joins City Manchester Champions League group in next This also season’s stages, which will earn them their about ÂŁ50m represen in revenue. second trophy ts Mourinho’s of debut season

ap as United boss followin their victory g in the EFL Cup in February .

of Corsica Frie ndly

Duro Ikhazuag Rivers United be bounced back champions, against from last week’s a team that has only defeat to Atuloma, seeing them bounce Super Eagles had their secure a narrow back from a first matches lost once in the nine former won 2-0.

3-1 loss to Club training session in Ajaccio, against Morocco win yesterday Africain it has played Meanwhi France yesterday and Said FUS Rabat 1-0 earlier forming a squad since Confeder le, in a CAF Confeder the (Fourth Mohamed Kordi morning Rabat came in the month. ahead of ation of African in 1967. ation Cup Official).

The only Friday’s friendly match at the confident of into the game match against defeat the Football has appointed The match Corsica claiming Stadium in Yakubu Gowon win commissioner Port Harcourt. following their a second Senior Team the Corsica suffered Senior Team has Tunisian arbiter, Youssef is Andy Quamie from The result at the Stade defeat of Francois was a 0-1 reverse Essrayri as the KCCA to the Indomita Coty. referee for Liberia and Kotey Alexande that all four now ensured North on Match-day 1, but the Neequaye from teams in Group Players expected ble Lions next month’s 2019 Africans were r of A of the competiti Africa unable Ghana will get the better at the in Cameroon in a friendly Cup of Nations on tied qualifying be referee assessor.

Bastia on May of their hosts.to team’s Best Western three points The Hotel camp after Match-daon The 14, 1998. match between Eagles 2, with KCCA the Bafana y Confederateams will be in Ahmed last night include; The Lions were then preparing and Godswill encounter at the Bafana of South Akpabio Musa, Kelechi for the 1998 FIFA Club African having beaten on the tion Cup action again Africa in Uyo. Iheanacho, Stadium, Uyo International on Tuesday. first weekend finals in France. World Cup Mikel Agu Nigeria’s on Saturday, Essrayri, of June.

FUS 10th and The only the narrow United claimed for will host Africain in Rabat Abdullahi Shehu. an internatio40, who became on June will open the curtain time Corsic victory thank a regional d An intere ti the qu lif nal ref had l b i fi

THURSDAY, MAY 25, 2017Ëž T H I S D AY

12

NEWS

Ă?ĂĄĂ? ĂŽĂ“ĂžĂ™Ăœ Davidson Iriekpen Ă—Ă‹Ă“Ă– davidson.iriekpen@thisdaylive.com, 08111813081

Marginalisation: Igbo Refused to Invest in Buhari’s Campaign, Says Ngige Iyobosa Uwugiaren Ă“Ă˜ ĂŒĂ&#x;ÔË The Minister of Labour and Productivity, Chief Chris Ngige. has linked the perceived marginalisation of the Southeast geopolitical zone by the Muhammadu Buhari-led administration to the refusal by the zone to properly invest in the 2015 presidential election.

The minister, who spoke with THISDAY in an exclusive interview in Abuja, said all his efforts to persuade the Igbo to wisely invest in Buhari’s presidential bid in 2015 failed because of lack of co-operation by many South-east leaders, who threw their weigh behind former President Goodluck Jonathan.

Ngige’s statement, unsurprising reinforces the president’s statement at the outset of the administration that more focus would paid on geopolitical zones that supported him than those that did not. “This is not a question I should answer because I’m a politician. But before these things happened, before the government of Jonathan failed, I went to all the Igbo fora to tell them that the Jonathan government will fall. “I went to our Eze Ndi-Igbo in Enugu twice. They could not even reply to a letter written

by Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, seeking for a meeting with them,�

Ngige stated, while responding to a question on how he feels about the marginalisation of the South-east zone by the Buhari administration.

The minister, who accused some Igbo leaders of playing a cat-and-mouse game with Buhari during the electioneering period, said he went to Lagos and convened an Igbo stakeholders forum in William Nwodo’s house in Ikoyi, Lagos in 2014, where he analysed the voting pattern in Nigeria and told them that even if they did not want to support Buhari, they should give him 25 per cent of their votes.

The minister added: “They refused to listen to me, and to make matter worse, there was no voting in most of the areas in the South-east; they just allocated 5 per cent to APC. “It was that bad, it is too late to cry when the head is off. Politics is business in a way, you invest in business and you reap profit. “Yes, that is what it is. But all I want to tell you is that we played bad politics; we made a bad investment because they invested in the Jonathan presidency. They invested in Jonathan more than the South-south, where he hails from. “I am not saying that is enough to marginalise them or not allow them come in but we are there. I will continue to

speak for them and when there is anything to be distributed, we will make sure that the South-east gets its own portion. But they will not get excess portion.�

Drawing an analogy from a wise, successful farmer, Ngige, a former governor of Anambra State, said: “Even in a family where the head of the family goes to the farm to harvest his yams those who accompany the farmer to the farm get more share. “When they bring back the yams some of them will be damaged, and the pieces are put out in one section. Then the whole yams are put into the barn and some will be sent to the market for sale. And some will be sent to the family centrally for distribution among the family units.

“Those ones that are in pieces, the extras, will be shared among those that went to the farm. “We did not benefit from the extras with people who went to the farm. We didn’t go to the farm in the south-east.�

He noted, however that leaders in the zone are reassessing their political strategy so that in 2019, the zone does not repeat the same mistake.

Asked what the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) will be campaigning on as the country gradually slips into another election year, Ngige stated: “Oh my God, so you are in the group of those who are pessimistic, who have refused to see the wonders of this government? “Well, I’m from the South-east,

so when we get there we will show them that first and foremost we have fought corruption to a standstill and that people can no longer steal at will, much less keeping such monies at home. “The movement was from the bank to the house, but now that homes have been raided, maybe they will go to the farm to keep them. But people cannot steal money because there is no hiding place anymore. They cannot steal primitively like it was done before. The poor people of Nigerian are happy about this,� he said.

The APC chieftain said he has no regret for his role in helping to bring Buhari to power, saying if the opportunity presents itself again he will do exactly the same thing.

According to him, “If anything, I feel happy every day when I wake up, and as I pray to my God, I asked him to enable me to take important decisions with him guarding me. “If not for this government, the government of Muhammadu Buhari, government of change, Nigeria would have been worse than Venezuela. “The crisis you have in Venezuela today, the demonstrations in Venezuela, are as a result of the collapse of the whole economic firmament of that country. Venezuela, like Nigeria, did not plan for the rainy day.�

Ngige scored the Buhariled government high in the fight against corruption and terror.

Jonathan Calls for Implementation of National Conference Report Ernest Chinwo Ă“Ă˜ Ă™ĂœĂž Ă‹ĂœĂ?Ă™Ă&#x;ĂœĂž

Former President, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, has called for the implementation of the National Conference report, stating that it would help address the numerous development challenges facing the nation.

Speaking during the Rivers State Golden Jubilee Anniversary Lecture in Port Harcourt yesterday, Jonathan argued that the nation urgently needed reforms and that the implementation of the report of the National Conference organised by his administration would put the nation on the path of true development.

He also advocated that reforms should ensure that more resources get to the states rather than the interventionist agencies which he said were already affected by politics.

The former president said the states in the Niger Delta have achieved more in terms of development since they started accessing 13 per cent derivation than interventionist agencies have achieved. Jonathan said because of political influence on the interventionist agencies, the entire Niger Delta is replete with abandoned projects.

The former president also declared that the Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, is working hard to transform the state and lead it to greater heights. He said: “Having had the opportunity to serve at the

state level for eight years and at the centre for eight years, I can attest to the fact that Wike is working. “Every day I watch television, I see programmes going on.

Inauguration of projects are taking place. It takes somebody with commitment, somebody with foresight and a strong team to achieve all these.�

The former president stated that he is not surprised that Wike is living up to the expectations of the people because as a minister, Wike excelled.  “Let me specifically thank the Governor of Rivers State, somebody who worked with me, somebody I believe in.

That is why I conferred on him the prestigious title of Commander of the Order of the Niger (CON),� he said.

Also speaking, National Caretaker Committee Chairman of PDP, Senator Ahmed Makarfi, said only the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has the capacity to embark on the restructuring of the country. He said: “In PDP, we believe that our federation needs to be fixed. We will ensure reforms in a manner that every federating unit will know that they will not be abandoned. “ In his lecture titled: ‘Democracy and Development in Nigeria: The Case of Rivers State’, Prof Godini Darah advocated resource ownership for the Niger Delta.

WORKSHOP ON VIOLENT EXTREMISM

L-R: Former President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo; Member Club de Madrid, Ms. Lorona Pacheco; and Counselor European Union Delegation, Mr. Keurt Corneus, during at a two-day national workshop on preventing violent extremism in Abuja....yesterday.

Dangote Cement’s N144.8bn Dividend Delights Shareholders Jonathan Eze Shareholders of Dangote Cement yesterday were full of praises for the board, management and staff of the company after approving the dividend payout of N144.8 billion, which translated to N8.50 kobo per share as against N8 per share, that was paid in the corresponding period of 2015.

Speaking at the company’s annual general meeting (AGM), held in Lagos, the President of Amiable Shareholders Association of Nigeria, Festus Akano, said the shareholders were pleased with Aliko Dangote and his team.

He said for the company to still pay a robust dividend despite the recession in the economy, which also affected their operations, shows the doggedness and the fighting entrepreneurial spirit of the management.

According to him, “We are very happy and pleased with this result. 2016 was very tough with the recession and fluctuation in the foreign exchange market

which the Chairman also said affected their operations, but despite all these challenges, the company was still able to pay us a very good dividend, better than last year, and even gave us hope of better returns on our investments in the years to come. This is very commendable and it is only a company like Dangote Cement that can achieve this laudable feat.�

The Chairman of the company, Aliko Dangote, while presenting the reports to the shareholders said the company’s strategy in every country of operations is to be the leader on costs, quality and service.

He said the company build large, modern, highly efficient plants that combine the latest equipment from Europe, China and beyond to enable it make higher-quality cement at lower costs, thereby giving it strong competitive advantages.

According to him: “Looking back at the 2016 financial year, I am pleased to report that our cement sales volumes increased by 25.0 per cent to nearly 23.6Mt.

Of this, almost 14.8Mt was sold in the Nigerian market.

Revenues increased by 25.1 per cent to 615.1B, of which 68.3 per cent was generated in Nigeria (excluding eliminations) and 31.7 per cent from Pan-African operations.

Our earnings before interest, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) decreased only slightly, to257.2 billion, with Pan-African operations contributing 26.5 billion, excluding central costs.

Earnings per share increased by 4.5 per cent to 11.34.

As I have already stated, the board proposes a dividend of 8.5 per 50 kobo share, subject to your approval, to be paid on 26th May 2017 to shareholders�

Another shareholder, Akin Akinwumi, from the Progressive Shareholders Association urged the Management to give a bonus and a better dividend in this 2017.

He said the company should do all within its power to give bonus issue.

Akinwumi said: “We thank the management for giving us this dividend but we are appealing so strongly that bonus issue should also be considered. For some of us, we prefer a bonus to this dividend and we know it can be done.�

He expressed optimism on the pan African plants, especially now that the plants are contributing significantly to the turnover of the company. “It is a statement of fact that we are lucky to be shareholders of this great company. If you see what our subsidiaries across Africa is contributing to the turnover, then you will understand what I am talking about. I am very happy and our members are upbeat for the future, knowing fully well that it will only get better.�

Group Chief Executive Officer of the company, Onne van der Weijde, revealed that the expansion strategy of the company yielded fruits last year when Nigeria was in recession as the plants across Africa contributed significantly to the company’s turnover.

T H I S D AY THURSDAY MAY 25, 2017

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T H I S D AY THURSDAY MAY 25 , 2017

COMMENT

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

LOOKING UP TO AMBODE The Ajah-Badore road is still problematic, writes C. Don Adinuba

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here were unofficial reports that Governor Akinwunmi Ambode of Lagos State would inaugurate the Ajah flyover on May 29, so I wrote an article as a stakeholder bringing to his knowledge that traffic in the axis would improve for just a few months after opening the bridge unless a couple of things were done to address the root cause of the notorious traffic gridlock. Ambode surprised most people by inaugurating the flyover on May 17, probably because it was ready ahead of the originally scheduled date. Lagos State has a dynamic administration.

Ambode demonstrated a good grasp of the severe challenges in the area when he spoke. He promised to construct the Ire Nla-Abraham Adesanya Road. He promised to repair the 10-year-old Ajah-Badore Road which has failed in about five places, causing traffic gridlock. He even pledged to revive the construction of the Badore Jetty, a critical facility which I inadvertently forgot to mention in my article.

The governor would be surprised to learn that the inauguration of the Ajah Bridge did not ease traffic for months. Not even for a day! Traffic is now worse. There cannot be a greater paradox. It is more difficult to come into Badore these days because of two different but related factors.

The first is that while vehicles join the Badore Road from five lanes on the Epe-Lekki Expressway, Badore Road has only two lanes. Worse, only one out of the two Badore lanes is used at the entrance because commercial motorcyclists, popularly known as okada, have taken over one lane. In other words, only one lane is effectively in use for motorists driving into the Badore end. Even so, the lone lane is frequently blocked by countless commercial bus drivers going into, and driving out of, a park and a market right at the beginning of the Badore Road. The Lagos State Government should be able to address these man-made problems easily.

It is wonderful that Ambode has promised to repair parts of the Ajah-Badore Road. Time is of the essence. The rains are here. And each time it rains, craters on this critical road grow bigger. The result is worsening traffic congestion. Yet, all the craters can be fixed by the Lagos State Public Works Department (PWD) within two days, though the department gave an awful account of its competence last year when it attempted to fix the craters but fled within hours. Therefore, the repairs should be carried out by PW which constructed the road and did a good job. What is more, PW is coming back to the area to complete the Badore jetty. Since the Ajah-Badore Road is the only road in these parts connecting Badore, Langbasa and Ajah to the rest of the state, this critical road should be handled by a reputable company. Anyone who visits Epe now must be impressed that our governor is a man of quality and taste.

There are some critical infrastructural facilities which Ambode did not talk about during his visit. Well, I was not at the Ajah Bridge inauguration ceremony, so I am not really sure that he did not. One of the facilities one has in mind is the road leading to the Tarzan Jetty in Badore. Known as the Catholic Mission Road, it measures less than

THE GOVERNOR WOULD BE SURPRISED TO LEARN THAT THE INAUGURATION OF THE AJAH BRIDGE DID NOT EASE TRAFFIC FOR MONTHS. NOT EVEN FOR A DAY! TRAFFIC IS NOW WORSE

two kilometres. It was constructed by Bola Tinubu for the fishermen settlement by the Tarzan jetty. But the road is used by thousands of people daily who take the jetty to go to Ijede, Ikorodu and the Egbin Power Plant, among other places. Not only is the road riddled with potholes and craters, half of it has been taken over by mechanics and panel beaters who abandon rickety vehicles there. All this makes the road unsightly.

There is a critical road in Badore which I failed for some strange reason to call the governor’s attention to in my article before his visit. It is called Taiwo Kolawole Avenue. It measures less than two kilometres and has never been constructed. Yet, its development is critical. The Ministry of Works recommended its construction about nine years ago and surveyed it together with PW which tendered for the job after designing it. Anytime a truck breaks down on the narrow Cooperative Villas Road which links three big estates, no vehicle can go in or come out. Cooperative Villas, one of the best planned housing estates in Nigeria, is almost as big as a town. The development of Taiwo Kolawole Avenue, which stretches from First Unity Estate to Badore Village, will provide an alternative route for residents of this area.

It is apposite to remind Governor Ambode of the acute environmental degradation taking place on the Ajah-Badore Road.

It is thoroughly embarrassing how shacks and shanties have been allowed to spring up and grow at an unbelievable rate here. The illegal structures have turned the area, supposedly meant for middle class and high-end people, into an eyesore. It is doubtful there is any part of Lagos metropolis where such illegal and environmentally degrading structures are allowed. The laxity likely owes to the geography of this area: it is out of sight. But this is a naturally beautiful place. It is a perfect example of what the people and government of Lagos State would call a place of aquatic splendor. Ambode has to ask the Ministry of the Environment and its agencies to rise to their responsibility. The same directive should be given to the Ministry of Social Welfare which has allowed the Ajah Market end of the Ajah Badore Road to be colonised by beggars with physical infirmities.

Finally, sand dredging in Ajah has become a nightmare. Over 250 big tippers lift sand about three times daily from there. The road has worn off in some places on account of the activity of these tippers.

And large quantities of sand drop from the vehicles as they move.

In some places, the dual lane has been reduced to one by sand from the tippers. The sand is hardly swept. There are a number of people who innocently think sections of the Ajah-Badore Road have gone bad because they are undulated. Nothing is wrong with these sections; they are only covered by sand.

Gov Ambode did not disappoint Lagosians living and working in the Ajah area of Lagos when he visited on May 17 to inaugurate the Ajah Bridge. What awaits him is not much. He has done bigger things with admirable ease. He has his job in the Ajah area cut out for him.

But time is of the essence.

Adinuba is head of Discovery Public Affairs Consulting

UNITED STATES AND ERDOGAN’S ATTACK ON PROTESTERS Ofem Uket writes that the attack by Erdogan’s aides on Turks’ protesters in Washington is a clear case of maximum rule

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espots around the world are not restrained by geography and environment, their actions and orders are not peculiar to home country, but anywhere they go, they carry along the powers of the presidency and the dictatorial force, its usage and application with no respect for the rule of law in the state.

The attack by President Erdogan’s aides on Turks protesters in Washington is a clear case of maximum rule, whose focus is empirically to protect self, the state resources and institutions loyal to him.

An emperor sits in the throne room to make declarations and pronouncements and matching orders are issued even if such decrees are capable of taking lives and property, the guards at the palace or in Dun sine are not hesitant in ensuring compliance no matter who is involved.

Erdogan could not have remembered he was in Washington, the U.S capital not Ankara or Istanbul, where the citizens are familiar with all forms of human rights violation ranging from beating to killing of innocent people in the streets; it is a character of a despot any where he is.

Washington did not understand the language of a despot, so it mistook President’s Erdogan normal behaviour for misconduct, and Erdogan was taken aback by the concerns raised by the U.S parliament and the executive arm of governments because

for him there was no cause for alarm.

The controversial Turkish president met President Donald Trump at the White House to hold talks aimed at improving strained ties, which Turkey has at many occasions accused U.S of undermining.

After Erdogan left the White House where issues of the fight against terrorism and possible ways of alliance in trade and diplomacy were discussed, tensions over the Kurdish issue spilled onto the streets of Washington.

Erdogan stopped by the ambassador’s residence in the upscale Sheridan Circle neighbourhood, where protests prompted

by Turkish people in the U.S averse to the tyrannical rule of Erdogan was in top form.

One of leaders at the protest ground, Flint Arthur, from Turkey said they were demonstrating against despotic rule. ‘We are protesting (Erdogan’s) policies in Turkey, in Syria and in Iraq,’ he said, before turning the comments towards the tactics adopted by those supporting the president.

‘They think they can engage in the same sort of suppression of protest and free speech that they engage in Turkey, this is U.S where rights, liberties and freedom are guaranteed under the law. But Erdogan’s guards have applied their usual brutality on us not knowing that it’s a violation of human rights here in Washington’.

‘They stopped us for a few minutes ... but we still stayed and continued to protest

Erdogan’s tyrannical regime. Our reasons are open to public; Erdogan has continued to rule under emergency and decrees, he has coerced the parliament to elongate his tenure in office till 2029, he has arrogated to himself sweeping powers to clamp down on opposition, it is unacceptable to our citizens’.

U.S State Department summoned Turkey’s ambassador after bodyguards and supporters of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan beat protesters outside the Turkish embassy earlier against peaceful protest.

A State Department official said Ambassador Serdar Kilic of Turkey met Wednesday with Under Secretary of State Thomas Shannon a day after the embassy violence to pass a word of caution and convey to the Turkish ambassador the concerns of the U.S government on the sad development.

“Violence is never an appropriate response to free speech, and we support the rights of people everywhere to free expression and peaceful protest,” State Department spokesman Heather Nauert said. “We are communicating our concern to the Turkish government in the strongest possible terms.”

Republican Senator John McCain, head of the Senate Armed Services Committee, wants even tougher action. He said it was not enough to give caution and express worry and therefore continue to allow head of Turkish envoy in Washington.

“We should throw their ambassador the hell out of the United States of America,”

McCain said. “This is not our laws, citizens are free to express themselves, have freedom of assembly and association. Turkey will not be allowed to introduce this kind of regime in the U.S”.

Other U.S. officials also criticised the Erdogan supporters as the aggressors against peaceful protesters, saying their actions outside the Turkish ambassador’s residence violated American protections on free speech.

They cited various sections of the U.S laws that guarantees liberty to citizens at all times especially when it concerns the expression of citizens against rights violation by unpopular government.

One of the protesters said ‘someone was beating me in the head nonstop, and I thought, “Okay, I’m on the ground already, what is the purpose to beat me?” reminding us of the popular saying ‘He that is down need fear no fall’.

The visit of President Erdogan to the U.S ought to bring back Turkey’s international relations and foster unity and as well promote trade in the Middle East and European countries But as the saying goes, you can only take a camel to the river bank, but you cannot force it to drink of the water. The narration is simply that it is difficult if not impossible to transform or change a despot.

‘We’ve had a great relationship and we will make it even better,’ Trump said in their joint appearance.

Erdogan said his visit would ‘mark a historical turn of tide’ and hailed ‘outstanding relations’ between the nations.

Uket wrote from Abuja

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EDITORIAL GUARDING AGAINST EBOLA OUTBREAK Nigerians should continue to be vigilant

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he World Health Organisation (WHO) last week alerted the world to another outbreak of Ebola disease in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). At the last count, no fewer than three persons were reported dead from the viral disease while more than 200 people were placed under surveillance in the central African nation. It is a wake-up call for Nigeria.

We must recall that the outbreak of the disease in 2014 spread panic in the West African sub-region and led to the deaths of some 11,300 people mostly in Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea. In Nigeria, Ebola also claimed eight lives, including Dr. Ameyo Adadevoh of the First Consultant Hospital, Lagos. The index case in Nigeria in 2015 came via a Liberian diplomat who ew into the country with the virus.

In preparation against the spread of the disease to Nigeria this time, the federal government has constituted an “Ebola Preparatory Working Group� with the mandate to review all protocols and lessons from our response during the WE URGE NIGERIANS TO last Ebola outbreak in CONTINUE TO OBSERVE the country. The group GOOD HYGIENIC was also expected to BEHAVIOUR THAT prepare the foundation INCLUDES REGULAR HAND that the country would WASHING AND GENERAL build on handling the disease in the event of ENVIRONMENTAL another outbreak. “The CLEANLINESS team is working to compile a list of trained Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) case managers and get in immediate contact with them. We are identifying isolation wards that can be used immediately especially in Abuja and Lagos,� said Professor Isaac Adewole, the Health Minister.

According to Adewole, since the Ebola disease is not indigenous to Nigeria, it could only be imported into the country through the borders: land, sea and airports. And more, since there are no direct ights to Nigeria from the DRC, it is important that all passengers coming through our borders be thoroughly screened. The Nigerian

Letters to the Editor

Medical Association (NMA) has also urged the federal government to strengthen its response team and increase surveillance on the nation’s borders.

Ebola is a deadly viral disease which kills victims within a week of infection, leaving little or no time for treatment. It has no known vaccine or cure and it has most of the symptoms of malaria: fever, sore throat, headache, vomiting, etc. The virus spreads by contact with infected blood and bodily uids and it takes between two days to three weeks before the complete symptoms manifest.

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

INTERNAL CONTRADICTIONS OF STATES

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state is a politically organised body of people inhabiting a defined geographical entity with an organised legitimate government. Nigeria as a state attained this status in 1914 upon the amalgamation of the Southern and Northern Protectorates to be known and called Nigeria.

A state exists where a territory, a people, a government and sovereignty exists. It may lack the feeling of nationality or oneness among the people and yet remain a state. This speaks volume about the more than a century sojourn of Nigeria as a state until today. The Nigerian state with its coercive power, has over time been able to silent and subjugate all dissenting voices, rebellions, insurgencies, militancy and revolutions. Even the protracted and sustained religious extremism manifesting in Boko Haram’s terrorism is met with the superior coercive power of the Nigerian state. The later dimension clearly and vigorously aimed at altering the territorial entity called Nigeria by capturing the North-eastern part of it and declare a caliphate. This is not just an emulation paradox that may fizzle out with time, but a global phenomenon of reinventing old identities. In all of these, the nations submerged in the state are struggling to exhume buried cultural and religious identities. The magnetic pull by common identities shared before the colonial powers foisted on diverse ethnic nationalities a nation state.

any Nigerians and indeed the international community commended the Nigerian government and the health authorities for the swift response in dealing with the disease which spread to Nigeria in 2015. The appropriateness of the response at the time saved the lives of many Nigerians. But same cannot be said of the recent outbreak of meningitis where the health authorities were evidently caught unawares. As we write, the epidemic is still raging with more than 1000 dead.

Notwithstanding the preparations of the authorities to contain Ebola in case of another outbreak, we urge Nigerians to continue to observe good hygienic behaviour that includes regular hand washing and general environmental cleanliness. The sanitisers that disappeared from the banks’ entrances, schools, ofďŹ ces; the thermometers that have been withdrawn from the local and international and local airports as well as other border entries should be restored as a means of constantly monitoring people until it’s conďŹ rmed that the virus is exterminated.

Fortunately, there are efforts towards such a goal.

The WHO announced sometime ago that one of the candidate vaccines developed in a research project by a pharmaceutical company has been found to offer 100 per cent protection against Ebola in humans. Great news, but the WHO said more conclusive evidence was needed to prove the vaccine’s capacity to protect populations through what is called “herd immunity�.

Until such conclusive evidence materialises, the best defence against the scourge is eternal vigilance.

In response to these myriad of social problems, I refer to some theoretical perspectives for workable solutions. The three major perspectives look at the same social problems, but they do so in different ways. I, for one as advocate of alternative political and economic system subscribe to conflict theory. It states that society is characterised by pervasive inequality based on social class, race, gender, religion and other factors. It also proffers that far reaching social change is needed to reduce or eliminate social inequality and to create an egalitarian society.

This conflict theory submission and postulation takes us back to the socio-political and economic formation of Nigeria as a state. As a product of capitalist Europe through colonisation, the dominant idea of the state and the ruling class is capitalism. As long as bourgeois values expressed through democracy prevail, no social changes can be feasible.

A far reaching social change as prescribed by conflict theorists seems the ultimate solution. The discordant colophony of nationalism will ebb only when the basis of the existing state is altered to be replaced with an alternative through the collective struggle of the people of these diverse nationalities.

A nation is a body of people who feel naturally linked together, share common ties and believe that they can live happily together.

Comrade Agbu A. Ameh, Akatekwe Kingdom

CURRENT KNOWLEDGE WILL BE A LIE

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nowledge is an easily acquired unreliable asset!

The continuous reliance on whatever portrays an individual as “knowledgeable� can likewise, portray the same individual as clueless and outdated in the long run.

Every knowledge is vulnerable to inferiority when a superior knowledge is diligently dug out of its mystery. In other words, whatever we currently know and believe to be true is subject to change when a higher knowledge shows up!

As the world continues to transform in style, most of its components seem to tag along in a new underwear! Doctrines change, laws are modified, and ideologies evolve as a result of improved understanding to suit modern realities. Conservatives and religious extremists as expected, get to lose their temper as well!

The enticing upgrade in technology we drool over today was initially taunted to be unintelligible, sheer wishful thinking and even acts of witchcraft in some religious quarters. Not because the

working knowledge of science wasn’t staring us in the face the whole time. It was rather, our naïve understanding of scientific manipulation.

The ‘sacrilege’ of breaking loose from the stiff grip of religion can place you at the receiving end of a judgmental stare down from a devout believer of a certain faith, who doesn’t consider you as being fully logged into his or her strong beliefs.

The practice of religion can be likened to alcohol and its varying mental effects on consumers. While it messes up the mind of a light head after a few gulps, you have no idea the ‘slice of heaven’ it gives to a pro! Religion is what you think of it, depending on your continuous depth of knowledge.

So, if you somewhat feel a disagreeing tingly sensation which seems to riot against some doctrinal beliefs you were indoctrinated into and devoutly perceived as “truth� all along, you may have begun your rites of passage into a “higher� knowledge!

Nimi Princewill, princewill.nimi@ yahoo.com

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T H I S D AY THURSDAY MAY 25, 2017

T H I S D AY THURSDAY MAY 25, 2017

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T H I S D AY ˾ THURSDAY, MAY 25, 2017

POLITICS

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

PERSONALITY INTERVIEW

Ikpeazu: FG Should Stop Serving Imported Foods at FEC Meeting Abia State governor, Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu has established himself as the chief promoter of made in Aba products. He recently spoke with Politics Editors on how Nigeria can take advantage of the economic recession, mobilise the people for development, and ensure that no zone is marginalised. Segun James was there and presents the excerpts:

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re you working with Southeast governors to deal with perceived marginalisation of the zone?

For me as a person, the leadership of the Ebonyi State Governor, Dave Umahi, as chairman of Southeast Governors Forum is a focused leadership. He is handling genuine issues around the marginalization of our people very well but quietly.

I personally have a strategy to battle the issues of marginalization by making myself indispensable. It is this attitude that we are trying to also transfer to our people. Work very hard, acquire as much good education as possible and innovate extensively to stay on top and make yourself indispensable to wherever you find yourself.

Why are you so passionate about Aba? For us here in Abia, Aba brings memories that touch very soft nerves. From post war, there were issues that immediately after the war; it was difficult to rebuild all kinds of infrastructure and Aba incidentally was one of the few cities that accommodated everybody.

Many of us have fond memories of Aba and that includes folks from outside Igbo land.

Recently I listened to a radio program where a Yoruba man was making very strong case for Aba. He lived and grew up here just like my childhood friend Musa who was born and raised at Hospital Road Aba. Musa does not know any other town than Aba and same applies to his children who are also here with us as Bona Fide Aba people.

Aba is everybody’s city because everything that happens in Aba affects people, not just from the southeast, but across Nigeria.

My electioneering campaign focused on what can be done to rebuild Aba as an enabler for rebuilding Abia and entire Igbo land. Aba, in terms of geography, is strategically located at the confluence of South East and South South Nigeria, as it shares borders with Imo, Akwa Ibom, Rivers, and others. Therefore, whatever affects them, also affects Aba. The flux between the cities and the commercial activity, the energy and power that Aba exudes have become a strong anchor or nectar for all kinds of development including commerce and industry.

Aba has at least 15 markets, which are sectionalized according to the needed items.

If you want to drive development quickly, you can’t take away Aba, especially in Small and Medium Scale Enterprises.

Aba captured 3 of the 5 pillars of development of this administration, hence, the impossibility to ignore Aba. The popular saying that if you get Aba right, you get Abia right is apt.

Moreso, and actually the least important, is that I come from that environment, and I know the huge and enormous potentials it brings to bear on the development of not just Abia but of Nigeria.

If we are thinking of getting out of recession, Aba must be the focus of Nigeria.

What is your major challenge as the Governor of Abia state in the last two years?

Lack of belief. Paucity of what I call a prepared human capacity, brought up and fully enabled for development. By that I mean those ready to catch the vision and run with it. It was a problem getting people to understand that the only way to get a solution to our problems and challenges is to do things differently.

Distractions from those who don’t understand or have proper diagnosis of the people and their

kpeazu

real challenges were also challenging. Those folks misinform our people, manipulate and

In the first instance, there should not be any ‘federal roads’, because there are no federal citizens. Let the funds for fixing of so called federal roads be given to state governments with monitoring by the relevant federal agency or ministry.

Most of what the federal government is doing should be done by the state governments while the federal government concentrate on generating and monitoring guiding policies

make our people gullible and they sometimes fall easy prey to their antics. Even without evidence of previous capacity to properly diagnose our challenges and proffer right solutions.

I look forward to a day when everyone in our state is motivated towards a common agenda, a common good, and a common enterprise because I see government as an enterprise.

My government is not tailored to a particular agenda but holds a global vision and appeal for the survival and prosperity of our people.

Given the state that the PDP is in now, what is the way forward for you and others in party?

The way forward is to try as much as possible to make your house good. If you have a dirty head, you don’t cut it off, you wash it.

Is Alimodu Sheriff your leader?

The court’s pronouncement is what matters as regards Sheriff but I am waiting for the Supreme Court to speak.

How do you manage the conflicts arising from labelling some rods within states as federal roads? Some of these roads are in Abia, what are you doing about them?

We are doing all but one of the federal roads leading into Aba. We are doing Aba-Owerri Road, we have mobilized Setraco to fix Port Harcourt Road, and the other one is Aba- Ikot Ekpene Road which the federal government is to handle. We might have issues with the quality of the contractor handling it and the pace of work but we will give them the benefit of doubt.

But even if the federal government does not reconstruct Ikot-Ekpene Road in a timely and qualitative manner, we are already constructing two alternative routes to Akwa Ibom from

Aba. Just seven kilometres to Akwa Ibom because we know the area very well and our new roads are through virgin forests.

Port Harcourt Road is going to be done using concrete pavement. I don’t want people to forget that we pioneered rigid pavement technology. As far as I know, Abia is also the only state with 3 Grade A contractors working on her roads concurrently: Arab contractors, Setraco and the Chinese company handling the Osisioma flyover or interchange.

You must have been distracted by courts cases. How did you manage to balance governance with this distraction?

I am somebody who does not want to wallow in self pity and I rather want to be judged as if nothing happened. If the devil wanted to distract me in any way, he failed woefully.

I don’t want the devil to get any glory. It is only to the glory of God. Besides, through it all I didn’t lose the faith of my people.

Abians have faith in what we are doing and so I have every cause to glorify God. How are you coping with recession?

Our response to recession is very simple; promote Made in Aba, local skills and agriculture. One of my greatest achievements is the promotion of Made in Aba across the globe.As we speak, the Made in Aba logo has been officially launched. Governments pay to be on CNN, but our case is different because an international organization that saw what we are doing, saw the need to promote it using CNN and others. This means that our artisans and their creativity are being promoted free of charge.

People argue about political correctness, instead of economic advantage. We are more focused on doing things that give economic advantage to our people as against being politically correct.

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T H I S D AY ˾ THURSDAY, MAY 25, 2017

POLITICS

It appears you are the only governor in the Southeast who is in good terms with his predecessor. How are you managing the relationship?

My predecessor respects me and I also respect him. He doesn’t struggle for space with me.

He knows there can only be one governor at a time. Because of this, I respect him, one as an elder, two as a senator, and three as a former governor. It is a relationship that is based on mutual respect and understanding.

Very soon, you will be talking about second term. If you get a second term what should we expect?

Even in the midst of the supposed distraction, couldn’t I have found an easy alibi not to perform if I had wanted? Yet our people can judge us and see that we never stopped working and never gave them excuses because we were at all times focused on the things that are important to our people.

I will continue to do my best because there is need to serve my people with commitment.

Things got to a point in the legal battles that I had to pray and ask God to genuinely search the minds of everyone contesting for the Abia governor’s seat with me and let whoever loves Abia more than me win. God prevailed and used the Supreme Court to reaffirm us.

Igbo youths are disenchanted with the present administration in Nigeria. What message of hope are you bringing to them?

Some Fulani herdsmen still operate along the highways in your state, like your Ekiti counterpart, shouldn’t you have enacted a law to deal with it? How have you been able to integrate non indigenes in Abia as we have noticed that Abia has the least record of conflict with Fulani herdsmen?

First, I recognize that there are more Abians in the North, than Ekiti. Whatever action I take must take cognisance of that fact. Abians also add value to wherever they are by employing youths from that place, building structures and generally living peacefully with others.

I make bold to state that 60 per cent of Nigerian youths working directly and indirectly through the private sector in Nigeria are employed through the efforts and contributions of our people. It is therefore natural for me to consider all angles in taking decisions. What if there is a reprisal for whatever action we take here, how will that affect our people living outside our state?

We believe in ensuring the safety of our visitors against all odds. So what we did was to create conflict resolution committees at the local government level, after a critical study of the areas the herders live and visit.

We have 2-3 layers of conflict resolution.

But the major problem with the conflicts is the inability or lack of understanding of local sentiments and the idiosyncrasies of the Hausa/Fulani man, which I understand because I lived in the north for seven years.

Our conflict resolution approach is tailored to use this knowledge and solve real and potential conflicts.

On youth agitation, it is very unfortunate that a part of the nation feels the need to agitate for fairness and equity within the federation. Social mobilisation is very important and even more important than infrastructure.

We have not mobilized Nigerians from the centre socially and that is where our leaders have failed.

Every leader should be a vendor of hope.

My strategy in Abia is to focus the minds of our youths on hard work and creativity.

We are sending 100 people to China for one year to learn how to make shoes. Not because we are not good, but we need to add some icing on our cake. We are using the China Model of technology transfer and standardisation of export products.

Criminality in Nigeria is occasioned by too much energy and creativity in the youths not finding positive outlets. Let us get it right at the centre through fairness and equity as well as providing positive outlets for the massive energy of our youths.

What is your take on the recently signed executive orders by the Presidency?

I commend the Presidency for that. It is very encouraging to our efforts.

It is what we have been expecting them to do. But whatever they say or do, it is not complete, until it affects rice, baked beans, salad cream and other imported products that

Ibori...Delta lawmakers rejected his intervention

we are consuming daily in Nigeria.

I am looking forward to a time when they will stop serving imported rice, baked beans etc at the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meetings and other events around the villa.

Since I became governor I have been eating local rice and wearing made in Aba clothes to support our people.

Recession is a huge opportunity and we are yet to fully tap the opportunities presented to us by this recession. For instance, without recession we won’t be working so hard on Made in Aba, increased agricultural production with over 40,000 palm seedlings and a mushroom industry that can guarantee a minimum of N70,000 daily to an Abia youth

In the past years, we saw how well Abia performed in WAEC especially those in the public schools. What are you doing in the area of education to ensure that Abia remains in the forefront? On attracting investors, what kind of incentives are you giving?

Our strategy to develop education is through taking cognizance of our foundational issues.

The problem of education, not only in Abia but Nigeria, is the quality and morale of our primary school teachers. Early child education is as important as tertiary education, if not more important.

We are partnering with Australian school teachers to go to our schools and help in developing our learning environment, information communication technology, classroom management, first aid and how to manage children. They will train our teachers who in turn will become trainers for others.

We want to ensure that at primary 3, a pupil is able to confidently operate the computer efficiently.

We would model primary schools to achieve this, as well as embark on advanced teachers training which Is critical to educational capacity building.

In the next 12 months, there is going to be a revolution in Abia education sector. Our idea of model schools will spring up across the geopolitical zones of the state and the Australians will return to continue the work they are partnering with us to do.

On incentives for investors, the Abia Investment House, which is private sector driven, is for ease of doing business in Abia. It will help investors get all they need to operate in Abia in at most two weeks.

I have the bulk C of O of 9,000 hectares of land, which any interested investor can get in 2 hours, if he’s interested in as much plots of land as possible. We are ready to give the lands to those who show seriousness in investing in Abia.

Abia was notorious for kidnapping though it has been controlled recently, but somehow

pockets of criminality are taking place again. What are you doing to sustain a safe environment where business can thrive?

We are partnering with security agencies to address criminality. By gainfully engaging our youths, we are reducing the potential of people turning to crimes.

Is the present unitary political system in Nigeria sustainable?

No. In the first instance, there should not be any “federal roads”, because there are no federal citizens. Let the funds for fixing of so called federal roads be given to state governments with monitoring by the relevant federal agency or ministry.

Most of what the federal government is doing should be done by the state governments while the federal government concentrate on generating and monitoring guiding policies.

What do you think about the clamour for restructuring of Nigeria?

I would say that question has largely been captured in my interaction with you here and whatever I said is my opinion.

But I believe we should start spending time on the way forward in Nigeria, instead of federal government spending too much time on money appropriation.

Recession is a huge opportunity and we are yet to fully tap the opportunities presented to us by this recession. For instance, without recession we won’t be working so hard on Made in Aba, increased agricultural production with over 40,000 palm seedlings and a mushroom industry that can guarantee a minimum of N70,000 daily to an Abia youth.

Nigeria needs to tap into the prevailing recession instead of focusing on huge appropriations and issues around sharing of money.

If the federal government is serious with tapping into the opportunities presented by this recession they should look towards Aba and focus on using Aba as the model to bring out the best in Nigerians.

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THURSDAY, MAY 25, 2017 ˾ T H I S D AY

FEATURES

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

The Perfect Model

The success of the Shonga project, initiated by the current President of the Senate, Bukola Saraki, during his time as governor of Kwara State, offers the country a novel approach for gaining ground in food security, Solomon Elusoji writes

R-L: Ahmed, Emefiele, Abdullahi, Saraki, and others, watching something of interest during an inspection visit to the poultry arm of the Shonga Farms...recently

I

n the year 2000, Robert Mugabe stunned the world when he initiated a series of legislation to make dramatic changes to land ownership laws in Zimbabwe. These changes had one major goal: to kick out thousands of white Zimbabwean farmers from the country. His argument was simple: the farmers, who owned 70 per cent of the most arable land in the country, had inherited their property from a colonial past built on racial hierarchy. By September 2005, armed youth militias were chasing some of Zimbabwe’s last remaining white farmers from their land. Coffee Farmer David Wilding-Davis and his South-African farm manager, Allan Warner, were attacked by youths wielding iron bars and automatic weapons.

“If white settlers just took the land from us without paying for it,” Mugabe had said, “we can, in a similar way, just take it from them without paying for it.”

But Mugabe’s plan was only good politics.

It was terrible economics. According to the Washington Post, “driving around Zimbabwe today, it’s hard to miss the acres of farmland lying fallow.” The reason for this is not far-fetched, the blacks who got the lands grabbed from the whites did not have a fraction of farming knowledge the latter possessed. This year, Zimbabwe’s growth rate is predicted to be 1.5 per cent, according to the government, lower than that of any of its neighbours. Between 2000 and 2009, agricultural revenue declined by $12 billion, according to the commercial farmers’ union.

The nation, once called “the breadbasket of

Africa,” now relies on international aid to

While Mugabe was dragging his people into the ditch, the then Executive Governor of Kwara State, who is today the Nigerian Senate President, Bukola Saraki, decided to take advantage of the Zimbabweans’ fatal mistake. The government cleared large hectares of land at Edu Local Government, opened up roads leading to the community, and built an independent power station, which also supplied about 37 villages around the fallow farmland. Then Saraki invited 13 of the rejected farmers to come to Kwara and start farming

feed 25 per cent of its population, according to the World Food Programme.

However, while Mugabe was dragging his people into the ditch, the then Executive Governor of Kwara State, who is today the Nigerian Senate President, Bukola Saraki, decided to take advantage of the Zimbabweans’ fatal mistake. The government cleared large hectares of land at Edu Local Government, opened up roads leading to the community, and built an independent power station, which also supplied about 37 villages around the fallow farmland. Then Saraki invited 13 of the rejected farmers to come to Kwara and start farming. They were each given 1,000 hectares of land under a 25-year renewable lease for commercial farming purpose.

At first, there were some kickbacks from the natives of the community who thought that the government had come to take away their land and hand it out to foreigners.

But, knowing the power of knowledge and how it can transform civilisations, the Kwara State Government stood its ground, patiently assuring its people that this was all for good. Over a decade after Shonga was established, its successes have put paid to the protests of those who doubted its potentials.

Today, the farm supplies cassava to the Nigerian Starch Mills Limited, which is the biggest of its kind in West Africa. It supplies fresh milk to WAMCO to produce Peak and Three Crowns milk. It equally supplies fresh milk to Nutricima. Its dairy farm has the capacity to process up to 50,000 litres of milk per day.

The farm has a cheese exporting plant in the diary section and is set to saturate the entire West African region with the product. They also export cassava chips and are probably the only company to have done five shipments of chips to countries like Israel, Australia and Hong Kong.

The farm has also led directly to the employment of thousands, and has indirectly attracted investors like WAMCO and Olam into Kwara S tate, creating multiple opportunities for its residents. The farm presently employs between 4,500 and 6,000 workers for both off and peak periods but with the on-going expansion, the poultry section alone has 2,000 workers at off and peak periods, which is expected to increase to about 10,000 workers when the expansion is completed.

This year, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) paid a visit to Edu Local Government and were so impressed with the success of the Shonga project that they decided to inject a loan facility worth N2 billion into the poultry section. The facility will be provided at interest rates as low as nine per cent.

In a chat with newsmen after the tour, the CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, noted that the N2 billion loan facility was to support the investor’s expansion plans. He also described his visit as an eye opener, noting that there are several opportunities to tap from Shonga Farms and the poultry value chain as a whole in order to improve the country's economy. He added that Shonga Farms was a practical example of how governments can collaborate with the

21

Ëž T H I S D AY THURSDAYËœ Í°ÍłËœ Í°ÍŽÍŻÍľ

FEATURES private sector to deliver real dividends of democracy such as jobs and agro-allied prosperity.

A smart structure The magic wand that has elevated Shonga Farms into the stratosphere appears to be the structure of its management, which is based on a private-public model. Although the Kwara State Government initiated the project, a limited liability company, Shonga Farms Holding Limited (SFH) was incorporated to drive its economic and financial success.

Under this arrangement, financial institutions were invited to invest in the company and Guarantee Trust Bank, Trust Bank, Intercontinental Bank, Unity Bank, Fin Bank and Bank PHB were the initial investors. The banks took 75 per cent equity, with the state government having 25 per cent. The SFH however, owns 60% equity in each of the 13 Shonga farms, leaving the farmers with 40 per cent.

Since the banks were involved, there was no room for sloppy management and the Farms were managed in such a way that they were guaranteed to make profit. “Banks always want to see how their money flows,� the General Manager of the Farm, Mr. Bayo Sangobiyi, said. “That is what changed our approach to business.�

The leader of the expatriate farmers, Allen Jack, has also attributed the success of the Farms to how they have been structured, which has left little room for needless bureaucracy or politics. “We have completely avoided the issue of politics,� he said. “The SFH surpasses politics; we are dealt with purely on professional grounds.�

A win for poultry It is little wonder that the CBN decided to provide loan facilities to the Farm’s poultry section. Although every Shonga farm is involved in cropping, its use of backward integration has accelerated the growth of its poultry section and opened up new frontiers. The farmers plant maize, soya beans, millet, etc, and they process them into feeds for the chickens.

As at 2013, one of the national dailies reported that the poultry section of the farm was devoid of any offensive odour, the drainage system was such that no bird faeces were retained, and well planned spaces between birds afforded the avian animals comfort and free ventilation. The poultry also had a total capacity to raise 160,000 birds on weekly basis and was fitted automated modern abattoir to dress 5,000 birds daily.

There is also a research and development section which focuses on the area of breed-

The CBN Governor, Godwin EmeďŹ ele, noted that the N2 billion loan facility was to support the investor’s expansion plans.

He also described his visit as an eye opener, noting that there are several opportunities to tap from Shonga Farms and the poultry value chain as a whole in order to improve the country's economy. He added that Shonga Farms was a practical example of how governments can collaborate with the private sector to deliver real dividends of democracy such as jobs and agro-allied prosperity

R-L: EmeďŹ ele, Saraki, Ahmed and Chairman, Senate Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development, Senator Adamu Abdullahi, during an inspection visit to the poultry arm of the Shonga Farms in Edu LGA, Kwara State‌recently

Saraki (left) inspecting a poultry product. While Ahmed (1st right) and one of the Zimbabwean farmers watch

The poultry arm of the Shonga Farms

ing and genetics, seeking to uncover best practices and provide innovative solutions to the problem of increasing yield, combating diseases and ensuring seamless efficiency.

Currently, the farm’s chicken processing plant, at full capacity, produces 10,000 chickens per day. Soon, it is expected to multiply that number to 25,000 per day, making it the largest in the country. It is the major supplier of chicken to most restaurants in the country, including Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC). “We had meetings with people that were supplying the big eateries and hotels to give us their consumption schedule per month,� Sangobiyi said. “We signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU).

Go to Shoprite or any eatery in Ilorin. If you eat chicken in any eatery, you have

eaten Shonga chicken.�

Learning from the Zims The initial distrust of the farmers from Zimbabwe may have been put to rest by Shonga’s success. But the Kwara State Government, from the beginning, had ensured that the exercise was tilted to the advantage of the locals.

When the land was allocated, the design was, for every 1,000 hectares of land to the white farmers, a gap of 200 hectares was left in-between for local farmers to understudy what their more experienced counterparts were doing, learn from them and then replicate the methods on their own farms. This was a way of transferring knowledge and should have been the route taken by the Zimbabweans.

“The aim was that when our local farmers are proficient with the use of all the equipment, they can go to other communities and replicate what they have learnt,� Sangobiyi said.

A Shonga Phase 2, called the Alapa Project is now in the works. This will be focused on helping local farmers benefit from the trove of knowledge that has been applied to make Shonga a success. “I think Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed (the current Executive Governor of Kwara State) has started it by selecting 10 farmers from each of the 16 local government areas of the state,� Sangobiyi said. “The concept is to transform them to commercial farmers and they are doing wonderfully well. Our plan is to bring Kwara State to the world map as the food basket.�

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Photo Editor ĂŒĂ“Ă™ĂŽĂ&#x;Ă˜ ÔËÖË Email Ă‹ĂŒĂ“Ă™ĂŽĂ&#x;Ă˜Ë›Ă‹Ă”Ă‹Ă–Ă‹ĚśĂžĂ’Ă“Ă?ĂŽĂ‹ĂŁĂ–Ă“Ă Ă?Ë›Ă?Ù×

President Association of Telecoms Companies of Nigeria (ATCON), Olusola Teniola (left), in handshake with the CEO, IHS Towers Nigeria, Mohamad Darwish, during a courtesy visit by the ATCON management team to IHS Towers, in Lagos.......recently

L-R: Ambassador, Felix King Foundation, Hon. Desomond Elliot; C.E.O of the Foundation, Mr. Felix King, and another Ambassador, Nollywood Actress, Mercy Aigbe, during the unveiling of ĂŤAbolish Widows Maltreatment in AfricaĂ­ held in Lagos, recently FAITH OBOSI

R-L: Sales Manager, Euro Global Foods and Distilleries Ltd., Mr. Subir Mazumdar; CEO, Famous 5 Caterers, Mrs. Yewande Oyibo; an exhibitor, Mrs. Olufunke Akande and Sales Executive, Euro Global Foods and Distilleries Ltd, Miss Opeyemi Olawunmi during the Food West Africa 2017 exhibition in Lagos... recently

L-R: Guest Lecturer and National Tabligh Secretary, Dr Saheed Timehin; Naib Amir, Eastern Region, Ahmadiyya Muslim JamaĂ­at Nigeria, Dr Abdul Ghaniyu Enahoro; Chairman of occasion and Circuit President Benin, Alhaji Tajudeen Onabanjo and Sadr, Majlis Ansarullah Nigeria, Engr. Abdul Waheed Adeoye, during the 2nd 2017 Eastern Regional Workshop at Odene Primary School Estako in Edo State...recently

L-R: Former Deputy Governor of Osun State/Keynote Speaker, Senator Iyiola Omisore; Curator of the National Museums and Monuments, Ibadan Museum, Elder Amos Olorunnipa ; and Chairman of the Occasion, Dr. Newton Jibunoh at the lecture themed: ĂŹMuseums and Contested Histories: Saying the Unspeakable in MuseumsĂŽ, in commemoration of 2017 International Museums Day at the National Museums and Monuments, Ibadan...recently

L-R: Kwara State Chief Judge, Justice Sulaiman Kawu, Speaker, Kwara State House of Assembly, Dr. Ali Ahmad, Kwara State Governor, Dr. Abdulfatah Ahmed and Emir of Ilorin, Alhaji Ibrahim Sulu Gambari during Special Jumat Prayer to mark 50th Anniversary of Kwara State at Ilorin Central Mosque, Ilorin...Friday.

L-R: Marketing Manager, Red Bull, Mr. William Lane; Chairman, Blaugrana Group, Mr. Leslie Ogmomienor and Senior Executive Vice President, Russel Smith, Mr. Kayode Adeleke, during the NEYMAR JRĂ­s Five event in Lagos...recently

L-R: Finance Director, UACN Properties Development Company (UPDC) Plc, Mrs Folasade Taiwo; Managing Director, Mr. Hakeem Ogunniran and Chairman, Mr. Larry Ettah, during the UPDC’s Annual General Meeting in Lagos...recently YOMI AKINYELE

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Quick Takes 7th African Digital TV Devt Begins

GLOBAL TELECOMS WEEK

L-R: CEO, Liquid Telecoms, Nic Rudnick; Regional Head, Africa Express Wi-Fi, Facebook, Uche Ofodile; Chief Commercial OďŹƒcer, Angola Cables, Artur Mendes; CEO, MainOne, Funke Opeke; CEO, WIOCC, Chris Wood and Strategic Initiatives, Google, Chris George, after the MainOne-hosted Africa session at the 2017 International Telecoms Week, held in Chicago, USA... recently

Experts Call for Greater Investments to Drive Data in Africa Stories by Emma Okonji Experts at the International Telecoms Week conference in Chicago, United States of America, have highlighted the need to accelerate investment in Africa to facilitate the continent’s broadband data explosion.

With the theme ‘Achieving a Connected Continent: Leading the Data Explosion Across Africa’, the experts at a panel session with participation from Google, Facebook, WIOCC, Liquid Telecom and Angola Cables, discussed strategies for achieving improved broadband access across the continent.

The session reviewed the state of broadband infrastructure

ECONOMY and data traffic trajectories in different countries on the continent and made comparisons with other markets globally.

These included areas in which investments had been made such as submarine cables, data centers, and access networks including 3G4G and FTTH networks as some of the elements that accelerated the growth in data traffic on the continent. The consensus was that the data explosion will need to be driven by further investment in local networks to reach more end users rather than new submarine cables.

The session revealed that

while most African submarine cable systems had the capability to deliver 100 GBPS wavelengths, Africa has not utilised near enough capacity to saturate those systems. According to the panelists, for broadband to become more pervasive, there is need for continued investment and innovative business models to aid the rapid deployment of Access networks across the continent.

Facebook’s Regional Head, Africa for Express Wifi, Uche Ofodile shared the company’s experiences working with carriers to jointly make infrastructure investments and highlighted its initiatives in Uganda, where it is

working with Airtel to deploy fiber backhaul, but noted that demand and favorable regulatory environments informed their decisions to invest. The need to go beyond mobile infrastructure was also highlighted by the CEO of Liquid Telecom, Nic Rudnick, whose company just completed its acquisition of South African operator, Neotel for $429million. “As consumers in Africa start to use the internet for content, TV and on-demand services, mobile will have its limitations, not just in terms of technology, but also in price.

We need to look at other Continued on page 24

NITEL Facilities Added No Value to ntel’s 4G Rollout, Says Abass Adedayo Akinwale in Abuja One year after the commercial rollout of ntel, following the acquisition of NITEL/Mtel

by NATCOM in 2015, which currently trades as ntel, the Chief Executive Officer of ntel, Mr. Kamar Abass has said that the acquisition of NITEL/Mtel facilities did not add any value to ntel’s network deployment in the last one year, because the facilities were obsolete and irrelevant to its Fourth Generation Long Term Evolution (4G LTE) Advanced network deployment.

Abass, who made the disclosure during an interview session with journalists in Lagos recently, said ntel had to begin full investment in its 4G LTE

TELECOMS Advanced infrastructure, from the scratch, without using the acquired NITEL/Mtel facilities.

Contrary to public perception that the acquisition of NITEL/ Mtel will give ntel a comparative advantage over existing telecoms operators because NITEL/Mtel had telecoms facilities installed across all states and local government areas of the country, Abass said those installed facilities were not complaint with 4G LTE rollout and did not add value to ntel’s operation in the last one year of its rollout. “It is true that we acquired the assets of NITEL/Mtel, in 2015, before our commercial

rollout in 2016, but those assets did necessarily give us any advantage for faster deployment of our 4G LTE Advanced service offerings. We had to build our own infrastructure in line with 4G LTE standard that we operate on, and that means starting investing in a completely new 4G LTE Advanced infrastructure network from the scratch. This is because, at the time NITEL was active in the telecoms sector, there was nothing like 3G and 4G LTE technologies,� Abass explained.

According to him, before the acquisition, NITEL had about 450,000 customers, but at the point of acquisition in 2015, all of those customers were gone and ntel did not acquire a single

customer from NITEL/Mtel.

Mtel, which operated the mobile arm of NITEL, had between 750 and 800 sites and at that time, the operator was at its peak of mobile service offerings. But by 2008, both NITEL and Mtel became dormant for seven years before it was eventually acquired by ntel in 2015, after several failed acquisition processes involving international and local investors.

Abass however said that within a space of one year of its rollout, ntel was able to deploy over 800 sites in the three states where it currently operates, which of course doubled what NITEL/ Continued on page 24

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Aqualis Fish Feed Debuts Ă–Ă‹Ă— Ă˜ĂžĂ?ĂœĂ˜Ă‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜Ă‹Ă– Ă’Ă‹Ă? Ă–Ă‹Ă&#x;Ă˜Ă?Ă’Ă?ĂŽ Ă›Ă&#x;Ă‹Ă–Ă“Ă? Ă“Ă?Ă’ Ă?Ă?ĂŽËœ ÞÒĂ? Ă?Ă“ĂœĂ?Ăž Ă™Ă?Ă?Ă?ĂœĂ“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă?ĂœĂ™Ă— ÞÒĂ? Ă‹Ă˜Ă“Ă—Ă‹Ă– Ă?Ă?Ă?ĂŽ Ă“Ă˜Ă Ă?Ă?Þ×Ă?Ă˜ĂžËœ åÓÞÒ Ă’Ă“Ă‘Ă’ Ă˜Ă&#x;ĂžĂœĂ“ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜Ă‹Ă– Ă?Ă™Ă˜ĂžĂ?Ă˜Ăž Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ ÞÒĂ? ĂœĂ“Ă‘Ă’Ăž ĂŒĂ‹Ă–Ă‹Ă˜Ă?Ă? Ă™Ă? ĂšĂœĂ™ĂžĂ?Ă“Ă˜ ÞÒËÞ Ă?Ă˜Ă?Ă&#x;ĂœĂ?Ă? ĂŒĂ?ÞÞĂ?Ăœ Ă‘ĂœĂ™ĂĄĂžĂ’ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă’Ă“Ă‘Ă’ Ă?Ă“Ă?Ă’ ĂŁĂ“Ă?Ă–ĂŽË› Ă–Ă‹Ă— Ă˜ĂžĂ?ĂœĂ˜Ă‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜Ă‹Ă–Ëœ Ă“Ă˜ ĂœĂ?Ă‹Ă?Ă?Ă“ĂœĂ—Ă“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă“ĂžĂ? Ă—Ă“Ă?Ă?Ă“Ă™Ă˜ Ă™Ă? Ă?Ă&#x;ĂšĂšĂ–ĂŁĂ“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă?ÙÙÎ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă“Ă˜ĂŽĂ&#x;Ă?ĂžĂœĂ“Ă‹Ă– ĂœĂ‹ĂĄ Ă—Ă‹ĂžĂ?ĂœĂ“Ă‹Ă–Ă? ÞÙ Ă?Ă&#x;Ă?ÞÙ×Ă?ĂœĂ? ĂĄĂ™ĂœĂ–ĂŽĂĄĂ“ĂŽĂ? Ă’Ă‹Ă? Ă–Ă‹Ă&#x;Ă˜Ă?Ă’Ă?ĂŽ Ă‹ Ă?Ă“Ă?Ă’ Ă?Ă?Ă?ĂŽ ÞÒËÞ ĂĄĂ“Ă–Ă– ĂŒĂ? ĂžĂœĂ&#x;Ă–ĂŁ ĂœĂ?à ÙÖĂ&#x;ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜Ă‹ĂœĂŁ ÞÙ ÞÒĂ? ĂŽĂ?Ă Ă?ÖÙÚ×Ă?Ă˜Ăž Ă™Ă? Ă?Ă“Ă?Ă’ Ă?Ă‹ĂœĂ—Ă“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă“Ă˜ Ă“Ă‘Ă?ĂœĂ“Ă‹Ë› Ă’Ă? Ă–Ă‹ĂžĂ?Ă?Ăž ĂžĂ?Ă?Ă’Ă˜Ă™Ă–Ă™Ă‘ĂŁ Ă&#x;Ă?Ă?ĂŽ Ă“Ă˜ ÞÒĂ? Ă—Ă‹Ă˜Ă&#x;Ă?Ă‹Ă?ĂžĂ&#x;ĂœĂ? Ă™Ă? Ă›Ă&#x;Ă‹Ă–Ă“Ă?Ëœ Ă‹Ă?Ă?Ă™ĂœĂŽĂ“Ă˜Ă‘ ÞÙ ÞÒĂ? Ă?Ă™Ă—ĂšĂ‹Ă˜ĂŁËœ Ă“Ă? Ă‹ Ă Ă?ĂœĂŁ ĂœĂ?Ă?Ă?Ă˜Ăž Ă‹Ă˜ Ă“Ă˜Ă˜Ă™Ă Ă‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜ ÞÒËÞ ĂŽĂ?Ă–Ă“Ă Ă?ĂœĂ? Ă‹ Ă?Ă&#x;Ă–Ă–ĂŁ Ă?Ă–Ă™Ă‹ĂžĂ“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă?Ă?Ă?ĂŽ ĂĄĂ’Ă“Ă?Ă’ Ă“Ă? ĂŒĂ?Ă?Ăž Ă?Ă&#x;Ă“ĂžĂ?ĂŽ Ă?Ă™Ăœ ÞÒĂ? Ă?Ă?Ă?ĂŽĂ“Ă˜Ă‘ ĂŒĂ?Ă’Ă‹Ă Ă“Ă™Ă&#x;Ăœ Ă™Ă? ÞÒĂ? Ă?ĂœĂ“Ă?Ă‹Ă˜ Ă?Ă‹ĂžĂ?Ă“Ă?Ă’Ë› ĂšĂ?Ă‹Ă•Ă“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă‹Ăž ÞÒĂ? Ă–Ă‹Ă&#x;Ă˜Ă?Ă’Ëœ ÞÒĂ? Ă&#x;Ă?Ă“Ă˜Ă?Ă?Ă? Ă?Ă‹ĂŽËœ Ă–Ă‹Ă— Ă˜ĂžĂ?ĂœĂ˜Ă‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜Ă‹Ă–Ëœ ĂœË› Ă?Ă’Ă“Ă?Ă’ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽĂ?Ëœ Ă?Ă‹Ă“ĂŽË? ËŤ Ă’Ă? Ă—Ă“Ă?ĂœĂ™ Ă?Ă˘ĂžĂœĂ&#x;Ă?Ă“Ă™Ă˜ ĂžĂ?Ă?Ă’Ă˜Ă™Ă–Ă™Ă‘ĂŁ Ă‹Ă–Ă?Ă™ Ă?Ă˜Ă?Ă&#x;ĂœĂ?Ă? ÞÒĂ? ĂŽĂ?Ă–Ă“Ă Ă?ĂœĂŁ Ă™Ă? ÞÒĂ? ĂœĂ“Ă‘Ă’Ăž Ă?Ă?Ă?ĂŽ Ă?ÓäĂ? ÞÒĂ&#x;Ă? Ă—Ă“Ă˜Ă“Ă—Ă“Ă?Ă“Ă˜Ă‘ ĂĄĂ‹Ă?ÞËÑĂ? Ă™Ă? ÞÒĂ? Ă?Ă?Ă?ĂŽ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ ×ËâÓ×ÓĂ?Ă“Ă˜Ă‘ ĂšĂœĂ™Ă?Ă“ĂžĂ? Ă?Ă™Ăœ ÞÒĂ? Ă?Ă‹ĂœĂ—Ă?ĂœĂ?˛ˏ Ă’Ă? Ă?Ă Ă?Ă˜ĂžĂ? ĂĄĂ?ĂœĂ? ËÞÞĂ?Ă˜ĂŽĂ?ĂŽ ĂŒĂŁËœ Ă?Ă‹ĂœĂ—Ă?ĂœĂ?Ëœ Ă?Ă“Ă?Ă’ Ă?Ă‹ĂœĂ— ĂŒĂ&#x;Ă?Ă“Ă˜Ă?Ă?Ă? Ă™ĂĄĂ˜Ă?ĂœĂ?Ëœ ĂŽĂ“Ă?ĂžĂœĂ“ĂŒĂ&#x;ĂžĂ™ĂœĂ? Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ ĂœĂ?ĂšĂœĂ?Ă?Ă?Ă˜ĂžĂ‹ĂžĂ“Ă Ă?Ă? Ă?ĂœĂ™Ă— ÞÒĂ? ÑÙà Ă?ĂœĂ˜Ă—Ă?Ă˜ĂžËœ Ă“Ă˜Ă?Ă–Ă&#x;ĂŽĂ“Ă˜Ă‘ ÞÒĂ? Ă™Ă˜Ă™Ă&#x;ĂœĂ‹ĂŒĂ–Ă? Ù××ÓĂ?Ă?Ă“Ă™Ă˜Ă?Ăœ Ă?Ă™Ăœ Ă‘ĂœĂ“Ă?Ă&#x;Ă–ĂžĂ&#x;ĂœĂ?Ëœ Ă“Ă Ă?ĂœĂ? ÞËÞĂ?Ëœ ĂœĂ?Ë› Ă˜Ă“Ă—Ă“Ă— Ă‹Ă?Ă•Ă?Ë› Ă’Ă? Ù××ÓĂ?Ă?Ă“Ă™Ă˜Ă?Ăœ Ă?Ù××Ă?Ă˜ĂŽĂ?ĂŽ ÞÒĂ? Ă›Ă&#x;ËÖÓÞã Ă™Ă? Ă›Ă&#x;Ă‹Ă–Ă“Ă? Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă‹Ă–Ă?Ă™ ÞÒĂ? Ă?Ă?Ă‹Ă–Ă? Ă™Ă? Ă“Ă˜Ă Ă?Ă?Þ×Ă?Ă˜Ăž ÞÒËÞ Ă–Ă‹Ă— Ă˜ĂžĂ?ĂœĂ˜Ă‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜Ă‹Ă– Ă’Ă‹Ă? Ă—Ă‹ĂŽĂ? Ă“Ă˜ Ă“Ă‘Ă?ĂœĂ“Ă‹ Ă?Ă?ĂšĂ?Ă?Ă“Ă‹Ă–Ă–ĂŁ Ă“Ă˜ ÞÒĂ? Ă‹ĂŽĂ™ĂšĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜ Ă™Ă? ÞÒĂ? Ă—Ă™Ă?Ăž ×ÙÎĂ?ĂœĂ˜ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă?Ă“ĂœĂ?ĂžĚ‹ĂœĂ‹ĂžĂ? ĂžĂ?Ă?Ă’Ă˜Ă™Ă–Ă™Ă‘ĂŁ Ă?Ă™Ăœ ÞÒĂ? ĂšĂœĂ™ĂŽĂ&#x;Ă?ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜ Ă™Ă? Ă’Ă“Ă‘Ă’ Ă›Ă&#x;ËÖÓÞã Ă?Ă?Ă?ĂŽË› Airtel’s TVC, Bags Three Awards Ă“ĂœĂžĂ?Ă– Ă“Ă‘Ă?ĂœĂ“Ă‹ Ă’Ă‹Ă? ĂŒĂ?Ă?Ă˜ ĂœĂ?Ă?Ă™Ă‘Ă˜Ă“Ă?Ă?ĂŽ Ă?Ă™Ăœ Ă“ĂžĂ? ĂœĂ™Ă–Ă? Ă“Ă˜ ĂšĂ“Ă™Ă˜Ă?Ă?ĂœĂ“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă?ĂœĂ?ËÞÓà ÓÞã Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă“Ă˜Ă˜Ă™Ă Ă‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜ Ă‹Ă?ĂœĂ™Ă?Ă? ÞÒĂ? Ă?ĂœĂ“Ă?Ă‹Ă˜ Ă?Ă™Ă˜ĂžĂ“Ă˜Ă?Ă˜Ăž Ă‹Ă? Ă“Ăž Ă?Ă—Ă?ĂœĂ‘Ă?ĂŽ ĂžĂœĂ?ĂŒĂ–Ă? ĂĄĂ“Ă˜Ă˜Ă?ĂœĂ?Ëœ Ă–Ă‹Ă?Ăž ĂĄĂ?Ă?Ă•Ëœ Ă‹Ăž ÞÒĂ? ĂšĂœĂ?Ă?ÞÓÑÓÙĂ&#x;Ă? Ă?ĂœĂ“Ă?Ă‹Ă˜ ĂœĂ“Ă?ÞËÖ Ă?Ă?ÞÓà ËÖ˛ Ă’Ă? Ă?ĂœĂ“Ă?Ă‹Ă˜ ĂœĂ“Ă?ÞËÖ Ă?Ă?ÞÓà ËÖ Ă“Ă? ĂĄĂ“ĂŽĂ?Ă–ĂŁ Ă?Ă™Ă˜Ă?Ă“ĂŽĂ?ĂœĂ?ĂŽ Ă‹Ă? Ă‹ Ă?Ă™ĂœĂ?Ă—Ă™Ă?Ăž ÚÖËÞĂ?Ă™ĂœĂ— ÞÙ ĂœĂ?ĂĄĂ‹ĂœĂŽ ÞÒĂ? ĂŒĂ?Ă?Ăž Ă‹ĂŽĂ Ă?ĂœĂžĂ“Ă?Ă“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă?Ă‹Ă—ĂšĂ‹Ă“Ă‘Ă˜Ă? Ă?ĂœĂ?Ă‹ĂžĂ?ĂŽ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ ĂŒĂœĂ™Ă‹ĂŽĂ?Ă‹Ă?ĂžĂ?ĂŽ Ùà Ă?Ăœ ÞÒĂ? Ă?ĂœĂ“Ă?Ă‹Ă˜ Ă?Ă™Ă˜ĂžĂ“Ă˜Ă?Ă˜ĂžËœ Ă™Ă˜ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŁ Ă—Ă?ĂŽĂ“Ă‹Ë› Ă“ĂœĂžĂ?Ă– Ă“Ă‘Ă?ĂœĂ“Ă‹ËŞĂ? Ă?Ă–Ă?Ă Ă“Ă?Ă“Ă™Ă˜ Ù××Ă?ĂœĂ?Ă“Ă‹Ă– Ě™ ĚšËœ ËŠ ËÞË Ă“Ă? Ă“Ă?Ă?ËŞËœ Ă?ĂœĂ?Ă‹ĂžĂ?ĂŽ ÞÙ ĂŽĂœĂ“Ă Ă? ÞÒĂ? ĂžĂ?Ă–Ă?Ù˪Ă? Ă—Ă‹ĂœĂž ĂšĂ?Ă?ÎÙÙ Ă—Ă™ĂŒĂ“Ă–Ă? Ă˜ĂžĂ?ĂœĂ˜Ă?Ăž Ă Ă‹Ă–Ă&#x;Ă? Ă™Ă?Ă?Ă?ĂœĂ“Ă˜Ă‘Ëœ ÚÖËĂ?Ă?ĂŽ Ă“Ă‘Ă?ĂœĂ“Ă‹ Ă™Ă˜ ÞÒĂ? Ă?Ă™Ă˜ĂžĂ“Ă˜Ă?Ă˜ĂžĂ‹Ă– Ă?ĂœĂ?ËÞÓà ÓÞã Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă“Ă˜Ă˜Ă™Ă Ă‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜ Ă—Ă‹Ăš åÓÞÒ ÞÒĂ? Ă’Ă‹Ă&#x;Ă– Ă™Ă? ĂžĂ’ĂœĂ?Ă? Ă‹ĂĄĂ‹ĂœĂŽĂ? Ă“Ă˜ ÞÒĂ? Ă?Ă‹ĂžĂ?Ă‘Ă™ĂœĂ“Ă?Ă? Ă™Ă? Ă?ĂœĂ“Ă?Ă‹Ă˜ ĂœĂ“Ă?ÞËÖ ĂĄĂ‹ĂœĂŽĂ? Ă“Ă–Ă— Ă?Ă™Ăœ ÞÒĂ? ËŠ Ù×Ă?Ă˜ĂžĂ?ËŞ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ ÞåÙ ĂœĂ?Ă‘Ă“Ă™Ă˜Ă‹Ă– Ă?Ă‹ĂžĂ?Ă‘Ă™ĂœĂ“Ă?Ă? Ă™Ă? Ă“Ă‘Ă?ĂœĂ“Ă‹Ă˜ ĂœĂ“Ă?ÞËÖ ĂĄĂ‹ĂœĂŽĂ?Ë? Ă“Ă–Ă— ĚŽ ËŠ Ù×Ă?Ă˜ĂžĂ?ËŞ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă˜ĂžĂ?Ă‘ĂœĂ‹ĂžĂ?ĂŽË› Ă“ĂœĂžĂ?Ă– Ă“Ă‘Ă?ĂœĂ“Ă‹ËŞĂ? Ă“Ă?Ă? ĂœĂ?Ă?Ă“ĂŽĂ?Ă˜ĂžËœ ĂœĂ‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ ĂŽĂ Ă?ĂœĂžĂ“Ă?Ă“Ă˜Ă‘Ëœ Ă˜Ă“ĂžĂ‹Ă˜ Ă?Ă˜Ă–Ă™ĂŁĂ?Ëœ ĂœĂ?Ă?Ă?Ă“Ă Ă?ĂŽ ÞÒĂ? Ă‹ĂĄĂ‹ĂœĂŽĂ? Ă™Ă˜ ĂŒĂ?Ă’Ă‹Ă–Ă? Ă™Ă? ÞÒĂ? Ă?Ă™Ă—ĂšĂ‹Ă˜ĂŁ Ă‹Ăž Ă‹ Ă?ÙÖÙĂ&#x;ĂœĂ?Ă&#x;Ă– Ă?Ă?ĂœĂ?Ă—Ă™Ă˜ĂŁ Ă’Ă?Ă–ĂŽ Ă“Ă˜ Ă‹ĂœĂœĂ‹Ă•Ă?Ă?Ă’Ëœ Ă™ĂœĂ™Ă?Ă?Ă™ Ă?ĂœĂ™Ă— Ă‹ĂŁ ͎ͯÞÒ Ě‹ÍŻÍ°ĂžĂ’Ëœ Ͱ͎ͯ;˛ Ă’Ă? Ă?Ă Ă?Ă˜Ăž Ă‹ĘľĂœĂ‹Ă?ĂžĂ?ĂŽ Ă?Ă?Ă Ă?ĂœĂ‹Ă– ĂšĂœĂ™Ă?Ă?Ă?Ă?Ă“Ă™Ă˜Ă‹Ă–Ă? Ă“Ă˜ ÞÒĂ? Ă‹ĂŽĂ Ă?ĂœĂžĂ“Ă?Ă“Ă˜Ă‘Ëœ Ă—Ă?ĂŽĂ“Ă‹ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă?ĂœĂ?ËÞÓà ÓÞã Ă?Ă“ĂœĂ?Ă–Ă?Ă?Ë›

“The concept of facility management is borderless, and it goes beyond the physical structures, as much as people’s lives are being touched�

CEO, ClayďŹ elds and Harrow, Ms. Adama Salihu

24

T H I S D AY Ëž Ëœ Í°ÍłËœ Í°ÍŽÍŻÍľ

EXPERTS CALL FOR GREATER INVESTMENTS TO DRIVE DATA IN AFRICA technologies to achieve cost effectiveness,� Rudnick said.

The panelists’ assessments of data center growth in Africa also indicated that uptake is not as rapid as experienced in other parts of the world and that most of the content consumed in Africa is hosted in Europe.

Data center operators, MainOne and Liquid shared their experiences that initial demand on the continent had been driven by enterprises and financial institutions as against other geographies where Over the Top Technology (OTT) players are the biggest data center players. “We do not see any of these OTTs hosting their services from Africa. We are not seeing meaningful investments coming into Africa (from OTT players) and with the sizeable population of the continent, we need to see them play a larger role in the African ecosystem�, the panel concluded.

NITEL FACILITIES ADDED NO VALUE TO NTEL’S 4G ROLLOUT, SAYS ABASS Mtel had for several years.

The CEO assured Nigerians that by the end of the year, ntel would also cover the total amount of subscribers NITEL/Mtel had for several years. NITEL at a time, had several base stations across the country, but we could not use any of the base stations because they were not complaint with our 4G LTE rollout, Abass added.

Listing its present locations of network coverage to include Lagos, Abuja and Port Harcourt, Abass said the coverage in each state is about 70 per cent penetration with a plan to achieve 99 per cent coverage before it move on to other states.

What customers demand today is full network coverage where they live, work, worship and hangout, and it is our duty to provide them that coverage.

Technically speaking, we have more coverage areas within one year of operation than what NITEL/Mtel had in several years of its operation, Abass added.

Group Business Editor

Ă’Ă“Ă•Ă‹ Ă—Ă‹Ă˜Ă¤Ă?Ě‹ ĂĄĂ‹Ă?Ă’Ă&#x;Ă•Ă&#x; AgriBusiness/Industry Editor

ĂœĂ&#x;Ă?Ă™Ă? Ă?Ă‹Ă‘Ă“Ă?

Comms/e-Business Editor

Ă—Ă—Ă‹ Ă•Ă™Ă˜Ă”Ă“ Capital Market Editor

ÙÎÎã Ă‘Ă?Ă˜Ă?

Senior Correspondent

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Ă’Ă“Ă˜Ă?ĂŽĂ&#x; äĂ? (Aviation) Ă“Ă˜ĂŽĂ‹ ĂœĂ™Ă•Ă? (Labour) ĂœĂ™Ă—Ă™Ă?Ă?Ă–Ă? ĂŒĂ“Ă™ĂŽĂ&#x;Ă˜ (Cap Mkt) ÔÓÙĂ?Ă™Ăœ Ă–Ă“Ă•Ă? (Energy) Ă‹Ă—Ă?Ă? Ă—Ă?ÔÙ (Nation’s Capital) ĂŒĂ“Ă˜Ă˜Ă‹ Ă’Ă“Ă—Ă‹ (Money Mkt) Reporters

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‘Nigeria Needs Nuclear Energy to Boost Economy’ Stories by Emma Okonji The President, Council for Renewable Energy of Nigeria (CREN), Anita Okuribido has stressed the need for Nigeria and other African countries to consider substantial investment in nuclear and renewable energy, in order to boost economic development.

Speaking at a recent event on renewable energy, Okuribido said: “We need all hands on deck to deploy huge scales of renewable energy. We need to spread this, and ensure that the almost 190 million Nigerians have up to 5000MW per person per year. We have to empower our populace and our youth, so that we can give our youth a better living experience. This is necessary for the rural people as well, not just urban; we need to engender progress and equality for as many as possible.�

According to her, nuclear power not only ensures the availability of environmentally friendly, reliable and affordable base load power, it also allows African countries to unlock their considerable potential for economic growth.

The World Bank’s evaluation revealed that power outages have reduced the GDP of subSaharan countries by 2.1 per cent per year. Lack of electric power has an impact on the economy. On average, power supply to African industrial enterprises is disrupted 56 days a year, which causes the loss of about 6 per cent of the profit. Besides, over 600 million people have limited access to electricity, she said.

The world’s leading experts have estimated that nuclear

power is becoming the main area of global economic development. It is expected that in 20 years’ time about 70 per cent of the world’s population will be living in countries where nuclear power is well-developed, and the amount of electricity generated worldwide will increase from 400 GW to 700 GW. A well-developed power generation system is capable

of promoting as much as 30 per cent economic growth in sub-Saharan countries by 2040 with a subsequent increase in national income, Okuribido said. “By 2030, every individual should have access to a minimum of 500MW, while aiming to increase the infrastructural capacity for generation and effective distribution of electricity to 65,000MW,� Okuribido further stated.

She said having a robust energy mix, which could include nuclear, would enable Nigeria to get the energy she needed to drive development.

She advised government to consider three important factors when designing the optimum energy mix, which include economics, security of supply and environmental impact. According to her, coal for instance is economically vi-

able and offers stable power but brings devastating effects for the environment. Renewables such as wind and solar are great for the environment but are intermittent by nature.

In order to combat the current energy challenges faced by African countries, including Nigeria, there is need for guaranteed access to affordable and clean baseload power, she added.

GETTOGETHER

L-R: President, Risk Managers Association of Nigeria (RIMAN)/Chief Risk OďŹƒcer, Heritage Bank Plc, Mr. Jude Monye; President, Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN), Prof. Joseph Ajibola; Chairman, RIMAN BoT/Director, Risk Management, CBN, Ms. Folakemi Fatogbe and member, Board of Trustees an RIMAN, Dr. Greg Jobome, at the Chief Risk OďŹƒcers Time Out/Dinner, organised

by RIMAN in Lagos...recently

Zinox Commends FG’s Executive Order on TAMS Summit Harps on Local Content Productivity, Employee’s Commitment The Chairman of Zinox Group, move as a step in the right which remains one of our most Leo Stan Ekeh has commended the federal government for the recent signing of an Executive Order, compelling all ministries, department and agencies (MDAs) of the federal government to buy Made-inNigeria goods and services.

He said the order would go a long way in boosting indigenous businesses and the local content drive in Nigeria.

The order, which was signed by acting President Yemi Osinbajo last week, dwells mostly on the preference for indigenous goods and services as well as the removal of bureaucracies which stall businesses.

The stipulated Executive Order, as detailed in a document presented by Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr. Okechukwu Enelamah, states that all MDAs of the federal government shall grant preference to local manufacturers of goods and service providers in their procurement processes for a number of items including food and beverages, motor vehicles, Information and Communication Technology (ICT) products, pharmaceuticals, construction materials, furniture and fittings, among others.

Ekeh applauded the FG’s

direction and a potential game-changer for many quality-minded local businesses in Nigeria. “This announcement alone would have excited an army of 21st Century young Nigerian entrepreneurs who have been facing depression based on rejection of their certified products by government agencies and parastatals. It is a great development in our new Nigeria and I pray the federal government demonstrates the will to implement this to the letter in order to activate real and progressive development in the country. As you know, this policy direction will potentially result in massive job creation for our youths,�

Ekeh said. “Granting preference to local manufacturers is a sure way of igniting the spirit of indigenous entrepreneurship.

This is the standard the world over. Nigeria boasts a number of world-class companies whose products can compete favourably with those of their foreign counterparts. The problem has always been the right form of support from the government,� he added.

According to him, “Zinox, for instance, is patronised by a number of multinationals.

Apart from Chevron Nigeria

regular customers, we have also enjoyed consistent patronage from other multinationals such as Total and Shell. Some of these companies – Chevron, Shell, Total have been patronising Zinox for over 14 years and this is based purely on service quality as we all know the high standards these companies aspire to.�

I must commend the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari and the Acting President, Yemi Osinbajo for this bold move which will certainly go a long way in strengthening our local industries, provide more employment for our youths and boost our local currency,�

Ekeh said.

Osinbajo had signed three Executive Orders giving specific instructions on a number of policy issues.

They include the promotion of transparency and efficiency in the business environment designed to facilitate the ease of doing business in the country; timely submission of annual budgetary estimates by all statutory and non-statutory agencies, including companies owned by the federal government and the support for local contents in public procurement by the federal government.

The need to align employees’ interest with organisational interest in order to boost productivity at workplace, was the focus of this year’s TAMS Summit, held recently in Lagos, with the theme: ‘Boosting Employee Performance Beyond Pecuniary Benefits’.

The keynote speaker, Dr. Doyin Salami of Lagos Business School, emphasised the need to build leadership styles with values and transparency as well as the need for employers to understand employees and the things that could spur them at their places of work.

He also stressed the need for employers to understand the changed nature of work and align the interest of the employee with the interest of the business.

Salami warned that unless employers begin to match individual interest with that of organisational interest, the organisation may likely face the risk of under-productivity, which he said could bring down an entire work system.

The Lagos Commissioner for Wealth Creation and Employment, Mr. Babatunde Durosinmi-Etti, who spoke on the need for staff training and motivation, advised employers to invest in staff

training, which he said, would further enhance their skills and also boost productivity.

Durosinmi-Etti also urged employers of labour to establish healthy collaboration between them and their staff, while giving insight into the Lagos State government’s collaboration with the private sector to launch the graduate trainee programme that has helped in the retraining of tertiary school graduates and preparing them for the labour market.

The one day summit, which had a panel session, discussed the challenges of the employer in managing the employee, as well as the challenges of the employee in carrying out assigned duties for improved productivity.

Executive Director, SystemSpecs, Mr. Deremi Atanda, one of the panelists, insisted on cordial relationship between the employee and the employer, which he said, would boost productivity. According to him, most employers distant themselves from their employee and treat them harshly in order to bring out the best from them, but he argued that cordial relationship remained a better approach to achieve productivity at work place.

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ANALYSIS

Raising Telecoms Consumers’ Awareness Initiative The collective plan by the telecoms industry regulator and operators to celebrate consumers, underscores the importance of customers in the digital era, writes Emma Okonji Between 2001 and 2017, the growth of telecoms consumers was very tremendous, and this growth, no doubt, shaped the Nigerian telecoms industry, which had since been globally adjudged as the fastest growing telecoms market in Africa and the rest of the world.

As at 2001 when the Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) was introduced in Nigeria, telecoms subscriber number was less than 400,000, with a teledensity of 0.4 per cent, but between 2001 and 2017, the number rose in a geometric progression to hit 154 million, with a teledensity of 110.80 per cent in 2017.

The continuous rise in telecoms consumer growth, did not only boost the financial strength of telecoms service providers and telecoms contribution to GDP, it also spurred telecoms operators to develop value added services that enhanced consumer experiences.

It is for these reasons and several others that the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), the telecoms industry regulator, in collaboration with telecoms operators, declared 2017 as the Year of Telecoms Consumers, in order to celebrate the telecoms subscribers as kings and queens, which they are in their own rights.

The old perception Before 2001, telecoms consumers were not accorded their right places in the telecoms industry and their voices were not heard in any way, making them feel less important in a sector where their presence was supposed to be recognised.

At the time, subscribers to telecommunication services in Nigeria were treated with disdain and as second-class citizens in the country. The poor treatment continued until NCC realised the need to project and protect telecoms consumers, when it established the monthly Telecoms Consumer Parliament and the Consumer Outreach Programmes, focused at giving the consumer a voice, by bringing the consumers and the operators together on a monthly basis and allowing the consumers to voice their complains directly to telecoms operators and at the end of the day, there was always amicable settlement of all consumer related issues raised.

The two years of the introduction of Telecoms Consumer Parliament, saw massive turnout of consumes and the resolutions reached at such gathering, gradually reduced network challenges, as complained by consumers.

The new perception As the years go by, more emphasis are being placed on consumers education, rights, privileges, options, choices and power by government in the country through the NCC. Today NCC is empowering the consumers with fresh binding policies on Mobile Network Operators (MNOs), Internet Service Provider (ISPs) and Content Providers especially in areas of dispute resolutions, complain channel mechanism, Service quality, telemarketing and Short Message Service (SMS) to give their consumers choice and options to control this.

The subscribers are now like employers in the labour market that have the prerogative to hire and fire any erring operator and can also determine by way of controlling telemarketing messages which are mostly unsolicited as subscribers mostly do not bargain for it.

Consumers’ views Some of the telecoms consumers who spoke with THISDAY, commended NCC and the telecoms operators for the initiative, which they said would make them have a sense of belonging among operators in the telecoms sector. They particularly commended NCC for introducing the ‘Do Not Disturb’ code that gives subscribers the power to choose the kind of messages they want receive on their mobile phones.

Executive Vice Chairman, Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Prof. Umar Garba Danbatta (middle), anked by the faces of Telecoms Consumer, Helen Paul (left) and Ali Nuhu, during the Lagos launch of Year of the Nigerian Telecoms Consumer...recently

“My network operator can send more than 20 messages to me advertising their products and others. Some will even call you. And all these come at most awkward times of the day,� a subscriber working with the Lagos State Ministry of Environment, Mr. Tope Ayodele said. “The trend now gets common with all the mobile operators leaving their subscribers to live by it. But with this new development from NCC, the operators have no choice as we their consumers now determines the flow of message to receive from the network services and if we don’t want it at all we now have a choice and option,� another subscriber with one of the telecoms companies, Adebimpe Sanni, also said.

NCC’s initiative on consumer On March 15, the Executive Vice Chairman of NCC, Professor Umar Danbatta, launched a national consumer targeted campaign in the sector which emphasises telecoms subscribers’ protection and education.

This came as the regulator developed a code tagged ‘Do-Not-Disturb’ using the 2442 facility binding on all the network service providers to activate on their network. This invariably gives subscribers the opportunity to control the machine messages from their service providers with more other options.

According to Danbatta, Nigeria telecoms subscribers can now text “STOP� to 2442 to avoid unsolicited messages and “HELP� to 2442 for options. Should customers’ complaints not satisfactorily resolved with their operators, the industry regulator can now swiftly swing in through NCC 622 toll free line.

The Lagos State launch of the Year of the Consumer, which was held recently in Ikeja, was focused on two key areas: improving the Quality of Service; Protecting and Educating the Consumer. In attendance was the state government, league of the mobile network operators, internet service providers and industry watchers and cross section of telecoms consumers associations.

Speaking at the launch, Danbatta stated that the Lagos launch emphasised the position of the state as the telecommunications hub of Nigeria “Lagos State is home to many of the key players in the telecommunications sector so it is understandable that is has been selected as the launch city after the major event in Abuja on March 15 2017,� he said.

Quoting the latest telecommunications report from the Nigerian Bureau of Statistics, Danbatta puts Lagos voice subscriber base at 19.04 million or 12.8 per cent of the country’s subscribers and 12.62 million internet subscription or 13.65 per cent.

He added that the campaign since the launch in Abuja two months ago has yielded some progress resulting in an increase in the activation of the Do-Not-Disturb short code using the 2442 facility, by more than one million consumers within a short period.

He disclosed that more subscribers reported their unresolved complaints using NCC’s 622 toll-free lines in the same period.

NCC’s Executive Commissioner, Stakeholder Management, Mr. Sunday Dare, noted that the Year of the Consumer campaign was significant because it was the first time the NCC would single out the consumer and dedicate a year of activities towards safeguarding the rights, protecting the interests, and empowering the consumer to make informed decisions “The consumer is one of the key stakeholders in the stakeholder ladder of the NCC. With a base of over 154 million subscribers, the Nigerian consumers dominate the African telecommunications landscape,� he asserted.

Dare promised that NCC would strive to ensure customer satisfaction and attains a level never witnessed before, adding that the goal is to make the consumer experience of the average Nigerian better.

MNOs and ISPs support for consumers Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) and Internet Service Providers (ISPs) representatives present at the launch campaign in Lagos took turn to share their stances on the consumer initiative; this however comes after the NCC had met with these operators on different occasions in Abuja on the subject matter.

They however told consumers at the Lagos forum that the Do-Not-Disturb code would remain active on their networks and that they would expand their customers’ services networks in other to give adequate attentions to consumers’ complaints and challenges in shortest time, coupled with best service delivery without any need to complain to the regulator.

Some of the operators who spoke at the forum include, MTN, GLO, Etisalat, Airtel, Smile, ntel, Spectranet, among others, while advocacy associations such as National As-

sociation of Telecoms Consumers,(NATCOMS); Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria (ALTON); Association of Telecommunication Companies of Nigeria (ATCON), among others.

Lagos support for telecoms consumer The Lagos State House of Assembly commended the Nigerian Communications Commission for tagging 2017- Year of the Nigerian Telecom Consumers, which emphasises the protection and education of telecom consumers.

Speaker of the House, Mr. Mudashiru Obasa, who spoke at the launch, said NCC’s regulatory expertise has paid off in the industry that boasts of about 155 million subscribers with about 20 million of them domiciled in Lagos.

Represented by a member representing Kosofe II Constituency in the House, Mr. Tunde Braimoh, the Speaker said the state would support initiatives that would lead to consumers’ education and improved service delivery among operators. He said the House will not shy away from issues related to telecommunications activities and the stakeholders, because of the relevance to the affairs of the populace.

According to him, “NCC has done very well with regards to issues on consumer protection and the regulatory initiatives that lead to improved quality service delivery to the people. As the representatives of the people, Lagos State House of Assembly will not shy away from telecoms activities, because they touch the affairs of our people.�

The speaker also urged the NCC to mandate mobile network operators to also launch beneficial consumer products, even to the downtrodden.

Telecoms consumers’ contribution Describing telecoms consumers as important force to reckon with, Danbatta said their contribution to the Nigerian economy has been on the rise. According to him, in 2015, telecoms consumer contribution was N5.6 million and in 2016, the contribution rose to N6.3 million, totaling N11.9 million in two years. He was however optimistic that 2017 contribution would be higher than the previous years.

Following the laudable growth and achievement of telecoms subscribers, the NCC and the operators should be commended for celebrating the consumers of telecoms services.

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Salihu: Technology Will Enhance Growth in Facility Management The Chief Executive Officer of Clayfields and Harrow, a facility management company, Ms. Adama Salihu, speaks on the potential in the facility management sector and how Nigerians could tap into the multibillion naira industry. Emma Okonji brings the excerpts: big and strong. Grit is the ability to survive and it’s more than determination. It’s about being smart. Determination is what you do to survive. It’s about doing something to survive, not just determining. I’m always willing to do what it takes to keep on going. Especially as a woman, in a male-dominated world of ours, you need grit.

What does facility management entail?

In a very simplistic way, facility management is about building maintenance — from electrical to water systems to plumbing to waste disposal. It is what makes a building works and literally speaking, every building needs it. Everybody does it, just that we may not know. When you call your carpenter to come and fix your door, you have done building maintenance. At every point in time, there is something that needs to be maintained in your home and office. Facility management is very broad. If you bring it to the commercial realm, it is more than that. It goes beyond the physical structures. You could expand it to administrative tasks, talking about the receptionist in the office, the guard and so on. The concept of facility management is borderless. As much as people’s lives are being touched in terms of comfort, facility management is taking place. Today, facility management has gone automated, driven by technology.

How big is the facility industry in Nigeria?

It is a developing profession. What we used to know was estate management, which many people go to the university to study. Facility management is an evolving sector unlike other renowned professions like law, medicine and so on. As it evolves, you will find out that it is broad and huge. It is a multi-billion dollar industry worldwide. Abroad, you would hear of facility management companies signing contracts that run into millions of dollars.

Even in Nigeria, it is a multi-billion naira industry because it is taking place in every living space you can imagine. From the security man who opens the gate for you to where you park your car, facility management is taking place. As you go to the restroom, it is taking place, as you switch on the lights and put them off, it is also taking place. So, if you look at it, you can imagine the magnitude of the industry.

May 17 of every year is World Facility Management Day. What exactly do you celebrate on this particular day?

It is just like any other day set aside for other professions in the world. It is a way of drawing attention to the business of facility management. This year’s theme centres on exceptional customer experience. It is to raise more awareness, educate people and encourage networking among stakeholders in the industry. The day is about coming together as professionals in the industry and charting the way forward. The more we raise awareness, the more people understand what we do. It’s also a time to share ideas and challenges.

To what extent can new technologies like robots impact the industry, especially in an age where robots perform the tasks of human beings?

As I am, if you give me a robot that can do what a technician can do, I will be happy.

Technology is already impacting on the sector globally. Now we have smart buildings which don’t require human beings to manage some of the tasks they used to do before. That’s what is happening abroad. For instance, in the aspect of power, there are technologies that work with sunlight, called solar energy.

In some cases the technology switches on and also switches off electricity at the appropriate time when it is dark and bright.

So you don’t need a technician to put on and off lights anymore. If I have one whose only work is to go floor by floor to put on and off lights, with this technology, I won’t need him again. Also, since the law says you cannot enter someone’s apartment to cut them off if they default in paying for service rendered, with smart technologies, I

Are you sometimes afraid or burdened, knowing that you have tens of employees to ‘feed’?

Yes, yes and yes. There are over 160 people directly working in the company. If we assume that 50 of those people are married men who have two children and a wife each to feed, that’s an additional 150 people to provide for.

It could be scary sometimes, not because it’s too much to do, but it scares me that if I make one lousy or bad mistake, it would have a disastrous effect on the people. It’s scary and keeps me awake at some nights. However, when I’m scared, it doesn’t keep me down, it spurs me to be forward-thinking and look for more opportunities.

Salihu

can deactivate them right from my computer.

It is just like using smart meter, if you don’t have credit, even if there’s electricity, you won’t have it until you load your card again.

So, technology is already impacting on the industry.

Using technology as driver, where do you think the industry can be in the next 10 years?

Someone was asking me the other day whether I was thinking of going into construction.

I said no. He asked why. I said I think we were yet to scratch up to 30 per cent of the potential of facility management industry in Nigeria. Imagine each building in the country having a facility management person. Imagine that we have 10 high-rise buildings from Adeola Odeku to Idowu Taylor area, how much do you think we are talking about here in terms of managing those facilities? Within just few metres, we are talking about lots of opportunities. So, the potentials here have barely been tapped. It doesn’t mean something in the nature of facility management is not already taking place at our buildings, but that’s the informal sector. It’s a sector of the economy that had always been there, but it is now being formalised.

What are the opportunities for technology startups and entrepreneurs interested in coming into the sector?

There are lots of opportunities for all who are interested in facility management. The beauty of the profession is that you don’t have to come into the industry and do everything.

As someone focusses on plumbing, another person can focus on fixing the air conditioners.

It is almost impossible for one person to do the job end-to-end, just like every industry.

For instance, in my company, we don’t do security jobs, but we work with them. If we want to include provision of security to our job, then we would need to apply to the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps. So, in most cases, we work with third parties.

You can choose a line of service and you can succeed there.

What challenges do you face in running a facility management company in the country?

I will categorise the challenges into two

broad perspectives. First, let me talk about the challenges of running a facility management, and second, as a business. Like every business, facility management also has its own challenges, especially in terms of pricing. Particularly during this economic recession, people are slashing contract sums. Other challenges include inadequate manpower, spare parts problem and forex challenge. Many of the things being used are imported, like the air conditioner and its spare parts. How many are made in Nigeria? Nothing. But mainly, there is problem of talent. Most of the people we deal with are technicians, that is, the people who fix the water system, the electrical system, carpentry, tiling, bricklaying and so on. You and I know that technical schools have taken a nosedive in the country. So, lack of pool of talent is the first and greatest challenge.

The second challenge I see is our clients’ inability to understand the profession. Some people think facility management is just for you to come and clean and park dirt and so when they see a contract running into millions of naira, they scream. There is a simplistic assumption of what the business means, so when some see a contract of about N50 million, they think the company chief executive officer will pocket N45 million and spend only N5 million on the work.

For facility management, let’s say you are managing a block of flats, it is a 24-hour work because water must be there 24/7, lights must be on 24/7, the premises must be clean 24/7 and so on. So if you are in charge of managing such a facility, then it means your people should be on ground 24/7 and every minute somebody is on ground to manage your facility, you have to pay him something because cost is being incurred. So, in facility management, if you go below a certain threshold in terms of cost, you cannot offer the best service quality.

As a woman, what would you say has made you successful and kept you going in the business world?

It is grit, first and foremost. That’s the staying power and I’m not talking about physical power. I tell my staff that knowledge is very important. Sometimes you see people who look very fragile, yet they’ve got brains and are more impactful than someone who looks

Tell us one costly mistake you have made in the course of your business and how you were able to rectified it?

There is one that haunts me up till tomorrow.

About eight years ago, I got a young man in his 20s and I made him a site manager.

I was impressed with him. He just finished his National Youth Service Corps and he had a good attitude to work. Things got more interesting when I realised he went to the same school with my nephew, so it created a sort of bond. I helped him at catching up quickly in the business and he was smart.

One day, I looked at him and asked how he got second class lower, despite being smart.

He said his father was paralysed and he was the only son. He said he found himself in a situation of having to go home often due to his father’s sickness. He literally became the father of the house. That affected his studies.

How sad, I said, and we brushed it off. A year or two into working with me, his father died and he went to see his family. A day or two later, I was expecting him to be back, but he didn’t return. I got very upset and a week after then, the heat was just too much and he resigned. I felt angrier. But you know we get more mature as we grow, so a year later, I realised I underplayed how traumatised the young man was. I should have realised that being the only son of his father, he had naturally stepped into the shoes of his late father to provide comfort for his mother and sisters.

It must have been tough for him, which at that time I didn’t realise. I didn’t see his pain then, I was only thinking about work that needed to be done. He had needed my support at that time. From a people management angle, it still haunts me. Why it’s a mistake or regret is that if I faced such a scenario today, I would handle it differently. He still calls me and has a lot of respect for me and it makes me feel worse sometimes. I have never discussed this with him, but one day, if I have an opportunity to sit with him face-to-face, I will apologise to him.

What more do you think should be done to enable women unleash their potential in our society?

Everyone has a role to play in girl child empowerment. This will happen if we make it happen. It’s not enough to say the government should do this or that. It’s also high time the media started showcasing successful women rather than focusing on men alone. Women who have broken barriers should also mentor young girls and spur them to success. Where we’ve made mistakes, we should tell them so they could avoid such mistakes.

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Global Online Attack Raises Security Consciousness in Nigeria Stories by Emma Okonji Following the increasing global cybercrime threats and the recent target on Nigerian banks by online hackers, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) last week alerted all telecoms operators (Telcos) and their respective subscribers of the recent outbreak of a Ransomware Virus known as “WannaCry.�

The NCC advised the operators and all subscribers to apply security measures that would

help them avert the spread of the virus.

Director, Public Affairs at NCC, Mr. Tony Ojobo, said: “The Ransomware is capable of infecting and encrypting all files on a system or any smart device until an amount is paid for a decryption key, or other means of retrieval, which may lead to data loss, are used to recover the system as an alternative.

This situation demands that proactive measures be taken by all players in the telecommunication eco-system to

forestall the hazards of critical data loss, financial losses and ultimately network/business disruption.�

Weco Systems, an Information Technology (IT) security company, had also warned Nigerians to take caution of the latest ransomware. The company gave insight and proffered solution to such cyber-attacks.

According to the company, on Friday May 12, 2017, a major ransomware attack broke on the internet affecting many

organisations across the globe reportedly including major telcoms companies, hospital systems and transportation companies. ‘WannaCry’, a ransomware variant is identified as the malware responsible for this attack. Once on your device, the malware takes control of targeted systems and then has the capability to scan heavily over TCP port 445 Server Message Block (SMB), spreading in a fashion similar to a worm, compromising hosts, encrypting files stored

on them and then demanding a ransom payment in the form of Bitcoin.

It is important to note that this is not a threat that simply scans internal ranges to identify where to spread, rather it is also capable of spreading based on vulnerabilities it finds in other externally facing hosts across the internet.

The reason WannaCry is particularly effective is that it can spread laterally on the same network, automatically installing itself on other systems

in the network without any end user involvement, the company said.

Meanwhile, security experts have warned of imminent comeback of another ransomware variant which would be more destructive than WannaCry and even more difficult to curtail.

Experts from the International Telecoms Union (ITU), the global body that regulates telecoms activities around the world, had also warned of more cyberattacks in the wake of ‘WannaCry’, among others.

Glo, MTN Record Increased Data Penetration in Q1 Globacom and MTN have again, recorded an increase in data internet penetration in the telecommunications industry, compared with other operators that witnessed slight drop in the number of internet users on their networks.

In the report covering the first two months of year 2017, as recently released by the industry regulator, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Globacom recorded a total number of 27,021,200 internet users on its network in March, up from the 26,293,485 internet users it recorded in February.

MTN, which still maintained the highest number of internet users on its network, based on the highest number of telecoms subscribers on its network, which is put at 60,391,959, recorded 30,519 351 internet users in March, compared with 30,300,705 number of internet users it recorded in February.

Airtel, which recorded 19,468,684 number of internet users on its network in February, however slipped slightly to 19,423,760 in March this year.

Etisalat recorded 13,008,481 number of internet users in March as against 13,296,999 that it recorded in February.

On the whole, there was a general drop in the total number of internet users across networks, which is put at 89,972,792 in March compared with 89,998,873 that was recorded across all networks in February this year.

Aside the drop in data internet users, the number of telecoms subscribers and teledensity also dropped across networks in March this year, a situation, which telecoms experts have blamed on the decline in the purchasing power of telecoms subscribers, occasioned by the economic recession that the country is currently facing.

Leaders, Startups Harp on Business Opportunities As part of efforts to improve the growth of technology in sub-Sahara Africa, Techplus has said it would be organising the 2017 Techplus Conference and Expo, where African leaders and technology startups would be discussing business opportunities.

Speaking at a media briefing in Lagos recently, the General Manager of Techplus, Taiwo Oyewole, said the conference which is tagged: ‘An Intelligent Future: from Connectivity to Digital Immersion,’ would hold in Abuja and Lagos.

He stated that the first event, which would be held in Abuja on July 4, would focus on the government, key stakeholders, policy showcase, networking, while putting a spotlight to some government initiatives, considering areas they are not working and proffering solutions to those areas.

Oyewole further stated that the Lagos event would begin from July 6-8 , adding that the 2017 conference would have a projected number of about 15,000, 100 speakers across each, 63 speaking sessions and across 10 different content tracks.

He said: “This year we are targeting about over 50 exhibitors. We will also be introducing the master classes, which is just a way to reinforce

the capacity building within Techplus. We are partnering with some enterprises and parastatals to get the best out of it.�

According to him, “We will be introducing the Techplus kids as it is good to get them young now. Hopefully, the children will take advantage of this technology when they get on board.

There is also content media and marketing which speaks more to the media.�

It focuses more on how technology had driven media businesses in terms of productivity and how it has aided professionalism. We want to encourage more women to come into technology field.

We will also be looking at Techmoney as technology had helped to drive the economic system, Oyewole said. “We do connections across everybody, and the entire value chain. We are out for convergence of ideas and access, we connect businesses, give them a platform to engage one another so they can do more,� he added. Techplus is arguably today, Africa’s largest technology conference and expo gathering. We encompass anything that is has to do with technology and our real mission is to transform Africa’s technology.

BOOSTING TECH INNOVATION

L-R: Executive Director, Connect Marketing Services, Tosin Omoyajowo; Project Director, Techplus 2017, Eruke Ideh-Ichofu; Project Director, Ezenwanyi Edokpolo and General Manager Techplus, Taiwo Oyewole at the 2017 Techplus stakeholder’s parley in Lagos... recently

Certum Set to Address Growing Cybercrime Menace The fight against cybercrime in Nigeria has achieved a major milestone with the local launch of Certum, the first security certification authority with a direct presence in Nigeria.

Cybercrime has progressed from websites being hacked and users’ data being stolen to sophisticated criminality targeting companies, particularly financial institutions, ecommerce sites, government agencies among others.

Explaining how to address cybercrime activities, the company’s Business Development Manager, Mr. Peter Uka, said everyone is vulnerable today and it is only a matter of time before one falls prey to these undesirable elements.

According to him, “Certum is a globally recognised Certificate Authority owned by the Asseco Group, which has a direct presence in Nigeria through Asseco Nigeria with offices in Lagos and Abuja. Certum provides cryptographic trust and security products such as secure socket layer (SSL / TLS ) certificates, email encryption certificates (S-MIME technology), code signing certificates and electronic signature products. These technologies are needed to secure websites and encrypt email and document communication – protecting information from getting to

the wrong hands.�

The important benefits of a local certificate authority are onsite support, extremely fast verifications on higher end SSL certificates used by financial institutions and all transactions in naira and not in foreign currencies. According to Uka, “Being present locally gives the advantage of being able to carry out company/documents validation faster such that the certificates are issued significantly quicker than with Certification Authorities based abroad. We undertake the highest end of certification within three days, while international authorities can take months.�

He said Certum CA meets the strictest European and international quality standards for trust and encryption products, and that the solution has been certified by WebTrustTM for Certification Authorities.

Managing Director, Asseco Nigeria, Mr. Adefolu Majekodunmi, explained that cyber threats are on the increase and advised organisations to adopt the right technology solutions to protect downtime in business. “Most organisations do not attach importance to security solutions. They want to be hacked before they take the necessary steps, and this is not good for a growing business,�

Majekodunmi said

Samsung Redefines Smartphones with Galaxy S8 and S8+ Samsung Electronics has launched its newest flagship smartphones, the Galaxy S8 and S8+ into the Nigerian market, following their unveiling at the company’s unpacked event in New York.

The Galaxy S8 and S8+ feature polished metal chassis covered by curved Gorilla Glass 5 on the front and back.

The devices are available in Midnight Black, Orchid Gray and Maple Gold colours with internal memory of 64GB and up to 256GB microSD support.

The Nigerian launch event took place in Lagos recently.

Boasting some of the largest wrap-around screens ever made, the long-awaited Galaxy S8 and S8+ come with 5.8-inch (14.73 cm) and 6.2inch (15.75 cm) curved screens, respectively. Both devices have 1,440X2,960 screen resolution and are equipped 3,000mAh and 3,500mAh batteries, respectfully.

The display quality is Super AMOLED, featuring a new design named “infinity display�, which wraps around the devices in a smooth, perfectly curved pristine end-to-end screen, giving it a perfect symmetry while eliminating the bezels. Thanks to the new display, the physical home button usually located in the front of the phone has been

replaced with a digital home button, built in the glass. Both devices feature a rear mounted fingerprint reader, quite close to the camera lens.

Speaking at the launch event, Managing Director, Samsung Electronics West Africa, Mr. Paul Lee said: “Samsung consistently pushes the boundaries of possibilities with a focus of unlocking value by delivering products that are, not only stunning to look at but, also comfortable to hold.�

Director and Business Leader, Information Technology and Mobile, Mr. Emmanouil Revmatas, said: “Samsung is delighted about these smartphones as they display the company’s heritage of great innovation and stunning design, and will continue to define barriers and ensure that consumers get the best out of their devices.�

The Galaxy S8 and S8+ come with exciting new features for remarkable user experience. The extended screen is perfect for multitasking.

Users can open their favorite IM app whilst watching a video simultaneously, by using Multi Window; this is same for typing text with the full keyboard without having to hide the video.

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Nigeria’s Trade Dilemma Is the federal government leaving prosperity on the table by refusing to sign the Economic Partnership Agreement? Maybe not, writes Solomon Elusoji Earlier this month in Kaduna, on a day Facebook predicted late rainfall, the European Union (EU) Ambassador to Nigeria and ECOWAS (The Economic Community of West African States), Mr. Michel Arrion took to the podium at a trade and investment seminar for the Kaduna business community. In attendance were the crème de la crème of the state’s industrial workforce, manufacturers, and business owners.

Arrion, a tall, majestic presence, was enchanting. The primary aim of the seminar was to help Kaduna’s business community see the glorious beauty of the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA), a trade deal negotiated and completed over a period of 14 years between the EU and ECOWAS, but which the Nigerian Government had failed to sign off on. In June 2016, Vice-President, Yemi Osibanjo, had told a meeting of West African leaders in Dakar that the country was consulting key stakeholders within its economy before putting pen to paper. “We understand that some of the terms of this agreement are capable of restricting manufacturing and trading activities, and we would not want this to happen,� Osibanjo had said.

But Arrion was puzzled at what he deems to be economic reticence. Virtually all other countries in ECOWAS have signed off on the deal, but Nigeria, which is the biggest economy in the region, is unsure of opening its markets to Europe. “We are not competitors,� Arrion said. “The EU is producing different products from Nigerians.

We don’t see Nigerians or West Africa as a market for our exportation. We see it much more from a market for our financial investment.�

He noted that the EU’s eagerness in seeing Nigeria’s signature on the deal was not borne out of charity or altruism, but from self interest. “First, we see West Africa as our neighbours,� he said. “We need stable and prosperous neighbours.

Your terrorists are our terrorists. We have a common threat. Your stability is our stability.

Your prosperity is our prosperity.�

EPAs have been negotiated, not just between the EU and West African countries, but with other countries in Africa, the Caribbean and

It is instructive to note that it was not until Britain had achieved industrial leadership did it abandon protection for laissez-faire. The Japanese did the same before and after the Second World War. In 1840, John Bowring advised the member states of the German Zollverein: grow wheat and sell it to buy British manufactures.

This was a sublime example of economic good sense, but Germany, definitely, would have been poorer for it; today’s comparative advantage may not be tomorrow’s

Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr. Okechukwu Enelamah the Pacific, and it represents the EU’s drive to “support trade diversification by shifting ACP (Africa, Caribbean and Pacific) countries’ reliance on commodities to higher value products and services.� In essence, participating countries open their borders to imports, eliminating or drastically cutting tariffs. Although, in Nigeria’s case, this is an arrangement that favours the EU, since it produces more goods and services, Arrion said safeguards have been put in place to ensure a seamless transition: consumer products are excluded from the deal, and while the EU removes its tariffs as soon as the deal is signed, participating West African countries will only have to systematically lower tariffs over a period of years. The package also includes a 6.5 billion euros grant from the EU, to cover for development and infrastructural projects in the region, over a period of five years.

In summary, Arrion believes that trade liberalisation, which is the good news according to the EPA, is the way to go for Nigeria. “The more later you join the EPA, the more difficult it will be for you to be competitive,� Arrion said.

The Irony of Free Trade After signing off on numerous trade deals, Nigeria has never been a great beneficiary.

This is due to the country’s reliance on oil as its major revenue source and export product.

Free trade benefits those who produce, but Nigeria, ever since the oil boom, has been a consuming nation. “It is a bitter truth that Nigeria has gained almost nothing from trade agreements that we are into,� an international expert with the United Nations for Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO), John Isemede, has said. “Nigeria currently has signed more than 100 trade policies in the last decade, none of which has impact, because we lack adequate capacity unlike our other countries in these agreements.�

This, the fact that the country’s production capacity is too low to allow for trade liberalisation,

has formed the basis for the Manufacturing Association of Nigeria’s (MAN) calls for the federal government to seriously consider the EPA agreement before assenting. And history is on their side.

Muhammed Ali, in the 19th century, dreamt of an Egypt that could rival Europe in industrial and agriculture civilisation. To accomplish this, he brought in foreign technicians, most of whom left Christianity for Islam. Among the expats, the most prominent was probably Louis-Alexis Jumel, a French mechanic-cotton manufacturer turned agronomist. In 1822, Jumel transplanted a bush he had found on the Ile Bourbon and developed for Egypt the cotton we now know by his name. By 1824, over 11 million kilograms were exported; by 1845, the figure was 15.5 million kilograms.

However, Ali’s project threatened European industrial supremacy and comparative advantage theories arose: Egypt should stick to cotton-picking and let the big boys make yarn and cloth. So the Europeans, Britain in the lead, took the first opportunity to deprive Egypt of those tariff barriers and market constraints necessary to its infant industries. Some scholars see this as the assassination of Egypt’s industrial revolution, or at the least, a measure that stalled the country’s industrialisation for another century.

It is instructive to note that it was not until Britain had achieved industrial leadership did it abandon protection for laissez-faire. The Japanese did the same before and after the Second World War. In 1840, John Bowring advised the member states of the German Zollverein: grow wheat and sell it to buy British manufactures. This was a sublime example of economic good sense, but Germany, definitely, would have been poorer for it; today’s comparative advantage may not be tomorrow’s. To survive and grow its economy, Nigeria’s best option might be to, first, protect its infant industries and grow them to a point where it can comfortably play on the grand waters of international trade. Until then, the EPA

might be a right step in the wrong direction.

Europe’s Offer When this reporter asked Arrion, the EU Ambassador, whether Nigeria should try and build its industrial capacity before signing the EPA, he said: “Certainly not. I would say this agreement is the step before having access to enough financing, enough incentives for the private sector to invest in Nigeria, including in the infrastructure in power, logistics. But for that the investors would require the appropriate regulatory framework, they would need the stability of the tax regime, they would need also the rule of law and good governance. “So EPA will bring that; It will bring some stability. It’s a 20 years agreement. It’s much better than the previous system that is very comparable to AGOA, which is just a unilateral decision of the EU to give preference. It gives legal certainty to investors. “I don’t think you need any kind of prerequisites or pre-conditions before signing.

On the contrary, we have seen this process of negotiation lasting 14 years between 2000 and 2014. This story, I would say, has really lasted too long. It’s time for Nigeria to revisit her position.�

He also maintained that the concerns raised

by MAN, is “primarily a lack of information and a lack of effort to understand. Also, we’ve had a lot of meetings with the organised private sector. They agree that the import duties on industrial products, machineries and equipments should be reduced. “They (MAN) are repeating the same concerns that are not really based on any grounds that can be explained. So we are trying to explain.

The risk really for Nigeria is to see others who now have access to Europe’s duty free, quota free market, either from West Africa like Ghana and Cote D’Ivoire or from East Africa, gaining the markets while some Nigerian exporters are lamenting.�

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Khilnani: There is Supply-Demand Imbalance in the Nigeria’s Power Market Chairman, Clean Energy Groups, comprising Cummins Power Generation Nigeria and Powergas Africa, Deepak Khilnani, spoke with Raheem Akingbolu on the power sector challenges and his group’s strategy to help improve electricity supply. Excerpts: What is your general assessment of Nigeria’s power market and regulation in relation to the current economic realities in the country today?

There is no sugar coating it – there is a significant supply demand imbalance in the Nigerian power sector. Grid availability is currently not sufficient to meet both industrial and residential demand and hence majority of sites in Nigeria rely on private generators. I believe this will change in the next few years as the government is making a strong commitment and action plan to improve grid power. For example, Cummins is developing a 150 MW grid connected power project in Rivers State.

With all these challenges, what policy suggestions do you think will benefit the sector?

Strong and enforceable financial guarantees will encourage further private sector investment into the power industry. Cummins is working closely with Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading Plc (NBET) to develop national power plants and we’ve certainly noticed a strong alignment towards private sector co-operation in the power industry and ‘bankable’ PPA’s (Power Purchase Agreements) to make the projects commercially viable.

Moreover, additional investment into the transmission & distribution infrastructure will minimise power losses and boost the confidence of the generation companies (GENCOs).

How did you receive the presidency’s call for crude oil and gas companies to return to the Niger Delta?

Khilnani

The pipeline gas infrastructure in Nigeria to transport natural gas to the point of use is relatively small given the size of the nation and high demand for natural gas. The pipeline network is limited to just a few cities – Lagos, Port Harcourt, Aba & Benin City.

Pipeline development costs are high and usually part of longterm infrastructure projects – hence we pioneered the ‘virtual pipeline’ business to transport gas by truck to any location across Nigeria not connected to a pipeline

Let’s take Powergas for instance, it provides quality compressed natural gas to Nigerians no matter where they live, Niger Delta inclusive. We operate two gas compression plants in the Niger Delta, which provide strong local employment opportunities as well as serve local industries with clean, reliable and affordable natural gas.

In fact we commissioned our second plant in the Niger Delta just last year. For a region so wealthy in natural resources, the community development also needs to keep pace for the region to truly prosper and become a stable environment for further private sector investment.

How have falling crude oil prices affected natural gas sales in Nigeria?

Since the fall in crude oil prices, the price of diesel in Nigeria has actually increased because the crude is exported from Nigeria and the refined diesel is imported. Given diesel is the competing fuel for natural gas in most off grid power generation applications, natural gas has become even more competitive.

Nigeria has the world’s ninth largest reserves of natural gas. We locally source, dry and process the gas, hence are able to sell natural gas at approximately half the price of diesel.

We have seen strong growth in sales over the past year due to the wide price differential, but also the improved industrial reliability of operating on gas engines. Gas is a much cleaner fuel than diesel and hence requires less generator maintenance.

Moreover, the reliance on diesel is very environmentally damaging and puts strain on foreign exchange reserves as a major proportion of dollars are used to import diesel instead of utilising cleaner and cheaper domestic fuels.

What do you think about the gas infrastructure in Nigeria The pipeline gas infrastructure in Nigeria to transport natural gas to the point of use is relatively small given the size of the nation

and high demand for natural gas. The pipeline network is limited to just a few cities – Lagos, Port Harcourt, Aba & Benin City. Pipeline development costs are high and usually part of long-term infrastructure projects – hence we pioneered the ‘virtual pipeline’ business to transport gas by truck to any location across Nigeria not connected to a pipeline.

Can you please tell us your experience doing business in Nigeria, especially as it related to Cummins and Powergas in the Nigerian energy industry?

Nigeria is ranked 169 out of 190 in the World Bank ‘Ease of Doing Business’ report. It is certainly a challenging market, but I believe through hard work and persistence you can set industry standards. For example, our relentless drive to compete on service and safety stands out – all our power plants across Nigeria average over 99% power availability throughout the year and we are proud to have a 100% safety record. Our business model is based on a long-term investment and leadership position in the Nigerian energy industry.

Who are the majority of your customers in Nigeria today?

Currently we serve a vast array of clients in Nigeria ranging from multinationals to small &medium industries, hotels and large residential estates with a tailored power solution for each site. For example, we install and operate waste heat recovery equipment at large industries that require cooling and heat for industrial process. Similarly, for factories that require 24x7 power with zero downtime, we install synchronised diesel sets to cater for any chance of gas outage.

We are also developing national power plants that supply electricity directly into the grid and serve Nigerians with reliable and clean electricity at home – a core right for all citizens in today’s day and age.

What kind of innovation and technology should be expected from Cummins?

Cummins recently introduced a brand new1540 KW high efficiency Osprey gas generator – which has one of the lowest fuel consumptions globally (up to 44% electrical efficiency). Cummins is also launching an upgraded 2000 KW engine next year, which again will boost performance, stretch maintenance intervals and reduce gas consumption – all contributing to lower operating costs.

We have also set up a partnership with Soventix, a leading solar company in Germany to support our ambitions to further reduce emissions and tariffs at our power plants across Nigeria.

We will be focusing on hybrid solar systems that interface with the gas generators. There is so much innovation in the energy industry and it is essential to keep pace with these disruptive trends.

What is your strategy to improve the power situation in Nigeria?

Our short-term strategy continues to develop reliable and localised energy solutions that supply electricity and compressed natural gas (CNG) to industries and large residential estates. This requires continuous enhancement of technology such as remote monitoring software to analyse plant performance and people training and development. I’ve always been a strong believer in strong local capability in order to build a sustainable enterprise – especially in a business like ours that operates complex industrial machinery across Nigeria.

We are very experienced in building and operating captive power plants – having been operating in Nigeria since the late 1990’s in this market.

Our medium-term strategy is to work with the Federal Government of Nigeria and local distribution companies to develop a portfolio of 100 MW + national power plants that pump clean and reliable electricity into the grid.

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Fresh Opportunities as Digital Provides Advertising Platform for Publishers, Brands Stories by Raheem Akingbolu The digital media space has exploded, providing brands and publishers with exponentially more real estate in which to advertise and get their messaging across, Country Manager, Google Nigeria, Juliet EhimuanChiazor, has revealed.

In an interview with THISDAY, Ehimuan-Chiazor disclosed that the use of cellular telephony has also exploded - 50% of South African adults today are online and own a smartphone. “Online retail, or ecommerce, has grown by over 20% year on year for the past 16 years, according to research

by World Wide Worx, and annual sales have now hit around R9 billion. And then there’s the internet of things - an expanding number of connected devices that gather and transmit data - from smart appliances, to watches and fitness trackers. “What does this all add up to? a rapidly evolving landscape for advertising executives to navigate and understand. We interact digitally hundreds of times every day, and some of those provide an opportunity for brands to engage us with relevant and useful information.

Each of these engagements with a consumer allows a brand to start building a profile of that person. As a brand gathers

more and more data on a given consumer, they can leverage the insights the data provides to more accurately engage them, or so the theory goes,� she said She stated that too often, players in the digital media industry have reduced the conversation about digital transformation to a conversation about shifting budgets from one flavour of digital media to another, rather than a deeper understanding of what this digital transformation really means for a business.

The result of this, according to Ehimuan-Chiazor, is a growing sense of frustration from clients and content creators alike who both sense that they are being short changed in the process. She added that the recent suggestion from the world’s biggest advertiser, Proctor & Gamble, that digital media needs to grow up is a clear example of the pressure that’s going to come digital media’s way. “Digital is great for generating activity - and for clients interested in big numbers it’s hard to argue with the hundreds of millions of impressions and tens of thousands of clicks, views and likes that are available to buy. Unfortunately, for all the measurable activity there is far too little focus on impact in the form of value created

for customers - whether it be in the form of actual sales, or any other measurable attribute.

And when metrics are reported there is often confusion, especially when comparing different media sources: Does an impression mean the ad was actually seen? Are all video views equal? Was my ad seen by someone I care

about (or who cares about my product or service?).

Many of these questions are simply ignored or answered by columns in excel spreadsheets masquerading as analysis with no actionable insight,�

She pointed out that one of the reasons for this is that the first wave of digitisation has been driven by consumer

technology and consumption of information. To this end, the Google boss added that the second wave is now being led by businesses who are leveraging the deluge of information that’s been created by connected people interacting with friends, colleagues and businesses, as well as by increasingly connected

systems which has prompted more people to be connected devices. “Technology has provided new means to engage consumers; it now needs to be used to show how value is created for brands by using those platforms. The second wave of digital is breaking,� she added.

Regulators Rally Support for TOWARDS SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT L-R: Principal State Counsel, Lagos State Ministry of Justice and Assistant to Lagos State Attorney General on Civil Litigation, Mr. Lacasera over Quality Olamide Ibrahim; Managing Partner, Bona Fidei Law Firm, Mr. Tony Kpokpo; Executive Director, Centre for Ethics and Sustainable Relevant regulatory bodies in the food and drink sector, including the Standard Organisation of Nigeria and the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), have endorsed one of the leading apple drinks –Lacasera, as a good product for consumption.

They spoke recently in Lagos when the company unveiled a new look for its flagship brand.

A representative of the Director General of NAFDAC, Mr. Kenneth Azikiwe, said the product has gone through the rigorous processes and has been found to be of high quality. Also, representative of the Director General, SON, Mrs. Emordi Helen also said the product is safe and of quality standard. “SON has ensured that the product conforms with the highest standard required�, she stated. In the same vein, a Director at MAN, Joseph Emoleke, commended the company for the innovative product. He called for more innovative products to make the industry thrive.

At the event, the Managing Director, the La Casera Company Plc. (TLCC) Mr. Roland Ebelt, disclosed that the company had added more natural apple juice extract to the premium apple drink, which makes it the only Apple CSD with real apple juice extract in Nigeria.

He said the launch of the repackaged La Casera Apple Drink is a display of the company’s forward-thinking prowess and commitment to consumers’ satisfaction.

He stressed that La Casera Apple Drink has remained the leader in the apple CSD segment for the past 16 years of existence and the company is committed to ensuring the brand maintains its leadership position, while offering consumers a superior and original apple drink with more juice offering. “La Casera Apple drink now wears a fresh new colourful and attractive look with real apple fruit indicating an increase in real apple juice content in each bottle, thereby giving consumers more taste of real apple bite.

The repackaged La Casera Apple drink still comes in a 50cl bottle but with more apple juice that will satisfy consumers’ taste and desire for a premium apple CSD brand that is affordable and available on the go. We have taken our time through research and a rigorous product development process to come up with a rejuvenated La Casera Apple Drink that is next to none� he explained.

While delivering the welcome address, The Marketing Manager, The La Casera Company Plc. (TLCC), Mr. Bello Yusuf explained that the Nigerian CSD market commands a unique hold in the beverage sector of the economy with an estimated 49% of soft drinks volume sales and with the fresh new look of La Casera Apple drink, the company is set to make greater inroad into the market, as it now comes with more apple juice, combined with a refreshing and real apple taste.

Development, Dr. Olajumoke Akiode; Principal Counsel Babatunde Ogala & Co and former Chairman of Lagos State House Committee on Judiciary, Mr. Babatunde Ogala; and Partner, Adereti Adegbite & Co and NBA Welfare Secretary, Mr. Adesina Adegbite at the Expert Panel Review Forum hosted by Center for Ethics and Sustainable Development in Lagos‌recently

SB Telecoms Upgrades TAMS Solution with Productivity Module To boost corporate performance, SB Telecoms & Devices has enhanced its Time Attendance Management System (TAMS) software to incorporate components, which can effectively monitor employee productivity level.

The TAMS solution, developed fully in Nigeria, is a robust cloud-based time and attendance management application that allows organisations to centrally monitor the attendance of their employees across multi-locations from any part of the world.

Acclaimed for its time management function, TAMS has become entrenched in the Nigerian market as the foremost application for tracking employee punctuality by businesses. As a result of its efficacy, the software has been adopted by over 1000 leading Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), blue chips and multinational firms operating in Nigeria and parts of West Africa.

Despite its success, Lagos based SB Telecoms had to upgrade the application beyond just attendance monitoring in response to declining national employee productivity indices.

The new upgrade measures employee productivity thereby providing individual busi-

nesses with bespoke data on its human resources output and dynamics for improved decision making.

Commenting on the upgraded TAMS Solution, Afolabi Abiodun, CEO, SB Telecoms & Devices, said: “Having resolved the thorny issue of employee punctuality, we challenged ourselves to provide our clients with more than time monitoring. The incorporation of the productivity element in the TAMS software was the outcome of decision, and it was a direct response to the nagging need for corporations measure the output of individual employee. We have therefore created an innovative solution which effectively monitors the productivity level of a workforce by examining certain key characteristics. Some of the key characteristics now measured

by TAMS software include time management, competence, decision-making, industry knowledge and punctuality.�

Available top line data by TAMS end-users indicate that the upgraded application increases operational efficiency in organisations by over 60 percent. It has also helped organisations achieve over 30 to 40 per cent cost saving on their annual payroll due to improved efficiency.

CIMA Launches Financial Management Programme for Entrepreneurs The Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA), the leading body of management accountants globally, has launched Certificate in Business Accounting for SMEs (CERTBA for SMEs) a business skill and financial management programme for entrepreneurs in the Nigerian market.

Designed for small to medium business entrepreneurs, CERTBA for SMEs, addresses the financial management challenge or crisis facing entrepreneurs as they strive to enhance profitability while managing working capital. The global programme, which is now available in Nigeria, helps small to medium size businesses create a sustainable framework for good decision making, effective management of risks and cash flow.

Associate Director for Nigeria, Ijeoma Anadozie, said: “The programme is designed to elevate small to medium enterprise in Nigeria to success by helping them to develop financial management and corporate governance skills required for their firm’s survival and growth. It is a learning programme designed to ensure that entrepreneurs, especially those without a finance background, have a

solid grasp of the fundamentals of business and finance, as well as the skill and confidence to run their small business like a big business CEO. “The CertBA for SMEs programme was based on extensive research and consultation with senior executives and business owners worldwide, ensuring that the learning reflects the emerging issues faced by businesses and responds to their need for competent, confident and skilled entrepreneurs.�

CIMA CERTBA for SMEs will equip entrepreneurs with the knowledge and skills required to survive in today’s highly competitive market. Across, Europe and Asia, the programme ensured that entrepreneurs do not just have better business skills and financial literacy, but also run a better business.

The Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA), founded in 1919, is the world’s leading and largest professional body of management accountants, with members and students operating in 177 countries, working at the heart of business. CIMA members and students work in industry, commerce, the public sector and not-for-profit organisations.

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Tegbe: KPMG is Taking Cyber Security Discussions Beyond Technology Operational Perspective Joseph Tegbe is the Partner and Head of Technology Advisory and Markets at KPMG Nigeria.

In this interview with Ugo Aliogo and Gloria Onoja, he spoke about cyber security, what should be done to address the challenges it poses and efforts by KPMG to push cyber security discussions to boardroom levels. Excerpts: hackers are the same people who developed the real applications. They suddenly become rebellious and begin to dismantle and hack system. I think that mindset has to change as our economy and networking ecosystem grow so it doesn’t become a high risk environment.

Tell us briefly about yourself and your professional background?

I am Joseph Tegbe. I’m a partner in KPMG. I lead the technological advisory practice. I also lead the market functions at KPMG in Nigeria. I have a background in Engineering and later I became a chartered accountant. I have intention of studying Law later. I started my career as a tax consultant then went on to become an auditor and then a management consultant. I have been a partner in KPMG for about 16 years and 28 years in my career in consulting. I lead a team of over a 100 people that basically focusses on technology advisory on one side. On the other side, I lead another team, which project focusses on branding of KPMG. Sir, what is the relevance of cyber security to Nigeria?

People feel that since Nigeria is not fully developed compared with most developed countries; therefore, the issue of cyber security is not relevant. It is relevant and will continue to be relevant as technology development is on the upward swing. Statistics from the World Economic Forum, and Global Risk report, revealed that the world is now networked.

Somebody can actually sit in North Korea and be able to hack into a system in Nigeria; this is an activity which is now on the increase. In the North Korea story, it was not on Nigeria alone, financial institutions were alleged as being used to fund their operations.

Organisations in Nigeria are facing cyber challenges risks, it will continue to be on the increase, and fraudulent transactions on online banking platform will continue to happen. We have seen instances of fraudulent transaction taking place. Therefore I think that the Nigerian business ecosystem is not insulated from challenges that are being faced by businesses across the globe. Whether we like it or not, internet connectivity will continue to evolve in Nigeria as long we remain a global world.

What is the level of risk and exposure of cyber-attack we have in Nigeria?

If I put the measurement on the level of high, medium and moderate across all industries, I will say that today it is moderate. Hacking is on the increase. Whether we like it or not, we will continue to network because it is efficient, safer and cost effective. The key issue is that the risk of moving from moderate to high without experiencing medium is the risk that we run. Adoption of technology in Nigeria is very high. Population is also a factor and Nigeria is an oil based economy so there is a lot of money moving around. The risk that we run is the possibility of us moving from a moderate to high risk without taking necessary security steps to address them. This is why we are trying to create awareness and getting our clients and organisations to put this at a board level issue for discussion and not a technological operational issue. Therefore such risk exists. Our biggest fear is that we do not want Nigeria to move from moderate to high risk without necessarily putting measures in place to address it; otherwise we will continue to leave in self-denial.

How do you intend to fight cyber fraud in Africa?

Everybody has a role to play in all these, even as a journalist you have to create awareness.

Cyber fraud will be on the increase in Africa as we get more sophisticated. But it also rests solidly on the organisation, security agents and institutions. In Europe and America, they are building what is known as cyber army.

Over there, they have realised that the cyber war is even more potent than the physical

What are the obstacles and challenges to building strong cyber security in Nigeria?

I think part of the challenges we have in building very robust cyber security ecosystem or framework is the complexity of building cyber security itself. It is a complex thing; you need to understand before you can address it. It is not something you say you have an attack and you want to do it in-house. It is not something you do once because the hackers will always be there. Also most of the system for most organisations, we have legal systems that are very flexible and that alone is a challenge. The biggest challenge is lack of awareness. People don’t have awareness on the impact of cyber risk on their business and they think they are not exposed. But little things add up. There is also lack of resources. In Nigeria we have about 90 million internet users, while we might have over 20 million android users. It might look small when compared to America. The bigger one from a government perspective is lack of resources. Here we consider if we have people with the right skillsets? But we continue to do it. The beauty of all these is that it is a global world. Ten, Fifteen years ago, most banks were using legacy systems, but today they are using proverbs systems.

Tegbe

fight. At KPMG, we are helping clients also to create the awareness and to marshal their action plan to address some of those issues. We are helping clients to put together strategies and also help them to build resilience over time. The most important thing we intend

I think part of the challenges we have in building very robust cyber security ecosystem or framework is the complexity of building cyber security itself.

It is a complex thing; you need to understand before you can address it.

It is not something you say you have an attack and you want to do it in-house. It is not something you do once because the hackers will always be there

to achieve in the next one year is how we can get organisations in Nigeria and Africa to push cyber security discussions from the level of technology operational perspective to a board level discussion and if we can do that it will address it. There are also regulatory provisions today. Regulators are playing their role, institutions will have to play their role and government agencies are playing their role, as consultants we have to play our role.

Journalists have to play their roles.

With its relevance, why are Nigeria institutions not giving attention to cyber security?

Across the globe so many institutions have taken the issue of cyber security very seriously.

Some organisations have been attacked; an example is the democratic National Congress (DNC) has taken it very seriously. President Donald Trump is fighting to ensure that cyber is a big issue. Most organisations feel that their presence is not being felt. Today, a lot of organisations have partial activities online and offline to safeguard themselves. But the truth is that beyond financial losses, there are reputational damages, which are brand damages to organisations, therefore we have to be very careful with these delicate issues.

Some of the organisations have a lot of things offline that is why they have lackadaisical attitude. There is also the mindset amongst Nigerians which overtime we always succour to whatever that comes, therefore we want to take the back seat when it comes to risk management.

We want to raise a bar from the point of making people realise that this can actually be more perfect than you think. The Centre of Security and International Studies (CSIS) estimates that the cyber-crime cost the global economy $445 million in 2015. One industry that stays ahead of the watchers is crime.

Therefore the hackers are always ahead.

They come up with new innovations. These

How do we bridge the problem of knowledge gap amongst us today?

The IP shadowing is for people who do things on the surface. You can drill down and do your vulnerability assessment, and testing to know where it is coming from. No matter, where it is coming from, that vulnerability is there. There is lack of integrated and shared strategies. The second issue is about mix message on technology adoption. Some element of government doesn’t encourage it.

There is a concerted effort by Nigeria Communications Commission (NCC) to encourage secondary school students and universities to adopt technology. You are aware of those programmes of linking optic fibres to tertiary institutions, and giving VISAT computers with solar panels to secondary schools. This is also part of the challenges we have in Nigeria today. The reason why they ban phone is not because they want technology adoption, it is just to avoid distraction. This applies even in work places. For me, I support an integrated concerted effort at technology adoption.

When the ICT plan was being developed under former Minister of Communication Technology, Omobola Johnson, I happened to be part of the support technology resources that were used and we recommended an adoption. In Nigeria, we have the issue of creating demand on technology, when there is no demand then no supply. Demand `has to be created in government area. We must encourage E-governance.

The biggest problem we have today in Nigeria is adoption of technology. It is not even private sector or the school, because the school is out of government. The major area where have adequate awareness creation is in the government area and demand has to be created in the government area. E governance is extremely important. Government has much role to play. I’m one of the advocates of Technical and Vocational Education in Nigeria. It is important that people get educated, so as to create demand for these things. Those who go to school, can go into vocational studies; then apply technology to their craft.

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BUSINESSWORLD

DEVELOPMENT

SMEDAN: Moving to End Unemployment, Poverty With Nigeria’s unemployment rate rising from 13.3 per cent in the 2nd quarter to 13.9 per cent in the 3rd quarter of 2016, job creation has become a priority. Thus, the Small and Medium Enterprise Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) is saddled with the task of facilitating the growth of micro, small and medium enterprises to reduce unemployment and poverty in a challenging era. Abimbola Akosile writes Global Statistics Small and Medium Businesses play important role in the economy of nations all over the world. The United States Bureau of Censors 2010, revealed that 50 per cent of private non-agricultural GDP had been contributed

by SMEs during the last decade and were also responsible for 98 per cent of the total share of exports.

In Canada, SMEs contributed 25 – 41 per cent of GDP and control 78 per cent of private jobs according to Industry Canada, key small business statistics 2013. A World Bank report revealed that in the European Union (EU) SMEs represent 99 per cent of an estimated 19.3m enterprise and provide about 65 million jobs, which is two-thirds of all employment in the EU economy by 2010.

In Latin America, about 80-90 per cent of companies are micro enterprises. In Columbia, SMEs account for 36 per cent of all the jobs and 63 per cent of industrial jobs. SMEs make up 90 per cent of businesses in the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) zone. These offer 60 per cent of the jobs to the total workforce and contribute 30 per cent in the exports.

In Nigeria, there are over 17 million of such small businesses that generate employment in various sectors of the economy. The problems however, are that they mostly: operate an informal structure, lack skill and experience to grow their businesses from one level to another, maintain no financial record and as such can’t quantify the value of their businesses or the actual value they add to the economy.

Also, most have no bank accounts and so the culture of savings and financial management is not fully imbibed.

Progressive Act It was in recognition of these facts that the Nigerian government proposed a bill seeking to establish an agency that would facilitate the development of small and medium businesses. In 2003, the Small and Medium Enterprise Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) bill was signed into law by the administration of Chief Olusegun Obasanjo.

The Act seeks to establish an agency that will facilitate the growth and development of small and medium businesses in the country. The primary objective is to promote the growth and development of small and medium enterprises to achieve remarkable improvement in their activities that will lift them out of poverty unto financial well-being.

SMEDAN, therefore, began the challenging journey of formalising this large and diversified sector into an articulated economic hub for the benefit of its stakeholders.

MSME Spectrum Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) is a broad spectrum of economic operators that consist of artisans, craftsmen, weavers, traders, carpenters, street hawkers, vendors down to shops and supermarket retailers, bakers, factory owners and so on.

Meanwhile MSMEs are recognised based on accepted criteria as encapsulated in the National Policy Framework for MSMEs and each group was defined using Assets and Employment parameters thus:-micro with less than 10 employees, less than N10 million asset; small with between 10 and 49 employees and less than N100 million asset; and medium employing between 50 and 199 persons and asset of between N100 and N1 billion.

This way it is easier to group and rank different businesses within the sector for training, financing, counseling and other business development support needs. It will also facilitate seamless transition of businesses from one group to another.

In the year 2010, a survey of Micro, Small and Medium Businesses was conducted by SMEDAN in collaboration with the National

Abandoned factory......

(0.12 per cent) were Small and only 1,654 (0.01 per cent) were Medium. In a nutshell, the entire MSME sector was at Micro level; informal and under-developed.

The challenges faced by the sector include among others, lack of basic business skills to develop their businesses; lack of standardisation of products; lack of access to available market; high operating cost mainly due to poor power supply which shifts the burden to alternative power sources, leading to high production cost, low profit margin and lack of affordable finance.

Dr. Radda, SMEDAN boss.....

Bureau of Statistics (NBS) and the results were startling. Out of the 17,284,671 MSMEs in the country, about 17,261,753 (99.87 per cent) were Micro enterprises, while 21,264

Vital Intervention Responding to the challenges, SMEDAN launched the National Enterprise Development Programme (NEDEP) to arrest the problems militating against the development of SMEs in the economy.

According to a document obtained from the agency, it is strategically structured to deliver the cardinal objective of creating at least one million jobs every year within the

MSME sector. SMEDAN came up with nine priority agenda to be anchored by the trio of SMEDAN, Bank of Industry (BoI) and the Industrial Training Fund (ITF).

The trio aimed to achieve an institutional framework, developing a revised national policy on MSME; implementation of a robust delivery and monitoring structure; increasing access to affordable finance; increasing access to market and promoting youth inclusion among others.

Youth Inclusion Many agreed that the inclusion of youth into the NEDEP agenda was the most revolutionary notion that would not only broaden the horizons of SME businesses in the country but would equally address the challenges of unemployment and youth restiveness.

Seventy five per cent of the population of Nigeria fall within the youth bracket, and the NOTE: Interested readers should continue in the online edition on www.thisdaylive.com

RANDOM THOTS Endangered Species Ă’Ă? Ă’Ă“Ă?Ă? Ă&#x;Ă?ÞÓĂ?Ă? Ă™Ă? Ă“Ă‘Ă?ĂœĂ“Ă‹ Ě™ ĚšËœ Ă‹Ă–ĂžĂ?Ăœ Ă˜Ă˜Ă™Ă‘Ă’Ă?Ă˜Ëœ Ă’Ă‹Ă? Ă?Ă‹Ă“ĂŽ ÞÒĂ? Ă˜Ă‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜ËŞĂ? Ă”Ă&#x;ĂŽĂ“Ă?Ă“Ă‹ĂœĂŁ Ă“Ă? Ă&#x;Ă˜ĂŽĂ?Ăœ ĂžĂ’ĂœĂ?ËÞ˛ ĂšĂ?Ă‹Ă•Ă“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă‹Ăž Ă‹ ĂœĂ?Ă?Ă?Ă˜Ăž Ă?Ă’Ă&#x;ĂœĂ?Ă’ ĂžĂ’Ă‹Ă˜Ă•Ă?Ă‘Ă“Ă Ă“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă?Ă?ĂœĂ Ă“Ă?Ă? Ă’Ă?Ă–ĂŽ Ă“Ă˜ ĂŒĂ&#x;Ă”Ă‹Ëœ Ă’Ă? Ă?Ă‹Ă“ĂŽ Ă”Ă&#x;ĂŽĂ“Ă?Ă“Ă‹ĂœĂŁ ÙʊĂ?Ă?ĂœĂ? Ă“Ă˜ ÞÒĂ? Ă?Ă™Ă&#x;Ă˜ĂžĂœĂŁ ĂĄĂ?ĂœĂ? ĂŒĂ?Ă“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă‹Ă?Ă?Ă&#x;Ă?Ă?ĂŽ Ă™Ă? Ă?Ă™ĂœĂœĂ&#x;ÚÞ ĂšĂœĂ‹Ă?ÞÓĂ?Ă?Ă? åÓÞÒÙĂ&#x;Ăž Ă‘Ă“Ă Ă?Ă˜ ÞÒĂ? Ă?Ă’Ă‹Ă˜Ă?Ă? Ă™Ă? Ă?Ă‹Ă“Ăœ Ă’Ă?Ă‹ĂœĂ“Ă˜Ă‘Ë› Ă?Ëœ ÒÙåĂ?Ă Ă?ĂœËœ Ă&#x;ĂœĂ‘Ă?ĂŽ Ă“Ă‘Ă?ĂœĂ“Ă‹Ă˜Ă? ÞÙ ĂšĂ?ĂžĂ“ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŁ Ă”Ă&#x;ĂŽĂ“Ă?Ă“Ă‹Ă– ÙʊĂ?Ă?Ăœ Ă“Ă˜Ă Ă™Ă–Ă Ă?ĂŽ Ă“Ă˜ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŁ Ă?Ă™ĂœĂ— Ă™Ă? Ă?Ă™ĂœĂœĂ&#x;ĂšĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜ Ă™Ăœ Ă&#x;Ă˜ĂšĂœĂ™Ă?Ă?Ă?Ă?Ă“Ă™Ă˜Ă‹Ă– Ă?Ă™Ă˜ĂŽĂ&#x;Ă?Ăž ÞÙ ÞÒĂ? Ă‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜Ă‹Ă– Ă&#x;ĂŽĂ“Ă?Ă“Ă‹Ă– Ă™Ă&#x;Ă˜Ă?Ă“Ă– Ě™ ̚˛ ĂœĂ™Ă— ĂĄĂ’Ă‹Ăž ÞÒĂ? Ă?Ă‹Ă“ĂŽËœ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă‘Ă“Ă Ă?Ă˜ ÞÒĂ? ĂœĂ?Ă?Ă?Ă˜Ăž Ă?ÚËÞĂ? Ă™Ă? Ă‹ĂœĂœĂ?Ă?ĂžĂ? Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ ĂžĂœĂ“Ă‹Ă–Ă? Ă“Ă˜Ă Ă™Ă–Ă Ă“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă”Ă&#x;ĂŽĂ‘Ă?Ă? Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ ÙʊĂ?Ă“Ă‹Ă–Ă? Ă‹Ăž ÞÒĂ? Ă’Ă“Ă‘Ă’Ă?Ă?Ăž Ă–Ă?Ă Ă?Ă– Ă™Ă? ÞÒĂ? Ă&#x;ĂŽĂ“Ă?Ă“Ă‹ĂœĂŁËœ ÞÒĂ?ĂœĂ? Ă“Ă? Ă“Ă˜ĂŽĂ?Ă?ĂŽ ĂœĂ?Ă‹Ă?Ă™Ă˜ ÞÙ ĂŒĂ?Ă–Ă“Ă?Ă Ă? ÞÒĂ? ĂžĂ’Ă“ĂœĂŽ Ă‹ĂœĂ—

Ă™Ă? ÞÒĂ? ÑÙà Ă?ĂœĂ˜Ă—Ă?Ă˜Ăž Ă“Ă? Ă&#x;Ă˜ĂŽĂ?Ăœ ĂžĂ’ĂœĂ?Ă‹Ăž Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă?Ă‹Ă?Ă“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă?Ă˜ĂŽĂ‹Ă˜Ă‘Ă?ĂœĂ—Ă?Ă˜ĂžËœ Ă?Ă?ĂšĂ?Ă?Ă“Ă‹Ă–Ă–ĂŁ ÞÙ ÞÒĂ?Ă“Ăœ ÒËÖÖÙåĂ?ĂŽ Ă˜Ă‹Ă—Ă?Ă? Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă?ĂžĂ?ĂœĂ–Ă“Ă˜Ă‘ ĂœĂ?ĂšĂ&#x;ĂžĂ‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜Ă?Ë› Ă? Ă?Ă‹Ăœ ĂŒĂ‹Ă?Ă• Ă‹Ă? ÞÒÓĂ? ĂœĂ?ĂšĂ™ĂœĂžĂ?Ăœ Ă?Ă‹Ă˜ ĂœĂ?Ă?Ă‹Ă–Ă– ĂĄĂ’Ă?Ă˜ Ă’Ă? ĂĄĂ‹Ă? Ă?Ùà Ă?ĂœĂ“Ă˜Ă‘ ÞÒĂ? Ă”Ă&#x;ĂŽĂ“Ă?Ă“Ă‹ĂœĂŁ ĂŒĂ?Ă‹Ăž Ă“Ă˜ Ă‹Ă‘Ă™Ă? ĂŒĂ‹Ă?Ă• Ă“Ă˜ ͓͔͑͑˜ Ă”Ă&#x;ĂŽĂ‘Ă?Ă? Ă‹ĂœĂ? Ă‹Ă–ĂĄĂ‹ĂŁĂ? ĂœĂ?Ă‘Ă‹ĂœĂŽĂ?ĂŽ åÓÞÒ Ă‹ĂĄĂ? Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ ĂŽĂœĂ?Ă‹ĂŽ Ă‹Ăž ÞÒĂ? Ă?Ă‹Ă—Ă? ÞÓ×Ă?Ëœ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ ÞÙ Ă?Ă?Ă? Ă‹ Ă”Ă&#x;ĂŽĂ‘Ă? Ă“Ă˜ ĂšĂ&#x;ĂŒĂ–Ă“Ă? Ě‹ Ă‹Ă?Ă“ĂŽĂ? Ă–Ă?Ă?ĂžĂ&#x;ĂœĂ?Ă? Ă™Ăœ Ă?Ă?Ă—Ă“Ă˜Ă‹ĂœĂ? Ě‹ ĂĄĂ‹Ă? Ă‹ ĂœĂ‹ĂœĂ? Ă™Ă?Ă?Ă&#x;ĂœĂœĂ?Ă˜Ă?Ă?Ë› Ă’Ă? ĂžĂ’ĂœĂ?Ă‹Ăž ÞÒĂ? Ă—Ă?Ă˜ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜Ă?ĂŽ Ă?Ă™Ă?Ă&#x;Ă?Ă?ĂŽ Ă?ĂšĂ?Ă?ÓʨĂ?Ă‹Ă–Ă–ĂŁ Ă™Ă˜ ĂĄĂœĂ™Ă˜Ă‘ Ă‹Ă?Ă?Ă&#x;Ă?Ă‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜Ă? Ă‹Ă‘Ă‹Ă“Ă˜Ă?Ăž Ă—Ă?Ă—ĂŒĂ?ĂœĂ? Ă™Ă? ÞÒĂ? Ă?Ă˜Ă?Ă’ åÓÞÒÙĂ&#x;Ăž Ă‹Ă˜ĂŁ Ă?Ă’Ă‹Ă˜Ă?Ă? Ă™Ă? Ă?Ă‹Ă“Ăœ Ă’Ă?Ă‹ĂœĂ“Ă˜Ă‘Ë›

ĂœĂ™Ă˜Ă“Ă?Ă‹Ă–Ă–ĂŁËœ Ă‹Ă˜ĂžĂ“Ě‹Ă?Ă™ĂœĂœĂ&#x;ĂšĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜ Ă‹Ă‘Ă?Ă˜Ă?Ă“Ă?Ă? Ă“Ă˜ ÞÒĂ? Ă?Ă™Ă&#x;Ă˜ĂžĂœĂŁ Ă—Ă‹ĂŁ Ă˜Ă™Ăž Ă‹Ă‘ĂœĂ?Ă? åÓÞÒ ÞÒĂ?

Ă?Ă—Ă“Ă˜Ă?Ă˜Ăž Ă”Ă&#x;ĂœĂ“Ă?ĂžËœ ĂŒĂ?Ă?Ă‹Ă&#x;Ă?Ă? ÞÒĂ? Ă?Ă™ĂœĂ—Ă?Ăœ Ă–Ă?Ă Ă?Ă–Ă–Ă?ĂŽ Ă?Ù×Ă? Ă‘ĂœĂ“Ă?Ă Ă™Ă&#x;Ă? Ă‹Ă–Ă–Ă?Ă‘Ă‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜Ă? Ă™Ă? Ă?Ă™ĂœĂœĂ&#x;ĂšĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜ Ă‹Ă‘Ă‹Ă“Ă˜Ă?Ăž Ă?Ù×Ă? ÞÙÚ Ă”Ă&#x;ĂŽĂ‘Ă?Ă? Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă?Ă Ă?Ă˜ Ă‹ĂœĂœĂ?Ă?ĂžĂ?ĂŽËœ ĂŽĂ?ĂžĂ‹Ă“Ă˜Ă?ĂŽ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă—Ă‹ĂŽĂ? ÞÒĂ?Ă— Ă?Ă‹Ă?Ă? ĂžĂœĂ“Ă‹Ă–Ă?Ëœ Ă‹ Ă?Ă?ĂĄ Ă™Ă? ĂĄĂ’Ă“Ă?Ă’ Ă‹ĂœĂ? Ă?Ă&#x;ĂŒĂ?Ă“Ă?ĂžĂ“Ă˜Ă‘Ë› Ă˜ĂŽ Ă‹ ĂžĂ’Ă“ĂœĂŽ Ă?Ă?Ăž Ă™Ă? ĂšĂ?ÙÚÖĂ? Ă—Ă‹ĂŁ Ă‹Ă–Ă?Ă™ ĂŒĂ?Ă‘ ÞÙ ĂŽĂ“ĘĽĂ?ĂœËœ Ă“Ă˜Ă?Ă–Ă&#x;ĂŽĂ“Ă˜Ă‘ ÞÒÙĂ?Ă? Ă?Ă?ĂœĂ Ă“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă–Ă™Ă˜Ă‘ ÔËÓÖ ĂžĂ?ĂœĂ—Ă? Ă?Ă™Ăœ Ă?ĂžĂ?Ă‹Ă–Ă“Ă˜Ă‘ ÑÙËÞĂ? ĂŒĂ?Ă?Ă‹Ă&#x;Ă?Ă? Ă™Ă? Ă’Ă&#x;Ă˜Ă‘Ă?Ăœ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ ÚÙà Ă?ĂœĂžĂŁËœ ĂĄĂ’Ă“Ă–Ă? Ă?Ù×Ă? ÙÞÒĂ?ĂœĂ? ĂĄĂ’Ă™ Ă?Ă“ĂšĂ’Ă™Ă˜Ă?ĂŽ ĂŒĂ“Ă–Ă–Ă“Ă™Ă˜Ă? Ă?ĂœĂ™Ă— ÞÒĂ? Ă˜Ă‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜Ă‹Ă– ĂžĂœĂ?Ă‹Ă?Ă&#x;ĂœĂŁ Ă‹ĂœĂ? ĂĄĂ‹Ă–Ă•Ă“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă‹ĂœĂ™Ă&#x;Ă˜ĂŽ Ă?ĂœĂ?Ă?Ă–ĂŁ Ă“Ă˜ ÞÒĂ? Ă?Ă™ĂœĂœĂ“ĂŽĂ™ĂœĂ? Ă™Ă? ÚÙåĂ?ĂœË› Ă’Ă? ĂĄĂ‹ĂŁ Ă“Ăž Ă“Ă? Ă˜Ă™ĂĄËœ ÞÒÓĂ? Ă˜Ă?ĂĄ ĂžĂ’ĂœĂ?Ă‹Ăž Ă‘Ă™Ă?Ă? ĂŒĂ?ĂŁĂ™Ă˜ĂŽ Ă”Ă&#x;ĂŽĂ‘Ă?Ă? Ă‹Ă–Ă™Ă˜Ă?˛˛˛ Ă?Ă?Ă‹ĂœĂ?Ă&#x;Ă– ÞÒÙĂ&#x;Ă‘Ă’Ăž -Abimbola Akosile

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Ëš

President Muhammadu Buhari presenting the proposed 2017 budget to the National Assembly on December 14, 2016

Is the N7.4tr 2017 Budget Truly People-friendly?

The National Assembly has passed the proposed N7.441 trillion budget for 2017, which is higher than the N6 trillion budget for 2016. In 2016, despite the highest budget ever passed in history of Nigeria, most citizens did not derive any particular benefits of improved power supply, access to water, housing, education, health and transportation. Now, the 2017 budget has been described as a people-friendly budget which is capable of helping Nigeria out of recession. In your own view, is this latest budget truly people-friendly, and will it ensure the overall development sought by the general populace?

Abimbola Akosile * With what a senator has said has been allocated for cutlery, it cannot be people-friendly. This is because a similar amount was budgeted for the same cutlery in the 2016 budget. This is just one among the frivolous other items found in this year’s budget. I believe Osinbajo is not likely going to implement some of the dubious allocations found in the 2017 budget if he continues in office.

- Mr. Buga Dunj, Jos, Plateau State * Be positive, and remain positive. Negativity only depresses, and creates the realities we don’t want. Conduct a survey to compare what we’ve been doing with the budgets for the 16 years prior to now with the last budget. Any project implemented or being implemented?

- Mr. Babatunde Odutola, Lagos State * A budget of N6 trillion last year was peoplefriendly; yet it left thousands dying due to poverty. The N7.5 trillion budget for this year would follow same as we all know that PMB is alone in the fight against corruption. In fact, let the budget be N20 trillion; as long as we have the managers that do not have the country and the people at heart, nothing good shall come our way.

- Hon. Babale Maiungwa, U/Romi, Kaduna * Yes, it is truly people-friendly. Pumping plenty money into the system will check our recession as there will be more money for general and individual use. The possible inflation therefrom is infinitesimal or short-lived. On the long run it is actually a win-win situation. Revenue generation must be upped to achieve this feat. This is our chance.

- Miss Apeji Patience Eneyeme, Badagry, Lagos * How people friendly can it be, when interpreted in layman’s language? That is common man implementation.

- Mrs. Adenike Okunbor, Arepo, Ogun State * Until now, gauging our economy with every variable, it’s apparent that all our previous

THE FEEDBACK Yes, it is people-friendly:

2

No, it is not friendly:

4

Others:

8

Radical tip:

Jail saboteurs!

Total no of respondents:

14

Male:

12

Female:

2

Highest location:

Lagos (6)

budgets had not been judiciously utilised to change the livelihood of average Nigerians.

Therefore, what’s the justification that the 2017 budget will be the answer? Effective utilisation should be the utmost focus.

- Mr. Acha Moses, Lagos State * For me, it’s not about the size of the budget but the implementation of the budget. No matter the size of a budget or its tag, if such budget is not effectively implemented, everything about it is a mess.

- Mr. Utibe Uko, Uyo, Akwa Ibom State * The 2017 budget is like all the budgets we have had in the past - we spend more money as a country paying salaries than we spend building roads, constructing and equipping hospitals e.t.c. Imagine a budget that was presented to the National Assembly more than five months ago has not become an Act yet.

The N7.44 trillion budget does not bring joy; vested interest is threatening to derail all the so-called good things this budget is supposed to provide for Nigerians.

- Mr. E. Iheanyi Chukwudi, B.A.R., Apo, Abuja * For the budget to be truly people-friendly the citizens must keep their part, by paying their taxes, rates and bills when due e.g. light, a situation where illegal connections are up to 42 per cent, revenues are lost. The people must be patriotic to expose corrupt practices in their areas. In Ghana, the people protect government

things. With this and other steps, the budget will be friendly.

- Apostle Sampson Chuks, Int’l Coordinator, APAN Gospel Outreach Ministries Inc., Ghana/ Nigeria, Accra, Ghana * It is not people-friendly because it is exploiting people. The corrupt people are in power for themselves, not to serve the needs of the people.

People are in bondage, working without pay and non-payment of gratuities to pensioners for years. The moral of the leadership of a nation determines its direction. In a corrupt nation, there is no one to defend the widows or orphans.

- Mr. Dogo Stephen Kaduna * Yes, the N7.44 trillion 2017 budget is truly people-friendly. It will take Nigeria out of this nightmare called recession that is on rampage.

Available money at hand and in circulation will bring improved power supply, access to water, food, housing, education e.t.c. High investment, growth, and development are my expectations with this year’s budget.

- Mr. Apeji Onesi, Lagos State * The truth is that there is no proper monitoring of budget implementation, transparency and probity must be the watchword of any agency that refuses to utilise funds meant for development of Nigeria. Every budget implementation must follow due process to avoid inflating funds for the projects. Let them make this year’s budget a people-oriented one all will enjoy instead of a one-sided budget where few will benefit.

- Mr. Gordon Chika Nnorom, Public Commentator, Umukabia, Abia State * I believe the 2017 budget - the highest so far in our history - can be made people-friendly, if all stakeholders seek to make it so. The executive must make sure the budget is strictly implemented; the National Assembly must ensure effective oversight of the implementation process, and the judiciary must punish anyone found subverting the budget. If the funds allocated for capital projects actually go for their original purpose, then the budget will be people-friendly in terms of its ripple effect

on the general populace.

- Mr. Olumuyiwa Olorunsomo, Lagos State * In Nigeria, budgeting is not the issue but implementation is the problem and I believe all the budgets in the country since 2010 were people-friendly. Till now half of the year 2017, the budget was approved just last week; when are they going to start? Last year’s budget was not implemented up to 60 per cent and it has been like that all these years; that is why you see abandoned projects all over the places in Nigeria. That is the problem of budget in Nigeria and 2017 will not be an exception.

- Mr. Egbuna Don Nduanya, Enugu State

Next Week: Can Nigeria Aord Another Military Rule? Ă’Ă? Ă’Ă“Ă?Ă? Ă™Ă? ĂœĂ—ĂŁ ÞËĂ?Ă? Ě™ Ă™ Ěš ĂœĂ?Ă?Ă?Ă˜ĂžĂ–ĂŁ ĂœĂ‹Ă“Ă?Ă?ĂŽ ÞÒĂ? Ă‹Ă–Ă‹ĂœĂ— ÞÒËÞ Ă?Ù×Ă? ÞÙÚ ÚÙÖÓÞÓĂ?Ă“Ă‹Ă˜Ă? Ă’Ă‹Ă Ă? Ă?ĂžĂ‹ĂœĂžĂ?ĂŽ Ă‹ĂšĂšĂœĂ™Ă‹Ă?Ă’Ă“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă—Ă“Ă–Ă“ĂžĂ‹ĂœĂŁ Ă™Ă?Ă?Ă“Ă?Ă?ĂœĂ? ÞÙ Ă&#x;Ă˜Ă?Ă?Ă‹Ăž ÞÒĂ? Ă?Ă&#x;ĂœĂœĂ?Ă˜Ăž Ă‹ĂŽĂ—Ă“Ă˜Ă“Ă?ĂžĂœĂ‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă?Ù×Ă? ĂŒĂ‹Ă?Ă• ÞÙ ÚÙåĂ?ĂœËž Ă?Ă™Ăœ ĂœĂ?Ă‹Ă?Ă™Ă˜Ă? ĂŒĂ?Ă?Ăž Ă•Ă˜Ă™ĂĄĂ˜ ÞÙ ÞÒĂ? Ă?Ă“Ă Ă“Ă–Ă“Ă‹Ă˜Ă?Ë› Ă“Ă Ă?Ă˜ ÞÒËÞ Ă—Ă‹Ă˜ĂŁ Ă“Ă‘Ă?ĂœĂ“Ă‹Ă˜Ă? Ă’Ă‹ĂŽ ×ÓâĂ?ĂŽ Ă?Ă?Ă?Ă–Ă“Ă˜Ă‘Ă? Ă‹ĂŒĂ™Ă&#x;Ăž Ă?Ă™ĂœĂ—Ă?Ăœ Ă—Ă“Ă–Ă“ĂžĂ‹ĂœĂŁ Ă?ĂœĂ‹Ă? Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă‹Ă‘Ă‹Ă“Ă˜Ă?Ăž ÞÒĂ? ĂŒĂ‹Ă?Ă•Ă‘ĂœĂ™Ă&#x;Ă˜ĂŽ Ă™Ă? ÞÒĂ? Ó×ÚËĂ?Ăž Ă™Ă? Ă?Ă&#x;Ă?Ă’ Ă“Ă˜ĂžĂ?ĂœĂ Ă?Ă˜ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜Ă? Ă™Ă˜ ÞÒĂ? Ă?Ă™Ă&#x;Ă˜ĂžĂœĂŁËŞĂ? ĂŽĂ?Ă—Ă™Ă?ĂœĂ‹Ă?ĂŁ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ ĂŽĂ?Ă Ă?ÖÙÚ×Ă?Ă˜Ăž ĂšĂœĂ™Ă?Ă?Ă?Ă?Ëœ ĂŽĂ™ ĂŁĂ™Ă&#x; ĂžĂ’Ă“Ă˜Ă• Ă“Ă‘Ă?ĂœĂ“Ă‹ Ă?Ă‹Ă˜ Ă‹Ă?Ă?Ă™ĂœĂŽ ÞÒĂ? ĂœĂ?ĂžĂ&#x;ĂœĂ˜ Ă™Ă? ÞÒĂ? Ă—Ă“Ă–Ă“ĂžĂ‹ĂœĂŁ ÞÙ ÚÙåĂ?ĂœËŁ

Ă? Ă˜Ă™ĂžËœ ĂĄĂ’Ă‹Ăž Ă?Ă‹Ă˜ ĂŒĂ? ĂŽĂ™Ă˜Ă? ÞÙ ĂšĂœĂ?Ă Ă?Ă˜Ăž ÞÒÓĂ? Ă?ĂœĂ™Ă— ÒËÚÚĂ?Ă˜Ă“Ă˜Ă‘ËŁ Ă–Ă?Ă‹Ă?Ă? Ă—Ă‹Ă•Ă? ĂŁĂ™Ă&#x;Ăœ ĂœĂ?Ă?ĂšĂ™Ă˜Ă?Ă? ĂŽĂ“ĂœĂ?Ă?ĂžËœ Ă?Ă’Ă™ĂœĂž Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă?Ó×ÚÖĂ?Ëœ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă?ÞËÞĂ? ĂŁĂ™Ă&#x;Ăœ Ă?Ă&#x;Ă–Ă– Ă˜Ă‹Ă—Ă?Ëœ ÞÓÞÖĂ?Ëœ Ă™ĂœĂ‘Ă‹Ă˜Ă“Ă?Ă‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜Ëœ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă–Ă™Ă?Ă‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜Ë› Ă?Ă?ĂšĂ™Ă˜Ă?Ă?Ă? Ă?Ă’Ă™Ă&#x;Ă–ĂŽ ĂŒĂ? Ă?Ă?Ă˜Ăž ĂŒĂ?ÞåĂ?Ă?Ă˜ ÞÙÎËã Ě™ Ă‹ĂŁ Í°Íł Ęś Ă™Ă˜ĂŽĂ‹ĂŁËœ Ă‹ĂŁ Ͱ̚͡ ÞÙ abimbolayi@yahoo.com, greatbimbo@gmail.comËœ Ă‹bimbola. akosile@thisdaylive.comË› Ă?Ă?ĂšĂ™Ă˜ĂŽĂ?Ă˜ĂžĂ? Ă?Ă‹Ă˜ Ă‹Ă–Ă?Ă™ Ă?Ă?Ă˜ĂŽ Ă‹ Ă?Ă’Ă™ĂœĂž ĂžĂ?âÞ Ă—Ă?Ă?Ă?Ă‹Ă‘Ă? ÞÙ 08023117639 Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽËšĂ™Ăœ 08188361766 Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽËš Ă™Ăœ 08114495306Ë› ÙÖÖËÞĂ?ĂŽ ĂœĂ?Ă?ĂšĂ™Ă˜Ă?Ă?Ă? ĂĄĂ“Ă–Ă– ĂŒĂ? ĂšĂ&#x;ĂŒĂ–Ă“Ă?Ă’Ă?ĂŽ Ă™Ă˜ Ă’Ă&#x;ĂœĂ?ĂŽĂ‹ĂŁËœ Ă&#x;Ă˜Ă? ÍŻ

34

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BUSINESSWORLD

DEVELOPMENT

Sordid state of Trinity bus-stop along Apapa-Oshodi expressway, Lagos

ETOP UKUTT

Increase Transparency in Security Sector to Defeat Corruption, FG Urged As TI seeks local advisory group in Nigeria Abimbola Akosile A new report released by Transparency International (TI) has revealed that an opaque and secretive security sector will jeopardise President Muhammadu Buhari’s anti-corruption drive and is derailing the fight against Boko Haram insurgency.

The report ‘Weaponising Transparency’, which was released by the body in Abuja, has found that unpublished defence budgets and arms procurements are still open to abuse by corrupt officials seeking to benefit from the conflict with Boko Haram and launder stolen money abroad.

The report, which urged the federal government to increase transparency in the security sector, noted that many deaths in the conflict have occurred while the military lacks vital equipment, critical training, and morale.

It also revealed that since 2011, 50,000 people have lost their lives in the conflict with Boko Haram, while millions have been displaced. An estimated $15 billion has been stolen from the defence sector and billions of naira spent annually without clear rationale.

While President Buhari has made significant moves to take on the secretive and powerful defence sector, the pace of reform in the Ministry of Defence (MOD) is too slow and lacks any strategy.

Director of the Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC) Auwal Musa Rafsanjani, said: “More spending does not mean more security without tackling corruption.

The defence sector is a juicy target for corrupt military leaders seeking to pad their pockets. Without increasing transparency and oversight of our most secret sector, we will not succeed in keeping Nigerian wealth in Nigeria.

Corruption in the defence sector only helps Boko Haram.�

Director Transparency International Defence and Security, Katherine Dixon, said: “With oil prices low and conflict at a high, defence has become the new oil for Nigerian kleptocrats. Taking on the defence sector was a bold move by President Buhari.

But, on their own, efforts to bring the corrupt to justice are not enough. Detailed anti-corruption reforms are needed to prevent the next $15 billion quietly leaving Nigeria

through the back door.�

The anti-corruption global watchdog is recommending Nigeria undertake a series of reforms to improve transparency in the sector. These include developing a defence sector anti-corruption strategy to address the main enablers of corruption. “The MOD and military leadership should create a special Reform Board responsible for ensuring this is executed across the sector.�

The federal government was also urged to extend public access to defence and security information by amending the Freedom of Information (FoI) Act; to strengthen the recent Public Procurement Act reforms and reduce opportunities to abuse national secrecy for personal gain.

Government was also among other things, enjoined to monitor confidential procurements by establishing a confidential Senate committee and a well-trained unit with suitable security clearance inside the Bureau of Public Procurement; and to regulate secretive security votes. “As one of the most durable forms of corruption in Nigeria today, security votes should be abolished or strictly regulated.

Protect whistle-blowers. The Attorney General should clarify that current protections cover the defence and security sector, and enact these protections in law,� the report recommended.

TI is also calling on the international community to prioritise anti-corruption clauses in their defence deals, according to the release issued

by CISLAC media officer, Onyekachi Eke. Meanwhile, CISLAC, as National Contact of Transparency International, has been mandated by the TI- International Secretariat (TI-S), Berlin, to facilitate the formation of a full-fledged TI National Chapter in Nigeria.

The formation of a Local Advisory Group occupied by credible organisations involved in anti-corruption efforts is the first major step toward realising this objective, according to a release issued

by Rafsanjani. “This is being pursued within the framework of our new project ‘Tackling Inequalities in Nigeria through Transparent, Accountable and Participatory Governance’, which is being implemented in collaboration with TI- S in

Berlin, with support from the Ford Foundation under their governance project�, he said.

The project will support the contribution of various state and non-state actors’ efforts in enhancing transparency, accountability and participatory governance in combating corruption, and its main objective is to strengthen the presence of TI and the anti-corruption movement at large in the country through enhanced accountability, transparency and public engagement. “Underlying the aforementioned objective is the realisation that, with coordination and support, a vibrant civil society in Nigeria in partnership with relevant government agencies saddled with coordination of anti-corruption efforts in the country will play crucial roles. “The Local Transparency International Advisory Group Members will provide a forum for Civil Society to offer strategic and substantive guidance on the project implementation, strengthen the understanding of the role CSOs are to play in fighting corruption reinforced by collaboration with other relevant government agencies saddled with anti-corruption

efforts coordination and monitor the overall progress and implementation of project activities while and providing guidance for the different outputs�, Rafsanjani added.

To this end, CISLAC is organising a one day orientation programme and inauguration for TI Local Advisory Group Members on the project, which is taking place on May 31 in Abuja.

The purpose of the inauguration is to provide forum for civil society to offer strategic and substantive guidance on the project implementation; as well to strengthen the project understanding of the role CSOs play in fighting corruption and how this role could be reinforced in collaboration with other relevant government agencies saddled with anticorruption efforts coordination.

It will also seek to strengthen the presence of TI and the anti-corruption movement at large in the country through enhanced accountability, transparency and public engagement and monitor the overall progress and implementation of project activities and providing guidance for the different outputs.

FOMWAN Marks 30th Anniversary with Awards Presentation Oluwafunke Lasisi The Federation of Muslim Women’s Association in Nigeria (FOMWAN) a Non-profit Governmental Organisation (NGO) has celebrated its 30th anniversary to look at the role of women in the current economy crisis called recession. It has also presented awards to most performance and commitment members, individuals among others.

The Association, which was established and registered in 1985 with the Corporate Affairs Commission aiming to improve moral, educational, economic development among others in the society especially women, presented awards to 36 women and eight men. Speaking at the event, the incumbent Amirah, Alhaja Ganiyat Ayomaya Oyeniyi said the association was established to bring women together to share their

knowledge and skills among themselves so as to address physical and social needs, and also promote better relationship.

She said further, the marking of the anniversary would look at current burning issues among women to the forefront and launch a fund to the tune of N30 million to enable them achieve some of their targets in the area of empowerment, a befitting secretariat, Dawah bus and possibly Nursery/primary

school in the town of Mushin in Lagos. “The Association is spread across the 36 states in Nigeria with over 600 Local Government branches and 2000 affiliate groups.

FOMWAN is the coordinating umbrella for Muslim women in Nigeria and organising, managing and coordinating activities involving women in the country especially in this Mushin Local Government�, Oyeniyi added.

She expressed appreciation to the first Amirah of the association, Alhaja Ramota Ogunmuyiwa and her colleagues who have made the existence of the association possible, Muslim women, Patrons, Matrons, lovers of FOMWAN, members, mosques among who have been supportive for the existence of the association and the coming through of the anniversary.

According to the Lagos State

Commissioner of Home Affairs, Dr. Abdul Lateef AbdulHakeem, who spoke on the role of women in the economic recession from an Islamic perspective, said women build the most important part of the society by taking care of the home, children and other vital welfare.

He advised women to explored and follow the direction of God in whatever they do as He is the only the rewarding Saviour.

35

T H I S D AY Ëž Ëœ Í°ÍłËœ Í°ÍŽÍŻÍľ

BUSINESSWORLD

DEVELOPMENT QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“It is on record that military incursion into governance has always made the legislature its first victim by suspending the constitution with all powers against the wishes of our people. Therefore, the legislature could be said to be the most exposed in the governance model in the current democratic dispensation, if we have to give its true meaning and relevance in a representative government�

- LAGOS STATE GOVERNOR, AKINWUNMI AMBODE, SPEAKING AT THE LAGOS HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY CAVSI: 50,000 Nigerians Have BeneďŹ tted from Danjuma Foundation Initiative 3,300 rural women empowered with agric inputs in Bauchi Seriki Adinoyi in Jos and Segun Awofadeji in Bauchi

Orelope-Adefulire to Present SDGs Progress, Status Report to the UN Abimbola Akosile The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Sustainable Development Goals, Princess Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire is to present the progress and status report on the implementation of the SDGs in the country to the United Nations during the 2017 High Level Political Forum under the auspices of the United Nations Economic and Social Council (UN-ECOSOC) in New York in July.

According to a statement issued by the Media Assistant to the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Sustainable Development Goals (SSAP-SDGs), Mr. Desmond Utomwen, the report will include a validated outcome document from the National Stakeholders Consultation on the 2017 National Voluntary Report on the SDGs that was recently convened in Abuja.

The high-level political forum, under the auspices of the UN ECOSOC, provides a platform for partnerships among major groups and relevant high-level international stakeholders. Nigeria is one of the few countries selected to make formal presentations this year.

The report, Utomwen noted, will highlight current implementation progress and status, some of the good practices, lessons learnt so far in trying to accelerate implementation, challenges faced and areas that require urgent and sustained attention, while making efforts to foster inclusion. It will also outline the current policies and strategies, key successes recorded so far on the efforts and existing partnerships for accelerating the achievement of the Goals, Since the SDGs came into effect in January, 2016, Nigeria, through Orelope- Adefulire has led OSSAP-SDGs and other implementing

Orelope-Adefulire stakeholders have deployed the institutional, policy and financial mechanisms needed to advance the implementation of the 2030 Agenda.

Working with diverse stakeholders, efforts have also been intensified to ensure proper mainstreaming of the SDGs into the National and Sub-national Development Plans, Policies, and Strategies.

With about 17 months into the implementation of the SDGs, the SSAP-SDGs has been galvanising stakeholders for massive buy-in towards the attainment of the goals. Specifically,

strong multi-level partnerships are being built across Civil Society Organisations, Donors agencies, Public and Private Sectors. This was evident in the high-level inaugurations of the Private Sector Advisory Group and the Donors Partnership Forum by the Nigerian Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo SAN, who is currently the acting President.

In her resolute determination to domesticate, integrate and mainstream the new agenda, the Presidential aide has been working assiduously to establish the policy and framework for the implementation of SDGs in Nigeria.

Consequently, she has mounted a strong advocacy campaign to sensitise the public on supporting the global agenda.

She recently mobilised 400 corps members across the country to champion the implementation of SDGs 2030 in Nigeria. The NYSC/SDGs Champions were mobilised to help prevent the drawbacks found with the implementation of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in Nigeria and would assist in advocacy of the SDGs in the 36 states and local government areas of the country.

In the same vein, the Orelope-Adefulire-led OSSAP-SDGs has also commenced a digital skills training for the empowerment of 125,000 youth across the federation.

The training is currently holding in all the Senatorial Districts in collaboration with Google through its vendor, MindTheGap with the theme: ‘Diversifying the Nigerian Economy: Enabling Youth through Digital Skills Training.’ She believes the hands-on training would further equip the beneficiaries with the requisite knowledge and exposure that are highly sought after in the labour market; thereby helping them secure a sustainable future.

Over 50,000 Nigerians have so far benefited from the T.Y. Danjuma Foundation’s Health Care Initiative with about 15,000 having different categories of eye surgeries since inception in 2009.

Care Vision Support Initiative (CAVSI), a collaborative partner of the foundation revealed this in a statement in Jos, Plateau state shortly after an Eye Camp Programme by the foundation was concluded in Gassol LGA of Taraba state recently.

The statement signed by the acting Executive Director of CAVSI, Dr. Pokop Bupwatda added that no fewer than 50 children with cataract have benefitted from the Foundation after undergoing successful surgeries to restore their sights, adding that over 25,000 eye-glasses have also been distributed to those in dire need of the medicated glasses.

Bupwatda added that apart from community health initiative services, the foundation has been in the forefront of other vital aspects of human development like income generation and education; all for the wellbeing of under-privileged Nigerians.

He said CAVSI, a non-governmental organisation based in Jos, has undertaken several philanthropic services on behalf of the foundation since its inception.

Giving details of the treatments in the Taraba medical outreach, Bupwatda said “82 were operated for cataracts, one for Bilamellar Tarsal Rotation (BTR), 21 for Pterygium, 873 given medication, and 263 recommended for eye glasses for refractive error correction.

While applauding General TY Danjuma for his philanthropy, Bupwatda reiterated that the Foundation has been able to provide vision, education and empowerment to the underprivileged across Nigeria, and urged other well-meaning individuals and groups to emulate his gesture.

Meanwhile, the wife of the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mrs. Gimbiya Yakubu Dogara has distributed hybrid rice seeds and farm inputs to 3,300 women in Bogoro, Dass and Tafawa Balewa local government area of Bauchi state as part of her intervention programme to empower rural women.

Mrs. Gimbiya who flagged off the distribution of the farm items in Tafawa Balewa local government recently in Bauchi, said each rural woman will get 10kg of rice, 1 litre of Habiscide and half bag of fertiliser.

The wife of the speaker, who is also the founder of Sun of Hope Foundation, said it was the first time she was carrying out an intervention in the area of agriculture, and urged women to invest in agriculture to eradicate poverty in families and communities.

36

T H I S D AY THURSDAY, MAY 25, 2017

HEALTH & LIFESTYLE

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

Adewole: Why Buhari Couldn’t be Treated in Nigeria The Minister of Health, Prof. Isaac Adewole takes a look at the vexed issues in the health sector and President Muhammadu Buhari’s health challenges. He spoke with Iyobosa Uwugiaren

H

ow is your ministry responding to the outbreak of Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo?

Ebola is not indigenous to Nigeria. For it to come up in Nigeria it has to be imported, just like it happened the other time, when Amos Sawyer came into Nigeria. So, what we have done is to sit down, set up an Ebola Preparatory Group, chaired

by Dr. Joshua Obasanya, who actually led the Ebola group to Liberia and Sierra Leone. That group is mapping out strategies and getting the laboratories ready for diagnosis. I have been to the airport to see what is happening, and I have also met with the Director, Port Health Services to ensure that we man all our ports, not just airport, land and sea, because, people could come in from anywhere. If you take care to notice screening being done at various airports, without you noticing it, you’re being screened and this has never stopped. We will screen you; what we have at airports are body-thermo screeners that monitor your body temperature. If your body temperature is above normal, it will trigger an alarm. So, we will know you have fever, we will pull you out. We will also continue to work with the media to increase level of awareness, promote a culture of hygiene and ensure that people get use to hand washing at all times. By and large, we will put it under lock and key. The important thing is to reassure Nigerians that there is no course for alarm. They shouldn’t panic.

Apart from the airports, where foreign visitors normally pass through, what of the land borders?

We have Port Health Service at the major borders; Illela, Idi Araba and Seme. At the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting today, some other border points were mentioned, so we are manning those ones as well.

So in other words, your advice to Nigerians is that there is no cause for alarm?

None, for now; but they should maintain a high level of suspicion. Everybody should be a surveillance officer. If you notice any unusual illness, let us know.

What if we have this disease, do we have the necessary structures to respond to it?

We do; it is better than 2014. In 2014, the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) was not fully on ground; now it is fully on ground. We have over 300 field epidemiologists, ready to move. We have a standby team of 10 officers now who will be ready to be deployed to the hot spots.

Lassa fever has continued unabated; do we have enough vaccines to arrest the disease?

There is no vaccine for Lassa as of now that is being used on population basis. What we have for now, is calling on people to maintain a high level of personal hygiene. We need to maintain high level of suspicion. We are getting healthcare workers to be on the alert so that we don’t miss the diagnosis. I’m sure you realised, we have missed a few cases about people with prolonged fever; our doctors and nurses did not suspect that it was Lassa fever. I think this is what we have to work against. We now have a network of laboratories across the country that can diagnose Lassa fever, which to me is a welcome development. And there are drugs available, repositioned across the country; so that if we have a case of Lassa, we can quickly move and treat them.

In 2016, you came up with a new National Health Policy. Have you started to implementing it?

The policy actually seeks to implement Universal Health Coverage (UHC) as an instrument to foster socio-economic development in Nigeria.

It is a new message; and the message is that when we improve health, the socio-economic development in this country will definitely be taken for granted. Many countries that have

be left with about N20 million to N5 million to upgrade their facilities. We have identified one per each geo-political zone as well as National Hospital, Abuja. We will work on University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital; we will work on Ibadan, UBTC, Benin City, UNTH, Zaria and Maiduguri this year.

On a daily basis, most of the Federal Medical Centres and teaching hospitals are not able to cope with the influx of patients may be due to lack of personnel. How is government addressing the challenge?

I don’t think that’s correct, we have personnel.

My Gynaecology Department in UCH, Ibadan has 22 gynaecologists; the entire Oyo State partly has four. The problem of the hospital is not lack of personnel, in fact, they are over staffed. The problem is that on a regular basis, you continue to fund them. We must provide commodities, we must upgrade the service.

The problem is partly infrastructure, water and electricity, and we are working round the clock to make sure that they have water and electricity.

Adewole

developed economically have also invested in health. So, it’s actually a document that is being implemented. And one of the things we are doing is to develop the Strategy Health Plan.

The policy will drive the strategy plan. We are having meetings; we are going to cost it, so that it can fit into the national budget. We hope that the strategy health development plan will fit into the 2018 health budget. So that many of the major initiatives that we want to do, we will do them based on facts. We will do budget submission also based on facts and in line with our national priorities.

Primary healthcare issue was so dear to President Muhammadu Buhari. How far have you gone with this policy?

It’s still very dear; it’s a long distance race; it is not something that we can achieve in one day.

But what is gladdening to me is the fact that we have adopted it as a philosophy. We have many people working together. I did mention that the primary healthcare should be the platform, the first point of call for anybody. It is only the sick ones, the serious ones that should go to the tertiary centre, and I’m happy that the message is moving fast. There are many people working together, we are working with the states. We do not own primary health centres (PHCs), so we are actually going to support the states. I can tell you right away that many states are doing excellently well; Kaduna has done 255 at the last count; Niger has done over 60; Borno is on course; Kano is course; Sokoto is on course, and many of our states. I have been to Abia, many of the states are on course with respect to primary health revitalisation. International partners are also supporting us; DFID owned by the British Government is supporting about 950 PHCs in six states of the North. European Union (EU) has also signed an agreement with us, they will also support PHC revitalisation among other things. We used internal resources to do 110 as a pool for concept. In 2017 proposal, we also have money allocated for it. We are also calling on the states to partner with us, rise up and make sure that all over the country, we have a functional network of PHCs. This government you are serving will be two years on May 29; could you be specific on what this government has achieved in the healthcare?

The first thing is that the president assured us

that healthcare will be accessible and available to Nigerians and we are on the path to achieve this. The first thing we have done is to approve the policy, that’s the third policy in the history of Nigeria. So, this government can take credit for putting a policy in place, that’s number one. We launched a programme called ‘Save One Million Lives Initiative’, where we took money from the World Bank and gave it to the states as seed grants to develop programme that will impact on the lives of women and children because we want many of our indicators, maternal and child health indicators to change. We don’t want our women to die as if they are chickens; that’s number two. We initiated a programme called Rapid Response Results Initiative, distinctively factored for the poor. We started with 10,000 surgeries for the poor and I am happy to say that all over the country we are offering care to poor Nigerians.

We have developed a lot of policy documents; we are working on Fistula; we developed a policy to further our new born care. We have developed a policy for coricidin. We are working with our pharmaceutical groups, our drive is to make sure that we patronise made-inNigeria goods. Last year, I challenged our local manufacturers to produce made-in-Nigeria nets, they are out; which is also something that we should count for this administration. So we are moving on day by day, to make sure we fulfill our pledges. We have started PHC revitalisation, as part of the RRRI. Very soon, we are moving on to really injecting lives to our tertiary centres. We have identified three reasons why people go out of the country and die: cancer, renal and cardiac. In 2017 proposal, we have a project called strategy investment in tertiary centres; we are going to work on seven centres. When that work is completed, the seven centres will be fully equipped to handle cancer, renal and cardiac in Nigeria.

The information we are getting from teaching hospitals across the country is not good enough.

What is government doing to equip them?

That’s what I have just said. Number one, we are giving them seed grants, ranging from N120 million to N300 million. The medical centres will get N120 million while the teaching hospitals will get N300 million through the window of NHIS for them to take care of basic needs. We will then build on this - using the strategy partnership.

Each teaching hospital in the first round will

How about the issue of maternal and child health, which has remained a very big issue?

That’s why I mentioned the issue of Save One Million Lives, which is essentially toned to address maternal and child health. This is a grant where each state is working on issues that will make sure that women receive anti-natal care, receive care of the child, get immunised and so on. But apart from that, we are working with the Office of the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to use Conditional Cash Transfer to offer anti-natal care to poor women. We are working to ensure that we get free ante-natal care and free delivery.

The ministry has been having problems with resident doctors working for federal medical agencies. Have you been able to resolve the issues?

We do not have problem per se, but we have challenges with remuneration, because different hospitals are violating the different regulations and circulars, they pay differently.

For example, we look at the payment of House Officers, it will be shocking to learn that four different hospitals pay four different salaries to House Officers, with a gap of about N40,000.

The Federal Medical Centres pay more than the teaching hospitals, which is ridiculous. So we are trying to sanitise this; we are working with the Wages and Salaries Commission to ensure that things are done properly.

Some experts are beginning to express worries over the products from medical schools from various universities; is the ministry concerned about that?

The issue of training is actually under the purview of the university system; but we need to work with them. Medical and Dental Council is under us. What Medical and Dental Council has done is to limit the number of doctors that can graduate to the spaces and resources available. They have done this and they are implementing it faithfully, and we are in supporting them.

The Ministry of Health has a lot of challenges; are you comfortable with the budgetary allocation?

I am not sure any minister will be comfortable with his or her budget. They will always ask for more. The important thing is whatever thing we have, we use it well. To me that’s the first step; use it well and then you can always ask for more. I think health is lucky because we have tremendous support from international partners; but we need to improve on the meagre resources.

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T H I S D AY THURSDAY, MAY 25, 2017

NEWS

UNICEF: Periodic Review of Medical Curriculum Will Fight Malnutrition Kuni Tyessi in Abuja In a bid to further champion the benefits of exclusive breast feeding and in fighting malnutrition in the first six months in the life of a child and its continuity to two years, the United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF), has called for an improvement and periodic review in university curriculum.

This was stated recently in Yola, Adamawa State, by the organisation’s nutrition specialist, Ms. Phelomena Irene, during a media dialogue on child malnutrition, tagged ‘Investing in child malnutrition for the future”’ said many

health and medical personnel are oblivious of the new tenets that accompanies breast feeding due to obsolete curriculum in higher institutions of learning.

Irene said with an improvement in the curriculum which is expected to fall in line with best practices and global standards, undergraduates will be fully informed and equipped with knowledgeable information for mothers at the pre and post-natal stages of pregnancy.

She said with necessary and adequate stimulation of the breast, the brain will be encouraged to send signals to the breast for milk production, stating that the brain and other

parts of the body work in sync to produce beneficial results for the child whose brain is still developing. She said “It is not the fault of the care givers as many of them were not trained. The world is evolving and knowledge is dynamic.

Many of them don’t inform expectant mothers because they don’t know about the new tenets which have to do with stimulating the breast for milk. The system is to blame because the curricular is hardly revised and as such, they cannot give what they do not have.

“Mothers have to be trained to know at what stage to start stimulating their breast

in preparation of breast feeding when the baby arrives.

Through stimulation, the brain is informed and it in return, informs the breast to get set for milk production. Placement of the child on the breast is also another key factor which mothers must be taught.”

It will be recalled that Society of Gynaecology and Obstetrics of Nigeria (SOGON) had also revealed that the medical curriculum of undergraduate and post graduate students will be reviewed periodically to follow modern trends in the face of present day realities.

This has become imperative as nutrition in pregnant women

and breast feeding mothers as well as in adolescents is presently not taught at undergraduate and post graduate levels of academic pursuit.

President of SOGON, Prof Brian Adinna who disclosed this in Abuja after the society clocked 50 years, said the Medical and Dental Council of N igeria (MDCN) will collaborate with the National Universities Commission (NUC) in achieving the laudable feat.

He said “We live in a dynamic world and things must be done periodically. You have to change whatever programmes you have and that includes the curriculum and that includes

undergraduate and post graduate levels of education. “We don’t teach our undergraduate students nutrition as it concerns a pregnant woman, a woman that is breastfeeding and also in an adolescent. This also affects several other countries. This means in the review of the curriculum, such things must be included.

“Nutrition is very fundamental. If a child is born and the child is malnourished and that child is going through child bearing stage in a malnourished state, it means such a person will give birth to a malnourished baby and the vicious cycle continues.

Experts Urge Govt to Incorporate Orthodontic Care into PHCs, NHIS Say Nigeria has less than 50 orthodontists Martins Ifijeh The National Association of Orthodontists (NAO) has called on the federal government to incorporate orthodontic care into the Primary Healthcare Centres (PHC) and the National Health Insurance Scheme in the country.

Speaking during the commemoration of the World Orthodontic Day in Lagos recently, the Secretary, NAO, Dr. Toluwalase Yemitan said the incorporation was necessary so that Nigerians will no longer be denied access to effective orthodontic care due to the financial expenses associated with it. She said one of the issues was that many people have a wrong idea that orthodontic care is only aesthetic, hence no need to give it priority it really deserves. ”Part of our awareness is to let people understand the importance of orthodontic care. Everybody thinks even if they want to spend money it should be on something else rather than on their teeth. But imagine you have problem with one, it can disturb you for the whole day that you will lose

much more than the money you ought to have spent to solve the little problem.

“If orthodontics is incorporated into our primary health system and NHIS, it will make the people know that orthodontics is an essential part of healthcare. It is not only an aesthetic care, but integral to human function.

The Treasurer of the Association, Dr. Adeola Asade noted that the teeth was an essential part of the body, adding that Nigerians should take that part of their body seriously.

On his part, the President, NOA, Dr. Babatunde Ogunbanjo said even though Nigeria has over 170 million persons, the country can only boast of less than 50 competent orthodontists.“We cry that doctor to citizen ratio in the country is alarming (300,000 to one doctor), same thing with dentist to citizen ratio (600,000 -800,000 citizens to one dentist).

But orthodontists’ ratio is worse.

We only have 40 for our 170 million persons.

“With its inclusion in PHC and NHIS, the specialty can be easily accessible and affordable,” he said.

Boska Holds Pain Free Day Exercise in Lagos Major Pain killer Company, DexaMedica, makers of Boska, recently conducted another round of its Pain Free Day initiative at the Agege Market, Lagos to help consumers stay fit. The Pain Free Day event, according to the Senior Brand Executive, DexaMedica, Tunde Ojedokun, was attended by hundreds of market users and residents from communities of Agege Market as attendees were educated on health tips and risks associated with inadequate care of oneself.

“From qualitative findings, we observed that consumers do not pay attention to their health until it finally results in general breakdown.

“Hence we also provided the opportunity for consumers

to see health experts who rendered full range of health services for free, including provision of eye glasses, and then drugs were given for treatment of ear, nose and eye issues,” he said.

According to him, beside rendering free health services, Boska team also leveraged the opportunity to educate consumers on how to live stress-free while at their various duties.

“This Pain Free Day edition is specially designed to keep consumers fit as they go about their domestic and work activities,” adding that, DexaMedica will continue to improve the delivery of quality healthcare for consumers in the months ahead.

Dexa Medica team administering free medical services and distribution of eye glasses to residents of Agege Community in Lagos ...recently

Pfizer Advocates Global Access to Vaccines in Developing Countries

Firm Restates Commitment to Women’s Health, Equips Centre

Rebecca Ejifoma

Labake Fashogbon

Pfizer has restated its commitment to increase access to immunisations in countries that carry greatest proportion of global burden of pneumococcal disease, which can help prevent diseases and save lives.

In support of this commitment and to help address the practical constraints experienced by health workers operating in many GAVI countries, Pfizer developed Prevenar 13 in the Multi-Dose Vial-MDV presentation (four doses per vial).

It says this new presentation will significantly help reduce storage requirements and shipping costs incommunities with health systems that are still developing. In April 2016, the MDV presentation received a positive opinion from the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) of the EuropeanMedicines Agency (EMA). Subsequently the MDV was pre-qualified by the WHO in July 2016.

This January, Pfizer launched the new multi-dose vial- MDV which was pre-qualified in accordance with WHO’s ‘open

container policy.’ With its ‘open container’ attributes, it allows for the fourth dose to be used for up to 28 days after the first dose in drawn and providing there commended cold storage requirements have been met.

To ensure the efficient use of the multi-dose vial, Pfizer is supporting GAVI countries with a refresher training of trainers programme on a variety of immunisation topics including the proper handling of multi dose vials with open container policy.

During the first four months of launch, 15 countries received the new MDV and nine of these have completed the training oftrainers’ programmes. These training sessions were wellreceived by the national and regional trainers.

Georgiana Golodnius, Training Project Manager of AMP Services. “We developed training materials that are easy to use for health workers and allow for interactive learning process at all levels.” In the countries where we have implemented training of the trainers, 97.3 per cent of the participants think the developed training tools are useful and relevant.”

World’s leading Digital Industrial Company, GE, has demonstrated its affection for women’s wellness as its furnished a Breast and Gynaecology Centre with stateof-the-art medical machines in order to enhance delivery efficiency.

The centre which is the first in Nigeria, is an arm of Reddington Hospital Group,opened recently to attend to women’s challenges related to health.

General Manager of GE Healthcare in West and Central Africa, Eyong Ebai explained that GE’s gesture was driven by its passion for quality and to fulfill its corporate social responsibility obligations.

“We are delighted to play a major role in the history of corporate social responsibility (CSR) and healthcare in Nigeria as the first-of-its-kind healthcare centre in Nigeria was unveiled. At GE Healthcare, we develop holistic interventions that link care from home to the hospital.

Our solutions are aimed at improving clinical quality and

improving patient outcomes amongst other things,” he added.

The Centre, is one of the few dedicated women’s healthcare centres in Nigeria and First 3D Auto-Ultrasound Breast Centre in the broader Sub Saharan Africa environs.

It will provide women with the full continuum of women’s healthcare including primary women’s healthcare, gynaecology (including infertility), endocrinology and bone disease, breast care (including breast wellness physicians, breast surgeons, breast plastics surgeons, breast radiologists, breast pathologists) amongst several other women’s healthcare services.

GE Healthcare is the primary supplier of equipment for the Breast and Gynaecology Centre which will be equipped with cutting edge technology for mammography, ultra sound and other women’s health related procedures.

These technologies will help drive excellence in preventive screening and quality healthcare for women both in Nigeria and the rest of the continent.

T H I S D AY THURSDAY, MAY 25, 2017

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HEALTH

Reducing Hypertension in Nigeria As Nigeria joined the rest of the world to mark this year’s World Hypertension Day, stakeholders say lifestyle modification is key to reducing the increasingly prevalent health condition in the country.

Martins Ifijeh writes Hypertension is a prevalent and serious health condition that has sent many lives to their early graves. Unfortunately, only few Nigerians guide their lives against the consequence of the abnormal blood pressure.

Reason? It is often believed health issues that does not present signs and symptoms are not life threatening. But hypertension is an exemption. It does not present symptoms, yet millions of Nigerians have lost their lives to it because they are either unaware they are hypertensive or they simply underestimated its consequences since they feel ‘healthy’ and their physiology looks good.

Mr. Olawale Gbenga is one man whose family learnt the stings of hypertension the hard way.

His mother, a 63-year-old retired teacher in Ibadan was full of life during the preparation one of her daughter’s wedding, and had talked about how she will dress gorgeously and dance on that day. But she was wrong, her blood pressure was not in sync with her decision.

“She had involved herself fully in the preparations for the traditional ceremony for Friday and the church wedding Saturday. But

by Wednesday of that week, mummy woke up full of life, but by afternoon, I was called that she had slumped and was gasping for breathe. That was how I left my place of work and rushed home, only to see her breathing was very faint.

“We immediately rushed her to the hospital where it was confirmed her blood pressure was far beyond normal. She had 182/125mmHg. While doctors were doing their best to stabilise her, and possibly bring the blood pressure to a reduced level, mummy was fast losing it, until she was eventually confirmed gone,” Olawale said. Late Mrs. Gbenga had never had blood pressure check, because, according to the son, she never presented any situation that would warrant blood pressure check. “Mummy hardly fall sick, save for the usual headache when she is over stressed. For almost three to four years now we did not have cause to take her to the hospital for any treatment, not even for typhoid,” he added.

But the doctor who attended to her says it is most likely Mrs. Gbenga has been living with hypertension for a long while, but because there was no culture of regular blood pressure check up, she or her loved ones were ignorant that she had high blood pressure, which would have been managed through drugs and lifestyle medications before the unfortunate happened.

Olawale, who learnt the hard way says now he not only checks his aged father’s blood pressure regularly, but every member of their family are now aware of the need to check

A blood pressure monitor

theirs on a regular basis.

Mrs. Gbenga is not the only one that has unfortunately lost her life to the silent killer, hundreds of thousands of Nigerians succumb yearly to the whip of the masked disease due to lack of awareness or underestimation of its effects. A recent study has shown that over 100 million Nigerians are at risk of high blood pressure. It is in addressing this concern and preventing the millions of Nigerians like Mrs. Gbenga from dying, that experts are raising alarm over the continuous high prevalence rate of the disease in the country.

They are especially calling on Nigerians to be wary of lifestyle that predisposes one to hypertension, while also calling on them to cultivate the habit of continuously checking their blood pressure.

According to a Professor of Cardiology, Lagos University Teaching Hospital and the National President, Nigeria Cardiology Society, Prof. Amam Mbakwem, the prevalence rate of hypertension in Nigeria is between 30 to 45 per cent, adding that it is now a public health challenge that must be tackled by all stakeholders, including the citizens who must make conscious efforts to prevent it.

Mbakwem, who spoke during Nestle Nigeria’s commemoration of the 2017 World Hypertension Day in Lagos, tagged: ‘Know Your Numbers’,

PHN: Nigeria’s Health System is Complex Rebecca Ejifoma Private Sector Health Alliance of Nigeria (PHN) has blamed the demand and supply side challenges recorded in Nigeria’s complex and dynamic health system as responsible for the death of women and children annually. In his presentation at the Grand Health Bazaar (GHB) 2017, organised by Livewell Initiative (LWI), Chief Executive Officer, PHN, Mr. Muntaqa Umar-Sadiq, listed the supply side challenges to include shortage of critical human resources, weak supply chain systems, commodity stockouts and infrastructure deficit.

He bemoaned that the demand for critical services is very low, largely driven by poor quality of care, affordability, cultural barriers and awareness.

As an Annual Grand Health Bazaar, it was in line with the Global Sustainability Agenda on the theme, ‘Creating Shared Value as an Essential Tool for Enhanced Corporate Sustainability’ hence, Umar-Sadiq noted: “Our health performance is lagging targets. The private sector can quickly deliver tangible impact to high-need areas by applying relevant expertise, especially in marketing and in taking novel approaches.”

According to him, collectively, private sector companies possess both tangible and intangible assets that give it a distinct advantage in tackling specific health issues. Meanwhile, Chief Executive Officer of LWI, Mrs. Bisi Bright, in her statement during the three-day GHB 2017, expressed enthusiasm on the issues surrounding partnership

and funding for the health sector was brought to the front burner.

This is as she announced the launch of the Women in Hepatitis Africa (WIHA) network at the climax of the Second Liver Health Conference held alongside the GHB 2017.

The CEO described WIHA as a network of highly placed women advocating for policies that will eliminate hepatitis disease and also quenching discrimination against people living with the virus.

With the presence of Hajiya Halima Dangote, Executive Director of the Dangote Group, represented by Global Ambassador WIHA, Hajiya Asaba MusaYar’Adua, charge its ambassadors to use their influence and resources to join in the fight to eradicate hepatitis and patient destigmatisation.

she said, “hypertension is the most powerful risk factor for cardiovascular disease, hence the need to tackle it head on. 17 years ago, a quarter of the world adult had hypertension, but by year 2025, it would increase to 60 per cent. As we speak, one out of two adults is hypertensive,” she said.

She said lifestyle modification was key to tackling the disease, adding that what people eat and how they live their daily lives matter to the level of pressure. “We need to watch what we are eating. Quantity of salt in foods matter. We should all make conscious efforts to reduce those risk factors like high intake of salts, can foods, among others. Our fore fathers lived healthy because of the natural foods they were eating. Then, there was no high prevalence of hypertension, so I will say there is wisdom in being a bush man. We should patronise vegetables and fruits, as they are very helpful for the heart,” she added.

The Chairman, Nutrition Society of Nigeria, Lagos State chapter, Dr. Tosin Ade, says although high blood pressure has a genetic predisposition, it is principally a lifestyle disorder, adding that, with changes in lifestyle, the prevalence will reduce.

“The statistics are frightening and the incidence cuts across racial and socio-economic barriers.

Lifestyle modification is therefore key to both

prevention and treatment,” Ade said.

The chairman said sedentary lifestyle, mimicking eating lifestyle of westerners, and smoking were some of the major factors fueling hypertension prevalence in the country.

Meanwhile, the Minister of Health, Prof. Isaac Adewole, who also spoke at the Nestle Nigeria commemoration of WHD also harped on the need for Nigerians to watch the type of foods they eat, as well as maintain a certain level of physical activities.

Adewole, who was represented by the Chief Medical Director, Lagos University Teaching Hospital, Prof. Chris Bode, said there was no justifiable reason for any public or private hospital in Nigeria to charge patients who want to check their blood pressure. “Every hospital should not only encourage Nigerians to check their blood pressure, they should do it free of charge.

“Nigerians should check their blood pressure regularly, as that is the only way to know whether they are hypertensive or not, because it does not show signs. Once people are aware of their status, it would help them make informed choices on how to reduce the high blood pressure,” Bode said.

On his part, the Commissioner for Health, Ogun State, Dr. Babatunde Ipaye, who was represented by the Executive Secretary, Ogun State Action Committee on AIDs, Dr. Kehinde Fatungashe said awareness about hypertension should continue to be a front burner, as most Nigerians were still ignorant of the disease and its consequence. “Only awareness can reduce the increasing prevalence we are currently experiencing in the country,” he said.

“Hypertension is a disease of choice. It wonders us why a disease of choice is affecting one in three persons. If Nigerians decide to improve their lifestyle health-wise, there would be no need having high prevalence of the scourge.

“In the past one month, I have lost three colleagues to complications of hypertension. It is not our custom to be taking drugs everyday, so its very important to have a healthy lifestyle, which has been proven to prevent the problem in the first case,” he added.

He said a disease that was both preventable and treatable should not be killing Nigerians, adding that, one of the problems was that many people living with hypertension do not know they have it. “Over 50 per cent of those with hypertension in this country do not know they have it,” he said.

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Ophthalmologist Appeals for Support for Sight Challenged Persons Hammed Shittu in Ilorin A former chairman, Nigeria Medical Association(NMA), Kwara State branch, Dr. Abubakar Ayinla has appealed to Nigerian philanthropists to come to the aid of persons with one eye challenge or the other and who cannot afford the cost of medication.

Ayinla who is an Ophthalmologist made the appeal in Ilorin, the state capital while speaking with journalists on the state of health in the country.

According to him, “such assistance would help the government and as well reduce the burden of those that have eye challenges or other health problems. He said that, such philanthropists apart from assisting those with health

challenge through funds can also come forward and access the care givers or interact with government hospitals or the Ministry of Health to provide such services. The Ophthalmologist described the eye as one of the most important parts of the body but however, stressed that those that are blind still live.

He also noted that those with sight enjoy life better and appreciate the good things in the society hence the need for people to visit the hospitals regularly for checkup to avoid sudden blindness.

Ayinla commended the “Jigi Maigida” free eye glasses and free drugs programme that was organised as part of activities marking the golden jubilee of the state where ac-

cording to him, 5,000 people were given free eye glasses at an event that took place in Ilorin, Offa and Kaiama.

The medical practitioner said that the Jigi Maigida free eye glasses programme was another effective way the government identified to reach out to the less-privileged in the society.

He urged Nigerians not to wait for government at all times to take care of their health challenges as the government alone cannot satisfy all the needs of the populace but however , appealed to government to increase the frequency of embarking on free eye examination free of charge to patients and provide more sophisticated eye equipments in the hospitals .

39

T H I S D AY THURSDAY, MAY 25, 2017

NEWS

GMOs: The Myths, the Facts and the Politics Genetically Modified Organisms have continued to generate controversy due to health safety concerns. However, the biosafety agencies meant to regulate GMOs appear to be marketing it, rather than being an unbiased umpire. Adedayo Akinwale writes

G

enetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) are products of genetic engineering, also known as genetic modification (GM).

Genetic engineering or modern technology is a technology that allows scientists to create plants, animals and micro-organisms by manipulating genes in a way that is not possible via traditional or natural processes. GM technology however is not simply an extension of conventional agriculture as is radically different from traditional plant and animal. Genetic engineering involves the artificial manipulation of seeds at the cellular level, and allows DNA from one type of organism such as animal to be introduced into another unrelated organism such as plant. A fish and a tomato would not crossbreed in nature, but in the laboratory scientists can take the gene from a fish, insert it into a tomato, and essentially create an entirely new organism. The technology is not as exact as it may appear and results from genetic manipulation can at times vary vastly from intended outcomes. It should be noted that usually it is genes of commercial interest that are transferred.

Once these man-made organisms are released into the environment and the food chain, they reproduce, contaminate natural varieties and cannot be recalled. The technology is fairly young, the long term effects of GMOs on the environment are yet to be fully known.

GMOs in Nigeria, in whose interest While GMOs is no longer new in Nigeria, the proponents of the technology are still fighting hard for it to be accepted by the people. However, Civil Society groups in Nigeria have engaged in the evaluation of the performance and the impacts of GM crops that have been released.

These efforts have been aimed at providing an accurate picture of the spread and impacts of these crops and organisms, and to help separate the hype from reality.

Since the introduction of GM crops in the country, the biotech industry has fought tooth and nail to ensure the spread of crops and the acceptance of the technology. This effort has not yielded the expected results because the crops have not provided the benefits touted by the biotech industry in countries where they have been released for commercialisation and because industry promoted hype has largely failed to convince both the farmers and the consumers.

Meanwhile, at no time has the Nigerian Government taken a policy decision to approve GMOs. Besides, given the fragile ecosystem and stressed environment of the country, Nigeria must take biosafety seriously and avoid the path of introducing crops that are dangerous to the health of the people and the environment.

Nineteen European countries that care about the health of their people have completely banned GMOs. If the present administration is

the government decided to abandon the home-grown approach and follow the GMO route of Monsanto. After six years of commercial production, the country discovered that the quality and world market price of its cotton had plummeted. Cotton is the country second biggest of revenue after gold. Now, the same GMO that has successfully failed in Burkina Faso is now being introduced in Nigeria. Aside that, any land that GM crops are planted will be automatically polluted and no organic crop can be planted on the land again. Any organic plantation close to a GM farm can also be easily polluted and the land would be rendered useless.

Minister of Health, Prof. Isaac Adewole

serious about diversification of the economy, then organic farming is the way.

The Institute of Agricultural Research, Ahmadu Bello University and the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), Ibadan, have been developing successful varieties of crops using conventional methods. These research centres should be supported.

The Myth about GMOs The proponents of GMOs have always ridden on the wind that GM crops produce better yields as against organic farming; though this has largely proven to be untrue. Pro GMO campaigners also said for Nigeria to overcome famine or food insecurity, it must embrace biotechnology. They are also of the opinion that GM crops do not require the use of pesticides, but they refused to tell Nigerians that GM crops produce their own pest and the only effective pesticide to use is produced by the companies that developed GM crops.

Facts about GMOs Recently, the Monsanto Tribunal in Hague has released its findings. They show starkly that Monsanto’s activities undermine basic human rights and that victims of multinational corporations need better protective regulations. The Tribunal also holds that international courts should recognise ecocide as a crime Many-a-times, GM crops have been withdrawn neither due to safety concerns as well as for contamination. Examples include Monsanto’s withdrawal of its genetically modified maize

(LY038) in Europe due to safety concerns.

Additionally, more than 1,000 farmers from Texas, Louisana, Mississippi, Arkansa and Missouri, in the USA, have sued Bayer AG based in Leverkusen, Germany, for allegedly contaminating their farms with GM rice seeds.

A recent investigative report published on the 29th November 2016 by the New York Times titled, ‘Uncertain Harvest: Doubts About the Promised Bounty of Genetically Modified Crops’ concludes that, genetic modification in the United States and Canada has not accelerated increases in crop yields or led to an overall reduction in the use of chemical pesticides. The analysis by The Times, using United Nations data shows that the United States and Canada have gained no discernible advantage in yields -food per acre-when measured against Western Europe, a region with comparably modernised agricultural producers like France and Germany.

In Africa, Burkina Faso, which took the lead on GMO production, decided last year to abandon its GMO cotton. The inferior lint quality of Monsanto products and the enslavement of buying expensive seeds and chemicals from Monsanto every year, for an income less than what generated before introducing the GMO cotton were cited as reasons for this.

Burkina Faso for a long time was renowned for its high quality cotton following a successful non-GMO breeding programme founded by French Government and spanning 70 years.

But after a well funded lobby similar to what is being witnessed in Nigeria today,

The health and environmental effects of GMOs The biosafety agencies in Nigeria and the Nigerian Academy of Science (NAS) up till now have not been able to conduct an independent research to determine the safety of GM products. They only relied on the research conducted by an America Company, Monsanto- the company that has embarked on aggressive media campaign to ensure GM products are accepted by its country of interest.

A Nigerian geneticist from Oxford University, Ify Aniebo, said it was so disappointing that Nigerian scientists, especially the NAS are taking a stand on a technology they haven’t even tested. She added that the dependency on the West for us to make national decisions is ridiculous especially on a controversial technology that has been banned in six of of the eight countries that make up G8. She said that there are many studies that have highlighted the health and environmental effects of GMOs. She expressed concern why NAS is a stakeholder in GMO. Are they not supposed to be an independent organisation responsible for helping the advancement of science and technology? Does their stakeholder position not introduce some bias favouring GMOs already?

“Till date, there have been no human trials on the short term or long term effect of GMOs in humans. The only investigation that was carried out by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC)- WHO’s cancer agency - which concluded that glyphosate (a herbicide used alongside GMOs) was carcinogenic to humans.”

She said it was also worrying that these scientists and pro-GMO campaigners in Nigeria did not address the impact on the environment and human life that comes with higher use of herbicides and pesticides, neither did they explain the technology failure to meet its promises of increased yield but instead delivered weed and pest resistance.

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Glutathione, Vitamin C Will Tackle Skin Sheba Centre Hosts Free Eye Clinic Problems among Nigerians, Firm Says end at naira and kobo. Your Canada.

Solomon Elusoji

Labake Fashogbon

With skin disease being one of the three most common causes of morbidity in developing countries like Nigeria, a global cosmetic company, Ardent World Inc (AWI), said the inclusion of gluthathione and vitamin C in mosturisers would go a long way in addressing issues around the human skin.

It said gluthathione counters free radicals that damage the skin while vitamin C soothes the skin. Speaking with journalists in Lagos, the President, AWI, Mrs. Angela

Frechter, during the launch of women friendly range of natural based cosmetics products like Gluta-C, said persons, “who want to focus on having healthy skin are advised to use tropical application of products with main ingredients being glutathione and Vitamin C. “We believe in having holistic approach to skin care. We don’t want to just give fairer, whiter skin; we want to help people achieve good, soft, moisturised and healthy skin.”

On her part, the Chairperson, Sinai Collateral Limited, and an exclusive distributor of

AWI’s Gluta C and Moringaproducts, Mrs. Charity Ojiaka said effective skin care can be achieved by using products with the antioxidant agents.

This Ojiaka said, include Glutathione, Vitamin C and collagen, which she said work at multiple levels to achieve maximum skin toning and hyper pigmentation.

“Anti-oxidants help remove blemishes, reduces skin fine lines, dullness, wrinkles and age spots.

“It is all about correcting the anomalies and guarantees a nourished, healthy and beautiful look.”

On May 18, hundreds of Lagosians trooped into Sheba Centre, an events centre off Mobolaji Bank Anthony Way, Ikeja, to access a free eye clinic which had been set up by the management of the centre in collaboration with 4Breathe 4Life, a nonprofit organisation determined to reduce the number of newborn deaths in the country.

The patients were attended to by a group of professional eye specialists, including Dr. Rajvinder Pabla, a certified optometrist who runs an eye care clinic in Orangeville,

“I appreciate what they did here today,” a trader and one of the beneficiaries of the clinic, Fausat Okeowo, told THISDAY. “They gave me some drugs and I was attended to by a professional.

It’s not everyone who has the money to visit eye doctors.”

On the motive for hosting the clinic, the Chief Executive Officer of Sheba Centre, Ms. Omolara Adelusi, said it was borne out of a philosophy of ‘giving back’. “I have this philosophy in life; you don’t start living until your life goes beyond you,” she said.

“Everything should not

business must have a human face to it.

At Sheba Centre, we believe so much in that. So when 4Breath 4Life contacted us, we jumped at it and gave them the space for free, while helping with other things. We are always ready to contribute back to our community.”

The company equally has a Corporate Social Responsibility arm, and Adelusi is the head of a nonprofit, Nehemiah Hope Initiative, which has been able to reach a lot of people in the northern part of the country, providing assistance to those affected by conflict.

T H I S D AY Ëž Ëœ Í°ÍłËœ 2017

40

BUSINESS/MONEYGUIDE

Analysts Optimistic about Nigeria’s Economic Recovery Obinna Chima Some financial market experts have expressed optimism that the Nigerian economy would soon record positive growth.

The experts, who spoke in separate interviews with THISDAY, also urged the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) to commence gradual easing of monetary policy from its next meeting.

Nigeria’s first quarter of the year (Q1 2017) Gross Domestic Product (GDP) report released by the National Bureau of Statistics Tuesday, showed that Nigeria’s GDP contracted by 0.52 per cent (year-on-year) in real terms, indicating five consecutive quarters of contractions since the Q1 2016.

Also, the MPC on Tuesday left all its key monetary policy tools unchanged at the end of its meeting.

But in his response to the MPC decision, the Managing Director, Financial Derivatives Company Limited, Mr. Bismarck Rewane, said it was a case of “when in doubt, do nothing.�

According to Rewane, the MPC members, in their wisdom felt

it was too early to make any dramatic change in its monetary policy direction. “What I would say is that they did not disappoint anybody. But at the same time, they did not excite anybody,� he added in a telephone chat.

Reacting to the performance of the economy in the first quarter as reflected by the GDP figures, he said: “GDP figures are moving in the right direction. But it only confirms our view that it is going to be a slow and painful recovery; and that there are no quick fix. “The only way to enhance this recovery is to actually make credit available to the real sector to stimulate economic activities.

That would not be possible with the current interest rate regime.

So, the MPC needs to take some aggressive steps to support the recovery. The bold thing to do would have been to move, but the wise thing to do was to wait a little bit to see what happens next,� he added.

To the Director General, Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), Mr. Muda Yusuf, the MPC outcome was expected, saying that a lot of analysts had

predicted that interest rate would be retained, knowing the mindset of the central bank as regards inflation and exchange rate. “So, what the MPC did was not a surprise to us. But from our perspective, we would like to see a better interest rate regime.

We feel the current interest rate is too high for businesses. But the position of the CBN is that relaxing its tight monetary policy would pose a risk to inflation. “But our view is that under the prevailing interest rate regime, businesses would find it very difficult to succeed. But the good thing is that we have seen some improvement in foreign exchange policy regime, which is a consolation for us. So, gradually, we hope they would get to a point where they begin to relax the monetary policy condition,� the LCCI boss explained.

Commenting on the first quarter GDP figures, Yusuf said what it showed was that the economy was on the path of recovery. “So, we are moving close to the positive territory. I am optimistic that the GDP would get to the positive territory by next quarter,� he added.

CBN Governor, Godwin EmeďŹ ele

MARKET INDICATORS

Jaiz Bank Forecasts N316m Q2 Profit Ndubuisi Francis Ă“Ă˜ ĂŒĂ&#x;ÔË Jaiz Bank Plc has projected a profit before tax (PBT) of N316.281 million for the second quarter of 2017 as against N203.679 million realised in the first quarter.

It also forecasts a total income of N2.4 billion within the period under review compared to N1.4 billion which it grossed in the first three months of the year.

According to the bank, it hopes to increase its total asset to N101.4 billion by the end of June this year compared to N78.7 million recorded at the end of March.

Speaking at the bank’s 5th annual general meeting Wednesday in Abuja, the Managing Director/CEO, Mr. Hassan Usman, said the

estimates, which are in line with the future projection of the bank are realisable. Hassan said as the bank was being positioned for the future, the focus shall be on the retail market for both financing assets and deposits mobilisation.

His words: “The consequence of this retail strategy is not going to be limited to preponderance of retail funding and assets creation but shall include lowering incidence of credit default risk, consistent support for the MSME sector, preservation of shareholders fund due to reduction in impairment, greater investment in technology and steady sustainable growth in profitability.�

The bank’s performance in 2016 showed 38 per cent growth in financing and 30 per cent deposit inflows. It also recorded an increase in its gross income

from financing from N4.9 billion in 2015 to N5.5 billion in 2016.

This performance was described by the chief executive as the beginning of a success story, which was achieved as a “result of a consistent and sustained focus on the needs of our customers and the employees that serve them, through the provision of excellent service, great products and continued investment in the knowledge set that underpins our kind of banking model.�

The Chairman of the bank, Alhaji Umaru Abdul Mutallab also reiterated the focus of the bank, which is to ultimately expand beyond the shores of Nigeria. He emphasised that the National outlook status of the bank has broaden its horizon and therefore positioned it to become more profitable.

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)

privileges such as high interest rates and family rewards while they continue to enjoy the confidentiality of their banking relation and manage their accounts as unique individuals.

The Scheme provides access to people who are presently excluded from financial services whilst promoting capital accumulation and investment boom.

Under the scheme, a minimum

of four family members are encouraged to bank with Access Bank and enjoy exclusive value propositions. Eligible family members include partners, children, parents, aunts, uncles, cousins and grandparents.

According to the Bank’s Executive Director, Personal Banking, Victor Etuokwu, the scheme comes under new segment in the Bank - Family Banking Segment.

-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

Access Bank Introduces Scheme to Boost Savings Access Bank Plc has unveiled a new savings scheme tagged ‘Family Savings Scheme’ initiated to give its customers a boost in their savings. The initiative was in line with the bank’s commitment to promoting savings culture among the populace.

The ‘Family Savings Scheme’ is a savings scheme designed to encourage families to save together and enjoy exclusive

(MILLION NAIRA)

DECEMBER 2016

Ëž Ă™Ă&#x;ĂœĂ?Ă? Ě‹

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

Winners Emerge in African Banker Awards Winners of the 2017 African Banker awards have been announced at an event in India.

The awards held annually on the fringes of the Annual Meetings of the African Development Bank, celebrates excellence in banking and finance on the African continent.

According to a statement, no country dominated the awards this year. It revealed that the President of Afreximbank, Dr.

Benedict Oramah won ‘Banker of the Year. Also, GTBank beat off competition from five shortlisted nominees to win the coveted ‘African Bank of the Year Award’.

The ‘Lifetime Achievement Award’ was presented to an institution for the first time, as opposed to an individual. “This was recognition to the outstanding contribution to African banking that Citi as an organisation had done since it has

started operating in Africa and in shaping some of Africa’s leading bankers, many of who have led the growing number of African financial institutions across the continent,� the statement added.

In addition, the acting CEO and Managing Director of Bank of Industry, Waheed A. Olagunju, was honoured with this year’s ‘African Banker Icon’ award, which recognises a banking career that spans over two decades.

Ëž Ă™Ă˜Ă?ĂžĂ‹ĂœĂŁ ÙÖÓĂ?ĂŁ Ă‹ĂžĂ? Ě‹ ͯͲϹ

OPEC DAILY BASKET PRICE AS AT TUESDAY 23, MAY 2017

The price of OPEC basket of thirteen crudes stood at $51.34 a barrel on Tuesday, compared with $51.54 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 Ëž Ëœ Í°ÍłËœ Í°ÍŽÍŻÍľ

MARKET NEWS

Nestle Shareholders Receive N7.93bn Dividend Despite ProďŹ t Decline Joshua Odebisi Shareholders of Nestle Nigeria Plc have commended the board of directors for recommending a dividend of N7.93 billion for the year ended December 31, 2016, despite the decline in bottom-line of the company.

Speaking at the annual general meeting (AGM) in Lagos, the shareholders said it was gratifying to note that

Nestle is paying a dividend of N7.93 billion, which translates to N10.00 per share for the 2016 amidst a decline of 67 per cent in profit after tax (PAT) for the year.

While Nestle Nigeria grew its revenue by 20 per cent from N151.3 billion to N181.9 billion, PAT fell from N23.7 billion to N7.92 billion due to impact of naira devaluation and expiration of the pioneer status among

T H E

others.

The lower bottom line notwithstanding, the directors recommended a dividend of N10.00 per share, which is lower than the N29.00 paid the previous year.

For instance, Sir Sunny Nwosu of Independent Shareholders Association of Nigeria (ISAN), lauded the company for the dividend declared in the face of the challenging environment.

N I G E R I A N

He advised that the company’s products quality must be sustained in order to maintain its leadership position in the industry, adding that Nestle should also extend its water business production line to South-east to tap into enormous opportunities in the area.

Another shareholder, Mr. Williams Adebayo, said that the company should map out strategies aimed at reducing

STO C K

loans and borrowings and that the company should consider rights issue for fresh funds as an option.

In his address to the shareholders, Chairman of Nestle Nigeria, Mr. David Ifezulike, said 2016 was a challenging year due to scarcity of foreign exchange , devaluation of the naira and unfriendly economic policies, among others.

According to him, the scarcity

E XC H A N G E

of foreign exchange and devaluation of the nation’s currency led to increase in the company’s foreign loans portfolio. “The fact that our sales increased by 20 per cent in 2016 is a confirmation that our brands continue to enjoy strong patronage from consumers in spite of inflationary pressures, weak purchasing power and the challenging operating environment�.

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˾ THURSDAY, MAY 25, 2017

MARKET NEWS

Dangote Cement Reaps Benefits of Pan-African Diversification Goddy Egene The Chairman of Dangote Cement Plc, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, yesterday told shareholders of the company that its Pan-African diversification programme has provided the essential foreign currency and streams of cash to operate the company despite the challenges that characterised 2016.

Speaking at the eighth annual general meeting (AGM) in Lagos, Dangote said the Nigerian economy fell into

recession in 2016, inflation peaked at 18.6 per cent, while resurgence in attacks on oil and gas pipelines in South left Ibese and Obajana factories short of fuel.

He, however, noted that the results of strategic decisions taken a years ago enabled Dangote Cement to strengthen its business and consolidate its position in a year when many others in Nigeria and across the rest of Africa have struggled against economic downturn.

“Our Pan-African

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

diversification has provided cash streams from countries such as Senegal, Cameroon and Zambia, which have provided us with essential foreign currency as foreign exchange controls made it difficult for us to obtain dollars for operations. Furthermore, we were able to borrow money in these countries’ local currencies, thus reducing our exposure to foreign currency shortages in Nigeria. In addition, we began to generate foreign currency sales from exports of cement from Nigeria to Ghana,”

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 23May-2017, unless otherwise stated

Dangote said.

Commenting on the financial performance in 2016, he said cement sales volume increased by 25 per cent to nearly 23.6 metric tonnes (Mt), 14.8mt sold in Nigeria.

“Revenue increased by 25.1 per cent to N615.1 billion of which 68.3 per cent was generated in Nigeria and 31.7 per cent from Pan-Africa operations. Our earnings before interest, depreciation and amortisiation (EBITDA) decreased only slightly to N257.2 billion, with Pan-African

operations contributing N26.5 billion. Earnings per share increased by 4.5 per cent to N11.34. We invested N136.2 billion across Africa, including N62.9 billion in Nigeria and created nearly 2,000 jobs,” the chairman said.

He said the success in 2016 has enabled the board to recommend a dividend of N8.50 per share 50 kobo share, which is 6.25 per cent higher than last year and a dividend payout equal to 74.9 per cent.

The chairman disclosed that in 2017, the company

would begin to benefit from using coal mined in Kogi State by its parent firm, Dangote Industries.

“The benefits of this switch are numerous: the coal we buy will be cheaper than alternatives such as gas and imported coal; it will be priced and paid for in Naira, reducing our need for foreign exchange to fund our biggest variable cost and it allows us to control our fuel supply chain without dependence on gas pipeline security or importers of coal and LPFO,” Dangote stated.

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 146.34 147.25 15.36% Nigeria International Debt Fund 218.90 220.16 3.25% 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 0.73 0.74 4.78% 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 18.06% 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 13.71 14.13 11.07% ARM Discovery Fund 313.10 322.54 9.03% ARM Ethical Fund 23.07 23.77 3.27% ARM Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 16.04% 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 119.41 120.25 13.53% AXA Mansard Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 17.96% CHAPELHILL DENHAM MANAGEMENT LTD investmentmanagement@chapelhilldenham.com Web: www.chapelhilldenham.com, Tel: +234 461 0691 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Chapelhill Denham Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 0.00% Paramount Equity Fund 10.49 10.76 12.08% Women's Investment Fund 90.57 92.89 7.06% 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 18.55% 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 1,073.78 1,074.90 6.25% FBN Heritage Fund 122.06 122.93 9.41% FBN Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 17.74% FBN Nigeria Eurobond (USD) Fund - Institutional $108.56 $108.93 5.29% FBN Nigeria Eurobond (USD) Fund - Retail $108.02 $108.40 5.50% FBN Nigeria Smart Beta Equity Fund 125.19 126.87 11.13% 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 1.08 1.10 15.96% Legacy Short Maturity (NGN) Fund 2.73 2.73 6.14% 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 2,390.05 2,420.86 8.25% Coral Income Fund 2,251.73 2,251.73 7.01% 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 16.70% 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 18.57% Vantage Balanced Fund 1.85 1.87 10.08% Vantage Guaranteed Income Fund 1.00 1.00 17.62%

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 1.04 1.06 5.20% Lotus Halal Fixed Income Fund 1,023.78 1,023.78 4.06% 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 10.92 11.01 12.94% Meristem Money Market Fund 10.00 10.00 15.60% 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 1.11 1.13 12.12% PACAM Fixed Income Fund 10.55 10.62 1.57% PACAM Money Market Fund 10.00 10.00 14.39% 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 117.71 118.24 15.40% 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 1.30 1.30 4.43% 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 1,941.49 1,951.70 6.01% Stanbic IBTC Bond Fund 158.54 158.54 2.97% Stanbic IBTC Ethical Fund 0.82 0.83 7.14% Stanbic IBTC Guaranteed Investment Fund 198.15 198.15 6.02% Stanbic IBTC Iman Fund 137.61 139.52 6.04% Stanbic IBTC Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 18.46% Stanbic IBTC Nigerian Equity Fund 7,949.80 8,040.60 4.82% 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 1.22 1.23 10.79% United Capital Bond Fund 1.31 1.31 15.55% United Capital Equity Fund 0.73 0.74 2.86% United Capital Money Market Fund 1.16 1.16 11.20% 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 11.14 11.33 15.19% Zenith Ethical Fund 11.87 11.99 8.59% Zenith Income Fund 17.84 17.84 7.94%

REITS NAV Per Share

Yield / T-Rtn

11.41 126.87

1.01% 2.34%

Bid Price

Offer Price

Yield / T-Rtn

8.79 83.01

8.89 84.54

0.11% 9.52%

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

3.34 6.99 13.46 16.87 129.39

3.38 7.07 13.56 17.07 131.39

21.07% -0.57% 11.97% 5.73% -0.37%

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 MAY 25, 2017 ˾ T H I S D AY

INTERNATIONAL

email:foreigndesk@thisdaylive.com

Trump Tells Middle East: Step Up in Fight over ‘Islamist Extremism’ U.S. President Donald Trump called on Arab leaders to do their share to fight “Islamist extremism” on Sunday in a speech that put the burden on the region to combat militant groups while urging unity among religions.

Trump, who generated controversy with his push to ban many Muslims from entering the United States, described the fight against terrorism as a battle between good and evil rather than a clash of civilisations.

“This is a battle between barbaric criminals who seek to obliterate human life, and decent people of all religions who seek to protect it,” Trump said in the speech, according

to excerpts of the speech released by the White House.

“That means honestly confronting the crisis of Islamist extremism and the Islamist terror groups it inspires. And it means standing together against the murder of innocent Muslims, the oppression of women, the persecution of Jews, and the slaughter of Christians.”

Trump’s “America first” philosophy helped him win the 2016 election and has rattled allies who depend on U.S. support for their defense. The president, who is struggling to contain a brewing political scandal at home, made clear in his address that Washington would partner with the

Middle East but expected more action in return.

“Terrorism has spread across the world. But the path to peace begins right here, on this ancient soil, in this sacred land,” he said in Saudi Arabia, the first stop on a nine-day tour that includes Israel, Italy and Belgium.

The speech is part of an effort to redefine his relationship with the Muslim world after Trump frequently attacked Muslims on the campaign trail last year and tried to ban many from entering the United States.

The approach was also designed to contrast with former President Barack Obama, whom Trump has criticised for his handling of the fight against Islamic State.

North Korea Tests another Missile, Seoul Says Dashes Hopes for Peace North Korea fired a ballistic missile into waters off its east coast on Sunday, its second missile test in a week, which South Korea said dashed the hopes of the South’s new liberal government for peace between the neighbors.

A South Korean military official said the missile appeared to be an upgraded, extended-range version of the North’s solid-fuel submarine-launched missile.

The missile fired a week ago flew was liquid-fuelled, and flew further.

North Korea has defied all calls to rein in its nuclear and missile programs, even from China, its lone major ally, saying the weapons are needed for legitimate self-defense.

The reclusive state has been working to develop a nuclear-tipped missile capable of striking the U.S. mainland. On Saturday, it said it had developed the capability to strike the U.S. mainland, although Western missile experts say the claim is exaggerated.

An official traveling with U.S. President Donald Trump in Saudi Arabia said the White House was aware of the latest launch and noted that the missile had a shorter range than the three previous missiles that North Korea had tested.

U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said economic and diplomatic pressure would continue to be applied to North Korea.

“The ongoing testing is disappointing, disturbing and we ask that they cease that,” he said in an interview with “Fox

News Sunday”.

The two missile tests in a week complicate plans

by South Korea’s new President Moon Jae-in to seek ways to reduce tension on the peninsula.

Moon took office eleven days ago after winning an election on a platform of a more moderate approach to the North, with which the South is still technically at war since no peace treaty was signed at the end of their 1950-1953 conflict.

South Korea’s foreign ministry said the tests were “reckless and irresponsible actions throwing cold water over the hopes and desires

of this new government and the international community for denuclearisation and peace on the Korean peninsula”.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said the latest missile test by the reclusive North was “a snub and a challenge to international efforts for a peaceful resolution”.

Abe told reporters after a meeting of Japan’s National Security Council that he wanted to raise the issue of North Korean missile launches at the Group of Seven leaders’ summit in Italy this month.

China had no immediate comment.

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NEWSXTRA

Buhari’s Absence Stalls APC Convention, Governors to Meet Osinbajo Party gives self pass mark after two years of rule

Onyebuchi Ezigbo ÓØ ÌßÔË The absence of President Muhammadu Buhari in the country has put a wedge on the plans by the All Progressives Congress (APC) to hold its long-overdue mid-term national convention.

The Governor of Plateau State,

Simon Lalong, who confirmed this yesterday while addressing journalists after the meeting of the National Working Committee (NWC) and governors, said President Buhari was part of the process to fix the convention date before his sudden departure to the United Kingdom.

“We want to conduct

House C’ttee Commences Arms Deal Probe Amid Low Turnout James Emejo ÓØ ÌßÔË

and memoranda.

“So as a result, this hearing The House of Representatives will continue tomorrow (today), Joint Committees on National and we want to assure Nigerians Security and Intelligence and that this House is and remains Public Procurement yesterday on the same page with President began investigation into Muhammadu Buhari in his fight the procurement of military against corruption.”

All the service chiefs, National hardware.

But the absence of invited Security Adviser, Department respondents, forced the lead of State Services, National, Committee Chairman, Hon. Intelligence Agency, Ministry Aminu Sani Jaji (APC, Zamfara) of Defence and defence contractors are expected to make to adjourn hearing till today.

He said the committee was on presentations before the joint a fact-finding mission on behalf committees today.

The federal government of Nigerians who they represent and would not witch-hunt any had constituted a presidential probe panel to investigate individual.

He said: “This hearing is not military spending, particularly designed to witch-hunt any the procurement of arms individual or group, rather, we and ammunitions under the are on a fact-finding mission and administration of President we have obtained particulars Goodluck Jonathan.

a convention which is constitutional and the leader of the party must also be at the convention, so at the time we agreed to meet with Mr. President on the issue, unfortunately the president had to travel out. Since the approach was first to the president, we all agreed to meet with the acting president still on the same process to agree on a date for the convention,” he said.

Lalong however, said the APC governors have resolved to meet with the Acting President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, to agree on a fresh date to hold the convention.

“What we agreed was since we have an acting president, the team which was supposed to meet with the president with the suggested date, we now agreed that the same process should start again with the acting president,” he said.

Speaking on the party’s achievement in the last two

years, Lalong said the meeting with the party’s leadership reviewed performances in the states under its control, adding that the ruling party has been able to overcome initial challenges.

Regarding the crisis in some of the state chapters of the party, the Plateau State governor said most of the issues had been resolved.

“The purpose of this meeting was to review our party activities and to talk about preparations for second year anniversary. The meeting took a total review of the activities so far and the performance of our party in various states where we have APC governments and came to the conclusion that so far so good. we have done very well.

“At that time, there were issues like that but as you can see from this meeting, everyone is smiling. the party is smiling. those challenges have been taken over by events that is why I am

telling you that we are taking things serious now and we are meeting on a monthly basis now. issues like that are no longer issues,” he said.

The National Chairman of APC, Chief John Oyegun, also echoed the position of the governors that the party and its governments have done well in that two years.

“In fact, it is sad that we are full of issues at the central level which the social media have tended to concentrate on and that all the good works that our governors are doing tend to be downplayed.

“I have a wonderful experience in Zamfara State where I had distinct privilege of inaugurating two magnificent water projects with facilities to reticulate and redistribute water to over 6,000 kilometres of pipelines.

I said I am specially happy because its effects on the lives of people is obvious.

“It made me to see that our governors are in fact embarking on projects that touch the ordinary man and woman and made them feel that they have benefited from the APC government.

Oyegun was particularly full of praises for the Zamfara State Governor, Abdulaziz Yari, for the great inroads he made in executing development projects that is impacting on the lives of the people.

He said as part of the anniversary programme, the party has decided to embark on showcasing projects in various APC states.

Governors of Plateau, Niger, Kebbi, Benue, Jigawa, Edo, Zamfara, Kastina, Bauchi States attended the meeting while deputy governors of Kwara, Kogi, Lagos, Ogun, Osun, Nasarawa, Imo State stood in for their state chief executives.

Court Grants Former NNPC Boss,Yakubu, Permission to Travel Abroad The Federal High Court in Abuja yesterday granted the former Group Managing Director (GMD) of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Andrew Yakubu, permission to travel abroad for medical treatment.

Yakubu was arraigned by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on a six-count charge of money laundering and false declaration of asset.

At the resumed hearing of the case, the defendant, through his counsel, Ahmed Raji, pleaded with the court to allow him travel to the UK to complete his medical treatment.

Raji told the court that the defendant was undergoing medical treatment before he was summoned by the EFCC to return to the country.

He also pleaded with the court to order the release of the defendant’s international passport which was deposited with the Deputy Chief Registrar of the court as part of his bail conditions.

In his response, counsel to EFCC, Ben Ikani, said he would not object to the application since it was based on health grounds.

While leaving the request to the discretion of the court, Ikani, according to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN),

urged the trial judge to release the passport to Raji, the defendant’s lawyer.

In his ruling, Justice Ahmed Mohammed said he was disposed to granting the motion since it was not opposed by the prosecution.

He granted the defendant three weeks permission to travel to the UK for completion of his medical treatment.

The three weeks would commence from May 25.

The court directed that one sureties must file a separate affidavit agreeing to be held liable should the defendant fail to return to Nigeria to face his trial.

Before adjourning the trial till July 6, Justice Mohammed directed the former NNPC boss to surrender his international passport with the Deputy Registrar of the court on his return to the country.

The defendant was granted bail to the tune of N300 million with two sureties in like sum.

Yakubu was arrested following a tip-off by a whistle-blower.

The EFCC raided his property at Sabon Tasha, Kaduna State and discovered $9.7 million and £74,000 hidden in a fireproof safe.

THE CHAMPION IS IN TOWN

Four-time World Boxing Heavyweight Champion, Evander Holyfield (third right); National Leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Senator Bola Tinubu (left right) and others, when Holyfield visited the APC leader at his Bourdillon, Ikoyi residence as a prelude to Rhumbles, a charity boxing match between Holyfield and Tinubu which holds today at the Landmark Event Centre, Victoria Island, Lagos

Okonjo-Iweala: You Can’t Achieve Growth If You Have Forex Distortions Former Coordinating Minister for the Economy and Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi OkonjoIweala, has said growth and development cannot be achieved when a country has distortions in its foreign exchange rates.

Speaking at the launch of ‘Beating the Odds: Jumpstarting Developing Countries’, a book written by Justin Yifu Lin and Celestin Monga in Ahmedabad, India, Okonjo-Iweala said there is no one way to growth and development, but some basic principles must be in place.

“You can have development that takes specific country and context specific situations in hand and begin from there,” she said.

“So, the proposals for

industrial parks, industrial zones or what you want to call them as a way of kicking off development in a country fits within this context.

“For me, I think we should just absorb the lesson that there is no one correct answer to economic growth and development. There is no one path.

“There are some specific and fundamental principles that are important, which if you do not observe, you will not take off.

And I think, even with this, you would agree; if your prices are not right within the economy, it is still not going to work.

“And when I mean prices, I think like; if you have a distorted exchange rate regime, if you

have very severe distortions within the economy, that are fundamental to macroeconomic stability, it is not going to work.

“So, we can outline those principles, and say you need to observe certain principles; these are not conditionalities or 450 prescriptions we are talking about. They are just certain basic principles that underpin development.”

She said the state also has a major role to play in achieving economic growth and development, emphasising that not all can be left to the market to do.

“We forget that even in those countries where the economic theories that we are expounding were born and are

being practised that there is an acknowledged role for the state,” she said.

“That there are market imperfections and failures, where we have to call in other instruments other than the market. These are things we need to bear in mind.”

Okonjo-Iweala, according to TheCable, said many people do not know the president of Switzerland, but investors and individuals from all over the world trust the Swiss with their monies because the nation had built institutions bigger than the president.

She called on African nations to build institutions rather than building personalities.

57

THURSDAY, MAY 25, 2017Ëž T H I S D AY

NEWSXTRA

Don’t Refer to Lagos as No Man’s Land Again, Say Osoba, Akiolu Creation of states damaged Nigeria, says Okunnu Gboyega Akinsanmi Former Ogun State Governor, Chief Olusegun Osoba; Oba of Lagos, Oba Rilwan Akiolu and others yesterday faulted claims by non-Yoruba ethnic groups that Lagos “is no man’s land.�

Also, former Federal Commissioner of Works, Alhaji Femi Okunnu, lamented that the creation of states after the administration of General Yakubu Gowon had created more problems than solved diverse challenges confronting Nigeria.

The leaders expressed their views at a public lecture organised to mark the 50th anniversary of Lagos State at Eko Hotels and Suites, Victoria Island, noting that it was not only embarrassing, but also confrontational to claim that Lagos “is no man’s land.�  The lecture, with the titled: ‘Lagos: Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow,’ was attended by the state’s military administrators, Brig.-Gen. Mobolaji Johnson, Admiral Ndubuisi Kanu, Air

Comm. Ebitu Ukiwe and the state’s first civilian governor, Alhaji Lateef Jakande. Other speakers, who faulted the claim that Lagos is no man’s land, included first Town Clark of Lagos City Council, Sen. Habib Fasinro; former Justice of the Supreme Court, Justice Olusola Oguntade, and Dean, College of Humanities and Social Sciences, Al-Hikmah University, Prof. Hakeem Danmole.

The speakers said the claim was not only misleading, but equally confrontational, noting that it abused the history of indigenous people of Lagos as the Aworis, Egbas, Binis, Ijeshas, Nupes, Brazilian returnees.  On this ground, specifically, Osoba said: “We need to understand that there were early settlers in Lagos. So, whenever some people say that Lagos is no man’s land, I laugh because I know that there were true land owners in Lagos.�

Akiolu provided some historical facts to buttress Osoba’s position, noting that Lagos should not be

referred “to as no man’s land because our forefathers were the founding fathers of the state.�

The monarch explained that his forefathers had been living in the territory of Lagos several years, even before the Europeans and others came to Lagos. Â Danmole, who provided insight into the history of Lagos, said Lagos Island to the indigenous population is called Eko, whose origin was well known traditional, but controversial accounts.

Nevertheless, according to him, it is important to note that one version of the name relates to the advent of Aworis, while

the other is connected to Benin adventures in Lagos.

Despite this controversy, Danmole said, what is fairly certain is that the Awori settlement in Lagos was earlier than that of the Benin, which eventually subjugated the emergent settlement.  He said: “Written records insist that Olofin, the leader of the Awori at Iddo divided Lagos among his children. Although many versions exit with regards to the number of children of Olofin, these children established various settlements within the Island and beyond.�

Unlike the Awori, Danmole

said the accounts of Benin’s relations with Lagos were fundamental to the evolution and eventual administration of the emergent settlement.

Also at the public lecture, Okunnu lamented that after 12 states created by the Gowon administration; successive military administration damaged the country built by their founding fathers with creation of additional states.

He said: “I wished that we have held on to the 12 states structure initially created by the Gowon administration.

If the country held on to the

structure, the ongoing demand for restructuring by some Nigerians would not have been necessary.�  Okunnu argued that the creation of additional states further brought ethnicity and religious differences that has become a huge problem for the country.

Previously, according to him, relationship in the country was cordial that everyone lives together without emphasising on religion or ethnicity. We celebrate together to the extent that we don’t clear distinction between us.

Three Suicide Bombers Kill Themselves in Maiduguri Michael Olugbode Ă“Ă˜ Ă‹Ă“ĂŽĂ&#x;Ă‘Ă&#x;ĂœĂ“Ëż Another three female suicide bombers who were on a mission to claim many other lives on Tuesday night, died in Maiduguri, the Borno State capital.

It has become a common occurrence for suicide bombers detonating explosive strapped on them without recording any major “success� in recent times.  The mission went the way of the others as the three suicide bombers were only able to kill themselves without taking any other person’s life in their wake.

Confirming the suicide attack on Mamanti Village in Molai area of Maiduguri, the police spokesman in the state, Victor Isuku, said the three female

suicide bombers suspected to have been conveyed by motorcycle and dropped at a distance to Mamanti Village in Molai area were sighted and intercepted by vigilant security operatives.

He said: “Today at about 17.55hrs, three female suicide bombers, suspected to have been conveyed by motorcycle and dropped at a distance to Mamanti village in Molai area, were sighted and intercepted by vigilant security operatives. “In the process, they hurriedly detonated IED strapped to their bodies, killing themselves only.

There was no civilian casualty recorded. “Police EOD teams were promptly drafted to the scene to sanitise the area, and restore normalcy.�

FEC Observes One Minute Silence in Honour of Onuekwusi Omololu Ogunmade Ă“Ă˜ ĂŒĂ&#x;ÔË The Federal Executive Council (FEC) yesterday observed a minute silence in honour of Channels Television State House Correspondent, Chukwuma Onuekwusi, who passed on, Tuesday in an Abuja hospital.

Announcing Onuekwusi’s passage at the opening of the weekly FEC meeting, Acting President Yemi Osinbajo who presided over the meeting, described Onuekwusi as one of the members of State House family who passed on after a brief illness.

Further describing him as a very good, very articulate, patriotic and committed journalist, Osinbajo called for

a minute silence in his honour and prayed that his family be comforted over his loss. “Honourable ministers and members of the FEC, yesterday, we got very sad news of the passing on of one of the members of of State House family. He is Chukwuma Onuekwusi of the Channels Television who passed on after a brief illness. “I want us in recognition of the fact that we remember a very good, a very articulate and also a very patriotic and committed journalist, observe a minute silence in honour of this fine gentleman. We pray for the comfort of his family and all of those he left behind,�

Osinbajo stated.

SENSITISATION OF CIVIL SERVICE

L-R: Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola; Acting President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo; and Minister of Industry Trade and Investment, Mr. Okechukwu Enelamah, after the sensitisation meeting with civil servants on Executive Orders held in Abuja.... yesterday Ë›

PDP, Ijaw Groups Accuse Enemies of Causing Friction Between Jonathan and Dickson Mischief makers are after governor, says ex-lawmaker

Emmanuel Addeh Ă“Ă˜ Ă?Ă˜Ă‹Ă‘Ă™Ă‹

existing cordial and enviable relationship between Dickson The Peoples Democratic Party and Jonathan who remains the (PDP) in Bayelsa State, the leader of the party,� Moses Ijaw National Congress (INC) posited.

The PDP added: “The and the Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) have waded into the governor’s remark was purely crisis generated by remarks aimed at calling on Bayelsans purportedly made by Governor holding public offices within Seriake Dickson that ex-President and outside the state to work Goodluck Jonathan wasted six together and bring meaningful development to the state through years in the presidency.  All the groups blamed those effective collaboration with the they termed as ‘enemies of the state government for the collective Ijaw people’ for wanting to good of Bayelsa State and the create a gulf between the former Ijaw nation.�

On its part, the INC in a president and the governor, insisting that the relationship statement by its Chairman between the two remains very (Central Zone), Kennedy Odiowei, described the comment by smooth. A PDP statement signed by Dickson at the event as ‘food its Chairman in the state, Mr. for thought.’ “The video, audio clips and Cleopas Moses, said Dickson remains loyal to the former the testimonies of notable Ijaw president, who is still the leader sons and daughters in attendance confirmed that Dickson did not of the party in the country. “We condemn in very strong make derogatory remarks about terms attempts by some dubious former President Jonathan as being persons to cause disaffection made to believe by detractors. “However, it is sad to note between former President that instead of appreciating the Jonathan and Dickson. “The governor was quoted out efforts of the governor of Ijaw of context by mischief makers homogeneous state, the detractors who are bent on destroying the for their selfish reason decided

to twist the message in order to cause crisis in the region,� the INC emphasised.

It added: “We members of the INC have admitted our failure. We have left what is to be done undone. The governor’s statement has woken us up from our slumber. It is our responsibility to join forces with our leaders irrespective of their political parties to ensure a rapid development of the region.

Also, the IYC in a statement signed by its chairman in the Central Zone, Mr Bobolayefa Owoupele, stated that Dickson’s remark at the Isaac Boro Day celebration was a clarion call for all political office holders to close ranks and work with the government to develop the state and the Ijaw nation. “Those who are twisting Dickson’s statement on the development of Bayelsa are enemies of the state who are interested to heat up the polity and create a huge disaffection between the governor and former President Jonathan,� the youth group said.

Similarly, a former Chief Whip in the old Rivers State House

of Assembly, Chief Thompson Okorotie, has expressed concern over the continued attack on Dickson which queried the performance of Bayelsans who have held public offices at the national level in the last six years.

According to him, most of those painting the governor in bad light because of the remark were not even present at the Isaac Boro Day event and only read reports in a section of the media that were clearly biased and unprofessional.

Okorotie told journalists in Yenagoa yesterday that Dickson built his speech from the moral questions raised by King Mosi Agara, the paramount ruler of the late Boro’s Kolokuma clan who asked rightly if privileged Bayelsans were keeping the dream of the departed hero alive.

He observed that it was based on that premise the governor also expressed concern on the level of contribution those who have represented the state had made, adding that their attitude has translated to several missed opportunities for the state.

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Oando: Nigeria May Hit 2.2m Bpd Oil Output by End of June OPEC nearing deal to extend oil cut to March 2018 Ejiofor Alike áÓÞÒ ËÑÏØÍã ÜÏÚÙÜÞÝ The Chief Executive Officer of Oando Energy Resources Inc., Mr. Pade Durotoye, has stated that the worst disruptions of Nigeria’s oil and gas infrastructure are over, and that the country’s production could reach 2.2 million barrels per day by the end of June.

This is coming as the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and non-OPEC ministers yesterday

moved closer to clinching a deal on extending output cuts by nine months to clear a global stocks overhang and prop up the price of crude.

Addressing the Africa Independents Forum in London yesterday, Durotoye said the long-closed Forcados oilfield could be back to capacity by the end of June, enabling the country to return to nearly full production.

“We think that the worst is behind us,” Durotoye said.

“Before the end of June, we

Obasanjo: FG’s Failure to Compensate Boko Haram, Escalated Insurgency Monguno calls for coordinated efforts to end extremism The former President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, has alleged that the refusal of federal government to pay compensation to members of the Boko Haram sect as ordered by the court at the early stage of its formation under Mohammed Yusuf, was responsible for the escalation of violent extremism.

Obasanjo disclosed this in Abuja at a two-day national workshop on preventing violent extremism, organised

by Club De Madrid (CdM) in collaboration with the Office of National Security Adviser (ONSA) and the European Union (EU).

He attributed the escalation of insurgent activities in the North East and concomitant high cost to human and economic life of people of the region to a disproportionate use of ‘stick’ rather than ‘carrot’ in quelling the insurgency.

The elder statesman who is a member and Nigerian representative of CdM, which is a Club of former presidents said said when Boko Haram’s founder, Yusuf, realised that his followers were bugged down by poverty and youth unemployment, he decided to find solutions to their needs.

According to him, the disproportionate use of force as against the conciliatory solution, was partly to blame for escalation of insurgency in the entire region, adding that counsels given to the contrary were largely ignored.

He insisted that hat government use of the “stick” approach, drove the adherents to violent extremism.

Obasanjo said that Mohammed Yusuf who founded the group Boko Haram was a scholar who wanted good things for his people but was rebuffed by the authorities.

He said: “Anybody you talk to in Maiduguri, where Boko Haram festered like a bad sore, will tell you that the man, who reared it, Mohammed Yusuf, was...learned in Islamic

religion, and a good orator and preacher. When he was confronted with the poverty and lack of job opportunity for his followers, he decided to try and find solution. “ On whether the government did what it ought to do to nip it in the bud, the former president said “no.”

“What were the solutions he found? Hate preaching and being lawless within the community...”

Also speaking, the National Security Adviser (NSA), Maj-Gen. Babagana Monguno(rtd), said addressing violent extremism requires a coordinated, comprehensive approach that addresses underlying structural and economic problems.

Monguno added that nations should as well significantly improve their capacity in securing their borders while denying terrorists mobility and safe havens.

“This approach must necessarily be anchored on continued political and economic growth and improvement, including good governance, strengthening institutions, especially the criminal justice system, and increasing access to jobs and education opportunities for a bulging youth population, build an inclusive administration that takes into account yearnings and aspirations of all,” he said.

The NSA traced the rise of violent extremism and terrorism which swept through the sahel region to events in Libya and Mali which he said emboldened radical and criminal elements in the subregion, increasing their access to sophisticated weapons He said the theme of the workshop is quite appropriate as it will add to the growing body of knowledge that would shape national, regional and global policy in tackling the many challenges of violent extremism.

will have Forcados back, which would take us comfortably back to 2.2 million bpd,” he added Reuters reported that the first Foracdos cargo from the main Trans Forcados export line loaded last week, though Shell has said force majeure remains in place.

Durotoye said “bold actions” by the government to address security in the area had helped, and that if it continued, Oando could boost output from 50,000 bpd to 150,000 bpd within 12-18 months.

However, Durotoye said concerns over more violence were leading investors to view the oil-producing region with a lot of caution.

“Capital is still going to be constrained,” Reuters quoted Durotoye as saying.

Durotoye also said the longdelayed Petroleum Industry Governance Bill could be passed into law before the end of the second half of this year.

“We expect approval

sometime in the second half of the year,” Durotoye said.

On the uncertainty over fiscal terms, which has held back upstream investment, especially in capital-intensive deepwater offshore, Durotoye said that PIB approval would “put some (investor) concerns to bed.”

In a related development OPEC and non-OPEC ministers yesterday moved closer to clinching a deal on extending output cuts by nine months.

OPEC will meet in Vienna, Austria, today to consider whether to prolong the accord reached in December in which OPEC and 11 non-members agreed to cut oil output by about 1.8 million barrels per day in the first half of 2017.

The market sees an extension by nine months as the base-case scenario since OPEC’s de facto leader, Saudi Arabia and top non-member, Russia said they favoured such a move.

Saudi ally, Kuwait said

yesterday that OPEC could discuss deepening the cuts, in what would come as a positive surprise for market bulls, but hopes quickly faded after a key committee recommended keeping the curbs unchanged.

A ministerial committee comprising OPEC members Algeria, Kuwait, Venezuela, current OPEC president Saudi Arabia and non-OPEC producers Russia and Oman said in a statement it had recommended extending the cuts by nine months to March 2018.

Saudi Energy Minister, Khalid al-Falih gave the thumbs up when asked whether the committee had agreed on a nine-month extension.

“Before the end of the year, prices may go above $55 a barrel,” Algerian Energy Minister Noureddine Boutarfa told Reuters before the committee meeting, saying an extension by nine months should help clear the glut by the year-end.

Most OPEC ministers

including Iraq’s have already voiced support for extending cuts by nine months.

Iranian Oil Minister, Bijan Zanganeh, who was due in Vienna, later yesterday, said extensions of six or nine months were possible.

OPEC’s cuts have helped push oil back above $50 a barrel this year, giving a fiscal boost to producers.

Delegates from Kuwait, Algeria, Ecuador and Mexico had on Tuesday stated that they supported extended output cuts.

Kuwait’s oil minister, Essam al-Marzouq, said, “We agree on the need to do whatever is necessary to restore balance to the oil market.”

Oil prices settled a bit higher yesterday, with Brent crude trading at $54.15 per barrel, while the US light crude traded at $51.47, as expectations of an extension to OPEC-led supply cuts overshadowed a White House proposal to sell half of US petroleum reserves.

BUMPER HARVEST FOR SHAREHOLDERS

L-R: Managing Director, Wapic Insurance Plc, Yinka Adekoya; Chairman, Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede; and Company Secretary, Mary Agha, at the 2017 annual general meeting of Wapic Insurance in Lagos...yesterday

Pensioner Commits Suicide in Benue Out of Frustration Protest rocks Govt House A retired worker with the Benue State Local Government Service, Mr. Gabriel Nomsha, last week committed suicide following frustration over his inability to get his pension for over three years.

This was disclosed by the Chairman of Coalition of Local Government Pensioners,’ Mike Vembe, who led a protest to Government House Makurdi yesterday.

He said one of their members, due to frustration, hanged himself a week ago.

“One of our members, Gabriel Nomsha, from Gwer West Local Government Area, committed suicide last week as a result of

poverty and frustration.”

He explained that after the deceased had been screened, he came with the hope of collecting his pension but was disappointed when he wasn’t paid.

This is even as 2,000 local government pensioners on Tuesday slept at the gate of the Government House in Makurdi to protest the non-payment of their pension to the tune of N1.1 billion.

The pensioners who came from the 23 local government areas of the state, were said to have arrived the seat of government in Makurdi about noon but could not see

the governor and decided to pass the night at the gate of government house.

Efforts by security operatives mounting the gate to disperse them were rebuffed as the senior citizens called their bluff until mother luck smiled at them yesterday morning when Governor Samuel Ortom who was travelling to Abuja, came to address them.

Vambe who led the pensioners, said the protest became necessary after the Ministry of Finance stopped giving money to Local Government Pensions Board.

“We slept at the gate of the Government House since

yesterday to press home our demands for the payment of our pension. The finance ministry stopped giving money to Local Government Pensions Board and this is causing our hardship.”

Governor Ortom who sympathised with them, said their welfare was of utmost importance to his government and promised to do everything possible to clear their pension arrears.

Ortom immediately directed his Special Adviser on Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Hon. Titus Zam, to include one of their leaders.

THURSDAY, MAY 25, 2017˾ T H I S D AY

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Osinbajo: We’ll Change the Narrative on Local Food Production Ndubuisi Francis ÓØ ÌßÔË The acting President, Prof.

Yemi Osinbajo, has expressed the federal government’s resolve to change the narrative on local production of food, assuring that appropriate strategies were being evolved to make the prices of locally-produced rice and other staples cheaper.

Osinbajo, who challenged Nigerians “to grow what we eat and use what we produce,” said the prices of imported rice were cheaper than the locally-produced ones because governments of the countries of import had become smarter as Nigeria commenced a radical move to boost local production of the commodity.

Speaking at an interactive session with senior civil and public servants on the Executive Order ((EO1) on transparency

and improving the business environment in the country, he said in order to sustain their rice export, the governments of such countries now highly subsidise rice production, culminating in lower cost to farmers.

According to him, this had made foreign rice cheaper than the locally-produced ones, assuring that in the months ahead, rice produced locally would compete favourably with imported ones as appropriate strategies were being explored to drive down their prices.

He observed that if the states that currently produce rice across the country produce at full capacity, Nigeria can conveniently feed the entire African continent.

Speaking on the need for public servants and Nigerians in general to embrace ethical transformation in the way

they carry out government and private business, Osinbajo said he had been in public service for most of his adult years, and was familiar with some of the frustrations exhibited by people in the sector.

He, therefore admonished public servants to strive to ensure that the nation’s future is not destroyed, just as he advised them to key into the administration’s resolve to clear the roadblocks militating against ease of doing business.

“Any time an officer is an obstacle to anyone, he becomes an obstacle to the prosperity of the nation,” he said, noting that no business, big or small, thrives if the business environment

is harsh through deliberate obstacles.

He also advised public servants against delays in carrying out their functions, even as he enjoined them to see the new drive towards removing obstacles to doing business as their own and not government’s.

Osinbajo noted that although he is a clergy, he had come to know that prosperity is not tied to the frequency of prayer or fasting but hard work, and called for that virtue among Nigerians to lift the country.

In his presentation on the “Promotion of transparency and efficiency in business environment,” the Minister of

Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr. Okechukwu Enelamah said the reform of Nigeria’s business environment has been prioritised by the current administration..

He stated that Nigeria aspires to be one of the most attractive investment destinations, adding that as the country aspires to become Africa’s leading economy, “we have to become more business friendly.”

Enalamah stated that since the reform of Nigeria’s business environment had been prioritised by the current administration, the approved Enabling Environment Initiative has started the work of making

this aspiration a reality.

The minister noted that the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC) recently concluded the NAP-60 plan, committing to a clear set of desired outcomes for each reform area.

The acting president had on May 18, 2017 signed the executive order on transparency and improving the business environment in Nigeria.The Executive Order (EO1) contains far-reaching measures with direct benefits for Nigerian businesses as a proof of the federal government’s commitment and determination to ease the business environment.

UK Deports 35 Nigerians The string of deportations of Nigerians from different parts of the world continued yesterday as the government of the United Kingdom deported 35 Nigerians for committing immigration-related offences in the country.

The deportees arrived at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMlA) Lagos in the early hours but were kept away from the public until they completed vital documentations with the Nigerian authorities.

The deportees, comprising 30 males and five females, were brought back aboard a chartered Titanic Airways with registration number: G-POWO. The spokesman of the Lagos

Airport Police Command, Joseph Alabi, confirmed the development.

THISDAY learnt that the deportees were received by officers of the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS), the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) and the Police.

Also on ground to receive them were officials of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN).

The deportees who wore sad faces, were profiled by immigration authorities and were each given a stipend to facilitate their transportation to their respective states.

RIVERS @ 50 CELEBRATION

L-R: Chairman, National Caretaker Committee of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Senator Ahmed Makarfi; Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Ezenwo Wike; his wife, Eberechi; and former President, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, during the Rivers State Golden Jubilee anniversary lecture in Port Harcourt....yesterday

Senate Leader: I was Not Booed Non-release of Funds by FG Stalling NDDC Operations, Says Ekere in My Senatorial District Damilola Oyedele in Abuja Majority Leader of the Senate, Senator Ahmed Lawan (Yobe North) has denied media reports that he was booed and prevented from entering his senatorial district by protesting youths last weekend.

Raising a point of order on the floor of the Senate at plenary, Lawan said he was nowhere near his state last weekend, as he was in Katsina attending a wedding.

“I was in Daura on Friday and some of my colleagues here will testify that, that is an alibi, Aliyu Wakili, was there in Daura, Senator Yerima and many other senators here, we attended the wedding Fathia of the daughter of the DG SSS. So I was never in my state in the first place and from Daura we drove down to Kaduna and then to Abuja. I was never in the state, talk less of going to my senatorial district,” he explained.

Ladan lamented that the reports that youths from his constituency booed him, has presented his people in bad light.

He called for a retraction of the report by the media that published the story.

“Mr. President, by June 4 of this years I will be 18 years in the National Assembly.

My people voted for me in 1999, the first time to come and represent them in the House of Representatives at that time. From that moment on after 17 years, the relationship with my people is love, trust and respect and therefore never ever was there a situation where I was booed or prevented from going anywhere I wanted to go,” the Senate Leader added.

“Mr. President, I love to be criticised and I am sure all of us welcome positive criticisms and especially when it comes from my constituents because we cannot lay claim to everything.

In fact, my people say that this is the way they want me to go and we have developed that kind of relationship,” he said.

Presiding, the Deputy Senate President, Senator Ike Ekweremadu, referred the matter to the Committee on Ethics, Privileges and Public Petitions, and the Committee on Media and Public Affairs, to report back in a week.

Ernest Chinwo ÓØ ÙÜÞ ËÜÍÙßÜÞ The Managing Director of Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Mr. Nsima Ekere, has said the failure of the federal government to adequately fund the commission over the years was partly responsible for the spate of abandoned projects by the interventionist agency.

Speaking while signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with BudgIT Foundation at the NDDC headquarters, Port Harcourt yesterday, Ekere lamented that the commission had received less than 30 per cent of what it was supposed to receive from the federal government according to the law that established the commission.

His word: “When we came on board we discovered that one of the greatest problems of NDDC was the negative public perception. For some reasons, in the 16 or 17 years of the life span of the NDDC, the people believed that it was a place where nothing works and that the funds that come to the commission are not used properly or efficiently; that if it was properly used, the commission would have been

able to achieve a lot more.

“I agree with them and I also disagree. Of the total funds that NDDC is supposed to receive according to the law that established it, we have been able to receive less than 30 per cent of what the federal government is supposed to contribute to the commission.

“As at now, just about N500 billion has been received by the commission out of more than N1.7 or N1.8 trillion since the take-off of the commission. So, you see that in terms of funding, what has come to the commission is not commensurate to what it is supposed to have received. So you see that those who started running the commission were running it based on a projection of what was expected from government according to the law establishing it and that was not forthcoming. That is probably what was responsible for the huge projects that have been abandoned.”

He however said the present board and management of the commission was set to change public perception of the commission and also ensure that whatever funds

that accrue to the NDDC was used in an efficient, transparent and responsible manner for the good of the people.

Ekere said: “Indeed, the NDDC is determined, in this new regime and spirit of transparency, probity and accountability, to provide access to public records, answers to enquires and information about activities of the commission. This will grant citizens the ability to ‘follow the money’, from the budget, and all stages of procurement, implementation and audit.

“The governing board and management, in implementing this MoU, is determined to enhance accountability, by publicly declaring outflow and inflow into the commission’s account on a quarterly basis.

Information will be proactively disseminated through the open budget platform, to give the public comprehensive understanding of NDDC’S’ financial activities.”

Speaking also during the signing of another MoU with the Foundation for Partnership Initiative in the Niger Delta (PIND), Ekere said some of the advantages of the

collaboration between the two organisations would include provision of technical assistance to the commission in strategy development, monitoring and evaluation, as well as partnership and stakeholder management.

Other advantages of the collaboration, according to Ekere, are repositioning and rebranding of the commission’s image within and outside the Niger Delta region, as well as facilitation of advocacy for the review of the Niger Delta Regional Master Plan, to reflect extant vision and priorities of stakeholders.

He said: “These needs-based objectives were jointly developed

by NDDC and PIND after careful internal diagnostics. We shall work conscientiously and diligently with PIND, to actualise all the targets set out in this MoU, for the benefit of this commission, this great region and for posterity.

“We owe each other no less, for to build this great region is to build ourselves, our families, our communities and our people. And to fulfill the letters and spirit of the mandate before this partnership and this commission is to actualise our collective dreams, long held.”

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NEWSXTRA

MASSOB, IPOB Order Sit-at-home in Lagos, Abuja, Others Umahi appeals to groups for calm Christopher Isiguzo ÓØ ØßÑߘ David-Chyddy Eleke ÓØ áÕË ËØÎ Benjamin Nworie ÓØ ÌËÕËÖÓÕÓ The Movement for the Actualisation of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB) yesterday gave a sit-at-home order to be observed on May 30, 2017, in all the states in the South-east zone as well as Delta and River States.

In a similar development, the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) has stated that the proposed sit-at-home protest would also hold in places outside the Biafra territories, including Kano, Kaduna, Jos, Makurdi, Ibadan, Benin, Abuja, Lagos, Lokoja, Jigawa, Jalingo, Mubi, Yola, Lafia among others.

A statement issued by MASSOB’s Director of Information, Edeson Samuel, said the order would be observed in honour of the late Dim Odumegwu Ojukwu and all the Biafran soldiers who died during Nigeria-Biafran civil war from 1967 to 1970.

In a swift reaction however, the police in Enugu State have dismissed the sit-at-home order, urging residents to ignore the order and go about their lawful duties without fear.

The state Police Public Relations Officer, Ebere Amaraizu, in a statement said the command remained

committed to security of lives and property, and would not shy away from that responsibility.

MASSOB, while calling on all pro-Biafra agitators to support the move, “as this sit at home is part of civil disobedience which is in line with our programme.

“By this sit at home, it will help us to plan and conduct referendum in Biafran land.

The observation of this sit at home is not for the interest of any particular group but for the interest of Biafrans.”

The group therefore urged all schools, markets, transporters and companies in Biafran land as well as all Biafrans in diaspora to observe the sit at home.

They ruled out any possible street protest and hoisting of Biafran flags as was the case in the past, adding that the measure was to avert any confrontation with security agencies.

They used the opportunity to rule out any partnership with Chief Ralph Uwazurike-led Biafra Independent Movement (BIM), explaining that they are rather working closely with the IPOB. Meanwhile, a statement signed by IPOB’s Media and Publicity Secretary, Emma Powerful, said there is no going back on the planned protest as the group is leaving no stone unturned to ensure that it was successful.

Despite Drums of War, Nigeria will Not Break up, Says Okupe Jonathan Eze A former Senior Special Assistant on Public Affairs to former President, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, Doyin Okupe, yesterday stated that Nigeria would not break up despite the recent drums of war or the rumours of coup attempt.

He noted that even in the face of heightened agitations by different ethnic groups to secede, Nigeria would still remain an indivisible entity.

According to Okupe, “Yes, again and again, there are drums of war, rumours of coups and heightened cries for separation.

Yet, Nigeria will not break. I repeat as God liveth, Nigeria is not about to break up.

“Those who rely on what is seen physically and those who are not too knowledgeable about life may want to hold this assertion in derision.

Yet there is more than meets the eye in matters that control the affairs of nations and men.”

The former presidential aide acknowledged that although the ingredients required to justify a dismemberment of the nation as an entity abound, like “inequality, injustice, nepotism, corruption, deception, sectional neglect and lack of inclusivity, mutual distrust among others, but fortunately or unfortunately

it is not in the manifest destiny of this great nation to disintegrate.

“To anyone who is discerning, it has been crystal clear that God has shown His guiding hand in the affairs of Nigeria since the June 12 debacle. God does not act in vain but for a purpose. It will be preposterous to assume that the purpose of God’s intervention in the affairs of Nigeria in the past 25 years is to lead us to a break up.

“In truth, the Nigerian experiment or marriage is grossly imperfect and obviously not working. The Nigerian union presents some of the outstanding features of a dysfunctional marriage.

“There is sustained anger, mutual contempt and distrust, lack of openness and poor communication among its component parts.”

On the health condition of President Muhammadu Buhari, Okupe noted that it is a source of concern to all, but submitted that the North is more apprehensive in view of the previous experience with late President Yar’Adua.

“But they are not willing to discuss this openly. Official handling of the situation suggests sectional protectionism rather than presenting a national problem seeking a national

The statement made available to THISDAY in Awka said: “This sit-at-home order/remembrance and honour of our fallen heroes which is slated to be observed on May 30 will be the best thing to happen to the people of Biafra since 50 years.

“It will be monitored by international observers, and after that, the struggle for Biafra freedom will move to another

level, therefore everybody, both old and young, man and woman, must stay indoors, no protest, no movement in Biafraland from 6a.m. to 6p.m. on that day.”

Powerful stated that Biafrans living outside Nigeria must present written letters containing the plights of their people to the authorities and governments of the respective countries where

they reside.

However, he Ebonyi State Governor, David Umahi, has appealed to the pro-Biafra groups to remain calm in its agitations for the sovereign state of Biafra and be part of the move to discuss and understand their differences for the greater interest of the country.

Umahi, who spoke on behalf of the South-east governors

as its chairman in Abakaliki, appealed to the people that whatever anybody is doing towards asking people to stay back on May 30, in commemoration of the 50th anniversary of declaration of Biafra by late Ojukwu, should have a second thought, stressing that they should rather engage in a formidable dialogue to resolve all differences.

PRODUCT LAUNCH

L-R: Deputy Director Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE), Dr. Obiora Obiagwu; Director External Affairs, ntel, Osondu Nwokoro; Director Consumer Affairs, Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Alhaji Abdullahi Maikano; and Director Sales, ntel, Inusa Bello, during the launch of ntel’s shop in Abuja...yesterday

Notore, Kaduna Govt Partner to Harness Agribusiness Opportunities One of the leading fertilizer and agro-allied companies in Africa, Notore Chemical Industries Plc, is exploring partnership opportunities with the Kaduna State Government towards investing in the state’s agricultural sector.

Speaking during a visit to the state Governor, Mallam Nasir ElRufai, the management of the company, led by its Group Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Onajite Okoloko, said the good agricultural policies in place in the state caught the

attention of the company.

Okoloko said apart from producing and selling fertilizers, Notore was also focusing on the entire agricultural value chain and how it can create a significant value by ensuring that farmers’ yields improve significantly.

“We have a genuine desire and interest in ensuring that we achieve food security in Nigeria.

We believe that Kaduna State is the focal point for agriculture in terms of crops such as maize and soya bean production,” he said.

Okoloko disclosed that the

company was teaching farmers and bringing best practice to farming activities across the country with over 3,000 demonstration farms across the country.

“We have over 3,000 demonstration farms where one-eighth of the hectares of land are split into two, right in the heart of the farming communities. The farmers farm on one half, while Notore best practices are used on the other half. We have the largest private sector extension services network in the country. If you look at

some of Notore’s interventions, we are responsible for the onions explosion in Kebbi about five years ago where, afterNotore’s intervention to fight the onion crisis, there was onions everywhere. We did the same thing in Jos with cabbage.”

Okoloko expressed his company’s genuine desire and interest in ensuring that food security is achieved in Nigeria, stressing Notore’s belief that Kaduna State is the focal point for agriculture in terms of maize and soya bean production.

Aisha Buhari, Ooni, Sanusi, Shettima, Ayade Bag TELL Awards The maiden edition of the annual TELL Awards for Excellence holds June 17, 2017 at the Civic Centre, Ozumba, Mbadiwe Avenue, Victoria Island, Lagos.

Organised by TELL Communications Limited, publishers of TELL, the TELL Awards for Excellence according to a statement by the company, promises to be one of the most credible media awards in Nigeria.

According to the President and Chief Executive of TELL Communications Limited, Mr.

Nosa Igiebor, the selection and voting processes were thrown open to the public in order to ensure transparency, credibility and fairness in the entire exercise.

Igiebor said the outcome of the public voting exercise, witnessed the emergence of individual and institutional Awardees, well-deserving of the honours, as follows: TELL MAN of the Year- Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi, Ojaja II, Ooni of Ife and Sarkin Kano, Emir Muhammad Sanusi II; TELL Woman of

the Year- the First Lady, Mrs. Aisha Buhari;Governor of the Year- 1. Prof. Ben Ayade of Cross River State and Kashim Shettima of Borno State; National Icon of Democracy- Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Jagaban Borgu; CEO of the YEARProf. Umar Garba Danbatta, Evc/ CEO, NCC; Public Servant of the Year- CGI Mohammed Babandede. CFR, ComptrollerGeneral of ImmigrationPioneer Entrepreneur of the Year-Chief Leo Stan Ekeh.

Other are: Public Organisation of the Year- NIMASA; Private

Organisation of the YearDangote Cement Plc; Banker of the YEAR-Bank Of Industry; Private Airline of the YEAR- Air Peace Airline; Post-Humous National Hero Award - Mr. Dele Giwa, Chief Gani Fawehimi, SAN” The awards ceremony which all the awardees have promised to attend, according to Igiebor, will attract dignitaries from both the public and private sectors and the diplomatic corps, among others.

THURSDAY, MAY 25, 2017Ëž T H I S D AY

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CRIME&PUNISHMENT IG: High Cost of Security Gadgets, Bane of Crime Fighting David-Chyddy Eleke Ă“Ă˜ ĂĄĂ•Ă‹ The Inspector-General of Police (IG), Ibrahim Idris, has said high cost of security gadgets was a major challenge of crime fighting in Nigeria.

Idris spoke in Awka, Anambra State, while declaring open an International Forensic Science and Criminal Justice Symposium organised by the Forensic Science Unit of Nnamdi Azikiwe University in conjunction with Nebraska Institute of Forensic Science, United States. Â He challenged Nigerian universities to undertake researches targeted at

developing state-of-the-art crime fighting gadgets suitable to crime peculiar to the modern day society.  “The challenge faced by law enforcement in developing countries like ours is in the acquisition of these gadgets as they are very expensive, fabricated by the developed countries and thus training in most cases are done outside the shores of Nigeria, which unarguably leaves a huge drain on our lean resources,� he said.

Represented by the Deputy Inspector-General of Police (DIG) in charge of State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID) at the

police headquarters, Hyacinth Dagala, Idris said the Force as the leading internal security agency, is poised to providing a secured world.  “The Force is currently

establishing a forensic unit in Lagos and Abuja, which would be equipped with state-of-the-art crime fighting tools as well as a cybercrime unit to curb digital crimes with personnel carefully

selected and trained outside Nigeria in collaboration with our development partners,� he added.  Earlier, the Vice Chancellor of the university, Professor Joseph

Ahaneku, said the university is ready to offer itself for the promotion of forensic science, adding that it would serve as a veritable tool to fight crime and criminality in the country.

Resist Temptation of Upsetting Democracy, Group Tells Military Obinna Chima A group known as the Nigeria 2015 Group (UK) has said its members are disturbed by the rumour swirling around that the Nigerian military was beginning to show some interest in politics.

Although yet-to-be substantiated, the group in a statement yesterday signed by its Communications Officer, Kingsley Ogbonda, pointed out that the fact that the rumour exists, gives some concern.

However, they commended the Chief of Army Staff, Gen. Tukur Buratai for his “brave and patriotic alert of the activities of some soldiers showing interest in politics, and his appeal for the military to stay out of politics,� saying that the civilians tempting the military into politics must “hold their heads in shame.�

They also urged the military to remain constrained by their constitutionally defined role of

protecting the territorial integrity of the country from external aggression and remain apolitical. “That the records show that past military interventions in Nigerian politics badly militated against the political economic development of the country for which Nigerians are still waiting for genuine contrition from the army in those episods. Unlike the patriotic nationalist armies of the Asian, Latin American and Arab world, the Nigerian army in politics superintended over the diminution of moral values in the society. “While the nationalist armies of the developing world were pulling their citizens by their boot straps out of poverty and unto technological development, ours engaged in orgy of looting public assets both cash and fixed (oil blocks, privatised public utilities including real estates for personal gains).�

Police Parade 32 Suspected Kidnappers, Others Yekini Jimoh Ă“Ă˜ ÙÕÙÔË The Kogi State Police Command yesterday paraded 32 suspects arrested over alleged offences bordering on kidnapping, armed robbery, illegal possession of fire arms, vandalism and unlawful possession of substance among others.

The Deputy Commissioner of Police in charge of operations at the command, Edward Egbuka, disclosed this while parading the suspects before journalists at the state police headquarter in Lokoja.

Egbuke who spoke on behalf of the state Commissioner of Police, Wilson Inalegwu, said the success recorded within the last few weeks was due to the collaborations and supports from members of the public.

Among those paraded are Abdul Mudi, Adamu Faruna, Nuhu Usman, Adaji Akor and Abdullahi Sule who were arrested at Anyigba over their alleged involvement in the kidnap of one Alhaji Musa

Oseni from his house at Ofejikpi.

Egbuka said following credible information received from residents of Aiyetoro Kiri in Kabba Bunu council area of the state about the activities of suspected insurgents and kidnappers, SARS operatives moved into action and arrested Mohammed Abubakar, Mohammed Adamu, Umar Adamu, Mohammed Umaru and Umar Ibrahim.

He said two AK47 and 27 rounds of 7.62mm live ammunition were recovered from the suspected criminal gang that specialise in kidnapping and armed robbery.

Other suspects were also paraded for offences bordering mainly on kidnapping, armed robbery, vandalism and unlawful possession of firearms.

Exhibits recovered from the arrested suspects included berretta pistol, Nissan Sunny vehicle, Toyota Carina car, armoured cables, locally made revolver and substances suspected to be Indian hemp.

CUSTOMS IS WORKING Area Comptroller, Oyo/Osun Command of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Mr. Udo-Aka Emmanuel (second right), and Deputy Comptroller, Enforcement, Mr. Tanko Bayero, parading some seized smuggled rice and vegetable oil at a press brieďŹ ng held at Customs Headquarters in Ibadan....yesterday

Street Hawkers Stone KAI OfďŹ cial to Death in Lagos Chiemelie Ezeobi An official of the Lagos State Kick Against Indiscipline (KAI) Brigade, Moshood Ayeni, was yesterday stoned to death by angry street hawkers at the  Iyana-Oworo area of Lagos State.

The deceased was lynched by the street traders after the officials apprehended some of them who were hawking in traffic.

Before the lynching, the street traders had mobilised themselves and attacked the vehicle of the KAI brigade, claiming that they were fed up of the continuous harassment by the government

officials. Confirming the incident, the brigade’s spokesperson, Alabi Rahmat said, “The law enforcement environmental sanitation officials were on their way back to the office when they saw the traders and tried to enforce the law.  “The officials were coming from an assignment when they saw the traders hawking in the traffic by car wash and arrested the duo of Jeremiah Nnana and Orich Nwofokoh, who were both selling sausage and phone accessories in the traffic.  “The suspects were taking into the agency vehicle with registration number KRD 643

DS. Suddenly the suspect’s colleagues who had escaped came back and pelted the officials with stone.  “The traders started shouting and calling the KAI official’s thieves. The stones thrown by the rampaging hawkers hit our personnel on his head inside the vehicle and he fell down from the moving vehicle and became unconscious.  “He was rushed immediately to the state emergency centre, where he was revived and later referred to the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), where he was pronounced dead on arrival at the hospital.�

Condemning the death of

the personnel, the KAI Marshal General, Jimoh Amusat, a Chief Superintendent of Police (rtd.), said it was a barbaric act on the part of the street traders. Amusat said the deceased was only doing his lawful duty, when the hawkers unleashed mayhem and attacked the officials of the agency.

He however,said the brigade would not be deterred in combating the menace of the illegal highway traders and hawkers within the metropolis. While commiserating with the deceased’s family, he said the corpse has been deposited at the mortuary.Â

New Judge Takes over Plateau Lawmaker’s Forgery Case Seriki AdinoyĂ“ Ă“Ă˜ Ă™Ă?

A new judge of the Federal High Court 2 Jos, Plateau State, Justice D V Agishe, yesterday took over the continuation of the certificate forgery case leveled against the state lawmaker, Hon. Ibrahim Baba Hassan, who was alleged to have forged a diploma certificate of the University of Jos with which he contested and won the 2015 election into the state House of Assembly. Â Justice Musa Kurya, who was

presiding over the suit with no FHC/J /CS/20/ 2015 filed by Abdul Nasir Saleh, was suspended without cogent reasons thereby slowing down proceeding on the case.  During the last sitting presided over by the suspended judge on October 12, 2016, the Registrar of the university, Monday M Danjen, was summoned by the court where he tendered evidence against Hassan, clarifying that the lawmaker did not graduate from

the university. Â At the resumption of the hearing yesterday, counsel to the first defendant, M M Nyelong, had drawn the attention of the court to his last request on October 12, 2016, demanding to amend his statement of defence by withdrawing the diploma certificate and rely on the secondary school certificate, since it also qualified the lawmaker to the position he contested for. Â But responding to the

application, the counsel to the plaintiff, David C Ibeawuchi, accepted the application of the defence counsel to regularise his statement of defence, but that the amendment to withdraw the diploma certificate and rely on the secondary school certificate by the first defendant cannot be entertained since the contention is on the said diploma certificate submitted to Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

Air Force to Investigate Alleged Invasion of Osun University Paul Obi Ă“Ă˜ ĂŒĂ&#x;ÔË The Nigerian Air Force (NAF) yesterday said it was investigating alleged invasion of the Osun State University by some of its personnel recently.

The Director of Public Relations and Information,

Air Commodore Olatokunbo Adesanya, explained that the force would make the outcome of its finding public whenever the investigation is completed.

He said: “The attention of the NAF has been drawn to reports of some of its personnel being involved in a fracas on

the campus of the University of Osun State at Ipetu Ijesha. “While the NAF highly regrets the entire incidence, it is noteworthy that the reported incidence is not a reflection of what the NAF stands for. “The NAF is a highly professional force that does

not condone or encourage the violation of anyone’s human rights.�

Adesanya explained that “the general public is invited to kindly note that the NAF has already commenced formal investigations into the reported unfortunate incidence.

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T H I S D AY ˾ THURSDAY MAY 25, 2017

THURSDAYSPORTS

Group Sports Editor Duro Ikhazuagbe Email duro.ikhazuagbe@thisdaylive.com

Man Utd Wins Europa, Back in Champions League Manchester United beat Ajax 2-0 last night to win the Europa League and reach next season’s Champions League, thanks to goals from Paul Pogba and Henrikh Mkhitaryan.

Pogba scored with a deflected strike before Mkhitaryan’s close-range finish on an emotional night in Stockholm.

There was recognition before the game of those killed in Monday’s attack in Manchester and United’s players wore black armbands in respect.

United is the fifth side to win all three major European club competitions.

Prior to this victory the Red Devils had won the European Cup on three occasions, in 1968, 1999 and 2008, and the Cup Winners’ Cup in 1991.

Deprived of injured top scorer Zlatan Ibrahimovic, defenders Marcos Rojo and Luke Shaw and the suspended Eric Bailly, Jose Mourinho’s side had to dig deep in their 64th and final game of this season.

But their greater experience, coupled with an effective counter-attacking game plan, told against a youthful Ajax side who, with an average age of 22 years and 282 days,

Manchester United’s players and officials celebrating the 2-0 defeat of Ajax in Stockholm, Sweden...last night. fielded the youngest starting XI in a major European final.

United now joins

C A F C O N F E D E R AT I O N C U P

Atuloma Rescues Rivers Utd with Narrow Win Rivers United bounced back from last week’s defeat to secure a narrow win yesterday against Morocco FUS Rabat 1-0 in a CAF Confederation Cup match at the Yakubu Gowon Stadium in Port Harcourt.

The result now ensured that all four teams in Group A of the competition tied on three points after Match-day 2, with KCCA having beaten Club African on Tuesday.

Nigeria’s United claimed the narrow victory thanks to a second-half strike from Emeka

Atuloma, seeing them bounce back from a 3-1 loss to Club Africain earlier in the month.

Rabat came into the game confident of claiming a second win following their defeat of KCCA on Match-day 1, but the North Africans were unable to get the better of their hosts.

The teams will be in Confederation Cup action again on the first weekend of June.

FUS will host Africain in Rabat for a regional derby, while KCCA will welcome Rivers United to Kampala.

Consumers Win Trip to Wembley Stadium for FA Cup Final Five lucky consumers and football lovers will watch the 2017 English FA Cup final live at the Wembley Stadium this Saturday, May 27, courtesy Nigeria’s No. 1 beer brand, Star Lager Beer.

The lucky fans, who left the country last night will get a once in a lifetime opportunity to watch two of the biggest clubs in England, Chelsea Football Club (2017 English Premier League Champions) and Arsenal Football Club (2014 and 2015 FA Winners) slug it out against each other in a match that promises to be 90 minutes of pulsating footballing action at the historic Wembley Stadium.

The premium beer brand in 2016 and early 2017 became the official beer partner of Arsenal Football Club and five other major European

clubs thereby offering Star beer consumers and football fans in Nigeria a range of club-related benefits and an improved football experience.

This development reinforces Star Lager Beer’s unwavering commitment to delighting its consumers who form a huge chunk of football fans in Nigeria.

One of the lucky fans, Olakumbi Titiloye said: “I’m very excited to be making this trip. As a die-hard football fan, seeing live action at the stadium, especially an FA Cup final at Wembley of all places, is one opportunity I wouldn’t miss and an experience I would forever cherish.

It’s a proud moment for me and I deeply appreciate this lifetime opportunity Star is offering me and other football fans.”

champions Chelsea, Tottenham and Manchester City in next season’s

Champions League group stages, which will earn them about £50m in revenue.

This also represents their second trophy of Mourinho’s debut season

ap as United boss following their victory in the EFL Cup in February.

Eagles Train ahead of Corsica Friendly Duro Ikhazuagbe Super Eagles had their first training session in Ajaccio, France yesterday morning ahead of Friday’s friendly match against the Corsica Senior Team at the Stade Francois Coty.

Players expected at the team’s Best Western Hotel camp last night include; Ahmed Musa, Kelechi Iheanacho, Mikel Agu and Abdullahi Shehu.

An interesting game is at hand for the three-time African

champions, against a team that has only lost once in the nine matches it has played since forming a squad in 1967.

The only defeat the Corsica Senior Team has suffered was a 0-1 reverse to the Indomitable Lions of Cameroon in a friendly in Bastia on May 14, 1998.

The Lions were then preparing for the 1998 FIFA World Cup finals in France.

The only time Corsica had played 1998 FIFA World Cup champions France was in February 1967, and the

former won 2-0.

Meanwhile, the Confederation of African Football has appointed Tunisian arbiter, Youssef Essrayri as the referee for next month’s 2019 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying match between Eagles and the Bafana Bafana of South Africa in Uyo. Essrayri, 40, who became an international referee five years ago, will be assisted by compatriots Yamen Melloulchi (Assistant Referee 1), Hassen Abdelali (Assistant Referee 2)

and Said Mohamed Kordi (Fourth Official).

The match commissioner is Andy Quamie from Liberia and Kotey Alexander Neequaye from Ghana will be referee assessor.

The encounter at the Godswill Akpabio International Stadium, Uyo on Saturday, 10th June will open the curtain on the qualifying race in Group E for Cameroon 2019, with only the group winners guaranteed slots at the finals.

Libya and Seychelles are the other teams in the pool.

Ambode Lauds Evander Holyfield as Greatest Living Boxer Lagos State Governor, Mr Akinwunmi Ambode, yesterday lauded the achievements of five-time world cruiserweight and heavyweight boxing champion, Evander Holyfield, describing him as the greatest living boxer of all times.

Governor Ambode, who spoke at Lagos House in Ikeja when he received Holyfield on courtesy visit, said he was personally proud of the achievements of the legend in the boxing field, and described him as a great role model.

Holyfield, who is billed to slug it out with former Lagos State Governor and National Leader of All Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu at an exhibition boxing match, is in Lagos as part of activities marking the Golden Jubilee anniversary of the state, and to also give back to the society through his foundation.

The governor, who described the visit of the

boxing legend to Lagos as historic, said there was no better way to showcase sports as catalyst for growth than the collaboration of such an icon as Holyfield.

“This is exciting and historic moment for us coming at a time Lagos is celebrating the 50 years of its establishment and we want to say a big thank you to Holyfield for collaborating with us to put this as part of events marking the Golden Jubilee anniversary of Lagos State.

“We believe strongly that in all sectors that we have tried to celebrate Lagos, this is one momentous topic that we really mean to celebrate.

As a government, we have always wanted to use sports as a way of driving our economy and there is no way we can showcase sports as the catalyst for economic growth than bringing somebody who is a champion; a revered person and for him to use his God given talent and resources to

promote sports in our State,” Ambode said.

While noting the vision of the Evander Holyfield Foundation to nurture young stars and future boxers, as well as the issues relating to promotion of health and wellbeing of the people, Ambode pledged to partner the foundation to ensure that the set objectives are achieved, especially with regards to the people of the state.

The governor described Holyfield as the living greatest boxer of all times, a sport icon and a champion who he is proud of his achievements, adding that the visit to Nigeria would also be used to trace the roots of the boxer back to Lagos.

“I love the concept that you want to pay back and that is the essence of leadership which is to be able to touch humanity. There are very many people that go away from their stardom and not pay back and so many

champions have not been able to do anything after leaving the ring but Holyfield stand as an exception.

“On the other side, boxing should now be in the front burner of sports in Nigeria especially now that a Nigerian, Anthony Joshua, recently won as the unified world heavyweight champion.

“Lagos has the largest concentration of the black people in the world and we just believe that Lagos should be well projected the visit by the boxing legend is also to promote the brand called Lagos,” Ambode said.

Earlier, Holyfield said he was in Nigeria to give back to the society having achieved so much in life especially in boxing.

While recalling how he started boxing at the young age of 8 and became champion at 9, Holyfield said he felt like quitting after initially suffering defeats but his mother told him to hang on.

T H I S D AY THURSDAY MAY 25, 2017

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Thursday, May 25, 2017

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MISSILE Tinubu to Military “Those who think they can break the democracy so many of us laboured and for which too many people died, sacrificed their lives, they are sure mistaken. Nigeria has come too far for such a thing to happen. Those people behind such idea will find no fertile ground to plant their seed in Lagos. We will not buy their bad product” – Former Lagos State Governor, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu warning against military coup plots under any guise .

OLUSEGUNADENIYI THE VERDICT

olusegun.adeniyi@thisdaylive.com

Biafra and Lagos: 50 Years After C

ome Saturday (27th May), it will be exactly 50 years that Lagos State was created (along with others) by the military administration of General Yakubu Gowon to give Nigeria a 12-states structure. Instructively, four days after that historic event, on 30th May 1967 to be specific, the late Colonel Emeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu announced the secession of Eastern Nigeria and the establishment of a State of Biafra.

Taken together, a combination of the creation of states, the military incursion into our national political affairs that precipitated the dismantling of the regional structure and the subsequent declaration of Biafra would define the unfortunate trajectory of our country in ways that nobody could have foreseen at the time.

However, if ever any proof was ever needed that we don’t learn from our mistakes, it is in the fact that the possibility of a military coup would still be subject of a national conversation in May 2017 while many communities and groups are yet to be weaned of the ideas of secession, agitation for more states etc just as hate-mongering has become the defining issue of the day.

Yet, if we are honest, it is easy to understand the cold calculations that propel such harebrained ideas—including the notion that a president who is marooned abroad, battling health challenge, would seek and win re-election—in a nation where the political elite has perfected the art of exploiting group differences to advance personal agenda. The greater challenge is that because we have failed to harness our potentials, many now romanticise the past at a time other societies are busy plotting their future.

It is in that context that we should situate the renewed clamour for Biafra by those who, disappointed with what Nigeria has become, imagine what might have been had the civil war ended with a different outcome. While I am well aware of our squandered opportunities, it may also help to look at what Southern Sudan has become today despite the promise of yesterday and the enormous sacrifices in human lives of recent years. That may help in tempering our political arithmetic with a bit of realism.

For sure, the 50th anniversary of the declaration of Biafra offers a rare opportunity for sober reflection on a number of issues that may be useful in dealing with contemporary national challenges. But for me, reflections about the past are useful only to the extent in which they help in advancing the future.

And today in Abuja, the Shehu Musa Yar’Adua Foundation, with support from the Ford Foundation and the Open Society Initiative for West Africa (OSIWA), will be holding a one-day conference on the theme, “Memory and Nation Building - Biafra: 50 Years After”.

I am particularly interested in the outcome of the sessions, having had the benefit of sharing ideas with Ms Jackie Farris, Professor Ebere Onwudiwe and Mr Amara Nwankpa in recent weeks. One of the main objectives of the conference is to encourage all Nigerians to be aware and concerned about the humanitarian and social impacts

Ohanaeze President, Nnia John Nwodo of internal conflicts regardless of where they occur in our country. The conference is also bringing together some brilliant post-Biafra generation professionals who had no direct experience of the civil war so as to ascertain what Biafra means to them within the context of a united Nigeria.

With the Acting President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, as keynote speaker, the conference will bring together key actors like former President Olusegun Obasanjo, Ohanaeze Ndigbo President, Chief John Nnia Nwodo, former federal bureaucrat, Alhaji Ahmed Joda and a host of contemporary Nigerian voices to examine the much-touted post-war programme of “Reconstruction, Rehabilitation and Reconciliation” so as to glean lessons (not) learned and to explore potential social and structural interventions required to secure Nigeria’s future.

While such an enterprise is very productive, especially so we can understand the subliminal impulses that inform the actions and reactions of Igbos to contemporary Nigeria and the feeling of collective hurt that remains very strong among the people, it will be more helpful if we tackle challenge as a national one as the YarAdua Centre is trying to do. Two reports within the past ten days make such an exercise even more compelling.

First, in a report titled, Rethinking Transportation 2020-2030, a Stanford University Professor, Tony Seba, has predicted that the transportation landscape will soon change dramatically as people switch from the much-cheaper fossil-based vehicles to electric cars, thus leading to a collapse of oil prices and with it the petroleum industry.

Even if the forecast that all this would happen within the next eight years seems farfetched, the fact remains that the oil economy is in the past and that we must wake up to the reality of the moment.

At about the same period that we are being warned about the futility of building our hopes on hydrocarbon resources, Oxfam released a report which provides

a picture of the current state of poverty and inequalities in our country. “Nigeria is not a poor country yet millions are living in hunger”, according to the Oxfam report, which advocates that to free millions of our citizens from deprivation and want, we must build “a new political and economic system that works for everyone, not just a fortunate few.”

Quite predictably, the response of the authorities was to dismiss Oxfam while politicians like former Vice President Atiku Abubakar would continue to argue that the solution to our problem lies in restructuring our country by using the existing geo-political zones as federating units rather than the current 36 states. Atiku’s thesis, which has become rather simplistic, is that political decentralization will “help to deepen and strengthen our democracy as it will encourage more accountability. Citizens are more likely to demand accountability when governments spend their tax money rather than rent collected from an impersonal source.”

While I am quite aware of the distortions in the current federal arrangement and the impediments they create for our growth and development, it is self-deceiving to believe that once we restructure, our problem will be solved. It will not, until the wealth of the nation and the opportunities that accrue from it are available and accessible to all citizens, irrespective of their states of origin or ethnic affiliations. That will happen when we create sustainable centres of productivity and economic activity.

It is particularly noteworthy that Atiku made his statement in Lagos, a state where you see a semblance of the kind of structure we must build if we are to change this society. Lagos is by no means perfect. In fact, Lagos is another face of Nigeria in terms of corruption, cronyism, nepotism and all other social ills you can point to.

But notwithstanding, Lagos has a system that works. As the state therefore marks 50 years of creation, it has a lot to celebrate while kudos must be given to a succession of can-do leaders who have, at different times, proffered practical solutions to perplexing problems. For me, two stand out: Alhaji Lateef Kayode Jakande and Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

By the time Jakande became governor in 1979, there were far more pupils and students in Lagos than the then structure in state could accommodate at once so the school sessions were in daily shifts. But, based on his electoral promise on which he had done his homework, Jakande was able to change that narrative while embarking on several social programmes across the state. Without any doubt, Jakande, (the only governor of his era who did not travel outside the country throughout his stewardship which lasted four years and three months) left his mark in the state.

But perhaps the man who deserves the bigger accolades is Tinubu. By the time he became governor of Lagos in 1999, the state was no different from the others, relying only on revenues from Abuja to pay salaries and patch a few roads, as some of the governors

are still doing today. The first thing Tinubu did that set him apart from the others was in the choice of commissioners. He went for respected professionals in their chosen fields, men and women with impeccable credentials but of little or no electoral value.

From Olayemi Cardoso who manned the Economic Planning and Budget ministry to Idowu Sobowale put in charge of Education to Kayode Anibaba who was given the Environment and Physical Planning portfolio to Leke Pitan, his health commissioner to Olawale Edun, in charge of Finance to Lanre Towry-Coker in Housing to Dele Alake in the Information and Strategy ministry to Yemi Osinbajo in the Justice sector to Teju Phillips, Muiz Banire, Kemi Nelson and others, Tinubu was clear about his goals and how he would achieve them. Even the few small-time politicians in his cabinet at the time like Musiliu Obanikoro and Raufu Aregbesola were young, popular and enterprising. His Chief of Staff of course was a certain Lai Mohammed who was later replaced by Babatunde Raji Fashola in a cabinet that included Ben Akabueze, Tunji Bello and others.

At the end of the day, what Tinubu has shown with Lagos—and is being sustained by his successors— is that while the structure of our country may not necessarily lend itself to inclusive growth and productivity, changing that structure alone will offer little or no comfort if the system is not imbued with visionary leaders at every level. Therefore, any discussion about Biafra that will dwell merely on the atonement Nigeria has to pay—and I believe that Igbo people have not had a fair deal in our country—without envisioning how we can build a more equitable society, will be no more than an organised waste of time.

As I argued in the past, we are yet to exorcise the ghost of Biafra from our national psyche because the scars seem very deep while the more the Nigerian Project fails to work, the more the nostalgia about a “Biafran Eldorado” that exists only within the realm of imagination for some young people. That then explains why the ready solution of restructuring being taunted by politicians like Atiku is a rather lazy one that does not address the fundamental problems of Nigeria.

Fewer administrative cost centres do not necessarily yield a more nationalistic and workable polity. The challenge of managing a diverse federation like ours requires much more rigour.

All said, as we reflect on 50 years after the declaration of Biafra and what might have been, I agree with the proponents of restructuring that there are sufficient grounds to question some of the assumptions on which the unity of Nigeria is predicated, especially in the light of our serial failings.

But to beat war drums at the least provocation or to continue to marginalise (in critical appointments and projects) a significant section of our country are signposts that we have not come to terms with our past and that we have not learnt enough lessons from that tragic episode in our history to say NEVER AGAIN!

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