Wednesday 5th July 2017

Olusanya is Interim CEO as Etisalat Gets New Leadership Emma Okonji In a move aimed at resolving its debt crisis and attracting new investors, Etisalat Nigeria yesterday announced the reconstitution of an interim board and executive management, naming Mr. Boye Olusanya as its new Managing Director/CEO.

Olusanya was the former Deputy Managing Director of Celtel, which now operates as Airtel Nigeria, after its acquisition by India’s Bharti Airtel.

Etisalat also named Dr. Joseph Nnanna, an economist

and Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), as the new chairman of its board.

THISDAY had exclusively reported that the CBN, Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), the

lending banks and Etisalat’s management were in a meeting yesterday to appoint new directors and executive management team to run the affairs of the company.

The reconstitution of the board was sequel to the

resignation of Etisalat’s former Emirati directors and Nigerian chairman, Mr. Hakeem Belo-Osagie, as well as its ex-CEO Mr. Matthew Willsher and former CFO Mr. Olawole Obasunloye, over the company’s inability to

Fowler: Nigeria Needs Taxes to Develop… Page 51

repay a $1.2 billion loan owed 13 Nigerian banks.

Its former Non-executive Directors (NEDs) represented the interests of their United Arab Emirates-based parent companies – Mubadala Development Company and Emirates Telecoms Continued on page 10

Wednesday 5 July, 2017 Vol 22. No 8112. Price: N250

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IOCs to Dispose of More Assets After PIB Passage, Licence Expiration Up to $12bn of portfolio potentially up for grabs, says Ajumogobia Ejiofor Alike in Lagos and Chineme Okafor in Abuja International oil companies

(IOCs) operating in the country will continue to hold back on the divestment of onshore assets until after the

passage of the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) that governs fiscal terms, and the expiration of some of the joint

NNPC saves $2bn through cheaper contracts

venture onshore assets in 2019, investigations by THISDAY have revealed.

A former Minister of State

for Petroleum Resources, Mr. Odein Ajumogobia has also hinted that the asset disposals will continue in the

foreseeable future, with up to $12 billion of the portfolio Continued on page 10

Gowon, Obasanjo Express Regret over Military’s Incursion in Politics Say Nigeria has shed enough blood Osinbajo laments poor leadership Bolaji Adebiyi and Paul Obi in Abuja Sad memories of the bloodbath during the January and July 1966 coups resurfaced yesterday in Abuja, with two former military Heads of State, General Yakubu Gowon and Olusegun Obasanjo expressing regret over the military’s incursion into politics.

They also warned against the recurrence of coup d’etats in the country, saying enough blood had been shed.

Continued on page 10

L-R: Senate President Bukola Saraki; Kano State Governor, Abdullahi Ganduje; the Emir of Kano, Alhaji Muhammad Sanusi II; Jigawa State Governor, Abubakar Badaru; and his Borno State counterpart, Kashim Shettima, at the funeral of elder statesman and Dan Masamin Kano, the late Yusuf Maitama Sule, held in Kano… yesterday (See story on page 50)

150 Dead, 1,233 Houses Destroyed in Cross River Communal War… Page 52

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PAGE TEN GOWON, OBASANJO EXPRESS REGRET OVER MILITARY'S INCURSION IN POLITICS “Nigeria has had enough bloodshed and enough sacrifices by those victims (of the coups and violence)… Nigeria deserves peace, unity and progress,” Obasanjo said in Abuja at the presentation of a book, “The First Regular Combatant: Brigadier Zakariya Maimalari.”

The two former helmsmen of the nation regretted the coups

that heralded the military into politics, saying they did not only violate the military but also retarded the growth of democracy in the country.

“I hope we have seen the last of any military involvement in governance today,” Gowon said, adding that the military’s incursion into politics “poisoned the lifeblood of the army and

left a dysfunctional system that has left the country, military and the people all the poorer”.

The book, whose excerpts were reported exclusively

by THISDAY yesterday, is a biography of Maimalari, the first Nigerian regular combatant to be enlisted into the officer corps of the Nigerian Army, who was killed during the January 15,

1966 coup. It was written by an academic, Dr. Haruna Poloma.

Its presentation came against the background of separatist agitations in the South-east, the religious insurgency in the North-east, militancy in the South-south, and the deafening clamour for the restructuring of the federation in Southwest, a dire situation Acting

President Yemi Osinbajo said at the occasion was precipitated by poor leadership and bad governance.

Gowon, who was the chairman of the book presentation, reflected on the January 15, 1966 coup that led to the assassination of Nigeria’s post-independence Prime Minister, Sir Abubakar

Tafawa Balewa, the Premiers of the defunct Northern and Western Regions, Sir Ahmadu Bello and Chief Samuel Ladoke Akintola, Maimalari and other senior officers of northern descent, saying the killings were unnecessary and unfortunate.

He said: “For some of us,

network quality and positive customer experience.

“Etisalat Nigeria remains committed to continuously serving our subscribers, through the provision of innovative products and services with its committed staff, partners and vendors to empower the needs of our customers and improve their experience on the network.”

The NCC also issued a statement yesterday, supporting the restructuring exercise in Etisalat.

The Director, Public Affairs at NCC, Mr. Tony Ojobo, in the statement, said: “The commission is pleased to note that Etisalat and its creditors have successfully reached an amicable resolution of key issues pertaining to its indebtedness and that a

smooth transitional process is currently ongoing on mutually agreed terms.

“The commission is confident that the amicable resolutions reached by the parties will further strengthen Etisalat’s capacity to continue to provide services to its over 20 million customers and to fulfil its obligations to its other stakeholders as a going concern, regardless of any changes that the parties have agreed to Etisalat’s ownership, its board and/or its executive management.

“We further wish to assure that as empowered by the Nigerian Communications Act, 2003, the commission will continue to work assiduously with all industry stakeholders to ensure that the Nigerian telecommunications industry

remains capable of playing its critical role as a key driver of national socio-economic development.

“NCC is mindful of the need to sustain the industry’s significant contribution to national GDP, employment and infrastructure roll-out at all times.

“The commission’s intervention in the matter was informed by these considerations, and we are pleased with the success of the ongoing process.

“The commission also wishes to acknowledge the pivotal role of the Central Bank of Nigeria in resolving the matter in a manner that protects the interests of all stakeholders, especially the creditor banks and Etisalat’s customers.”

production through a tie-back to the Usan Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO).

The field, he also noted, has added current estimated reserves of one billion barrels to Nigeria’s reserves.

The Nigerian Petroleum Development Company (NPDC), he said, also grew its production from 15,000bpd to 210,000bpd as of June 2017.

Baru further revealed that through presidential intervention, the ownership of OML 13 was settled and restored to the NPDC. He said NPDC was expecting its first oil from the well before the year ends.

He also said NNPC rekindled the confidence of its joint venture partners to pursue new projects, following the negotiated agreement on the repayment of outstanding JV cash call debts up till 2015.

In the gas sector, Baru said gas supply to power plants and industries in Nigeria also increased.

He listed some of the projects NNPC had embarked on in the sector to include the completion of repairs of the vandalised 20inch Escravos Lagos Pipeline System A (ELPS-A) in August 2016, which he said ramped up Chevron’s Escravos gas plant supply from nil to 259 million standard feet per day (mmscfd), as well as that of the vandalised Chevron offshore gas pipeline in February 2017 which equally increased the company’s gas supply to 430mmscfd.

Other gas related projects undertaken by NNPC within the period included the completion of repair works on the vandalised 48-inch Forcados Oil Terminal (FOT) export gas pipeline in June 2017, which reactivated shutdown gas plants like the Oredo gas plant, Sapele gas plant, Ovade gas plant, Oben and Nigeria Gas Company’s (NGC) gas compressors.

NPDC’s Utorogu NAG2 and Oredo EPF 2 gas plants, he stated,

were also commissioned on the back of the corporation’s works in the gas sector.

He said there was also a significant growth in domestic gas supply in the last few months, adding that during the period, domestic gas supply increased from an average of 700mmscfd in July 2016 to the current average of 1,220mmscfd, with about 75 per cent of the volume supplied to the power sector.

In the downstream oil sector, Baru said NNPC stabilised product supplies through modest local refining by its refineries in Kaduna, Warri and Port Harcourt, and importation through oil swaps which he said had saved Nigeria N40 billion in 2017.

“We have also commenced the resuscitation of our product transportation pipeline network, thus enabling us to move products to depots at faster rates and cheaper distribution costs to consumers.

“The Aba, Mosimi, AtlasCove and Kano Depots have all been re-commissioned and are currently receiving products, thereby enhancing product availability across the country,” said Baru.

Continued on page 12

OLUSANYA IS INTERIM CEO AS ETISALAT GETS NEW LEADERSHIP Group Company’s (Etisalat Group) – and Emerging Markets Telecommunications Services (EMTS), representing the Nigerian shareholders.

Etisalat Group, which held 45 of the shares in Etisalat Nigeria and 25 per cent of the preference shares, has since relinquished its stake in the Nigerian telco over the debt crisis that had the Nigerian lenders baying for blood.

THISDAY gathered that the spree of resignations was meant to pave way for the unhindered restructuring of the telecoms company, following Etisalat’s inability to repay the loans it took for network expansion and upgrade.

Other members of the new board include former National Senior Partner, KPMG Professional Services,

Mr. Oluseyi Bickersteth; former Managing Partner, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), Mr. Ken Igbokwe; and Mrs. Funke Ighodaro, who has been appointed the new CFO of Etisalat Nigeria.

According to insider information, the five-man board was carefully appointed by all parties – CBN, the banks and Etisalat shareholders – involved in the restructuring of the telco.

On the five-man board, CBN was given the chairmanship slot, the shareholders were given one slot for an NED, while the banks got three slots (CEO, CFO and an additional NED).

In a statement released yesterday, Etisalat Nigeria confirmed that as a result of the restructuring efforts, a new board has been constituted.

According to the statement, “The consortium of lenders, working with the regulators, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and the Central Bank of Nigeria, is committed to the on-going efforts to restructure the company towards a path of long-term success of the business, and the appointment of a seasoned board of directors and top management is a testament to this.

“The decisions reached so far reflect the high confidence all the stakeholders have in the continued viability and sustainability of the business.

“The smooth transition is also proof of management’s commitment to ensuring that the operations of the company run seamlessly, and customers continue to enjoy superior

I O C S TO D I S P O S E O F M O R E AS S E T S A F T E R P I B PAS SAG E , L I C E N C E E X P I R AT I O N of oil multinationals potentially up for grabs.

The investigation has revealed that the companies would not put more assets on offer until their licences expire in 2019.

THISDAY had reported that the eight Oil Mining Leases (OMLs) – 18, 24, 25, 26, 29, 30, 34, 40 and 42 – sold by Shell and its partners between 2011 and 2015 would expire in 2019.

It was learnt that the renewal terms that will be negotiated for the remaining onshore leases by the federal government would determine whether the IOCs will dispose of the remaining acreages or renew their licences.

Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited (SPDC), which had pioneered the asset disposals with the sale of OMLs 4, 38 and 41 to Seplat Petroleum Development Company Plc, had in its yearly report and Form 20-F 2016 stated that 17 onshore OMLs would expire in 2019.

According to the report released in the first quarter of 2017, about 164 million barrels of oil equivalent (boe) will be produced before the expiration of the licenses, while the acreages will produce 377 million boe after 2019.

A source close to the IOCs, who spoke to THISDAY off the record, said the divestments would likely continue after the expiration of the licenses and passage of the PIB. “The litmus test will come when the expiring concessions will be renewed. It is either the assets will be surrendered or renewed, depending on the terms of the renewals. If the terms are not favourable to the IOCs, they will surrender the assets to the government. In that case, it will not be a case of direct divestment but non-renewal,” he explained.

“The companies are also concerned about the fiscal regime and are waiting for the passage of the aspect of the PIB that governs the fiscal terms.

“It is an open secret that one of the companies divested and went to East Africa where the fiscal terms are more favourable.

So if the fiscal terms in the PIB don’t favour the IOCs, they will divest more assets.

“If the terms are favourable, they will also likely review their portfolio and sell more assets to put money where the expected rate of returns is higher,” he added.

THISDAY also gathered that Chevron is holding back on the planned divestment of its 40 per cent stake in OMLs 86 and 88, both located in shallow waters off Bayelsa State, pending the conclusion of discussions with partners, which will be determined by the fiscal terms in the PIB. Speaking on the challenges of the asset disposals at a recent dinner organised by the Petroleum Club in Lagos, Ajumogobia stated that Shell would likely divest more blocks in line with its strategy to reposition its deepwater portfolio.

Ajumogobia revealed that all blocks except OMLs 23, 28 and 35, which are crucial for gas supply to the Nigeria LNG Limited, could be open for discussion, adding that up to $12 billion of the portfolio of IOCs will potentially be up for grabs.

He also added that pipeline infrastructure could be included, especially the Shell-operated Trans-Niger Pipeline (TNP), which together with the Aiteo-operated Nembe Creek Trunkline (NCTL) are the two main pipelines used by Shell and other producing companies in the eastern Niger Delta to evacuate crude to the export terminal.

Shell sold NCTL to the Aiteo Group in the last divestment programme concluded in 2015.

Apart from the 17 onshore blocks currently operated by Shell, which will expire by 2019, ExxonMobil’s shallow water OML 104, containing the

Yoho and Awawa fields will also expire by 2018.

The former minister, who also stated that the asset disposals were expected to continue in the foreseeable future, added that there are “opportunities for indigenous companies and possible foreign independents to continue to participate in the Nigerian oil and gas industry and be involved in creating history for the industry and country in terms of value and job creation”.

He added that the non-passage of the PIB’s fiscal terms was a constraint on investment and financing.

Also speaking on the asset disposals by the IOCs, the Chief Executive Officer of International Energy Services Limited, Dr. Diran Fawibe told THISDAY at the weekend that a combination of many factors had fuelled the sale of assets by the IOCs. He said with the attacks on onshore and shallow water assets by the militants, the IOCs had to realign their portfolios in direct response to the attacks.

Fawibe also noted that the price of oil at that period rendered the contributions of some of the onshore assets to the companies’ overall portfolios very marginal.

“The IOCs have a global business model and they will look at the overall model and see how each country fits in.

There is calm in the industry and we shall wait for the passage of the PIB that concerns the fiscal regime,” Fawibe added.

Meanwhile, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) yesterday disclosed that in the last one year it renegotiated and got discounts worth $2 billion on upstream oil and gas contracts it gave out and are being executed by its various service providers.

The corporation also stated that within the same period, it was able to drive down production costs in oil fields in the country by $5 per barrel, from $27 to

$22 per barrel.

A statement from NNPC’s Group General Manager, Public Affairs, Mr. Ndu Ughamadu in Abuja, explained that this was disclosed by its Group Managing Director, Dr. Maikanti Baru, in a podcast to mark his first year as the head of the state oil firm.

The statement said the corporation lowered production costs from $27 to $22 per barrel in its quest to drive down the high cost of oil production in the industry in Nigeria.

It quoted Baru to have said NNPC would continue to pay close attention to cost reduction strategies and efficiency in upstream oil production.

Baru, the statement added, has directed that each of NNPC’s Autonomous Business Units (ABUs) and Corporate Services Units (CSUs) focus on identifying their focal points for efficiency.

This would ensure that they realise the key performance indicators enshrined in the 2017 budget of the corporation.

He also noted that NNPC would continue to push to attain a six-month contracting cycle in the industry.

Baru equally stated that in the last one year, NNPC under his watch recorded a significant increase in Nigeria’s crude oil reserves and production, adding that on average Nigeria’s daily oil and condensate production was 1.83 million barrels (mb), while its year-to date (YTD) 2017 average production was 1.88mb.

According to him, the reported improvement in security and resumption of production at the Forcados Oil Terminal (FOT) and Qua Iboe Terminal (QIT) pipelines would see Nigeria producing more than 2.2mb of oil and condensate per day.

He explained that in October 2016, the Owowo oil field located close to the producing ExxonMobil-operated Usan field was discovered, adding that its location could allow for early

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PAGE TWELVE

Senate Tackles Osinbajo over Magu, Insists on EFCC Chair’s Removal Suspends consideration of all executive nominations Asks executive to head to S’Court over its power of confirmation Damilola Oyedele in Abuja Indications of any detente between the Senate and the executive arm of government may have been thwarted, when the latter yesterday restated its advisory to the presidency on removal the Acting Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mr. Ibrahim Magu, or risk the non-consideration of any executive nominations.

The lawmakers took the decision following an executive request forwarded by Acting President Yemi Osinbajo, seeking the confirmation of the nominee for the position of Director General of the National Lottery Regulatory Commission (NLRC), Mr. Lanre Gbajabiamila.

Osinbajo’s letter was read at plenary yesterday by Senate President Bukola Saraki, after the National Assembly resumed from its mid-term recess.

Magu’s nomination as substantive chairman of the anti-graft agency was rejected twice by the Senate (in December 2016 and March 2017) on the basis of a report of the Department of State Services (DSS), which indicted him for alleged corruption and unprofessional conduct. He has however remained in office in an acting capacity.

The Senate said its latest position was prompted by the need to clarify the issue on its power to confirm executive nominees of the executive, which was called to question

by Osinbajo.

Osinbajo last April had said Magu did not require the confirmation of the Senate, adding that there was no need to have presented the nominee for confirmation in the first instance.

The senators yesterday,

however, noted that it was inconsistent for Osinbajo, on the one hand, to say that the Senate does not have the power of confirmation, or nominees do not require Senate confirmation and then turn around to write the same Senate seeking the confirmation of another nominee.

The lawmakers, therefore, urged Osinbajo to withdraw his statements on the Senate’s power of confirmation and urged the executive to head to the Supreme Court for the interpretation of relevant sections of the constitution.

They also urged the acting president to respect the constitution and laws enacted by the National Assembly as they relate to the confirmation of nominees and also respect the rejection of nominees by the Senate.

The senators also raised eyebrows at what they described as the selective swearing in of nominees who have been confirmed by the Senate, particularly the swearing in of 14 out of 15 Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs) for the Independent National Election Commission (INEC).

The resolution for the nonconsideration of Gbajabiamila’s nomination was set in motion

by Senator Ahmed Sani Yerima (Zamfara Central) who, raising a point of order, harped on the need for clarification on the letter, taking into consideration Osinbajo’s comments.

His position was backed

by Senator George Thompson Sekibo (Rivers East) who maintained that one of the core functions of the Senate, as stipulated by the constitution, is to confirm the nominees of the president.

“If the acting president says we do not have the power to

Saraki confirm, I wonder whether he is in touch with the EFCC Act. “If he says we don’t have the power to confirm and he is sending us a nomination, is he reversing himself?” He asked.

Sekibo observed that to retain a nominee that has been rejected by the Senate undermines democratic institutions and downplays the authority of the lawmakers.

Senator Isa Misau (Bauchi Central), contributing to the debate, accused the executive of engaging in double standards and hypocrisy.

“There are people that they want, even if the National Assembly would not confirm them,” he said, adding that the executive had resorted to blackmail and harassment of the legislators.

Misau alleged that the recent raids on the guesthouse of the Deputy Senate President, Senator Ike Ekweremadu and the home of the

Chairman of the Committee on Appropriation, Senator Danjuma Goje, were conducted by the EFCC. How many ministers have they investigated, he queried.

Senator Dino Melaye (Kogi West) described the executive as inconsistent when considering that an apology was tendered to the Senate (by the Acting Secretary to the Government of the Federation) when Gbajabiamila resumed office without confirmation.

Yet, the same executive has retained Magu who was rejected by the Senate, Melaye said.

“In this Senate, we confirmed some people, they have refused to swear them in. This Senate cannot be disregarded and our authority to confirm cannot be eroded,” he added.

Senator Olusola Adeyeye (Osun Central) stated that nobody has the right to disobey any law that requires confirmation before an

appointment.

“Nobody, not the president, acting president or vice president has the right to disobey that law. Whoever has any reservation should go to court.

“If there is any law which has been passed by the legislature, signed by the president and gazetted into the laws of the republic, no one is given an exemption to dodge, bend, avoid or dance around that law.

“Many have argued convincingly that the power to confirm appointments is explicitly written in the constitution,” he said.

Adeyeye revealed that he had voted in favour of Magu at the confirmation screening, but chose to align with the Senate which rejected him.

“For the record, I want to say here that I voted ‘yes’ for Magu, but this is not about my views. The Senate voted Nay. I stand with the Nigerian Senate because if a republic must choose between strong leaders and strong institutions, it is wiser by far to choose strong institutions.

“We must not allow any branch of government to be weakened to the extent where the laws of the land can be flagrantly disregarded,” Adeyeye added.

Ekweremadu also stressed that the position of the Senate was neither about Magu nor Gbajabiamila, but about the constitution.

Citing Sections 5, 153, 155 and 171 of the constitution, Ekweremadu said the law of the country must be obeyed.

“If the law says you require confirmation, it means you need confirmation,” he said.

Saraki said the inaction of the presidency on the resolution of Magu was a

matter that must be addressed.

“This matter is an important one which we must address and put behind us. We can’t pass laws and the laws are not obeyed. We must respect the constitution,” he said.

“It is important that we build a society wherein all laws, not just some laws are obeyed. We must build a nation of laws not a nation of men. It is not for us to choose which laws to obey and which laws not to obey.

“Based on that we would take appropriate actions in line with these resolutions,” Saraki added.

In a departure from the subject matter, Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe raised issues over what he said was a vacuum in government.

He noted that President Muhammadu Buhari was out of the country and the acting president had also travelled out to the African Union Summit in Addis Ababa, adding that there was no head of government while both were away.

He noted that the resolution being passed was intended for submission to the presidency where there is a vacuum.

Abaribe was however countered by Senator Kabiru Marafa, who cited Order Six of the Senate Rules which requires that contributions be restricted to the subject of discussion.

He also said it was erroneous to state that there was no head of government.

“It is an abuse to our sensibilities and the sensibilities of Nigerians to say we do not have a head of government.

If the acting president is not in the country, the Senate President is the next in line of succession,” he argued.

Based on the Senate Rules, Saraki ruled Abaribe out of order.

can find exceptional examples of selfless service and notable deeds with which we can inspire our youths.”

He added: “The example of Maimalari, particularly his growth from humble beginnings, through diligence and hard work, to the dizzying heights of public service is worthy of sharing. History can thus be a useful tool in the propagation of good examples.”

Osinbajo regretted that History as a subject in the nation’s schools had become fairly infamous, with students often feeling that the subject had no practical value.

But he asked: “Without a grounding in History, how do we know we who we are, where we come from, and more importantly, as a people, where we are going to?”

For this reason, the acting president said the Muhammadu Buhari administration had decided to return History as a core subject in the nation’s education curriculum.

The Minister of Interior, Gen. Abdulrahman Dambazau (rtd.), who was the chairman of the presentation organising

committee, in his welcome address extolled the virtues of Maimalari, saying he was an iconic figure in Nigerian history whose memory had for too long been unjustly confined to the fringes of the nation’s memory.

“This book is thus a long expected effort of historical reclamation and rehabilitation, such that Brigadier Maimalari, unremembered in many of our monuments, will now continue to be acknowledged in our national discourse,” he said.

The Chief of Army Staff, Lt Gen. Tukur Buratai, used the opportunity of the book presentation to announce that Maimalari’s military rank had been re-designated BrigadierGeneral.

Reviewer of the biography, General Ike Nwachukwu (Rtd), heaped praise on Maimalari’s enormous contributions to the nation’s military.

Other dignitaries that attended the book launch included General Aliyu Gusau (rtd.), Senator Ben Obi, Major Al Mustapha, Muhammed Abacha, Ibrahim Bunu and Aminu Dantata.

GOWON, OBASANJO EXPRESS REGRET OVER MILITARY'S INCURSION IN POLITICS the greatest tragedy of the gruesome night was not only that it took the lives of many innocent Nigerians, including that of Brigadier Maimalari, but that it also took the life of the Nigerian Army and violated its political innocence.”

He paid glowing tributes to the slain senior officer, testifying that he was a thoroughbred professional and apolitical officer, who wanted the best for Nigeria and the army.

Saying Maimalari did not deserve to die violently, Gowon observed that had the first regular combatant officer survived the coup, he would have prevented the bloodbath that followed in July 1966 and the Nigerian Civil War. “To my mind, Maimalari would perhaps have used his huge influence to re-establish civic order and governance,” he said, stressing: “Perhaps, there might have been no further killings.”

Gowon said Maimalari influenced his choice of soldiering as a career, explaining that but for providence, he too might have been killed, as he lost all his classmates at Barewa

College, Zaria, who were also his course mates in the military during the January coup.

Obasanjo, who was a junior officer in the army during Nigeria’s first coup and the July counter-coup, also paid glowing tributes to Maimalari, saying he had a first hand experience of the late officer’s sterling professional and leadership qualities.

Maimalari, according to Obasanjo, was the Commander of his 5th Battalion that was put together as Nigeria’s first contingent that participated in the United Nations peacekeeping force in the Congo.

“He was a particularly good officer, who cared greatly about the welfare of his officers and men,” Obasanjo testified, adding: “The Nigerian Army would have been the better for it if he (Maimalari) had led the army.”

He lamented the grievous harm the incursion into politics had caused the military and the nation.

He explained: “Many military officers who had been highly trained at enormous cost to the nation were cut off in the

prime of their lives.”

This, he further explained, was why upon his ascendancy to the presidency in 1999, he retired all military officers who had participated in politics as governors or held any other political position during military rule.

Asking Abubakar Sadiq, the son of Maimalari, who was a former military administrator of Jigawa State and was retired at the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel during the purge to raise his hand, Obasanjo said: “I have no apology, but I have an explanation.

“It’s because it was necessary to stop this sort of thing that took the life of your father prematurely that we had to take the decision that all those who had tasted political power that they should never have tasted, should be eased out of the army so that we can have an army that is free from political aberration.”

He added: “So far, since 1999, it seems that we have got it right.

Let us hope that we continue to get it right and learn that Nigeria has had enough bloodshed, enough sacrifices by those

victims; that Nigeria deserve peace, unity and progress.”

Osinbajo, who was represented by the Minister of Water Resources, Mr. Suleiman Adamu, lamented the paucity of good leadership in the country, contending that it was at the root of the prevailing strife in the country.

“Often, the Nigerian landscape has been disfigured by appalling examples of poor leadership and bad governance,” the acting president said, stressing: “So dominant has this been that our youths can be misled into feeling that there is a total absence of idealism and heroism in our society.”

But Osinbajo explained that bad leadership was not really the hallmark of Nigeria since some past leaders had exhibited the capacity for selfless service.

He blamed the relegation of History as subject to the background of the nation’s education curriculum for the growing perception that Nigeria was a cesspool of directionless leaders.

According to him: “Nothing can be further from the truth, in our past and in our present, we

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COMMENT

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

DEMOCRACY AND DEVELOPMENT We must envision a democracy that guarantees freedom, writes Sonnie Ekwowusi

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o many, politics is the highest human enterprise.

Democratic dividend is the highest common good that can be achieved here on earth. In his article entitled, “Democracy Vs Government”, Robert Maclver opined that democracy is the political liberation of all men from the chains of power.

Democracy provides the way from the ruthlessness and corruption of power. It is that Thomas Jefferson even likened the United States’ Senate and its numerous activities to heaven.

Democracy rests on many assumptions. One of those assumptions is that men have enough wisdom and virtue to pursue the end of democracy-promotion of the welfare of the people. But viewed against the backdrop of history, men do not have enough wisdom and virtue to pursue the end of democracy. Democracy is challenged from within by sheer ignorance and pursuit of personal interests at the expense of the common good and welfare of the people. In his book with title, “The Naked Public Square: Religion and Democracy in America,” Richard John Neuhaus, writes that we should resist the temptation of being romantised by what the people who are in power do. Political power, he says, is the ability to get other people to do what you want, and not to do what you do not want. And that people who behave like this are said to govern. According to him, it is in the interest of politicians and the hordes of people who make their living by talking about what politicians do to continue to disguise the truth and keep overheating the polity with what they think the people would like to hear.

The point Neuhaus and others are making is that democracy is not a measure and a guarantee of political success. Totalitarianism is present in constitutional democracy as much as it is present in military despotism. Simply put, constitutional democracy is not a guarantee of freedom. If constitutional democracy must lead to true human development it must transcend political experiment. Democracy is more than a political experiment: it is also a moral enterprise which largely depends on the ethics and virtues of the citizenry for its success. In his book, “The Moral Mandate for Freedom,” Prof. Rocco Buttiglione shared the views of Plato, Cicero, James Madison and Alexis De Tocqueville to the effect that democracy not run by highly-principled political leaders is bound to collapse. Plato, in particular, was hostile to democracy because he feared that the democratic powers and institutions would be imperilled under the watch of men of unruly passions and creatures of appetite. In his often-cited classic work, “Democracy in America,” French historian and diplomat Alexis De Tocqueville writes that democracy bereft of equality of conditions is bound to gravitate towards despotism. To all these thinkers, democracy is not synonymous with instant political and economic prosperity. If it is said that democracy liberates all men it is on the assumption that there are political leaders with high moral principles ready to navigate democracy to a safe harbor.

NO DEMOCRACY IN WHICH WRONGS AND SOCIAL INJUSTICES ARE INTENTIONALLY COMMITTED AND PERPETUATED CAN SAVE A COUNTRY

Unfortunately most democracies are not run by men with high ethical principles. Most democracies unfortunately are in the hands of men of unruly passions and creatures of appetite.

Even a democratic government elected through a free and fair election is not intrinsically a good government that can guarantee equality and freedom. The case of Nigeria is a good example. In the 2015 Election, the Nigerian voters elected a president and other political leaders through a political process that was adjudged by many to be free from electoral fraud or gerrymandering. Initially it was feared that the election would precipitate a large-scale violence in certain parts of Nigeria.

But eventually the election not only became successful but became a strong instrument of national unity and reconciliation in Nigeria especially after the defeated ex-President Goodluck Jonathan spontaneously conceded defeat and congratulated President-elect Muhammadu Buhari. But unfortunately since that change of guard in Nigeria the country has been writhing in pains and anguish under the incompetence and scatter-brain ideas of the Buhari government. For example, we are approaching the end of the tenure of the Buhari government yet it is difficult to point at one single stellar achievement of the government. The anti-corruption battle has become a parody of errors. When President Buhari returns to the country, the EFCC will start making some arrests just to impress Buhari. But when he is out of the country the EFCC will relapse into its stupor.

Anyway, in fairness, Acting President Yemi Osinbajo is now using his intelligence as a good lawyer to bring governance and forge unity in Nigeria. But the man is also treading softly to avoid incurring the wrath of the “owners” and “custodians” of Nigeria who are idly sitting down somewhere and watching out to see what they would construe as Osibanjo’s missteps to be used in nailing him.

Therefore no democracy in which wrongs and social injustices are intentionally committed and perpetuated can save a country. No democracy in which the political leaders intentionally commit wrongs against the country can save the country. If you take away freedom and justice all that remains in a country are open robberies. We must begin to move away from the statist mentality that once we establish democratic institutions, bureaucracies and enact laws all our human problems will be solved. In principle, functional bureaucracies, democratic institutions and laws are good, but not every obligation that augurs well for proper ordering of society can be democratised, bureaucratised let alone legislated upon or codified in positive law.

Therefore we must work out our democracy. The surest way to be ruined by democracy is to take democracy for granted.

So, we can no longer take our democracy for granted. Among the ills of contemporary democracy is lack of freedom. We must envision a democracy that guarantees freedom. Freedom

CRUDE OIL REFINERIES AND KACHIKWU’S PROTECTIONISM Dan D. Kunle argues that the crude oil swap deal is not transparent enough

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read on the pages of some national papers your lecture at the Fifth Triennial Delegates Conference of PENGASSAN on June 28, 2017, where you again took time to dwell on your struggle to give the refineries to some third party financiers or investors either via crude oil swap deals with some local oil trading companies or by direct negotiations with some other financiers.

Let me quote you before I make my own humble observations and suggestions: One, “There have been no attempt and there is no approval to concession or to sell the refineries. What we have approved is to bring in a financing mechanism that would enable us finance, develop and upgrade the refineries as they are today. In their present epileptic performance levels, they would become obsolete over the next three, four years.

Two, “My drive is to see that those investment coming through the transparent process; it would go through the NNPC Board and National Executive Council (NEC). Until that happens, nobody would have been said to be selected.

Three, “Nothing in the equation of what we are trying to do is taking away the management of the refineries from NNPC. Or taking NNPC away from the management. However, we need to bring in funds, we need to bring in best practices, we need to bring these institutions to work at the level where they are important for this country, otherwise we are losing money.”

Four, “The whole idea of continuing to import petroleum products in this country is a shame. And I imagine that all of us feel

that shame.

Five, “We need to fight anything that prevents us from stopping fuel import. Once that happens, it is going to open a new vista of opportunities.

Six, “Today, I urge you as members of the union, to take the sort of solidarity that you have to sing so passionately away from just fighting the issues of staff welfare and move into the issue of staff investment. I like to see you begin to participate in the value chains.

How do you become entrepreneurs? Some of you are some of the best brains there are in this sector. How do you make it possible to participate in a way that you can transit from being active players as the ideas people because you know all the problems in the industry. Some of you have been here for 20, 30 years, like I have been. You know the areas where the opportunities lie, you know the areas where you can create new idea.

I urge you today as part of the process of this deliberation, to begin to transit from the model of protectionism around welfare and items you are entitled to, to protectionism in terms of opportunities that exist in this sector.”

Having captured all of the above quotes from your presentation to the august body, PENGASSAN, last Wednesday, it is very clear to me as an ordinary citizen and many Nigerians that you are still repeating yourself all over again and trying to justify your missteps about the crude oil swaps and the refineries rehabilitation. It is apparent that you have failed or refused to heed advice. From your statement, you publicly declared that “you kept hearing all

over the place, especially from people who should know better”. Yes! Many observers are well informed on this subject and their professional conclusion is that your steps are wrong in this very particular transaction.

May I for the third time put it to you that all your efforts and struggles to validate, panelbeat, re-align, window dress and paint to Nigerians of your transparency in respect of the crude oil swap of 150,000 barrels per day for “Refineries’ Repairs or Investment”, cannot stand the crucible pot test. This debate is avoidable because transparency does not respect semantics. It is simple and straight forward. Please do the needful, which was my advice to you when I rode on Simon Kolawole’s piece on transparency and the supposed characteristics, in the crude oil swap and refineries’ repairs or concessions a couple of weeks ago.

I will like to maintain my stand because the oil sector is key to our political and economic diversification aspirations. Why this Insistence? Because you misled the Nigerian people in 2015, during your visit to Port Harcourt and Warri refineries, where you publicly declared that the refineries will all work at about 90% installed capacity by December 2015. This has not happened till date. In fact you declared that $10 million has been used by the management of PHRC to carry out the TAM as against the OEM/ consultants estimate of about $295m. If you were the listening type, you would have revisited the report of the consultants on behalf of the Japanese OEM of the refinery to ascertain the veracity of the aiagnosis report.

Because from ‘i to vi’ above, you have publicly failed to address the simple issue of opening up the refineries for ICB (International Competitive Bidding), either for repairs or concessions or core investors’ sales. You have dribbled all over the places, trying to exhibit your showmanship of industry knowledge. While the basic truth is suppressed. BPE/NCP or ICRC would have provided you the honest legitimate approach of getting these refineries off the hook since they were built and operated by NNPC. Let me emphasise once more, that you cannot win this self-created debate on the refineries and oil swap deal.

Because your new twist to bring in, a third party financing mechanism to the refineries cannot stand the transparency test without BPE/NCP or ICRC advert, calling for such Investment opportunities with all the requisite terms and conditions for such transactions. How do you intend to make the third party investor recover their money?

How much will the third party be investing in each of the four refineries? At what cost and for how many years will it take the investors to recoup their investment before the refineries revert to FGN? What percentage will they control in the three refineries? I think you just want to complicate this simple transaction and process of privatisation which is doable within one year.

You publicly declared that you want the investment coming, to go through transparency, but your actions are in the opposite when you are preventing the best practices of an ICB and subjecting the process to the legitimate Council of Privatisation and ICRC

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EDITORIAL BOKO HARAM: THE UNFINISHED BUSINESS There is urgent need to scale up intelligence gathering to ensure violent acts are nipped in the bud

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hat Boko Haram, the violent militant group, still constitutes grave danger for Nigeria is to state the obvious. In the last few months, there has been a dramatic upsurge in violence with the insurgents unleashing vicious and gruesome attacks on civilians as well as members of the armed forces, particular in Borno State. The series of brazen and suicide attacks and killings by the militant group in recent months have shown that the insurgents are still very much in business.

On June 19, a suicide bomb attacks at a mosque and nearby residence killed 12 people while a raid on Maiduguri less than two weeks earlier on June 7--carried out with explosives and anti-aircraft guns--claimed 17 lives. Only on Thursday, four soldiers, including an officer attached to the 133 Special Forces Battalion were killed when improvised explosive devices planted by the rebels exploded in the environs of the Borno State capital. A rash of suicide attacks last week resulted in the death of 16 people in Maiduguri and environs.

One institution ALTHOUGH SECURITY bearing the full AGENCIES HAVE MANAGED brunt of the rampant TO FOIL SOME OF THESE criminality of Boko Haram, which loosely ATTACKS, IT IS ALL translates as “Western THE SAME SOMEWHAT education is forbidden” BOGUS TO STILL HAWK is the University of THE IMPRESSION THAT Maiduguri. In the THE WAR AGAINST last few months, the THE INSURGENTS WAS insurgent group has TECHNICALLY OVER repeatedly attacked the institution, using mostly young women and girls as human bombs. Last January, four persons including a professor died as a result of explosion inside a mosque in the university. In the latest attack, a male suicide bomber killed a security guard at the university while a second blast the following morning killed only the two female bombers.

The violence around the institution has become such a destabilising influence in the academic environment

Letters to the Editor

that Kashim Shettima, Governor of Borno State, last week ordered that a 27- kilometre trench be built around the university to contain attacks from the rebellious group. Although security agencies have managed to foil some of these attacks, it is all the same somewhat bogus to still hawk the impression that the war against the insurgents was “technically” over. It is not.

There is no doubting the fact that the military has whittled down the striking powers of the violent group which has in the last eight years led to the death of over 20,000 innocent Nigerians. The five-nation regional military coalition led by Nigeria has recaptured much of the territory Boko Haram once controlled and the insurgents no longer operate as freely as they used to.

They have even been dislodged from their fortress in the vast Sambisa Forest.

H T H I S DAY

EDITOR IJEOMA NWOGWUGWU DEPUTY EDITORS BOLAJI ADEBIYI, JOSEPH USHIGIALE MANAGING DIRECTOR ENIOLA BELLO DEPUTY MANAGING DIRECTOR KAYODE KOMOLAFE CHAIRMAN EDITORIAL BOARD OLUSEGUN ADENIYI EDITOR NATION’S CAPITAL IYOBOSA UWUGIAREN

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

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

REUNITING FAMILIES DISPERSED BY BOKO HARAM

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onflicts, crises and wars have been inherent parts of man’s existence. These phenomena have their immediate and long term effects in varying contexts and degrees. One of the most devastating aspects is the issue of families being separated from their loved ones and the attendant mental and psychological stress of not knowing the fate or whereabouts of these loved ones. If this is not bad enough, then, worse is the scenario where there are no formal or well-organised platforms to help in reuniting families in the aftermath of these harrowing situations. Perhaps the key to reuniting families post conflict is the availability of information and a veritable platform to disseminate such information.

Particularly, a platform that is easily accessible to all and sundry. It is to this end that journalists and the media have come to be vital and very key actors in this very critical aspect of human endeavour. No group of people is closer to the generality of the people and easily accessible like the journalists; just as no platform of information has the reach and coverage of the mass media.

Nigeria and in particular the north eastern part of the country has been inundated and devastated by frequent and incessant attacks by the hydra-headed monster of the Boko Haram insurgency. The aftermath of these attacks have been the displacement of

owever, there is also no doubt that the militant group still constitutes mortal danger to their immediate and outlying communities and indeed, to members of the armed forces. Indeed, we warned, even after Sambisa Forest had fallen, that the combat mission was far from over because of the rebels’ enormous potential for casual acts of terror, including suicide missions. The growing stature of violence in the North-east has testified to that.

In addition, the seemingly elusive factional Boko Haram leader, Abubakar Shekau, who has been reportedly killed several times by the military, has also appeared in a new video, taunting the authorities and boasting of kidnapping security women and using them as slaves.

The authorities must therefore admit that the insurgents have returned fully to their largely asymmetrical warfare that was once their hallmark. The military pressure has made them to shift tactics to what is now a hit-and-run approach. But the increasing spate of suicide attacks is stoking unease in many communities and indeed hampering the return of some of the two million internally displaced persons living in the poorest of conditions in the camps.

In the current state of the war, there is urgent need to scale up intelligence gathering to ensure these violent acts are nipped in the bud.

families and the separation of people from their loved ones. This has occurred in various ways, ranging from people running away and leaving behind their loved ones when their communities were attacked to people abducted by the insurgents and never heard of again. With the war on insurgency recording massive success it is becoming increasingly important to tackle the post insurgency issues headlong and in a timely manner, particularly, finding veritable ways of reuniting displaced persons with their families.

Post-traumatic experiences cannot be adequately addressed unless the issues of missing persons are adequately put to rest. This is critical in ensuring that people can go about resettling and rebuilding their lives on a solid foundation.

However the issue of reuniting families separated by the menace has not been given the attention it deserves. The mass media with its reach and coverage is perhaps best equipped to spearhead this endeavour of reuniting friends and families.

This would have tremendous impact in helping the victims of insurgency to rebuild their lives. It would also help government and other stake holders to better realise the need to properly channel efforts in reuniting families post crisis.

Sakeenah Saleh Joji and Zainab Idris Abdullahi, Mass Communication Department, University of Maiduguri

OUR LEADERS AND UNDERDEVELOPMENT “In a federation, those in charge of leading the country are tasked with the duty of developing said country” - Benjamin Disraeli esternisation, in layman terms, is the process in which underdeveloped countries seek to copy western society in terms of politics, economics, and way of living. In the context of Nigeria, it is the process in which third world countries seek to rid themselves of barbarism and become developed. But under the fourth republic of Nigeria, I so far haven’t seen any administration try to adopt the aforementioned standards in the present, and I so far doubt they would be able to adopt those in the future. Why? Simply because I believe our leaders don’t know how to.

Isn’t it funny that all the administrations, past and present, seem to know what the ongoing issues are in the country before taken office, but don’t seem to know how to resolve those issues while in office? And for once, let’s disregard what they claim about corruption engulfing the public sector, and counter-claim that by saying our leaders simply don’t know how to develop the country; even if corruption didn’t exist.

Take the current administration for example. It

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has been two years since “he-who-must-not-benamed” got the most powerful job in the country, and yet, Nigeria still finds itself listed in the CIA’s world factbook as one of the most underdeveloped countries in the world, despite making great strides against corruption. So, with that said, we shouldn’t still be using corruption to deviate from the main issue which is “our leaders simply don’t know how to develop the country, even if the answers were to be staring them in the face”. So how do we develop Nigeria? How do we create a strong and stable constitution which protects the sanctity of human life? How do we curb the majority of people living on less than a dollar a day? And how do we prevent the private sector from taking advantage of the public, via being so mediocre in every enterprise they undertake? Be it the construction of highways or the production of locally grown foods, et cetera. These are all legitimate questions which pertain to development which our leaders simply don’t know how to answer.

In summary, when it comes to addressing basic things like creating storm drains in tandem with good roads, our leaders are clueless. And when it comes to addressing other things like why the north of Nigeria looks like Syria, our leaders are ineficient.

Bankole Christopher Smart-Cole, Lagos

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

THE NEWSMAKER

Time to Withdraw the Ultimatum To engender lasting peace, northern elders and leaders of thought should reciprocate the decision of the South-east leaders to rein in Nnamidi Kanu and other secessionist agitators by prevailing on the coalition of Arewa youths to withdraw the ultimatum given to the Igbos to quit the north, writes Tobi Soniyi

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ne of the famous quotes of the late President Ronald Reagan of the United States: “Peace is not absence of conflict, it is the ability to handle conflict by peaceful means”, has implications for Nigeria of today. With drums of war and hate speeches beating left, right and centre, our ability to enable and sustain peace is very critical at the moment.

If one section offers the olive branch and the other does not reciprocate, our collective peace will remain under threat. In this wise, it behoves on elders in the north to call a meeting and take a decision to advise the coalition of Arewa youths to withdraw the three-month ultimatum given to the Igbos to leave the northern part of the country At an expanded meeting of South-east leaders held in Enugu last Saturday night, Igbo leaders of thought rejected the calls for secession of the zone by pro-Biafran groups.

Rather they expressed support for a united Nigeria where peace, love, fairness, justice, equity and equality of opportunity are paramount regardless of creed, ethnicity, gender, or political affiliation. The leaders, in a communique issued at the end of the meeting, also agreed with those calling for the country to be restructured on the basis of fairness and equity.

The meeting, held at the Nike Lake Resort Enugu, was attended by governors from the region, National Assembly members from the zone, Ohaneze Ndigbo and selected Igbo leaders of thought. It was convened by the Ebonyi State governor, David Umahi, and the leadership of Ohaneze.

Among other decisions, they called on the federal government to immediately enter into dialogue with Nigerians that would lead to the restructuring of the country as soon as possible.

The communiqué reads in part “Ndigbo are in support of a united Nigeria where peace, love, fairness, justice, equity and equality of opportunity are paramount regardless of creed, ethnicity, gender, or political affiliation.

“Igbo leaders lend their full support to the restructuring of the Federal Republic of Nigeria on the basis of fairness and equity.

“We therefore call on the Federal Government and all Nigerian leaders to commence a process of dialogue among Nigerians on the modalities of achieving this pressing question within a reasonable frame time.”

They also called for the implementation of the 2014 National Conference recommendations.

They said: “Ndigbo support the report of the National Conference of 2014 and urge the Federal Government to set up structures that will enable the implementation of same within a reasonable time.

While condemning hate speeches from any part of the country, the Igbo leaders said henceforth only the governors, the South-east National Assembly caucus and the Ohaneze could speak for the zone on any political matters.

They said: “The South-east governors, members of the National Assembly from the South-east and leadership of Ohaneze Ndigbo should henceforth constitute the official organs that will speak on behalf of Ndigbo on political matters.”

The decision to restrict the authority to speak for the Igbos to the elders was to seize the initiative from the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, Nnamdi Kanu who presently enjoys a huge number

Osinbajo must continue to mediate

of followers in the South-east.

A recent sit-at-home called by IPOB was largely effective across the south-east. Kanu had also asked Igbos to boycott future elections until the federal government allows a referendum on Biafra. How this will play out in the forthcoming Anambra governorship election isn’t yet clear. Nevertheless, confusion seems to be in the air.

To further strengthen the South-east leaders’ position, it is very urgent that elders in the north also intervene by persuading the northern youths to withdraw the ultimatum. If both regional power blocks lose the initiatives to the youths, it may become too late to apply the brakes

To further strengthen the South-east leaders’ position, it is very urgent that elders in the north also intervene by persuading the northern youths to withdraw the ultimatum.

If both regional power blocks lose the initiatives to the youths, it may become too late to apply the brakes. Just like the Governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El Rufai told Igbo leaders in Kaduna after the northern youth had issued the ultimatum, it is the youth that have the energy to fight, aged people don’t have such powers and are likely to become the victims of any war.

Acting President, Prefoessor Yemi Osinbajo has a role to play here. In case the elders in the north do not recognise the urgency in putting pressures on the northern youth to back down, he should summon a joint meeting comprising elders from both sides of the divides.

In asking the Igbos to leave the north, the Arewa youths partly based their call on Kanu’s repeated statements and what they described as the non-condemnation of his hate speeches by Igbo political leaders.

In their statement after the late night Saturday meeting, however, the south-east le aders said they “condemn all the hate speeches and constructs emanating from any segment of Nigeria.”

Now that the South-east leaders had condemned Kanu’s hate speeches, there is no basis for the ultimatum to remain.

After issuing the ultimatum and following diplomatic shuttle by the Acting President and wide condemnation that trailed the ultimatum, the Arewa youth followed up

with another letter to Osinbajo asking him to allow those agitating for secession to go for peace to reign in the country.

In an open letter, they said they appreciated Osinbajo’s efforts to “finding a lasting solution to the lingering Igbo-induced crisis that is undoubtedly overheating the polity”.

The group said the Igbos had manifested their “hatred for Nigeria’s unity” five years after the country gained independence.

The letter signed by Shettima Yerima, Joshua Viashman, Aminu Adam, Abdul-Azeez Suleiman and Nastura Ashir Sharif, leaders of the coalition, speaks for itself.

It reads: “Your Excellency, we want to reiterate our high respect for your office and acknowledge the efforts you are making to lower tensions. We assure you, as well-brought up northerners, we listen to the advice and cautions of our elders, and in particular, their concerns that we do not create the impression that any Igbo or any Nigerian will be harmed in the north.

“We assure you that we will defend the rights of every Nigerian to live in peace and have their rights protected.

“While we do not see this clamour for Biafra as an issue over which a single drop of blood should be shed, we at the same time, insist that the Igbo be allowed to have their Biafra and for them to vacate our land peacefully so that our dear country Nigeria could finally enjoy lasting peace and stability.

“We begin this letter by commending your efforts towards finding a lasting solution to the lingering Igbo-induced crisis that is undoubtedly overheating the polity.

“We sincerely believe Your Excellency’s good intentions as shown by your prompt and genuine actions towards ensuring peace and stability in holding talks with leaders of the north and the south-east.

“Though we do not doubt Your Excellency’s bona fide concerns for the peaceful resolution of the crises, we nevertheless have reservations as to the efficacy of this approach in ensuring lasting solutions.

“Our doubts are informed by the following historical antecedents that have characterised the behaviour and conduct of the Igbo in Nigeria and previous efforts at containing them.”

“The seed of hate planted in the name of Biafra is evidently so deep that the ongoing interaction between you and the leaders from the south-east cannot in our well-informed opinion douse or address the underlying deep-seated underlying problems,” the letter read.

“To make a bad situation even worse, their leaders have continued to show support for this treacherous cause and thus giving credence to our concern that what they say about us is what they truly mean and intend – ‘Kill everyone in the Zoo’ (north).

Your Excellency, we cannot afford to discard this as mere mischief as the utterances that caused the terrible Rwandan genocide still resonates in our minds.

“Lastly sir, it is quite impossible to expect that other nationalities would simply stand by and watch while a certain ethnic group perpetrates all the above heinous misconduct that involve threats, call to violence and extermination, insults and songs of war without responding.”

Now that the South-east leaders had done the needful, dear compatriots in the north, kindly withdraw the ultimatum!

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UPDATE&TRENDING

MIDWEEKPOLITICS

PDP Not Dead in Kwara Despite losing the state to the All Progressives Congress in the 2015 elections, a chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party in Kwara State, Chief Kehinde Bankole insists PDP remains the party to beat in the north-central state, writes Shola Oyeyipo

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hen the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) lost power in the 2015 general elections to the main opposition party, the All Progressive Congress, (APC), as a result of discord in the party and some political miscalculation on the part of the former President Goodluck Jonathan, so many states, including Kwara state also fell to the APC. Worst still for the PDP in Kwara state, not only did the APC take over power, the former ruling party lost most of its bigwigs to the new party as well and the issue has been whether or not the PDP is capable of putting its acts together to come back to reckoning in the next general elections and take over power again.

For many, that is very doubtful. First, the former governor and now President of the Senate, Dr. Bukola Saraki, who was formerly of the PDP is now a chieftain of the APC. Secondly, the incumbent governor, Ahmed Abdulfatai, is working impressively to the admiration of the people. And lastly, the leadership crisis rocking the party at the national level may also make it difficult for the party to claim back its lost glory in the state.

But despite the rather bleak future ahead of the party in Kwara state, one man strongly believes that the PDP is still very much alive and would take back its lost glory come 2019. He is Chief Kehinde Bankole. A strong PDP supporter in Kwara state, who recently told THISDAY that contrary to widespread permutations, PDP was neither dead in Nigeria nor in Kwara State.

The Ekan Meje, Oke Ero Local Government Area of Kwara state’s indigene is quite optimistic that it will surprise many when the party, which once ruled the country for 16 years until 2015, comes back in 2019 to take what it lost in the last elections.

Bankole, the chairman, KAB Construction Company said that so many mistakes made by former president Goodluck Jonathan and other PDP’s leaders led to the failure of the party both at federal and state levels. However, these mistakes, he said, were being corrected.

On agitation to divide the country, Bankole said He said the party would take the nation by storm especially in view of the monumental failure of the APC. According to him, APC has been

PDP in Kwara state still has 60 to 70 percent of those with voters cards. Kwara PDP is still speaking with one voice, so there is a brighter chance for the party to take over power in 2019 in Kwara.

The only challenge I foresee is that governor Abdulfatah is doing very well. He is a very brilliant man with brilliant ideas.

And is touching peoples’ lives in the state…but that not withstanding, nobody can stop PDP from taking over power in 2019, especially in Kwara State

Bankole…thinking PDP comeback

preparing the ground for PDP to return.

While blaming Jonathan as the cause of the downfall of the PDP, he sad the former president failed to hold the country together as president of Nigeria, but rather turned himself into a sectional leader.

He alleged that Jonathan failed to hold the party together.

“As the party number one, he failed to take total control of the party, so party members started speaking with different tongues and this, to a very large extent resulted in the poor performance and eventual defeat of the party in 2015 elections”, he said.

According to him, it will be surprising to many when the party which once ruled the country for 16 years until 2015 comes back in 2019 to take what it lost in the last elections.

President Jonathan should not have allowed himself to be misled by sycophants, who surrounded him and controlled him at a time..

These negative decisions affected the party and the nation too. They affected the party both at the federal and grass roots level,” he said.

On agitation to divide the country, Bankole said calling for the country to break up was informed by ignorance adding that “those calling for the country to break up do not know that the country’s strength lies on its population.

“Our population is our strength and that’s one advantage we have over other countries in the continent. Our population can help us develop faster than other African countries.

“For example, China’s population is a very good advantage for the country and this is because they have remained as one. And China’s potential is

twice that of many countries in Europe where so many Nigerians run to,” he added.

Bankole who worked with Oceanic Bank for five years before leaving to start his own business maintained that PDP still controlled the grass roots, especially in Kwara state.

He said: “PDP in Kwara state still has 60 to 70 per cent of the voters cards. PDP in Kwara still speaks with one voice, so there is a brighter chance for the party to take over power in 2019 in Kwara. “The only challenge I foresee is that the governor, Abdulfatai is doing very well. He is a very brilliant man with brilliant ideas. And is touching peoples’ lives in the state.

“The governor is doing projects that are visible for the people of Kwara to see. That not withstanding, nobody can stop PDP from taking over power in 2019, especially in Kwara state.”

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

Cracking the Glass Ceiling Inhibiting Women Solomon Elusoji writes about gender inequality and what young women can do to change the narrative

M

inutes before the start of a European Union-organised women conference held recently in Lagos, a group of women had a roundtable discussion about the gender related challenges they face in their workplaces.

Ojuolape Arojo, a vivacious young lady who founded and runs a delivery service start-up, said she gets surprise reactions from people when they realise she works in logistics. â&#x20AC;&#x153;They canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t believe a woman is in this industry,â&#x20AC;? she said.

But that â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;surpriseâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;, according to Sangoleye Oluwaseun, the Chief Executive Officer of a company that deals in baby products, also comes with certain â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;privilegesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; when it comes from a man. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I think it stems from the chivalrous nature of men; I have had many instances where just being a woman paved ways for me to access some privileges I had no rights to.â&#x20AC;?

When the question of whether women were disadvantaged, in terms of economic opportunities, was raised, Onyeka Ezeamama, who works at a real-estate company, answered in the negative. â&#x20AC;&#x153;This idea that women are â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;disadvantagedâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; is a social construct that binds women to not think too high,â&#x20AC;? she said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;As far as I am concerned, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a level playing field out there.â&#x20AC;?

The conversation ebbed on, as the women considered factors such as religion, culture and societal values in the evaluation of a womanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ability to will herself to personal success in the modern world, until a gruffy voice boomed from the well positioned speakers announcing the start of the conference.

The grim-grim data Across the world, gender inequality, the idea that women need to get better economic and social deals, is a hot topic. Even in the developed world, women continue to be shortchanged. For example, according to data from Workplace Gender Equality Agency, every country in the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has a gender pay gap in favour of men. On the average, women in the OECD earn 15.1 per cent less than men and the median gender pay gap across OECD countries ranges from 36.7 per cent in Korea, to 3.3 per cent in Belgium. The gender pay gap is the difference between women's and men's pay, based on the average or median difference in pay, expressed as a percentage of men's earnings. Over a lifetime, the cumulative effect of the gender pay gap and other factors, such as time spent out of the workforce, and unconscious bias, contribute to women retiring with far less superannuation savings and a higher risk of living in poverty in retirement than men.

In less developed countries like Nigeria, the statistics are grimmer. While women in Nordic countries have up to 45 per cent representation in parliament, women in Nigeria continue to be under represented at every level in governance or positions of power. For instance, at the national parliament in 2011, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBE), 93.6 per cent of seats were occupied by men, compared to a mere 6.4 per cent recorded for women. Similar patterns were also depicted at the state and local government levels, including the judiciary. This is despite the fact that women make up about half of the electorate and have attained the right to vote and hold public offices.

For example, African women are one of the most illiterate people in the world. In a study published in the African Journal of Reproductive Health in 2010, it was showed that in Northern Nigeria, there is a high gender inequality in education, which places the majority of young girls at a severe disadvantage.

The cross-sectional study examined enrol-

Nwuneli...a woman who thrives

ment, dropout, and primary school completion rates in three communities in Kaduna State.

It found out that less than half of young people (6 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 25 years) living in northern Nigeria are currently enrolled in school and the majority of students are males (60 per cent). The analysis indicated that there are nearly twice as many boys graduating from primary school as compared to girls, and the dropout rate for boys is close to half (3 per

One of the speakers at the recent EU conference, themed â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Reducing Institutional and Cultural Barriers forYoung Womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Entrepreneurshipâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;, was Ndidi Nwuneli. Nwuneli belongs to an elite group of successful women whose essence disprove the theory that women are inferior

cent) of the dropout rate for girls (5.4 per cent). According to the study, no more than 20 per cent of women in the North-west and North-east of the country are literate.

The statistics may be more favourable in other parts of the continent, but the average numbers still show considerable gaps between educated males and females on the continent.

The researchers concluded that the high level of out-of-school girls has grave implications that are detrimental to the society as a whole and will affect girls' lives negatively in all ramifications. It is true: uneducated girls can easily slip into the margins of societies, ending up less healthy, less skilled, with fewer choices, and remain ill-prepared to participate in the political, social and economic development of their communities. â&#x20AC;&#x153;As under educated women, they will remain at higher risk of poverty, maternal mortality, child mortality, HIV/ AIDS, sexual exploitation, and other forms of violence,â&#x20AC;? the study opined.

Women who thrive One of the speakers at the recent EU conference, themed â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Reducing Institutional and Cultural Barriers for Young Womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Entrepreneurshipâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;, was Ndidi Nwuneli. Nwuneli belongs to an elite group of successful women whose essence disprove the theory that women

are inferior. After working at McKinsey, she received an MBA from Harvard at 24 and served as the Executive Director of the FATE Foundation, Nwuneli, at 28, established Leadership, Effectiveness, Accountability and Professionalism (LEAP) Africa. This leadership development organisation has worked in 26 states across Nigeria, providing leadership training and coaching to more than 30,000 people. They include entrepreneurs, teachers and young peopleâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;the human infrastructure of the future.

Nwuneli has been recognised as a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum and has received a National Honour from the Nigerian Government. In 2011, she was listed as one of the 20 Youngest Power African Women by Forbes. In 2013, she was honoured by the Global Fund for Women during their 25th Anniversary Celebration in San Francisco. She serves on numerous international and local boards including Nestle Nigeria, Cornerstone Insurance, Nigerian Breweries Plc. and USAID's Advisory Committee on Voluntary Foreign Aid. â&#x20AC;&#x153;You need to develop a clear personal mission and vision,â&#x20AC;? Nwuneli told the group of young women at the conference, after outlining the institutional and cultural barriers that will bedevil their growth in a society like Nigeria. â&#x20AC;&#x153;You need to identify

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FEATURES

mentors, critics and role models and create a support network. It takes a village.â&#x20AC;? These, she pointed out, were some of the things she took into cognisance when she started LEAP. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t know anybody and my father was not a big man, but one of the first things I did was to invest in a Board of Directors and surround myself with individuals who share my vision and values.â&#x20AC;?

It can be argued that Nwuneliâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s education prepared her for success, but even foreign degrees are not an inoculation against the way society perceives a woman. The famous medical doctor and founder of Flying Doctors Nigeria, an air ambulance service, Dr. Ola Orekunrin (now Ola Brown) also spoke at the EU conference. She was motivated to start the company after her younger sister tragically died whilst travelling in Nigeria as a consequence of the lack of a medical air service to transport her to an appropriate hospital.

Growing the company to what it is today, however, was a big challenge for Ola, as she was constantly criticised for being too hyperactive and behaving â&#x20AC;&#x153;like a manâ&#x20AC;?. â&#x20AC;&#x153;People thought I was not going to get a husband, because of my restlessness,â&#x20AC;? she said.

When she bought her first car, which was worth about 10 million naira, a confederation of aunties paid her a visit and said she was on the verge of scaring away every potential suitor. Although now married, she noted that she had to â&#x20AC;&#x153;ignoreâ&#x20AC;? such talks and focus on building her business. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Women have to make a conscious effort to tear down these walls and speak out against every form of gender bias.â&#x20AC;?

The biology-curse theory There are naturalistic theories that attempt to explain away gender inequality as a consequence of the biological differences between the sexes. This means that the value in which we place on either gender is determined by the vicissitudes of evolution.

So, for example, women are less likelier to be paid more than their male counterparts because they get pregnant and are perceived to be weak and emotional â&#x20AC;&#x201C; qualities which are frowned at in capitalistic ventures.

It is necessary to point out that although these theories are built on little or no academic evidence, but psychologically, they are beliefs widely held and entrenched among diverse cultures.

To blame biology for the sad history of the economic and political oppression of women might be shallow, but it sheds light on some of the root sources of outdated cultural and social philosophies which put women at a disadvantage.

At the EU conference, one of the women told this reporter a story about how she goes to work despite suffering from menstrual cramps. She heads a team composed of males and wouldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t want to be seen taking days off for things as â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;trivialâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; as a cramp. In other

The famous medical doctor and founder of Flying Doctors Nigeria, an air ambulance service, Dr. Ola Orekunrin (now Ola Brown) also spoke at the EU conference. She was motivated to start the company after her younger sister tragically died whilst travelling in Nigeria as a consequence of the lack of a medical air service to transport her to an appropriate hospital

Orekunrin speaking at the EU conference

Idigbe (left) at the EU conference

Is motherhood the reason for gender inequality

words, she has to do more, endure more pain, to prove that she can do what a man can do. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not fair, but life isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t fair,â&#x20AC;? Ifeoma Idigbe, one of the panellists at the EU conference and a business analyst with over 30 years of

professional experience in corporate consulting said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s the same way that black people have to work harder in a white environment, because they are not expected to do well and they have something to prove. So because we have something to prove, we work harder to

prove we can do it and that childbirth and all these other inconveniences donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t affect our ability to think and deliver. These are temporary inconveniences and, anyway, life has to go on. People shouldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t let biology interfere.â&#x20AC;?

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L-R: Country Director, Nigeria, OCP Africa, Mr. Cable Usoh; Kaduna State Commissioner for Commerce, Industry and Tourism, Dr. Manzo Daniel Maigari and Chief Executive, Feed the Future Nigeria Agro-Inputs Project, International Fertilizer Development Center (IFDC), Dr. KoďŹ Debrah, during the oďŹ&#x192;cial launching of Agricbooster oďŹ&#x20AC;er, in AFEX warehouse, Soba, Kaduna Stateâ&#x20AC;Śrecently

L-R: Benue State Governor, Samuel Ortom; Managing Director Metropolitan Motors, Mr. Toyin Okeowo, Deputy Senate President Ike Ekeremadu; and Senior Vice President Africa Bajaj Auto, Mr.Krishna Grihapathy, during the inauguration of bajaj maxima cargo vehicle in Abuja....recently

L-R: School Head, Lekki British Junior Secondary School, Maryanne Maduekwe; Chairman\CEO, Ms. Abiodun Laja and Consultant to the school, Mr. Aknwale Rotimi, during the presentation of A Music Adaptation of The Sound of Music at the school premises, Lekki...recently. kolawole alli

L-R: Presidential Candidate, National Association of Aircraft Pilots and Engineers (NAAPE), Comrade Roland Ahmed Maikudi; Branch Secretary, Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Comrade Francis Igwe and Member of the Executive Committee, Arik Air, Mr. Ashinze Ebuloku, during the oďŹ&#x192;cial ďŹ&#x201A;ag oďŹ&#x20AC; campaign of Comrade Maikudi as the next NAAPE President, in Lagos..recently.

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Photo Editor Ă&#x152;Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x17D;Ă&#x;Ă&#x2DC; Ă&#x201D;Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x2013;Ă&#x2039; Email Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x152;Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x17D;Ă&#x;Ă&#x2DC;Ë&#x203A;Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x201D;Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x2013;Ă&#x2039;ĚśĂ&#x17E;Ă&#x2019;Ă&#x201C;Ă?Ă&#x17D;Ă&#x2039;ĂŁĂ&#x2013;Ă&#x201C;Ă Ă?Ë&#x203A;Ă?Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x2014;

R-L: Chief Medical Director, NIZAMIYE Hospital, Dr. Akah Huseyin; Senator Osita Izunacho; Minister of State for Health, Dr. Osagie Ehanire; Bauchi State Deputy Governor, Mr. Nuhu Gidado; former FCT Minister, Ibrahim Modibbo; Catholic Archbishop of Abuja Diocese, Bishop John Onaiyekan and Chief Imam, Abuja Central Mosque, Mohammed Alkali, cutting the 3rd anniversary cake of Nizamiye Hospital, Abuja .....recently

L-R: General Manager, Capacity Building,Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), Mr. Ikpaonmwosa Oviasa; General Manager, Oil & Gas Trainers Association of Nigeria (OGTAN), Mrs. Egejuru Caroline;Chief Executive OďŹ&#x192;cer, Danvic Petroleum International Corporation, Dr. Mayowa Afe; Drilling Consultant, Dr. Charles Ayoka; and a graduating Student, Mr. Akinmuda Olusegun, at the 1st graduation ceremony of Danvic Petroleum Training Centre in Lagos...recently etop ukutt

L-R: A Glo subscriber, Ms. Ochi Ngozi, Glo Mega music Nationwide Tour anchors: Juliet Ibrahim and Ebube Nwagbo, other Glo subscribers, Mrs Olatunji Hope, Mr. Olatunji Bola , Miss Adesola Ramatu and baby Olatunji at the Ikeja edition of the Mega Music in Lagos...recently

(L-R;Chairman, Avi-Cenna International School Mr. Darwish Foudeh; Her Excellency, wife of the Lagos State Governor Mrs. Bolanle Ambode;;Principal, Mr. David Ogburn, and some staďŹ&#x20AC; of the school during the oďŹ&#x192;cial commissioning of the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) of Avi-Cenna International School in Lagos...recently

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BUSINESSWORLD

Group Business Editor Chika Amanze-Nwachuku Email chika.amanzenwachukwu@thisdaylive.com 08033294157

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Quick Takes Keystone Restates Support for SMEs

ACCOUNTING TO SHAREHOLDERS

L-R: Chief Operating OďŹ&#x192;cer, Computer Warehouse Group (CWG), Mr. Kunle Ayodeji; Chief Executive OďŹ&#x192;cer, Mr. James Agada; Chairman, Mr. Abiodun Fawunmi; and Vice Chairman, Mr. Austin Okere, at the CWG 12th annual general meeting (AGM), held in Lagos...recently

FMDQ OTC: Investors Stake N54.8tn in Five Months Goddy Egene Investors have traded a total of N54.75 trillion in the fixed income and currency market between January and May 2017.

Of the transactions, N9.49 trillion was exchanged in the month of May alone, which was 7.9 per cent higher than the N8.79trillion traded in April.

According to the FMDQ OTC Securities Exchange, the month-on-month growth was primarily driven by increased trading activities experienced in the FX (Spot) and Repurchase Agreements (Repos)/Buy-Backs product categories.

However, a minimal growth of 4.00 per cent was experienced in the Treasury

CAPITAL MARKET bills (T.bills) product category.

T.bills recorded the largest share of the overall turnover, accounting for 47.22 per cent of the market.

Repos/Buy-back transactions recorded the second largest share of total turnover, accounting for 22.32 per cent, while FX market transactions accounted for 21.01 per cent and Bonds, 8.43 per cent. Unsecured Placement & Takings, Money Market Derivatives and Commercial Papers represent 1.00 per cent of the overall market turnover.

In absolute terms, T.Bills accounted for N25.9trillion, while repos/buy-backs recorded 12.22 trillion.

The analysis of the transactions for the month of May only showed that activities in the FX market accounted for 24.88 per cent (27.71 per cent in April while Money Market (Repurchase Agreements (Repos)/Buy-Backs & Unsecured Placements/Takings) accounted for 29.13 per cent (22.85 per cent in April) of total turnover for the reporting period.

A further breakdown of the transactions in the FX market showed that $6.56 billion was recorded in May, a decrease of 15.03 per cent when compared with $7.72 billion in April.

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) sold a total of $0.985 billion through various inter-

ventions conducted during the period under review, a 49.5 per cent decrease from the previous month.

The apex bank also maintained its marginal rate for the Secondary Market Intervention Sales (SMIS)â&#x20AC;&#x201C;Wholesale Forwards intervention at $/ N320; and $/N357 for Small and medium-sized enterprises(SMEs) and Invisibles.

Inter-Member trades stood at $0.56 billion in the month of May, an increase of 0.51 per cent from the trades recorded in April, while member-client trades stood at $4.19 billion, showing a decrease of 12.17 per cent previous month.

Continued on page 24

Diversify Revenue Base to Avert Debt Crisis, FG Urged Obinna Chima The federal government has been advised to further diversify the countryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s revenue base or start reducing the level of its debt by rapidly selling some national assets, in order to avert a debt crisis in the medium term.

Analysts at Afrinvest West Africa Limited gave the advice in a report. However, they stressed that they do not expect a debt crisis in the near term.

Since the start of a prolonged global oil price drop in the second half of 2014, the Nigerian economy has recorded a significant downturn in performance as plummeting government revenues and the resultant FX crisis dragged the economy into its first recession in 25 years.

ECONOMY The Debt Management Office (DMO) recently revealed that Nigeriaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s total debt stock increased to N19.15 trillion at the end of first quarter 2017, from the N17.36 trillion at the end of last year. The federal government also raised the sum of $300million through the issuance of diaspora bond recently. Beside the diaspora bond, the DMO had disclosed that arrangement has been concluded for the issuance of the first sovereign sukuk, otherwise known as Islamic Bond or non-interest bond which closed at the end of last month -N100billion to fund road projects. Also, in line with the governmentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s borrowing plan, there is an outstanding issue of a US$64 million Green Bond.

Multilateral loans were sought from the AFDB (US$646.6million) in addition to bi-lateral loans from the China EXIM Bank, France AFD and Japan JICA. Following improvements in domestic investment landscape at the turn of the year, Nigeria returned to the International capital market after a three-year hiatus, successfully raising US$1.5 billion via Eurobonds this year.

On the domestic front, the DMO has continued with its monthly bond auctions and took it a step further by introducing atypical bonds such as the Savings Bond.

But, Afrinvest in the report pointed out that the countryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 2017 budget projected another record expenditure year, with fiscal deficit estimated at N2.4 trillion - domestic borrowing

accounting for 53 per cent (N1.3trillion) of the total while foreign borrowing was projected at N1.1 trillion. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The rising debt profile is not surprising given the widening budget deficit and large depreciation of the naira; however, the cost of servicing the mounting obligations took up more than 60 per cent of revenue in the first half of 2016 and has become a major source of concern on debt sustainability. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The major argument for increased deficit spending is that the economy is underleveraged with a debt to GDP ratio of 20 per cent but also hard to ignore is the offsetting low non-oil revenue to GDP ratio. Nigeriaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Tax/GDP ratio is six per cent, which is relatively low when Continued on page 24

In line with the federal governmentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s drive to support growth of SMEs through its policies, Keystone Bank Nigeria Limited has reiterated its commitment to the support of the growth of small and medium scale enterprises in Nigeria. This was disclosed by the acting Managing Director of the bank, Mr. HaďŹ z Bakare in Lagos.

He noted the importance of SMEâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s to the growth of the economy, stating that the current employment rate could be bolstered if SMEs are provided with a conducive ecosystem with which to thrive. This he said, is not only the purview of the government.

He said: â&#x20AC;&#x153;While the government is making eďŹ&#x20AC;orts to increase the ease of doing business in Nigeria, Financial institutions have a signiďŹ cant role to play in supporting SMEs and this is why Keystone Bank is repositioning its GrowBiz Account to create ďŹ nancial options for businesses.â&#x20AC;?

Bakare pointed out the importance of SMEs to the development of the nationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s economy noting that they provide a means of employment generation, improvement of local technology, output diversiďŹ cation, development of indigenous entrepreneurship and forward integration with larger-scale industries.

He added: â&#x20AC;&#x153;Today in Nigeria, many factors have contributed to the underperformance of micro enterprises and their contributions to economic growth. We at Keystone Bank seek to help bridge the gap by not only providing ďŹ nance, but by oďŹ&#x20AC;ering ďŹ nancial advisory services and relevant platforms to assist in business growthâ&#x20AC;?.

Sokoto Initiates Agency for Poultry Devt

Sokoto State Government has established an agency for poultry development to enable citizens of the state tap from the potential available in the sector.This was contained in a statement issued in Sokoto by Malam Imam Imam, the media aide to Governor Aminu Waziri Tambuwal.â&#x20AC;&#x153;The new agency will work closely with all stakeholders, notably the Department of Livestock Development of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture, to introduce policy guidelines that will lead to the development of the sector for the beneďŹ t of the citizens. â&#x20AC;&#x153;It will also equip citizens with needed technical expertise that will assist them in eďŹ&#x20AC;orts to maximally beneďŹ t from the sector. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Our target is to be the leading state in poultry production in the country, and to serve neighboring countries in the near future,â&#x20AC;? the statement added.

While expressing the hope that about two million people will be engaged in the sector in the next few years, the government said it hopes to increase production of poultry meat and eggs, and to provide employment opportunities to citizens through the intervention. â&#x20AC;&#x153;It is also a practical means of tackling poverty especially among rural dwellers,â&#x20AC;? the statement added.

Meanwhile, the government has announced the appointment of Alhaji Balarabe Ladan as the Director-General of the newly established Poultry Development Agency.

CNPC Gas Pipeline Blast Kills 8

At least eight people died and another 35 were injured in a natural gas pipeline explosion in southwest Chinaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Guizhou Province on Sunday, Xinhua news agency reported. The explosion occurred at around 10 a.m. local time in Qinglong County at a pipeline operated by China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC), triggered by a landslide after days of heavy rain. Xinhua said earlier that the gas line was an extension of a pipeline that pumped gas from neighbouring Myanmar to southwest China and that the ďŹ re was put out in the afternoon.

Four of the injured are in critical condition, it said. The natural gas pipeline operated by China National Petroleum Corp in the southwestern province of Guizhou caught ďŹ re on Sunday.

The blast occurred at a section of the gas line in Qinglong County, an extension of the Myanmar-China gas pipeline The ďŹ re was put out around 13.55 pm Beijing time, according to the report.

The Treasury Single Account is a fundamental reform necessary to give the federal government better visibility and improve cash managementâ&#x20AC;?

Minister of Finance,, Kemi Adeosun

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BUSINESSWORLD FMDQ OTC: INVESTORS STAKE N54.8TRN IN FIVE MONTHS Turnover in the fixed income market in the month under review settled at N4.36 trillion, with transactions in the T.bills market accounting for 88.67 per cent of the fixed income market up from 85.46 per cent in the previous month Outstanding T.bills at the end of the month stood at N8.87trn, a decrease of 0.13 per cent compared with N8.88 trillion in April, while whilst FGN bondsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; outstanding value increased by 1.62 per cent to close at N6.93 trillion.

Activities in the Secured Money Market (Repos/BuyBacks) settled at N2.61 trillion in May, 38.13 per cent more than the value recorded in April. Unsecured Placements/ Takings also increased by 28.19 per cent to close the month with turnover of N0.14trillion.

DIVERSIFY REVENUE BASE TO AVERT DEBT CRISIS, FG URGED compared to Sub-Saharan Africa peers - South Africa (26.2%) and Kenya (15.4%),â&#x20AC;? the report added.

It noted that the nationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s tax collection and administration system was still deemed inefficient with multiple tax system and a high tax evasion and avoidance rate. According to the report, despite the recent drive to increase tax revenue, not much has changed in terms of actual results.

In fact, federally collected Non-oil revenue fell 4.4 per cent in 2016 to N3 trillion. â&#x20AC;&#x153;To their credit, fiscal authorities have doubled down on tax reforms including the recently launched Voluntary Asset and Income Declaration Scheme (VAIDS) which grants taxpayers a time-limited opportunity to regularise their tax status without penalty. â&#x20AC;&#x153;However, with the economy challenged, the odds of significantly boosting tax revenue in the near term is slim and we expect budget deficits to remain high for the next two to three years. What does this imply for medium term debt sustainability?

Our opinion on this is a bit nuanced.

Group Business Editor

Ă&#x2019;Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x2022;Ă&#x2039; Ă&#x2014;Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x2DC;äĂ?Ě&#x2039; ĂĄĂ&#x2039;Ă?Ă&#x2019;Ă&#x;Ă&#x2022;Ă&#x; AgriBusiness/Industry Editor

Peterside Charges Shipowners to Give Preference to Nigerian Seafarers Eromosele Abiodun

Ă&#x2014;Ă&#x2014;Ă&#x2039; Ă&#x2022;Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x2DC;Ă&#x201D;Ă&#x201C; Capital Market Editor

Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x17D;Ă&#x17D;ĂŁ Ă&#x2018;Ă?Ă&#x2DC;Ă?

Senior Correspondent

Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x2019;Ă?Ă?Ă&#x2014; Ă&#x2022;Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x2DC;Ă&#x2018;Ă&#x152;Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x2013;Ă&#x; (Advertising) Correspondents

Ă&#x2019;Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x2DC;Ă?Ă&#x17D;Ă&#x; äĂ? (Aviation) Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x2DC;Ă&#x17D;Ă&#x2039; Ă&#x153;Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x2022;Ă? (Labour) Ă&#x153;Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x2014;Ă&#x2122;Ă?Ă?Ă&#x2013;Ă? Ă&#x152;Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x17D;Ă&#x;Ă&#x2DC; (Cap Mkt) Ă&#x201D;Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x2122;Ă?Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x153; Ă&#x2013;Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x2022;Ă? (Energy) Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x2014;Ă?Ă? Ă&#x2014;Ă?Ă&#x201D;Ă&#x2122; (Nationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Capital) Ă&#x152;Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x2DC;Ă&#x2DC;Ă&#x2039; Ă&#x2019;Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x2014;Ă&#x2039; (Money Mkt) Chineme Okafor (Energy ) Reporters

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the Cabotage trade as against the practice of engaging foreign seafarers.â&#x20AC;&#x153;As Nigerians and maritime operators we should be proud of our seafarers and also encourage them to develop their careers/competences like their foreign counterparts, â&#x20AC;&#x153;he said.

He also used the opportunity to inform stakeholders that the agency will leave no stone unturned to ensure full implementation of the Cabotage Act for the benefit of Nigerians. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Cabotage Act is undergo-

ing review and it is the Agencyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s position that the review will take care of all the grey areas in the application, processing and granting of waiver to the extent it should be seen to give some level of advantage to Nigerian seafarers especially in the areas of employment and specialised training, â&#x20AC;? he said.

While assuring the seafarers of the agencyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s continuous support, the DG stated that NIMASA will continue to give priority to capacity building initiatives

in order to actualise its vision of making NIMASA a world class organisation in line with global best practices.

This, according to him, has also led the Agency to develop a multi-strategy approach to encouraging young school leavers to take a career at sea through the Nigerian Seafarers Development Programme (NSDP). He said the NSDP initiative of the agency which was conceived in 2008 in order to bridge the gap observed in the death of

seafarers in the country has so far facilitated the training of 2,259 young Nigerians in various fields of maritime studies in reputable Maritime Institutions in the United Kingdom, Egypt, Romania, India and the Philippines. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Amongst this number, a total number of 943 cadets of the NSDP will soon be placed onboard ocean going vessels for their mandatory sea time, as facilitated by NIMASA with institutions in Egypt, United Kingdom and Turkey.

The Director General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Dr. Dakuku Peterside has assured seafarers in the country that their welfare is critical to the growth of the sector, hence the agency will do all within its means to implement all International Maritime Organisation (IMO) and International Labour Organisation (ILO) conventions regarding the welfare of the seafarers. Speaking during the celebration of the â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Day of the Seafarersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; in Onne, Rivers state, Peterside said that the National Joint Industrial Council (NJIC) comprising tripartite stakeholders, reconvened to fashion out a decent wage and improved working and living conditions for the seafarers in line with the provisions of the convention and comparable to what is obtainable internationally. â&#x20AC;&#x153;It is therefore expected that once the collective bargaining agreement is signed, shipowners will commence its full implementation, â&#x20AC;?he stated.

The NIMASA boss, who reiterated the agencyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s commitment to engaging ship-owners and seafarer employers on the need to provide gainful employment to qualified Nigerian seafarers whom he said are very important, called on shipowners to give some level of preference Unity Bank StaďŹ&#x20AC; donating relief materials to Praxis Catholic e-school for IDPs, during the schoolâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s courtesy call to the Bankâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Regional to the seafarers especially in OďŹ&#x192;ce in Abujaâ&#x20AC;Ś recently

SUCCOUR TO THE IDPS

Lagos Appoints Seven Insurance Firms to Manage Liabilities Gboyega Akinsanmi Following recurrent cases of accidents and deaths among members of all registered cooperative societies in the state, the Lagos State Government, has appointed a consortium of seven insurance companies to mitigate losses that they might incur.

The Lagos State Cooperative Federation (LASCOFED) has put the capital base of cooperative societies in the state at over N100 billion, which it said, had been on steady increase despite the economic recession that crippled governance in almost all the states of the federation.

Special Adviser on Commerce, Industry & Cooperatives, Mr.

Benjamin Olabinjo, justified the decision to appoint a consortium of seven insurance firms at a news conference he addressed to mark the 2017 international day of cooperative societies in Alausa, Lagos.

He explained the significance of the day, which he said, had been endorsed by the United Nations and International Cooperative Alliance to increase awareness on cooperatives and promote its success and ideal of international solidarity, economic efficiency and world peace.

Olabinjo, who addressed the conference alongside the President of Lagos State Cooperative Federation, Mr. Oriyomi Aiyeola and the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Commerce, Industry

& Cooperatives, Mr. Olalekan Akodu, said the decision became imperative to reduce losses.

He explained that the administration of Governor Akinwunmi Ambode, specifically initiated the insurance programmed â&#x20AC;&#x153;to mitigate losses that might occur from the operations of the stateâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s cooperative societies, sudden death and accidents among others.â&#x20AC;? Olabinjo, said that it had become a state policy to introduce the insurance programme, which he said, would be handled by a consortium of seven insurance companies.

He listed members of the consortium to include STACO Insurance Plc, Industrial and General Insurance Company

Plc, UBA Metropolitan Life Insurance Ltd and Capital Express Assurance Limited.

Other members of the consortium are AIICO Insurance Company Plc, ARM Life Plc and Cornerstone Insurance Plc, with the STACO Insurance Plc as the lead underwriter.

He explained that the insurance programme became imperative to drive awareness among cooperative societies on the need to mitigate losses that might arise from their operations, death and accidents.

He added that the State Executive Council â&#x20AC;&#x153;has approved the Lagos State Cooperative College bill after the federal government directed all states in the federation to establish

cooperative college. The bill has been sent to the Lagos State House of Assembly for passage into law.â&#x20AC;?

The National Board for Technical Education (NBTE), he also stated, had been invited to accredit the Lagos State Cooperative College, but recommended that the college must be established by law before it could award National Diploma certificates.

The special adviser, thus, said it was after this recommendation that the State Executive Council approved an executive bill â&#x20AC;&#x153;to give the cooperative college legal backing to enable it award National Diploma certificates in cooperative studies and other related programmes.â&#x20AC;?

FG Introduces New Guidelines for Raw Sugar Allocation Senator Iroegbu in Abuja

Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x2DC;Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x2019;Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x2DC; äĂ?

Comms/e-Business Editor

NEWS

The federal government has in response to what it views as unsatisfactory general performance of operators in the sugar production sector in recent times, introduced new guidelines as well as putting in place benchmarks for raw sugar allocation.

The government was said to be uncomfortable with the report of the mid- term review meeting of the National Sugar Development Council (NSDC) which indicated that the general performance of operators was

below average, According to a statement by the Executive Secretary of NSDC, Dr. Latif Busari, the government has also realised that past quota allocation to operators has not been strictly based on Backward Integration Programme (BIP) performance and the incentive has not been effectively utilised in getting operators to improve performance in their BIP implementation.

Busari recalled that the federal government had, following the official take-off of the Nigerian Sugar Master Plan (NSMP) in January, 2013,

begun the implementation of the Sugar Backward Integration Programme. A total of three refineries were approved as BIP operators and were made to sign formal commitments detailing a number of indicators by which their performance will be measured.

As part of the arrangement, raw sugar quotas at the concessionary tariff of 5per cent duty and 5per cent levy was to be allocated to operators on the basis of performance of their BIP projects and as incentive to encourage operators to plough back profits to their BIP projects.

In addition, the concessionary tariff was to last for three years in the first instance. Operatorsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; performance was to be assessed by two special committees set up by the NSMP namely; SURMIC (Sugar Roadmap Implementation Committee) and SIMOG (Sugar Industry Monitoring Group).

Busari said it was in line with the agreements and conditions of (BIP) guidelines, that the federal government after a thorough assessment of the individual performances of the operators between 20132016 has deemed it necessary

to introduce new guidelines and benchmarks for raw sugar allocation to operators of the BIP. Under the new guideline, he said that, operators would be required to submit their requests for quota sugar allocation for the following year in December of the preceding year and that the year 2017 allocation shall be the last in which sugar allocation shall be based on the old criteria including market/ share refinery capacity. As from 2018 and henceforth, allocation shall be strictly based on quantitatively verified improvement in performance.

T H I S D AY ˾ ˜ ͳ˜ Ͱͮͯ͵

25

BUSINESSWORLD

NEWS

CPN Urges FG to Maximise Benefits of Information Technology Emma Okonji Computer Professionals Registration Council of Nigeria, (CPN), on Wednesday in Abuja, advised the federal government on the need to maximise the benefits of Information Technology (IT) in order fast-track national development.

Chairman/President of the Council at CPN, Prof. Vincent Ele Asor, who gave the advice at the ongoing IT Assembly organised by CPN, said that IT has proven to be a potent tool for good governance and economic transformation as demonstrated with the introduction of Single Treasury Account (TSA).

Asor said the theme of this year’s annual event: ‘IT for Good Governance and Economic

Transformation’, became necessary by virtue of the enormous responsibility on IT practitioners as members of the fastest developing profession in the world. Asor said government must sustain the gains of IT by allowing modern technology to drive the economy going forward. He further explained that the programme was part of the initiatives that the Council took to ensure that Nigeria is positioned to take maximum advantage of the knowledge economy globally. Over 300 new members were inducted into the CPN Council as part of its annual activities.

Administering the oath of membership to the new inductees, he charged the new inductees to be professionals and be above board in their

IT practice as the profession demands high level of integrity and honesty from all its members. He also charged them to always be alive to their responsibility of ensuring quality IT practice in their various areas of service. Speaking on the importance of IT to national development, Asor said: ‘‘IT offers developing countries like Nigeria, a formidable and costeffective tools for accelerated development. ‘‘There is no doubt that IT is a critical sector to the development of any nation. No meaningful development can take place if the IT sector is prostrate. That is why we have to be alive to our responsibility of moving with the centre stage of national development. It should not only exist as a potential.

MTN Empowers Unemployed Youths in Lagos In a bid to empower unemployed youths in Lagos, as well as create conducive environment for commuters in the state, MTN Nigeria has launched the Bus Shelter Kiosks initiative.

The initiative, which was launched at the Saka Tinubu Bus-stop, Adeola Odeku Street, Victoria Island, Lagos, will see MTN construct 50 major bus stops, fitted with modern sales kiosks where young people will retail phones and MTN products. In addition to empowering the beneficiaries of the project, the bus shelter kiosks will also serve as touch points where MTN customers can access service offerings and query resolutions. Services like SIM Swaps and bill payments will also be added as soon as possible.

Speaking on the overarching objective of the project, the Chief Operating Officer of MTN Nigeria, Muhammed Zia Siddiqui, stated that the initiative will not only serve as an empowerment platform, it will also positively impact the socio-economic status of

the people of Lagos State.

He said: “We are committed to touching lives, and this initiative is a strong expression of that aspiration. The bus shelter kiosk project will serve as a platform for some of our unemployed youth to earn a living.”

On his part, the acting Sales and Distribution Executive of MTN, Adekunle Adebiyi, said the kiosks will leverage cutting-edge technology to drive superior customer service just as is obtainable in other MTN Friendship centres across the country. He added that the first phase of the project would kick-off with the rollout of 10 kiosks strategically located around Lagos Island and Mainland areas. ‘’We are kicking off with the roll-out of the first batch of 10 bus shelter kiosks which will be sited in designated bus stops in Lagos Island and Mainland.

The idea is to build capacity for 50 people across Lagos,” he stated.

Also speaking at the event, the Managing Director of Touch Point Nigeria Limited,

co-partners with MTN on the project, Mrs. Taiwo Idowu stated that the bus shelter kiosks will achieve the triple objectives of making public transportation more appealing for people of the state, provide an organised retail structure that will promote a clutter-free platform for the sale of products and services as well as encourage economic empowerment through youth employment. Also present at the event was the Lagos State Commissioner for Transport, Prince Olanrewaju Elegushi, who stressed that the initiative complements the Lagos State Government’s goal of making transportation seamless in the state.

In his words: ‘’We will like to use this opportunity to thank MTN for their continuous efforts towards supporting the wealth creation initiative of the Lagos State Government and also constructing these busstops to enhance mobility of commuters around the Lagos metropolis. This is laudable and we urge other companies to take a cue from MTN,’’ he said.

Etisalat Simplifies Instant Loans Access with KwikCash Emma Okonji Etisalat, in partnership with Support Microfinance Bank has simplified access to loans through the launch of its new service, KwikCash.

The service, which is currently available only on the Etisalat network, was developed for subscribers who have bank accounts and need to access cash loans to settle urgent financial needs. It enables customers to get instant loans with ease using their mobile phones.

Chairman of the Bank, Dr. Ekechi Nwokah, who welcomed the partnership as a significant milestone for the banking industry in Nigeria, said; “Many banks in Nigeria have been trying to address the goals of financial inclusion and access to credit, and with the

launch of KwikCash, Nigeria’s first instant loan service, Support Microfinance Bank has taken a huge step towards those goals.

“We were fortunate to have a supportive partner in Etisalat and we are proof that bank-telco partnerships can be successful given the right focus and commitment,” he said.

He added that just by dialing *561#, Etisalat subscribers could access loans of up to N100,000 anywhere, anytime and on any type of phone including feature phones. The code (*561#) opens a whole new world to Etisalat subscribers where they can request a loan that is instantly credited to their bank account.

Subscribers can also dial the same code to check their loan balance, repay outstanding loans, and access lower interest rates if they recommend KwikCash to

another subscriber who takes a loan and repays. Director, Digital Business, Etisalat Nigeria, Adia Sowho, described KwikCash as an innovative service that utilises cutting-edge digital technology and Etisalat’s network to bring relief to individuals who are in urgent need of funds, and helps drive financial inclusion in the country.

She said: “KwikCash is another example of Etisalat Nigeria continuously being at the forefront of the latest applications in digital technology in order to solve problems and deliver value to our subscribers.

We are glad to partner with Support Microfinance Bank to launch KwikCash service; this is revolutionary in empowering more Nigerians to access quick loans for their urgent financial needs.”

ELEVATING TO THE NEXT LEVEL Marie-Therese Phido

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to lure them away from you. ˾ ÒÓÖÏ ãÙß áÏÜÏ ÝÖÏÏÚÓØј ãÙßÜ ÏâÓÝÞÓØÑ ÍÖÓÏØÞ ÓÝ ÎÏËÖÓØÑ áÓÞÒ Ë ÚÜÙÌÖÏ× ÞÒËÞ ÎÏÝÚÏÜËÞÏÖã ØÏÏÎÝ ãÙßÜ ËʵÏØÞÓÙØ˛ ˾ ÒÓÖÏ ãÙß áÏÜÏ ÝÖÏÏÚÓØÑ ãÙßÜ ÎÜÏË× ÍÖÓÏØÞ ÌÏÍË×Ï ÎÓÝÝËÞÓÝʨÏÎ ËØÎ ÓÝ ØÙá ÙÚÏØ ÞÙ ÍÙØÝÓÎÏÜÓØÑ Ë ÍÒËØÑÏ˛ ˾ ÒÓÖÏ ãÙß áÏÜÏ ÝÖÏÏÚÓØј ãÙßÜ ʨÏÜÍÏÝÞ ÍÙ×ÚÏÞÓÞÙÜ áËÝ ÎÓËÑØÙÝÓØÑ ÞÒÏ ÎÓÝÝËÞÓÝÐËÍÞÓÙØ ÞÒËÞ ÏâÓÝÞÝ ÓØ ÖÏàÏÖÝ ÌÏÖÙá ÞÒÏ ̋ÝßÓÞÏÝ ÙÐ ÞÒÏÓÜ ÎÜÏË× ÍÖÓÏØÞ˜ áÙÜÕÓØÑ áÓÞÒ ÚÏÙÚÖÏ áÒÙ ÎÙØ˪Þ ÒËàÏ ÞÒÏ ßÖÞÓ×ËÞÏ ËßÞÒÙÜÓÞã ÌßÞ áÒÙ ÒËàÏ ÑÜÏËÞ ÓØʮßÏØÍÏ ËØΘ ÚÏÜÒËÚݘ ÞÒÏ ÜÏËÖ ËßÞÒÙÜÓÞã˛ ÒÓÝ ÓÝ ÞÒÏ ÎÓÝÝËÞÓÝÐËÍÞÓÙØ ãÙßÜ ÏâÓÝÞÓØÑ ÍÖÓÏØÞ ÓÝ ÏâÚÏÜÓÏØÍÓØÑ ØÙᘠËʰÏÜ ÞÒÏ ÞÜËÓØ ÒËÝ ÍÙ×Ï Ùʥ ÞÒÏ ÞÜËÍÕݲ

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˾ ÒËÞ ÍÒËØÑÏÝ ØÏÏÎ ãÙßÜ ËʵÏØÞÓÙØ ËØÎ ËÜÏ ÙÍÍßÜÜÓØÑ ÜÓÑÒÞ ØÙáˣ ˾ ÜÏ ãÙß ÍÙ×ÚÖËÍÏØÞ˜ ÝÖÏÏÚÓØÑ áÒÏØ ãÙß ÝÒÙßÖÎ ÌÏ ÞËÕÓØÑ ËÍÞÓÙØˣ ˾ ÜÏ ãÙß ÞÒÏ ʨÏÜÍÏÝÞ ÍÙ×ÚÏÞÓÞÙÜ ÞÒËÞ ÝÙ×Ï ÙÞÒÏÜ ÌßÝÓØÏÝÝ ÝÒÙßÖÎ ÌÏ ÍÙØÍÏÜØÏÎ áÓÞÒ ÜÓÑÒÞ ØÙáˣ ˾ Ð ãÙß ËÜϘ ÒÙá ÍËØ ãÙß ÏØÝßÜÏ ãÙß ÜÏ×ËÓØ ËÞ ÞÒÏ ÞÙÚ ÙÐ ÞÒÏ ÌËÍÕ ËØÎ ÞÒÏ ÞÙÚ ÙÐ ãÙßÜ ÑË×Ïˣ ÙØÍÖßÝÓÙØ ÒÓÖÏ ãÙß ËÜÏ ÝÖÏÏÚÓØј ÞÒÏÜÏ ËÜÏ ÍÒËØÑÏÝ ÙÍÍßÜÜÓØÑ ÞÒËÞ áÓÖÖ Ó×ÚËÍÞ ãÙßÜ ÐßÞßÜÏ ËØÎ ãÙßÜ ÝßÍÍÏÝÝ ËÝ Ë ÌßÝÓØÏÝÝ ÙáØÏÜ ËØÎ ËØ ÓØÎÓàÓÎßËÖ˛ ËØ ãÙß ËʥÙÜÎ ÞÙ ÝÖÏÏÚˣ ã ËØÝáÏÜ ÓÝ Ë

Ù˛ Ùß ØÏÏÎ ÞÙ ÌÏ àÓÑÓÖËØÞ ËØÎ ÓÐ ãÙß ÒËàÏ ÞÙ ÝÖÏÏÚ ËÞ ËÖÖ ãÙß ×ßÝÞ ÏØÝßÜÏ ÞÒËÞ ãÙß ÝÖÏÏÚ áÓÞÒ ÙØÏ ÏãÏ ÙÚÏØ˛ – Marie-Therese Phido is Sales & Market Strategist and Business Coach Email: mphido@elevato.com.ng tweeter handle @osat2012

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Stock Market Heads for Positive Close in 2017 Having recorded a growth of 23.2 in the first half of the year, the stock market is on its way to a positive close after three consecutive years of decline, writes Goddy Egene

NSE trading ďŹ&#x201A;oor

When the stock market declined 6.17 per cent in 2016, the third consecutive year of such a negative performance, most stakeholders believed that the market would recover in 2017. What they could not be sure of was the margin of positive growth the market would record at the end of the year. However, many noted that the recovery would begin to manifest better as from the second half of the year.

NSEâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s optimism The Chief Exchange Officer of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), Mr. Oscar Onyema was one of those who have been very confident that the market would recover at the end of the year.

According to Onyema, the capital market is a subsector of the Nigerian economy and the World Bank had projected that the economy would recover from its recession this year with a modest growth of 0.6 per cent.

He therefore said based on the positive forecast and the initiatives being put in place by the NSE, investors should be optimistic about recovery of the market in 2017.

He believes the economy will achieve the projected growth driven by certain factors.

He said there should be vigorous fiscal policy implementation, with a keen focus on articulation of desired goals. â&#x20AC;&#x153;There should lower the rate of disruptions to oil infrastructure from resolution of the Niger Delta conflict, thereby increasing FX inflows.

Crude oil prices remaining above the FGNâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s benchmark of $42.5/barrel positive impact of the war against corruption manifested in ease of doing business improvement and policies aimed at boosting economic productivity (improved budgetary allocation to capital expenditures, exit from joint venture cash call arrangements with international oil companies by the federal government, which is expected to save the country $2billion annually among others),â&#x20AC;? he said.

The NSE boss noted that notwithstanding the foregoing, the Nigerian capital market will have to do a better job at promoting its unique value proposition to both global and domestic investors. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Monetary policy will continue to play a vital role in determining activity in the market. With forecasts for inflation expected to moderate due to the base effect, we believe that all things equal, monetary authorities will have more flexibility with respect to interest rates and FX regime.

Hence, good coordination between fiscal and monetary policy should result in resolution of aforementioned structural deficiencies and drive

economic growth,â&#x20AC;? he said.

On his part, Onyema disclosed that the NSE will take an adaptive approach to strategy execution in 2017.

According to him, the NSE will focus on achieving its goal of becoming a more agile and demutualised exchange and will fast track efforts towards developing innovative products such as exchange traded derivatives to provide investors with tools to better weather economic realities in 2017. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We intend to strengthen our thought leadership efforts with policymakers to drive policies that will free up the system and promote the ease of doing business in Nigeria. We believe that incentive schemes for sectors of the economy that can support a pivot to export led economy will be beneficial and systematic removal of impediments to doing business and therefore reduction of leakages will attract private sector investments,â&#x20AC;? Onyema said.

He added that they expect to see a revival of supplementary listings, return of the new issuance market, and potentially one initial public offering (IPO) since the equity market is a forward indicator of the economy.

Furthermore, he said that the Nigerian capital market will do a better job of promoting its unique value proposition to both global and domestic investors. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We expect investors to continue to keep a close eye on the divergence between the interbank FX rate and other exchange rates in the country. Accordingly, a convergence of FX rates in the country and the performance of listed corporates will determine the level of market activity in the short term,â&#x20AC;? Onyema said.

Analystsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Projection Looking ahead, analysts at Meristem Securities Limited (MSL), an investment banking firm, projected that the Nigerian stock market would close 2017 positively. In a special report on the economic and financial outlook titled: â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;In Murky Watersâ&#x20AC;ŚWading through Uncertainties,â&#x20AC;&#x2122; analysts at MSL had said the NSE ASI will gain 3.49 per cent.

According to them, the market is expected to remain largely weak in the first half of 2017, on the back of subsisting macroeconomic uncertainties, while they anticipate a modest recovery towards the tail end of the year. â&#x20AC;&#x153;However, we note that market recovery is partly hinged on stability in the FX market and moderation in exchange rate gap between the interbank and parallel markets. Based on our mix of methodologies, we arrived at a 2017

index level of 27,812, 50, indicating a +3.49 per cent potential market return by December 31, 2017,â&#x20AC;? they declared.

CBN New FX Window Boost Having declined by 5.0 per cent in the first quarter (Q1) of the year, the second quarter began on a similar negative note. The growth was partly spurred by impressive results and dividends declared for the 2016 financial year.

However, the market rebounded in April following the introduction of the new window for investors and exporters (I&E) with the index spiking 11.92 per cent within three weeks.

From a low of 25,189.27, the index closed by the end of June at 33,117.48, while market capitalisation surged from N8.716 trillion prior to the new FX policy to N11.452 trillion. This translated to a gain of N2.736 trillion.

An analysis of the marketâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s performance after the launch of the FX window showed that in the week ended April 28, 2017, the index rose by 2.26 per cent to close at 25,758.51, while market capitalisation closed at N8.913 trillion. Investors exchanged 1.33billion shares valued at N9.671 billion in 16,300 deals.

The second week of the bullish trading saw the index rise by 1.85 per cent to close at 26,235.63, just as market capitalisation closed higher at N9.069 trillion. In the week, which ended May 5, investors also exchanged 1.154 billion shares worth N10.439 billion.

However, the market made record-breaking gains in the third week when the index surged by 7.46 per cent to close at 28,192.46, while market capitalisation rose to N9.741 trillion.

Equally, the volume of trading jumped to 3.255 billion shares valued at N28.738 billion in 25,370 deals. Analysts at Cordros Capital Limited said they sensed improved investor appetite for risk assets on the Nigerian bourse, judging by market activities in the past three weeks and more specifically the spike in the number of deals and the volume of shares traded. They linked the performance to reduced apprehension in the macroeconomic environment, impressive full year 2016 and 2017 first quarter (Q1) results of highly capitalised companies, as well as increased confidence and liquidity in the FX market.

Supporting this assessment, analysts at Afrinvest (W.A) said foreign investorsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; appetite for Nigerian assets had waned significantly on the back of the currency crisis, which in turn had fundamentally weakened macroeconomic environment, dragged corporate earnings, and

impacted negatively on the equities market. â&#x20AC;&#x153;However, in April, investor sentiment strengthened following the commencement of the I&E FX window which signalled a possible return of flexibility in FX rate determination, though multiplicity of rates at the official window is still a concern. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Additionally, recent improvements in global oil prices above the $45/b mark, improvement in domestic production currently above 2.0mbpd, fiscal responsiveness â&#x20AC;&#x201C; including the release of the EGRP (Economic Growth and Recovery Plan), the successful issuance of US$1.5 billion Eurobond, passage of the 2017 budget, and improvement in the manufacturing PMI, suggest a possible rebound in economic activities from Q2 2017,â&#x20AC;? they said.

Afrinvest explained that the NSE benchmark index recorded a decline on only two trading days since the launch of the FX window while appreciating 11.9 per cent post-launch.

Going by the trend in the market, sustaining that performance will significantly depends on the ability of the CBN to ensure stability in the FX market. However, this may not be an issue as the apex bank had said that it was determined to ensure that the gains made so far, with respect to the stability of the exchange rate, were not eroded.

CBN spokesman, Isaac Okorafor reiterated the bankâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s commitment to ensuring that there is enough supply of forex to genuine customers to achieve the forex rate convergence in the market.

Ayodeji Ebo of Afrinvest West, an investment banking group, had painted bullish trend in the market saying, despite the witnessed between the last week of April and end of May, Nigerian stocks were still trading cheap.

According to him, a review of banksâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; price to book (P/BV) and earnings multiples reveal that banksâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; earnings remained upbeat in the past three years notwithstanding the decline in share prices. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Now, with the improvement in FX supply as well as the creation of I &E window, I have observed improved mandates from FPIs. The market determined rates at I &E window have translated into the FPIs receiving more naira value for every dollar inflow, giving them the ability to acquire more financial assets. As highlighted by the CBN, activity level at the window has been impressive as over $1.0 billion in transactions have been carried out, with the CBN supplying only about 30 per cent of FX at the window. The impact of the success recorded at the window has been evident in the performance of the NSE as a number of stocks have rallied on the back of bullish sentiments and I believe there is further room for upside in some stocks,â&#x20AC;? Ebo said.

T H I S D AY WEDNESDAY JULY 5, 2017

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

BUSINESSWORLD

ANALYSIS

Now That We Have a Budget With the signing into law of the 2017 Appropriation Bill by acting President Yemi Osinbajo, its implementation has commenced. Christened â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Budget of Recovery and Growthâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;, can it really take the economy on the recovery path, Ndubuisi Francis asks The 2017 Budget was signed into law halfway into the fiscal year, precisely June 12, 2017. Although President Muhammadu Buhari presented the draft 2017 Budget to a joint session of the National Assembly on December 14, 2016, the parliament passed the 2017 Appropriation Act five months later, exactly on May 11, 2017.

Signing of the budget was delayed because of disagreements over deductions by the National Assembly in the draft document from allocations to some critical infrastructure projects, including the standard gauge rail line, Mambilla Power Project, the second Niger bridge, and Lagosâ&#x20AC;&#x201C;Ibadan expressway, and reallocated to new projects introduced by the lawmakers.

But many have forgotten that apart from the disagreements arising from deductions, the controversy over the Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) and Fiscal Strategy Paper (FSP) had already come into the mix and played no mean role in the delayed passage of the budget.

As prescribed by the Fiscal Responsibility Act (FRA), the MTEF whose submission and approval usually precede the submission of the Appropriation Bill was rejected by the Senate as an â&#x20AC;&#x153;emptyâ&#x20AC;? document lacking in details when it was submitted by the executive arm of government. Yet, President Buhari went ahead to present the Appropriation Bill on December 14 while the re-submission of an acceptable MTEF to the upper legislative chamber was to come early in 2017. Therefore, the parliament took some time to peruse the MTEF for approval before actual work on the Appropriation Bill commenced.

This background information is necessary to appreciate the contributory factors to the late passage of the 2017 Budget with a view to avoiding such pitfalls in future.

Now that we have the budget in place, can those saddled with the task of execution put the implementation of the fiscal instrument on autopilot?

Budget of Recovery and Growth The passed budget with an aggregate expenditure of N 7.44 trillion, representing an increase of 22.8 per cent over the 2016 budget provision of N6.06 trillion, reflects governmentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s fiscal plan to restore the economy on the path of sustainable and inclusive growth, the specific goals and targets of which are encapsulated in the 2017 - 2020 Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP).

It is predicated on certain key parameters, including an oil production of 2.2 million barrels per day (mbpd); benchmark oil price -US$44.5 per barrel; oil production - 2.2mbpd.

Others are an exchange rate of N305/US$, inflation rate (15.74 per cent), GDP growth rate (2.19 per cent) as well as nominal consumption of N87.95 trillion and nominal GDP--N107.96 trillion. Presenting the budget to the public early last week, the Minister of Budget and National Planning, Senator Udoma Udo Udoma, said the budget with an expenditure outlay of N7.44 trillion has Statutory transfers of N434.41 billion, Debt Service of N1.66 trillion, and a Sinking Fund of N177.46 billion to retire some maturing bonds.

Non-debt recurrent expenditure is N2.99 trillion, and a capital expenditure of N2.36 trillion inclusive of statutory transfers. The overall projected N2.36 trillion fiscal deficit is about 2.18 per cent of GDP, and within the 3 per cent threshold stipulated in the FRA. The budget deficit is to be financed mainly by borrowings which have been projected at N2.32 trillion. Of this amount, N1.07 trillion (46 per cent) is intended to be sourced externally, while N1.25 trillion will be sourced domestically. The debt-service-to-revenue ratio is projected to be about 32.7 per cent.

The recurrent non-debt expenditure of N2.99 trillion is made up of personnel costs - N1.88 trillion (63 per cent), overhead - N219.84 billion (7 per cent) Service-wide vote pensions â&#x20AC;&#x201C; N89.98 billion (3 per cent); Consolidated

Acting President, Yemi Osinbajo

Revenue Fund Pensions - N191.63 billion (6 per cent).Other Service-wide Votes - N138.70 billion (5 per cent).

Capital allocation is N2.36 trillion (inclusive of capital in statutory transfers). This represents 31.7 per cent of the total budget. Much of the capital provision is directed at projects that are aligned with the core execution priorities of the ERGP. Of the total approved for capital expenditure (principally infrastructure), more than N500 billion is to be channeled into investments in roads, power and housing projects.

About 65 road projects are included in the budget. Some major capital expenditure allocations include: N553.71 billion for Power, Works and Housing; N241.71 billion for Transportation; N150 billion for Special Intervention Programmes; N139.29 billion for Defence; N104.24 billion for Water Resources. The sum of N81.73 billion is for Industry, Trade and Investment; N63.76 billion for Interior, and N151.91 billion for Education (including Universal Basic Education Commission); N55.61 billion for Health; and, N103.79 billion for Agriculture.

Some major initiatives in the 2017 Budget include: N100 billion provisioned for a new Social Housing Programme; N46 billion for Special Economic Zone Projects to be set up in each of the six geo-political zones to drive manufacturing /exports; N16 billion voted for the revival of the Export Expansion Grant (EEG).

Other major initiatives include: Special Intervention Programme (inclusive of the Home Grown School Feeding Programme, Government Economic Empowerment Programme, N-Power Job Creation Programme.

Conditional Cash Transfers and Social Housing Fund) â&#x20AC;&#x201C; N400 billion There is also a provision of N148 billion mostly for counterpart funds on projects to be financed by China for various railway projects (Lagos-Kano, Calabar-Lagos.

Similarly, there is a N40 billion service-wide provision to settle reconciled outstanding electricity bills of Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) as part of overall strategies to revamp the ailing power sector.

Revenue Based on the key assumptions, the 2017 Budget envisages a total revenue of N5.08 trillion, exceeding the initial executive proposal by 2.9 per cent and 2016 projection by 31.9 per cent. The projected revenue receipt from oil is N2.122 trillion and non-oil is N2.96 trillion.

Minister of Finance, Kemi Adeosun

The contribution of oil revenues is 41.7 per cent compared to 19 per cent in 2016. This is driven mainly by Joint Venture Cash Call (JVC) cost reduction, higher production and price, exchange rate and additional oil-related revenues.

11 per cent of projected/revenue expected is coming fron recoveries of looted/misappropriated funds and fines. Udoma explained that the government already has in its kitty, the 11 per cent recoveries from looted/misappropriated funds.

Recapitalising BoI and BoA One of the major moves captured in the budget to help the real sector in form of tax credits is the provision of N15 billion to recapitalise the Bank of Industry (BOI) and Bank of Agriculture (BOA) to strength their capacities to support Micro, Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (MSMEs).

The Controversy/Concerns While the budget has been signed into law, a fresh controversy is brewing and may torpedo its seamless implementation.

The bone of contention is over the powers of appropriation, which has been called into question with the passage of the 2017 budget.

After signing the budget, the acting President Yemi Osinbajo had criticised the legislature for altering the budget, arguing that the parliament was not constitutionally empowered to alter the budget proposals submitted by the executive.

Some of the key projects affected by the National Assemblyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s alterations included allocations to the Lagos-Ibadan expressway, the Mambilla power project, railway projects, the second Niger Bridge among others. Before signing the budget, the executive and legislature were said to have struck a gentleman agreement that the National Assembly should restore all the affected projects, upon the submission of a request by the executive, in a process known as â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Virementâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;.

But with the open criticism of the lawmakers and the reported move to seek the intervention of the Supreme Court on whether or not the parliament has the power to alter the budget, the nation might be in for a long walk to bringing succour to a troubled economy, and by extension, a traumatised populace Besides, there are concerns over the $44.5 per barrel benchmark set in the budget. Although oil prices rallied back to about $45 per barrel on Friday, they touched $42.05 per barrel, their lowest level since August 2016.

The Organisation of Petroleum Exporting

Countries (OPEC) and other producers agreed to reduce output by 1.8 million barrels per day (bpd) from January for six months, and last month extended the deal for a further nine months until March 2018. However, oversupply has persisted, particularly with output rising in Libya and Nigeria, which were exempt from the cuts due to unrest that had limited their output.

OPEC and non-OPEC oil producersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; compliance with the deal to cut output reached its highest in May since they agreed on the cuts last year, reaching 106 per cent in May. OPEC supplies, however, jumped in May as output recovered in Libya and Nigeria, both exempt from the production reduction agreement. Libyaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s oil production rose more than 50,000 bpd to 885,000 bpd after the state oil company settled a dispute with Germanyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Wintershall. Nigeriaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s oil production is also rising as exports of the countryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Bonny Light crude are set to reach 226,000 bpd in August, up from 164,000 bpd in July. The situation is raising apprehension as to whether or not the benchmark price for this yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s budget is not ambitious.

Of the N5.08 trillion revenue in the budget, the projected revenue receipt from oil is N2.122 trillion. This is humongous. To achieve this means that both the quantity and price components must be consistent with budgetary assumptions.

Implementation The Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun had already assured that her ministry was ready to release N350 billion immediately as capital vote.

But this has drawn cynicism from some quarters bearing in mind that the same assurance was given after the unveiling of the 2016 Budget, but no releases were forthcoming for close to two months, and this was explained away.

Udoma had also disclosed that strenuous efforts were being made to find the resources required.

His words: â&#x20AC;&#x153;We are challenging our revenue generating agencies, particularly the FIRS and Customs, to improve their efficiencies and broaden their reach so as to achieve the targets set for them in the 2017 Budget.

Most importantly, we will strive to maximise the revenues we can generate from the oil and gas sector as it is clear that the foreign exchange generated from the sector is critical for our plans to diversify to the non-oil sectors.

The actual implementation of the capital budget must commence without further delay to see how much grounds could be regained.

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Akinbode: Enforcement of Compulsory Insurance Would Trigger Economic Revolution Bode Akinbode is the Group Managing Director, Standard Alliance Insurance Plc. He spoke with Ebere Nwoji on the state of the insurance sector and the strategies adopted by his company to remain afloat, among others. Excerpts: We are almost at the end of ďŹ rst half of this ďŹ nancial year, how has insurance industry fared within the period given the economic realities on ground in the country? \We have managed to stay afloat despite the economic challenges. There will always be challenges and Nigerian economy is not an exception. As operators, what we believe we will continue to do is to work hard and make sure we service our customers better and create more opportunities for them and for the company so that at the end of the day, the company will remain more profitable for the shareholders and for us.

For us, it has been mixed feelings; we set out in this my second coming in 2015 January to transform our business. But as much as we try to make progress in the transformation bid, we realised that we have been somehow limited by the economic constraint of the economic contraction suffered by the country. But all the same, we have stayed afloat; we have lived up to a large extent to our commitment. We have cleared off outstanding claims we have as a company. We have paid about N7.6 billion to our customers in the last two and half years ago. The bulk of these payments, we met them on ground on our coming back. So we believe we are making progress in that wise. We have stabilised the company, we are rebuilding our team and product. We have launched a new product and more products are still on their way in the area of agricultural and health insurance. We have introduced what you call salary protection insurance to guard against employees who suddenly lose their jobs. The product provides compensation to them until they get another job at least for a period of two years. So to a large extent, we believe we are making progress though we had hoped to do more but were slowed down by the challenges in the economy.

Could you please throw more light on the salary protection insurance; tell us how it works and what informed your decision to introduce it into the market now?

It is a product driven by the dictates of the time; you know what is happening now in Nigeria, with the current state of the economy, the forex problem and the impact on the real sector and manufacturing sector in fact on the entire economy, you see that somehow, there is slowdown on economic activities. Because most of our companies are import dependent so if they are finding it difficult to source forex or if the cost of forex is too high for them, then it will constrain their size of operation and if the size of operation is constrained, the next thing is for them to cut cost and when you want to cut cost, you have to look at expenditure end and staff cost is a major cost. Therefore if a company is not able to operate within its installed capacity, letâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s say a company is producing at 30 percent capacity, then it will need to right size. Rightsizing means throwing some workers back to unemployment market. Those people are just unfortunate because it is not their fault yet the company must make profit. So this product is to provide a kind of succor and stability to such workers.

I am still interested in understanding how this salary protection insurance policy works? Is it that if I lose my job and I buy the policy, the insurance company will take over payment of my salary?

This is how it works; first, we have done a lot of research and rated different sectors of the economy. You know the risk in private sector is different from oil and gas, it is different from telecommunication, manufacturing sector and so on. We have rated different sectors. We have also rated the companies so for any employee to buy the product, he must belong to a rated company.

So now, having rated the sector and the company, the next thing to rate is the employee buying

time, my life salesman needs not sell only life insurance but sells non-life insurance. So we are able to cross sell our products as one team so that we get better result.

So since the merger, what is your result like at least for the ďŹ rst year?

No, the merger was concluded just two months ago. We got approval in January, but there have been pockets of approval. Effectively, we just concluded the merger two months ago. But because we have been closely knitted organisations, before now, since we got basic approval of our primary regulator, we made sure we work together. First, all our office locations have been merged, where we pay separate rents before we pay single rent.

In selling all our products, we make sure we add a bit of life to non- life and non- life to life, that is better deal for our customers.

For our staff, they now have more opportunities to succeed, given that they have more products to sell compared to selling just one line of insurance.

What about voluntary resignation?

No, voluntary resignation is not covered. It must be accidental loss of job. It must be the option of the employer to say look, we donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t need this number of employees any more.

What is the future of life insurance like in Nigeria?

The truth is that historically, you know that life business has not been well embraced in Nigeria because people say culture but I will say is more of distribution strategy which I believe the industry is working on. For us in Standard Alliance, we are aggressively addressing it. It is about taking insurance to the grass root, it is about creating value in insurance for the consumers. If customers can see that there is value in a product, they will buy it. It is about strategic cooperation with frame work or channels to reach customers quickly that is why you see us go into partnership with banks, partnership with telecoms, partnership with very strong brands that will rub off possibly on image of insurance will help us to succeed. So life insurance is actually where the future of insurance industry is because that is where critical mass is that is where the small savings that can be left for a long time and that supposed to be the strength of insurance. small savings on a longer period can be built up to create massive investment fund that can be used to trigger economic activities and create returns not only for insurance people but for the policy holders. So I believe, even what we are doing now product innovation creating what I call â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;living benefitâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; products not death benefit products because some people are thinking and saying, â&#x20AC;&#x153;why should I buy products that I will not benefit from while I am aliveâ&#x20AC;?. So we are trying to reverse that by creating living benefit products.

Recently Standard Alliance General and Standard Alliance life merged as one company and the general public has been itching to know what actually informed this alliance.

What explanations have you?

We are two companies with almost similar identities. The names are so close yet running differently, two different managing directors, two different board of directors, two different management teams, different employees, different products which means every year we have to submit two different accounts to the regulators.

We have to do AGMs differently; meanwhile, they are similar business. So what the new board of directors did was to study the environment, look at the environment and discovered that most of the successful companies today, a large chunk of them are composite companies. They are run as one company. Apart from that, we believe that is the most appropriate model to run in Nigeria because it brings economy of scale for us. You then have one board, one Managing Director, may be enhanced and strong management because you bring all the strong management team from the other side to this side. It brings operating cost savings. Then there is benefit of cross selling. My sales person needs not go and sell only general insurance but sells life insurance. At the same

How and when will insurance become a prominent part of ďŹ nancial services sector, I mean when will insurance begin to rule the economy?

It is going to take concerted effort. It is going to take effort of government as the prime leader of the economy. Nigerian economy is driven by government.

It needs massive role of government. It is going to take the cooperation and effort of operators we need to invest in research, we need to invest in our people, we need to develop products, we need to learn how to engage with the customers. We need to educate the customer on the products they are buying because if the awareness is there, understanding is rich, it will minimise conflicts when you are trying to close claims because the customer will be very clear from day one, what he or she is buying. And how do we make this happen, you need to catch them young as students from school. Get them involved so that they understand insurance so that when they become adult, they are already familiar with it. Insurance is supposed to be a way of life. Insurance is one of the major drivers of savings and long term fund mobilisation in advanced countries, insurance contributes as high as 15 percent to the GDP but here in Nigeria it is only 0.3 percent. So it takes all of us to come together.

Akinbode

the product. So we have automated the process on your phone on our agentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; phone. We were able to ask the proposed person that wants to buy the products five or six questions. Having provided answers to those questions which has to do with your age, your nature of job, your position, how long you have been working, how many times you have changed your job, your qualification whether you are incapacitated, having answered these questions, then your premium will be calculated. So your premium is unique to you.

Even if we are working in the same company, as long as your job is different and your age different, your premium will be different. Once you determine your premium, you will be told to sign the enrollment form and the authority to deduct your premium from your salary account either on monthly, quarterly, half yearly or on yearly basis. But we make it convenient for you that we donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have to bother you every time.

You give the instruction and you wait for at least one year and after one year of buying the policy and there is sudden loss of job, the insured is affected, he will be entitled to claim 100 percent of his salary for the first Six months. Assuming he insured N100,000 as his monthly salary, he will collect N100,000 for six months which is 100 percent of his salary he insured. If after six months, he is unable to get another job, he will be entitled to collect on monthly basis 75 percent of his monthly salary which is N75,000 for six months, if after that he fails to get a new job, he will be entitled to 50 percent of his monthly salary for another six months which is N50,000 if after that he hasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t got another job, he will be entitled to 25 percent of his salary for another six months making it 24 months. But we believe that given the rating of the industry and rating of the personnel, we will be able to work with the personnel to get another job within that two years because we also have alliance , we have agreement with some employment bureau that can assist such employee to get back to work, that is how it works .you choose how much you want to insure as long as it is not higher than your salary. So you cannot say because you are earning 100, you want to insure N150,000 no,

because insurance is about indemnity, it is about getting you back to where you were before the loss occurred. So you chose within your salary as long as for us is not more than N1000,000 so if you are earning N2000,000, monthly you can only insure N1000,000.

This is the primary cover. We have now embedded other ancillary benefits into it. You know it is not only an employer that can tell somebody to stop work. Certain sicknesses like cancer, stroke etc, can force an employee to stop work so we have put illness cover there.

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BUSINESSWORLD

ANALYSIS

Transport Sector as Economic Goldmine Despite several government policy frameworks aimed at repositioning the transport sector, its contribution to the Gross Domestic Product remains unsatisfactory, according to experts. In this report, Ugo Aliogo examines the sectorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s huge potential and how it has fared under the current administration Transportation is a vital component of human activity. In many developing countries, inadequate transport facilities constitute huge challenge to economic growth. In developed economies, the transport sector is a key driver to economic development and strong revenue.

Studies have revealed that developing societies have not sufficiently tapped into the potential of the transport sector as a result it is not fully maximised in those regions. The Nigeriaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s transport sector has long suffered as a result of inadequate investment in infrastructure, thereby prompting the federal government to push for the rehabilitation and expansion of the countryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s entire transport network.

Experts have argued that the sector can contribute about 10 percent to the Nigeriaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Gross Domestic Products (GDP) if the right policies are put in place to drive the sector. To achieve this, they said there must be massive investment in infrastructure and training for operators and regulators on new global trends in transportation services. The argument is that if the country actually wants to diversify its economy, transportation and shipping should be sectors that should be placed on the front burner.

Government Target for the Sector In December 2015, the Minister of Transport, Rotimi Amaechi, said government was working on a national transportation master plan.

He explained that there is an urgent need to exploit the opportunities within the sector in order to improve its contribution to the economy. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Public budgets have been constrained by economic conditions, the current administrationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s budget commitments, coupled with its desire to bring the private sector on board, promises to improve the capacity and quality of the transport networkâ&#x20AC;?, he said.

Amaechi at a recent forum explained that the target of the federal government programmes was to achieve sustainability based on three principles: rehabilitation, restoration and procurement of new platforms, noting that the principles were deployed so that the nation doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t lose what has improved and increase opportunities through procurement.

The minister remarked that in respect to rehabilitation and restoration, the current administration has laid emphasis on the completion of existing and abandoned projects, repair of existing facilities in the rail, roads and aviation sectors.

He stressed that the essence of the approach was to bring infrastructure to a level that can support productivity and position it in such a manner that it can be improved upon through procurements.

He noted that it is also a humble approach that appreciates the efforts of past administration and the costs incurred, â&#x20AC;&#x153;the government opted to rehabilitate the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja runway, instead of building a new one.â&#x20AC;?

Amaechi added: â&#x20AC;&#x153;There is truly some level of crises in the transportation sector. Evidently, the sector suffers from shortfalls in infrastructure and service delivery, unregulated service delivery especially in the road sub-sector, poor financing of infrastructure and service platforms and others challenges. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Expectedly, government should partner with the private sector to alleviate these problems. The challenge has been the capacity of the private sector to be able to partner in this regard.â&#x20AC;?

He said that the private sector participation (PSP) lags behind because of inadequate finance and the desire to be contractors to government. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Aside the operations of rolling stock as service platforms, the private sector have no infrastructure plans. That is why investment in the rail and inland waterways subsector are not popular. Whenever the private sector shows interests, they want either to collect revenue or become monopolies without competitors.

spending prior to the launch of the transport master plan, and as part of its efforts to ramp up rehabilitation and expansion activity. In October 2015 the current administration announced a $25bn national fund for infrastructure. This is also being backed by several line items in the N6trn ($18.9bn) national budget for 2016, which includes N433.4bn ($1.4bn) for the Ministry of Works, Power and Housing and N202bn ($637.7m) for the Ministry of Transport. As the two largest recipients of budget allocations, these ministries are expected to be instrumental in driving spending on improvements to the nationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s transport infrastructure over the coming year.

Amaechi

â&#x20AC;&#x153;The opportunities will be high when government completes the current rehabilitation and restoration programmes that will ease operations nationwide. Our procurement packages are creating interconnectivity that will reduce the stresses of distance and facilitate trade. New programmes such as the development of more international corridors and establishment of Truck Transit Parks (TTP) and Modern Vehicle Parks (MVP) will greatly encourage more investmentâ&#x20AC;?, he added.

Growth Indicators The sector currently falls short of its potential.

The network, including rail, aviation, ports and roads, contributes only 1.41% to GDP. Despite this, year-on-year (y-o-y) growth between 2014 and 2015 was positive, according to Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) data. The sector contributed N805.5bn ($2.5bn at the time of printing) in 2015 compared to N770.7bn ($2.4bn) in 2014, representing y-o-y growth of 4.5%. This upturn follows a contraction of 17.8% between 2013 and 2014.

The current limitations of the countryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s transport network hamper trade and increase costs for producers and manufacturers, as well as importers and exporters.

Nigeria ranks 182nd out of 189 countries for trading across borders in the World Bankâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 2016 â&#x20AC;&#x153;Doing Businessâ&#x20AC;? report. The cost and time it takes to both import and export is well above the average for sub-Saharan Africa and Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) high-income countries.

Border compliance in Lagos, for example, takes 298 hours for imports and costs $1077.

This compares to an average of 160 hours and $643 in sub-Saharan Africa and nine hours and $123 in OECD high-income countries. Similarly, while the same procedure for exports takes 159 hours and costs $786 in Lagos, this is reduced to 108 hours and $542 in sub-Saharan Africa and 15 hours and $160 in OECD high-income countries.

A comparison of the time and cost of documentary compliance for imports results in a similarly negative result, taking 173 hours in Lagos, 123 hours on average in sub-Saharan Africa and four hours on average in the OECD countries.

In terms of export documentary compliance, Lagos stands at 131 hours, sub-Saharan Africa at 97 hours and OECD high-income countries at five hours. This level of performance is also reflected throughout Nigeriaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s transport system, resulting in a range of issues, from road congestion and accidents â&#x20AC;&#x201C; tailbacks are a frequent occurrence and can extend daily commutes by several hours â&#x20AC;&#x201C; to airport and airline delays.

The government is also looking to increase

Private Sector Investment Amaechi remarked that in 2005, government published the investment opportunities in the sector, which defined opportunities and exposed prospective areas.

He added that since then, much more opportunities have been created through the establishment of the infrastructure concession and regulatory, commission, master plan on integrated transportation infrastructure, rail masterplan, inland container depot programme and the dredging of the lower Niger.

The minister said without restrictions, the present administration is open to PSP and Public Private Partnership (PPP) that would develop the infrastructure, put rolling stocks on the inland waterways, railways and supportive investments in indigenous manufacture of spare-parts and rolling stocks.

He added that emphasis on private sector financing is not yet assured however there would be concessionary participation if the proposal is bankable and it can grow the sector, stressing that 70 percent of the inefficiency in the aviation sector should be divorced from the private sector.

The minister stated that the focus should not be in examining government participation, but that of the private sector, stating that the concession of most transport sub-sectors by the government.

Amaechi added: â&#x20AC;&#x153;I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t think the private sector has done very well in line with the expectations we have in mind. I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t think there is any sector in the economy that has done well with the private sector more the transport sector because there is concession in airport, seaport, and aviation. We are currently working to concession the railway and when we do that the next step is to regulate the sector. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The snail speed at which we are moving is because the private sector has refused to perform its expected responsibility. If there is progress in what we are doing so far, it is more on the side of government. When you examine what is going on, government is gradually coming back to transport. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The private sector must agree with government that the slow pace of development in the transport sector is having its toll on transportation. Government solution to these challenges is through three principles; rehabilitation, restoration and procurement. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We are doing a performance audit in the maritime sector. Give us 1 year we will come back with results, so you can see how the private sector has performed. We wanted to establish single window for port tariff, but people are yet to accept the idea. Government has a lot of potentials for the private sector to come and invest. There is no law stopping you from investing in the sector. Statistics has shown that it is not possible to make money from rail transport unless it is operated by government. Government therefore provides subsidies to support the railway sub-sector anywhere in the world.â&#x20AC;?

Singapore Land Transport Masterplan As part of efforts to improve its Land transport infrastructure, the Singapore Land Transport

Authority (LTA) developed its new 2013 Land Transport Master Plan that sets out its vision for the sector in the next 20 years. This vision is that by 2030, Singapore will have: 8 in 10 households living within a 10 minute walk from a train station; 85% of public transport journeys (less than 20km) completed within 60 minutes; 75% of all journeys in peak hours undertaken on public transport.

Price Water Cooper (PWC) in reviewing the masterplan advised the LTA on certain steps to embark on. The key areas of recommendations are: Private sector capacity and capability The LTA harnesses the skills and experience of the private sector to construct new transport infrastructure and operate and maintain the existing network. This has worked well for the LTA in the past and there is no reason to suggest that it wonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t remain the case in the future. However, the LTA must work with its private sector partners to enable them to be in a position to deliver.

Indeed, the published and credible project pipeline helps the private sector plan and makes the necessary investments to deliver these projects. LTA must stick to these projects and ensure that they remain attractive to existing and new suppliers. There must be recognition that the LTAâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s programme is competing for suppliers who have a wealth of alternative projects to target in South East Asia.

Supplier ďŹ nancial sustainability Linked to this is the need for suppliers to be financially sustainable. If they are not, then performance and standards may fall and transport services could be interrupted. For instance, the implementation of the new Rail financing framework and the findings of the Fare Review will be instrumental in providing an environment where operators can be sustainable.

Manage technological advances A number of the initiatives, from second generation Electronic Road Pricing System (ERP) to Wi-Fi on trains or improved travel information, require technology to enable their delivery. The LTA must work effectively with technology companies to specify the project outcomes whilst not limiting or impinging on their innovation.

Manage conďŹ&#x201A;ict between different road users The Master Plan includes measures to encourage cycling and increased use of bus priority lanes. Vehicle growth will continue which could lead to increased conflict between road users; how the LTA manages this will be key to maintaining public support for its transport policies.

Maintaining service standards The bus market has already been opened up with new routes tendered to private operators and LTA aiming to work towards greater contestability in the bus industry to improve the efficiency of bus operations. The LTA must ensure that this increased competition does not result in inconsistent service standards across operators, with passengers suffering. The introduction of the new Quality Incentive Framework is a positive first step in this regard.

If the LTA can overcome these challenges and continues to listen to citizens and respond to external changes then Singapore can maintain its position as a leading liveable city. The successful implementation of the specified projects will realise significant benefits. For example, a smooth transition to a second generation ERP system will give the LTA a much greater ability to manage traffic and congestion on a real time basis. Dynamic pricing could be implemented to respond to congestion black spots or respond to accidents.

It also enables the LTA to be more flexible and targeted in its overall road use policy.

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BUSINESSWORLD

PERSPECTIVE

The Task Before New DG of DMO Ifeanyi Omokwe writes that the new chief executive of the Debt Management Office, Mrs. Patience Oniha should consolidate on the achievements of her predecessor, Dr. Abraham Nwankwo and even extend the frontiers By the time Dr. Abraham Nwankwo stepped down as the Director General of the Debt Management Office (DMO) last week, the office had become one of the most critical institutions of the federal government driving the economic reform agenda of the President Muhammadu Buhari administration.

Not only has it initiated a new debt management template which has seen a slight increase in external borrowing to keep the domestic market liquid, but it also rolled out some innovative debt instruments to help government finance its rising budget deficits. The DMO under him successfully reviewed the ratio of domestic and external borrowings from 84:16 to 60:40.

It rolled out the first ever Federal Government Savings Bond, which allowed all revenue earners in the country become players in Nigeriaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Capital Market. This has further deepened the market and is on the verge of establishing a new culture of institutional savings among Nigerians. The DMO also rolled out the Diaspora Bond and the first-ever registration of Nigeria to access the Unites States of America (USA) financial market under her stringent Securities and Exchange Commission rules and regulations Nwankwo has been replaced by Mrs. Patience Oniha, and she will now be the Chief Executive of the DMO. Her appointment was announced by Minister of Finance, Kemi Adeosun, after approval by the acting President Yemi Osinbajo. She had since assumed duty.

There is doubt that Nwankwo would have wished for a better successor after 10 years of steering the ship. Oniha is coming on to a familiar terrain; she is already firmly grounded. She retired as a director in the DMO only recently and served as Head of the Efficiency Unit of the Ministry of Finance established in November 2015.

The Unit is charged with reviewing the Expenditure profile and pattern of the Federal

DMO DG, Patience Oniha

Government and working with Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) to introduce more efficient processes and procedures that will ensure that Governmentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s revenues are deployed in an efficient manner that translates to Value for Money and Savings to Government. This initiative will complement on-going efforts by the Government to diversify its revenue sources.

The Efficiency Unit executes its mandate, among others, by reviewing Governmentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s spending pattern using data from the Budget Implementation Report and other sources. It then works closely with the MDAs to review work and procurement processes for specific Expenditure lines and agree

to changes to reduce wastages. Oniha has been the one heading the unit in the ministry of finance that is saddled with promoting a change in the culture of public spending by MDAs to one of prudence and savings.

Thus it is doubtless that the new Director General will hit the ground running. And the reasons are obvious. She was part of the success story of the DMO in the past 10 years. During that period, DMO scored a number of firsts in its operational efforts to manage the countryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s debt profile. These include the establishment of 37 sub-national Debt Management Departments for the 36 states and the FCT, culminating in the construction of the first-ever comprehensive and reliable Domestic Debt Database for all the states and the FCT in 2012; putting in place Primary Dealing-Market Making (PDMM) system for the FGN Bonds, enabling two-way quotes in the trading of FGN Bonds and, therefore, the introduction of a vibrant and liquid Secondary Market for FGN Bonds and listing of FGN Bonds on the Nigerian Stock Exchange.

During this period, Nigeriaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Sovereign Bond was also included in Global Market Indices, the JP Morgan Index and the Barclays Capital Index.

The achievements also include issuing of Nigeriaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Eurobond in the International Capital Market and its listing and trading on the London Stock Exchange; issuing of Nigeriaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Sovereign Retail Bonds, the FGN Savings Bond and its listing on the Nigerian Stock Exchange and on the FMDQ OTC Exchange.

Others are issuing of Nigeriaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Diaspora Bond and the first-ever registration of Nigeria to access the Unites States financial market under the stringent U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission rules and regulations; designing and implementing Nigeriaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s National Debt Management Framework; Introducing the soon to be launched first-ever Nigeriaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Sovereign Non-Interest Bearing Bond:

the Sukuk as well as exporting of Public Debt Management services through capacity-building support to other African countries, including the Sudan, Zimbabwe, South Sudan, Kenya and Uganda.

While Oniha was part of the successes under Nwankwo, she is expected to consolidate on these achievements and even extend the frontiers. The Minister of Budget and National Planning, Udoma Udo Udoma, said the government seeks to borrow about N2.32 trillion to finance the N7.29 trillion 2017 budget, which has now been raised to N7.44 trillion by the National Assembly.

With every change of chief executive, it is expected that style and momentum will change.

For Oniha, there is excitement among stakeholders, including staff of the DMO that she is coming with a lot of energy, intellectual capacity and a team spirit that is usually required for success in debt management.But in addition to what sheâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s bringing to the table, Oniha must ensure public buy-in to the activities of her office and maintain public image of the DMO as an engine room of economic reform and growth.

The Buhari administration needs to be seen as working extremely hard to completely pull the country out of recession and put it on a path of sustainable economic growth. The administration is doing many innovative things and tackling challenges in a holistic manner. But very few of these achievements are in the public glare.

There is economic tension in the land and this is the time that all agencies of government cannot afford to take their eyes away from the public.

It is what is in the public space that can inspire and motivate the people, not what is hidden in government confidential memoranda. Oniha knows this, and this is also why she is the right person for the job. t 0NPLXF XSPUF JO GSPN XXX DIBOOFMLPPT DPN

Standardising Registration for Ease of Doing Business In this article, Mathew Obidah chronicles the transformational achievements in the Corporate Affairs Commission since Mr. Bello Mahmudâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s appointment in 2009 The ease of doing business is one of the major factors that attract investments to a country, in addition to other factors such as capital, market, security, etc. Some years ago, investors looking to do business in Nigeria were easily turned away by the difficult process of registering a business, filing returns and other business registration matters.

Often, foreign investors would come into the country with huge sums of money ready to set up shop. They come in inspired by the potentials that abound in the giant of Africa. However, as they go through the difficult bureaucratic processes involved in registering a business, they start to have second thoughts about investing in Nigeria.

Although previous managers at the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) did their best to reform the agencyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s operations, the current Registrar General, Mr. Bello Mahmud has since his appointment in 2009 made significant efforts to ensure a huge leap in the transformation process from where he took over. He enhanced the systems and processes at the CAC by identifying the key impediments to quick registration of companies and filing of returns. One after the other, he fixed those issues through various solutions that altered the status-quo, reduced the cost of operations, and improved efficiency. These changes led to a very sharp reduction in the time required to register a new company or file annual returns, thereby making CAC a model public agency of reference in terms of efficiency in service delivery.

What exactly did Bello Mahmud do during these years? He introduced direct registration of companies by First Directors/Subscribers. This eliminated previous restrictions which allowed only accredited agents to register companies. This development ensured a democratization of the process of company registration as practiced in many other countries. He also introduced a Public Search Window on the Commissionâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s website

Minister of Industry, Trade & Investment, Dr. Okechukwu Enelamah

which provides names, addresses, registration numbers and dates of registration of all registered companies. With this unique tool, members of the public could log on and search for details of a registered company without any bureaucratic encumbrance.

The Registrar General also spearheaded the decentralization of the Commissionâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s operations to take its services a lot closer to its customers across the country. So, six State Offices in Abuja, Port Harcourt, Kano, Enugu, Lagos and Kaduna can now receive applications, approve and issue new registration certificates to applicants. This means that these States Offices now have a start-to-finish registration process, unlike in the past when the processes had to be completed at the head office.

Latest information from the Commission revealed that it plans to extend the start-to-finish registration process to 20 other states by the 3rd quarter of this year. The Commission has also revised its service timelines for registration services. For example, name reservation is now completed within 12 hours from submission of request. Registration of new companies, business names and incorporated trustees are now completed within 24 hours from the time applications are filed.

The CAC has also stopped receiving physical applications in its six State Offices. Starting May 2017, therefore, customers of the Commission process new registrations by applying online. They now complete the application forms, provide other information, make payments for registration and stamp duty (where applicable) on the CAC Company Registration Portal (CRP). Afterwards, customers upload all necessary documents through the Commissionâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s upload interface after proper execution. In addition, the Commission also extended its operating hours to accommodate more transactions. It now opens from 8.00am to 7.00pm from Mondays to Fridays in its State Offices.

The CAC went further to out-source the hosting of its main database and operating software to a private firm. This has dramatically reduced downtime, with an average of 99% uptime, resulting in enhanced efficient registration services. Also, online registration is now made more convenient, cheaper and faster. This is evident in the fact that within four days of implementing full online registration, the Commission received as much as 1,250 submissions online.

Worthy of note, also, is the current effort to revise the Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA), which has been in operation since 1990 without any substantial amendment, in order to bring it

in line with global best practices in Company Regulation and administration. Some of the key features of the review include the right of one person to form a private Limited Liability Company; provision for Business Rescue and Recovery Proceeding that will give temporary moratorium to financially distressed companies to adopt recovery measures under close regulatory supervision and the suspension of right to creditors to intervene during the period; as well as review of fines and penalties in line with current economic realities.

This review, once completed, will strengthen the regulatory and enforcement capacities of the CAC to effectively discharge its functions and thus promote global best practice and good corporate governance in the management and operation of Companies, Business Names and Incorporated Trustees.

The reforms being carried out by the CACâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s current management, not only place the Commission on the path of becoming a world-class company registry, but also aim at achieving global competitiveness and enhancing the ease of doing business in Nigeria. Thus, from a Commission that used to spend weeks and months to register a company two decades ago, the CAC has evolved into a model agency in Nigeriaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s public sector. Today, from the comfort of his/her room, an individual could go online and register a company in Nigeria within 24 hours. This is not a small achievement.

Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a major revolution that will further enhance the ease of doing business in Nigeria.

As Nigeria strives towards a non-oil reliant economy, it is feats like these that give investors hope that the giant of Africa really means business. t0CJEBI B CVTJOFTT BOBMZTU DPOUSJCVUFE UIJT QJFDF GSPN 3JHBTB +VODUJPO ,BEVOB

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EDUCATION Boosting Knowledge, Confidence of Girls in Bauchi The Bauchi State government Universal Basic Education, with support from United Nation Childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Fund (UNICEF), last week, flagged-off the Girls for Girls Initiative G4G in 100 schools of six local government areas of the state, designed to empower girls with knowledge and confidence needed to enroll and remain in school. Segun Awofadeji reports

They must be empowered to stay in school

The girl-child education is becoming a major part of discourses in academic and political spheres in the country. However, states in the north have the countryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s worst girl-child education and health risks.

Of the 10 million out-of -school children in the country, the girls constitute a major number. The latest scorecard by the United Nations Populations Fund (UNFPA) showed that there is high rate of female illiteracy, which is caused by poverty followed closely by the culture of the Nigerian people and religion.

With this in mind, the United Nation Childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Fund (UNICEF) in partnership with Federal Ministry of Education and the Bauchi State government, recently flagged-off the Girls for Girls Initiative G4G in 100 schools of six local government areas of the state.

The initiative, is aimed at empowering girls with knowledge, skills and confidence needed to enroll and remain in school.

The Chief Field Office, UNICEF, Bauchi, Abdulai Kaikai gave an overview of the project during its official launching, held recently at the Government Girls College, Bauchi, in collaboration with the State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB) and Fahimta Women and Youths Development Initiative (FAWOYDI).

He said it is a component of the Girls Education Project, phase 3 (GEP3), being implemented in the state, Niger, Kastina, Sokoto and Zamfara with funding from the United Kingdom Department of International

Development, DFID. He expressed concern that the average northern girl only stays in school up to the age of 9 and one in 10 girls in northern Nigeria generally completes secondary education, adding, â&#x20AC;?these numbers are staggering and should be considered a threat to national development.â&#x20AC;?

Kaikai said in 2011, UNICEF, with the financial backing of USAID had initiated the Girls Education Project phase 3 (GEP3), aimed at ensuring that at least 1million girls in Bauchi, Niger, Katsina, Sokoto and Zamfara enrolled in schools.

The State Governor, Mohammed Abubakar

The launch of this project is a complete mentoring program that support girls to remain and complete basic education on one hand and promotes better understanding of values of education by parents on the other hand

who flagged-off the project said aside increasing girls enrollment, it will also ensure retention and completion in schools, adding that it was a step in the right direction.

Represented by the State Head of Civil Service, Liman Bello, the governor said his administration has paid all its counterpart funds in all the activities of UNICEF interventions, and expressed its willingness to support the objective of the project.

Wife of the Bauchi State Governor, Hajiya Hadiza Mohammed Abubakar, said the state has the least enrollment rate of girl-child in Junior Secondary School (JSS) in Nigeria, particularly in the North-East region, adding that about 62 million girls are out of school worldwide with majority of them coming from Africa and other developing countries. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Most women miss out of education due to one reason or the another, the launch of G4G in Bauchi state is a right step towards addressing the issue of girl-child education in the state. The launch of this project is a complete mentoring program that support girls to remain and complete basic education on one hand and promotes better understanding of values of education by parents on the other hand. It is a step toward addressing the aforementioned issue of girls child education,â&#x20AC;? she said.

She expressed optimism that the project would empower girls in the state to appreciate themselves and aspire for higher education.

She however called on all stakeholders to support girl-child education and sanction the growing cases of child abuse, molestation and other barriers that deny her the opportunity to reach her potential.

In her remarks, the President of FAWOYDI, Hajiya Maryam Garba, urged parents to allow their children to go to school and complete their secondary school before giving them out in marriage, adding that the Girls for Girls (G4G) initiative, will contribute to output one of the third phase of the girls education project, which is being implemented in five northern states of Nigeria; Bauchi, Katsina, Zamfara, Niger and Kebbi.

In his welcome address, the Executive Chairman, the Bauchi State Universal Basic Education Board, Professor Ibrahim Yaro, emphasised the need for improvement in girl-child education in the country, while calling on parents to allow and support their female children to go to school.

The Educational Field Officer, UNICEF Bauchi, Mr. Emeka Olora, harped on the importance of education, particularly for the girl-child, saying â&#x20AC;&#x153;if you educate a girl-child, it is like you educate the whole the world.

An educated mother will educate her children and the nation at large.â&#x20AC;?

He added that a woman without education is like a waste product to her family and appealed to parents to allow their female children to have access to education before getting married.â&#x20AC;?

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Foundation Empowers Teachers on Core Values of Education Funmi Ogundare Teachers drawn from public schools in Lagos, weekend, converged on the Oriental Hotel, Lekki, for the sixth edition of the Teachers Conference 2017, an initiative of the Charios Foundation.

The conference which seeks to help the teachers improve on themselves and promote the core values of education, among others, saw speaker after speaker emphasising on â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;The Teacher and the comprehension gap perspective, â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Curriculum Developers: A compliment to nation buildingâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;, The teacherâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s health with respect to work-life balanceâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;.

The General Manager, This Present House, Mrs. Tochi Opara who spoke on â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Building Structure and bridging the gap between the school and the homeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; said there must be a cooperation between the school system and the home devoid of competition and power play, adding that parents must not berate the teachers in the presence of their children.

She opined that there must be communication between the government who are policy makers and the teachers that would send the right message to the society and ensure the needed impact.

According to her, â&#x20AC;&#x153;the teach-

ers are moulding lives while the government set the policy, when the teachers mould lives of the students, they donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t remain in the classroom forever, they are spilled back into the society and when the government make a policy that there must be no corporal punishment in schools, there must be a channel to sending the right messages back to the government. Teachers must articulate their views and present it in a way that will make impact.â&#x20AC;?

The Executive Director, Centre for Peacebuilding and Socio-Economic Resources Development(CePSERD), Mr. Ayokunle Fagbemi said

teachers must relate to students based on their level and they must understand child psychology.

He listed the skills teachers could imbibe to relate with students in the classroom to include; being attentive, clarifying issues by asking open ended questions, asking probing questions, validating what they heard, reflecting the feeling as well as summarising.

The Project Manager QPMC Abuja, Mr. Ferguson Uzomah stressed the need for teachers to be encouraged to develop life skills noting, â&#x20AC;&#x153;there is need to move from learning to professional development.

The time for change has come.

There should competition even among the teachers which will be of benefit to them in future.

The Executive Secretary of the Charios Foundation, Mrs. Boumo Sagay told Journalists earlier that the conference is part of the three programmes it structured in an academic session, adding that the foundation is designed primarily to promote the countryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s cultural heritage. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The only way you can do that, is to look at your core values and education is tied to it. We did some research and found that the people who are teaching today are not particularly proud of the profession and most of them

are teaching not because they are passionate about it, but because they just want to make a living.

The teachers need to look at their paradigm, it will help them reconsider a lot of issue and give them global benchmarks so that they will continously improve themselves. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We want a situation where we can get what is obtainable abroad. We want to make it available for every teacher. For the foundation if all that is discussed here is followed up effectively in the school, then we have promoted the Nigerian cultural heritage,â&#x20AC;? she stressed

Firm Inaugurates Online Education CertiďŹ cation VeriďŹ cation Platform Mary Ekah Background Check International (BCI), recently, launched an online e-Commerce verification and etranscript obtaining platform; EduCheck, designed to assist organisations in authenticating claims provided by individuals on educational qualifications, as well as other issues on verification.

The online educational certification verification platform, will link those that need the services with the institutions that possess the data and will go a long way to enhance it.

Speaking at the launch of the platform in Lagos, the Chief Executive Officer of Background Check International, Mr. Kola Olugbodi noted that the platform was created to improve verification process and help eliminate the increasing level of fraud among individuals and organisations, as well as issues and processes related to certification verification.

According to him,â&#x20AC;? Background Check International which pioneered the background check industry in Nigeria, will through the new platform automate the verification process.

Before now, we were carrying out verification physically, but with Educheck the process will now we be automated. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The launch of this new platform is phenomenal because it is going to help solve several

bottlenecks usually encountered in conducting physical verification of credentials and certifications. The platform totally eliminates the length of time required in conducting physical verifications as it can now be completed within a space of just one to 48 hours at most. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Signing up on this platform is a way of conforming to how things are done globally. In developed climes, you donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have to be physically present for you to have credentials verified because technology and the internet have changed the way this things work.â&#x20AC;?

He highlighted the benefits that institutions would get for subscribing to the platform saying that beyond providing them with a source of income, it will eliminate the possibilities of fraud amongst institutionâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s officials as payments are made directly to the institutions account which will further boost their global market space.

The Chief Operating Officer of the organisation, Mr. Seun Olugbodi said such innovation had come at a time when institutions and companies are finding it difficult to ascertain claims made by individuals, adding that with the unique platform, users stand the chance of enjoying timeless value, faster job opportunities as well as convenience in getting desired information.

L-R: The Coordinator of Read Project, Ms Omowunmi Segun, incoming President, Rotary Club of Lagos,; Mr. Soboma Ajumogobia; Proprietress, PineďŹ eld School, Chief Barbara Fadipe; President, Rotary Club of Lagos, Gladys Sasore; Head, Public Private Partnership, Local Government Education Authority, Somolu, Dr. Christiana Dasaolu; Editor, Quramo Publishing Limited, Tahirah Sagaya; with the pupils of the participating schools, during the grand ďŹ nale of Read Project, held in Lagosâ&#x20AC;Śrecently etop ukutt

WAEC Pledges Commitment to Sharing of Knowledge, Adoption of ICT Funmi Ogundare and Peace Obi The Head of National Office (HNO), West Africa Examinations Council (WAEC), Mr. Olu Isaac Adenipekun, has expressed the councilâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s readiness to expose its staff to Information Communication Technology(ICT) training to enable them perform optimally in discharging their duties.

Adenipekun who made this known, recently, during a luncheon, organised in honour of the executives and members of the Education Writersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Association of Nigeria (EWAN), in Lagos, said already the council

has started the process, and expressed its determination to be a change agent in the sector.

According to him, â&#x20AC;&#x153; we are bringing on board ICT in teaching, learning and research.

The council has decided that it will be stepping out to take the lead in knowledge as far as ICT is concerned.â&#x20AC;?

For the country to move forward, he said education must be given its pride of place, adding that with ICT, it cannot be relegated to the background.

The HNO said as a body that is concerned with assessment that is based on curriculum, it may not be able to assess

candidates without taking into consideration how they were taught, noting that it is the reason why the council has decided that sharing knowledge with teachers in the classroom and other stakeholders as well as drawing the attention of everybody concerned to the place of ICT in the deliverables of education. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We are going to start this programme with ourselves. All staff of council no matter their work schedule and position, will be made to go through ICT trainings that are relevant in the deliverables in the education sector. And once we able to take the lead with ourselves, we will

be equipped and be sure to show the way to others.

He appealed to all stakeholders to partner with the council saying as a body concerned with assessment based on curriculum, the council has decided that sharing knowledge with teachers in the classroom and drawing their attention to ICT is the only way to progress as a nation. The Chairman of the association, Mr. Tubosun Ogundare appealed to the council to organise training workshops for its members, noting that the move will go a long way in adding value to their reportage.

people to support, you can achieve anything. My guiding principle came from one of our ex-students, Serena Omo-Lamai who got admission offers from 13 foreign universities for her outstanding results. She was my inspiration. I wanted to be better than she was. God has always been there for me.

But with Omo-Lamai, I have a good reason to be who I am today. She actually pushed to be where she is today.â&#x20AC;?

Fedora urged the students to

imbibe the spirit of hardwork and focus on their studies, noting that as students they should be able to set their priorities right.

Some of the prizes won by Fedora were; Late Mr. Ola Vincent Prize for Best Graduating Student in Government, Hon. Justice Olusho Hunponu-Wusu Prize for Best Graduating Student in Literature-in-English, Rev. Dr. Yinka Omololu Prize for Best Graduating Student in Christian Religious Knowledge, among others

Dowen College Principal Charges Student on Responsibility Ugo Aliogo The Principal of Dowen College Lagos (DCL), Mrs. Olawumi Togonu-Bickersteth has appealed to students to focus on building a solid future for themselves and take responsibility in ensuring that the world becomes a better place with integrity and applications of the right work ethics.

Togonu-Bickersteth who made this known, while speaking to the collegeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 2017 graduating students during

its Valecdictory Service and Graduation Ceremony, held recently, described excellence as an attitude rather than a skill; adding that no man can ever reach to excellence in any field without experiencing the slow and painful process of study and preparation. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Until now your education has been meticulously and age appropriately planned in discrete packages, in predictable outcomes and measures of assessment. From now on

your learning will become more difficult to quantify. Lessons will come sometimes disguised as opinions and at times from unexpected quarters. Set your goals and strive to develop your skills and potentials. You must strive to only be the best in the world, but be the best for the world,â&#x20AC;? she said In her valedictory remarks, the Best Graduating Student, Miss Chimaobi Fedora, said the journey to emerging as the best in her class was challenging

and that she was able to pull through with the help of God, her parents and teachers.

She added that her winning trophies in different award category was a consolation of the efforts she invested in her studies, noting, â&#x20AC;&#x153;this is the starting point for me and the struggle for success in life never gets easier, rather it requires commitment and determination. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Life will throw many challenges at you. But when you have God and so many

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SON Inaugurates Standard Clubs in Osun Schools The Standards Organisation of Nigeria( SON), recently inaugurated standards clubs in primary and secondary schools in Osun state, in an effort aimed at ensuring that standards and quality control issues becomes household names and affair across the country.

Speaking at the inauguration ceremony, the Governor Aregbesola commended the efforts of SON in standards elaborations and enforcement, noting that the agency has created appropriate and adequate public awareness on issues of standards and quality.

Aregbesola who was represented by the State Commissioner for Education, Mr Wasiu Omotunde-Young, said SON has exposed the average Nigerian on the benefits of adopting standards in everyday life and thanked the organisation for the catch-them-young initiative which would help to safeguard lives and property.

According to him, â&#x20AC;&#x153;the event marked another milestone in the history of Osun state where students would be exposed to standards in all sense of the word.

Programmes like this could be a major turning point especially as it related to career and awareness.

He said quality assurance as it is being pursued by SON was also another initiative in spelling out excellence, justice, equity as well as standards which ensures that whatever product bought is value for money spent, adding that the inauguration of the clubs would inculcate quality assurance in the minds of the youths at tender ages. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We want to commend SON and its

management for making the event a reality despite all challenges. SON is an organisation under the jurisdiction of the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment with statutory functions to ensure compliance with standards,â&#x20AC;? he said Aregbesola advised the students to channel their energies rightly and be conscious of their role in safeguarding their own lives and those of others, while alluding to the great potentials of the youths which he said, needed to be channeled appropriately, in their own interest and the larger society.

Earlier in his remarks, the DirectorGeneral of the organisation, Mr Osita Aboloma, advised Nigerian youths to shun greed and other unhealthy practices as the authentic leaders of tomorrow.

He urged them to identify with the noble crusade of sensitising Nigerians against the patronage of substandard products in view of the dangers to lives and property as well as the negative implications for the economy.

Aboloma said the message of standardisation is one that every Nigerian, irrespective of age should embrace given its obvious advantages in providing jobs, value for money, promoting competitiveness and increased capacity utilisation, among other benefits.

He advised the students to imbibe the values of honesty and patriotism, and shun greed in their endeavours as the leaders of tomorrow.

The SON boss who was represented by a Director in the organisation, Mr. Oluremi

Ayeni, said the standards club were aimed at helping to inculcating quality culture in future leaders of the country. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Standards club in primary and secondary schools would create a great army that would propagate the gospel of standardisation. Propagating standards ideals and principles in schools will help to create awareness about zero tolerance to substandard products in no small way,â&#x20AC;? he said.

The Director of Operations, Mr. Felix Nyado said when the principles of standardisation are applied and imprinted on the minds of the young ones, they would stick for life, adding that living according to acceptable societal norms and principles which it promotes, would create a healthier environment and economy.

He noted that developed and industrialised nations such as the Asian Tigers create awareness and consciousness of quality early in their young ones which further help to consolidate their gains on industrialization.

Nyado affirmed that standards clubs in schools was the best way to catch them young and raise advocates and vanguards of standards for the future. â&#x20AC;&#x153;When this is achieved, the foundation for the much needed socio-economic change required to secure the future of Nigeria would have been laid by SON.â&#x20AC;?

The Commissioner, Ministry of Woman and Children Affairs, Alhaja Lateefat Giwa, lauded SON and all relevant stakeholders for this initiative in entrenching in children and youths, the culture of quality and standards in all commercial transactions.

Arenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t Teenagers Children Afterall?

The teenage period of life is fraught with various frustrations and developmental realities for our children, particularly Secondary School-age children. One of these challenges is a fast developing sexual growth and awareness that they often struggle to handle properly. Isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t it funny how when you look back into your own teens, you didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t want to be considered a child anymore?

Perhaps with a mind to face this fact head-on, in the UK, girls of 12 and 13 years old are oďŹ&#x20AC;ered the HPV vaccine, as part of her national health serviceâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s childhood vaccination programme. The HPV vaccine protects against cervical cancer.

Our vulnerable young teenage girls in Nigeria, where we have no such far-reaching national health provision, are constantly sexually abused by strangers and pervert relations. Much of the violations areâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; buried under the carpetâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; for family honourâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s sake. Our young girls are aborting unwanted pregnancies sporadically and living with various forms of inadequately treated infections that have far-reaching eďŹ&#x20AC;ects.

With our deep-set religious and cultural beliefs, we might not even want to hear of the HPV vaccine for our girl! Nonetheless, it is important for you as a teacher or parent to understand the basics of STIs. Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) are also known as SEXUALLY TRANSMITTED DISEASES or VENEREAL DISEASES. These are diseases that can be passed from one person to another during unprotected sexual activities or by genital contact.

The infection can be passed on during oral sex, anal sex or vaginal sex. Common examples of sexually transmitted infections are: ¡ Chlamydia ¡ Hepatitis B ¡ Genital Warts and HPVs (Human Papilloma viruses) ¡ Hepatitis A ¡ Genital Herpes ¡ Zika Virus ¡ Gonorrhea ¡ Syphilis ¡ HIV ¡ Trichomoniasis or â&#x20AC;&#x153;Trichâ&#x20AC;? ¡ Chancroid ¡ Pubic Lice ¡ Scabies ¡ Hepatitis C which may be contractible from an infected personâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s genital sores or cuts or menstruation. But please note that hepatitis C is more commonly spread through contact with an infected personâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s blood.

Someone can be infected with a sexually transmitted disease for reasons including the following: ¡ During foreplay, the penis has touched your vagina, anus or mouth before the condom was put on. ¡ After sex, the penis touches the partnerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s genitals again. ¡ An expired condom has been used, making it less eďŹ&#x20AC;ective.

Always check the expiry date on the condom packet. ¡ More than one condom has been worn at the same time Omoru writes from the UK

NGO Introduces Programme to Prevent Sexual Abuse in Children Mary Ekah and Rebecca Ejifoma Back row: L-R: Olu of Olorunsogo Ife and representative of Ooni of Ife, HRM Oba Kayode Omisore; Director, Management System Certification SON, Mrs. Oluremi Ayeni; Commissioner for Education Science andTechnology, Honorable Kolawole OmotundeYoung, and Director of Operation, SON, Mr. Felix Nyado with pupils during inauguration of Standard Club in Osogbo, Osun stateâ&#x20AC;Śrecently

Foundation Builds School for Orphans and Less Priviledged Kuni Tyessi in Abuja The Rock of Ages Empowerment Foundation (RAEF), a non governmental foundation, is set to establish a school that will cater for the educational needs of widows, orphans and less priviledged in the society.

The founder and Chief Executive Officer of the foundation, Evangelist Newman Ezeigbo who disclosed this, recently, at the end of a week-long programme to commemorate the 2017 International Widowsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Day, said aside transforming the lives of over 6000 widows and their children, through skills acquisition trainings,

financial empowerment, monthly medical check-up, it will also pay the school fees of their children.

According to him, â&#x20AC;&#x153;we are flagging -off a school for orphans and widows today.

We have observed that most time, we continue to spend money on the education of orphans and the less privilege, rather than continue with this, we have decided to build a school where the widows and their children can be taught free of charge.

Already, we have procured two hectares of land at Pyakasa, a suburb of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), to build a primary and secondary section and with time, we hope to build a university.

â&#x20AC;&#x153;The school will have sound and quality education and it will be free for widows and orphans. We are calling on international donors and good-spirited Nigerians and corporate organisations to key into this project.â&#x20AC;?

Ezeigbo who pegged the cost of the project at one billion naira said, â&#x20AC;&#x153;we are being moved by the plight of the vulnerable and are committed to pulling resources together towards giving a helping hand.

We call on men and women of goodwill to join us in challenging the ugly trend of poverty, diseases, marginalisation, domestic abuses, illiteracy and neglect and give succor to the less privilege.â&#x20AC;?

Women at Risk International Foundation (WARIF), a nongovernmental organisation poised to tackle the high incidence of sexual assault and human trafficking amongst young girls and women, recently launched its Educational School Programme (WESP) in Lagos, to reduce the rate of sexual abuse of children.

The first phase of the initiative was designed to establish the prevalence of sexual assault and rape cases among secondary school children in the state.

Speaking at the launch of the programme held at its centre in Yaba, the Founder, Dr. Kemi DaSilva-Ibru said with the approval of the Lagos state Ministry of Education in the first quarter of 2017, the organisation

embarked on a baseline survey of the prevalence of cases of sexual abuse violence among adolescent school children in various communities and identified the existing patterns of behaviour of adolescent between ages of 13 and 16.

According to her, â&#x20AC;&#x153;over 1000 questionnaires were distributed anonymously to school children between the ages of 13 -16 in 10 selected government secondary schools. The findings obtained were used to design and implement an intervention strategy, which culminated in the Phase II of WESP Initiative. This consist of a specifically designed curriculum introduced to the children, parents and teachers, to educate, create awareness and reduce the incidence of gender based violence in these communities.â&#x20AC;?

35

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

50 UNIOSUN Medical Students Graduate in Ukraine Yinka Kolawole in Osogbo Fifty of the 85 students of Osun State University sent to Ukraine to complete their medical studies by the Governor Rauf Aregbesolaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s administration have graduated from the V.N. Karazin Kharkiv National University, Kharkov, Ukraine and become medical doctors.

Over 500 medical students, among which are the 50 , were inducted as qualified medical doctor in a ceremony that was chaired by the VicePresident for Research and Education of the University, Prof Mykola O. Azarenkov,

at the weekend.

The convocation of the students came after their successful outing in the 2017 KROK 2 National exams which is the final qualifying medical exams in Ukraine.

The students were sent to Ukraine by Aregbesolaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s administration to complete their medical studies in Ukraine in 2013 as a result of non-availability of a teaching hospital for their clinical studies. The remaining 32 sponsored medical students will graduate next year.

One of the students, Miss Latifat Abiola Oyeleye was declared the overall best

medical student of the Karazin Kharkiv National University as well as the 2017 overall best students in the entire Ukraine with an outstanding score of 95.6 percent in KROK 2 exams.

The Deputy Governor of Osun State, Otunba Grace Titi-Laoye Tomori who represented Aregbesola at the convocation ceremony, said it was a dream come true for the Osun state government, noting that in spite of paucity of funds, the administration did not abandon nor recalled the students back home like other states .

Leader of the UNIOSUN

Medical students in V.N. Karazin Kharkiv university, Doctor S.O Owoeye thanked the governor for his unflinching support in helping them realise their dreams of becoming medical doctors, not minding the challenges.

The event was graced by the Chairman, Osun Assemby House Committee of Education, Hon Bamisayemi Folorunso, the Osun Commissioner for Innovation, Science and Technology, Mr. Oluremi Omowaiye, the Vice Chancellor of UNIOSUN, Prof Labo Popoola, the Rector of Osun State Polytechnic, Iree, Dr. Jacob Agboola

L-R: The Proprietress of Rightville School, Lagos, Mrs. Chinwe Nwakwe; a PTF Executive, Mrs. Joy Ozims; a staff of the school, Miss Grace Opare receiving long service award, Other guests, Mrs. Bolanle Anthony-Kalu and Mr. Sanni Olugbenga, during the 20th anniversary celebration of the schoolâ&#x20AC;Śrecently.

Regent Schools Partner Nottingham Varsity to Boost Teachersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Capacity The management of Regent Schools, Abuja, has sponsored 22 of its teachers for the University of Nottinghamâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Post Graduate Certificate in Education (International) PGCEi, as part of effort to boost their capacity at primary and secondary levels.

After a successful completion of the programme, the teachers graduated in a colourful ceremony, in Abuja, attended by the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Khadija Bukar Ibrahim, Ambassador of Japan, Mr. Sadanobu Ku Saoke, the Course Facilitator, Mr. Akif Naqvi, the Proprietress of the school, Mrs. Amsa AbdulRazaq, Regional Coordinator of the Nottingham University, Dr. Jenny Elliot, among others.

In her address, the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs said the Post Graduate certificate from the university, will enhance the capacity of the teachers to teach the students and deliver classroom teaching and instructions in a way that will make them complete and all rounded.

She expressed delight about the diversity of the students and staff of the school which, she said, are from over 20 countries of the world adding that Regent schools offer a very conducive environment for them to learn multi-culturally.

â&#x20AC;&#x153;I want to praise the collaboration between Regent Schools and the University of Nottingham. This is a trailblazing effort in the educational landscape of our country. I am told that the Regent represent no less than 20 nations.

As such, i am confident that the net will indeed be cast far and wide, and the rewards will be immeasurableâ&#x20AC;?, she saidâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;.

The Regional Coordinator of the university, Dr. Jenny Elliot spoke on the international significance of the PGCEi for the teachers, noting that the 22 teachers have been empowered by their employers at Regent schools to be among the best professional teachers in the world.

She however appealed to them to make the best use of the Post Graduate certificate.

The Proprietress of the School, Mrs. Amsa AbdulRazaq who described the graduates as â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;great teachersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;, expressed her satisfaction with the quality of training they got during their studies. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I am proud to say that our teaching staff have had the opportunity to attend not only local but international conferences and training, which means travelling overseas to countries like

South Africa, Kenya and United Kingdom. We have set them on immersions- this is where they spend time in various schools in the UK to get a first-hand experience of what it feels like to be in actual UK independent school. We have now enabled and enhanced our teachers even more by facilitating their participation in this international post graduate certificate in education from the University of Nottingham.â&#x20AC;?

The Course Facilitator, Mr. Akif Naqvi shared his experience of teaching across many countries of the world saying that he had always been impressed with the dedication and professionalism of the staff of the school.

Responding on behalf of the graduates, Ms. Funmilola Adesanya commended the management and the Board of the school for investing in capacity development at a time in Nigeria where many organisations across all sectors of the economy are laying-off staff and cutting on training.

Principal of the Regent Secondary School, Dr. George Hickman said he was proud of the success of the teachers and other staff of the school in all the programmes and trainings they have participated in.

RUNNING THE CLASSROOM CHIOMA ERUOTOR

Understanding Montessori: Is it Right for My Child

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Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x2019;Ă?Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x153; Ă&#x2022;Ă&#x2DC;Ă&#x2122;ĂĄĂ&#x2013;Ă?Ă&#x17D;Ă&#x2018;Ă? ĂĄĂ&#x201C;Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x2019; Ă&#x2019;Ă?Ă&#x153; ĂŁĂ&#x2122;Ă&#x;Ă&#x2DC;Ă&#x2018;Ă?Ă&#x153; Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x2DC;Ă?Ă?Ë&#x203A;

Ë&#x203A;

Eruotor writes from Lagos

Students Urged to Uphold Good Character Ugo Aliogo Students have been urged to uphold good characters and be good ambassadors of the school and their families, while making the best use of opportunities in every situation.

The Acting Principal of Day Waterman College, Ogun state, Dr. Tunji Abimbola, who gave this advise, recently, during the valedictory service of the class of 2017 of the school, said they must eschew poor attitude, aim extremely high without

compromising their standards.

He advised them to focus solely on their future, adding that at this stage whatever they focus all their energy and time on, would have an immediately impact on them.

Abimbola disclosed that over 40 of the students would be attending schools and colleges in the United Kingdom, while 14 would be moving to institutions in Canada and a minimum of seven would be going to the United States.

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

36

CITYSTRINGS Checkmating Bayelsaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Hoodlums

Ă?Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x2DC;Ă&#x2018; Ă?Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x;Ă&#x153;Ă?Ă? Ă&#x17D;Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x153;Ë? Ă&#x2019;Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x153;Ă&#x2013;Ă?Ă? Ă&#x201D;Ă&#x;Ă&#x2DC;ĂĄĂ&#x2039; Ă&#x2014;Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x2013; Ă?Ă&#x2019;Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x153;Ă&#x2013;Ă?Ă?Ë&#x203A;Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x201D;Ă&#x;Ă&#x2DC;ĂĄĂ&#x2039;ĚśĂ&#x17E;Ă&#x2019;Ă&#x201C;Ă?Ă&#x17D;Ă&#x2039;ĂŁĂ&#x2013;Ă&#x201C;Ă Ă?Ë&#x203A;Ă?Ă&#x2122;Ă&#x2014;

Emmanuel Addeh writes that the recent arrest of suspected criminals and recovery of ammunition by the Bayelsa State Police Command appears to be raising confidence in the security agencies in the state

P

erceived or real, Nigeria currently appears to be a huge security operations site. From the insurgency up North to the danger posed by the country's ubiquitous herdsmen; from the menace called kidnapping to armed robbery, Africaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s most populous nation is not having it easy at the moment.

So also are the federating states which have had to grapple with several security challenges, worsened by the present economic crisis and its attendant consequences, including job losses, which again put pressure on security agencies.

In the last couple of weeks, some reports coming out of Bayelsa, though security agencies would not readily admit it, have indicated a rise in both violent and petty crimes in the state.

From the killing of a journalist, Famous Giobaro in his house on INEC Road in Yenagoa to the murder of a former Peoples Democratic Party's Chairman, Mr. Pamo Hobobo to the fatal shooting of a policeman in front of Sagbama Police Station, also in Yenagoa, a few weeks ago, the tales of woe seemed to have continued.

And as is usual with rises in crime rates in Nigeria, the police, most times hobbled by ill-equipment, lack of motivation, inadequate training and systemic dysfunction have continued to take the flaks from the general public.

But penultimate Thursday the men in black in Bayelsa sang a song of triumph, even if too early, with what appeared to be a harvest of at least two dozen criminals who the police leadership in the state said had been terrorising residents.

Paraded were 24 suspected kidnappers, armed robbers and cultists who the security agents said had made the state capital uncomfortable for residents in the last two months.

Also recovered from the suspects were several arms and ammunition ranging from locally made pistols, live cartridges, battle axes, stolen phones and computers as well as a carjacked Toyota Camry vehicle.

Commissioner of Police in the state, Mr. Asuquo Amba, told newsmen that his command had reviewed its crime fighting strategy in the last couple of weeks, leading to the several successes that were achieved.

Part of the strategy, Amba said, was the intensification of patrols and surveillance,

In the last couple of weeks, some reports coming out of Bayelsa, though security agencies would not readily admit it, have indicated a rise in both violent and petty crimes in the state.

From the killing of a journalist, Famous Giobaro in his house on INEC Road inYenagoa to the murder of a former Peoples Democratic Party's Chairman, Mr. Pamo Hobobo to the fatal shooting of a policeman in front of Sagbama Police Station, also inYenagoa, a few weeks ago, the tales of woe seemed to have continued

The suspects arrested by the Police

Amba (middle) and his men displaying the stolen Camry during the parade of criminals at the Police Headquarters in Yenagoa

visibility policing and the encouragement of active participation of neighbourhood vigilante groups.

Among those arrested and paraded by the Police Commissioner were Asuka Nyrzedukpe, 25 and David Ovuru, 18 who allegedly kidnapped one Mrs. Miekumo Jonah in Akenpai, and one Ishmael Kelepre from Foropa community in Southern Ijaw, who masterminded the abduction of Mrs. Ikoli Munemune around Assemblies of God Road, Yenagoa.

Others currently in the police net are Opukeme Yague, 23; Kiese Moses; 20 who were said to have gone through the capital city dispossessing residents of their valuables.

Amba added that cases of cultists attacks in the state had been brought under control with the arrest of several of their members belonging mainly to the Greenlanders during a clash in Amassoma, Southern Ijaw.

Those apprehended in connection with cult activities during a raid in Okaki, included Marshal Enegesi, Ali Amatari, Funmi Shehu and Destiny Jerry. A single barrel, four round

of cartridges and battle axes were recovered from them.

The police boss added that another cult group identified as Icelanders clashed at a burial ceremony in Foroama-Amassoma, leading to the arrest of Godwin Thompson, Michael Ongolo, Johnson Jonah, Royal Femo and Asari Ebikewonum, while several ammunition were recovered.

He said, One Ishmael Kelepre from Foropa community in Southern Ijaw Local Government Area of the state but residing at School Road Okutukutu in Yenagoa masterminded the kidnap of one Mrs. Ikiou Nathaniel Munemune of Assemblies of God Church Road, Agudama Epie,Yenagoa.

"The suspect was arrested on the 14 May 2017 at about 10a.m. at his residence. He confessed to the crime and stated that his partners are one Seco, surname unknown of Lobia community, Prince, surname unknown and one Wisdom Tuakumo, both of Ukubie Community.â&#x20AC;?

He listed others as Gbadakumo Yellow and Nana Fyneboy both of Azuzuama community,

all in Southern Ijaw. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Efforts are on to intensify the arrest of the fleeing suspects," he vowed.

Other members of the Greenlanders arrested while reportedly going for an operation were Raphael Geku, Keme Collins, and Daniel Okpotolomo, who the police said have confessed to the crime.

Among the suspects was one Emmanuel Tabofa, 25, a professional footballer with Bayelsa United, who was apprehended at Swali during a robbery operation while Abass Mohammed from Kogi and Akpan Abraham were also arrested in Yenagoa. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Tabofa, who is a self confessed cultist and member of the notorious cult group known as Greenlanders was arrested Thursday morning while trying to attack traders at Swali Market.

"On sighting policemen, the suspects took to their heels and they were chased by policemen.

"One of the suspects was arrested with a locally made pistol and live cartridges. The other suspect has escaped and police have been on a manhunt for the fleeing suspect," Amba said.

The Police Commissioner said the state

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

37

CITYSTRINGS

Bayelsa State governor, Chief Seriake Dickson...struggling to contain the rise in violent crimes in the state

Arms and other items recovered from the criminals

Penultimate Thursday the men in black in Bayelsa sang a song of triumph, even if too early, with what appeared to be a harvest of at least two dozen criminals who the police leadership in the state said had been terrorising residents. Paraded were 24 suspected kidnappers, armed robbers and cultists who the security agents said had made the state capital uncomfortable for residents in the last two months Other suspects arrested by the Police

Command had been mandated by the Inspector General of Police to make the state unattractive for kidnapping.

One Jeffery Nasamu, who the police said specialises in trailing and robbing unsuspecting bank customers in the capital city was also apprehended by the police.

The CP said contrary to rumours, Bayelsa was not under siege by the criminals, noting that his men would continue to ensure that crime rate in the state remain one of the lowest in the country.

"The state is not under siege as claimed by some tabloids. Bayelsa is one of the safest states in the country. There is no security gap. The command has intensified its effort in fighting crime.

"To this end, violent crimes have been reduced to the barest minimum and we believe through community participation, our proactive approach to policing will make Bayelsa the safest in the country,â&#x20AC;? he assured.

On crime taking place within the waterways, Amba noted that the refurbishment of the gunboats belonging to the command will soon commence. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The IG has asked us to submit an audit of what we require to ensure that the creeks and riversides are well manned.

The suspects being conveyed by the Police

â&#x20AC;&#x153;Our gunboats will soon be repaired and the presence of the maritime police, our own marine police is also working. We are restoring the lost

glory of that unit. Bayelsa is safe,â&#x20AC;? he added.

On the overcrowded cells in Bayelsa, he assured that he was working with the judicial

system and the legal section of the police to ensure speedy and efficient prosecution of suspected criminals.

39

˾ WEDNESDAY, JULY 5, 2017

Nigeria’s top 50 stocks based on market fundamentals

4-Jul-17

3-Jul-17

% Change

Capitalisation

EPS

P/E

P/S

Div. Yld

Price/ Book Value

Table 1 Market Statistics Mkt Indicators

Open 3-Jul-17

Close 4-Jul-17

NSE All Share Index NSE Market Cap (N'Trillion)

32,769.80 11.33

32,410.20 11.17

-1.10% -1.43%

137.59 10.71

136.05 10.59

-1.12% -1.12%

Close 4-Jul-17

Change %

01 Dangote Cement Plc

202.00

202.00

0.00%

3,442,182,495,810.00

10.95

18.72

5.68

3.90%

4.38

02 Nigerian Breweries Plc

158.05

161.05

-1.86%

1,253,194,395,348.40

3.58

44.29

4.01

2.27%

7.59

03 Guaranty Trust Bank Plc

34.00

34.44

-1.28%

1,000,660,093,616.00

4.49

7.94

2.53

4.96%

2.08

901.00

901.00

0.00%

714,183,283,052.00

10.00

91.02

3.97

3.19%

23.36

Thisday BGL 50 Index Thisday BGL 50 Market Cap (N'Trillion)

05 Zenith Bank Plc

20.20

20.51

-1.51%

634,209,174,477.20

4.13

5.06

1.29

8.61%

0.93

Table 3 Top 5 Gainers

06 Stanbic IBTC Holdings Plc

32.01

33.00

-3.00%

320,100,000,000.00

2.85

11.37

2.07

0.31%

2.30

Stock

07 United Bank for Africa Plc

8.20

8.70

-5.75%

297,492,115,840.40

1.99

4.75

0.90

6.34%

0.77

67.93

67.93

0.00%

269,714,505,666.85

0.03

2,496.60

4.06

1.78%

6.93

9.12

9.33

-2.25%

263,823,101,274.72

13.18

0.72

0.72

5.76%

0.61

460.05

465.00

-1.06%

254,550,409,495.65 -82.02

-5.67

4.06

3.42%

0.68

11 Ecobank Transnational Incorporated

12.88

13.55

-4.94%

236,342,219,649.20

0.68

19.68

0.42

4.66%

0.39

12 Lafarge Africa Plc

50.00

50.00

0.00%

227,745,090,500.00

3.71

13.48

1.04

6.00%

0.91

13 FBN Holdings Plc

5.91

6.12

-3.43%

212,141,180,400.72

0.21

29.88

0.42

2.42%

0.36

36.87

36.87

0.00%

139,490,132,737.50

0.81

50.31

2.21

0.12%

13.22

15 Dangote Sugar Refinery Plc

8.79

8.84

-0.57%

105,480,000,000.00

1.20

7.50

0.64

5.56%

1.63

16 International Breweries Plc

30.57

30.57

0.00%

100,705,200,489.60

0.02

1,356.74

3.78

0.82%

9.18

17 Guinness Nig Plc

64.54

67.93

-4.99%

97,190,023,653.52

-3.06

-23.38

1.04

4.48%

2.73

18 Total Nigeria Plc

266.00

266.00

0.00%

90,312,808,642.00

43.58

6.24

0.32

5.15%

3.92

19 Mobil Oil Nig Plc

237.53

237.53

0.00%

85,652,192,582.86

22.61

11.06

0.96

2.88%

4.20

7.11

7.23

-1.66%

85,566,140,336.34

0.29

25.94

0.20

9.96%

0.47

21 Flour Mills Nig. Plc

25.63

27.00

-5.07%

67,259,199,102.81

-1.19

-23.46

0.17

7.15%

0.74

22 Forte Oil Plc.

49.40

50.07

-1.34%

64,342,566,488.20

2.22

23.75

0.46

6.55%

1.58

23 Okomu Oil Palm Plc

58.00

58.49

-0.84%

55,326,780,000.00

5.15

11.36

3.88

0.17%

3.28

1.38

1.40

-1.43%

53,434,976,446.50

-0.03

-50.16

0.95

0.00%

0.65

25 7-Up Bottling Comp. Plc

78.21

78.21

0.00%

50,100,572,290.23

-0.05 -1,992.33

0.63

2.42%

2.63

26 Julius Berger Nig. Plc

33.83

35.61

-5.00%

44,655,600,000.00

-2.89

-13.64

0.37

3.80%

0.74

1.29

1.30

-0.77%

37,361,735,542.68

0.39

3.41

0.25

12.12%

0.21

17.36

17.40

-0.23%

33,346,205,758.32

3.37

5.34

0.46

5.56%

0.46

29 Sterling Bank Plc

1.06

1.06

0.00%

30,517,843,213.56

0.18

5.91

0.27

8.49%

0.36

30 Diamond Bank Plc

1.21

1.27

-4.72%

28,024,070,651.28

-0.29

-4.43

0.14

0.00%

0.13

31 Cadbury Nigeria Plc

13.30

13.30

0.00%

24,980,087,132.00

-0.16

-86.50

0.86

9.52%

2.32

9.30

9.30

0.00%

24,639,776,915.40

0.91

10.19

1.35

5.92%

3.06

24.35

24.35

0.00%

24,350,000,000.00

5.69

4.04

1.60

0.44%

0.62

1.21

1.27

-4.72%

23,961,280,045.01

0.72

1.77

0.14

7.81%

0.14

20.00

20.45

-2.20%

23,917,529,760.00

3.51

5.82

1.70

1.47%

1.43

2.24

2.24

0.00%

23,520,000,000.00

0.25

8.53

1.08

2.34%

1.11

33.00

33.00

0.00%

23,100,000,000.00

2.29

13.97

3.29

3.59%

9.81

38 Wema Bank Plc

0.54

0.55

-1.82%

20,830,211,683.74

0.07

8.19

0.39

0.00%

0.44

39 Custodian And Allied Insurance Plc

3.49

3.49

0.00%

20,527,706,040.55

0.91

4.04

0.56

3.83%

0.72

40 Honeywell Flour Mill Plc

2.12

1.93

9.84%

16,812,019,034.96

-0.40

-4.35

0.29

9.09%

0.42

41 Continental Reinsurance Plc

1.19

1.19

0.00%

12,343,565,731.28

0.42

2.95

0.58

9.68%

0.69

42 Cement Co. Of North.Nig. Plc

9.70

9.70

0.00%

12,189,774,330.20

0.22

46.64

1.15

0.98%

1.19

43 Skye Bank Plc

0.66

0.63

4.76%

9,160,998,930.60

-2.93

-0.21

0.05

49.18%

0.08

44 Unity Bank Plc

0.61

0.61

0.00%

7,130,496,144.62

0.19

3.91

0.10

0.00%

0.10

45 Wapic Insurance Plc

0.50

0.50

0.00%

6,691,369,126.00

0.18

2.89

0.89

5.77%

0.42

46 Resort Savings & Loans Plc

0.50

0.50

0.00%

5,664,866,202.00

0.03

17.71

3.72

0.00%

1.94

47 UACN Property Development Co. Limited

2.80

2.70

3.70%

4,812,499,986.00

-0.90

-3.10

0.76

25.00%

0.14

48 Nigerian Aviation Handling Company Plc

2.90

3.05

-4.92%

4,710,234,375.00

0.36

8.59

0.63

6.51%

0.77

49 AIICO Insurance Plc

0.62

0.62

0.00%

4,296,726,777.60

1.48

0.41

0.15

8.33%

0.48

50 Fidson Healthcare Plc

2.71

2.78

-2.52%

4,065,000,000.00

0.21

12.55

0.52

1.89%

0.60

04 Nestle Nigeria Plc

08 Presco Plc 09 Access Bank Plc 10 Seplat Petroleum Dev. Co. Ltd

14 Unilever Nigeria Plc

20 Oando Plc

24 Transnational Corporation Of Nigeria Plc

27 Fidelity Bank Plc 28 U A C N Plc

32 National Salt Co. Nig. Plc 33 PZ Cussons Nigeria Plc 34 FCMB Group Plc 35 Glaxo Smithkline Consumer Nig. Plc 36 Mansard Insurance Plc 37 Cap Plc

TOTAL

10,592,808,255,281.50

TOTAL MARKET CAP

11,169,708,919,816.30

% OF MARKET CAP Annotation - MA* = Simple Moving Average

94.84%

Open 3-Jul-17

Honeywell Flour Mill Plc Skye Bank Plc UACN Property Development Co. Limited

1.93 0.63 2.70

Change %

2.12 0.66 2.80

9.84% 4.76% 3.70%

Table 4 Top 5 Losers Stock

Open 3-Jul-17

United Bank for Africa Plc Flour Mills Nig. Plc Julius Berger Nig. Plc Guinness Nig Plc Ecobank Transnational Incorporated

8.70 27.00 35.61 67.93 13.55

Close 4-Jul-17

Change %

8.20 25.63 33.83 64.54 12.88

-5.75% -5.07% -5.00% -4.99% -4.94%

Market records further losses as investors’ risk appetite wanes Market pulse on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) today – Tuesday, July 4th, 2017 again ended on a negative note as the stock market closed red as investors’ risk appetite wanes. This was further highlighted by negative performance from the NSE Subsectors: Banking, Insurance, Consumer Goods and Oil & Gas. However, trading activities increased in volume as 206.18m shares worth of N1.70 billion in 4,294 deals exchanged hands today. This is an increase from 162.35m shares worth of N1.52 billion in 3,488 deals which exchanged hands on Monday. Topping in volume terms are: Fidelity Bank Plc, Transnational Corporation Of Nigeria Plc and Access Bank Plc; Guaranty Trust Bank Plc and Zenith Bank Plc ended trading as the most active stocks in value terms. Brent crude oil price rises to US$49.66 per barrel from $49.56 per barrel the previous day.

The All Share Index (NSEASI) closed negative with 1.10% (-359.60) decrease to close at 32,410.20 from 32,769.80 the previous trading day. Market capitalization depreciated in tandem to N11.17 trillion from N11.33 trillion of prior trading day. Similarly, the Thisday BGL 50 Index closes with a decrease of 1.12% to 136.05 from 137.59 recorded at the end of the previous trading day, while its market capitalization stood at N10.59 trillion from N10.71 trillion of the previous trading day.

Market breath closed positive today as 10 stocks gained on the bourse while 31 stocks also declined, leaving 80 stocks unchanged. Leading the pack was Red Star Express Plc with a gain of 10.14% to close at N0.49 per share. It was followed by Honeywell Flour Plc with a gain of 9.84% to close at N2.12 per share. Others on the gainers’ list include: Skye bank Plc, A.G. LEVENTIS NIGERIA PLC and Norther Nig. Flour Mills Plc. On the decliners’ list, Neimeth International Pharmaceuticals Plc lead with a loss of 8.54% to close at N0.75 share. It was followed by United Bank for Africa Plc with a loss of 5.75% to close at N8.20 per share.

Others on the decliners list include: Flour Mills Nig. Plc, Julius Berger Nig. Plc and Guinness Nig Plc. Topping the Thisday BGL 50 Index gainers’ list Honeywell Flour Plc as it re-emerged as the day’s toast of investors with a gain of 9.84% to close at N2.12 per share. It was followed by Skye Bank Plc with a gain of 4.76% to close at N0.66 per share. Others on the gainers list include: UACN Property Development Co. Limited; while on the decliners’ list, United Bank for Africa Plc lead with a loss of 5.75% to close at N8.20 share. It was followed by Flour Mills Nig. Plc with a loss of 5.07% to close at N25.63 per share. Others on the decliners list include: Julius Berger Nig. Plc, Guinness Nig Plc and Ecobank Transnational Incorporated.

REQUIRED DISCLOSURE This report has been prepared by BGL Plc. BGL Plc does and seeks to do business with companies covered in its research reports. As a result, the firm may have a conflict of interest that could affect the objectivity of this report. Investors should use this report as one of many other factors in making their investment decisions.

For more details go to www.thisdaylive.com

T H I S D AY Ëž , JULY 5, 2017

40

MARKET NEWS

Finally, Nigerian Stock Exchange Delists Ashaka Cement Goddy Egene and Nosa Alekhuogie Ashaka Cement Plc was yesterday voluntarily delisted from the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE). The company had last year notified the exchange of its intention to exit. The shareholders of Ashaka Cement, who have exercised their option to exit the company prior to the delisting will receive 57 Lafarge

Africa Plc shares for 202 Ashaka shares, as well as a N2.00 per share cash consideration.

On the other hand, shareholders, who do not want to remain in the unlisted Ashaka Cement will be entitled to receive a payment of N15.74 per share from the company.

The Board of Directors of Ashaka Cement Plc had opted for a voluntarily delisting of the company from the NSE

T H E MAIN BOARD

DEALS

MARKET PRICE

in violation of the exchangeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Free Float Deficiency provision of 20 per cent.

According to the directors, Lafarge Africa Plc currently holds 84.97 per cent of Ashaka Cement, bringing the free float that is tradable on the NSE to 15.03 per cent as against 20 per cent stipulated by the exchange.

The directors explained that is not improbable that given

N I G E R I A N QUANTITY TRADED

STO C K

VALUE TRADED ( N )

Daily Summary as of 22/02/2016 Printed 22/02/2016 14:36:10.010

Daily Summary (Bonds) No Debt Trading Activity Daily Summary (Equities) Activity Summary on Board EQTY AGRICULTURE Crop Production OKOMU OIL PALM PLC. PRESCO PLC Crop Production Totals Livestock/Animal Specialties LIVESTOCK FEEDS PLC. Livestock/Animal Specialties Totals AGRICULTURE Totals CONGLOMERATES DiversiďŹ ed Industries A.G. LEVENTIS NIGERIA PLC. TRANSNATIONAL CORPORATION OF NIGERIA PLC U A C N PLC. DiversiďŹ ed Industries Totals CONGLOMERATES Totals CONSTRUCTION/REAL ESTATE Infrastructure/Heavy Construction JULIUS BERGER NIG. PLC. Infrastructure/Heavy Construction Totals Real Estate Development UACN PROPERTY DEVELOPMENT CO. LIMITED Real Estate Development Totals CONSTRUCTION/REAL ESTATE Totals CONSUMER GOODS Beverages--Brewers/Distillers CHAMPION BREW. PLC. GUINNESS NIG PLC INTERNATIONAL BREWERIES PLC. NIGERIAN BREW. PLC. Beverages--Brewers/Distillers Totals Beverages--Non-Alcoholic 7-UP BOTTLING COMP. PLC. Beverages--Non-Alcoholic Totals Food Products DANGOTE SUGAR REFINERY PLC FLOUR MILLS NIG. PLC. HONEYWELL FLOUR MILL PLC NASCON ALLIED INDUSTRIES PLC N NIG. FLOUR MILLS PLC. TIGER BRANDED CONSUMER GOODS PLC Food Products Totals Food Products--DiversiďŹ ed CADBURY NIGERIA PLC. NESTLE NIGERIA PLC. Food Products--DiversiďŹ ed Totals Household Durables VITAFOAM NIG PLC. Household Durables Totals Personal/Household Products P Z CUSSONS NIGERIA PLC. UNILEVER NIGERIA PLC. Personal/Household Products Totals CONSUMER GOODS Totals FINANCIAL SERVICES Banking ACCESS BANK PLC. DIAMOND BANK PLC ECOBANK TRANSNATIONAL INCORPORATED FIDELITY BANK PLC GUARANTY TRUST BANK PLC. SKYE BANK PLC STERLING BANK PLC. UNITED BANK FOR AFRICA PLC UNION BANK NIG.PLC. UNITY BANK PLC WEMA BANK PLC. Banking Totals Insurance Carriers, Brokers and Services AIICO INSURANCE PLC. CONTINENTAL REINSURANCE PLC CONSOLIDATED HALLMARK INSURANCE PLC LASACO ASSURANCE PLC. AXAMANSARD INSURANCE PLC N.E.M INSURANCE CO (NIG) PLC. UNITY KAPITAL ASSURANCE PLC WAPIC INSURANCE PLC Insurance Carriers, Brokers and Services Totals Micro-Finance Banks NPF MICROFINANCE BANK PLC Micro-Finance Banks Totals Other Financial Institutions AFRICA PRUDENTIAL REGISTRARS PLC CUSTODIAN AND ALLIED PLC FCMB GROUP PLC. STANBIC IBTC HOLDINGS PLC UNITED CAPITAL PLC Other Financial Institutions Totals FINANCIAL SERVICES Totals HEALTHCARE Pharmaceuticals FIDSON HEALTHCARE PLC

6 6 12

30.00 34.00

19 19 31

this free float deficiency, the NSE could take enforcement action and initiate a regulatory delisting, given that the free float deficiency is not likely to be remedied, hence the decision to delist and operate as an unlisted company.

Besides, the free float deficiency, the directors said over the last five years, there has been little or no trading activity with only 0.20 per

12,629 11,640 24,269

374,530.15 421,345.20 795,875.35

1.25

1,078,511 1,078,511 1,102,780

1,358,964.30 1,358,964.30 2,154,839.65

5 68 13 86 86

0.77 1.13 20.47

33,500 6,740,423 65,995 6,839,918 6,839,918

25,070.00 7,635,453.96 1,344,425.15 9,004,949.11 9,004,949.11

13 13

41.50

31,970 31,970

1,409,214.78 1,409,214.78

5 5 18

5.20

28,901 28,901 60,871

154,716.48 154,716.48 1,563,931.26

6 24 7 98 135

2.85 118.85 20.00 99.00

190,900 53,000 15,200 429,541 688,641

528,079.00 6,201,924.95 293,757.00 42,728,789.84 49,752,550.79

9 9

168.50

166,476 166,476

28,285,937.95 28,285,937.95

54 38 6 12 1 29 140

5.61 19.00 1.37 6.86 6.65 1.27

2,120,306 314,421 40,000 119,863 433 3,285,739,119 3,288,334,142

11,610,520.13 5,953,792.96 55,716.00 842,442.48 2,736.56 4,074,348,894.07 4,092,814,102.20

11 54 65

17.86 700.00

18,825 98,360 117,185

329,518.50 68,567,962.00 68,897,480.50

11 11

4.46

99,050 99,050

420,455.00 420,455.00

13 21 34 394

21.90 28.00

36,887 133,117 170,004 3,289,575,498

820,034.75 3,737,067.92 4,557,102.67 4,244,727,629.11

82 51 21 25 200 41 16 147 11 15 67 676

4.10 1.49 15.60 1.21 16.70 1.07 1.76 2.95 5.30 0.63 0.98

3,962,506 2,163,396 278,470 790,900 4,847,312 1,969,858 1,204,932 8,586,418 39,752 501,617 5,920,564 30,265,725

16,210,255.82 3,314,106.88 4,136,459.40 958,864.34 80,963,793.44 2,115,552.11 2,087,767.85 25,302,954.71 205,645.40 316,018.71 5,813,502.17 141,424,920.83

14 8 2 3 7 10 1 1 46

0.80 0.90 0.50 0.50 2.06 0.76 0.50 0.50

200,107 276,500 5,004,000 1,000,000 351,540 327,285 37,708,135 10 44,867,577

160,838.67 251,350.00 2,502,000.00 500,000.00 720,728.80 245,325.31 18,854,067.50 5.00 23,234,315.28

1 1

1.08

4,760 4,760

4,950.40 4,950.40

31 7 105 7 20 170 893

2.46 4.00 0.85 14.15 1.31

1,149,464 27,041 31,257,120 38,035 708,255 33,179,915 108,317,977

2,830,722.84 104,002.06 26,613,309.20 537,985.34 931,556.31 31,017,575.75 195,681,762.26

27

2.69

614,065

1,572,223.05

cent of the shares held by the minority shareholders being traded. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Neither the company nor any shareholders are benefiting from the continued listing as shareholders are not getting any exit opportunity and their investments have been locked up and they find it difficult to dispose of their shareholding. Moreover, the company is bearing unnecessary cost

in complying with its listing obligations,â&#x20AC;? the directors said.

They disclosed that through the voluntary delisting of AshakaCem, they are exercising a regulatory provision that will shield the company from any enforcement action that the NSE may effect and are also providing an exit consideration to minority shareholders who do not wish to remain in an unlisted company.

E XC H A N G E

MAIN BOARD GLAXO SMITHKLINE CONSUMER NIG. PLC. MAY & BAKER NIGERIA PLC. NEIMETH INTERNATIONAL PHARMACEUTICALS PLC Pharmaceuticals Totals HEALTHCARE Totals ICT IT Services TRIPPLE GEE AND COMPANY PLC. IT Services Totals ICT Totals INDUSTRIAL GOODS Building Materials ASHAKA CEM PLC BERGER PAINTS PLC CAP PLC CEMENT CO. OF NORTH.NIG. PLC PORTLAND PAINTS & PRODUCTS NIGERIA PLC LAFARGE AFRICA PLC. Building Materials Totals Electronic and Electrical Products CUTIX PLC. Electronic and Electrical Products Totals Packaging/Containers BETA GLASS CO PLC. Packaging/Containers Totals INDUSTRIAL GOODS Totals OIL AND GAS Energy Equipment and Services JAPAUL OIL & MARITIME SERVICES PLC Energy Equipment and Services Totals Integrated Oil and Gas Services OANDO PLC Integrated Oil and Gas Services Totals Petroleum and Petroleum Products Distributors CONOIL PLC ETERNA PLC. FORTE OIL PLC. MOBIL OIL NIG PLC. TOTAL NIGERIA PLC. Petroleum and Petroleum Products Distributors Totals Exploration and Production SEPLAT PETROLEUM DEVELOPMENT COMPANY LTD Exploration and Production Totals OIL AND GAS Totals SERVICES Automobile/Auto Part Retailers R T BRISCOE PLC. Automobile/Auto Part Retailers Totals Courier/Freight/Delivery RED STAR EXPRESS PLC Courier/Freight/Delivery Totals Printing/Publishing LEARN AFRICA PLC Printing/Publishing Totals Transport-Related Services AIRLINE SERVICES AND LOGISTICS PLC NIGERIAN AVIATION HANDLING COMPANY PLC Transport-Related Services Totals Support and Logistics CAVERTON OFFSHORE SUPPORT GRP PLC Support and Logistics Totals SERVICES Totals EQTY Board Totals Daily Summary (Equities) Activity Summary on Board ASeM CONSUMER GOODS Food Products MCNICHOLS PLC Food Products Totals CONSUMER GOODS Totals ASeM Board Totals Daily Summary (Equities) Activity Summary on Board PREMIUM FINANCIAL SERVICES Banking ZENITH INTERNATIONAL BANK PLC Banking Totals Other Financial Institutions FBN HOLDINGS PLC Other Financial Institutions Totals FINANCIAL SERVICES Totals INDUSTRIAL GOODS Building Materials DANGOTE CEMENT PLC Building Materials Totals INDUSTRIAL GOODS Totals PREMIUM Board Totals Equity Activity Totals

DEALS

MARKET PRICE

QUANTITY TRADED

VALUE TRADED ( N)

32 4 6 69 69

25.33 0.94 0.69

551,998 16,020 597,000 1,779,083 1,779,083

13,903,164.18 15,299.40 412,110.00 15,902,796.63 15,902,796.63

1 1 1

1.69

500 500 500

805.00 805.00 805.00

16 9 4 6 10 31 76

24.00 9.30 35.78 8.62 3.36 80.50

110,727 40,229 26,700 142,300 299,900 14,373,223 14,993,079

2,707,053.97 362,501.29 992,680.00 1,227,076.00 966,480.00 1,157,057,077.16 1,163,312,868.42

6 6

1.51

134,500 134,500

204,240.00 204,240.00

5 5 87

50.00

24,529 24,529 15,152,108

1,165,135.50 1,165,135.50 1,164,682,243.92

2 2

0.50

24,262 24,262

12,131.00 12,131.00

90 90

3.47

3,827,573 3,827,573

13,288,632.05 13,288,632.05

21 7 8 21 7 64

18.34 1.84 342.00 150.00 145.00

81,125 100,300 20,300 16,295 13,699 231,719

1,505,034.50 182,832.00 6,595,470.00 2,396,080.60 1,959,692.96 12,639,110.06

33 33 189

318.00

389,934 389,934 4,473,488

124,037,602.56 124,037,602.56 149,977,475.67

1 1

0.50

941 941

470.50 470.50

5 5

3.80

32,870 32,870

127,756.40 127,756.40

13 13

0.89

624,500 624,500

538,430.00 538,430.00

1 22 23

2.29 4.00

4,588 251,094 255,682

10,001.84 1,001,583.80 1,011,585.64

1 1 43 1,811

1.68

10,000 10,000 923,993 3,428,226,216

16,000.00 16,000.00 1,694,242.54 5,785,390,675.15

2 2 2 2

1.21

270,464 270,464 270,464 270,464

327,261.44 327,261.44 327,261.44 327,261.44

306 306

11.45

13,929,679 13,929,679

159,605,439.23 159,605,439.23

278 278 584

3.74

10,438,552 10,438,552 24,368,231

39,515,087.18 39,515,087.18 199,120,526.41

35 35 35 619 2,432

139.83

38,770 38,770 38,770 24,407,001 3,452,903,681

5,304,666.00 5,304,666.00 5,304,666.00 204,425,192.41 5,990,143,129.00

2 2 2 2 2 10 10 10

2,330.00 2.33 6.02 11.09 18.07

3,000 20 20 20 15 3,075 3,075 3,075

6,986,000.00 46.70 120.20 221.80 270.65 6,986,659.35 6,986,659.35 6,986,659.35

Daily Summary (ETP) Exchange Traded Fund Name NEWGOLD EXCHANGE TRADED FUND (ETF) VETIVA BANKING ETF VETIVA CONSUMER GOODS ETF VETIVA GRIFFIN 30 ETF VETIVA INDUSTRIAL ETF Exchange Traded Fund Totals ETF Board Totals ETP Activity Totals

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˾ WEDNESDAY, JULY 5, 2017

MARKET NEWS

Lawmakers to Fast Track Laws to Boost Capital Market Operations Goddy Egene The Vice Chairman, Senate Committee on the Capital Market, Senator Festus Ogwuma yesterday said that the bill to expand the scope of operations of the Chartered Institute of Stockbrokers (CIS) to serve as the hub of all professional associations in Nigeria financial services market would be passed very soon.

Ogwuma, who was a guest at the 2017 National Workshop of the CIS in Abuja,

also explained that on-going review of the Investment and Securities Act (ISA), bill on demutualisation of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) and other bills aimed at enhancing globalisation of the capital market would be accorded priority by the National Assembly.

According to him, the CISI Bill has passed two readings and the third reading would be done any moment from now. He also noted that under the review of the ISA, there would be two windows namely: arbitration

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

window and normal window which would allow for 90 days to give room for redress.

He therefore assured all stakeholders of the National Assembly readiness to fasttrack all laws that would make the nation’s capital market in particular and financial sector in general attractive to investors.

Also, speaking at the event, the President, CIS, Mr. Oluwaseyi Abe said the institute had established strategic alliance with CISI U.K. and other bodies and reviewed its curriculum in

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 03-July-2017, unless otherwise stated.

order to produce professionals that can cope with the ever changing dynamics of the global market.

Abe also announced that the CIS’ Council had endorsed a Stand-Alone-Certification Programme to enable prospective Stockbrokers specialise in any of the following critical areas of our operations: Equity Dealing, Fixed Income, Share Registration and Custodianship, Portfolio Management and Financial Advisory.

Commenting on the CISI

Bill, a participant stated that when passed into law, the bill on transforming the CIS into the Chartered iInstitute of Securities and Investment (CISI) is expected to broaden its functions and enable the Institute become the umbrella body for all professional associations in Nigeria. It would also entail the change of its name to CISI in Nigeria.

Already, the CIS had signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with CISI, United Kingdom for enhanced capacity building among others.

Meanwhile, the Minister of Finance Mrs. Kemi Adeosun has assured the stockbrokers of the government’s continuous support for them as distribution agents in the value chain of financial intermediation.

Adeosun, who commended the institute for leveraging the workshop as a support for the federal government’s efforts to transform the economy, explained that government had embarked on the initiative to generate more revenue from taxation through creative approach.

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 159.25 160.49 25.63% Nigeria International Debt Fund 224.27 225.90 5.82% 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 0.74 0.75 6.47% 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 18.90% 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 15.85 16.33 28.38% ARM Discovery Fund 343.12 353.46 19.48% ARM Ethical Fund 24.44 25.18 9.41% ARM Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 17.73% 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 133.03 133.97 26.48% AXA Mansard Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 18.63% 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 11.27 11.56 20.41% Women's Investment Fund 91.48 93.82 8.13% 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 19.11% 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 1,092.58 1,093.67 7.98% FBN Heritage Fund 130.72 131.82 17.25% FBN Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 18.05% FBN Nigeria Eurobond (USD) Fund - Institutional $108.56 $109.54 5.58% FBN Nigeria Eurobond (USD) Fund - Retail $107.75 $108.73 5.53% FBN Nigeria Smart Beta Equity Fund 153.27 155.47 36.12% 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 1.24 1.27 33.51% Legacy Short Maturity (NGN) Fund 2.79 2.79 8.56% 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 2,618.59 2,662.06 18.82% Coral Income Fund 2,303.43 2,303.43 9.46% 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 15.20% 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 17.51% Vantage Balanced Fund 1.96 1.99 16.94% Vantage Guaranteed Income Fund 1.00 1.00 18.36%

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 1.07 1.09 8.34% Lotus Halal Fixed Income Fund 1,042.94 1,042.94 5.95% 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 12.59 12.70 30.31% Meristem Money Market Fund 10.00 10.00 19.08% 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 1.13 1.15 14.14% PACAM Fixed Income Fund 10.63 10.68 2.26% PACAM Money Market Fund 10.00 10.00 14.46% 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 120.18 121.17 18.04% 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 1.32 1.32 6.16% 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 2,056.90 2,068.46 12.33% Stanbic IBTC Bond Fund 161.37 161.37 4.81% Stanbic IBTC Ethical Fund 0.91 0.92 18.83% Stanbic IBTC Guaranteed Investment Fund 202.17 202.17 8.18% Stanbic IBTC Iman Fund 156.22 158.31 20.35% Stanbic IBTC Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 18.41% Stanbic IBTC Nigerian Equity Fund 8,822.50 8,921.76 16.32% 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 1.29 1.30 9.19% United Capital Bond Fund 1.36 1.36 15.17% United Capital Equity Fund 0.82 0.84 2.68% United Capital Money Market Fund 1.16 1.16 11.18% 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 11.86 12.05 22.29% Zenith Ethical Fund 12.65 12.79 15.65% Zenith Income Fund 18.18 18.18 9.97%

REITS NAV Per Share

Yield / T-Rtn

11.41 128.34

1.01% 3.53%

Bid Price

Offer Price

Yield / T-Rtn

9.79 95.20

9.89 96.89

11.44% 25.57%

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

3.96 7.91 15.47 19.22 130.72

4.00 7.99 15.57 19.42 132.72

43.21% 12.45% 29.67% 20.37% 1.41%

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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T H I S D AY WEDNESDAY JULY 5, 2017

T H I S D AY WEDNESDAY JULY 5, 2017

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Andersen Tax Debuts in Africa Andersen Tax makes its debut in Africa as the former Partners of WTS ADEBIYI & Associates, a tax firm based in Nigeria, adopt the Andersen name. The firm, which joined as a collaborating firm in May of 2017, has locations in both Lagos and Abuja. This week they become a member firm of Andersen Global and will operate under the name Andersen Tax. “The adoption of the Andersen name is the logical next step in our expansion efforts in this key African market. Nigeria's demographics make it one of the fastest growing economies of any country in the world and it is considered to be the gateway to Middle and Western Africa. Our growth here is part of a larger strategy to increase our footprint in the region,” said Andersen Tax CEO, Mark Vorsatz. “In addition, I have seen the dedication to premier client service that Olaleye and his team have demonstrated since they joined us a few months ago, and they truly embody the values that our organization represents.”

Under the name Andersen Tax, the firm will continue to provide tax and legal services for international, multinational and individual clients in Nigeria, West Africa and globally. Their areas of specialization include Tax Advisory & Regulatory Services, Transfer Pricing, Energy & Infrastructure, Consumer & Industrial Markets, Family Wealth and Private Clients, and Tax Adjudication/Litigation.

Lead Partner of Andersen Tax in Nigeria, Olaleye Adebiyi, added, “I look forward to further strengthening our connection with the Andersen team as our relationship becomes more formal.

As a former Arthur Andersen professional, I appreciate the importance and impact of working with like-minded partners around the globe with whom we share a commitment to stewardship, transparency and providing seamless service internationally.”

Andersen Global is an international association of member firms with over 2,000 professionals and a presence in more than 64 locations worldwide.

7th Floor, Heritage Place 21 Lugard Avenue Ikoyi, Lagos, Nigeria 3rd Floor, Yobe Investment House 1004 Gimbiya Street, Off Ahmadu Bello Road Area 11, Abuja FCT 0700TAXADVISERS

www.andersentax.ng

T H I S D AY WEDNESDAY JULY 5, 2017

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Nextier Power (an electricity sector consulting firm) aims to use this weekly publication to educate Nigerians on the intricacies of the Nigeria electricity supply industry. This intervention assumes that a more informed public would lead to increased advocacy for the right policies and programmes which, in turn, would lead to a robust market that delivers the electricity needs of Nigerians. This column will start with the basics of the industry and then progress to more intricate policies and programmes.

FROM GENESIS TO DATE Understanding the History and Evolution of the Nigeria Electricity Supply Industry The electric power emitting from the bulbs in our homes is a collaborative product from a number of institutions that make up the Nigeria Electricity Supply Industry (NESI). These institutions include fuel suppliers (mostly gas and hydro), generation companies, Transmission Company of Nigeria, distribution companies, and various policy, regulation, and financing companies. This essay will trace the history and evolution of NESI from its origin in the 19th century through its various transformations to its current structure. Some of the challenges have remained the same over the years and continue to demand a decision by both the government and the citizens.

FIRST 50 YEARS (1898 TO 1949) The first power generating plant was setup in Lagos in 1898 by the colonial government and had a total capacity of 60kw. This capacity is equivalent to a 75kVA generator used in some homes and offices today.

The success of this first plant, however, led to the establishment of the Nigeria Electricity Supply Company with the responsibility to set up similar plants across Nigeria. Power plants were set up in the following cities: Port Harcourt (1928), Kaduna (1929), Enugu (1933), Maiduguri (1934), Yola (1937), Zaria (1938), Warri (1938) and Calabar (1939).

The Public Works Department (PWD) oversaw the operations of these power plants.

In this first five decades of the 20th century, the power generated was supplied to only government offices and to government quarters and residencies of the higher classes of society. However, with the expansion of development across Nigeria, there was need to increase the capacity and spread of the power installations.

SECOND 50 YEARS (1950 TO 1999) The Electricity Corporation of Nigeria (ECN) was set up in 1950 as a central body to oversee the electricity supply operation in the entire country with the aim to supply electricity to anyone who was willing and able to pay for the service, irrespective of social standing.

ECN took over the responsibilities of the electric department of the PWD and all other entities involved in power generation.

In 1962, the Niger Dams Authority (NDA) was established with the purpose of harnessing the potential of hydropower in Nigeria. This was a milestone in power generation and transmission, as it would significantly alter the dynamics of power supply within the country.

The construction of commenced shortly

Kainji after

Dam the

in the power sector. Today, NERC is responsible for protecting consumers’ interests, issuing licenses to operators or investors, and creating a competitive environment in the power sector. From the aforementioned tasks, the mandate of NERC can be summarized as to ensure sector operatives play by the rule, and ensure customer and investor “satisfaction”.

establishment of the NDA. In 1966, Nigeria started providing electricity through the transmission grid and this enabled the government to provide power to more regions in the country.

The NDA and ECN were merged in 1972 to form the National Electric Power Authority (NEPA) in a bid to keep up with the expanding national power network. As the demand for electricity increased, Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN) established electrification boards with the main objective of achieving rural electrification. This led to a massive rollout of power infrastructure across the country. The 1970s to the early 1980s was the golden era of Nigeria’s electricity supply. The electricity system was less complex and supply matched the relatively low demand.

By the mid-1980s, increased rural-urban migration and rapid urbanisation of more cities in Nigeria significantly impacted power supply in the country. The stateowned NEPA was unable to meet the increasing demand for electricity and this exposed the fundament flaws in Nigeria’s adopted power sector model.

By the 1980s, electricity was considered to be a social service to be provided to all, whether they are able to pay for it or not.

This was the prevailing thought across most of the developing world.

In response, FGN made various unsuccessful attempts at remodelling and restructuring the sector.

It is important to note, however, that prior to the 1990s, electricity supply was regarded as a natural monopoly and the general assumption was that a single firm, usually government-owned, was the most effective way to provide electricity to the population. This assumption based on the fact that electricity was considered to be a social service requiring government investment and regulation.

The 90s was characterized with electricity decline primarily due to the inability of the Nigerian power sector to keep up with economic evolution and technological innovation. The existing power plants (Kainji, Jebba and Shiroro) experienced decline in their capacity factors as the agencies in charge failed to maintain or

upgrade their equipment.

Despite significant increase in population, economic activities and household income, Nigeria’s electricity industry saw insignificant investments in new capacity.

Thus, the supply gap in the system kept increasing at an alarming rate.

THIRD 50 YEARS (2000 TO DATE) The Olusegun Obasanjo led government, on realizing that its reform objectives cannot be realised without steady and adequate supply of power, embarked on an aggressive power report programme.

Central to its agenda was to transfer management of the industry to the private sector while aggressively increasing generation.

In 2001, the Obasanjo administration created the National Electric Power Policy (NEPP) that laid out a path to privatising the power sector. NEPP set in motion the disaggregation of the companies under NEPA into 18 successor companies including 6 generating companies (GenCos), 1 transmission company (TCN) and 11 distribution companies (DisCos). In 2005, the assets and liabilities of these companies were transferred to the newly created Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN).

The National Integrated Power Projects (NIPP) was inaugurated in 2004 to aid with the upgrading and expansion of the capacity of the power supply systems in the country. As part of the economic agenda of the administration, Electric Power Sector Reform Act (EPSRA) was introduced in 2005 to tackle issues relating to tariff introduction and review, formulation and implementation of policies that affect subsidies and the environment, and enforcement of standards in the generation and consumption of electricity.

Under the EPSRA enabled the establishment of the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), an independent regulatory body with the mandate of regulating the power sector.

On inception, the primary task of NERC was to regulate tariff of power utility companies but recent years have seen more responsibility assigned to the organisation thereby increasing its reach

In 2013, under the Goodluck Jonathan administration, PHCN successor companies were sold to private investors.

Currently, FGN owns only 20 percent equity in the GenCos and 40 percent equity in the DisCos. However, it owns 100 percent of TCN because of national security issues and the quantum of investment needed to upgrade and maintain the grid.

The FGN has issued over 80 licenses for Independent Power Producers (IPP) with the aim of boosting electricity generation to match demand and to grant communities that are not connected to the national electricity grid access to power.

TODAY Despite the somewhat successful privatisation of the power sector, power supply in Nigeria is still grossly inadequate.

Nigeria has an installed capacity of 12,500mw but power sent out as at the end of June 2017 was 3,419mw.

This is 200kwh per capita, which is a fraction of the 355kwh per capita for Ghana and 4,229kwh per capita for South Africa.

The public’s hope that privatisation of the power sector would lead to improved power supply appears to be waning. In fact, power generation seemed to have dropped from the 5,074mw recorded in February 2016 to the current 3,419mw in June 2017.

While the Buhari administration must accept responsibility for the current situation, it is instructive to note that some of the seeds for the current challenges were sown in prior administration.

The current challenges facing the sector include market indiscipline; weak sector governance, low investment appetite, liquidity crisis, etc. (These issues will be explained in detail in subsequent essays).

However, the government, working with the World Bank, is finalising the Power Sector Recovery Plan which, when fully implemented, should set the sector back on a growth path.

Ezuma Okoronkwo is an Energy Economist with a keen interest in the electricity industry.

Next Topics Jul. 12 Power Sector 101 Jul 19 Power Sector Ecosystem Jul. 26 Power: Social Service or Business? www.nextierpower.com empower@nextierpower.com

WEDNESDAY JULY 5, 2017 ˾ T H I S D AY

48

INTERNATIONAL

email:foreigndesk@thisdaylive.com

North Korea Hails ‘ICBM Test’ Success North Korea says it has successfully tested its first “intercontinental ballistic

missile” (ICBM).

A state television announcement said the

missile, which landed in the Sea of Japan on Tuesday, could hit targets anywhere in the world.

But the US and Russia said the missile had a medium range and presented no threat to either country.

North Korea has in-

creased the frequency of its missile tests, in defiance of a ban by the UN Security Council.

China and Russia called on Pyongyang to freeze its missile and nuclear activities.

The announcement on

North Korea state television said the Hwasong-14 missile test was overseen by leader Kim Jong-un.

It said the projectile had reached an altitude of 2,802km (1,731 miles) and flew 933km for 39 minutes before hitting a

target in the sea.

North Korea, it said, was now “a full-fledged nuclear power that has been possessed of the most powerful inter-continental ballistic rocket capable of hitting any part of the world”.

The Philippines Supreme Court has overwhelmingly upheld the enforcement of martial law in the southern region of Mindanao, which President Rodrigo Duterte said was necessary to quell the threat from ISIL. Eleven justices of the 15-member high tribunal voted to dismiss petitions that challenged the martial law on Tuesday, according to Supreme Court spokesman Theodore Te.

Three justices voted to partially grant the petitions, which alleged that Duterte’s declaration had no factual basis, while one voted in favour of the petitions, Te said.

The petitioners have up to 14 days to file a reconsideration request to the Supreme Court.

Duterte declared military rule over Mindanao for 60 days on May 23 when hundreds of fighters linked to the the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also

known as ISIS) group attacked Marawi city after government forces tried to arrest a local leader of the group.

The region is home to about 20 million people.

More than 460 people have been killed in the battle in Marawi, while more than 300,000 residents have been forced to flee their homes in the municipality and nearby towns.

Ahead of the Supreme Court ruling, Duterte had threatened to jail critics of the martial law and insisted he would ignore the findings of the court, vowing only to listen to recommendations from the armed forces.

The martial law will be in effect for another three weeks.

Duterte would need congressional approval to extend that period.

Italy-Austria Tension over Border Troops at Brenner Pass Philippines Supreme Court Upholds Duterte’s Martial Law Italy has summoned Austria’s istry said it had summoned ambassador after the government inVienna announced it was ready to deploy border troops to block any migrant influx.

Austrian Defence Minister Hans Peter Doskozil told Kronen Zeitung daily that troops could go to the Brenner Pass.

He said four Pandur armoured personnel carriers had been sent to the Tyrol region and 750 troops were on standby.

Austria has border checks with Hungary and Slovenia.

But elsewhere it adheres to the EU open borders system.

Mr Doskozil said a military deployment at the busy Alpine pass, on the Italian border, would be “indispensable if the influx into Italy [across the Mediterranean] does not diminish”.

Later Italy’s foreign min-

NAME: BUILT: FLAG: PORT OF REGISTRY: OFFICIAL No.: IMO NUMBER: CALL SIGN: CLASS:

Austrian Ambassador Rene Pollitzer“following the Austrian government’s statement about deploying troops to the Brenner (pass)”.

People-smuggling gangs have been exploiting the violence and chaos in Libya. The shortest crossing from Libya to Italy is only about 460km (290 miles).

The Italian governor of South Tyrol, Arno Kompatscher, sought to defuse tensions.

He said Austria had issued similar warnings about the border previously, and the situation there remained “quiet and stable”.

Austria was gearing up for a general election in October, Mr Kompatscher noted. The antiimmigration Austrian Freedom Party (FPÖ) is expected to poll strongly.

ADOM HEMAA 1973 (Refurbished 2015) TOGO LOME TG 00777l 7314876 SVDSS IRS [INTERNATIONAL REGISTER OF SHIPPING]

Brazil Police Arrest Close Ally of President Temer Police in Brazil arrested a close ally of President Michel Temer on Monday on suspicion of obstruction of justice for allegedly trying to block plea bargain deals that could further sink the country’s scandal-plagued

M ain Engine: Propellers: Generators: Emergency Generators: Bow Thruster:

RADAR: GYRO COMPASS: MAGNETIC COMPASS: AUTO PILOT: ECHO SOUNDER: NAVTEX RECEIVER: GMDSS: SSB: VHF: GPS: AIS System & Securing Alert: LENGTH O.A: LENGTH B.P.P: BEAM MOULDED: DEPTH: DRAFT (Max) GRT: NRT:

Furuno FR 1510, Mr3, 1 x JRC 2000 Yes Yes Yes Yes 1 X Furuno NX 200 Covering Area 1,2&3 1x Furuno FS 1562 2 x Furuno 8500 1 x Furuno GP 36 Yes

52.10m 48.25 m 11.80 m 5.20 m 4.40 m 805 tons 242 tons

administration.

Geddel Vieira Lima was a minister for legislative affairs until November when he was forced to resign after another minister accused him of influence peddling. He has been

2 Nos Mirreless Black Stone, type E25L 16 BHP (2x2500 HP) 2 x 3 blade C.PP in Knozzle 1 x 180 KW G RAL – T Cyliner, Detroit Diesel Type 8Q 220 KVA, AC 445V, 60Hz, 1200rpm 1 x 240 KW Detroit type GS 3100IV – ANV/3002935 240 KW 1 x 150 HP KT – 34 Dorman Diesel, Type V 71.2 Tons Lateral thrust

Clear Deck Space: Deck Strength: Fresh Oil: Portable Water: Drill Water: Ballast Water: Liquid Mud: Dry Bulk: Foam: Freezer/Chiller:

195.5m2 5 tons/m2 263.00 m2 284.39 m2 93.0 m2 42.5 m2 NA 320 tons 7m x 14.2 m2 12m (8) 0 x 12 m2 (+4 to 12) 0

Autopilot: Radars x 2: Echo Sounder: Direction Finder: Gyro Compakss: GPS x 2: Watch Receiver:

Navitron Furuno FR – 1505 MK2 Koden MD3731 Koden CVS-811 Oceanic MK2 Sperry SR 120 Koden KGP – 910 A Sailor R501

a close friend of Temer’s for decades and is implicated in a series of corruption scandals.

Federal prosecutors said in a statement that Lima tried to silence former lower house Speaker Eduardo

Cunha and broker Lucio Funaro, who worked as fundraisers for Temer’s centrist Brazilian Democratic Movement Party.

Prosecutors accuse Lima of paying hush money.

Speed: Consumption:

12 knots 7.5 tons/day

Windlass: Anchors: Chains: Capstan: Tugger Winch:

1 x Electric Motor 2 Nos 1 x 36mm x 290m, 1 x 26mm x 205m 2 x 4 tons, electric type 1 x Electric meter, 39.2 tons

Bollard Pull: Towing AH Winch: Stern Roller: Towing Bar:

50 Tons / Double Drum 50 Tons SWL 100 Tons, Brake holding power, heavy duty winch AH Drum 400mm diameter of BSDm length 2.0m x 0.9m diameter 100 tons SWL 2 Nos (Heavy Duty)

Pumps: LSA:

60m2/hr @ 45m head AS per SOLAS A Flag and Class Recruitment

Cabins: Toilets: Showers: Mess room:

28 Persons including crew 4 x 4, 1 x 6, 2 x 2, 2 x 1 8 2 2

Portable Water: Drill Water: Fuel Oil:

100m1/hr @ 50m head 100m1/hr @ 50m head 50m1/hr @ 50m head

T H I S D AY WEDNESDAY JULY 5, 2017

49

WEDNESDAY, JULY 5, 2017Ëž T H I S D AY

50

NEWS

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

Thousands Pay Last Respects as Maitama Sule is Laid to Rest in Kano Shettima, Ikpeazu, Obi, others mourn

Ibrahim Shuaibu Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x2DC; Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x2DC;Ă&#x2122; Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x2DC;Ă&#x17D; Emmanuel Ugwu Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x2DC; Ă&#x2014;Ă&#x;Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x2019;Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x2039; Thousands of mourners yesterday witnessed the burial of elder statesman and former Nigerian Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Alhaji Yusuf Maitama Sule, in Kano. Â Sule died in Cairo, Egypt, last Monday after a protracted illness.

He was aged 88.

His remains were laid to rest yesterday at the popular cemetery called Wali Mai Zage at Kofar Mazugal in Dala Local Government Area after prayers were conducted at exactly 5.55p.m. and led by the Chief Imam of Kano, Professor Sani Zaharadeen.

The remains of Danmasanin Kano were flown into the city aboard air force plane with registration number NAF 913.

At the air force airstrip, the body was received by the federal government delegation led by Chief of Staff to the President, Mr. Abba Kyari; Minister of Aviation, Mr. Hadi Sirika; Governors of Kano State, Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, and his counterparts from Jigawa, Bauchi , Sokoto, Borno States, among others.

Other federal government delegation were the Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Dr. Kayode Fayemi; Minister of Water Resources, Mr. Sulaiman Adamu; Accountant General of the Federation, Ahmed Idris. Â The Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki; Adviser to the President on National Assembly Matters, Mr. Sulieman Abdurrahman, also attended the funeral prayers of the late icon.

As soon as the aircraft touched down, his body was taken to his residence at Dawaki Road. Â His body also arrived at the emirâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s palace at exactly 5.32p.m.

He was interred at his final

resting place where his father and eldest son were also buried at exactly6.18p.m. Â Men in multi-coloured traditional robes thronged the emirâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s palace in Kofar Kudu for the Islamic rites of the deceased.

Speaking with THISDAY in Kano, the former Deputy Senate President in the Second Republic, Mamman Abubakar Danmusa, said: â&#x20AC;&#x153;The death of Sule was a great loss to the country and Africa in general.â&#x20AC;?

Danmusa added: â&#x20AC;&#x153;Sule was a detribalised Nigerian who really loved his country and was always ready when he was called upon to render his service to the nation.

He was always ready to serve his country, and Nigerians will never forget his contributions to nation building. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The nation has lost an honest elder that meant well for all Nigerians.â&#x20AC;?

A student of the deceased, Professor Dandatti Abdulkadir, said: â&#x20AC;&#x153;Sule was like a father to us, and he always attended to our problems by immediately solving them. I knew him since when he was our teacher, and I believe that he died without having bank account because all his wealth is for public use.

He had a mud house which is close to Kofar Nassarawa by SAS junction in Kano.â&#x20AC;?

Also speaking of the late icon, Senator Kanti Bello described his demise as a great loss to the country.

He said: â&#x20AC;&#x153;Sule was an inspiring leader and his contribution to the national issues was so inspiring.

He was the truly Danmasanin Kano and he always stood for truth.â&#x20AC;?  The whoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s who in the political arena, including northern elders and diplomats, attended the funeral prayers.

Others in attendance included a former Inspector General of Police (IG) and Sardauna Katsina, Alhaji Ibrahim Commassie; Professor Ango Abdullahi, Minister of Interior, General Abdurrahman Danbazau (rtd), former Chief Whip of the Senate, Senator Bello Hayatu Gwarzo; former Minister of Defence, Alhaji Yayale Ahmed; former Minster of Police Affairs, Mr. Yerima Ngama, and Alhaji Aliko Dangote. Â Dignitaries who also attended were the Speaker of Kano State House of Assembly, Mr. Yusuf Abdullahi Ata; Alhaji Ismaila Isa Funtua, among others.

Businesses and shops were shut and roads were clogged with sympathisers along the emirâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s palace road leading to the cemetery for the burial.

Meanwhile, Borno State Governor, Kassim Shettima, Abia State Governor, Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu, former Governor of Anambra State, Mr. Peter Obi and the leadership of the South-

east Council of Traditional Rulers yesterday joined other eminent Nigerians to mourn the demise of Sule.

Ikpeazu expressed his deep sorrow in a condolence message issued by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Enyinnaya Appolos, describing the departed diplomat as â&#x20AC;&#x153;a major stabilising influence in Nigeriaâ&#x20AC;? who would surely be missed.

The governor who condoled with his Kano State counterpart, Ganduje, the emirate council and people of the state on the death of the frontline nationalist, extolled his sterling qualities.

Also, Shettima was in Kano yesterday afternoon where he joined other dignitaries to receive the body of late elder statesman, describing his demise as one of the biggest losses Nigeria has suffered this year.

On his part, Obai said the elder statesman was one of the greatest nationalists ever produced by Nigeria, describing

his death as a sad loss not only to his family and Kano State but to the entire nation.

Not left out of the condolences was the Chairman of the Southeast Council of Traditional Rulers, Eze Eberechi Dick, who condoled with the Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi II, the government and people of Kano State.

He described the former Nigerian Permanent Representative to the UN as a detribalised Nigerian who had contributed a lot to the development of the nation. Â Also, the leadership of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) commiserated with the government and people of Kano State over the death of Sule. Â The NLC President, Ayuba Wabba, in a condolence letter yesterday sent to the state governor, Ganduje, described Sule as a worker, a politician, a diplomat and a national icon who opened his doors to all

Nigerians irrespective of their creed.

Wabba described the late elder statesman  as a man of personable character, intense knowledge, good humour and inimitable oratorical skill,  a nationalist and one of the last symbols of the golden era of Nigeria. â&#x20AC;&#x153;It was with a profound sense of loss and yet gratitude to God whose will in our lives we cannot question, that I, on behalf of the NLC, write to console the government and people of Kano State  on the death of our elder statesman and Danmasanin Kano â&#x20AC;&#x153;We commend your excellency for having the presence of mind to declare a day of mourning in honour of this elder statesman. We, however, would urge your excellency to go a step further and immortalise his name at the appropriate time,â&#x20AC;? he said.

Biowish Africa Faults Allegations Against It by Iheanacho Ejiofor Alike Biowish Africa Limited has condemned what it described as malicious publications against its owner, Mr. Jim Daniels, by one Chief Iheanacho and his two companies, Enercon Nigeria Limited and Environ Aid Technologies Limited.

In a letter by its solicitors, Nnah, Okoye & Partners, the law firm stated that the campaign of calumny aimed at tarnishing the image of Daniels was orchestrated by his disgruntled former business associates.

The lawyers recalled that Iheanacho and his two companies had entered into a contract for distributorship of Biowish products in Nigeria for a fee of $500,000 but could only pay $350,000, which was less than the agreed fee.

According to the law firm, it was agreed that Iheanacho should be refunded the part-payment of $350,000 in the form of products of equivalent

value. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Due to the regulated nature of the products, they could not be imported without approval from NAFDAC, which application process was delayed due to Iheanachoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s companies being unable to provide proper warehousing. As at August 2013, NAFDAC approval had been obtained and the products shipped into the country. Chief Iheanacho was required to place an order, indicating which specific products he required out of a myriad bouquet. Instead of doing this, Iheanacho tried to use the police to arm-twist our clients into giving him distributorship for which he could not afford to pay. Under the guise of being defrauded, he wrote his petition to the police in hope of luring Mr. Jim Daniels, who to his knowledge resides in the US to the police net. When this direct approach failed to achieve the desired result, he resorted to assassinating our clientâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s character,â&#x20AC;? the law firm explained.Â

WEâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;LL MISS YOU

L-R: New Managing Director/CEO, Nigerian Breweries Plc, Mr. Johan Doyer; Chairman, Forte Oil Plc. Mr. Femi Otedola; former Managing Director, NB, Mr. Nicolaas Vervelde; and his wife, Clementine, at a send-off party in honour of Vervelde in Lagos....yesterday

PDP: Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll Abide By Supreme Court Ruling, Says Sheriff Onyebuchi Ezigbo Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x2DC; Ă&#x152;Ă&#x;Ă&#x201D;Ă&#x2039; The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) led by Senator Ali Modu Sheriff has said it will respect the outcome of the Supreme Court decision on the leadership tussle in the party whenever it gives its ruling.

Sheriff, who spoke through his deputy, Cairo Ojougboh, yesterday dismissed the group of ex-ministers of the party who last Monday met and declared support for the Senator Ahmed Makarfiâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;-led National Caretaker Committee (NCC), describing them as an illegal body.

Sheriff said PDP is a law abiding party, and had respected the outcome of the ruling of the High Court in Lagos and Abuja that said they should not hold convention.

He said the new PDP that is evolving is not a party where one man can boast that the party belongs to him. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The PDP that we are rebuilding is not a PDP where one man can say he owns the party.

God, who brought Sheriff does not make mistake and Sheriff is the agent of change from anti party democrats in Nigeria. Without the presence of Sheriff, today, I am sure John Oyegun would not have been the Chairman of APC, but the APC also has learnt that they have to respect the party, that the party is supreme. â&#x20AC;&#x153;God willing, Sheriff will obey the outcome of the Supreme Court, and we do know that we will always obey the rule of law, and we urge the Supreme Court not to be swayed by the posture of these persons who

ordinarily cannot walk the street,â&#x20AC;? the chairman said.

Ojougboh said the partyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s constitution does not recognise the group called Forum of PDP Former Ministers.

The former ministers had last Monday, while addressing journalists shortly after their closed door meeting, declared their support for the NCC led

by Makarfi and challenged President Muhammad Buhari to contest the 2019 election and also passed a vote of confidence on Ahmed Makarfi-led caretaker committee.

However, angered by the vote-of-confidence on Makarfi-led committee, Ojuogboh said: â&#x20AC;&#x153;We want to say first of all that the partyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s constitution is very clear, and the organs of the party are specified, from the ward executive

committee down to the national convention of the party. On this list, there is nothing like the forum of former ministers. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We take exception to the comments of this group of persons who met yesterday (last Monday) and called themselves, forum of former ministers. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We want to say that under normal circumstances, in some countries, these are people who will not normally show themselves in the public. We want to say also that it is very disheartening that persons of these calibre, some of them lawyers, would take impunity to the highest level by declaring that they support Makarfi. Because they are expecting judgment from the Supreme Court, they want to sway the opinion of Supreme Court.â&#x20AC;?

51

WEDNESDAY, JULY 5, 2017˾ T H I S D AY

NEWSXTRA

Fowler: Nigeria Needs Taxes to Develop FG to train professionals on VAIDS implementation Ndubuisi Francis ÓØ ÌßÔË ËØÎ Jonathan Eze ÓØ ËÑÙÝ The Executive Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Services (FIRS), Mr. Babatunde Fowler, has called on Nigerians to fulfill their obligation to the country by paying their taxes, saying without taxes, Nigeria cannot develop.

Speaking on Arise News Network, a THISDAY sister company, yesterday, he said when Nigerians go abroad, they pay taxes for consumables, adding that “in foreign countries, they pay what is required as tax at the point of departure, and the government of that country claims their VAT, so let’s do the same here too.

Fowler reiterated that the current Voluntary Assets and Income Declaration Scheme (VAIDS) by acting President Yemi Osibanjo was not designed to put pressure on Nigeria.

He said the current federal government tax drive presents Nigerians with the window of opportunity to right the wrong in the area of tax payment.

“This country requires those

taxes to develop too. Nobody will develop Nigeria except we start developing it”.

Fowler noted that the nation was harping on taxation now because government in the past did not see any need for it because of the discovery of oil in commercial quantities and the income it had generated, but since the oil price had crashed, there was an urgent need for the citizens to pay taxes.

Speaking on the newly introduced Voluntary Asset Income Declaration Scheme (VAIDS), the FIRS boss said it offers opportunities for all adults, be it in private business or corporate entities, to come forward and declare the amount of profit they had earned and the assets they have acquired and pay the commensurate taxes.

According to him, the initiative will free individuals or entities from paying penalties, or face prosecution, making them good citizens.

He added that those who have been in business, even for years, without making any profit were not expected

to pay taxes, concluding that if Nigerians in their millions decided to pay their taxes, the government would have enough money to execute its budget and embark on significant projects of national importance.

According to him, though we have our records, we need to see what Nigerians declare their earnings and assets.

“For example, if you declare that you own a car of N10 million, and a house worth N50 million, your clothes, including your suit, watch and tie maybe worth a million naira and you declare that you earn N2 million year, the question would be if you earn such amount yearly, how can you you afford the house, the car, the expensive suit and the wrist watch?

“These are the questions we

are asking. So we believe quite frankly that Nigerians can be law abiding,” he said.

Meanwhile, the federal government has declared that it is committed to providing free training to accountants, lawyers, wealth managers, stockbrokers and other professional advisers to the public to support the successful implementation of the recently-launched Vncome Declaration Scheme (VAIDS. The free training is aimed at equipping them to give advice to their clients for participation on the scheme.

The Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun, in a message to the Conference of the Chartered Institute of Stockbrokers held in Abuja, said that professional advisers were critical to the success of

the scheme due to their role in financial management.

In the message with the theme: ‘Transiting from Recession to a Global Economic Power,’ she said: “Those who manage wealth and undertake transactions on behalf of their clients are best placed to advise them to take advantage of the VAIDS offer by declaring their assets and income honestly.”

A d e o s u n enjoined stockbrokers to join hands with the federal government in improving taxpayer education and compliance, crediting their side customer network as a key advantage.

A statement issued by the Director (Information), Ministry of Finance, Mr. Salisu Na’Inna Dambatta, said the minister specifically commended

stockbrokers for their role in the recently launched Federal Government Savings Bonds, which relied on their distribution network.

“The success of this product shows that you continue to have a wide reach and therefore must partner with government,” the minister noted.

She also commended the role of the stock brokers in the recent successful Eurobond and Diaspora Bond issuances, adding that despite these debt issuances, Government is focussed on changing its financing mix and on raising more revenue.

Nigeria, she added, is on the road to recovery and emphasised the role of investments in infrastructure to enhance productivity and competitiveness.

House Summons Fashola over Comments on 2017 Budget James Emejo ÓØ ÌßÔË At the resumption of the two-week Sallah break yesterday, House of Representatives passed a resolution to summon the Minister of Works, Power and Housing for allegedly breaching the House privileges as well as maligning the 2017 budget which had already been passed by both the legislative and executive arms of government.

The Speaker of the House, Hon. Yakubu Dogara, subsequently announced the constitution of an ad-hoc committee chaired by Hon. Aliyu Madaki (APC, Kano) to among other things, summon the minister and cause him to establish the veracity of media reports attributed to him- where he reportedly questioned the powers of the National Assembly to alter projects in the 2017 appropriation Act which was submitted to it by the executive.

The minister was reportedly angered that most of the capital projects submitted by his ministry were either expunged and replaced by new ones or drastically reduced by the lawmakers- and questioned their powers to make such alterations.

The public expression of frustration by the minister was however, viewed by the legislature as an attempt by Fashola to portray the former in bad light and as enemy of the people.

Nevertheless, the lower House decided to offer the minister the benefit of the doubt to appear and either confirm or deny the statements credited to him in the media.

He might say he was misquoted to lessen the pressure from the lawmakers or affirm the media reports and begin a battle with the lower chamber.

But the altercation between Fashola and the National Assembly

had made headlines in the mass media throughout the Sallah break, with both parties exchanging brickbats on the issue.

In the motion bordering on the abuse of House privilege by Fashola, which was moved on the House floor by Hon. Sadiq Ibrahim, (APC, Adamawa), members utterly condemned the minister’s utterances, describing it as an abuse of privilege, having been screened and approved as minister by the green chamber.

Ibrahim said though the minister had freedom to speech, he erred in addressing an issue which had already been laid to rest by both the executive and legislature.

The lawmakers argued that their personal integrity as well as that of the National Assembly was at stake following the minister’s denigrating remarks- a development which they said puts the harmonious relationship of the legislature and the executive at risk.

Investigations by THISDAY however, revealed that the lawmakers were particularly displeased that Fashola had allocated about N90 billion in capital projects to the South-west while allocations to other zones put together do not amount to that of the South-west. The case of KanoAbuja road, which was initially removed from the budget was specifically cited by sources, although the executive is now trying to reintroduce it through virement.

A source who did not want to be named, said the lawmakers viewed the lopsided projects in the ministry as a great injustice to Nigerians, coupled with the fact that the minister also indicated that the National Assembly appeared not to understand their role in the budgeting process.

MAIMALARI LIVES ON

L-R: Former Head of State, Gen. Yakubu Gowon (rtd), Chief launcher, Hassan Aminu Dantata, Col. Abubakar Maimalari; and Author of the book, Mr. Hassan Yahaya Puloma, at the public publication of a book on the life of the late Brigadier Zakariya Maimalari in Abuja... yesterday

Court Frees Ndume of Terrorism Charges Alex Enumah ÓØ ÌßÔË A Federal High Court in Abuja yesterday discharged Senator Ali Ndume of all four-count charge bordering on terrorism preferred against him by the federal government.

Justice Gabriel Kolawole while discharging the defendant of the charges, held that the prosecution failed to establish a prima facie case against the federal lawmaker.

Ndume, who represents Borno South senatorial district in the Senate, has been standing trial since 2011.

Delivering ruling on the no-case submission filed

by Ndume, Justice Kolawole held that the prosecution failed to link the defendant with the alleged heinous crime of hoarding information on terrorists activities and sponsoring the Boko Haram Islamic sect.

The judge also faulted the prosecution for failing to call eminent personalities to give evidence in respect of the charge against the defendant.

According to Kolawole, while the defendant admitted having contact with Boko

Haram sect as a result of his appointment as a member of the Presidential Committee on Security Challenges in the North-east of the country and also admitted volunteering information to the state Director of the Department of State Services (DSS) and former Vice President, Namadi Sambo, in the National Assembly on Boko Haram operations, he said the prosecution never considered it necessary to invite the named people to give evidence in the trial.

Kolawole held that the failure of the prosecution to invite those personalities to give evidence was fatal to the case as it hindered the prosecution from discharging the burden of proof.

Justice Kolawole further said that from the totality of the evidence of the witnesses, the prosecution failed to give ingredients of the charges that would have warranted the senator to be compelled by the court to enter his defence in indictment charge.

He said the evidence of the Information Technology (IT) expert. Mr. Peter Olayiwola, did not, in any way help the

prosecution because the content of the phone of one Boko Haram spokesperson, Aliyu Umar Konduga used to communicate with the defendant only revealed text messages on greetings when analysed by the expert.

He said none of the witnesses called by the prosecution gave valuable evidence upon which the defendant could have been linked with the crime.

The judge further said it was a settled law that where doubts arise in a criminal trial, such doubts must be resolved in favour of the defendant.

“What is more, the defendant in this matter admitted having contact with the Boko Haram sect but that he did so as a result of his appointment as a member of the Presidential Committee on Security Challenges in the North-eastern part of the country.

“In the same vein, the defendant in the three different statements he made to the DSS upon his arrest, made it clear that he volunteered the information on his contact with the terrorism group to the state Director of DSS in the National Assembly and also to the vice president for their information.

“It is worrisome that despite

the fact that the defendant mentioned the names of those he volunteered information to, the prosecution never considered it necessary to call any of the named people to confirm the claim of the defendant, this to me left a big gap in the case of the prosecution,” he added.

Justice Kolawole therefore struck out the four-count charge and as well discharged Ndume of the alleged crime.

The judge also ordered that the travelling documents of the defendant submitted to the Deputy Director Litigation of the court should be forthwith released to him.

The federal government had in 2011 arraigned Ndume on a fourcount criminal charge of hoarding information in respect of his contact with the Boko Haram sect and for also allegedly sponsoring terrorism act in the North-eastern part of the country.

However, at the close of the prosecution’s case, Ndume, through his counsel, Ricky Tarfa (SAN), on June 6, 2017, made a no-case submission and prayed the court to set him free from the criminal charge on the grounds that he was not in anyway linked with the crime.

52

WEDNESDAY, JULY 5, 2017˾ T H I S D AY

NEWSXTRA

Osinbajo: FG to Announce Policy on Community Policing Soon The Acting President, Prof.

Yemi Osinbajo, yesterday said the federal government would soon announce new policy on community policing for better service delivery.

Osinbajo disclosed this at the presentation and launch of a book titled: ‘Law on Prevention and Detection of Crimes by the Police in Nigeria’ in Abuja.

He was represented by his Special Adviser on Political Matters, Babafemi Ojudu.

Osinbajo said this would pave the way for modern policing in the country.

“There is no way we can continue with the way we are going with policing now,” he said.

He promised that the establishment of community policing would not take away the powers of the national police.

The acting president said sitting down in Abuja to police other remote parts of the country was not practicable any longer.

“For us to continue this old way of policing our country, I don’t think it can work and it is not working. We have to look at other parts of the world, how they are doing it,” he said.

He said the fear about decentralisation of the police was not tenable as it could be addressed.

Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo State said the establishment of state police would go a long way to check crime and criminality in the country.

“We cannot police the over

180 million Nigerians from Abuja, we cannot run away from state police,” Obaseki said.

The Chairman of the occasion, former governor of Cross River, Donald Duke, said one of the pitfalls of the Nigerian society was the near absence of institutional memoir.

“These state organs will have their responsibilities strictly codified and will be made to work alongside and in concert with the national police.

He said the book had documented over 35 years of service experience and added to the repertoire of scarce institutional knowledge in Nigerian policing.

Duke, who also supported the establishment of state police, said it should be made to work alongside the national police.

He disagreed with the author that state police if established would be abused by the states.

“I must say however, that I disagree with the author’s position that state policing, though theoretically ideal, will be abused.

“The fear of abuse can be mitigated by an oversight responsibility or authority by the Commissioner of police in the state or a state police regulatory commission.

“The decentralisation of policing and presence is the greatest deterrent to crime and allows for better monitoring and intelligence gathering,” he said.

He called for the review of entry levels into the Nigeria

150 Dead, 1,233 Houses Destroyed in Cross River Communal War Bassey Inyang ÓØ ËÖËÌËÜ One hundred and fifty people have been confirmed dead after a three-day war between two communities in Cross River over land.

The Director-General of the Cross River State Emergency Management Agency (CRSEMA), Mr John Inaku, confirmed the development in an interview in Calabar yesterday.

“Between June 27 and June 29 the people of Wanikade and Wanihem communities both in Yala Local Government Area of the state were involved in a communal war.

“As a result of the bloody war, 14,000 people have been displaced, 1,233 houses were destroyed, while over 150 persons have lost their lives. “Victims of the affected communities are now internally displaced and camping in over four camps in Benue State.’’

According to him, over 4,000 victims, who fled as a result of the deadly encounter are now taking refuge in Oju Local Government Area of Benue State.

He said the conflict has crippled farming and other

socio-economic activities in the area.

Inaku said however, that Governor Ben Ayade has provided food and non-food items to the displaced people.

“CR-SEMA in collaboration with the state’s Food Bank Commission has distributed bags of rice, beans, groundnut and palm oil, beverages, cooking utensils, cartons of Indomie, mosquitoe net, among others to the victims.”

Inaku thanked the Benue State Government for its show of love in caring for the people, who fled to Benue State for safety.

The director-general appealed to the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) and the National Refugee Commission to act proactively with a view to providing succour to the displaced people.

Inaku, who condemned the conflict, appealed to youths in both communities to lay down their arms and embrace peace.

The Public Relations Officer of the Cross River State Police Command, Irene Ugbo, also confirmed the development.

She said additional security operatives had been deployed to the warring communities to restore peace.

Police Force from OND to HND, adding that aptitude tests should be introduced for entry and promotions.

Duke, according to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) noted that constant training and retraining was a key requirement for keeping up with the dynamics of a 21st century policing.

He called for the abolition of building barracks for personnel of the force.

“The barracks practice must be abrogated, the police ought to live amongst the people and not amongst themselves,” he said.

The former governor said the barracks were conceived to

protect the expatriate colonial administrators from the rest of the civil population.

He said that the practice of cross postings of police officers should be stopped or at least limited.

“A fellow from Sokoto State posted to a command in Ekiti State could require at least 6 -12 months to understand his environment and then off he goes again on another posting,” he said.

Earlier, Solomon Arase, a former Inspector-General of Police (IG) and author of the book, said that policing in the 21st century must evolve into a knowledge-driven system befitting the country’s

democratic values.

He said the proceeds from the sale of the book would be used to support children of the rank and files and officers of the Nigeria Police Force.

“I have resolved to commit the proceeds of this book toward extending scholarships to children of members of the police force.

“Toward this end, I have already incorporated the Solomon Arase Foundation which will coordinate this initiative on a sustainable basis,” he said.

He said a law officer within the criminal justice system that lacks professional knowledge was a danger to the justice

delivery framework of the country.

Arase said that an average police officer in modern policing must understand the law to be able to enforce it.

The book reviewer, David Badaiki, of the Edo State University, said the book identified the absence of transparency and professionalism in operations of the police in the country.

He said the 332- page book also identified police and community relations as key to crime prevention.

In attendance were five former IGs, representative of the IG and representatives of the service chiefs among others.

TALKING CRIME PREVENTION

L-R: Chairman of the occasion and former Cross-River State Governor, Mr. Donald Duke; former Inspector General of Police and Author of the book, Mr. Solomon Arase; his wife, Agharase; Representative of the Acting President, Senator Babafemi Ojudu, and former IG, Tafa Balogun, during the public presentation of the book: ‘Law on Prevention and Detection of Crimes by the Police in Nigeria’ in Abuja... yesterday

Teachers Stage Protests, Want Primary School Managed

by State Instead of LG Olawale Ajimotokan ÓØ Abuja, Okon Bassey ÓØ ãÙ ËØÎ Emmanuel Ugwu ÓØ ×ßËÒÓË Primary school teachers in some parts of the country yesterday expressed preference for the state government to run and manage their affairs instead of leaving them at the mercies of the local government administrators as being proposed.

In Akwa Ibom State, they called on the National Assembly to exclude funding and management of primary education in its ongoing move to approve autonomy for local government administration.

To strengthen their position, the teachers under the umbrella of the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT), Akwa Ibom State chapter in Uyo, the state capital staged a peaceful demonstration rejecting any plan to shift the running and management of

primary schools in the state to the third tier administrators for management.

In Abia State, the teachers rejected any move to confine the responsibility of payment of primary school teachers’ salaries in the local governments as envisaged in the ongoing constitutional amendment aimed at granting autonomy to the local governments.

The teachers led by the state Chairman of NUT, Abia State wing, Chizobem Akparanta, carried placards as they marched along the streets singing solidarity songs expressing their grievances.

Speaking at a press conference prior to the commencement of the rally, Akparanta said the teachers were apprehensive of their fate if the payment of the teachers’ salaries was moved back to local government system.

He said that teachers still

remember with sadness their experience between 1990 and 1994 when local governments were in charge of paying their salaries, adding that, that era was characterised by zero salary, incessant strikes and high rate of school dropouts.

In Federal Capital Territory (FCT), the teachers, numbering 900 staged a peaceful protest in the city, demanding to be left out of local government autonomy.

The protesting teachers were led by the Chairman, NUT FCT chapter, Knabayi Stephen.

Stephen said NUT resolved against local government autonomy at its National Executive Council (NEC) meeting in Kaduna on April, 24, 2017.

He recalled that at the meeting, NEC reappraised the issue of management and funding of primary education and the responsibility for payment of primary school

teachers and directed all national chapters to sensitise all stakeholders, including the public, lawmakers and other leaders.

He said the poor funding and total neglect which led to industrial crises following failure of the local government councils to accord primary education the priority of place it deserved, when primary education came under the control of local government between 1990 and 1994, made NUT to reject local government autonomy.

He regretted that despite an increase in allocation to the local government councils from the Federation Account by five per cent to enable the councils play their part participatory role in assisting the state governments in payment of primary school teachers’ salaries, the teachers were owed for several months, in some cases for over 12 months.

53

WEDNESDAY, JULY 5, 2017Ëž T H I S D AY

NEWSXTRA

FG: Nigeriaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Power Sector No Longer Attractive to Investors Gencos now reject gas from us, NNPC alleges

Chineme Okafor Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x2DC; Ă&#x152;Ă&#x;Ă&#x201D;Ă&#x2039; Nigeriaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s electricity sector which was massively courted by local and international investors on the heels of its privatisation by the federal government in 2013, has finally fallen out of favour in the eyes of the same investors, the Power Sector Recovery Programme (PSRP) of the government has disclosed.

This is just as the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) yesterday disclosed that electricity generation companies (Gencos) in Nigeria were now rejecting gas from it because they are not able to send generated power to the countryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s transmission network which is reportedly experiencing low load evacuations.

The development also coincided with the Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC) signing of a fresh $3.7 million financing agreement with ZTE Corporation for the procurement and deployment of 30,000 single and three phase meters to its residential customers, three days after signing a similar pact with indigenous meter manufacturing firm, Mojec, for 60,000 meters worth N2.4 billion.

According to the PSRP which was initiated by the federal government and World Bank, the sector has lost its appeals to both local and international investors so much that sources of funding for its big projects have dried up and left it with just two dependable funding windows â&#x20AC;&#x201C; the Central Bank of

Nigeria (CBN); and World Bank. â&#x20AC;&#x153;From being an investment destination sought after in 2013 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; both at home and abroad, the NESI (Nigeria Electricity Supply Industry), has fallen out of favour,â&#x20AC;? said the final document of the PSRP which THISDAY obtained in Abuja.

The document further explained that: â&#x20AC;&#x153;With the recent meetings in Abuja of the DFI/MDBs (Development Finance Institutions and Multilateral Development Banks) over issues concerning the currency redenomination of the Put-Call Option Agreement (PCOA), there now remains only two dependable sources of financing for the NESI: NGN â&#x20AC;&#x201C; the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN); USD â&#x20AC;&#x201C; the World Bank Group (WBG).â&#x20AC;?

It noted that while the power sector has lost the kind of investment appetite it hitherto commanded from financiers, there was an urgent need to revive its fortunes, adding that the PSRP was initiated for this. â&#x20AC;&#x153;A bold turnaround plan is now required to utilise current assets and resources optimally, and to restore investor confidence in the sector, required to deliver the planned sector reforms,â&#x20AC;? it explained.

The document noted that it contained several proposals made to get the sector out from the woods, amongst which are the governmentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s reactivation of the privatisation of some key power plants built under the National Integrated Power Projects (NIPPs), as well as other key policy measures which the

Former CPS to Abacha, Chief David Attah is Dead George Okoh Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x2DC; Ă&#x2039;Ă&#x2022;Ă&#x;Ă&#x153;Ă&#x17D;Ă&#x201C; Former Chief Press Secretary (CPS) to two former Heads of State, late General Sani Abacha and General Abdulsallami Abubakar (rtd), Chief David Attah, is dead.

Attah, 71, died yesterday at about 6:45a.m. at a private hospital in Jos, the Plateau State capital where he was being treated for an undisclosed ailment.

The death of the renowned journalist was made known by his younger bother and Permanent Secretary in the Benue State Ministry of Information, Mr. Elvis Attah.

Until his death, Attah held the traditional titles of Ondoma Kâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Idoma, Enyioma of Ibeku and Oyame of Igumale.

Many sympathisers were seen at the family house in North bank area when THISDAY visited the Makurdi home of the late septuagenarian, Meanwhile, members of his family are yet to announce his burial arraignment.

Attah hails from Igumale, Ado Local Government Area of Benue State. Â Meanwhile, the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina, has bemoaned the demise of Attah, describing it as a huge loss to both the nation and the media industry.

Adesina, according to a statement by Deputy Director, Information in the State House, Mr. Attah Esa, sent a condolence message to the family of the deceased, eulogising him for his notable service to the nation as a journalist, politician and opinion leader.

According to Adesina, Attah did not only carve a niche for himself in his journalism career, he was also a strong voice in the nationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s political terrain as a member of the House of Representatives in the Second Republic.

He added that the Ondoma of Idoma land would long be remembered for his candid views, measured and mature contributions to national discourse.

He enjoined media professionals and colleagues to draw inspiration from the career of Attah and urged the family of the late journalist to take solace in the fact that he lived a fulfilled life. â&#x20AC;&#x153;On behalf of current and former presidential spokespersons, Adesina prayed that Almighty God will comfort the bereaved family, friends and associates, and grant the soul of Chief Attah peaceful rest,â&#x20AC;? the statement added.

government must initiate.

Meanwhile, the Group Managing Director of NNPC, Dr. Maikanti Baru, has disclosed that despite the corporation reported increase of its gas production and supplies to meet up with Nigeriaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s domestic gas demands, supplies to power Gencos were now being rejected by them.

Baru, said in a podcast message to mark his one year appointment as the head of the NNPC that from an average of 700 million standard cubic feet (mmscf) of gas supplied to the domestic market in July 2016, NNPC has increased it to an average of 1,220mmscfd now, with about 75 of the volume

supplied to the power sector.

He, however noted that: â&#x20AC;&#x153;Alot of generation companies (Gencos) are rejecting gas due to the inability of Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), to wheel-out the power generated.â&#x20AC;?

Also in a related development, the Managing Director of AEDC, Mr. Ernest Mupwaya, has signed an agreement with Chinese firm, ZTE Corporation, to manufacture and install 30,000 meters worth $3.7 million to residential consumers under its distribution network on a vendor-financing basis.

Mupwaya explained at the agreement signing ceremony, that the Disco would have by the new

agreement with ZTE, completed its planned procurement of 120,000 consumer meters for its network in its 2017 business year.

He also noted that the Discos would spend N214 million to install the meters, and expect to repay for them with incremental revenue collection from consumers who would no longer have to be billed through estimated methodology.

He stated that while the Disco currently has anAggregate Technical Commercial and Collection (ATC&C) loss level of 42 per cent, it was still relying on its mass meter deployment programme to cut down its losses and further advance its metering plans.

â&#x20AC;&#x153;It is a common knowledge that there is a liquidity crisis in the industry, and the government has initiated programmes to tackle it, but we cannot wait because our consumers cannot wait to have meters that is why we have initiated a vendor-financing programme to meter our customers. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We still see meter bypass, and other forms of electricity theft, it will be a pity if meters are still bypassed because it will derail our metering plan. We have committed to fund this programme with incremental revenue that will come from accurate consumption,â&#x20AC;? Mupwaya said.

WOMENâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S CONFERENCE

.L-R: Speaker/Nollywood  Actress, Miss Kate Henshaw; General Manager, Corporate Banking, Sterling Bank Plc, Mrs. Moji Bakare; CEO, Design Options, Mrs. Ifeyinwa Ighodalo; and Convener, Mrs. Tope Odigie, at the second edition of  The Sexually Confident Woman conference entitled: â&#x20AC;&#x2122;â&#x20AC;&#x2122;SELF LOVEâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; in Lagos...recently

Agbakoba Faults Osinbajo, Ohanaezeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Position on Nigerian Sovereignty, Says itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Not Sacrosanct Alleges politicians attitude created IPOB leader, Kanu Sunday Okobi Human rights lawyer, Mr. Olisa Agbakoba (SAN), has faulted the recent declaration by the presidency, prominent politicians and various groups in the country that Nigerian sovereignty is non-negotiable, insisting that Nigerian unity is not sacrosanct, and that no unit of the government or group has the right to force people of diverse culture and views to co-exist. Â Agbakoba who also blamed politicians for the emergence of people like the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, lamented that the Nigerian system is not working, adding that the system is not even attractive to call for coexistence.

At a press conference in Lagos yesterday, the lawyer faulted the acting President Yemi Osinbajo for declaring that Nigeria is indissoluble, adding that thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s nothing sacrosanct about Nigeria unity, and that it (the country) can blow up any day going by different agitations

and resentment going on in the country. â&#x20AC;&#x153;My point is that you canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t force sovereignty; you canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t force people to live together, the people must be included in the process of things,â&#x20AC;? he stated. Â According to him, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Presently, Nigeria is in a big problemrecession, poverty, decaying infrastructure, Biafra, Ijaws/ Itsekiris, Boko Haram, Arewa, Oduduwa group among others-Nigeria is in absolute tatters. But it is important to ask whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s the way forward is. Every Nigerian politician is calling for restructuring, but I disagree, because I think thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a conception irony in assuming that restructuring would work or solve the myriad of problems we have. I think the acting president was wrong to say that Nigeria is indissoluble; thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s nothing sacrosanct about Nigeria, it can blow up any day, it is an artificial creation that happened in 1914, and when it was amalgamated, we were not there. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Nigeria was amalgamated for the interest of the colonialists who wanted to export things from the then nation, and

since 1914, we had not had any â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Octotonousâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;, meaning we have not had any homegrown process in which the people are involved in the creation of their constitution, and that is our problem, so to just go to restructuring without asking some key questions is fundamentally flawed. Â He further stated that surprisingly, Nigeria has been in this since 1914. â&#x20AC;&#x153;In that year, the colonial masters deceived us, and when they saw that it wasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t more relevant, they engineered colonially Independence constitution which has nothing to do with us, which eventually collapsed. The military came in, and when they found out that it wasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t possible to retain power, they created a military-generated constitution of 1999. Which one of these constitutions represents the people?â&#x20AC;?

Agbakoba posited that the sovereignty of Nigeria is only sacrosanct for politicians eyeing the 2019 elections, stating that â&#x20AC;&#x153;they will deceive us again till 2019; pretend that restructuring

is the issue just to climb the band-wagon of popularism (imagine Obasanjo, Babangida talking about restructuring, what did they do when they had power?). Painfully, Nigerians are always taken in by these leaders. We are so gullible in Nigeria; about 160 million people unemployed, no health care system, no good road, nothing is working, yet we are being deceived by these people. So these are part of the works to be done by the civil society. Â He noted that all these laxities and nonchalance about the people have also given the IPOB leader, Kanu, the platform to spring out from nowhere. Â The senior advocate osaid he has nothing personally against Kanu, except that he must agitate in accordance with the Nigerian law. He stated that what the IPOB leader is doing is called â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;self-determinationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; and it is recognised in the United Nation Charter just like the Catalans in Spain.

WEDNESDAY, JULY 5, 2017Ëž T H I S D AY

54

NEWSXTRA

Again Badoo Strikes, Attacks Two Women, Toddler in Church Compound Lagos police order residents to get valid ID

Chiemelie Ezeobi and Sandra Agbamuche

said he was still sleeping when some members of the church came to inform him about the incident in the church.

He said: â&#x20AC;&#x153;Immediately I went straight to the church only to find the two women and their daughters in the pool of their blood and I alerted some of my neighbours, who in turn called the attention of other residents. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Since I have been hearing about the killings by Badoo, I never knew they would come to my church. After their attack, we checked round the church and we discovered that they scaled through the fence into the church. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t know what to tell the families of the victims, because they only came to my church for vigil. My prayer now is that God should heal the two women who are still battling

to survive now.â&#x20AC;?

Meanwhile, the Lagos State Police Command has directed residents of Ikorodu and its environs to acquire and carry a valid identity card on their persons always.

The state Police Public Relations Officer, Olarinde Famous-Cole, who made this disclosure, said the order was due to the line up of police operations planned to weed out members of the gang.

He said: â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Lagos State Police Command would like to inform members of the public especially residents in Ikorodu and environs, henceforth everybody moving around that part of the state, should always have on them a valid form of identification. â&#x20AC;&#x153;This has become important and necessary because of the

Ndubuisi Francis Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x2DC; Ă&#x152;Ă&#x;Ă&#x201D;Ă&#x2039;

sleeping after their vigil.

The trio, all members of the Cherubim and Seraphim Church, are presently battling to survive at the Ikorodu General Hospital, given the gravity of the injuries they sustained from the attack.

Simply identified as Iya Dabira and Iya Ayomide, the victims and the unidentified toddler, were said to have gone to the church for prayer and had gone to sleep after the required prayer session.

It was while they were sleeping that the Badoo gang scaled the fence of the church to commit the crime.

The attack would have been worse save for the screaming of the victims, which woke up other members of the church and they gave chase to the suspects.

Mr. Rotimi Ajidara, who is the presiding pastor of the church

PLAN Promotes Adoption of Returnable Plastic Crates for Fruits,Vegetables

COLLABORATION FOR DEVELOPMENT

The notorious cultist, Badoo, yesterday struck again after

its members invaded a church at the Owode Onirin area of Ikorodu and gruesomely injured two female worshippers and a two-year-old girl, who were

Nâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Delta Youths Protest IOCsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Reluctance to Relocate Hqtrs corporate headquarters of the companies to the region, the Niger Delta youths yesterday PANDYLF leader said: â&#x20AC;&#x153;Enough protested over what they of this show of arrogance by described as the continued oil producing companies. They refusal of international oil canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t continue to have their head companies (IOCs) to relocate offices located outside of where their corporate headquarters their operations are taking place. to areas of their operations in This is unacceptable to us the youths in the region.â&#x20AC;? the region.

The issue of youth restiveness The youths under the aegis of Pan Niger Youth Leadership in the region, he argued, should Forum (PANDYLF), said the not be bandied as an excuse for action of multinational oil the oil companiesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; reluctance to companies smacks of arrogance, relocate to the region, adding regretting that their refusal that the issue of restiveness was to relocate was tantamount something that just started in to disregard for the highest the region and would be nipped constituted authority, the in the bud.

He promised that his presidency, which they said, had issued a relocation order. group was prepared to create According to PANDYLF, a conducive atmosphere for the the presidential directive for IOCs â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;relocation to the region, the IOCs to relocate their stressing that the  PANDYLF headquarters was issued by the leadership was ready to embark acting President, Professor Yemi on a vigorous campaign to Osibanjo, during his recent peace sensitise the people of the Niger tour of the Niger Delta region. Delta region.

He said: â&#x20AC;&#x153;I think the most The National President of PANDYLF, Mr. Famous important thing that we need to Daunemigha, who addressed address is, I want to still remind journalists in Abuja yesterday, Nigerians that when the Vice expressed concern over the President came to the Niger development, describing it Delta, he didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t come in the capacity of the vice president; as â&#x20AC;&#x153;unacceptable â&#x20AC;&#x153; While demanding the he came as the president of the immediate relocation of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.â&#x20AC;?

The Postharvest Loss Alliance for Nutrition (PLAN) Nigeria has joined the Lagos State Ministry of Agricultureâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Market Storm campaign to promote the adoption of returnable plastic crates for handling fresh fruits and vegetables held this month at the Owodunni market in Ikorodu.

This followed PLANâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s workshop to explore the models and incentives for lending, leasing and owning crates for handling fresh fruits and vegetables  in Nigeria, and developing a viable business case for returnable plastic crates.  PLAN is supporting this exercise which is scheduled to take place in 18 major markets in Lagos state.

The campaign anytime from now, would move to Agege, Oyingbo, Onitire and the new produce markets at Imota any time soon. According to PLAN, â&#x20AC;&#x153;this is a laudable initiative by the Lagos State government as it will improve the delivery of these nutritious foods qualitatively and economically.  â&#x20AC;&#x153;In Nigeria, a lot of emphasis has been placed over

the years on increasing food production through improved agronomic practices. To a very large extent, this has yielded significant results. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Unfortunately, there has been little attention to postharvest handling; hence a lot of perishable farm produce still goes to waste leading to loss of value and revenue to the farmer. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Consequently, more land has to be cultivated to meet demand, which can lead to deforestation. â&#x20AC;&#x153;This is a threat to improving nutrition and food security.

Postharvest loss and waste (PHL/W) of horticultural products is a major problem in Nigeria caused by a wide variety of factors, ranging from poor production planning, inadequate transport, lack of proper crating, lack of cool/cold storage technologies and lack of proper handling education at the retail level. Â â&#x20AC;&#x153;Not only are losses clearly a waste of food, but they also represent a waste of economic, human and environmental resources like farm inputs, financial investments, water and land.â&#x20AC;?Â

series of police operations lined up in the area by the Lagos state police command led by the Deputy Commissioner of Police, officer in charge of operations, Edgal Imohimi. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Lagos state police command is deeply concerned about the criminal activities in the area, which is not only unlawful but also affecting the integrity of the state. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The planned police operations demands residents to carry on them a valid form of identification which will be verified, in order not to be restricted or face apprehension as adequate security arrangements have been put in place for the safety of every Nigerian throughout the state by the police and other security agencies.â&#x20AC;?

L-R: Group Managing Director, Arco Group, Mr. Alfred Okoigun; President, Nigerian Academy of Engineering (NAE), Mrs. Joanna Maduka; and Technical Secretary, NAE, Mr. l.K. lnuwa, at the inauguration of joint committee of the NAE and Arco Group Academia and lndustry Linkage to serve as a platform to assemble viable engineering innovations that will promote national development in Lagos...Monday,

Police Take over Enugu APC as Crisis Deepens Party expels deputy chair, cautions presidential aide Christopher Isiguzo Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x2DC; Ă&#x2DC;Ă&#x;Ă&#x2018;Ă&#x; Stern looking mobile policemen yesterday took over the Enugu State secretariat of the All Progressives Congress (APC) located at GRA, Enugu even as the leadership crisis rocking the party deepened.  The armed mobile policemen who came in different  Toyota Hilux vehicles in company of members of the Federal Special Anti-Robbery Squad, as well as civil defence officers, however, did not molest anybody.

Also, the party announced the expulsion of its Deputy Chairman, Alphonsus Udeh, for alleged breach of party rules while dismissing the purported suspension of its chairman, Ben Nwoye as a ruse.

The party said a disciplinary committee would be set up

to recommend appropriate sanction against some party officers including the Woman Leader, Queen Nwankwo, Youth Leader, Ikechukwu Oloto and seven others for alleged invasion of the party office and carting away of vital documents.

The embattled Deputy Chairman, Udeh had on Monday in company of some party officers also announced the suspension of the partyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s chairman, Nwoye for alleged financial impropriety and declared himself as the acting chairman.

But, briefing journalists after their emergency state executive committee meeting at the party secretariat, embattled chairman, Nwoye said the presence of policemen at the party office was to maintain

law and order, noting that security report available to the party showed that some party members had engaged thugs to unleash mayhem on them. Â Nwoye who also read out a resolution of the partyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s SEC attended by 49 out of 69 members said a vote of confidence was passed on him, while accusing the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Justice Reform and the partyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s deputy governorship candidate in the state, Mrs. Juliet Ibekaku, of masterminding the crisis in the party for her selfish reasons.

Nwoye said the crisis in the party might not be unconnected with the senatorial ambition of Mrs. Ibekaku who he said was no longer comfortable since the former governor, Sullivan

Chime joined the party. Â â&#x20AC;&#x153;Its rather unfortunate that because of the activities of Ibekaku, Enugu remains the only state where the partyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Gubernatorial candidate has not been given an appointment.

Sheâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s busy running everybody down, causing crisis in the party, but I can assure her that weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll no longer tolerate it,â&#x20AC;? he noted.

He reaffirmed the partyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s undivided loyalty to President Muhammadu Buhari and the National Chairman of the APC, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, noting however that no member of the partyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s SEC would be answerable to the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation or any other government appointees.

T H I S D AY ˾ WEDNESDAY, JULY 5, 2017

55

WEDNESDAYSPORTS Enyeama, 10 Others Frozen out of Lille

Group Sports Editor Duro Ikhazuagbe Email duro.ikhazuagbe@thisdaylive.com

Duro Ikhazuagbe Former Super Eagles Captain and goalkeeper, Vincent Enyeama and ten other players have been frozen out of Lille by new Coach Marcelo Bielsa. They are not part of his plan for the new Ligue 1 campaign in France.

All the affected players were asked by the former Argentina, Chile and Marseille gaffer recently appointed at Lille to stay away from the club’s preseason which began on Monday through an SMS. Other African players not wanted anymore at the French club include; Zambian defender Stoppila Sunzu, Tunisia’s Naim Sliti and Cote d’Ivoire’s Junior Tallo. Burkina Faso’s international goalkeeper Herve Koffi appointed this summer window was not affected by the purge.

Also affected by the purge include; Portugal’s Euro 2016 hero Eder, France international Rio Mavuba, Julian Palmieri, Montenegro international Marko Basa, Éric Bauthéac, Lenny Nangis and Marvin Martin.

After being appointed by the club’s new owner, Gerard Lopez, on a two-year deal in May, Bielsa immediately set about reshaping the squad that finished 11th in Ligue 1 last season.

Bielsa has added new players to the fold and moved to re-gig the team by asking the 11 listed players to look elsewhere for greener pastures.

Just last Monday, Enyeama

tweeted a selfie with some of his fellow outcasts, who also include Basa, Martin and Sunzu, stating: “Always a pleasure to be back with the team.”

Enyeama joined Lille in June 2011 and has made 164 appearances for the team.

Followers of the French league were hard press to fathom why the new coach took such draconian move on the former Nigerian captain and others.

In particular, they wondered why the inclusion of Eder who scored the winning goal in last summer’s European Championship final against France and Mavuba who has made almost 300 Ligue 1 appearances for Lille since moving there in 2008.

In his reaction to the development, Ivorian international Tallo told influential French newspaper L’Equipe he was unfazed by the sack notice.

“As for me, I’m under contract.

I will respect the two years I have left. I’m in no hurry.

“I want to establish myself at Lille.

“It’s the club that wants me to leave. We’ll see if they find a solution between now and the end of the transfer window.

I’m calm. It’s a bit bizarre, but I’m handling it OK. “I was informed like the others, by text. We’re under contract, the club does what it wants. We would have liked to have had a discussion. But it’s a business choice made by the bosses.

Top Players Commit to Kwara@50 Pro-Am Golf Championship Elite golf players across the West African region have started sending in entries to be part of the Kwara @50 Pro-Am Championship billed to hold at the Ilorin Golf Club from July 11 to 16, 2017.

Top on the bill is Nigerianborn South Africa-based Oche Andrew Odoh who has only featured once in the country this season. Odoh, is perhaps the most respected player in the region and stressed that the event resonates with his career plan; especially being a key event on the Nigeria Tour this season.

Other players billed to grace the six-day championship are Ghana’s Emos Korblah, Togo’s Agbavon Kosivi and Cameroon’s top star Desire Ebela.

Resident professional of the host club and former Nigeria’s number one, Friday Adache, and club-mate Mustapha Abdullahi, will be hoping to make a strong claim for the title along with other budding local stars including the current best player in the country, Ikoyi-based Francis Ekpe.

The main sponsor for the tournament is BUA Group.

Other sponsors are Sterling Bank, ICMA Professional Services, Yolas Consultants Limited, Lanre Shittu Motors, Chelform Limited and Chief Kunle Oyinloye, Managing

Director, Infrastructure Bank.

Captain of the host club, Layi Maliki, said yesterday that the club remains honoured to host these top athletes and the development will spur golf development in diverse ways.

“Our facility is presently receiving a facelift to meet some respectable standard expected of an event of this calibre. I am equally sure their top players would inspire a number of local players here too,” he said.

Maliki added that the event is also expected to impact on commercial activities in and around the golf course.

Already more than 200 players are expected to tee-off at the event, with professionals’ round running from July 11 to 14 while amateur players from different parts of the country will compete over 36-holes on July 15th and 16th.

Luqman Owolewa, the Managing Director of Sluqfort, the consulting firm that puts the event together said that, it was designed to throw up the tourism potential of the state.

“This is one way in which the government is promoting the tourism potential of Kwara State and showcasing it, as the local destination of choice,” he concluded.

Enyeama… end of the romance with Lille

Brume, Amusan Storm Lausanne for IAAF Diamond League Debut Africa’s top ranked long jumper, Ese Brume and Nigeria’s second fastest sprint hurdler of all time, Tobiloba Amusan will make their debut in the money-spinning International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) Diamond League meet tomorrow in Lausanne, Switzerland.

Brume, the reigning Commonwealth Games long jump champion, long predicted to succeed Blessing Okagbare as the new queen of the horizontal jump is gradually but slowly fulfilling expectations as she out-jumped Okagbare last year (6.83m to 6.73m) and has

been the top-ranked African in the event so far this year with 6.64m which she jumped in Denizli, Turkey last May. The Delta State-born athlete will compete against USA’s Bartoletta Tianna, one of only three athletes who have hit the 7m mark and more this year and Serbia’s Spanovic Ivana who both out-jumped the Nigerian last year at the Rio Olympics.

Also confirmed to battle Brume for the eight points and $10,000 prize on offer for winners are Great Britain’s Ugen Lorraine and Klishina Darya of

Russia who both finished below the Nigerian in the final in Rio. Also making her debut is Amusan, the reigning African 100m hurdles queen who raced into history books last month in Eugene, Oregon, USA where her 12.57 finish not only landed her the NCAA title but also made her Nigeria’s second fastest woman over the distance behind Glory Alozie whose 12.44 seconds run in 1998 still remains Nigeria and Africa’s best time in the event.

Amusan, ranked the fifth fastest woman in the event so

far this year have a huge hurdle to scale if she wants to make a winning start to her campaign in the Diamond League.

The University of Texas in El Paso (UTEP) undergraduate student will have to out-run the world leader in the event this year at 12.47 seconds, USA’s Jasmin Towers, the second fastest woman at 12.52, Nia Ali also of the USA as well as Britain’s Tiffany Porter, the daughter of former Nigeria international sprinter, Edward Ofilli who won the 200m gold at the inaugural edition of the African Championships in 1979.

Transfer: Onyekuru Joins Participants Defy Rains to Anderlecht Training Run Corporate Challenge Nigerian youngster, Henry Onyekuru, has joined up with his new club RSC Anderlecht for their pre-season training camp in Austria.

The 20-year-old forward completed a move to Everton for a transfer fee of £7 million and the English club has subsequently farmed out the Super Eagles new invitee on loan to the Belgian champions for the rest of the season.

The former Aspire Academy apprentice arrived to link up with his new teammates and straight away was handed jersey No 9 for the season.

Onyekuru’s arrival was announced on RSC Anderlecht (@rscanderlecht official twitter handle thus: “Welcome Henry Onyekuru! ?? Ready to meet

his teammates in Austria! ???? #RSCA #trainingcamp2017pic. twitter.com/6PPepgSvF9.

The Toffees, who beat the like of Arsenal and West Ham United for the signature of Onyekuru, had to send out the forward on loan for the rest of the season on the advice of their manager Ronald Koeman.

Koeman feels one more season in the Belgian top division with Anderlecht will help the development of the youngster and also afford him the chance to play in the UEFA Champions League next season.

Onyekuru is now expected to be a central figure at Anderlecht for the coming season after netting 24 goals for KAS Eupen last term.

Participants at this year ’s Nigerian Stock Exchange Corporate Challenge on Saturday morning defied the heavy downpour in Lagos as they turned out in their large numbers to compete at the 2017 edition.

In a chat with THISDAY after the race, Media Relations Officer of Diamond Bank, Eze Anyanwu, said the aim of the race was to forge friendliness amongst corporate bodies as well as boost competitiveness among participants.

“What we really wanted to achieve is socialization amongst corporate bodies and create awareness for cancer. However, there is cash prize for winners

in the race, hence its competitive nature,” Anyanwu said.

He said Diamond Bank would always be at the vanguard of anything that has to do with human lives, sports and giving back to the society.

Also speaking on the Corporate Challenge, CEO of NSE, Mr. Oscar Onyema, said the race aside being a fun event and creating cancer awareness, “It was also an avenue to encourage people to keep fit and exercise themselves which helps to increase life expectancy and be more productive at work.”

The race kicked off at Onikan Stadium with about 1,000 participants.

Wednesday July 5, 2017

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MISSILE

Fayose to Presidency “Only three Nigerians who are of the president’s cabal are allowed access to the president. I will keep their identities for now. Anyone with a contrary claim should produce the president to Nigerians within the next 48 hours. It is obvious that Nigeria is drifting like the last days of the Umaru Musa Yar’Adua’s government.” – Ekiti State governor Ayodele Fayose alleging that President Muhammadu Buhari has abdicated his constitutional responsibility by his continouos absence from the seat of power.

SHAKAMOMODU THIS REPUBLIC

shaka.momodu@thisdaylive.com

0811 266 1654

Obasanjo and the Dreams of Our Fathers

I

n just two months of President Muhammadu Buhari in office, former President Olusegun Obasanjo while canvassing support for the then-new government declared gleefully that Buhari had started to build the Nigeria of our dreams. I took it with a pinch of salt then and still do now; only that the need to talk about it has become more expedient in view of the spectacular collapse of change and also as another election cycle approaches.

Some of us had warned Nigerians to reject the pretenders masquerading as agents of change, but they would not listen. Elections have consequences. The result of the choice we made in 2015 is bearing fruits and suddenly we don’t like the fruits. The danger signals were clear then but we chose to be willfully blinded to them.

Fellow Nigerians, permit me to refer to it as the Obasanjo August Declaration, especially so, in this season of declarations when quit notices and counter-notices are being issued by fratricidal midnight forces made up of demagogues, old and infirm ethnic and religious irredentists with deeply entrenched medieval belief systems anchored on “born to rule” and whose tools of trade are hate speeches. Unfortunately, they are now being matched against an intoxicated, extremely naïve, misguided and foolish nationalist idealism that is bereft of ideas – which is equally hate filled. They recently upped the ante with intemperate language and mindless militancy with a vow to blow this clay-footed giant still struggling to find its bearing 57 years after it gained independence to smithereens.

Painfully, two years after Obasanjo’s assertion that our dreams about Nigeria were coming true, I cannot in good faith and in good conscience point to anything that remotely looks like the berthing of the Nigeria of our dreams. I have been struggling to no avail to identify signs or efforts geared towards building the Nigeria of our dreams that Obasanjo spoke so delightfully about under Buhari.

I have decided to pose this question to the public to see if I am missing something here: Now, is there anyone out there who can stand up in good conscience to say he or she has seen the Nigeria of our dreams coming to fruition under Buhari? I doubt if any normal human being can make such a declaration because even the heavens know that Buhari is incapable of building the Nigeria of our dreams. But I will not be surprised if some nuts fellows still hold out to excuse him for all his failings.

I am tempted to believe that the August declaration was borne out of gleeful spite and not of any sincerity of heart or genuineness of purpose. It was predicated on malice instead of clarity of thought of the vision of a new future, and therefore lacked charity of the heart and empathy of the human spirit. To believe otherwise is to willfully demonstrate an arm’s-length relationship with the truth. Obviously, the former president was still celebrating the defeat of his erstwhile godson whom he had fallen out with for whatever reason.

A little background to the declaration is necessary here.

He had shredded his party’s membership card and became the “navigator of change” that brought Buhari to power. He used

Obasanjo

his letter writing skills to great effect and leveraged his prodigious national and international profile to give weight to false alarms about trained snipers by the then government to assassinate leading opposition figures. And he endorsed Buhari for president despite admitting that the man had zero knowledge of managing the economy.

He could not believe his success when the people hearkened to his urgings and elected the frail general with a medieval world view as president. In those early days of Buhari’s victory, Obasanjo took every opportunity to rub it in. He idolised and heaped undeserved praises on the old general even when his early actions and inactions in the first two and a half months in office were totally detrimental to the Nigeria of our dreams. Goaded on by the effusive praises from Obasanjo, Professor Wole Soyinka, Pastor Tunde Bakare, and a host of other human rights activists in the country, Buhari went on to carry out the most egregious damage to our national cohesion.

It is therefore clear that Obasanjo was either still beclouded by hangover victory celebrations over his godson or his vision of Nigeria was as deeply flawed as that of the man he so effusively praised; a man who made it clear that he would not treat every part of the country equally with his 97 per cent and 5 per cent “dream” for Nigeria.

He did not just say that, he actually went on to implement the “dream” in all his appointments. It is exactly his divisive and clannish approach to governance and the sense of alienation that he created that has exacerbated separatist agitations all over the country.

Now, if one may ask, has Obasanjo ever paused to wonder how Dubai leapt from scribbled drawings on an architect’s laptop into the sprawling commercial city in the sandy dunes in the desert with the world’s most modern infrastructure in a spate of 20-25 years? Has he for a moment wondered how Qatar, a once bankrupt peninsular whose terrain comprises arid desert and a long Persian shoreline of beaches and dunes transformed its economy to become the world’s richest country in terms of per capita income in just about 20 years?

According to Forbes, “Qatar has the third-largest reserves of natural gas in the world and it has invested heavily in infrastructure to liquefy and export it, as well as to diversify its economy. Qatar has lured multinational financial firms to the country, as well as satellite campuses of US universities. The government is pouring money into infrastructure, including a deep seaport, an airport and a railway network, all with an eye to making the country a better host for businesses and the 2022 World Cup.” BBC reported in 2014 that “oil and gas have made Qatar the richest country in the world - rich enough to be ready, apparently, to spend $200bn (£120bn) on stadiums and infrastructure for the 2022 World Cup”.

My question is, have oil and gas made Nigeria rich? Has Obasanjo not heard about the sheer scale of human progress in the United Arab Emirates, Oman and other such places where visionary leadership and dreamers have turned things around for their people and forced the world to take notice? These places mentioned and many others are where the impossible have become possible and where dreams have not only come true but continue to challenge and expand the frontiers of human imagination.

The destinies of nations and their people are shaped by a few extraordinary individuals who rise to the occasion of their call to duty and immortalise themselves in the hearts and minds of their people and their country forever. Obasanjo is unarguably the only Nigerian that has had the inexplicable good fortune to shape and reshape the destiny of the country for good. But what did he do with it severally, he threw away the opportunity. Two particular moments stand out - 1979 and 1999.

I will focus on 1999 which was his second coming to make my case against him. This is someone that has been through near-death experiences with a golden opportunity to reshape our values system, institutionalise discipline and order in our polity and build institutions that would not be beholden to any individual’s whim and caprice. He had the opportunity to make the most sweeping and consequential decisions of a lifetime, to set the tone of our politics, re-engineer it for good, by making sweeping reforms of our nation’s structure, and lay a solid foundation for the much-delayed take-off of the Nigeria of our dreams.

But he failed miserably. Instead of looking to create a new nation whose diversity is its strength, Obasanjo built temporary alliances and ersatz loyalties for himself to advance his interest only. He encouraged gangsters in politics and entrenched a culture of violence, financial inducements and fraudulent elections all in a bid to advance his narrow personal interest. Loyalty to godfathers was elevated above ideas, competence and suitability for elective office, and it became the single most important criterion to gain power. Things are what they are today because Obasanjo instead of being a statesman opted to be a politician. Statesmen earn votes, politicians buy them.

We are still struggling to get out of that pervasive culture of wuru wuru elections that even though he (Obasanjo) might not have introduced, but he entrenched and exploited to impose his candidates on the

people. The Savage Kingdom that he helped to groom and nurture is in full bloom now.

It is an irony of unlimited proportions that this same Obasanjo who failed to build the Nigeria of our dreams like the leaders of Dubai, Qatar, UAE, Oman and others was so effusive with praises for a man who had no positive vision of Nigeria, who did not have the wherewithal to even preserve the status quo, and hence was groping in the dark on assumption of office; a man who clearly had no business at the helm of our national affairs but was packaged by desperate power seekers who lied to the gullible majority to get elected. How can a person who remains stuck in the past be building the “Nigeria of our dreams” today and into the future?

Certainly, our dreams of/for Nigeria are not the same with that of Obasanjo which Buhari is actualising. We have no heroes to look up to and none to emulate, neither do we have statesmen in this Obasanjo’s Nigeria.

The politicians we have in the Nigeria of Obasanjo’s dreams are only skilled in the art of corruption, dereliction of duty, lack of respect for the rule of law, election rigging, avarice, nepotism, clannishness, ethnicity, religious bigotry, and strife - that have ensured Nigeria does not progress. The Nigeria of Obasanjo’s dreams is not built to work, because it is not founded on equity and therefore is incapable of dispensing justice and fairness.

No one is saying that mere wishful thinking will give birth to the Nigeria of our own dreams. It is going to take a superhuman effort to displace the current old guards and their collaborators to give way to a new nation to rise. It is going to take bold and audacious actions driven by passion, vision, foresight, unblemished and undiluted patriotism. The type that is rare to come by these days.

The Nigeria of our dreams is a country that works for all, irrespective of state of origin and not for a few people and their collaborators. A nation built on truth, justice and fairness never loses the faith of its people.

Anything short, it faces a perilous fate such as we now face.

The fact remains that our country needs restructuring, redemption, restoration, and reconstruction premised on fresh thinking, new ideas, and a bold vision. The Nigeria of our dreams cannot come to reality if we sit on the sidelines and do nothing.

We should use the power of our numbers to vote out Obasanjo’s dream of Nigeria which is antithetical to the change we need.

Well-meaning young Nigerians should rise to the beckon of their destinies and bend the arch of this country towards a new dawn where they can exploit its limitless potential and create opportunities for all, in peace and security. In this way, our children will have a country to call theirs and they will make heroes out of us. They will teach their children, our grandchildren, the history of our struggle to build a more caring, equitable and just society that works for all its members. Hopefully, in the not too distant future, we shall be able to hold all those who brought this disaster on Nigeria to account.

Obasanjo’s dream for Nigeria will not get us past the red sea, let alone, take us to the Promised Land.

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